World-Tree Online

by EA Hooper

  Strength*: Lv 123

  Lucas watched with an intense gaze as the Void Knights fought Farah and Fynn. Shortly after Fynn died, the Checkpoint Crystal activated, and Fynn reappeared beside Lucas.

  “You lost so easily?” the moderator questioned as the Checkpoint Crystal crumbled.

  “You know how dangerous their powers are,” Fynn replied. “And they were even more skilled than I expected. Take this.” Fynn gave Lucas and Erik potions to increase all their stats by fifteen for fifteen minutes. He drank one himself and equipped Wolf’s Reign.

  “Everyone, get ready,” Lucas commanded Erik, Fynn, and his last twenty-four elite Justiciars.

  Lucas equipped the rune-covered gauntlet he’d created just for the war. It allowed him to control many of the rune systems around the castle. He waved his hand, and runes activated that split the table in half and pulled the halves to the sides of the hall.

  It’s only the four of them left. I’d hoped one or two would die on the way here, but I suppose this will only save me the trouble of hunting them down later. These fools have no clue what’s waiting for them. If it was merely a head-on fight, I’d be a lot more worried. But I can’t fail with this gauntlet.

  Quinn ran into the great hall first, and her eyes fell on Lucas. Jim and Alexandria followed, but Lucas kept his eyes on the entrance.

  Where is he? Vincent’s not with them?

  Quinn roared as she charged across the room, and Lucas sighed and activated his gauntlet. The walls across the great hall shimmered with light, and he felt the anti-spell runes affect his body.

  Fynn leapt between Quinn and Lucas. The woman threw her punch, but Fynn blocked it with his basteel-armored hand. The woman pushed herself away and jumped back three meters.

  “What the—” Quinn said, pausing. “Gravity Fist didn’t work.”

  “Haha!” Lucas shouted. “I’ve decked this room with anti-spell runes to stop your abilities. And the best part—I can still use magic if I channel it through my gauntlet.”

  Lucas pointed his finger at Quinn and struck her with Mod Gun. Just as he expected, a flash of white and black surged over her body.

  Target Unavailable

  “Their shields must drain their mana with each attack,” Fynn said. “Once they run out of mana, you can ban them as you please.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Quinn said, taking off toward them in a sprint.

  Fynn readied himself, but then the woman leapt over him. She equipped the Brave Warrior’s Sword in midair, landed behind Lucas, and decapitated the moderator as he turned to face her. Erik gasped and swung his sword, but Quinn parried and jammed her blade into his stomach.

  A flash of white light glowed across the room, and Lucas’s head rematerialized on his body. As Quinn pulled her sword from Erik’s stomach, the hole in his body vanished.

  “Uh, what?” Quinn said, putting distance between her and the Justiciars.

  “Revival runes,” Lucas said, smiling. “Just like the training rooms at the Moderator Academy. Even if you destroy my brain, this room will restore me. And the entire thing is powered by slowly absorbing everyone’s mana. Eventually, you’ll run out, and I’ll ban you. My men are just here to speed the process. Attack them!”

  The Justiciars split into two groups. One went after Quinn, and the other group rushed toward Alexandria and Jim. The two Void Knights near the entrance turned to find the gate had closed and sealed over with magic when Lucas activated his trap. They equipped hardened-verasteel weapons, and then faced the Justiciars.

  Lucas watched the battle play across the room. The three enemies were fierce, and they had no problem dodging, parrying, and blocking attacks from multiple enemies at once. The younger woman, Alexandria, seemed the most skilled and used two swords to fend off Justiciars.

  Alexandria decapitated one man, ran her blade through another, and then threw her sword at an approaching Justiciar. She took the longsword from the man she’d stabbed, blocking an attack from someone that had tried to sneak behind her. She turned his blade away, knocked out his Mana Shield, and then took off his sword hand with a quick swipe. However, all the men healed and readied their weapons.

  “An endless fight,” Lucas mocked. “You can kill them over and over. It doesn’t matter.” He pointed his finger at Alexandria, knowing from the projections she didn’t have the same kind of shield. As he fired, Jim jumped in the way, and the attack flashed white and black. “Ah, so close. Maybe next time. I have all day.”

  Alexandria knocked back the nearest Justiciar, and then handed Jim a mega-ether. “Don’t forget to keep up your mana. He can’t ban you two if you have mana for your shield.”

  Jim nodded as he drank from the bottle, and Quinn ran around the side of the room, drinking an ether. She decapitated a Justiciar that tried to stand between her and her friends, and then joined Alexandria and Jim.

  “This is taking too long,” Fynn said, walking toward the Void Knights. “I’ll speed the process.”

  It doesn’t matter how long it takes. It’s hopeless. Unless Vincent interferes. Where did he even go? Lucas raised his gauntlet, and a holographic display showed the courtyard. He’s not there—but what’s that hole in the ground? Oh, my god.

  Lucas flipped through displays of the dungeon until he saw the lowest floor. But—that’s impossible! His eyes remained fixated on Valery. She’s not banned? That cheater! I can’t let him free Zhang too. Luckily, I rigged the dungeon a long time ago just in case.

  He activated the bombs in Zhang’s room, killing the Ice Knight. That’ll be a problem in two weeks when he respawns, but what about Valery? She might ban me if—no, I need to calm down. My plan will work. I’ll open the gate for them and trap them in here. Valery won’t be able to ban me. With this gauntlet, I’ve ensured victory.

  Lucas eyed the scene across the room as Xan blocked Fynn’s attacks. He broke sword after sword, but the woman seemed to have an endless supply. She even knocked out Fynn’s shields and decapitated him after several seconds of them going back and forth. Fynn recovered and ran his short sword through her chest, but she, too, healed.

  Lucas subtly raised his finger and froze Alexandria with Mod Gun. A triumphant smile ran across his face. “Got her!”

  “No!” Quinn shouted, trying to reach her friend. Several Justiciars impaled her with spears and swords. Lucas guessed she must’ve run out of mana because her negative energy shield stopped slowing the attacks. A dozen Justiciars held her back, and she gritted her teeth and growled. “So, this is how it’s going to be, huh? Let’s see how strong your runes are.”

  Quinn shoved herself forward as the blades skewered her entire body, ripping her insides apart. She continued until she reached one Justiciar’s hilt, equipped something in her hand, and grabbed the man’s jaw. Quinn forced his mouth open, shoved something inside, and then knocked him back with an uppercut to the jaw. The man’s entire body flashed with mana, and an explosion tore twelve Justiciars to pieces at once.

  Lucas held steady through the shockwave, but his eyes opened wide. “What was that?”

  “Lotus Capsule,” Fynn huffed, eyeing the blood, guts, and slabs of flesh that had been thrown across the room.

  The room flashed with light several times, but only two of the twelve men recovered. The others turned to dust as Quinn ripped their broken blades and spears from her mangled body. She’d lost most of her skin after the explosion shredded her armor, and blood poured from her mouth as she showed a smile. Once she removed the last blade, a flash of white light restored her to normal.

  Quinn charged once more toward Lucas, and he saw the flicker as she equipped another Lotus Capsule to her hand. Erik jumped between them, but Quinn knocked him aside with a neck-breaking swipe of her arm.

  Fynn equipped a basteel hand-axe and hurled it across the room. It reached Quinn as she grabbed Lucas by the jaw and sliced off the hand holding the Lotus Capsule. Erik jumped to his feet, having healed, and cut off the arm that held Lucas.

>   Lucas stumbled backward and watched the cooldown timer on his Mod Gun reach zero. He pointed his finger at Quinn as her arms regenerated, then banned the ferocious woman.

  The remaining Justiciars grappled and piled on top of Jim. He yelled and struggled, but couldn’t break their hold.

  “You lose, Jim,” Lucas said, forcing a smile despite his panicked nerves.

  Jim smirked. “No, kiddo. You’re going to lose.” The Rogue forced his hand to his mouth and bit into a Lotus Capsule. His body exploded with a flash of purple mana that sent a wave of Justiciar chunks across the great hall. The runes flashed multiple times, but none of the men came back to life.

  Lucas blinked, realizing only he, Erik, and Fynn remained. “What did that fool think that would accomplish? I suppose he’s lucky to escape getting banned, but I have all the time in the update to catch him again. Oh, I almost forgot.”

  The moderator held up his gauntlet and activated the holographic projection. He watched Vincent, Valery, and Harper approach the gate to the great hall. “Men, let’s welcome our next set of guests.”

  Lucas opened the gate behind the throne, and his last three enemies rushed inside.

  Chapter 37

  Player: Vincent the Eldritch

  Location: Valahym (World) | Midrun (City) | The Lord’s Castle (District)

  Class: Ranger

  Subclass: Mage

  Vitality: Lv 165 (+20)

  Spirit*: Lv 174 (+20)

  Resolve: Lv 153 (+20)

  Perception*: Lv 180 (+20)

  Agility: Lv 163 (+20)

  Strength: Lv 162 (+20)

  Just as Vincent aimed his fingers to shoot the hinges of the vault-like door, the mechanism unwound and opened itself. He didn’t pause to reflect why and rushed into the room with Valery and Harper beside him. His eyes fell on the gruesome scene of blood and dust that covered the great hall. He noticed right away that Xan and Quinn were banned, but Vincent didn’t see Jim among the remaining players.

  Valery pointed her fingers at Lucas, who seemed to have dropped his guard for whatever reason. Her arm muscles tensed as she pointed harder and more desperately. “I don’t understand! Why isn’t it working?”

  A smile formed on Lucas’s face, and he squeezed his gauntlet.

  The door slammed shut behind Vincent, and he glanced up in time so see the shimmer of a forcefield. He tightened his hands, trying to feel his mana reserves, but a buzzing frequency blocked him.

  An anti-spell room? Just like the ones Marquis sometimes used as traps.

  Lucas raised his gauntlet-covered hand and pointed at Valery. “Any last words? Because I’ll never unban you after this.”

  “No!” Valery screamed, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. “I won’t go back into that dungeon!” She pointed her fingers even harder and screamed in horror when nothing happened.

  A faint shimmer ran across the air and hit Valery. Most players wouldn’t have seen it, but Vincent’s sharp eyes tracked the shot as it left Lucas’s finger and hit the woman. Valery must’ve glimpsed it, too, because she let out a cry before becoming still like a statue.

  “Lucas!” Harper cried. “You need to stop this.”

  “Oh, now you want to talk?” Lucas said. “It’s too late for you too. I’ll unban you in fifty years once your will is broken. You’ll love me then—I assure you of that.”

  “Kid, you have some issues,” Vincent said, equipping a hardened-verasteel blade.

  “Kid?” Lucas said, his face growing flushed with anger. “I’m a god. You ought to kneel at my feet and beg for forgiveness.”

  Low-tier mods have a minute between shots. I need to get that gauntlet off him by then.

  Vincent charged forward, but Fynn met him halfway. Their blades collided, and the basteel chipped the hardened-verasteel. Fynn slammed his shoulder into the old man, knocking him back, and then slashed through Vincent’s neck with the tip of his blade.

  A flash of light sealed Vincent’s wound, and he paused to think. Revival runes? That means I don’t have to worry about fighting Fynn at all.

  Vincent ran forward again, and Fynn raised his blade. The old man ran past and ignored the enemy as the Wolf Lord lopped off one of his arms. Before he reached Lucas, his arm had been restored in a flash of light. Erik jumped between them, but Vincent cut down the man with a quick swing. He struck again and severed Lucas’s gauntlet-equipped arm.

  Got it!

  Lucas stumbled backward and chuckled. A flash of white light restored his arm, and the gauntlet reappeared with it. “You moron. Did you really think I wouldn’t anticipate you’d go for the gauntlet? One rune I attached to it brings it back to me. It’s also protected by a forcefield made by absorbing energy from the room, so you won’t be able to break it, either. You lose, cheater. And you lose because of my wits—not just my mod powers.”

  Fynn’s basteel short sword pierced through Vincent’s back and emerged out his chest. He coughed blood, and then Fynn slung him away from Lucas.

  I need to keep my mana refilled. He can’t ban me if my Gravity Shield still works.

  Vincent retreated across the hall and gulped down ethers. With the buzzing frequency in the air, he found it difficult to even tell when his mana felt full.

  Harper’s eyes filled with worry. “You don’t have backup coming, do you?”

  “In two weeks,” Vincent replied. “At least one person will respawn with void powers, but he can’t unban people.”

  A grimace fell over Harper’s face. “Is there a way you can kill me without the revival runes saving me?”

  “Yeah,” Vincent said. He equipped a Lotus Capsule and tossed it to Harper.

  “Not this again,” Lucas muttered. He pointed his finger at Harper.

  Vincent stepped in front of the shimmer, and his Gravity Shield stopped the ban. “Can you do me one favor, Harper? If you’re going to kill yourself, try to blow up Lucas’s gauntlet.”

  Harper placed the Lotus Capsule between her teeth. “I’ll try.”

  Vincent equipped another Lotus Capsule to put in his mouth. I don’t want to abandon Quinn and Xan, but if I can’t beat him, I’ll have to do the next best thing and destroy his gauntlet. That’ll leave him trapped in this great hall until his men break him out. In two weeks, we might be able to spring another attack before the Justiciars are ready. We’ll even have Zhang next time.

  “Get ready,” Vincent muttered to Harper.

  The Ranger dashed at superhuman speed at the Wolf Lord. He equipped a second sword as Fynn brought Wolf’s Reign down toward his head. Vincent tilted his head to the side, allowing Wolf’s Reign to bisect him between his neck and shoulder.

  Pain surged through Vincent’s body, but he forced himself to cross his swords and decapitate Fynn. He tossed the Wolf Lord’s body aside as a flash of light restored them, and then Vincent ran alongside Harper.

  Erik gripped his longsword and stepped in front of Lucas. He raised his blade, but Vincent kicked off the ground toward him at a much higher speed and cut through both of his forearms. The man screamed in pain, and his body tensed until his arms reappeared.

  Harper darted past Erik. As she neared the moderator, he unequipped the gauntlet and smirked. Harper slid to a stop, and a look of dread crossed her face.

  “Really, Harper?” Lucas mocked. “You thought I’d let you blow up my gauntlet? Like I’m too stupid to think of that too? Unlike you—you don’t even realize what’ll happen if you blow up yourself. I’ll mark your death timer, and in two weeks when you respawn, I’ll ban you. Maybe you’ll kill yourself once or twice. Ten or twenty times, even. It doesn’t matter. Eventually, I’ll ban you.”

  “Just let me die, Lucas,” Harper begged. “You can have this world—the entire World-Tree. Just let me go. You don’t love me. You’ve never loved me. You’re sick in the head and obsessed with me. You’d be happier if you just forgot about me. If you’d leave your collection behind and find some meaning in your—”

  Lucas reequip
ped the gauntlet and shot Harper with Mod Gun before she could close her teeth on the Lotus Capsule. “Blah, blah, blah. I don’t care, Harper. I’m tired of the people in my collection trying to give me inspirational and heart-felt speeches. As if I’d free them because they tugged my heart strings. I just don’t care. You’re right, though. I don’t love you. Not as you are now. You’re the one that disgusts me, Harper. But luckily for you, I’m nice enough to rehabilitate you. And in fifty years, when I unban you, you’ll fall on your knees and worship me. And maybe—just maybe—I’ll forgive you.”

  Fynn slashed through Vincent’s armor and kicked him in the chest. The old man rolled across the floor and forced himself to stand.

  Maybe I should try to blow up one of the walls instead? If the anti-spell runes cut out, Quinn’s shield will kick on and likely free her. Or should I bomb Fynn, so he won’t have that basteel next time? No, the basteel wouldn’t be much of a problem if it wasn’t for this anti-spell room and this buzzing frequency. Maybe I can catch Lucas off guard and destroy his gauntlet? I have a few options, but none of them are ideal.

  Fynn ran at Vincent and skewered the Ranger-Mage. He hacked at the old man, decapitated him, and even split him in half. Every time, a flash of white light restored Vincent, and he’d stumble away to drink an ether. Luckily, he’d gathered hundreds of them over several battles.

  After numerous deaths, he almost grew numb to the pain, but then the Wolf Lord would kill him in a new way. He gouged out Vincent’s eyes, slit his throat, and even cracked his skull with the flat side of Wolf’s Reign. Every dozen or so deaths, Fynn would try a different tactic to break Vincent’s will.

  The old man’s Blood of the Ancient effect wore off, and he drank more potions to boost his levels. Sometimes, Fynn slashed through the potions before he could down them, and Vincent would swap to another. His ether count dropped to two-hundred, then one-hundred, and then fifty after hundreds of deaths.

  After several hours of dying repeatedly, Vincent collapsed to the floor. His hands felt the energy field, and he could see the light of runes racing across the floor. Even with the constant buzzing frequency, he could still feel the power of the runes somewhere below the surface.