World-Tree Online

by EA Hooper

  “Come on, all of you!” Quinton shouted, looking more desperate and ragged by the second. “This isn’t over yet. You lot still have plenty of potions and equipment, don’t you? Well, so do I. We can keep fighting all day.”

  “Jeez, just give up!” Jim shouted. “Be a good sport about this, kid. You know you chose the wrong side.”

  “Chose?” Quinton asked, panting and glaring. “You think I chose to work for that psycho? Lucas froze my sister and won’t give her back unless I work for him.”

  “We can free her!” Xan replied. “My friend can break people out of bans.”

  Quinton took several sharp breaths, and he stared off in thought. “No, no. You’re lying. Don’t lie to me! I’ll save my sister—whatever it takes!” He unequipped his rune cannon and swapped it for something that his hand mostly covered. “I knew I couldn’t beat your team. So, I had to wait until my friends wore you down. Now, we’ll all die together.” He pressed a button on the object in his hand, and a light flashed from it.

  All the nearby still-standing buildings glowed with the light of runes, and even the street shone with magic. River grabbed Athena and formed a barrier around them, and then a hundred explosions flashed across several streets.

  The entire neighborhood vanished in a multi-colored bombardment. Vincent saw the light of an object glowing below the dirt near him just before the object exploded, and he cast Zero Field with both hands to slow the explosions before they reached him.

  Waves of mana, pressure, heat, and frequencies bashed Vincent from all directions. Dirt, wood, rocks, and steel followed as Quinton’s trap shredded the entire neighborhood. Every building vanished one by one, including the one below Quinton’s feet.

  Vincent steeled himself against the waves of mana that crashed against him. He felt his mana draining rapidly as his Gravity Shield struggled to stop the attacks. His armor’s plates melted, and the chains were torn to shreds. He swapped to new armor halfway through the consecutive explosions, but even his next set was demolished in a split-second.

  Even as the explosions subsided, and the flashes of light dissipated, a roaring dust storm blocked Vincent’s view of the city. He couldn’t see his friends, enemies, or even Midrun’s massive walls. Everything disappeared in a dark cloud caused by the destruction.

  The old man felt the sting of melted metal on his body and swapped his armor yet again for another set, but his body still ached and burned all over. He could feel shards of metal stuck in his flesh, and bones broken from the shockwaves.

  Vincent collapsed and struggled to drink two mega-elixirs. He cried and punched the ground with his fist to distract himself from the pain while the potions healed the damage.

  My higher quality sets of armor are all gone. This one is still hardened-verasteel, but it’s an old set that’s not as well crafted. I’m running low on mega-ethers too. At least I have plenty of mega-elixirs to spare. But—who’s even still alive?

  >Vincent: Who all made it?

  >Alexandria: Check. I Revived Jim, but he’s still hurt. A little shell shocked too.

  >Jim: I—I’m okay. Phased through half of it but ran out of mana. Could use a drink, though.

  >Athena: I Revived River too. She shielded me from most of the blasts, but we wouldn’t have survived without that armor you gave us. The armor’s all melted by the way.

  >River: Ugh, everything hurts. All I feel is pain.

  >Vincent: Quinn, are you there? Quinn?

  >Quinn: N-need Cleric. P-please.

  Vincent drank a mega-ether, and then cast Zero Field on the towering cloud of dust. He used his spell to push nearby clouds away from his sight. The potions slowly healed him as he shambled across the destroyed terrain.

  Oh god, it hurts so bad. I think most of the bones in my body are broken, but I need to get a Cleric to Quinn before she dies.

  He shoved away a wall of dust and found Athena kneeling by an injured River. Vincent grabbed Athena and pulled her away. “Drink an ether and follow me. You need to heal Quinn before she dies.”

  “What about River?” Athena asked, glancing back with a sad stare.

  “I’ll be fine,” River moaned. “Besides, the team needs Quinn more than me.”

  “I think Quinn was this way,” Vincent said, shoving away more clouds of dust with Zero Field. He struggled to force himself to walk as he pushed more dust aside. After a few seconds of searching, he moved a cloud to reveal Quinn lying face down on the ground. She’d lost her hands and feet in the explosions, and a pool of dirt-soaked blood had formed beneath her.

  “Quinn!” Vincent shouted, hurrying to her.

  Quinn replied with a pained groan.

  Vincent rolled over his friend, but then he grimaced at the blood and damage she’d taken. “Athena, get ready to Revive her the moment she dies. Please, don’t miss it.”

  “I’ll try,” Athena said, nervously. “Just need to hit her when the light leaves her eyes.”

  Quinn blinked twice, and then her eyes lost their light. All the tension left her muscles, and she fell limp in Vincent’s arms.

  “Now!” Vincent screamed.

  Athena cast Revive, and Quinn’s eyes widened. She gasped, and the most critical of her injuries disappeared. However, her hands and legs hadn’t rematerialized.

  “There you are,” Xan cried, limping through the dust. She hurried to Quinn and used several Flash Heals to restore her missing limbs. She paused to drink an ether, and then continued.

  When Quinn got her first hand back, she weakly equipped a mega-elixir and struggled to drink it. Athena helped speed the healing process by using a spell to undo the blood loss. By the time the two women had Quinn fully healed, the clouds of dust had settled.

  River and Jim shambled to the group, and everyone equipped fresh armor. Xan even gave her sister and River light sets of hardened-verasteel armor.

  “We’re all that’s left,” Jim muttered, gaping at the destroyed section of the city. “We six have to stop Lucas on our own. If we fail—”

  “We won’t fail,” Quinn interrupted.

  “Yeah, but if we do, we’ll all respawn and try again,” River said. “Only, the Justiciars won’t have time to rebuild their city and defenses.”

  “But we’ll be out of good potions and equipment,” Vincent noted. “Don’t get me wrong, we still have a lot of secondary equipment in storage and no telling how many lower-class potions. But we’re using our best stuff on this attempt.”

  “They are too,” Quinn said. “You think these people will have time to set up traps like this again? Not to mention all the armor and potions they’ve wasted? Even if they pick up item crystals across the battlefield, most of the equipment is damaged, and we took loads of potions off their bodies that we’ll burn through.”

  “This is exactly what we didn’t want—a war of attrition,” Athena noted. “Just two sides grinding against each other, endlessly. Until one side loses the will to fight.”

  “Grinding is our specialty,” Quinn noted. “Getting torn apart just now was nothing compared to what we endured on Eramar. This is practically a vacation.”

  “She’s not wrong,” Xan said. “We four will do this all alone if we must. We’ll knock down wall after wall, building after building. We’ll dissect this city and every challenge it has for us until there’s nothing left but victory.”

  “Jeez, Xan,” Jim said with a worried look. “You’ve become too much like Vincent. After this is over, we need to have a party with weeks of binge-drinking to get Eramar out of our system.”

  “I’m all for that,” River said.

  “Then let’s go!” Athena shouted. “If there’s one thing Lucas hates, it’s people enjoying themselves. So, let’s defeat him and bring parties back to the World-Tree.”

  Jim stood tall, and his old confidence shone on his face. “Yeah, for the parties!”

  “For the parties,” Athena mimicked.

  “And for the people!” Xan added.

  “For the fun
of it,” Quinn said.

  “You mean for the challenge,” Vincent corrected. “But yes, to save the people and the parties too.”

  Chapter 35

  Player: Vincent the Eldritch

  Location: Valahym (World) | Midrun (City) | Town Center (District)

  Class: Ranger

  Subclass: Mage

  Vitality: Lv 165

  Spirit*: Lv 174

  Resolve: Lv 153

  Perception*: Lv 180

  Agility: Lv 163

  Strength: Lv 162

  Vincent felt the Blood of the Ancient buff wearing off as their team marched through the empty streets leading to the castle. The district looked different than Vincent remembered, as Lucas had apparently rebuilt sections of the city for his own purpose. The moderator’s closest allies and officials had built stylish, high-class manors under the shadow of the castle, but Vincent also saw reinforced guard towers that would’ve been intimidating if they weren’t empty.

  Lucas created a little bubble for himself and his allies in Midrun. He’s been funneling resources from other worlds for his own purpose, but for some reason I hear he spends all his time in his dungeon. I would’ve thought he’d bask in a lavish lifestyle like the others who live here, but it seems he’d rather keep to himself—when he’s not subjugating people or torturing them.

  The massive castle engulfed their view as they approached it. It’s almost like Lucas spent the last decades building up this castle. Just to make himself feel more important, I suppose.

  “Let’s fill up on potions,” Vincent said, drinking his second Blood of the Ancient.

  Quinn drank their last Blood of the Ancient while Xan gave Athena and River six potions each. Jim and the younger women drank from the bottles to raise all their stats by ten levels for twenty minutes.

  They stepped into the elegant courtyard that had been filled with plants from many worlds. Vincent gaped at the different flowers and exotic vegetation that only existed on the World-Tree. Just imagine all the potions I could make with this stuff.

  His eyes followed the trail to the gate leading to the great hall. The gate had been closed and sealed with runes, and a group of Justiciars stood before it. He Scanned the thirty-two soldiers at once with Quickeye. All the soldiers had stats in the eighties and nineties, and a few in the low hundreds, but two individuals stood out to Vincent: a gorgeous, longhaired woman in sleek clothes, and a man in black armor with a wolf’s helm.

  Player: Farah of the Thorns

  Class: Cleric

  Subclass: Mage

  Real Age: 56

  Highest World: Elfry

  Vitality: Lv 153 (+12)

  Spirit*: Lv 189 (+12)

  Resolve*: Lv 194 (+12)

  Perception: Lv 170 (+12)

  Agility: Lv 159 (+12)

  Strength: Lv 151 (+12)

  Player: Fynn the Wolf Lord

  Class: Ranger

  Subclass: Fighter

  Real Age: 43

  Highest World: Cryasal

  Vitality: Lv 173 (+15)

  Spirit: Lv 161 (+15)

  Resolve: Lv 158 (+15)

  Perception*: Lv 199 (+15)

  Agility: Lv 169 (+15)

  Strength*: Lv 195 (+15)

  “Woah,” Jim said.

  “Yeah, they’re really strong,” Vincent said. “That guy’s Perception is one-ninety-nine, not counting his potion buff.”

  Jim gaped. “That’s not what I meant. That woman—she’s stunning!”

  Farah equipped a red fan and waved it at her face. “Aw, you’re charming. It’s too bad I have to kill you.” She waved the fan at the air, and a shockwave raced out.

  Vincent equipped Song of War and stopped the shockwave with one of his own before it hit his oldest friend. “Don’t get distracted, Jim.”

  “Y-yeah,” Jim replied, equipping a spear.

  “To be fair, she is really pretty,” Athena said, readying her High Wizard’s Staff.

  River equipped her Brave Warrior’s Sword. “Well, she’s about to be pretty dead.”

  “Oh, you bunch sure like to talk,” Farah said, waving her fan at herself. “Men, ready yourselves like I asked.”

  A third of the Justiciars cast barriers to split the courtyard in half, and nine in the back equipped Divine Healer’s Pendants to their offhand.

  “Now, hold still,” Farah said. She equipped a blue fan to her other hand and waved it at the Justiciars. Dots of light flew from her fan at all the men and stuck to their bodies. Vincent Scanned both of her fans, but he also targeted the specks of light as they implanted under the skin of their enemies.

  Scarlet Nightmare – Material Rating: 400 | An elegant fan made of orosteel. | Singing Blade: The wielder of this fan may convert mana into a vibrational frequency that projects the fan’s cutting power.

  Azure Dream – Material Rating: 400 | An elegant fan made of orosteel. | Efficiency 20: Spells channeled through this item cost twenty percent less.

  Banelight Seed (Cleric Only) – Mana Usage: Low | Releases a phantasmal seed that sticks to a player or monster. The seed slowly absorbs mana unless removed and sprouts into a Banelight Flower when the host dies.

  “Hey, little girl,” Farah shouted across the courtyard.

  Xan looked around. “You mean me?”

  “Yes, you!” Farah shouted. “I saw your butterflies on a holo projector. You’re one of the few players I’ve met that’s figured out light’s greatest secret—whatever light gives, it can take. Although, I don’t think you’ve developed your powers quite as far as I have.” She held up Azure Dream, and phantasmal vines wrapped around her body and surged with mana.

  Banelight Vine Armor (Cleric Only | Upgraded) – Mana Usage: High | Magic Rating: 300 | Creates phantasmal vines over the user’s body. These vines can absorb light from whatever they touch to regenerate themselves. | Upgrades – Light Transfer: These vines can pull light absorbed by other spells the user controls, however they lose 10% of that light as a conversion cost. | Banethorn: The user can create 300-Rated mana thorns from light they’ve absorbed. These thorns can be fired at high speed for a very low mana cost.

  Vincent eyed the Wolf Lord as he equipped a black blade. That sword. His armor. Are they really made of basteel? He Scanned the man’s armor and sword.

  Basteel Wolf Armor Set – Material Rating: 500 | A high-quality set of basteel armor with a stylish wolf helm. | Note: Basteel cannot be magically enhanced or enchanted.

  Wolf’s Reign – Total Rating: 600 (Material Rating: 500 | Density Rating: 100) | An elegant short sword with a wolf-head hilt. The blade is made from basteel that has been folded ten times, making it harder and heavier.

  >Vincent: Nobody engage that wolf-helmed guy directly. His armor is five-hundred rated, and his sword is six-hundred.

  Vincent’s team gaped at him, but he kept his eyes on Fynn. I didn’t expect anyone this strong to be working for Lucas. Hopefully, we’ll be able to land a void attack on him before he does too much damage. In fact, it’s in our best interest to go aggressive and quickly take out those two. Farah’s a little slower, so I might get her from this distance.

  The old man raised a finger and shot Void Gun across the courtyard. Farah tilted her head to the left, and the attack clipped part of her vine armor and a lock of hair.

  “Uh, rude much?” Farah commented, growing new vines over the side of her head. “Men, ready your potions.” She raised her hand and cast Mana Cannon twice.

  Vincent stopped one blast with Zero Field, and Xan blocked another with Barrier Wall. As the attacks exploded halfway between the groups, Jim launched a Void Crow at Fynn.

  The man in basteel armor swapped his sword for a large block of hardened-verasteel. He tossed the block in the crow’s path, and the spell cut through it before evaporating.

  “As I thought,” Fynn said, equipping his short sword once more. “I watched the projections of your team closely to see if there was a limitation to your void attacks. This game might not have
visible damage numbers, but I’ve always assumed ARKUS does the math in the background. Negative energy is the equivalent of infinite damage, but only over a certain amount of mass. Once the negative energy deletes that amount of mass, it evaporates.”

  “This guy just carries around huge blocks of hardened-verasteel?” Jim muttered. “How many inventory slots did that take up?”

  Vincent ignored his friend’s comment, because he had his own question for Fynn. “You learned all that by watching us on a holo projector?”

  Farah chuckled. “Don’t let Fynn’s armor and demeanor fool you—he’s more brains than brawns. I looked him up outside the game before the update and discovered he was a successful computer engineer. He even worked on the team that created the neural processors that ARKUS’s developers used. Fynn and his team probably made a killing off the patent rights—and it also earned them early access to the game’s beta.”

  “So, why would someone like you work for Lucas?” Vincent asked the man in black armor.

  When Fynn didn’t reply, Farah sighed and spoke for him. “He wants the gild. Lucas is paying him a vast fortune to fight you.”

  “You’re after money?” Vincent questioned. “Strange, I would’ve thought someone so smart would be revolted at the harm Lucas is doing.”

  “Who says I’m not?” Fynn replied. “But it doesn’t matter if Lucas is controlling everyone when the angels above are so much worse. If anything, Lucas is stopping people from facing that horror. But if I earn vast fortunes, then I can use those resources to build my own army to fight the angels. Maybe even reach the top and escape this game.”

  “You think it’s possible?” Vincent asked. “To escape?”

  Fynn fell silent once more.

  >Quinn: Stop with the chatter. They’re only wasting our time. I’ll clear out the weaklings, and you all focus on the stronger two.

  Quinn held her hand forward and knocked out the Justiciars’ forcefields with Gravity Wave. She created three Breaker Doppelgangers and sprinted across the courtyard. The Justiciars tried to pull up more shields, but she and her doppelgangers smashed through them.