by Mars Dorian
27
“What happened to you?” L’ocean asked with surprise in her voice.
We dashed through the back alley, en route to the Central Square, our next goal. No enemy in sight, but that could change soon.
“What do you mean?”
“You use class specific tactics and understand game mechanics. It’s like you’re a different player.”
“Well, this isn’t Dash playing,” I said. “It’s actually his little sister.”
L’ocean’s eyes grew twice as big.
“I’m just messing with you. It’s really me.”
“Then how do you—?”
“Hey, you two turtledoves,” Rokkit said, leading our squad through the side streets. “If you’d spend half of your babble energy on the mission, we might actually accomplish something.”
His voice rang with jealousy, which I enjoyed. Given his macho, alpha male behavior, he was probably used to calling all the shots. And yet, I avoided trying to blow his ego; we still needed to accomplish this mission together.
Rokkit suddenly stopped us by raising his fist.
“What’s the matter?” I quietly said.
He pointed toward a few wires connecting the narrow alley walls to each other. Blink and you’d miss them.
“Proximity charge,” I said.
“You can disarm them, right?”
I had just invested in that skill, which meant the chance of disabling the mine ranked low. Still, I had to try. With slow steps, I neared the activation mechanism and fumbled with it.
“Hurry up,” Rokkit said.
A clank sound snapped from the device. Never heard that before, but it sounded like bad, bad news.
“Oops, turn back everyone.”
I hurried toward the opposite direction with flailing arms when the detonator blew off. The shockwave threw me over the stony ground. My armor kissed the wall as my vision turned red at the edges. HPs dropped. Thankfully, I had enough potions to deal with the damage.
“One heck of a WarTech you are,” Rokkit said a few meters next to me like a demanding teacher. His smile gleamed with self-satisfaction.
“Underused art. I need more Trapper skills.”
“Well, here’s what you don’t need… more excuses.”
He helped me up nevertheless and patted my shoulder plates. Despite the rivalry, we needed to rely on each other. Permadeath lurked around every corner.
“You ready?”
“Yep.”
We dashed forward but kept an eye open for more trip wires. We found none and safely reached the alley exit leading toward the Central Square of Montobay, where the world erupted in fire.
Yet again.
“Looks like we’re late to the party,” I said to no one in particular.
Alpha and Beta squads had bypassed the roadblocks set up by the enemies on the main road and engaged the enemy soldiers in close quarters combat. Rangers, Stalkers, TechMages, and Lancers stormed toward the soldiers and their support units. They stuck to their class-specific functions and unleashed coordinated mayhem.
“Let’s join the skirmish,” Rokkit said.
This battlefield looked more like a massive beat-em up than a role-playing game. Dozens of players collided with four dozen soldiers and their supports. Smokers curved, pellets pierced, saw blades, mech-axes, and hammers smashed.
“I got your back,” Wu said to me, his impressive array of multi-arrows ready.
“Stay in formation,” Rokkit said and led our group into the fray.
With L’ocean’s buff, my attack speed increased. I knelt, aimed, and pulled the trigger of my gun saber. Only one enemy received the full brunt and flew. As always, I used gun mode to weaken soldiers from afar and switched to the melee function of my gun saber. Wu fired at the enemies trying to flank us with deadly accuracy. Seriously, his aim was impeccable.
“Can’t use the exploda arrows. They cause area damage and can hurt our allies.”
I had totally forgotten about that—friendly fire existed in this world, so you couldn’t just throw everything at your enemy when allies stood around. An important tactical reminder I had never worried about in my solo adventures.
Back to the fight.
A soldier charged toward me. I reflected his incoming jab with my gun saber and slashed back. The cooldown of the weapon seemed to take forever, so I evaded the next wave of soldiers by stepping back. In the chaos of the skirmish, a soldier bypassed my attention and slashed me with his sharpened T-blade. My armor took the majority of the brunt, but some damage reduced my HP by 21%. The corners of my vision reddened. This was insanity. I was out in the open and had to expect attacks coming from any angle. Nearby, one Ranger from the Beta squad got ripped apart by two sword guards. He deflected the first slashes with his blade, but the two guards attacked him from behind and finished him off with a forward slash to his thinly-protected back. Their sneak attack caused at least twice the normal damage. Another ambitious player hitting the digital dust and losing his character forever.
Rokkit shouted from across the battlefield. “Boltzmann, stop standing around and do something.”
“Right.”
I used another smoker bang and clouded the area around me, making it harder for the enemy to detect and attack me. With another forward dash, I could KO the nearest renegade soldier. When I caught the attention of a captain and his four squad units, I retreated back to the L’ocean’s position.
“How are you holding up so far?”
“Still alive, but I gotta admit, this is getting hard.”
“Watch out.”
I twisted around and spotted an enemy melee fighter charging toward me with his mechanized pike. I tried to evade to the left when Rokkit charged into the attacker’s rear with his mighty shield. He swung his hammer and shattered the attacker’s armor with one vertical swoosh. The unit staggered and Rokkit used that to knock him out for good. His hammer hit the lancer’s head and wiped out his remaining hit points. The dull sound of metal crushing unleashed.
I couldn’t believe it.
Rokkit just saved my ass when he could have watched me die. He pulled his hammer from the crushed enemy corpse and marched toward me with his armor. The sight looked intimidating, and for a second, I thought he was going to smash me next.
“Where is your head at, Boltzmann?”
“I’ve never been involved with an open-range skirmish. This is a new learning experience.”
“Well, learn fast or you’ll hit the ground trying.”
Thankfully, the battle shifted in our favor. The player squadrons took control of the Central Square and forced the surviving enemies to retreat to the upper streets leading to the Comm Tower protruding from the mountain’s peak.
Quest update:
Secure the beach and enter the township of Firestone.
Reach the Central Square and secure it.
Access the Comm Tower and regain control.
A green arrow crossed off the quest bullet point. Closer to the main goal and yet so far away. My eyes traveled around the steaming plaza, piled up with enemy corpses, destroyed machinery, and player bodies. I counted three characters in total. Two of which I had seen in the hallways of the Academy. I know they didn’t really die, but seeing their player corpses next to my boots gave me the shills. One of them could have been me. All the hard work, all the grinding, gone in a second. Nasty.
“It’s an odd conundrum, isn’t it?” L’ocean said as she joined my side. She eyed the ‘dead’ Lancer player on the ground. “You can’t help but feel connected to them, even though they are just player avatars.”
Rokkit interrupted as always. “Before we get all spiritual over digital deaths, let’s finish the operation.”
He was right. Even though we had rid the Central Square of enemies, the most difficult part of the mission still lingered before us.
Securing the Comm Tower.
28
Truth was I needed a break.
My real fin
gers itched, and my legs burned from the blazing, whooshing, dashing, and slashing.
This field mission was the most hardcore workout session ever. How tough would the game outside the field mission become? I didn’t want to think about it.
“Who are we actually fighting against?”
No banner or visual identification covered the armor of the fallen renegade soldiers.
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Rokkit said.
Smoke belched from the plaza, but the way to the final target destination looked clear. Together with the survivors of the other teams, we escaped the square and darted up the steep roads snaking around the giant ridge. L’ocean had exchanged a few words with our ally squads and shared the dire information of the situation.
“Six players have died; one at the landing, two during through the city rush, and three more in the Central Square skirmish.”
“Good riddance,” Rokkit said. “More experience and items for us.”
He was right, but I did feel sorry for the other players. Everybody must have worked their butts off to get here, and now their efforts were in vain. They had to start from scratch, with zero skills and maximum levels of frustration.
“Smells like endgame,” I said, which caught Rokkit’s attention.
“Whatever happens now, we stay together as a unit. No solo player bullshit, and no going over to the other team. Formation for the win.”
Sounded odd coming from an egomaniac like him, but his words rang true, even though the attitude ticked me off. Together with the other teams, we marched on, damaged but determined. A dozen meters up the narrow road, I watched a fellow ally WarTech disabling a wired mine. Unlike me, her attempt didn’t result in an explosion. In fact, she looked like a high-level pro who disarmed mines for a living. Rokkit grinned into my face. “Maybe I should replace you with her.”
“She’s two levels ahead of me. Don’t worry, I’ll get there too.”
The road rose steeply before us and snaked around the mountain path. It looked like we had to spiral all the way up to the peak. Roadblocks came into view, wooden and metal constructions with spiked wires curling around the bars.
Rokkit became the commander of all squads. “Tank units, damage dealers, follow me. Rangers, give us cover.”
And boy, did they listen. In few seconds, the tanks—basically all heavily-armored and shielded Lancers, except for one who carried a massive two-hander—lined up in front and charged toward the roadblock. Weaker units like me and Wu followed up from behind. He fired off another exploda arrow which curved down on the enemy. Boom went the enemies. Unfortunately, these new bastards belonged to higher levels and unleashed their armored hounds on us.
Enemy: Armored adult wragg
Type: Tamed beast
HP: 105/Armor: Light-medium (+2.5)
Weakness: Armor-piercing, sharp weaponry
Drops: Wragg meat, armor plates
I had no idea you could tame wraggs. Three beasts ignored the front line of our Lancers and slipped through their defenses. The wraggs were simply too small and fast for the strong but cumbersome Lancers.
Damn.
I missed a pellet shot as the nearest armored wragg zigzagged before my eyes. Before I could swing my gun saber, the beast jump-attacked and bit into my left arm. I tried to shake it off, but the creature’s razor-sharp teeth tore through my light armor plating with passion. L’ocean interrupted a mid-range buff and came to my aid. She rearranged the Reepo particles flowing from her staff’s crystal and healed my failing health. “You’re welcome.”
Man, I would have been digital dust if it hadn’t been for my squaddies.
The Rangers on the other teams unleashed arrows, darts, and pellets at the enemy soldiers. They tried to retaliate, but the Lancers, both acting as tanks and damage dealers, prevented the soldiers from reaching our long-range units. Classic tactic, but it worked wonders.
We were winning!
After Wu headshot a soldier with a critical arrow strike, his shoulders slumped.
“Only one gunpowder arrow left,” he said with a bitter voice. “I better keep it for the peak, and whatever waits for us there.”
“First, we have to make it to the top.”
I even heard the remaining enemies shouting in our direction, “Kill the insurgents!”
I carried one last smoker and one exploda grenade, which I also wanted to save for the peak. The worst always lingered last. I marched forward and heard shouts from our friendly squads roaring from all sides.
“I need your support.”
“Back me up.”
“Heal me, now.”
Voices and explosions mashed together.
“The barrier is broken.”
Three soldiers tried to flee by running up the road, but Rokkit and another Lancer smashed into them and knocked them off the road. The poor cannon fodder rolled down the steep ravine and crashed to the ground below.
I was down to my last potion. With the survivors of the squads, we took a short break to exchange the items we just had collected from the enemy corpses. In-between the gathering, I noticed my character had leveled up to 7. As always, I spent my new point on the Machine Spirit. I found more gun saber ammunition in the form of gear boxes, which magically fit my chamber size.
“Is this intense or what?” Wu said and cracked up.
Oddly, his laughter lifted the tension. Made the moment human again.
“Two more died during the raid,” L’ocean said. “Eleven players have died since the dispatch of the initially twenty-four cadets.”
Her sober statement reshaped my priorities. So half the players had bitten the digital dust, and we hadn’t reached the final stage yet.
“Separating the men from the boys,” Rokkit said. “You need to be a steaming pile of incompetence to die at this stage. It’s not that hard.”
I thought it was, but kept my mouth shut.
Rokkit rotated his hammer like a marching stick. “You’re all lucky to have the best cadet in your squad. Seriously, if it wasn’t for me, you’d be digital dust by now, whining at home, scratching your balls, and dreaming about victory.”
“Your modesty is refreshing,” I said.
Rokkit expressed a cutting smile. “Modesty is for losers. No wonder you like the word.”
L’ocean and I exchanged a smile before we ventured on.
Despite Rokkit’s borderline overconfidence, he acted as an experienced player with incredible fighting skills. His shield dashes and hammer whooshes unleashed at the right time, from the right distance, and the right position. Even the enemy captains failed to provide a challenge, despite their better armor, equipment, and higher hit points.
Seriously, how much time did Rokkit spend on perfecting his skills? The answer would probably snap my head. Good thing the guy was on my side. For now.
Rokkit caught my glimpse. “Are you checking out my butt?”
“You play like a pro, even though your class level is relatively low.”
“I play to win. Being pro is a mindset independent of class level.”
He clapped his gloved hands. Metallic clonks sounded.
L’ocean chimed in. “We’re nearing the top. Whatever you guys need to adjust, please do it now. This might be our last pause before the final fight.”
“You speak from experience?” Rokkit asked.
L’ocean winked in an ambitious way that I couldn’t decode. Something was definitely going on between the two and even though it was none of my business, it did rub me the wrong way. Just a little.
Thankfully, Wu’s question distracted me from the two. “How’s your remedy and health potion department looking?”
“Bleak. I’ve got one potion left.”
“Here are two more small and one medium potion.”
I accepted the trade. Rokkit spotted our interaction and hissed, “Don’t give him all your stuff. Your life takes priority.”
“If we’re facing a boss fight up there, we’ll need every tea
m member equipped with potions.”
Rokkit rolled his eyes but left it at that.
And with our support items and armor having degraded over the past skirmishes, we’d reach the top in a weakened state. No repair or weapon smith was in sight, and no one had mastered the art of fixing armor yet.
Still, we had to move on. I updated the distance update on my e-scroll—152 meters until the peak. The giant antenna from the comm tower scratched the cloudy sky like a skeletal claw made of steel.
Mischief was brewing up there.
29
With our equipment rearranged, we marched up the road snaking around the mountain. We soon neared a restricted zone where more roadblocks tried to hinder us from reaching the target zone. Bypassing them was easy, especially with the more advanced WarTechs from the other squads dismantling them. What raised my concern was the lack of enemy presence. No armored wragg, no renegade soldiers, not even sentries stood in our way. Ghost town knocked, and it wanted its creepiness back. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who noticed the absence of enemy troops.
“This is almost scary,” Wu said next to me. “Is this a game glitch?”
“Not until you’re seeing fragments in your virtual vision or hear audio discrepancies,” L’ocean said.
I only noticed a faint rustle.
We reached the top platform of the mountain. An iron construct with blocky buildings and an array of unknown machinery awaited us, separated by a wired fence. The comm tower protruded from the center like a metallic hook trying to scratch the sky. Without any order, I used my cutter and sliced through the fence since the main gate was blocked. Everyone followed our squad through the hole of the fence. A group of military units hunched over an installation which was connected to the tower. The analyzer updated the information. A renegade soldier captain with heavy armor, surrounded by an elite death squad of black guards stood in the midst of it. Two techs overviewed a machine that connected with the core unit of the radar, probably a jamming device. The captain stepped forward and cracked a villainous smile.
