by Rick Scott
She pops Charge Strike and zooms across the last thirty feet, flying off the edge. She hangs in midair and I fear she might have been too late, but then she soars upwards towards the next tile.
Yes!
“She made it!”
I dash forward towards the edge of our own tile and leap across the gap, teleporting to the next platform above. I hit the surface with a roll and immediately race to the side to check where Ziegfried and Aiko are. Just like the last one, the platform is slightly below us. But when I look over the edge, my heart jumps in fright.
Ziegfried isn’t running anymore. He stands with two giants in front of him, forming a wall of muscle. To his side is a mage, his hands glowing as he readies a spell. Oh crap…was it all a trap? Ziegfried yells for the giants to attack and they lumber toward Aiko as the mage unleashes his spell.
“Aiko!!” I cry.
She loses her shadow as a fireball engulfs her. She performs a roll and deftly slips below two swings from the giants’ clubs, but Ziegfried gets her with a quick stab from behind. She cries out and loses 15% of her HP. Holy geez! I didn’t expect her to get hit so easily or to take so much damage, but then I remember she’s in my crappy level 60 gear.
And four versus one is not good odds.
“I’m coming, Aiko!” I say through the chat. “I’ll drop down using Shadow Copy!”
“Don’t you dare,” she shouts back at me. “I’m a Dodge Tank too, you know. I got this. I’ll join you when I’m done. You save my sister!”
As if on cue, Becky loses yet another level, dropping to Level 6.
Dang it!
“Hey…” Val Helena grips my shoulder, perhaps seeing the anguish in my eyes. “Aiko’s doing her job. She’s buying us time. And Becky and Gilly don’t have a lot left! We need to run!”
“I’m not so sure that’s an option anymore, Val,” Rembrandt says.
The giantess looks to him. “What?”
Rembrandt points ahead to where two soldiers are approaching us. But they’re not dressed like the others. In fact, I’m not sure they’re soldiers as all. One is a tall blonde woman in a skin-tight, black leather jumpsuit with what looks like a sniper rifle on her back. The other is male, short like a dwarf and clad in plate armor, wielding an axe.
“Oh my God…” Becky says softly. “Michelle and Dillard!”
I look at them again and the recognition hits me—the two people that were inside the pillars with Becky. Their bodies had crumbled to nano-dust but here they are reborn, their eyes soulless black spheres.
Name: Michelle
Sex: Female
Race: Human
Class: Sniper
Level: 85
Guild: New London
Name: Dillard
Sex: Male
Race: Dwarf
Class: Warrior
Level: 85
Guild: Everlast
“Shard Wraiths…” Val Helena says backing away. “They’ll be strong like that girl we fought before. There’s no way we’ll get past them in time.”
Maxis flexes with a martial pose.
Maxis uses Fists of Water!
Damage and Defense decreased. Counter and Block increased.
“No, we probably won’t,” he says. “But you will.”
Val Helena looks down at him, aghast. “What are you talking about?”
Rembrandt pulls his pistols. “Don’t worry, Val. Max and I got this! We’ll distract them for you. Go on!”
“No,” Val Helena says. “Max, please!”
“Hey, you forget who I am?” Maxis throws her a cocky grin. “We’re pros at this stuff. Tag match tactics, Rem.”
Rembrandt cocks his weapons. “Got it.”
“I don’t think I can watch this,” Becky says, turning her head.
She gasps again.
Level Down!
Becky has lost a Level.
Becky is now Level 5!
My brother shouts at me. “Reece, get them out of here!”
“No!” Val Helena shouts, clutching Maxis’ arm. “I’m not leaving you! I nearly lost you once. I’m not losing you again!”
I can see the desperation in her big gray eyes and Maxis’ own eyes soften as he meets her gaze. “Val, you’re the only one who can carry them and Raise Gilly. You have to go. We’ll clear the path for you.”
“Hurry, Val!” Rembrandt says, opening fire, drawing the attention of the two Shard Wraiths. “We’ll take care of them. We’ll follow you after.”
Val Helena stands frozen, still clutching Maxis’ arm as precious seconds tick by.
I then get a PM.
Maxis: Ryan, get her out of here! Go!
I grab Val Helena by the hand and tug her along. “Come on, Val! We need to go!”
She finally moves as I pull her along. I dash ahead, leaving my brother and Rembrandt behind. Val Helena is moving, but her head is still facing the wrong way. “Come on, Val, don’t look back!”
But I fail to follow my own instructions. I catch a glimpse of Maxis going into full PvP mode. He charges the woman, Michelle, first, locking her down with a stun before crossing over to engage the dwarf. The two wraiths cry angrily with words I can barely understand, the same stream of consciousness gibberish that the first wraith was spewing. But something the Dwarf says catches my ear.
“Don’t trust him, Becky! Don’t trust XoXalt! The Moon controls the Earth, not the other way around. Who did this? Why have we been silent—”
But his words cut short as Maxis hits him with a stun.
Crap… whatever he was saying resonated with me for a moment. But it’s gone now.
No matter. I’ll think on that later. We need to get Becky and Gilly out of here now.
Val Helena is running at full sprint, but I don’t let go of her hand. I take the lead as we approach the edge of the last tile and jump off in unison. We zoom upwards together and land hard on the opposite side. The portal is right in front of us just a few feet away, blue and glowing.
A wave of relief washes over me and my knees go weak.
I check the timer.
1:07
We made it….
Val Helena steps forward, my hand still in hers, but I stop short.
She looks down at me, perplexed. “Reece?”
“You go on, Val.”
“What?”
“You’re the only one who needs to go through that portal to save them.” It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to say. I want nothing more than to step outside to be with Gilly again, but I have work left to do. “I need to go back to help them.”
“No…not you too, Reece.”
I push Val Helena forward. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
“No…” she mutters as tears fill her eyes. “Why do I feel like I’m trading all of you for Becky? This isn’t fair.”
“Let him go, Val,” Becky says, the sharpness of her tone betraying her youthful image. “He’s stronger than you think. To do what he’s done, he may even be stronger than us all.”
Her words send a shudder through my system. I barely know Becky, but the way she looks at me, it’s like she’s seeing someone she knows completely. Someone that I don’t even know. But then, she’s seen the true monsters too.
She knows what it is I’ve killed.
“Promise you’ll bring our sister back, Reece,” Becky says. “Promise you’ll bring them all back.”
I nod at her and Becky smiles.
“I believe in you,” she says.
Val Helena grips me in a hug and squeezes me hard. “I’ll be counting the seconds. I’ll Raise Gilly as soon as I step outside, okay?”
I hug her back. “We’ll be back before you know it.”
Val Helena finally lets go. She gives me a final wave before stepping through the portal and together with Becky and Gilly, vanishes from sight.
Chapter 20: Spare no Evil
I dash back to my brother and Rembrandt, adrenaline surging through my veins. I still have
only a Darksteel kunai to my name, but I’m going to put it to good use however I can. I reach where they’re still fighting the two Shard Wraiths and the PvP match seems to have intensified.
Both parties are down to half HP. They’ve paired off now, ranged versus ranged and melee versus melee. Rembrandt and the sniper woman are having a particularly protracted battle, both of them forcing the other to evade while the other attacks. Maxis also seems to be locked into a game of attrition against the dwarf. Despite his short stature, the Dwarf keeps Maxis at bay with his longer reach of his axe and AOE swings.
“Guys, I came back!” I say through the chat.
“What?” Maxis glances at me. His face shows concern, but he doesn’t look unhappy to see me. “Did you get them out?”
“Yes!” I say. I check for Aiko next. “Aiko? Are you okay?”
There’s no response, but in the party list I see her HP is sitting at about halfway.
“She must have run out of chat range,” Rembrandt says, performing a backflip as he evades a series of three-round bursts from the Sniper woman. “You go check on her. We’ve got this!”
Maxis pummels the Dwarf with a one-two combo, but the Shard Wraith manages to block most of the damage via a small buckler on his hairy forearm.
“Yeah go! We got it!” Then he mutters more to Rembrandt than to me. “This guy’s defense is unbelievable. These guys must have been damn good fighters.”
Crap. Maybe there’s still something I can do. “I’ll give you guys a quick assist before I go!”
I cast Shadow Cloak and circle behind the female Shard Wraith, the tall blonde woman, whose name was once Michelle. I wait for her to stop evading Rembrandt’s rapid stream of fire and see her drop into a crouch to take aim at him with her rifle. I get about thirty feet away and pop Charge Strike.
I fly across the gap and phase into existence as I slam my Darksteel blade into her shoulder. She releases a cry that sounds part human and part machine. It gives me the creeps and reminds me that whatever this ‘person’ is, it’s not human anymore. My attack doesn’t do much damage, removing only a sliver of her health, but it lands the effect I intended.
You use Charge Strike.
You hit Michelle for 164 damage.
Michelle is stunned!
“Cheers, mate!” Rembrandt says and takes full advantage of the opportunity, unloading on the wraith with a full barrage from his dual pistols.
Rembrandt uses Rapid Shot!
Rembrandt hits Michelle for 134 damage.
Rembrandt hits Michelle for 137 damage.
Rembrandt hits Michelle for 135 damage.
Rembrandt hits Michelle for 132 damage.
Rembrandt hits Michelle for 136 damage.
Rembrandt hits Michelle for 138 damage.
Her Health bar drops a good thirty percent before the stun wears off and she goes back into evasive maneuvers again. I hope it’s enough to tip the scales.
“Good work,” Maxis says, parrying one of the Dwarf’s overhead swings. “Now get moving. Aiko needs you more than us.”
His words spur me on and I check her HP again.
Aiko: 437/1093 HP
Oh man! Down to 40%! I’ve got to get to her!
I leave Maxis and Rembrandt behind as I run for the edge of the tile, buffing myself with Shadow Haste and Shadow Copy as I do. I reach the point where I had seen Aiko last, cornered by Ziegfried and his giants. But she isn’t there anymore. I run towards the far end of the tile, scanning up and down.
I spot her on the run, being pursued by Ziegfried and his team. It’s hard to tell if she’s intentionally kiting them to stall for time or if she really is just running for her life. By the look of her HP, it’s perhaps a combination of the two. She keeps out of range of Ziegfried easily, but the mage keeps blasting her with AOE spells that strip her Shadow Copy. The two giants, meanwhile, keep her on the run, moving surprisingly quickly despite, or perhaps due, to their huge size.
I edge down the platform to get closer. I keep an eye on their position as they near the ledge below me. I see an opportunity and pick up speed. I’m not sure if this will work but I hope it will. I fix on one of the giants, the one closest to Aiko that’s hovering at around 30% health.
Mountain Giant
Level: 73
Of all the Hill Tribes clans, Mountain Giants reign supreme not only due to their size and strength but also their keen intelligence. Their ability to communicate with other races makes them the de facto source of leadership when it comes to any interaction with the outside world.
Intelligence? Again it makes me wonder just where do monsters like this fall on the scale when it comes to NPCs. But I have no time to contemplate that philosophical thought right now.
I have a friend to save.
I wait for the giant to circle close to the edge of the tile below me and then jump off using Charge Strike. I sail through the air while falling, making a vertical bee line to my target. I cast Shadow Cloak and toss my arm back with a Charged Attack.
I crash into the giant, kunai first, transferring my momentum into my attack.
Congratulations! You have unlocked a new Ability: Plunging Attack
Plunging Attack
Attack your enemy while falling to add a damage multiplier while decreasing fall damage.
Sweet!
The Charged Attack combines with the Backstab effect and the Plunging Attack to deliver a massive chunk of damage despite my puny level 60 weapon.
You hit the Mountain Giant for 1432(154) damage.
You defeated the Mountain Giant!
You gain 54000 experience points.
Congratulations! You have gained a Level!
You are now Level 85!
Aiko gains a Veteran Point!
I land as the massive body of the giant hits the floor behind me, its HP reduced to zero.
Aiko’s health is replenished to full as she regains her Veteran Point. And so does mine as I regain my level.
Woo hoo!
“Reece!” Aiko says with alarm. “What are you doing here?”
“Don’t worry!” I say before she can even ask. “Becky and Gilly are safe. I got them outside. They’re with Val.”
She Retreats to get out of range of another AOE fire spell. “What about Max and Rem?”
“They’re fighting two Shard Wraiths on the next tile up.”
“Shard Wraiths?!”
With my level returned I re-equip my level 85 gear. I feel powerful again as my totally OP stats return. My HP bar slides back down to 60 percent as my total max increases by nearly double. “Don’t worry. They’re good for now. Let’s kill these freaking guys!”
“You take the giant,” Aiko says, and then adds with irritation, “I’m killing this damn mage!”
She shoots across the tile with a Charge Strike, stunning the mage right in the middle of a cast. The remaining giant turns to squash her, but I draw its attention with a War Cry.
“Over here!”
I side step the downward swing of its massive, tree-sized club and the whole tile shakes as it bashes the floor. I circle around it to go back-to-back with Aiko. She gives me a grin over her shoulder and I get a strange sense of déjà vu, recalling our fight with those Bark Spiders back in the Silken Hollow.
We work as a team, downing our opponents with rapid katana strikes and avoiding their attacks with fancy footwork that feels almost like a dance. She kills the mage, resulting in another burst of split XP and then together we both down the giant.
You defeated the Mountain Giant!
You gain 54000 experience points.
I look for Ziegfried but don’t see him.
“Where the heck is he?”
“There!” Aiko points, taking off after him.
I follow her and see Ziegfried on the run, having abandoned his team ages ago, it seems. He’s nearly to the end of the tile already. I grit my teeth with anger as I press on. Aiko reaches him first, pegging him with a Charge Strike.
&nbs
p; Aiko uses Charge Strike.
Aiko hits Sir Ziegfried for 372 damage.
Sir Ziegfried is stunned!
She lays right into him with a flurry of rapid critical attacks, dropping him to a quarter HP before he manages to pop a hold breaker.
Sir Ziegfried uses Iron Will!
Sir Ziegfried is no longer stunned.
He starts to run again, but I lock him down with a Charge Strike of my own, dropping him to 15 percent.
He cries out as both Aiko and I prepare to lay into him.
“Please stop!” he yells, dropping his weapon as he falls to his knees. “I yield! I yield!”
I hold my attack, which perhaps causes Aiko to do the same. She kicks away his sword as we stand over him.
Ziegfried looks up at us with wild fear in his eyes, breathing heavily. Then he grins at me revealing blood-stained teeth. “That’s a good lad, eh? I’m your prisoner now. You can’t harm a prisoner, can you?”
He begins to laugh and my stomach turns with revulsion.
“Prisoners?” I say. “You killed your own men, you sick piece of crap!”
“Deserters,” he says. “But they served good purpose. Now come on, take me prisoner. I’m sure if you parlay with Braxus he’ll trade me for that traitor, Diana. You owe her don’t you? And he’s probably tired of her by now.”
My heart freezes.
Diana?
He must read the look on my face because he lets out a wheezing laugh. “Oh…! You didn’t know! We figured out the first night that it was her who helped you escape. She’s been serving in Braxus’ harem ever since.” He then winks at Aiko. “She almost looks as good in green as you did.”
Rage bursts within my heart as the words taint my soul. I’m moving before I know it, drawing my arm back with a Charged Attack. “Die you filthy—”
“No, Reece!” Aiko catches my wrist.
