by Michael Ryan
Since he’d advanced to level five, he had a stronger sword available. He retrieved it and viciously tore into the closest Hiisi and killed the mob after a minute of fierce fighting.
He glanced around. There was nothing close enough for him to attack.
A hummingbird-bee flew in circles around his head. He swung his shield in a large arc, and the flying creature popped into a burst of messy ooze, leaving a mist of green hanging in the air. The other Hiisi in the room were all nearly dead.
It seemed they’d finally finished off the last of the attackers, so they regrouped in the center of the room. The healers used enchantments to restore everyone’s health.
“Anyone have equipment that needs repairing?” Dyfrig asked.
“Mine isn’t so bad, Sergeant,” Dale said, and everyone else said they were also good to go.
The rear wall of the room shook, and an ancient brass and copper door opened.
A dinosaur-bird entered. It stuck out its head, opened its mouth, and made a loud screeching noise.
It was the highest-level creature they’d faced so far. It stood over two meters tall, had black and dark-brown feathers, and a long sharp beak.
Its primary weapons were claws that gouged the floor, scraping up a stone as if it were soft dirt when it entered the chamber. It lifted its head and charged.
The group scattered.
The creature ran through them, screeching and turning its head to the left and right, sizing up its prey. It stopped and spun around. Its head rocked back and forth, and its dark eyes examined Dale like he was on the dinner menu.
“What’s the plan?” Dale asked.
“Don’t die!” Brinkmann shouted.
He became the first victim.
The monster apparently used sound to target its victim, because as the word left the lieutenant’s lips, the beast leapt on top of him and tore his body open from neck to groin with its claws.
Smith swung his club.
Dale swung his sword.
Galina fired arrows.
“There are more Hiisi coming,” Sanjay shouted.
Dale turned to look. Four Hiisi followed the bird-beast into the room and approached the center of the fight. They all took and dished out hits. Dale killed another Hiisi, which dropped a two-carat diamond. He kept fighting, and blood and gore spread across the floor, making the fight even more dangerous as his team spread out and separated.
Sanjay, Smith, and Dale attacked the Vulturaptor while the others fought with the goblin-like creatures, which circled the perimeter. They struck and then backed off, only to circle again, like sharks in a feeding frenzy.
Dale didn’t have time to worry about losses, but it was disheartening to see the lieutenant’s corpse continue to take abuse as it was trampled and torn apart.
Healing enchantments hit Dale, keeping his health up.
He did his best to strike at the boss, but his sword, which had killed the weaker mobs, wasn’t much help against the Vulturaptor. Yingtai surprised him again; she upgraded her bow and fired enchanted arrows into the dino-bird.
She hit it again and again, doing real damage.
Dale assumed that spellcasters must be able to use certain kinds of healing power to imbue arrows to cause injury instead of help when used against the mobs and bosses.
I have a lot to learn, he thought.
Ërin: You do, but worry about it later!
The boss was concentrating on Smith and Dyfrig, and Dale wanted to help them. He had neither a longbow nor any magic, so he couldn’t deal long-range DPS or send any healing support.
He felt a bit useless against the boss, but he kept swinging his sword.
In the blink of an eye, the beast leapt away from the tanks and charged Galina.
She fired spell arrows, the opposite of Yingtai, who employed enchantments to imbue her shafts. The monster cornered her.
She screamed curses in Russian, and with a colossal swipe with one of its massive claws, it tore her body open.
Her intestines spilled onto the floor.
Dale felt nausea wash over him, and as he gagged, he nearly vomited up his lunch. Fortunately, he regained his composure in time to help Smith and Sanjay circle the beast.
Amy came to Dale’s side. “Keep it occupied. I’ve been charging the most powerful enchantment I have. I didn’t realize it would work until I saw Yingtai use enchanting for good effect. Ten more seconds.”
“I’ll try my best,” Dale answered. He moved to the animal’s rear while Smith and Dyfrig attacked from the front. The Vulturaptor suffered damage, but it seemed too formidable for them to defeat using the methods they had tried so far.
It swung its tail faster than Dale could manage to jump, and his legs were knocked out from under him.
He fell to the ground, cursing.
The beast turned towards his voice.
Dale realized he was about to meet death.
The thought of Galina’s guts pouring out on the floor flashed through his mind. Another wave of nausea hit, and he lifted his shield, preparing for the worst.
A loud electrical buzzing filled the room, and a bolt of blue power flew over his head. Amy had fired her enchanted arrow, and it struck the beast in the chest.
The Vulturaptor screamed and shook its head.
Dale stood, swung his sword, and forced the wounded monster to duck; in doing so, its head moved right into the path of Smith’s club.
Dyfrig jammed a spear into its breast.
Dale swung his sword and removed its head, which rolled to a stop at his feet.
The dark dead eye of the fallen foe stared at him sightlessly. Dale shuddered even as his friends slapped him on the back in congratulations.
+1800XP
Killed: Vulturaptor, dungeon boss.
Dropped: Earth Magic Book
Dropped: Water Magic Book
Dropped: Heavy Broadsword, fine quality
Dropped: 1-Carat Fire Diamond
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Rén suàn bùrú tiān suàn. I don’t have plans, I only have goals.
~ Yingtai Tong
Yingtai Tong watched as the remaining members of her platoon left the chamber after defeating the Vulturaptor. Nobody noticed her standing in the shadows.
The group headed up the stairs without looking back.
She heard their voices fade and decided to explore before joining them in the forest.
Beyond the moss on one of the walls, traces of a blood-created symbol caught her eye. She investigated. Because they’d been permitted earlier to quest or hunt by themselves, and she wasn’t under military orders, she’d decided to go off on her own.
She pulled handfuls of moss off the wall and revealed the symbol.
A notification popped up.
Found: Emerald Moss
Magical uses: Spells and enchantments
Congratulations!
You’ve found your first botanical.
Herbal Skill Increased: Newbie Level Achieved.
As you advance in herbal skills, you’ll be able to heal more efficiently, and you’ll grow a love for old-school reggae music.
Hint: Herbs baked in brownies and cookies are an excellent addition to a friendly feast.
The symbol was circular and taller than Yingtai. It contained writing in a strange language and had pictographs of animals and elements. It looked ancient. She knew from her studies that magic had preserved the victim’s blood that had been used to create the script, but couldn’t recognize the race from which the blood had originated.
She chanted in a strange language, not understanding the words, and the blood symbols swirled, moving as if alive.
A hidden passageway opened, revealing a set of stone stairs that led down into the dark.
As a Mugron, the undead race, Yingtai had started the war with basic magic already at her disposal. She had enough mana left to add a camouflage enhancement to her sneak skill, and she cautiously snuck down the stairwell.
A hor
rible stench hit her like a club to the face. It smelled of death, blood, waste, and hopelessness.
She continued down the stairway, and the odors became more pungent, but among the nasty scents, she didn’t sense danger, only impressions of past pain and desperation.
She ignored the sick feeling that formed in her stomach.
Nothing jumped out or attacked her.
The halls were silent.
When she reached the bottom, a series of hallways branched off each side of a long central passage; each section revealed a double row of prison cells.
Yingtai moved carefully down the first row.
The first cell contained a broken chair, a metal bowl on the floor, and a humanoid skeleton with shackles still attached. Ragged clothing hung from the skeleton’s ribs, but there was no longer any flesh, skin, or hair. Rusting iron bars enclosed the space, and Yingtai shuddered at the sight.
It was the same in the next cell and the one after that.
She moved faster once she’d passed the same scene a dozen times.
The only difference she noticed were the races of the skeletons. They all seemed humanoid, but of different sizes and types: human, dwarf, and elf. Or at least that was what she surmised. It was impossible to tell what some of the bones might have been when alive.
Yingtai began to think this excursion was a depressing waste of time until she came upon a cell with a woman encased in a frozen, translucent block. She looked at her face, then decided that since she was behind bars, it would be worth the risk to try melting the ice.
She activated her fire power.
If the frozen being in the ice became dangerous after Yingtai released her, she’d escape up the stairs, hoping her silent and sneak abilities were advanced enough for her to leave unscathed.
The fire enchantment began in her hands, and she cast it into the cell. The ice melted. It started slowly because her skills were at the bottom of the magic skill tree, but once the ice started to crack, the prisoner was able to move, and in short order the ice fell away.
“Thank you,” the prisoner said. “Please accept this gift.”
You’ve received gifts!
A Book of Ice Magic
A 2 Carat Blue Topaz: Excellent Quality
The newly freed prisoner was an elfin woman who was tall and beautiful.
She looked at Yingtai with penetrating eyes. “What kind of creature are you?”
“I’m a…” Yingtai didn’t know what to say, so she changed into her humant-avatar: a young Chinese woman who didn’t look threatening like her Mugron undead avatar did. She smiled. “I’m Yingtai Tong. I am a Mugron warrior when fighting in the Nagant Wars, but this is my true form.”
“I am Jara,” the elfin woman said. “I was once a princess among a powerful family of Arodian Mountain Elves. I’ve been encased in this ice for…” She appeared confused. “What year is it?”
“I don’t know the calendar in your world, Princess Jara,” Yingtai answered.
“Tell me, do you know of the House of Talargo?”
“Yes,” Yingtai answered. “King Talargo is our ally.”
“Which King Talargo?” Jara asked.
“I don’t know.”
“The Talargo family had already been ruling for centuries when I was imprisoned. What generation now sits on the throne, I wonder?”
“I’m sorry,” Yingtai said.
“No matter,” the princess said. “I’ll find my people, and all will be revealed. Stand back, my new friend.”
Yingtai moved away from the cell bars.
Jara wielded a spell that melted the lock on the cell door, and she walked out with her head held high.
Yingtai examined her identity.
Princess Jara
An elfin being of Royal Blood.
“I offer you a quest,” Jara said.
A Quest: Accompany Princess Jara to Irkalla.
The princess offers the following items upon successful completion:
Book of Ice Magic
A 2 carat Cerulean Blue Topaz: Finest Quality
Accept? [Y/N]
Yingtai groaned on the inside because she hated escort missions, but on the outside, she smiled. “I am traveling with a party, a military platoon. We number twelve. Will you offer the same terms to my comrades?”
“Yes,” Jara answered. “And if your company falls under attack, I shall fight on your side as long as we are heading towards Irkalla and my journey isn’t delayed by more than one moon’s time.”
“Agreed,” Yingtai said.
You have accepted a Quest: Accompany Princess Jara to Irkalla.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Warfare, business, and love are based upon deception; only in friendship can one find truth.
~ Rikuto Setsu
Dale was exhausted when they exited the dungeon. He felt happy to be alive but sad for those who’d died in such gruesome ways. He wondered if there were any differences in the respawning process between a clean, quick death and a gory, ugly one.
Ërin: You worry too much, hon.
Dale: I know, but…
You’re going to find out, unfortunately–
I know–
So, don’t obsess over what you–
–can’t control. I get it.
You’re a handsome and powerful wizard, and a total hottie–
Stop.
When they left the dungeon, the door automatically closed behind them, and the two guards returned to stone.
They regrouped and ate a feast to refresh their vigor, and chatted briefly about what had happened, both good and bad.
“We’ll continue to get better as a team,” Dyfrig said. “It’s still early.”
“I know,” Dale agreed. “But it was still hard watching…”
“It was icky,” Amy said.
“No kidding,” Sanjay added. “I nearly threw up twice. I wonder why it has to be so graphic.”
“It’s the government,” Smith said. “They’re fucking with us.”
“Or Rhith,” Amy said.
“Same difference.”
The group shared crafting enchantments to restore all their equipment. This was the one area Dale had something decent to contribute due to his class and guild choices. He examined the loot earned in the dungeon and considered the various ways he could try to improve.
The upgraded broadsword was the best weapon he currently owned. It was a better quality weapon than anything used in training. He figured he would sell the rapier dropped from the goblin unless he found a good reason to keep it. With unlimited storage, it wasn’t necessary to ditch items, but at the same time, making quick decisions would be easier if he kept things in his inventory streamlined.
Everything about the war – and his experience in the construct – was so new.
Was it just a game?
Was there a reality within this game that would affect his real life?
It seemed like there could be.
Everyone in the military took tasks so seriously, and the officers made their training seem as if it would affect real life-and-death missions.
Dale: Ërin?
Ërin: Yes, sweetie?
I’m wondering–
Yes, I’ve been listening…
Well?
I can’t answer your deepest questions, Dale, sorry. It’s not in my…
Programming?
It’s not in my protocols to discuss the nature of such things. Forgive me?
Sure.
Thank you.
So, you are like a God after all…
How’s that?
You know everything, but explain very little.
But I love you.
Really?
Yes, of course! You’re special and unique to me.
I’m going to look at my new magic books.
You’re handsome, skilled, and intelligent. No wonder the ladies love you.
Dale opened his earth magic book.
Congratulations!
&nb
sp; You’ve opened your first Earth Magic Book.
Earth Magic Skill Trees are now open.
Hint: Magic is tricky, powerful, and frankly, magical. Smart wizards don’t assume anything about magic.
This achievement allows you to take the first step towards becoming a Champion Wizard!
Good luck!
Dale was happy about his gains, and he moved on to the water magic book.
Congratulations!
You’ve opened your first Water Magic Book.
Water Magic Skill Trees are now open.
Hint: Water Magic is primarily used for healing and protection charms, but sometimes using Water Magic on an enemy will cause damage.
“I think I did well,” he said to Amy.
“I did too,” she said.
“What about you, Smith?” Dale looked at his friend, who was still a giant ape.
Smith changed into his humant-avatar. “I did good, but boy, I sure need to take a break from being a giant gorilla. It was reminding me too much of watching the lieutenant and Galina die.”
Dale changed into his humant-avatar.
“Okay, I’ll join you guys,” Amy said. She changed from a hairy wolf creature back into a beautiful woman.
The rest of the group followed, except for Dyfrig, who was always a lizard, it seemed.
“Where’s Yingtai?” Dale asked.
“I don’t see her,” Sanjay said. “I haven’t seen her since we left the dungeon.”
“She never came out?” Dyfrig asked.
Nobody answered.
“Ying–” Dale started to shout, but Amy hit him in the arm before he got her whole name out. “Ouch.”
“Are you crazy?” she asked. She looked at him and tilted her head like a scolding parent. “We’re in a strange forest, and the beasts living here have good hearing.”
“You’re right,” Dale said softly. He began to ask Amy another question when she changed back into a wolf-woman.
“What’s wr–”
“Shhhhh…” Her ears were upright. She concentrated for a moment. “A group approaches. Quickly, move into the woods.”
