World-Tree Online
Page 39
The party chat fell silent, and Vincent approached the hundred and fifty survivors of the attack. He felt awkward stepping into such a crowd after decades on Eramar with only his friends, but he found the new people excited to see him.
“You’re the void guy, right?” one man asked.
“I heard you killed Lucas once,” a woman said.
“Are you really unbannable?” a cloaked figure asked.
“It was so cool how you killed so many Justiciars with one spell!” an armored man shouted.
“Everyone!” a man yelled. Even from a distance, Vincent recognized the tall, gray-haired man as Lloyd. “Everyone! Don’t crowd our new friends. I know you’re all excited to meet them. However, we need to gather everyone and head to the Jump Gate. Let’s bring our army here, and then we can begin our trip.”
Vincent Scanned Lloyd as he approached.
Player: Blade-Master Lloyd
Class: Fighter
Subclass: Mage
Real Age: 52
Highest World: Arkfyr
Vitality: Lv 78
Spirit*: Lv 85
Resolve: Lv 75
Perception: Lv 73
Agility: Lv 76
Strength*: Lv 90
“I see from your levels, you’ve really been preparing,” Vincent noted.
“Most of us have been training constantly,” Lloyd replied. “Although, your team far surpasses even our best people.”
“Dad!” Xan shouted, running to her father. She threw her arms around him and lifted him off the ground. “I had to hold back the urge to hug you the entire fight.”
“And I the same!” Lloyd replied with tears in his eyes. “My, you’ve grown so strong. I was just telling Vincent about how hard we’ve been training. Yet, your group has grown by leaps and bounds I can hardly imagine. Your levels are about double mine, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, about that,” Xan said, placing her dad on the ground.
The entire camp had cleared, and most of the players headed for the Jump Gate. Jim and Quinn regrouped with their team, and once Vince retrieved the daiglass shard, they all followed the caravan. They talked to Lloyd about his plans for the upcoming war, and he explained how they’d been gathering equipment and potions.
“Although, we don’t have anything as good as the equipment you gathered on Eramar,” Lloyd noted. “Our best-outfitted and leveled players are Jake, Keanu, May, Athena, and River.”
“My granddaughter’s gotten that strong?” Jim asked, smiling.
“She and my oldest daughter have been training like crazy,” Lloyd said. “When they’re not sparring, they gather a group of friends to explore nearby worlds. Their team has killed several World Bosses and conquered at least a dozen dungeons in the last couple of years.”
“Wow, I didn’t know that,” Jim replied. “When we chat, we usually just talk about boring stuff. I tried to tell her about my brewery on Eramar once, and she didn’t call me for over a year.” He chuckled, and then rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess I’m still a boring grandpa despite how cool I am.”
They reached the Jump Gate, and groups of ten people took turns team jumping a hundred or so players at a time. Two young women arrived with one of the teams and approached their group. Vincent recognized River, although she looked slightly different from her real-life appearance. She’d made herself about a half-foot taller in the game and had given herself more muscle tone. Beside her walked a voluptuous woman who was even taller. Other than the woman’s fair skin and blonde hair, Vincent wouldn’t have guessed her to be Xan’s sister if he hadn’t seen previous screenshots of her.
Player: River Will Drown You
Class: Fighter
Subclass: Warden
Real Age: 21
Highest World: Magrog
Vitality*: Lv 94
Spirit: Lv 81
Resolve: Lv 79
Perception: Lv 85
Agility: Lv 77
Strength*: Lv 98
Player: Athena the Fair
Class: Mage
Subclass: Cleric
Real Age: 23
Highest World: Magrog
Vitality: Lv 79
Spirit*: Lv 96
Resolve*: Lv 90
Perception: Lv 83
Agility: Lv 84
Strength: Lv 83
“Xanny!” Athena shouted, running to her sister. The women met and hugged one another. Xan lifted her sibling off the ground like she had her father. “Xan, you’re so strong!”
“You’re like a feather,” Xan said, spinning her sister around. She placed Athena on the ground, and the two sisters laughed.
“Sup, gramps,” River said, nodding at Jim.
“Hey, River,” Jim said, holding out his arms.
River raised an eyebrow. “You know I don’t do hugs.”
Athena smirked, grabbed River’s arm, and dragged her toward Jim. “Oh, don’t act like you’re too edgy to hug your grandfather.”
River sighed and gave Jim a side-hug with one arm. “I guess it’s nice to see you again after, I don’t know, forty years? So, you’re crazy strong now, right?”
“My Agility is one-seventy-five,” Jim replied, grinning.
“That’s it?” River replied. “I would’ve thought you’d hit two hundred or something.”
Athena shook her head in disappointment. “Come on, River. Don’t act like you aren’t impressed.”
“Eh, we’ve done pretty well ourselves,” River said. “Show them that thing you’re working on, Athena. You figured out their trick all on your own.”
“Oh, yeah!” Athena said, turning to Vincent. “My sister told me vague details about how you developed your power, so I tried to figure it out on my own. I’m pretty far from an actual spell, but this is what I’ve gotten so far.”
Athena created a ball of mana and compressed it into a tiny speck of void. She flicked it at Vincent, and it chipped one of the hardened-verasteel links in his armor. “See, we’re pretty cool too. Now let us on your team, old man.” Athena held out her left hand and used her other to pull River’s arm forward.
Vincent chuckled and added both women to their Party List.
“Your sister’s a feisty one,” Jim muttered to Xan.
“Don’t get any ideas, gramps,” River told Jim. She grabbed Athena’s hand and pulled her away from the group. “She’s taken.”
“Those two will be a great help in this war,” Quinn noted. “Especially when they have so much experience fighting together. Teamwork makes all the difference in PvP.”
“We should outfit our best people with hardened-verasteel armor,” Vincent said.
“We have lots of good potions too,” Xan said.
“Although, we might need to talk to your granddaughter about her player name, Jim,” Vincent noted. “I mean, River Will Drown You? What kind of player name is that?”
Jim sighed, and Quinn shook her head at Vince.
“Boss!” a voice shouted.
Their group turned to see Big Keanu hurrying from the Jump Gate, Mayfield May following close behind him.
Keanu shook Jim’s hand. “Been too long, boss. Hope you’re ready for this war.”
“Oh, we’re more than ready,” Jim said. “What about you?”
“You got Scan,” Keanu said. “Check out our stats for yourself.”
Player: Big Keanu
Class: Warden
Subclass: Rogue
Real Age: 29
Highest World: Arkfyr
Vitality*: Lv 109
Spirit: Lv 93
Resolve: Lv 88
Perception: Lv 90
Agility*: Lv 105
Strength: Lv 94
Player: Mayfield May
Class: Mage
Subclass: Rogue
Real Age: 28
Highest World: Arkfyr
Vitality: Lv 87
Spirit*: Lv 110
Resolve: Lv 96
Perception: Lv 90
Ag
ility*: Lv 104
Strength: Lv 87
“Not bad,” Jim said, grinning. “If we sparred, you could probably graze me with an attack or two—you know, if I go easy on you.” He held out his hand and added both of his guildsmen to their Party List.
“We might need to borrow that daiglass shard of yours and take a vacation to Eramar when this is over,” May said. “I wouldn’t mind doing some long-term power-leveling like you four.”
“Speaking of which,” Vincent said. He waved his hands and raised his voice. “Can I have everyone’s attention? All of you need to set your respawn point to this daiglass shard. That way, if we lose anyone on the journey to Midrun, you’ll respawn with us.”
Lloyd touched the shard first. “Not to mention, if we’re defeated, we might be able to use this shard to wage repeated attacks until we finally overcome them.”
“Lose?” River said, approaching to touch the daiglass. “We won’t lose.”
“That’s right!” Keanu shouted, reaching through the cramped crowd to touch the shard. “We’ll defeat the Justiciars for sure!”
Vincent felt suffocated by the crowd, so he passed the shard to Xan. He slipped to the edge of the crowd to take a break, but noticed a bearded man had followed him. Vincent Scanned him, wondering who’d be following him instead of setting their spawn.
Player: Jake-Jake
Class: Sheriff
Real Age: 34
Highest World: Styxis
Vitality*: Lv 136
Spirit*: Lv 128
Resolve*: Lv 125
Perception*: Lv 135
Agility*: Lv 132
Strength*: Lv 140
“So, you’re Jake,” Vincent said. “I wanted to talk to you. Lloyd says you can confirm there was another moderator that didn’t lose her powers.”
“Yes, my friend Valery,” Jake replied. “I’ve spent decades trying to figure out what happened to her. I’m certain Lucas banned her and put her in his dungeon.”
“Can we move farther from the crowd?” Vincent asked, staring at the nearby people.
“Yeah, sure,” Jake said, walking toward a sand dune. “Did Lloyd already tell you about Valery’s disappearance?”
“He did, but someone else told me about her first,” Vincent replied. “Lucas’s left hand, Killer Sam.”
Jake’s eyes opened with surprise. “So, Lucas did have something to do with her disappearance? But why did Sam tell you? Lucas has gone to great lengths to keep her existence a secret for seventy years.”
“Sam wants to free Valery,” Vincent replied. “He joined Lucas originally because he’s an opportunist, but realizes Lucas’s rule is running out of time, so he wants to turn to our side. And he says he likes talking to Valery. He might’ve formed a friendship with her, but he says Lucas is keeping her banned until my team is captured.”
“That psycho,” Jake spat, turning red with anger. “He can’t keep her frozen for months. That’s torture.”
“When Sam respawns, he’ll create a map of where Valery is being held for my team.”
Jake held out his hand. “Add me.”
Vincent added Jake to the Party List.
>Jim: Holy crap, eleven players? One more and we’d be maxed out.
>Vincent: Listen up, everyone. For those of you that don’t know, I added Killer Sam to our party. He and I have a deal, but until we know he’ll keep to it, we shouldn’t relay any important information over party chat.
>Athena: Don’t worry. By the time Sam respawns, Xan and I will have the backlog filled with useless junk. Lots of gossip and singing.
>Quinn: Xan sings? Since when?
>Alexandria: No—shush, Athy.
>Athena: She and I are terrible singers, so we only sing together. But since she’s grown out of her shell in the last few decades, I’m sure I can get her to sing for everyone.
>River: I already regret joining this party.
>Jim: Yeah, I’m setting the party chat to mute until we reach Midrun.
Vincent smiled and looked at the army gathered at the Jump Gate. Crowds of people talked and eyed the powerful players that had joined them. Vincent guessed at least a thousand people had rallied behind their cause.
There are a lot more people than I expected, but from what I’ve heard, it’s still less than Lucas’s forces. We’ll have to best them with better skills, levels, equipment, spells, and tactics. And unlike those Justiciars who are only following orders, these people are fighting with a purpose. All of them could have focused on climbing the World-Tree to escape Lucas’s reach, but they want to stop him. Most of them want to help their friends and family who are still living under Lucas’s rule. And some of them are only in it for the challenge—and a challenge it will be.
Chapter 31
Name: Lucas the Chosen Lord
Location: Valahym (World) | Midrun (City) | The Lord’s Castle (Region)
Class: Sheriff (Moderator)
Vitality*: Lv 123
Spirit*: Lv 130
Resolve*: Lv 128
Perception*: Lv 122
Agility*: Lv 125
Strength*: Lv 123
Lucas stood on the balcony and watched his soldiers march through the streets. Since the failed attempt to destroy the caravan, the Justiciars had done everything they could to prepare for an invasion. Most of his officials didn’t consider the enemies a real threat, but Lucas had demanded their forces treat the caravan as a grave danger. Friends of Justiciars in Firepeak informed them that hundreds of players had jumped off-world right after the failed attack. The forces hadn’t returned, and rumors spread that an army was on its way to attack Midrun.
But why? Why would an army attack me? I understand Zhang’s foolish friends with their immunity. But all those other people? Hundreds? A thousand, even? And they dare throw themselves at Midrun, knowing my power? It makes no sense. Why risk it? Why not focus on building their defenses at Firepeak? Why not run for the upper worlds? Why do they stand against me? Those fools. Are they so jealous of my accomplishments? Do they hate me because I’m so great? Because I conquered the cities they fled from like cowards?
Lucas gripped the balcony’s railing. In his mind, he could vaguely remember the faces of the four players that had arrived at the council’s chambers on the day he conquered Midrun. He could remember the man that had slain him.
Do all those people really believe in those four? That they can make a difference? If they were on Eramar for all that time, they couldn’t have coerced many followers. Those people joined them of their own accord. So, they must believe they can defeat me. They really believe in them. Not even my own Justiciars think of me that way. They fear me. They worship me. But they don’t trust me like that. No one would risk getting banned for me—except maybe Erik. I’ve been trapped in this game over seventy years. For half that time, I’ve been a king. And yet, I have no close friends. No loved ones. My collection is the closest thing to companionship I’ve felt, and now I can’t even talk to them.
A notification from Erik showed on Lucas’s feed. My special guests have gathered. With their help, this whole problem will be dealt with. Then I can unban my collection. And then I’ll—I don’t know. Capture Firepeak? The upper worlds? Add more people to my collection? Get Harper to forgive me?
He sighed and headed for the staircase. Maybe Zhang is right. Maybe there’s a hole in my heart. But there wouldn’t be one if I just stopped caring. Stopped giving them chances. If I had tortured Harper for all these years—truly tortured her—she would’ve broken by now. She would’ve been mine. I can make her love me. I only need to put her in her place.
Not just her—I need to put everyone in their place. That’s why these fools think they can overthrow me. Because I’ve been too kind—given everyone too many chances. They should beg me to forgive their transgressions. That’s right! I’ll make them grovel. Anyone that ever crossed me. Even Harper.
Lucas stepped into the great hall. He eyed Erik and the nine figures standing in
line. Fynn the Wolf Lord. Farah of the Thorns. Jackal-Heart Ryan. Titus the Butcher. Bombardier Quinton. Grinning Gwendolyn. Ekon the Paladin. Wayward Charlie. Lightning-Lance Javier. And Killer—
“Where’s Sam?” Lucas asked, glancing around the room.
“He says he’ll be here shortly,” Erik replied.
“Good,” Lucas said. “He already knows why I’ve brought you here, anyways. You are my ten best men, and I want you to be my generals for this siege. All of you will be added to my party, so we can communicate freely during the battle.”
“My lord,” Erik said. “Technically, Fynn isn’t one of your men.”
Lucas glanced at Fynn the Wolf Lord. The bounty hunter with long gray hair and a furred coat stood in a relaxed position off-center from the rest of the line. He nodded at Lucas, and the moderator did the same in reply.
“Fynn and I have an understanding,” Lucas told Erik. “He made a fortune coming down from a higher world to assist with our last invasion. I’ve already offered him the same amount to help with this war—along with a bonus if he captures those four players from Eramar: Void-Foot Jim, Alexandria the Ashen, Abyss-Breaker Quinn, and double for Vincent the Eldritch.”
“My lord, that’s a sizeable fortune,” Erik replied, wide-eyed.
“I don’t care,” Lucas said. “We’ll raise the taxes on our worlds to double—or triple—so we can prepare for future invasions. All that matters is that I conquer the World-Tree. If people are unhappy, they can join the Justiciars and fight for me. Besides, regular citizens don’t need gild. They can’t starve in this game and only exist to serve my empire.”
A couple of the generals nodded in approval, but Fynn smirked.
Smile all you want, Fynn, but I don’t plan on paying you. I’ll simply ban you after the war because you’re too strong to let roam free.
“For such a mighty payment, I’ll even use my best gear this time,” Fynn said. “Basteel armor, and a folded basteel blade.”
“I warn you,” Lucas said, “they have an attack that bypassed my Mod Shield. And I don’t just mean the Threshold. But if they reach you, they’ll hopefully be out of mana and potions. I want different pairs of generals protecting different sections of the city. Fynn will stop them from entering the castle.”