Fantasy Online_Hyperborea

by Harmon Cooper

  Ryuk responds with four black marbles, the most he’s ever loaded in his magic slingshot at a single time. He feels the slingshot’s handle warm up as he pulls back on the pouch. Aiming just in front of the bearadillo’s oversized paws, he pulls back a teensy bit further and sends the four marbles on their way.

  The slingshot is suddenly too hot to the touch, and he drops it just as the marbles explode.

  -23 HP!

  The bearadillo falls to its side and FeeTwix descends upon the creature with his double-bladed sword. He stabs it repeatedly where its heart should be; with a running leap, Hiccup brings his axe down hard on the creature’s soft underbelly.

  The beast roars and thrashes.

  Zaena limps in to get some of her own back. The work is grim, and in a final welter of guts and blood, the monster expires. Zaena instantly levels up, and the guild is awarded a measly thirty-one rupees.

  “I hate these things,” Hiccup says, “they’re mean, ugly, vicious, and really, really hard to kill. Cheap fickers too.”

  (x)__(x)

  FeeTwix mops the perspiration from his eyes.

  “I was hoping the big bastard had at least a hundred rupees in him. Everyone good on health?” He breathes heavily as a mirror appears in his hand. “Hello Mr. and Mrs. America, and all the ships at sea! If you’re viewing our live feed from anywhere in the fifty-three states or are watching the recorded version any time in the next twenty-four hours from now, CVSgreens is having a flash sale on all Katy Kat Covergirl cosmetics. Just mention ‘FeeTwixRox’ at the point of purchase to take advantage of the savings! Terms and conditions do apply. See physical store or check online for details.”

  FeeTwix vamooses the mirror and his eyes turn blue. “Sorry guys, I told you I had to double up on ads today to pay for Ryuk’s new gun,” he says, still catching his breath.

  Ryuk approaches his slingshot and picks it up. The weapon is cool to the touch again.

  “Before we move on, we should probably take the bearadillo’s hide.” A stag-handled Bowie knife appears in Hiccup’s paw. “A little help then, Liz?”

  She gives him the stink-eye, and manifests two curved swords in her ghost limbs. She now holds four weapons, two floating above her head. “I don’t normally skin animals.”

  “Well, I don’t normally find myself kicking ass and taking names at the Hour of the Morning Bear – Ha! Morning Bear – but this bear ain’t gonna skin itself this morning, so let’s get stuck in, princess.”

  Her eyes narrow on him. “What did you call me,” she hisses.

  “Princess. That not do you? How about Queenie then?”

  “Relax,” FeeTwix tells her, “he’s just being Hiccup.”

  Hiccup approaches the bearadillo, and starts to cut from the gaping wound under its tail and around the juncture of underbelly and armored carapace. “We can definitely sell this shit.” He pauses for a moment and leaves the blade stuck in the creature’s carcass as he turns to FeeTwix and pokes a bloody metallic finger in his chest. “Oh, and one more thing.”

  “What’s that?” FeeTwix asks.

  “Give me the head’s up next time you decide use me as part of your little attack strategy. I could have equipped a boar spear and we could have skewered the big ficker together, but no, you decided to make me bearadillo bait. How ‘bout some communication, huh? Maybe get that teamwork thing going?”

  “Sorry,” FeeTwix says, not sounding sorry at all. “There wasn’t time to discuss it with you, and you wouldn’t have gone for it anyway.”

  “That’s true, but you should ask anyway.”

  Ryuk interrupts them. “What’s that?” Hanging in the trees about twenty meters away is a crudely made coffin suspended by a chain.

  “Forest ninjas hang their deceased from trees,” Zaena explains. “It’s a pretty good indication that their temple is that way.”

  “Why is it rimmed in magic?” Ryuk asks.

  “Magic?” Hiccup sighs. “What are you going on about, Marbles?”

  “Your magical sensitivity is increasing, isn’t it?” Zaena asks.

  “It’s nothing. Just started last night, actually.”

  “I don’t have any talent for magic but my brother does. We had the same tutor so I got to learn quite a bit about Tritanian magic,” the Thulean explains.

  “Same tutor, huh?” Hiccup grumbles as he cuts into the bearadillo. “Sounds like we have a one-percenter over here, am I right, fellas?”

  Zaena ignores him as she asks, “What color is the magic?”

  Ryuk focuses again on the hanging coffin. The magic surrounding it is just barely visible. It moves ever-so-slightly and ripples every few seconds as it does so. “Dark blue at the tips.”

  Skill level up!

  Skill: Magic Eye

  Level Three: A colored glow indicates that magical properties are present. Higher levels allow for more detail and access to the Wikipedia of arcane knowledge. A red outline signals that a hidden enemy is near. A yellow outline signals that an object is enchanted. A dark blue outline signals that necrotic magic is being used.

  Requirements: Level 5 Mage, LUCK > 5.

  “Dark magic,” she says at the same time he gets the prompt, “but not regular dark magic, necrotic dark magic.”

  “So that means what, exactly?” FeeTwix asks.

  Zaena continues as if she hadn’t heard him, “I really don’t know much about the forest ninjas of Hyperborea. From what I do know, I can tell you that most of them are related to the Bo people who live in the mountain ranges of Ultima Thule. They hang their coffins from the sides of cliffs. It’s a sight to behold!”

  “I’ve seen it,” Ryuk says, “but only briefly.”

  “What’s this about necrotic magic?” the Swede asks.

  “Zombies, Twixy. That’s what she’s a-saying.” Hiccup retrieves his big knife and works at separating the bearadillo from its armored hide. “There’s a zombie in there and we’ll trigger it if we get too close, if we haven’t already. They’re slow and stupid, but enough of ‘em can swarm you and then the comedy is over. They’ll probably eat you first, Marbles, as you’re the weakest.”

  Ryuk glares at the garrulous goblin.

  “So we’d better turn back.” Hiccup gathers a handful of forest floor litter and vigorously wipes his hands. “I have an idea, let’s go back to Jatla, sell the hide and the tusks I picked up yesterday, and quintuple our funds at a ponytail race! Then we can just buy some levels, or at the very least, enough armor and weapons that our levels won’t matter.”

  FeeTwix clears his throat. “I’ve spent considerable time in a world called Dead City; anti-zombie operations have sort of become a specialty of mine.”

  He grins as a very large rifle of parkerized steel and graphite composites with a BORS Telescopic sight appears. “This is my M-98 Widow. There are many like it, but this one is mine,” he says as he locks the bipod into position. “It’s heavy – thirty-nine kilos – but with the depleted pelosium ammo I scored, this weapon will inflict 1900 damage to armored foes. I don’t know what that translates to here in Tritania, but I’m pretty sure it’ll kill the hell out of zombies.”

  Zaena steps back. “An alien weapon?” She uneasily eyes the rifle.

  FeeTwix gets in the prone position, powers up the optics and has a quick look-see. “Unless Ryuk thinks he can take the coffin out from here with his slingshot, this is the way forward.”

  “You’ll take HP damage,” Ryuk says.

  “That’s what we have healing potions for. Now hush children, and let daddy work.” FeeTwix focuses on the target, breathes in, lets half out, and with a slow squeeze of the trigger blasts the coffin into toothpicks and matchsticks.

  Instakill!

  The Mitherfickers are each awarded EXP. FeeTwix’s life bar takes a sting to the tune of fifty-five HP and his form flashes red. “I see another one.” He adjusts his scope, takes a breath and lets half out, and sends another armor-piercing harbinger of unhappiness downrange.

  I
nstakill!

  More EXP, fifty-five more points of damage to his HP. A healing potion appears in his hand and he takes a swig from it.

  Hiccup’s eyes light up. “Finally he gets out the good stuff! How about a little snort for your old goblin pal?”

  Ambivalent about FeeTwix using firearms, Zaena turns away from the shooting.

  “We have to conserve healing potions,” FeeTwix reminds the goblin as he scans the forest.

  “Ah, come on, just a taste!”

  “Later. Damn there are a lot of trees. I don’t think I’ll be able to get them all.”

  “Those are their ancestors,” Zaena finally says. “We should respect them.”

  Hiccup snorts. “Huh – I respect the living fick out of them, as long as they don’t try to nosh on my ass. But this – this is a bad idea and just makes them focus on us. What we should focus on is sharing our healing potions.”

  “Don’t worry,” FeeTwix tells her, “this will save us time later on.”

  “Not if it attracts other enemies.”

  Ryuk keeps his eyes on the forest, and has two knife marbles staged and ready to go. Having been a Ninja Warrior before he became a Ballistics Mage, he is keenly aware of the creeping abilities of the subclass.

  Suddenly, his field of vision constricts and he sees a pair of shadowy silhouettes in the middle distance. His focus is so intense that the guildmates’ bantering has receded to a distant buzz.

  He receives the notification of a new skill.

  New skill learned!

  Skill: Extreme Focus

  Level One: Can detect approach of camouflaged/concealed/stealthed enemies and objects.

  Mage bonus: Higher levels allow sleuthing and increased accuracy. Also increases magic detection range when used in tandem with Magic Eye.

  Requirements: LUCK > 3

  I was never able to sense magic when I was a ninja, Ryuk thinks. Before he reset, his skill was up to level fifty and he could sense enemies from nearly a kilometer away. He could also instantly detect residual traces of enemies, even if the enemy hadn’t been there for some time.

  There they are.

  Ryuk drops down next to FeeTwix and whispers in his ear, “There’s two of them, about three hundred meters out, just to the left of that big tree that’s bent at the top like a crescent moon.”

  “I see the big tree. Where to the left of it?”

  “One, two, three trees over. About half way up, crouched on a branch.”

  “Roger.”

  Instakill!

  The ultra-high velocity depleted pelosium slug blasts the first ninja to rags and tatters; his buddy beats a strategic retreat and disappears ninja style.

  “If they didn’t before, the forest ninjas definitely know we’re here now,” Ryuk observes.

  “I could have told you that.” Hiccup cleans his blades with a rag he’s produced from somewhere, inspects the results and sends the knives back to inventory.

  “Let’s wrap this up.” Ryuk makes the lassoing gesture with his hand. “They’ll be back in force.”

  FeeTwix is up to his feet again and his weapon is gone. His eyes flash black. “Hey everyone! Sorry for the bailing there for a moment, but we were discussing some important guild matters. And hey! Good news for our compadres in Bee-yoo-tee-ful May-hee-co City! This week only, P.F. Chang’s has an exclusive dinner special for fans of this feed. Mention FeeTwix es mi amigo to your waiter to receive half off on selected chicken and seafood entrees!”

  Zaena gives him an uncertain smile. “You will need to explain to me what it is you do in your world some time.” She takes the lead, her two main swords are sheathed on either side of her body.

  As they walk, FeeTwix equips his slice bang and places it in a sheath that has formed across his back. A Glock 31 appears in his hand and he holsters it at his side.

  “Where did you get the idea of using alien weapons?” Zaena asks.

  “The same place as anyone who is going around with a big inventory list got the idea – Quantum Hughes.”

  The Thulean stops dead in her tracks and whirls to face him. “Did you say Quantum Hughes?”

  “No he said Phantom Poos.” Hiccup chuckles at his own jocular wordplay. “Or Ransom Screws.”

  “Taktach dola genkha moornikh duchaka.”

  Hiccup scoffs. “Jokes are a good way to die, huh? No, you got that wrong, Lizzy – death is easy, comedy is hard. Chokes are a good way to die!” He laughs at his own bad joke until Ryuk shushes him.

  “To return to the topic at hand – we Thuleans despise Quantum Hughes.” Zaena uses her ghost limbs to prevent some over-leaning tree branches from scraping the tops of their heads. Well, FeeTwix and Ryuk’s heads; Hiccup is too short.

  “Really?” FeeTwix looks to her. “Why’s that?”

  “Hughes cheated and slew Queen Renata in the Saiduka Giant’s tournament almost twenty years ago. He used forbidden weapons, alien weapons, weapons like yours.”

  “Didn’t the firearm penalty get him?” FeeTwix asks.

  “He had some bright orange tabard decorated with a terrible bird of prey that negated the damage penalty, the moonae rushikhcha bastard cheater.”

  “A kitten strangler?” Hiccup snorts. “I’ll have to use that one!”

  A mirror appears in FeeTwix’s hand and he gives it his most endearing smile. “Shout-out to all Fans o’ FeeTwix and all of you Tritania players and Tritanian historians: if you can get me one of these orange vests, I’ll make it well worth your while, in game and in the RW. One of these vests would keep me from constantly having to chug healing potions.”

  “Nothing wrong with constantly chugging healing potions. Speaking of which … ” Hiccup holds out his grubby, befouled fingers.

  “Later,” FeeTwix assures him.

  “That’s what you take from this story, that you need one of those cheating cheater’s cheat vests and not that he cheated?” Zaena’s face hardens.

  FeeTwix shrugs and his eyes flash blue. “Really, babe, I’m just being practical here. I deliberately chose this class just so I can use the weapons I’ve gathered from other places. One of those vests would be really helpful.”

  “You won’t get one,” Ryuk tells him. “There are only two in existence and one of them is at the Knights’ guild headquarters in Valhalla.”

  “Then we’ll go there.”

  “It’s not that simple – you have to be a member to get in.”

  “You were a member,” FeeTwix reminds him.

  “But now I’m not; now I’m a resetter. The Knights have strict rules about this.”

  A tomahawk with a leather tassel hanging from its handle appears in Hiccup’s hand. “Enemies nearby,” he inhales deeply, “and treasure – lots and lots of treasure!”

  Zaena draws her swords; FeeTwix draws his double-bladed sword.

  Ryuk takes a step back, takes a deep breath and Extreme Focus constricts his viewing pane into tunnel vision mode.

  Off to his left, he sees a few nearly invisible wavelengths radiating off one of the trampled branches. His tunnel vision zooms forward until it is as if he’s now examining things at the molecular level. His tunnel vision snaps back into normal viewing; a targeting reticle appears over shadowy silhouette outlined in flashing red.

  He reaches into the pouch containing the knife marbles and the targeting reticle adjusts for hold-over. He loads the marble, draws, aims …

  The flying knife takes the forest ninja right in the eye.

  Instakill!

  Chapter 13: Breakfast in the sky

  Kodai disengages from his haptic chair, stands and looks out over the city.

  His view, facing southeast towards Tokyo Bay and the Imperial Garden, is something he’s enjoyed ever since he moved into his current place. The view makes him feel larger than life, like he’s in charge of the entire country. It doesn’t quite beat the view he once had of Central Park, but it is equally stunning.

  He steps to his walk-in closet, and selects his favori
te black Kiton suit, which is freshly pressed and lightly scented with the floral fabric freshener the dry cleaner uses. With his thin black tie precisely knotted, he slips into the suit jacket and returns to the genkan, where he exchanges his house shoes for a pair of bespoke Italian leather shoes. From there, it’s to the coat rack where he dons a Kenzo parka that one of his personal shoppers purchased at the Opening Ceremony store in Harajuku.

  Outside the front door to his penthouse, Gorira – the biggest escort that he employs – impassively awaits him.

  No words pass between them as they walk to the elevator. They descend thirty floors, the doors open and they step into an immaculate lobby of polished marble, imported wood, and a single, decades-old bonsai tree that is lovingly maintained by an expert from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum.

  Two additional escorts join Gorira and the three accompany Kodai to an aerosSUV parked out front. Once he’s in the back, and has adjusted the heater to his liking, the vehicle lifts into its appropriate skylane.

  Silence permeates the ten minutes or so that it takes to get from Shinjuku to Shinagawa, MercSecure’s Asia headquarters.

  The American private security company’s new building is directly south of the JR Shinagawa Station and is connected to the station by a series of high pedestrian bridges. Outdoor escalators drop from the pedestrian bridge to lower platforms full of eateries, kissaten coffee bars, and designer clothing shops.

  Japanese citizens, most clad in the darker clothes associated with business in Japan, weave in and out of the crowds coming from and going to the busy station, all focused on arriving at their destination on time.

  As their vehicle lands, Kodai’s attention shifts from the bustling crowd to a white awning on top of the MercSecure tower. He receives a message from Lorem Ipsum, the executive manager of MercSecure Asia.

  Lorem Ipsum: I hope you’re hungry.

  Kodai doesn’t respond.

  It was his late father who taught him of the power of silence at a business meeting. Other than a brief, professional greeting, little else is said as his security detail is met by their MercSecure counterparts. An older MercSecure team member with white hair catches Kodai’s eye. There’s something mechanical about his movement, which leads him to believe that the MercSecure agent may be a humandroid or a cyborg. As a general rule, humandroids aren’t manufactured to look old, so he assumes the latter.