The Dragon's Wrath: Ashes of the Fallen

by Brent Roth

  It was no matter though.

  The two remaining stragglers regrouped, with the shield-bearer standing front and center, defiantly raising his circular wooden shield in an effort to deflect the spell that was about to be cast at them. It was an effective strategy against spells, one that I had yet to employ but would do in the same situation. They weren't entirely unskilled and even showed some semblance of small-unit tactics. Unfortunately, they couldn't block what was about to come.

  Unbeknownst to them, in the midst of the rainstorm that had been falling throughout our fight, puddles had accumulated in the low spots. There wasn't enough rainfall to create deep puddles but with the off-and-on rain over the past few days, there were already small pools ready and waiting.

  There was a funny thing, about electricity.

  They would learn in short order.

  "Through power, darkness turns to light, render all to ash," I droned on with monotony as the balled lightning continued to increase in power. They stood back, believing in their defenses, waiting for me to make the next move.

  "Lightning Bolt!" I yelled out quickly to startle them, as I thrust both arms forth and aimed at the ground beneath their feet. As the lightning bolt cut through the air leaving a trail of electricity behind, it nearly instantly hit the puddle underneath them as the electricity discharged partially into the ground and the rest up through their legs.

  They both convulsed in place for a second, buying me time to pick up my shield and draw my dagger as I rushed towards them. Using a [Shield Bash] of my own, both shields clashed as he met my charge. The shock of the impact sent us both reeling while he lost his footing and slipped backwards. The spearman took advantage and attempted a [Heavy Thrust] that managed to pierce through my side, causing pain to reverberate throughout my body. It was a deep wound to my torso, but nothing fatal.

  He pulled back, as the shield-bearer regained his footing and squared up once more. They intended to draw the fight out, to poke and prod… to whittle me down over time.

  I wasn't a fucking carving though.

  A two versus one scenario, they held their ground as I thought of my next move. My mana was slowly regenerating, enough that I could use another [Flash Step] and possibly another [Lightning Bolt] as well. My health was at 74% while theirs was at 48% and 63% respectively. The only problem, was one good hit could send me to the graveyard. It didn't take more than one solid hit to the head, or a direct hit to the heart to kill a man. We were only mortal, after all.

  [Discharge] had a long cooldown, otherwise I would use it again.

  A [Flash Step] combo into [Discharge] would easily win me the fight, but I had another thirty seconds to wait. They seemed to catch on though, as I was pacing around them, biding my time just for that. I needed mana, and my cooldown period was long.

  They decided to split, attempting to circle me once more.

  I kept the shield-bearer in front of me, letting the spearman get behind me. He was the real threat, but I wanted him to grow confident, I needed him to make a mistake. The shield-bearer couldn’t kill me in a one versus one, his equipment and skillset betrayed him. But a single well-placed [Heavy Thrust] would end me.

  They started to grow impatient as I watched their every move. They circled, as I continued to shift my feet one step at a time, maintaining an angle appropriate for a counter. I still had my shield and my knife, and they were afraid of the unknown.

  "He can't use those abilities again," yelled the shield-bearer to his friend. "He would have used them already if he could do it more than once. Let's get him before he recovers, follow my lead!"

  "Talking in the middle of a fight?" I asked jokingly. "You underestimate me."

  "You just got lucky punk," claimed the spearman behind me. "Caught us by surprise, you ain't shit. Don't get cocky you son of a bitch."

  "Ah, is that so," I mocked with a haughty laugh.

  Now was the time.

  Slowly turning my head and focusing on the spot behind the spearman, with my body still facing the shield-bearer, I thought of two specific words, Flash Step. Without the need to utter a word, my body was sucked instantly through a vortex of light, reappearing directly behind the spearman faster than I could understand. Instinctively throwing my shield out with a [Shield Bash], it connected with the back of the spearman as he tumbled down to the ground with barely a sound.

  He hastily rolled onto his back to protect himself, but a spear was hardly usable on the ground as he waved it weakly in my general direction. Ignoring his futile attack I leapt forward and fell on top of the man with my knee in his chest and another leg out to the side to brace myself. Before he could react, I slipped the knife cleanly through his exposed throat and up beneath the chin, smooth and easy without any resistance.

  Warm blood poured out onto my hand as the rain continued to fall, washing away what little trace there was. In an instant, another man had perished to my blade. The corpse beneath limp and harmless, there was only one obstacle remaining.

  Sitting atop the dead body, I looked up and eyed the last of the bunch.

  Rain continuing to fall, dripping down my face and off my chin… this was the scenario we were in. Only two of us were left, and only one would walk away. The ring leader that blocked the doorway, the one that decided to harass a girl in my presence, he was the only one left now. He figured he could get away with his brash attitude all because of numerical superiority… no, not when I was around.

  If he sought mercy, he wouldn't find it here.

  "You're fucking sick," he shouted in desperation.

  "Maybe I am," I replied nonchalantly.

  The scene certainly was gruesome, I had methodically ripped them apart, one by one. I didn't shy away from slitting a throat, from hacking into a skull, or from burning a man to death internally with my lightning.

  Maybe I was sick, but it didn't matter to me.

  This was a game, and only that.

  They would have done the same to me, if given the chance.

  Without any further hesitation, I walked towards the man and dropped my shield on the ground, keeping only the bloody knife in my hand. With my arms relaxed and the knife dangling by my side, I closed the distance as the man readied his sword and raised his shield. He didn't back down, but he was anxious and nervous. He didn't know what to expect next, and I didn't blame him.

  In truth, I wasn't skilled enough to kill him with my knife alone.

  The knife was a bluff, meant to distract and nothing more.

  I needed him to lower his shield or to attack.

  As I closed the distance between us, the man grew impatient and angry with himself. He was angry that he had hesitated to fight me one versus one. That this lone man with a knife in the rain was keeping him standing still with shield raised. I could see it on his face. He was displeased, it didn't sit well with him.

  "Does it bother you, that you're scared?" I antagonized.

  He stood there in silence.

  "Let me teach you something," I said as I slowed my pace slightly. "In this world of ours, there is always someone better, bigger, stronger, smarter, or worse, smaller, weaker, stupider… that's the nature of things. Someone will always come around and surprise you. Yet, you and your friends find yourselves above some others, and collectively as a group probably get away with your practices most of the time, too. Well, you just met someone better, and now I'm showing you what it's like to be on the other side of that fence."

  Stopping a few feet away from him, he was clearly trying to contain his rage.

  I only had to push a little more.

  "It's not so fun being the weak one, is it?" I questioned, pitying him with my eyes.

  He caught on, and his face nearly contorted as his anger boiled over and he roared at me, raising his sword into the air and charging at me with his shield held centerline. Three steps brought him into range as he swiped down at me, attempting to cut into my neck as I had no way to parry, but I had no intention of deflecting the blow as
I tucked to my right and slid onto the ground. My right shoulder hitting the mud as I slipped and slid to the side, the man missed his swing as his back was exposed to me, shield pointed uselessly in the opposite direction.

  I raised my left arm.

  With my free hand, I opened it and channeled the most powerful individual spell that I had. [Arc Lightning] shot out and connected the two of us, as his exposed back became the focus of my attention. I only had enough mana for two seconds, and that wasn't enough to kill him, but it was enough to buy me some time.

  Standing up with the channel still going, I walked closer to the man and as the [Arc Lightning] cut out due to my mana shortage, I plunged the knife that was in my right hand straight into the back of his spine, lodging it deeply between the vertebrae and severing it completely. A twist and a pull, and the man fell to the ground a corpse.

  The fight was over.

  Letting out a sigh of relief, I relaxed my shoulders as I stared at the carnage.

  Four bodies lying on the ground, now released with their hosts in spirit form at the graveyard, waiting for the time penalty to fall off so they could resurrect. They deserved what happened, in my mind.

  They were asking for it.

  Yet, I wasn't really happy.

  In fact, I felt like a murderer… the brutal nature of the fight left a lingering distaste in my mouth. It was too graphic, too personal, too real… really. Killing in PvP was expected to be harsh, that was the nature of virtual reality.

  The fact that they strived for such an advanced realism is what set the game apart. Though, they had turned down the graphical gore so organs and such wouldn't be displayed, there was still the sensation of piercing through someone and the warmth and stickiness of their blood splattering across your face.

  Really, it wasn't that much different from stabbing a wolf.

  Maybe that was what bothered me… that there was no physical difference between cutting down a virtual beast and a virtual representation of another human being.

  Desensitized… perhaps, I was.

  The rain had picked up and was now a steady downpour, I was drenched from head to toe and covered in mud but I didn't really care. It washed the blood off, it cleansed my gear… a free bath, is all it was.

  "Ah," I muttered to myself. "This is depressing."

  Tilting my head back, I stared at the clouds that partially obscured the moon as I pondered how the future would turn out. I tried to get away from the fighting, with the constant struggle between other players and losing my temper. Now, I was right back in it. First, I killed the pugs that were talking shit, now… I killed four guys because they were rude and annoyed me.

  I was completely, utterly regressed.

  I had fallen back into my old habits, and I wasn't happy with that. Picking up my shield and my axe, I put everything back into their holsters and walked off into the forest. There was a little shame that I had resorted to violence so quickly.

  Though that went away rather quickly.

  At the end of the day, violence, was sometimes the answer.

  Those guys wouldn't have learned anything if I tried to talk it out. Now, they at least knew to watch themselves and their behavior in public. I'm sure they will still misbehave, but fear is a curious thing. Fear will stop someone long before logic will.

  Yeah, maybe I had regressed.

  Well, it wasn't that bad.

  I had a goal anyways, to build a kingdom in the North. Bloodshed would be necessary, as it was to free Selene and Katherine. Fights will happen, as players will come to blows over disagreements. And eventually, power struggles will occur, as this land, this game state known as The Dragon's Wrath, soon becomes a warzone where factions wage war on neighbors, partly for fun, partly for dominance, and maybe just because. Deep down, we all enjoyed it a little.

  A guilty pleasure, is what it was.

  Yeah, taking out the baddies was a fun thing.

  I kind of liked it, really.

  Chapter 51: The Big Boss

  (Friday, June 25th Game Day / Sunday, February 28th Real Day)

  "You're red again Sigurd," yelled out Barik from a distance.

  "Yeah," I replied without much care. "Troublemakers, what can I do."

  Barik had been standing out in the rain in front of the dungeon portal, waiting for the group to gather. My one hour window to eat and relax was mostly wasted by the four stooges. Well, at least I made it on time.

  Now, we could finally get this dungeon run started.

  We were all on the fifth quest chain and needed the fifth boss. It was a moment we had been preparing for, for nearly a week now. To finish the dungeon before any other party, to gain the reputation bonus and a potential title to hang above our heads, some fame, some experience, and maybe even some extra coin too.

  They were lofty goals, but they were reasonable.

  Our party was experienced and our unit cohesion was top notch after days of grinding and experimenting. I was nearing fifty and the others had already passed the first mark nearly three days ago. As far as the leaderboards were concerned, we were in the top one-percent of the player base. We weren't in the top ten, but we were within the top one-hundred. That was good enough for me.

  The levels themselves never meant much to us, anyhow.

  It was all about proficiency and learned skills.

  Barik was an excellent tank, significantly more developed than I. Allen and Ethan both were more proficient in their respective fields as well, so too, was the frost mage without a name. He had one of course, at least I assumed he did. He was a quiet guy, one that didn't talk much, so no one bothered to ask.

  They were all well-developed and ready to proceed.

  The only one that had lagged behind slightly, was me.

  What I lacked in my singular proficiency though, I made up with being adept at multiple roles. I was a red mage as far as one could tell, a hybrid, jack of all trades type of guy. My tanking skills fell behind by a tier, as did my magic, and my bow proficiency was at least two if not three tiers behind a similar leveled player… but my versatility made up for it.

  My Ancient Relic made up for it.

  To think that scaling a mountain could have proved so fruitful.

  Yeah, it was a nice feeling. Hard work, practice… time devoted to improving myself had created a player beyond reproach.

  I may have been outmatched in individual skills, but the combination of my abilities put me a step above the competition at the moment. To say I was the most valuable member of the party wasn't a stretch, even if it was cocky and egotistical of me to admit it. There were certain truths, that didn't really need to be explained.

  Now, we would put it all to the test.

  "Are we good to go?" I asked as everyone had gathered in front of the portal.

  Four nods and various responses followed, and we all turned and entered the dungeon for hopefully the last time. There wasn't much left to do, two hours of clearing trash mobs and four mini-bosses that we had killed a dozen times before, all for the single culminating event of the big boss.

  The big baddy that had us too scared to even attempt it.

  That goblin, with his inordinate amount of subordinates, to the point that it defied the logic and thematic style of the dungeon in its entirety, was the one that we wanted.

  The first boss fell without so much as a hitch.

  We had a lot of theories, for potential strategies going forward.

  We would be facing off against fourteen goblins and my [Chain Lightning] was limited to five targets. The frost mage's [Freezing Rain] would be effective, but only if we could hold them all together. Ethan's [Flame Wave] was great too, though it couldn't do enough damage, quick enough to matter. So, we were limited with our options.

  In order to challenge the fifth boss, we needed to be considerably stronger.

  Strong enough that the second boss was killed with three people while two rested.

  No other group had managed to take the fifth boss
down.

  Though, one guild ended up bragging about being the first to conquer the fourth floor a day ago, about a week late to the party, really. They were ridiculed in short order, a lesson to their public relations guy or gal, I'm sure.

  One of the keys to our strategy, was to rely on my [Discharge] to disrupt and stun the mass of goblins, with the intent to keep them locked inside the [Freezing Rain] for as long as we could. The second step, was for Ethan to utilize his [Flame Spike] in conjunction with [Flame Wave], a two-part combo of Area of Effect magic that would hopefully take care of the [Outcast Minor Goblins] holding the front line.

  [Flame Spike] was a straight-line skill shot that engulfed anything in its path.

  It made quick work of the third boss's entourage, so there was definite promise.

  We weren't sure though, how effective everything would be.

  Multiple spells that required precise timing to effectively chain off each other, wasn't necessarily easy to accomplish. Barik also needed to essentially volunteer for a suicidal mission to run into the center and taunt them all, briefly holding their attention while I worked to off-tank the two [Outcast Goblin Guards]. In truth, with the fourth floor's boss setup of two [Goblin Guards], we had plenty of opportunity to practice tanking, with Barik on two, and with me on two during other runs.

  We even gave it another go, to make sure.

  I ended up tanking both [Guards] on the fourth floor, taking very little damage this time around. Thanks in large part to hundreds of opportunities to tank random goblins.

  Yeah, we had made some pretty significant strides.

  Alan had figured out an easy rotation to keep us healed, and both Barik and I were instinctively good tanks outside of our practical efficiency. Having two tanks with one doubling as an extremely bursty damage-dealer was quite handy, too.

  And now, we stood before the fifth floor's boss.

  Seven [Outcast Minor Goblins] front and center in a line, as if they were on a two row stage of sorts, being displayed for all to see. They weren't much but they would eat up my lightning if I wasn't careful. Behind them were the real threats though, two [Goblin Archers], [Goblin Priests], and [Goblin Guards] with one of each flanking the [Outcast Goblin Chief] directly in the center.