by Baron Sord
All 11 legs spasmed before curling like a dying spider.
You fried that Minor Minion’s meat!
You earned 4500 XP!
Welcome to level 7!
+10 Health!
+10 Stamina!
You have 6 points to distribute to your ability scores and skills!
Level up! Your Fight Dirty skill is now level 4.
Level up! Your Basic Swordplay skill is now level 4.
I spun around to assess the rest of the battle.
Qoorie was whipping away at one of the Chaos Minions with her Scourge of the Law whip. Every time it connected, sparks flew. This beast had four stout legs and four huge crablike clawed arms. It too had rainbow eyes all over its body. The crab claws kept trying to snap Qoorie in half, but she was too quick, and that whip of hers bit back.
Dad wasn’t doing as well. He was engaged with the two minions near the last remaining flier, swinging wildly with his double-bladed axe. He was getting tired.
Where was Layna?
I scanned the tall grass, but I didn’t see her anywhere. At least that meant nothing was attacking her. I ran toward Dad and called up my character sheet, trying not to trip in the darkness. The light of the floating window was too bright. I stopped and quickly analyzed my character sheet. I needed to apply my 6 attribute points ASAP.
King FarthurT
Human | Male
Level: 7.0
===============
>>> Luck: 1 <<<
===============
Health | Stamina: 250 (101) | 220 (95)
Mana | Mind: 390 (17) | 400
Attacks per Second: 2
Armor: 75
====================
Fame | Infamy: 2 | -
Good | Evil: 22 | 2
Law | Chaos: 5 | 7
====================
-: 15 :- Strength
-: 17 :- Speed
-: 12 :- Accuracy
-: 15 :- Endurance
===============
-: 10 :- Intelligence
-: 22 :- Creativity
-: 11 :- Wisdom
-: 14 :- Willpower
===============
-: 21 :- Beauty
-: 11 :- Charm
-: 10 :- Respect
-: 11 :- Leadership
===============
MAGIC SPELLS
• None
===============
MENTAL POWERS
• Flirtation: Level 1.4
• Resist Charm: Level 1.0
• Suggestion: Level 1.0
===============
WILD TALENTS
• None
===============
COMBAT SKILLS
• Backstab: 1.6
• Basic Swordplay: 4.0
• Disarm: Level 3.0
• Dodge: Level 5.8
• Fight Dirty: Level 4.2
• Grappling: Level 1.9
• Short Spear: Level 3.5
• Stalking: Level 2.9
• Stun: Level 2.7
• Surprise Attack: Level 3.8
• Tactics Level 2.4
• POWER ATTACK: Deadly Disembowel. Level 1.1
• POWER ATTACK: Snake Strike. Level 2.0
===============
GENERAL SKILLS
• Basic Jungle Survival: Level 1.0
• Climbing: Level 1.1
• Examination: Level 2.9
===============
I hadn’t put anything in Endurance for a long time. My max Stamina wasn’t that high. If it was better, I could use Snake Strike more often. Now that it was level 2, it sucked a lot of juice. But something told me to put all 6 points in Creativity, so I did, boosting it to 28.
“Oh, shit,” I mumbled.
My maximum Mana jumped from 390 to 870.
My guess was I’d passed some sort of bonus tier after 25 attribute points. But that was just a guess. I didn’t have time to work out the math, and I didn’t really care anyway.
I Xed out of the window, smiling.
I was already running while my eyes adjusted to the darkness.
Before I’d leveled to 7 a moment ago and put those points into Creativity, my Mana was down to about 4%. Now it was at a solid 50% of 870, or 435 points. That was better than fully charged when I was level 6 a minute ago. And with Layna’s spell still in effect, the mana bar was creeping visibly higher.
Time to shoot some lightning bolts, bitches!
I ran in the direction of Dad at a medium-fast jog. My lack of Stamina was hitting me. Oh well. What I didn’t have in Endurance I’d make up for with Mana.
Qoorie shouted as I ran past her, “This thing has too many arms! I keep getting hit!” She cracked the scourge and 6 of the 8 straps wrapped around one of the chaos crab’s arms. A flickering explosion of white and black erupted from the stump as Qoorie tore the arm off the body.
The beast screamed.
I made the hasty decision to help her kill this thing because it was closest. Then we’d both be able to help Dad.
“Get back, Qoorie!” I shouted as I swerved toward the minion, charging my saber with mana. The entire blade beamed bright blue. Just in case, I activated Snake Strike, stealing most of my remaining Stamina. Time slowed by half. I was taking this fucker down. My jog turned into a perfectly timed and targeted sprint. I hopped over a wildly swinging but slow-motion crab claw. Still in mid air, I stabbed it right in one of its glowing eyes. Was somebody filming this? Because I knew I looked like a summer blockbuster action movie badass right then.
KA-BOOM!!
The flat crab body of the chaos beast split right down the middle, blue-white sparks showering upward.
You helped slay the Minor Minion of Chaos!
You earned 2100 XP!
I didn’t stop running and angled back toward Dad.
With my increased speed, Qoorie could barely keep up as she bounded on all fours, holding her scourge whip in her teeth.
We made it across the grass to Dad seconds later.
I had time for one last saber stab which I landed in the back of the nearest chaos beast, which had 9 arms and was bouncing around on one stout pogo leg. Since it was looking at me with at least 9 eyes, I knew I wouldn’t get a Backstab bonus. But I had plenty of mana to make up for it.
Ka-KRACK!
My bolt blew a smoking hole in its torso and it collapsed to the ground, its colored eyes fading to darkness.
You helped slay the Minor Minion of Chaos!
You earned 1700 XP!
Qoorie flew past me and skidded to a stop, coming up on her hind legs while grabbing the scourge out of her mouth. The beast was pummeling away at Dad who was down on one knee, holding his axe up defensively with both hands.
We made it just in time.
The beast screamed as Qoorie whipped the shit out of it, tearing off two arms in one go. I charged my saber and stabbed away. A flailing chaos arm smacked me sideways, dropping me to 20% Health, but I managed to get back up and slice away while Qoorie kept attacking.
The beast screamed and went down moments later.
You helped slay the Minor Minion of Chaos!
You earned 900 XP!
Heaving for air, I sank down on all fours in the dark grass.
KingFarthurT:> Dad, you okay?
Walter_Simon_Byrne_1978:> Barely. But I’m gonna sleep good tonigh—
WHOOSH!!
A sideways geyser of flame blasted across the valley from over by the ridge. I looked up in time to see the 4-foot diameter column of fire hit Dad dead center.
He didn’t even have time to scream.
He probably couldn’t have if he wanted to, because that blazing hot fire consumed all the oxygen in his lungs in less than a second.
There was nothing I could do.
My face felt sunburned and I was 10 yards away from the flame.
The blast was gone as quickly as it came, but Dad’s body burned like a raging funeral pyre. Flames waved 15 feet in the air, consumi
ng his corpse quickly.
“DAD!!!!” I winced as emotional pain wracked my body. I ran toward him, but the heat pushed me back. I tried running again but was stopped short by Qoorie grabbing my arms.
“There’s nothing you can do, Logan!”
I turned on her and shouted, “What the fuck is wrong with this place?!”
She stumbled back several steps, not sure what to say.
“Fuck!” I screamed and spun and stalked away from her, having no idea where I was going.
WHOOSH!
I spun around and saw another column of fire vaporize Qoorie.
Something died inside me at that moment. I wasn’t sad, wasn’t angry. I just went cold.
I turned and looked across the valley.
For some reason, I imagined someone was shooting the mana cannon at us. But they weren’t. It was the same half-finished structure it was before. Useless. Then my eyes landed on a lone figure standing a few yards away from it.
Keslak Thurrayllosang
Dark Elf | Male | Warlock
Level: 39
Health | Stamina: 590 | 475
Mana | Mind: 2890 | 980
Size: Medium
Armor: 390
===============
Good | Evil: - | 391
Law | Chaos: 14 | 380
===============
Blank and broken, I raised my saber and charged all my mana into it. Then I fired it right at the warlock.
Ka-CHOOOM!!
I was knocked on my ass by the power of the mega bolt.
But it bounced harmlessly off the Warlock and arced into the base of the mana cannon, which flickered bright as the current dissipated throughout the metal frame.
What a waste. I was out of mana.
Now this warlock could waste my ass at his leisure.
I didn’t care.
He could kill me whenever he was ready.
Then I noticed the charge from my bolt still flickered and flashed across the mana cannon frame. Red dots all over the base lit up brilliantly.
The red gemstones.
I had no idea what they were for, but they were now somehow energized by my lightning strike. The red markings I remembered also appeared to be lighting up. The base got brighter and brighter.
Suddenly, the warlock started running away from it.
Still sitting on the grass, I watched, uncertain what was happening. But I had a pretty good idea…
After about 15 seconds, the base was so bright, the entire valley shone red.
“Oh shit.” I flipped onto my stomach, positioning my feet toward the cannon, covered the back of my head with both leather gloved hands, and jammed the heels of my hands into my ears as I shoved my face in the dirt.
BA-BOOOOM!!
I screwed my eyes shut as a massive wave of red energy crashed over me like a hard hot wind and the ground rumbled beneath me. Shortly thereafter, debris rained down randomly, fizzing sizzles of metal chunks. I grit my teeth, expecting shrapnel to stab into my back or my thighs, but nothing other than pebbles smacked against my leather covered backside.
When I sensed it was safe to look, I rolled over and peered down the length of my body. The base smoked, it didn’t burn. However, the dried grass in the valley did. A 100-foot ring around it was already smoking as the low flames grew taller.
I needed to get the hell out of here. This entire valley would make for a massive brushfire. I didn’t wanna be here when it all went up.
I stood and looked around.
Dad’s body was a pile of ash that puffed into that magical glowing dust. His glowed green and the particles sank into the earth. Qoorie was still burning. The Scourge of the Law lay on the ground next to her.
It made me think of Jason.
Fuck Jason.
All this was his fault.
Dad was dead.
My friends were dead.
All because of his sorry ass.
If he hadn’t gotten into Reternity Online, none of this ever would’ve happened. I wouldn’t be here. Emily wouldn’t be trapped. Dad wouldn’t be dead. Ty wouldn’t either, and now Qoorie?
“What happens if we die in this game?”
“You re-spawn…” Ty said.
“So we come back to life?”
“Yeah dawg,” he said.
It was the conversation I’d had with Ty back skyside at Landing Ridge. When we rented the fliers. When was that? Last week? Fuck, it seemed like a year ago. But I thought it was today. Earlier today. Jesus. So much had happened since then.
I hoped Ty was right.
Because right now, I was ready to murder Jason.
Quickest way to do that was to fly back to Skyland.
I jogged across the grass to the last remaining flier, sheathing my saber. I hoped this flier was tied to my amulet. If it wasn’t, I had a long walk ahead of me.
I got under the flier and grabbed the handlebars.
How did you fly from standing?
I started running.
I was so exhausted, I could barely move.
But the flier knew what to do.
We moved faster and faster and the sail started to lift, then it picked me up, my feet no longer touching the ground. I lay forward and my legs were raised by the invisible magic harness like before.
The flier circled the valley as I gained altitude. It didn’t take long until I was 100 feet in the air.
A huge ring of fire was burning outward from the mana cannon base, the flames now 10 feet high. Black smoke billowed upward. The dark elf warlock was busy waving his hands, running around near the mana cannon while trying to do something.
Fuck him.
I circled higher until I had a view over the ridge that split the valley in half. The new view revealed a small purple portal of energy, the one the warlock must’ve used to get here, and stacks of metal components for the rest of the cannon.
I wanted nothing more than to pull out my saber and blast the shit out of those metal parts.
But I was out of mana.
Then I realized something.
My saber had the same bluish magical energy as the flier’s sail and the amulet. It didn’t take an idiot to realize that it was probably all the same kind of magic if it had the same color. Just in case, I checked.
Mana Flier. Weight: 20 kg. Durability: 30. Availability: Rare. Magic Class: Air. Mana: 970. Weight Capacity: 150 kg. Remaining Range: 97 kilometers.
Mana Flier Amulet. Weight: 0.5 kg. Durability: 15. Availability: Rare. Magic Class: Air. Mana: 20. Use the Amulet to call your mana flier.
I was right. Like my saber and thunder ring, the flier used Air magic. And look at all that mana. 970 points in the flier. Was there a way for me to channel it from the flier through me, and into my saber?
Only one way to find out.
I pulled my saber out.
I concentrated on sucking mana out of the flier. Don’t ask me how. But it worked. I felt a charge travel from the handlebars into me and down my sword arm. The saber began to glow blue. Then the sail started to flicker.
Oops.
If I drained too much mana from the flier, obviously, it would run out of gas and I’d drop like a rock. So I slowed the draw and also put what little mana I had left into it too.
As I climbed higher, I continued the channeling. It was taking forever, and slowing the rate of climb, but it was working. Eventually, when I was about 500 feet up, I had a clear view down to the undamaged mana cannon pieces by the purple portal. My saber had so much mana in it, it was blinding bright and vibrating.
That’s when the warlock looked up like a tiny little ant.
WHOOSH!
A column of fire blasted past me, nearly burning my eyebrows off.
I banked hard right, narrowly avoiding it.
My heart pounded with adrenalin. Now I was out of position. I banked left until I was angled to release my lightning bolt at the undamaged pieces of the mana cannon.
The warlock was swirling his arms in th
e air, no doubt preparing another fire blast.
I unleashed my lightning bolt.
Ka-CHOOOM!!
I banked again, heading back over the ridge, trying to put as much distance between me and the blast zone. With the ridge between me and the cannon components, I had some protection, but I dropped altitude to put more ridge between me and any aftershocks. I was down to about 200 feet when the undamaged components behind the ridge blew.
BA-BOOOOM!!
The flier shook and the blue sail blinked out. I instantly started losing altitude, falling in a forward arc.
“Oh fuck!” I grunted.
As the ground flew toward me, I grit my teeth. With the mana out, the magic harness was gone and my legs hung downward. I got ready to run, but I knew it wasn’t going to make a difference. My balls climbed into my pelvis, hiding.
75 feet from the valley floor, the sail flickered back on.
My descent slowed and I leaned back, trying to pull up.
50 feet from impact, I started to climb.
My heart was racing as I slowly gained altitude.
Debris rained down all around me, but this far from the blast zone it was minor. After the dust settled, I soared over the ridge to investigate. So much black smoke was already clouding the air from the first blast, it was difficult to see, but I could just make out a second ring of fire spreading out from the new blast area. I also saw the dark elf warlock dash into the purple portal, which closed shortly after.
Quest complete! You arrested the Chaos Incursion and won the respect of the Order of the Law.
You earned 2500 XP!
+10 Fame points!
+10 Law points!
No bonus XP for failing to apprehend any of the Agents of Chaos alive.
Like I fucking cared at this point.
I circled the valley one more time before deciding to head back to Skyland.
That’s when I saw her.
Layna.
Lying flat on her back in the weeds.
Damn it.
If she hadn’t saved my ass so many times, I would’ve left her.
I landed as quickly as I could and rushed over to her.
