by Dante Doom
Sitting atop one of the stones was a gigantic black dragon. Jet had grown rapidly over the last few weeks, and was now fully mature. He watched them patiently.
"Hey," Van said as he walked up to greet Jet. The dragon bowed his head and snorted a puff of flames out of his nostrils.
"Greetings, Van," Jet replied. "I am glad that you are here. Sang informed me that you were indisposed yesterday. Are you well?"
"Hah, no, no, I'm not," Van said with a chuckle. "I am far from well. But I am functional, so that's good."
"Functional?" Jet repeated. "I do not understand."
While the alien had obtained an excellent understanding of the human language, it didn't particularly understand idioms or expressions.
"It's an expression. I can work. So, what do you have for us?" Van asked. Sang had walked past the both of them and was examining the rest of the area.
"My people have finally managed to connect with me," Jet replied. "They have important data to convey."
"Finally," Van said with a sigh as he sat on a nearby rock, "a break. What's the data?"
"The technology that Draco utilizes is very powerful, as you know. The bio-feedback systems are strong enough to kill anyone using their pods. Yet, the lethality is only restricted to certain areas, or to whenever a pro enables it for another player. Draco is in total control of the settings."
"Tell me something I don't know," Van said.
"Very well. In our study of these haptic systems and how they interact with biology, our side has been able to discern that there is an exploitation that can be used against Draco."
Van stood abruptly. "What?"
Jet nodded and puffed out some more fire from his nostrils as he lowered his head down to get closer to Van. "Indeed. We have found a jumbled code – some kind of kill switch. When activated, it enables total lethality across the entire game."
"That doesn't sound good," Van said.
"Total lethality means all. This includes members of the Draco race."
Van chewed on that for a moment. As he thought, Sang emerged from behind one of the stones and spoke. "And so, you're suggesting that we activate this universal kill switch and attack Draco itself?"
"With some work, there is a way to localize this switch. That means we can activate it in a single region. Of course, the moment we turn it on, Draco will have all of their operators working furiously to disengage it," Jet replied.
"That leaves us with two problems," Van said. "Identifying members of Draco and figuring out how to kill them."
"They are not hard to identify," Jet said. "For they are the dragons of this land."
"What?" Sang asked. "That doesn’t make any sense. Dragons are just NPCs."
Van didn't respond immediately, thinking about Jet's response. "No… wait… that does make sense. Dragons have the most advanced AI in the game. I've seen them respond to things contextually when no AI should be able to. I mean, one even made a wry comment to me once."
"So, you're meaning to tell me that those big dragon NPCs who are always running quests are actually members of Draco?" Sang asked as she crossed her arms. "That doesn't make a lick of sense."
"King Lemuel…" Van said. "He wasn't a dragon."
"Perhaps that was what a Draco truly looks like," Jet said. "For those Designated Reality Zones were designed to be more realistic, right?"
"True," Van said. "If this really is true… then we have a real chance of turning the tables on these guys. Think about it! I believe there's around 300 dragons total in the game. Each dragon has a different kind of status and rank. We don't need to kill them all – we just need to kill the highest-ranking ones. The ones who are in charge."
"But don't they operate as a collective?" Sang asked. "What good is killing a few members when they're all united toward the same goal?"
"Even if they are a collective, someone's got to be organizing them. Remember how much they love order? Without structure, they'll collapse," Van said. "Of course! This is just what we've been waiting for. We just need to figure out where the Emperor Dragon is."
"Emperor Dragon? I thought they were all kings," Sang commented as she looked at Van with a puzzled expression.
"They are kings, but there's one dragon known as the Emperor, and he's the one who rules over all of the other dragons. If we take him out, who knows what kind of chaos it will bring?" Van asked with a laugh.
Sang nodded after a moment's thought. "It's worth a shot, but we're going to need to be careful. Even if it's localized, this kill switch means that innocent people could be at risk. Whenever we strike, we need to give sufficient warning."
"But that risk wouldn't stop you, would it?" Van asked quietly.
Sang glared at Van. "No. No, it wouldn't. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't do everything we can to minimize causalities."
Van wanted to open his mouth and argue with her about the sanctity of life, but he knew it was a waste of time. They had been arguing endlessly about the idea of acceptable losses over the last few weeks, and neither of them was going to change their minds or positions. Instead, he merely shrugged. "Whatever. It'll be on your conscience. Thanks, Jet."
"Of course. Do you have any other directives for me?" Jet asked as he stretched his wings out. His wingspan was impressive now – nearly 32 feet in length.
"Not yet," Van said. "But stick around here. Once we identify our target, we might need you to get us there."
"Very well," Jet said, "I shall await your return."
Van turned to face Sang. "Alright, let's get moving! This is finally the news we've been waiting for. We've got the numbers for it, so all we need to do is figure out where the Emperor is hiding. Then, we launch the biggest raid that this game has ever seen."
Sang smiled. "It's good to see you so excited," she said. "I've been missing this side of you."
"If we keep moving, we'll be fine," Van said. "Come on, let's go rally up the team. We've got a dragon to hunt.
"You are not going to believe this!" Sahara called out proudly as she rushed into the war room where Van and his allies had gathered. Upon the wall was a large map of the entire realm, marked with possible locations of the Emperor.
Van, who had been sitting at the table and conversing with Kylian and Capello, looked up at her. "What's up?"
"We found the Emperor!" Sahara announced.
"That quickly?" Van asked. "Perfect. Where is he?"
In answer to the question, Sahara pulled out a large envelope and threw it down on the table. "There!" she said.
"That's an interesting seal," Kylian commented as Van grabbed the letter up and began to open it. The purple wax seal showed a multi-headed dragon with flames spewing out of each head.
"Hear ye, hear ye," Van said as he read the letter aloud. Kylian, Sang, Fredlin, Sahara, Capello, and Bidane stood right behind him, reading over his shoulder. "Let it be known to all the world that Draco is no longer hiring professional players. We have worked hard to select the best of the best and, as such, we have recruited as many as we need. However, fret not, noble adventurer, for you still have a chance to join Draco. Within a fortnight, there will be a grand tournament to be known as the End of Ages."
"That sounds ominous as hell," Sang interjected.
"Tell me about it," Van said as he continued to read. "The End of Ages is open to all who have the courage, strength, and desire to earn their rightful place at Draco. Many will play, but only five will earn the right to call themselves a Draco pro. Those who achieve the impossible will be granted a feast with the entire royal court for a night that you will never forget."
"The entire royal court?" Van asked. "All of Draco in one spot?"
"End of Ages… no more recruiting…" Sang mumbled. "Van, I'm pretty sure this is the final event in the game."
"Sounds like it," Kylian said. "They're probably gathering together to celebrate the end of the world."
"They can't be that arrogant," Van answered. "Can they?"
"How are we still
breathing?" Sang asked. "They've had so many opportunities to kill us, Van. But they haven't. Why? Because these bastards want us to suffer. We might not understand them, but I can guarantee you that they are arrogant beyond all reason."
Van shrugged. "Well, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Maybe we should join this tournament."
"Join it?" Bidane asked. "Don't you mean attack it?"
"Attack it and fight against the hundreds of thousands of players who are going to be there?" Van asked. "If we join the tournament incognito, we'll be able to figure out the details of the feast, earn our way to the top, and then coordinate a big attack. Chances are, since the feast is invite only, it will be at a separate location."
"So, we get into the tournament, find out where the feast is, and then move the Iron Dragons to kill them," Sang said. "Brilliant. But we'll only get one shot at this."
"From the looks of it," Kylian said, "we've got three weeks before everything blows up."
"It seems like a huge risk," Van said as he put the letter down. "But it is easier than searching for the DRZs while Draco continues with their plans. But if we do this, we're putting all of our eggs in one basket. If this fails, that's it. We're done for."
"Not a lot else to go on," Kylian said. "So, it's this or continue stabbing around in the dark, hoping for another big break."
"I say we go kick some dragon ass!" Capello shouted. The rest of the room heartily echoed the sentiment.
"Alright, fine. Let's join this tournament!" Van said. "They said there's five slots, right? That's Sang and I, Kylian, and Sahara and Fredlin."
"Why am I being left out?" Bidane demanded to know.
"Because, we're going to need you to coordinate the Iron Dragons," Van said. "Even if we get eliminated in the tournament or end up in trouble, you'll be able to get them moving."
"And the reason only five of us are going? We should take as many as we can," Bidane said.
"Getting alternate characters is going to be a hassle," Van explained, "plus, we can't be sure that Draco isn't going to be using some kind of permadeath system in there, and the last thing I want is for us to be forced to kill one another."
Bidane shrugged. "I guess that makes sense. Fine. Capello and I will ready the troops for action, but I better have an opportunity to kill one of these guys. I will avenge Dolly."
"I suppose we must now turn our attention to getting alternate characters," Kylian said as he walked over to the table and sat on the edge of it. "Any member of the Iron Dragons will immediately be recognized. We're going to need new characters."
"But we're also going to need characters that are of a high enough level to compete in the tournament," Van said. "I mean, we'll be facing levels as high as 80. We don't have enough time to start new characters and rank them up."
"Well, while you guys figure that out, I'll go inform the troops of the plan," Bidane said.
"Don't mention any details about the dragons," Van reminded her.
"Right, right," Bidane said as she grabbed Capello by the arm and pulled him away from the group. "I won't mention a damned thing."
"I have an idea of where we could get some characters," Fredlin said. "But it's not going to be cheap."
Everyone turned to face the ranger. "We're listening," Sang said.
"Well, for those of us who are busy and have more money than time, we tend to employ power levelers to do the hard work for us."
"Power levelers?" Sang asked.
"Professionals who level up characters for money," Van said. "How do you not know that term by this point?"
"You guys have phrases for everything in this world, and I can't keep up," Sang snapped back. Van smiled at the bit of banter. It was nice to bicker with her again, even if just for a moment.
"So, you have a contact?" Kylian asked. "Someone who can get us high level characters?"
"I know a few, yeah, but it's not a cheap deal. Buying characters is super against the rules, and they're well aware of that. Plus, like I said, they're not cheap."
"Don't worry about money, we've got plenty of funds to solve this issue," Sang replied. "Turns out the government is pretty generous when the world might blow up."
"I don't know if we can trust some sketchy online guy to keep our secrets," Kylian said. "I mean, who knows who these guys are? It's too risky."
"So, what's the alternative?" Van asked. "Are you suggesting that we borrow someone else's character for a bit? We've got three weeks to put this whole thing together. I say we take the risk and buy our characters. Where do these guys work?"
"In the Mountains of Melan," Fredlin said. "They've got a process. You've got to meet them in the game first, and prove that you're not with Draco, and then you'll need to meet with them in meat space."
"Two step authentication?" Van joked, "I like it. They won't sell us out – for all they know, we're just some random people who want good characters."
"A word?" Sang asked as she gestured to Van. He nodded and the two walked away from the group as Kylian asked for more details about the purchase.
"What's up?" Van whispered.
"Doesn't it seem strange that Fredlin automatically has a solution to our problem? I mean, sure it sounds really helpful, but… I don't know. He shows up and insists on sticking with you at all times? Who is this guy; can we trust him?"
"We can trust him," Van replied. "I did some research and it turns out that Fredlin was one of the more enthusiastic people to respond to our Reddit thread. Neil already sent me a full background check on the guy, and he comes out clean. From the looks of it, we’re gonna have to trust him if we want to get anywhere." Van paused for a moment. He'd noticed that Sang had winced when he'd said Neil's name. That was odd, but he decided to ignore it and kept talking. "Plus, he served in the military, got an honorable discharge, and worked as a firefighter. Everything about him seems on the level."
"I suppose," Sang said. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid. If the CIA cleared him, I guess that's reason enough to trust him."
"If it makes you feel any better, I do know about the guys he's talking about," Van said. "I actually wanted to work for them for a little bit, but decided to go pro instead of risking getting caught and kicked out of the game."
"So, we can trust them?" Sang asked.
"We'll have to find out," Van said. He looked back at the team. "Alright, folks, let's pack up and get moving. It'll be the five of us only. How far is the mountain from here?"
Sang looked at the large map on the wall. "Maybe about three days?"
"Well, let's get moving then, team!" Van said. "We can't waste a single second with that tournament right around the corner!"
Chapter Three
"Move forward!" Sang shouted as she fired another arrow at the hulking, two-headed Ogre that was lumbering toward them. The journey had been fine until they'd reached the base of the Mountains of Melan. As soon as they'd come into the area, battle music had begun playing and Ogres of all kinds had poured out from one of the ridges of the mountain ahead.
"Crap!" Sahara shouted as one of the Ogres swiped his massive hand at her and knocked her flat on her back. "I'm hit!" she screamed as her health bar dropped down 100 points.
"Why are there so many of them in this area?" Van asked as he blew into his bagpipes, casting a powerful buff that raised the damage resistance of the entire team.
"No idea!" Kylian grunted as he slashed away at the Ogres with his great sword. "But I don't think we've got the numbers to fight them back."
There were nearly fourteen Ogres, all of them two-headed monstrosities that towered over the players. Sang gritted her teeth as she loosed another arrow at one of the nine-foot tall monsters. The alert Arrow Resistance 1 Damage hovered above the Ogre's head as the arrow sank into the side of the brute.
"It's not normal for an Ogre to have Damage Resistance, is it?" Sang asked.
"No," Fredlin said as he ran in between two Ogres and hacked at their legs with the dual axes he was wielding. He d
idn't seem to be doing much damage either.
"They're fireproof, too!" Sahara cried out as she narrowly dodged a blow from an Ogre's club. She was on her back then, scrambling to get up.
"Retreat?" Kylian asked.
"No, no retreating!" Van shouted. "I'll play an anti-magic song. That might work." He began to blow into his bagpipes, playing a tune that caused a large white mist to envelope the entire area. The words Spell Cancelled appeared over each Ogre's head.
"Someone must have powered these guys up!" Fredlin said as one of his axes connected to the head of an Ogre, causing blood to gush out as the phrase 225 damage floated above it. "Now we're talking!"
The tide of battle changed quickly with the buff spells removed. Sang was able to fell a few Ogres now that her arrows were able to do damage, and between her and Kylian and Fredlin, the battle was over rather quickly.
"Whew, that was a fight," Fredlin said as he knelt down to loot a few of the Ogres.
"Why are you wasting your time doing that?" Sang asked as she watched the rest of the team begin to go through the belongings of the dead. "We're literally on our way to get brand new characters."
"Oh, right," Van said as he snapped out of his looting frenzy. He stood and dusted himself off. Sang could see a pained expression on his face. The shifting was slow, but she could see that he was working through the fact that soon the game would be gone. A shadow came across his face and his shoulders sunk low. The confidence and bravado that he had been exuding was gone. She wanted to say something, to encourage him, but what could she possibly say to this guy? What could she do other than tell him that she felt bad for him?
"Come on, we've got to move," Van said, his voice quivering a little. "We don't have all day."
"What powered up those Ogres?" Sahara said. "It was definitely some kind of high level magic."
"I dunno," Kylian replied as he looked around the mountain. Snow was beginning to fall. "I guess we'll find out, the further we get in."
"Let's stay on our toes," Fredlin said. "Watch the high ground, if some rock-throwing Giants get the drop on us, it's going to rain boulders."
