Awaken Online: Dominion

by Travis Bagwell

  Jason grimaced as he realized why they looked guilty. He expected that this was going to be expensive, especially if they wanted to mass produce the potions. “Maybe I can check the player auction house. If you can make me a list, I’ll see what I can get for you.”

  “Thank you,” Eliza said quietly.

  “No, thank you. If we can get this operation off the ground, we may be able to sell your potions across most of the game world,” Jason replied. At some point, he would have to discuss splitting the profits, but that should probably wait until he was able to calculate the unit cost of each potion and set a price.

  Assuming anyone even wants to buy them, he thought glumly. Eliza’s potions were amazing, but they were still taking a big chance here. And luck certainly hadn’t seemed to be working in his favor lately.

  The conversation soon petered out, and Eliza went back to work – swiftly draining the content of a mana potion in a single swallow. She seemed a bit more relaxed with using her strange spell now that nothing had gone wrong the first time. She had begun planting seeds and walking up and down the fields, sapphire droplets dripping from her outstretched arms and a blanket of vegetation sprouting in her wake. It was a strange sight.

  Cecil coughed to get Jason attention. “So, what do you think?”

  “I’m hoping this works,” Jason replied quietly.

  He had devoted most of their financial resources to this project, and, if it didn’t pan out, he would be scrambling to fund something else – assuming he could come up with another idea to make money. Just like everything else that he was dealing with, he would have to cross his fingers – or perhaps say a prayer to the Dark One. He could certainly use all the divine assistance he could get right now.

  Chapter 17 - Determined

  After finishing up with Cecil and Eliza, Jason returned to the training room below the dark keep. He spent the next few hours in-game training. He needed to do something – anything – to feel productive and get his mind off his problems. Besides, he still had a long way to go to reach Thorn’s level, or even somewhere close.

  He ducked the dummy’s next swing and immediately spun, using his staff to block a blow from behind. The weapon jerked hard in his hand as the dummy struck. Without pausing, Jason immediately dropped a hand, summoning three bone shields from the nearby pile he had hauled in from the challenge room. He used the discs to block the next series of blows in rapid succession, momentarily stunning the dummies and filling the air with ivory dust as the shields exploded.

  Capitalizing on the opportunity, Jason swept forward, his staff slamming into the marked areas on the wooden constructs’ head and limbs. As soon as his weapon struck, they went limp, the magic that kept them running swiftly fleeing their artificial bodies. As Jason stood in the center of the still training room, white dust drifted slowly toward the ground. His ragged breathing was the only sound in the room.

  He drew himself out of his defensive stance and forced his muscles to relax, using his sleeve to wipe at the sweat that had collected on his forehead. He glanced at the timer beside him, noting that it had taken him 63 seconds that time. He was getting better. Not a lot better, but at least he wasn’t completely embarrassed by his performance. Rex had assured him he could complete the sparring area in under 20 seconds – although Jason was skeptical that he could pull that off.

  Maybe if I could destroy the dummies in a single swing…

  Not that he had anything that could do that sort of damage. Even with his enhanced stats and the improvement of his combat skills, his damage with the staff was lousy. He had come to discover that the base damage of a weapon was just the starting point. In some ways, how that damage was modified by the player’s Strength and Dexterity was more important – allowing the power of a weapon to scale up considerably. Precision strikes and blocking added yet another complication on top of that, with strikes to weak points causing considerably more damage.

  Jason pulled up the weapon information again, scanning the item description carefully.

  Call of the Dead

  This staff appears to be crafted from some unknown obsidian substance. Upon close inspection, runes are engraved along the shaft in addition to the scrollwork. You get the unmistakable feeling that this weapon harbors a secret, although the feeling is elusive and difficult to pin down. Perhaps there is something yet to be discovered about the staff.

  Quality: A

  Durability: 94/100

  Damage: 11-35 (Blunt)

  +20 Willpower

  +10 Intelligence

  +10 Vitality

  +1 to all active and passive dark magic skills

  (Soulbound)

  Even the tooltip for the weapon indicated that it was capable of something more. All the orange items they had previously encountered had some sort of special effect or ability. He just had no idea how he was supposed to unlock the staff’s latent power. Riley’s bow, for example, had required a full-fledged quest. Hopefully, that wasn’t the case here. Perhaps he would learn more as he made his way through the challenges – assuming he and Riley ever completed the first room, of course.

  Letting out a frustrated sigh, Jason pulled up his notifications. Maybe his skill and stat increases would make him feel better.

  x2 Skill Rank Up: Staff Combat

  Skill Level: Intermediate Level 1

  Effect 1: 10% Increased damage and accuracy.

  Effect 2: 1% Increased speed and reaction time.

  x2 Skill Rank Up: Mana Mastery

  Skill Level: Intermediate Level 3

  Effect 1: -7% Mana Cost.

  Effect 2: 2% Faster Cast Rate.

  x3 Skill Rank Up: Dodge

  Skill Level: Intermediate Level 2

  Effect 1: 6.0% increase speed and reaction time.

  Effect 2: 1.4% bonus to Dexterity.

  Stat Increases:

  +2 Strength

  +7 Dexterity

  +3 Endurance

  He grimaced as he saw his stat gains. They had slowed markedly over the last couple of days in-game. He could only guess that the game placed some sort of “soft cap” on training even before he hit a hard limit. That or he needed to find more extreme ways to train.

  Jason’s gaze lingered on the skill notifications for a moment, noting that he had unlocked the intermediate effects for most of his combat skills now. The changes were small, but the reaction speed increase provided by Staff Combat and Dodge seemed to stack, and the effect was noticeable. It made the weapon incredibly adept at defensive combat. He still had problems dishing out damage, but he could block and dodge like a champ.

  Just as he swiped away his notifications, he saw Riley enter the training area. A familiar hollow weight settled in his stomach, and he tried to look busy resetting the sparring area – like he hadn’t just noticed her walk inside.

  Seeing her again, Jason’s thoughts immediately returned to the image of her sitting beside that other guy. He watched Riley out of the corner of his eye as he worked, noticing the way her blond hair tumbled across her shoulders. She was beautiful. How could he have thought he was ever in her league?

  “Hi, Jason,” Riley greeted him as she moved towards the doorway leading into the challenge area. The portal stood wide open since Jason frequently needed to enter the room to train his new abilities. She glanced at him tentatively before adding, “I-I’m sorry I had to leave the hearing early. Caleb needed my help with something.”

  Jason winced as she said his name. For some reason, not knowing his name had seemed better – like he wasn’t quite real. But no, the asshole even had a cool name. Knowing his luck, he was probably an awesome guy too. Jason couldn’t help but hate him.

  “It’s okay,” Jason said, turning away from her. “It droned on for a while, so you didn’t miss anything.”

  “That Gloria lady really seems to be gunning for you,” Riley commented. “At least from what I saw.”

  He knew she was trying to be sympathetic, but her comment still stung – since he
knew she didn’t really care. He immediately regretted that thought. That wasn’t fair to Riley at all. Just because she had her new friend to occupy her time and attention, didn’t mean that she didn’t care about Jason. She had come to the hearing, after all. If anything, that petty thought just made him feel even worse.

  Damn it. I can’t even be mad at her, he thought, frustration simmering in his veins.

  Jason shrugged. He needed to change the subject. “I guess, but I can’t do anything about that right now. Are you ready to try the challenge again?” he asked quickly, stepping through the doorway and into the challenge area.

  Riley’s brow creased in a frown as she watched him. “Sure,” she answered, before jogging to catch up. “Are you okay?”

  No, I’m not.

  “I’m fine,” Jason answered, tugging at the hood so that she couldn’t see his pained expression. “There’s a lot going on. I just want to focus on something else – anything else. Smashing our head against this challenge seems like a good start.”

  Riley didn’t seem convinced, but she didn’t press him. Instead, Jason smacked his palm against the orb on the center pillar. Rex soon appeared nearby, his eyes taking a moment to fix on the pair. “Ahh, ready for a second try?” he asked in a lighthearted voice.

  “Yes,” Jason said curtly. “Let’s do it.”

  The former general glanced at Jason in surprise, cocking his head slightly. Then he looked back and forth between Jason and Riley, noting their tense posture and the concerned expression on Riley’s face. “Uh huh. Are you going to try to mix it up this time? It doesn’t seem like you’ve resolved some of the issues from your previous attempt.”

  Jason simply stared at the skeletal man, catching the implication of what he was saying. Rex knew he hadn’t mended things with Riley. Well, tough. He had no interest in hearing about her new boyfriend or going over how she had rejected him for someone else. He would do anything to avoid talking about Caleb – including, but not limited to, getting torn apart by a horde of undead.

  “We’re good,” Jason said finally. “Just start it up.”

  Rex didn’t look happy with that answer. “Fine, good luck!” he said, before waving a hand. He abruptly disappeared into a cloud of smoke that streamed back into the orb resting atop the pillar.

  Challenge 1: A Trial of Bone has been initiated.

  Prepare yourselves, challengers.

  The familiar voices drifted through the room, signaling the beginning of the challenge.

  Jason didn’t bother looking at Riley as he spoke, gripping his staff in anticipation. “As soon as the skeletons start to appear, we’re going to rush to the far wall and keep it at our backs. I’ll hold off the front line. You stay behind me and snipe.”

  Riley glanced at him with a questioning look but didn’t say anything.

  Only a few seconds later, the bones around them began to tremble, and then dance along the ground before rising into the air. Tendrils of dark mana lashed at the ivory substance, pulling the bones together and beginning to form a new pack of Death Knights.

  “Now,” Jason shouted, not waiting for the summoning process to complete. Instead, he sprinted toward the distant wall – dodging the whirlwind of bones that now whipped through the air. He didn’t bother to see if Riley was following him.

  As he ran, Jason used the opportunity to summon his bone shields and his Bone Armor, his free hand darting through the requisite gestures as arcane words spilled from his lips. It was a struggle to cast a spell while running – his concentration being pulled in multiple directions – but he had been practicing diligently over the last few days and had begun to master the technique.

  Bones sprouted from Jason’s body, the substance seeping through his skin before settling atop his leather armor. The plating soon wound up his arms in thick plates, forming heavy pauldrons at his shoulders before running down his chest and spine. The bones also materialized along his legs, reinforcing his greaves and boots. He had found that the upgraded version of his Bone Armor covered more of his body, but at the cost of some flexibility and speed. It wasn’t that the bones were heavy – quite the opposite actually – but they did restrict his movements.

  Within seconds, Jason hit the wall and spun. He saw that Riley had listened to him and was hot on his heels, automatically taking up a position behind him and drawing her bow. Jason spared a glance to either side, noting the towering piles of bone flanking them. He had chosen this location after carefully inspecting the room. It placed a stone wall at their rear, and the ivory mounds would force the Death Knights to funnel. None of the crystalline columns were nearby, so it would be difficult for the room to drop Night Children on their heads.

  The thunder of bones striking the floor echoed through the room. Nearly two dozen Death Knights barreled toward their position, their tails lashing at the air as they charged. Riley didn’t wait for them to engage, her bow humming as she released a stream of arrows into the oncoming horde. Her Void Arrows slammed into exposed knees and limbs, blasting the bones apart. More than one Death Knight toppled to the ground, their skeletal bodies scraping against the stone floor.

  However, the group of undead seemed to anticipate her tactic. The front line promptly lowered their shields, forming a veritable wall of bone that hampered her missiles. “Get up on the pile,” Jason ordered, gesturing to the mound beside them.

  She glanced at him in confusion as she kept firing. “But, Rex…” she began.

  “Just do it,” Jason snapped, not waiting for her to finish. They didn’t have time to argue.

  Riley came to a decision and jumped up on the nearby mound, stumbling slightly as she landed on the shifting surface. Then she turned her attention back to the Death Knights who were closing quickly; her new vantage point allowed her to fire overtop the shield wall.

  Now was the tricky part. The Death Knights were at their most dangerous in an open charge, using their weight and spiked shields to slam into a target. Jason had some first-hand experience with that tactic. After that, they were primarily meat shields. Their regular attacks were relatively slow and cumbersome, and their tails were difficult to use if an opponent wasn’t standing behind them. If they could break this first charge, they would have a chance.

  Jason moved forward a few feet to give himself some space. He held his staff tightly in his hands as three bone shields orbited him slowly. He would need to clear his mind for this next part. There wouldn’t be any room for stray thoughts. He would need to be ready to react. His dark mana pulsed through his veins, and he clung to the numbing sensation as he took several deep, calming breaths – his gaze fixated on the undead thundering toward him.

  The Death Knights were close now, only a few feet away, but still, he waited.

  Not yet.

  They were only inches away now, his Dodge skill slowing their movements imperceptibly – urging him to leap to the side. He could feel the tips of their spiked shields beginning to pierce his armor.

  Now!

  Jason finished casting Dark Incarnation just as the Death Knights were about to slam into his fragile form. His body swiftly became incorporeal, his limbs and torso billowing out into a cloud of dark smoke. The undead raced through him, slamming headlong into the stone wall with a thunderous crash of bone. The momentum of the second line carried them forward into their brothers, their shields destroying what little remained of the first wave even as they crushed their own shields against the unmoving wall. The third wave managed to backpedal away from the wall in time, but they were caught off balance.

  Immediately deactivating his spell, Jason’s body assumed its familiar weight. A handful of Death Knights still lingered behind him, flanked by the two massive piles of bone – the rest were nothing more than broken bones and dust. The survivors lashed out at Jason with their whip-like tails as he rematerialized, the blows intercepted by his staff. After his prolonged training, the weapon now blurred as he spun and dodged the lightning-fast attacks. The force of the blows knoc
ked him back slightly and gave the Death Knight room to recover and turn.

  It also placed their backs to Riley – who used the opportunity to blow them apart in a shower of debris and malignant energy. Jason immediately moved back into position, putting his back to the wall as he faced the remaining mass of Death Knights collecting in front of him. However, now that he had blunted their initial charge, his enemies found their movements hampered as they tried to funnel into the narrow space between the two mounds of bones, their bulky forms working against them.

  Jason held his position: dodging, ducking, and weaving as his staff danced and spun. He conjured bone shields as rapidly as he could, using the discs to block the occasional blow as he parried the Death Knights’ attacks. Meanwhile, Riley blew apart the undead from her position nearby. She used her Void Arrows sparingly to prevent Jason from getting overwhelmed and to avoid needlessly draining her own health.

  They just needed to keep this up for however long the trial lasted. Although, that was easier said than done. Jason’s stamina was already depleting. He spared a glance at the group menu in the corner of his vision, noticing that Riley’s health was almost at half – the archer’s natural regeneration unable to keep pace with the cost of her Void Arrows.

  Suddenly, the room changed tactics.