by Matt Moss
Hell with it, let’s try out a new skill.
During my time in Atlantis, I became a Grandmaster Barbarian with the help of the Saviors. It’s another melee class, much like the Warrior, except—unlike the Warrior, who is versatile in both offense and defense—the Barbarian doesn’t care about self preservation. All it sees is red; a lethal, killing machine.
Comfortable in my abilities, I tap into my spirit bar and use Unbounded Rage—the skill of a Grandmaster Barbarian.
My body swells in size and glows red. Maximum health is raised by 100%, health regeneration is 50%. 10% added strength and stamina. 100% speed and damage increase.
Hell yes.
As if automated by some intelligence greater than my own, my body reacts to the surge of power. Without even thinking, I leap into the horde of a hundred, surging Draugr Knights and land with a shockwave that stuns all those around me. Whirlwind unleashes devastation as I spin so quickly with both blades that the prevailing wind from my attack seemingly pulls the enemy in.
I’ve got thousands of enemies highlighted in my vision now, and all of them are locked onto me.
Bring it on.
They don’t stand a chance.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…
This occasion calls for music.
“Jill, play ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ by Coolio.”
The NueView responds. “Playing Gangsta’s Paradise, by Coolio.”
The classic rap song begins playing in my ears as I fight the undead.
Aww, yea…
A Draugr Knight roars at me.
I roar back, then chop its head off.
Moving at double-speed, I run through the cave, cutting down every foe around me. Breaking through the Knights, I surge towards the Magi and the Archers in the back. I use Throw, another Barbarian skill, and launch Thal’s Sword of Eternity towards the line of enemies. It cuts through them like a boomerang, then returns to my hand.
The horde engulfs me again.
I Jump, wondering if a Dragoon skill can be enhanced while tapping the spirit of another skill, such as Barbarian.
It does.
The ground shakes beneath me as I crouch, pre-loading the Dragoon’s skill. The Draugr stumble and fall, then are swept into the place where my feet leave the ground, pulled by the vortex left in my wake, similar to Dragoon’s Fury. High from the ceiling of the cave, I can see hundreds of them all writhing beneath me, caught in the powerful vortex. My arms turn bright red, and so do my weapons, in response to using the skill. I take both of Thal’s swords, twirl them around while suspended high in the air, then begin my descent.
I land like a bomb, vanquishing everything that got pulled into the attack.
Standing tall and alone, the Unbounded Rage leaves as my spirit bar is depleted. A break in the action snaps my focus back to my surroundings, and I take note of the Saviors. The Thannadians are all behind me, most of them staring in awe as I just swept the surrounding proximity of the cave clean.
But the fight is not over. Nowhere near close.
I wave Thal’s swords, encouraging everyone to join me.
Running for more, I glance to my right and see Deana and her guilds fighting against an onslaught of Draugr. She’s perched high on a rock pillar, rapid-firing Fire Bolts that consume the Draugr, and all that are around them, in flames. Gage and many others are on the front lines, hacking and pushing their way through the cave the best they can. From what I can tell, nobody has fallen yet.
Let’s keep it that way.
My eyes find the Dragons that are prowling at the back of the cave. They’ve yet to lock onto us.
Let them come at me. Keep the others safe.
Behind the beasts, I see torches on the walls outside of a massive tunnel.
That must be the way.
With the rap beat still in my head, I engage again. This time, with the might of the Saviors behind me. With ease, we carve our way through the cave, and the Healers tend to me as I take most of the damage, even though I don’t really need them to.
Don’t get cocky.
I’m not cocky. Just confident.
A glance to my right, and I find the other guilds moving through the cave at about the same pace as me.
I point up to a cocoon in passing. “Take it out!” I yell back, keeping my focus on slaying the onslaught of Draugr that target me.
The Mages burn it with fire, and the cocoon hisses and shrieks, writhing in the air as the flames consume it. It gives one last shrill as it falls to the ground.
The Draugr all respond to the harvester’s death, and attack more furiously than before, with seemingly increased speed and damage.
A large portion of the Draugr who were focused on attacking Deana and the guilds turn their attention to me and the Saviors upon the cocoon’s demise.
They target whoever kills the harvesters.
Curious to truly test my strength, I run as fast as I can to the next cocoon. Jumping into the air, I chop at it with Thal’s swords, and it turns brown and falls like a brittle, autumn leaf.
As I suspected, a large percentage of the Draugr in the cave turn their attention to me in response.
Bring it on.
I run for the next harvester, then the next, cutting down every undead menace in my way.
And, for the first time, I notice my health beginning to drop at a faster rate. Probably because more than half of the dungeon is attacking me right now.
As I finish off the last harvester, the Draugr Dragons turn, lock onto me, and roar.
Shit.
“Gangsta’s Paradise” is long over, and I contemplate playing something else; Metallica.
Negative, ghost rider. No distractions. Keep your senses about you.
Fine.
A quick break to heal myself now that I’m a Grandmaster Mage.
Spirit bar is replenishing again, much more quickly than I remember it filling before. Maybe because I’ve reached Grandmaster in multiple skills?
Either way, I look forward to trying out an attack spell… just to see what it’s like.
Now fully healed, I dual wield Thal’s Swords of Eternity again and use Whirlwind to clear a space between myself and the thousands of Draugr that are surrounding me. The Draugr Knights push their way to the front of the mosh pit, desperately trying to get at me, but with blades spinning, I cut most of them down before they even have a chance to attack.
Stamina is below half now. I use a couple of potions to bring it back up.
The guilds are behind me now, unleashing their might. Draugr are falling all around, and I can see Deana and her group focus their fire upon the Magi and the Archers surrounding my perimeter.
The undead Dragons begin to creep towards me, crawling on all fours.
Spirit bar is almost full.
Draugr all around.
The Dragons roar, preparing to attack.
Blue spirit bar glows bright, completely full.
I use the Grandmaster Mage skill—Limitless Arcaneum—and select Firewave from the option of spells. With my Intelligence stat raised from the constant training in Atlantis, I’m curious to see how much damage I can deal.
My hands burst into flames as they wave about, conjuring the spell. A hot wind begins to rise around me.
The Dragons attack.
The spell completes, and my arms extend outward to my sides. A wall of flames rushes from my body in all directions and consumes everything in the surrounding area. All of the Draugr die instantly, but the Dragons remain. They burn—taking residual damage, as the initial attack didn’t kill them.
Both attack me and my heath drops.
Not enough to worry me.
I take Thal’s swords again and go to work on the beasts, unleashing devastating combinations. It feels good to go against an opponent that doesn’t die with one strike. I focus on one beast at a time, and each combination severely lowers the Dragon’s health. I dodge their attacks the best
I can, but I can't avoid taking damage. My health bar lowers, but I should be able to finish them off before it drops dangerously low.
Two more combinations and the first Dragon falls. I jump back, both swords swinging with a flourish. The remaining Dragon roars, it’s maw glowing bright green and hot, preparing its most powerful attack. Green flames burst forth and wash over me as it breathes fire.
Health drops much faster than before. I put away the swords and use Heal. White light surrounds me, and the spell fills my health bar more quickly than the Dragon’s breath can deplete it. In the dark cave, I stand, glowing white, bathed in the Dragon’s green flame. Once the attack is over, I take Thal’s swords again and move to finish it off. Two lethal combinations and it’s all over.
I stand victorious, the cave no longer a threat.
Turning, I find the guilds standing silently, staring at me in awe.
Deana walks to meet me. “We stopped helping you after you laid waste to the entire army of Draugrs… by yourself,” she says. “Figured a couple Dragons would be no problem after that.”
Her words sink in as the thrill of battle starts to fade away.
She’s right. I fought the dungeon alone. And was victorious. Didn’t even experience enough damage to scare me.
Unbelievable…
The training in Atlantis has paid off more than I thought.
Everyone looks at me like I’m some sort of freak. They don’t say anything, just gaze at me with wonder and awe.
“Ace,” Deana says and points to the chamber that the Dragons were guarding.
I turn and find what we’ve been looking for—the rabbit in the distance, through the door, on the far-side of the chamber.
“Let me know what it’s like to come in second place,” she says and takes off running.
Without missing a beat, I catch her and we run through the entrance together, leaving everyone else behind.
Through the door, we slow to a trot. My foot steps on a loose tile and I hear ‘click’.
Freeze.
Deana turns, hearing the sound. Throws her hands up at me. “Really? You’re bad luck, do you know that?”
I shrug and lift my foot. A stone door falls and seals the entrance before anyone else can get through.
Deana turns around in frustration and throws her arms out. “I don’t know if I can deal with this again.”
“Aw, come on. It’s just a little trap. Not like we’re stuck here with each other or anything.” She turns around and meets my eye as I speak. “If nothing else, we’ll teleport out. Wanna go back to Atlantis with me? Maybe you could return the Sanctum Stone you stole.”
She shakes her head and walks to the chasm that separates us from the rabbit, which is on a platform that’s surrounded by the abyss. I join her, look down and whistle, finding nothing but darkness.
“That’s a long way down.”
“I don’t think there’s any coming back from that fall.”
“So what do we do?”
She thinks, then looks behind us, all around the floor, and at the walls. “There has to be another switch here or something. If we can get the door to open, maybe the others can help us.”
I start walking around the small space between the walls and the abyss, taking small steps to make sure I cover all the ground. A stone clicks beneath my foot.
A stone bridge extends to the platform.
Wide-eyed in surprise, Deana turns and looks at me.
I grin. “Still think I’m bad luck?”
She gives me a tired look before walking towards the bridge. “I know you are.” Before she can get to the edge, I take my foot off the switch and the bridge quickly retracts. She looks at me, confused. “Hey, what the hell?”
I step towards her. “What, you think I’m just going to let you get the rabbit, just like that? No way.”
She throws her arms up. “What do we do, then?”
“You step on the switch and I’ll get the rabbit. Once I’m back, I’ll do the same for you.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t trust you. You’ll teleport out as soon as you get it.”
I step in front of her and stare into her eyes. “I promise I won’t do that. You can trust me.”
She still isn’t convinced. Looks down. “No. I can’t.”
I take her hand. “Deana, you can trust me. After everything we’ve been through, you’ve come to know who I am. When I say something, I mean it. You know I’m a man of my word.”
She raises her eyes back to mine and gently pulls her hand away. “Okay. But you better not screw me on this.”
I can’t believe she, of all people, has the gall to say that to me.
Before I can reply, she walks away. Her foot finds the switch, and the bridge extends. I look back to her. “Just don’t move your foot off that switch.”
She gives me a wry grin.
Putting an awful lot of trust in someone who obviously can’t be trusted.
Everyone deserves a second chance.
Second chance? I think you’ve lost count…
I take that first step across the narrow bridge and try to not let vertigo take over. It’s only twelve inches wide at most, which normally wouldn’t be a problem, but when your life is on the line, everything gets elevated; nerves included.
It’s about twenty paces to the platform. The bunny shifts, takes a hop, turns, takes another hop, sniffs the air, looks around; living the life it was given.
I wonder how it feels to be created in such a manner, and for such a purpose.
It’s a program. It doesn’t feel anything.
Halfway across, I pause and look back at Deana to find her standing there with her arms crossed, and I’m thinking she might step off of the switch at any moment.
She extends a hand towards me. “Will you go on already? I think my grandmother could cross that faster than you.”
“Don’t rush me,” I call back. Turning my head back to the platform, I keep my eyes on the prize and pay no attention to the darkness that surrounds me on all sides.
One might think that after everything I’ve been through, and with all the abilities I have, I wouldn’t be afraid of a fall like this. It’s not the fall, it’s the unknown. I know what’s going to happen when I battle a horde of Draugr and a couple Dragons. I can anticipate what’s to come. But a fall like this… I have no idea what could happen. And I don’t want to find out.
I especially don’t want to go out because of some damn rabbit.
Headstone: Here lies Ace the Great. Slayer of Gamemasters. Exterminator of Gods. Fell to his death while hunting a rabbit.
I’m not going out like that.
When I’m close enough, I jump and land onto the platform with shaky legs. Behind me, Deana claps.
I take the ninth rabbit and hold it high over my head, victoriously.
“Come back now. It’s my turn,” Deana calls out.
I place the pelt in my inventory. “Can’t I celebrate for a moment?” Shake my head and make my way back. “Sheesh. I don’t remember you being so impatient all the time. I miss the Deana I used to know.”
“Ya, well, you left her behind,” she bites back.
Once I safely make it back across, she takes her foot off the switch and meets me.
“Look, Deana, I know. You know. We don’t need to relive what happened and why I disappeared again.”
She squares up to me. “Maybe we do. How about you tell me, that way it’ll be settled.”
I cock my head, confused. “I thought you didn’t want to know? No real-life stuff, remember?”
“Tell me. Why didn’t you text me back? Why didn’t you come back? What happened?” Tears start to well in her eyes and, in that moment, I know deep down that she still has feelings for me.
I tell her the story about how the Gamemasters sent people to my house. How they tried to kill me and my family. Everything that happened then, and everything that’s happened since—leaving out the personal details, of course.
I shake my head. “It’s behind us now. My family is safe.” I move for the switch, then pause. “Now you know.” Before I step away from her, she calls my name.
“Ace. I’m sorry about what happened. Truly.”
I stare into her eyes, then step on the switch. The bridge extends.
You’re helping the enemy.
She’s not the enemy.
She breaks her stare, then steps to the bridge. Without a moment’s pause, she walks across it, grabs the rabbit, then walks back effortlessly.
I shake my head. “Show-off.”
She smiles and stands in front of me. “Thank you, Ace.”
I look away, then back to her. “Deana…
She’s already opened a portal. “Don’t follow me,” she warns before stepping in.
I watch her disappear, clench my jaw, then walk to the stone door. I can hear everyone else on the other side and I call out to them. “I have the pelt. I’m going to teleport back home now. You all find a safe place and do the same.”
“Will do, Commander,” I hear Meric call back.
Alone now, I pause to reflect on everything that just happened.
Raise my head and take a few deep breaths to slow my heart rate.
Turn around and find Cari stepping through Deana’s portal. Wearing her usual white pantsuit, she regards me with a genuine look of respect.
“I had to see Ace the Great for myself. Rumored to still be alive, I had to lay my own eyes on the man who was supposed to be dead in order to believe the tales. Now, here you stand, before me.”
I clench both swords in my hand as pure anger burns white-hot within me. I glance at my spirit bar on my HUD and notice that it’s almost full.
“Hello, Gamemaster Bitch. It’s been a while. Sorry to disappoint you but, I’m back! Your little stunt didn’t work. I’m still alive, and my family is still alive. Too bad you won’t be able to say the same much longer.”
