by Vic Connor
Niko looked back at her then, and for a quantifiable second, they locked eyes.
“Two…” the woman’s voice said. “One… BEGIN THE HUNT.”
The doors flew open, and the four of them darted out of the barracks and into the maze of ghost pines. Everyone looked around.
“Northeast quadrant,” Hunk reported.
Jeny sniffed the air. “Aye. I can smell a river nearby.”
“Take it south to Iris Lake, Jeny,” Cal said, and Jeny tore off, tromping through the underbrush. “I’ll scout things out at the midpoint,” Cal went on. “Hunk, you and Niko go west, and contact me before engaging with anyone, all right?”
Hunk nodded, but Cal was already gone, disappearing into the trees.
“All right, hehe. The monsters in this area can be tough, but with two of us they should be no problem!” Hunk ran ahead, navigating through the forest without hesitation.
Niko jogged after. “You know your way around, huh?”
“I’ve studied the Hunting Ground extensively,” Hunk said. “There should be a monster up ahead.”
“So…there’s walls around the Hunting Ground, right? Are they high?”
“Not especially. They’re mostly just to set the boundaries.”
“What happens if you go out of bounds? Does the team get disqualified or something?”
“Uhm, heh, no technical rule has been made because, well, there’s no advantage to it. It’s forbidden strictly for safety reasons.”
“And what’s North of the Hunting Grounds?”
“Haha, a lot more forest is all I know. Why do you ask?”
“No reason.”
Hunk got quiet as they approached a clearing, peering in at it through the leaves.
“So where’s the monster again?” Niko asked.
“Shhh,” Hunk said gently, then pointed towards the clearing. Niko peered through the brush.
It was white as sand, with one long horn and two longer ears, twitching in the underbrush. Niko estimated it was the size of a cat.
“That thing is a monster?” Niko asked. Hunk shushed him again, more frantically this time.
Niko rolled his eyes and emerged from their hiding place. “Listen, Hunk, I know I’m low-leveled, but I think I can handle a bunny.” The strange rabbit bared its flat teeth and hissed as Niko approached.
“Niko!” Hunk’s eyes widened with panic. “Don’t—”
In a blur, the rabbit leapt forward like a bull and stabbed its horn into Niko’s calf. Niko’s legs buckled, and he dropped to the ground. The rabbit bounded back, readying for another strike.
“You little—”
When it attacked, however, a golden sheen appeared across Niko’s vision, transparent but reflective, like a window. The rabbit thunked hard against it and dropped to the ground, dazed.
“Ha!” Niko barked in triumph. He looked back at Hunk, who had his arms in a casting position.
“It’s stunned,” Hunk said. “Get it!”
Clenching his teeth through the pain, Niko pushed himself up, hesitated, then punched the rabbit between its beady eyes. It squealed, and a health bar flashed above its head. It would take a few more hits to knock out. It was already squirming, trying to right itself and escape as Hunk shot wisps of magic at its body, knocking its health down bit by bit.
“Don’t you dare.” Niko grabbed it by its ruff with both hands. The rabbit hissed, twisting, and managed to lance him in the forearm with its horn. Niko gasped, gritting his teeth as Hunk cast a spell over Niko—golden sparks that winked around him. A kind of electricity went through him. His wounds closed, the pain receded, and he found himself full of nervous energy. Hunk sent more wisps of magic damage the monster’s way, eventually chipping its health to zero.
BATTLE COMPLETE!
MONSTERS DEFEATED: AL-MIR’AJ x1
100 EXPERIENCE GAINED
GOLD: 300 GP
PASSIVE EFFECT: 10*1.5 = 150 XP
2650/3000 XP
With a squeak, the rabbit puffed out of existence, leaving a glittering box in its place, about the size of an orange.
“Loot!” Hunk piped, gesturing at the box. “You should take it, Niko.”
Niko rolled onto his back. “But you’re the one who did all the work.”
“You got a good hit in! And you kept it from running away.”
“I got beat up by a bunny rabbit.”
“Every monster in the Hunt is dangerous,” Hunk said, trying and failing to stifle a giggle. “Even bunny rabbits. Go on, take it. It’s your first kill, after all.”
“What is it?” Niko asked, examining the box.
“When you pick it up, it becomes an item useful to your Mythic.”
Niko nodded, kneeling to take the box in one hand. As soon as he touched it, the box fell open, revealing a pair of brass knuckles with spikes, like horns, jutting out. A UI floated above them.
Knuckle-Dusters of the Al-mir’aj
Hand Slot
DURATION: Current Hunt
EFFECTS:
+10% Attack Speed
+1% Critical Hit Chance
Niko put them on, flexing his fingers.
“Looks good,” Hunk said, giving a thumbs up.
Niko’s comm crackled, then Jeny’s voice spoke directly in his ear. “Oi, it’s Jeny. I got waylaid by a Dobhar Chu. Took a chunk out me leg. It’s dead but I’m well tore up. If I run into anything else, I winnae make it.”
Her voice was raw and tight; in pain. “Location?” Cal said over the comm, cool as ever. For some reason, that pissed Niko off.
“The mire, northern tip,” Jeny croaked.” In the abandoned lab. It looks like Black Fire already took out Stitches, so I think I’m safe here.”
“Hunk, go,” Cal said. Hunk nodded, giving Niko a cursory farewell. “Niko, continue on, but be careful. If you don’t recognize the monster, call it in and run it by us, got it?”
“Got it,” Niko lied. The moment Hunk was out of sight, he reached to pull out his earpiece, then stopped.
With Jeny hurt, it felt like things were already going bad—how much worse would it be for Cal, Hunk, and Jeny if they were a man short?
You’re a noob, Niko reminded himself. Level two. You’re as good as worthless to them anyway. Besides, it’s just a game. Niko pulled the comm from his ear then dropped it onto the forest floor. If Hunk was going south to find Jeny, the opposite direction would take him to the northern edge of the Hunting Grounds, and hopefully, the edge of the world. Niko jogged best he could around fallen logs and underbrush. When he arrived at a steep hillside, he paused to rest, assured that he was far from anyone else now.
Niko didn’t hear it coming. It wasn’t until he felt paws push him onto his stomach, felt massive teeth sink into his back, that he knew it was there. He cried out. The monster took two more bites before Niko managed to use EditValue to snap out from under it. He appeared a few feet ahead and stumbled face-first against the trunk of ghost pine. He turned to get a look at what had just chewed up his shoulders.
From having gone to the zoo on more than one school trip, Niko knew wolves were larger than one imagined. Even so, he was pretty sure no wolf in the world was this big. The top of its head came up to Niko’s chin, and it bared blood-stained teeth. The UI above its head read “Amarok, Level 5 Monster.” The thing had chewed off almost half his hit points, and it looked hungry for the rest. With his comm far behind, Niko was going to have to fight this thing on his own.
The cooldown on his first ability had nearly reset. With a snarl, the wolf charged at him. Niko felt the urge to move, but he remembered what Cal said: Stay calm, analyze the situation, then act. He watched the cooldown timer on EditValue tick away. Just as the monster opened its jaws, the ability reset, and Niko snapped from in front of the wolf to behind it. Instead of biting into flesh, the monster’s muzzle smashed into the tree. It yelped, losing a third of its HP. Now it was dazed, and Niko was right behind it. He made a fist, his spiked brass knuckles reflecting moon
light, then he used his second ability, RecursiveFunction.
A flurry of rapid-fire punches smashed into the wolf’s hindquarters, raising a howl of pain and bloodying its grey fur. There was a crack as Niko hit a bony joint in its leg, less protected by fur, fat, and muscle. The wolf’s HP dropped down rapidly. Just a few more hits would do it. He just needed to—
In a flash, the wolf turned its head, jaw closing like a toothy vice on Niko’s arm. He gasped in pain, then started pummelling the wolf’s skull with his free hand, unable to escape. He hit it again and again, chipping away its HP until he got one particularly good hit on its eye. Small text floated up from the place of impact, reading “crit.” The wolf yelped as its HP shrank to zero. The jaw slackened, and the monster dropped to the ground in a heap. Then, the beast disappeared just as the rabbit had, leaving a winking item box and a bag of gold in its place.
BATTLE COMPLETE!
MONSTERS DEFEATED: AMAROK x1
200 EXPERIENCE GAINED
GOLD: 900 GP
PASSIVE EFFECT: 500*1.5 = 750 XP
2950/3000 XP
Niko approached cautiously. The gold vanished when he touched it, instead adding to the counter in his HUD. The item box became something that wasn’t quite a scarf. It was the same grey fur as the wolf, and it draped over his shoulders along his collar. The UI popped up.
Mantle of the Lonely
Shoulder Slot
DURATION: Current Hunt
EFFECTS:
+10 Armor
+15% Health.
Adjusting it around his neck, Niko was grateful for the extra health, since that last the bite had drained his HP to almost nothing. The mantle, at least, took him up to 25 HP.
Wait, Niko thought. If I had let the wolf take me down, wouldn’t I have logged out, like when I fell off the edge of the world? No, he remembered, after a moment of kicking himself. Hunk had told him that if you got KO’d during the Hunt, and no one revived you before the count of ten, all it did was teleport you back to the barracks and put you out of the game. Niko grimaced, grabbed his ripped-up arm, and struck back out north. At least, he was guessing it was north. The wolf got him pretty turned around.
After a few minutes walking, Niko felt exhausted, lost, and in pain. “Stupid game,” he muttered. “Stupid Hunt. Stupid Clark.” Niko paused, yelling up at the canopy. “What kind of sadist makes a video game with pain in it, huh?”
It wasn’t until he heard footsteps approaching that he realized yelling at the sky in a forest full of deadly monsters might not be the best idea. Niko groaned, turning to face whatever approached, sure that it would take him out. He could almost hear Jeny lambasting him for running off on his own. He put his fists down for only a moment when none other than Erica emerged from the underbrush. She’s on the other team, he reminded himself, and raised his fists again.
“Niko?” Erica certainly didn’t look hostile. In fact, when she saw his arm, she gasped and ran up, cooing over it with concern. “What happened? Did Cal really leave you out here all alone? What is she thinking?”
Niko relaxed, even puffed up a little. Erica was more concerned for his health than winning the game. She did care about him after all. “Jeny needed Hunk’s help, so she sent him to her.”
Erica pouted at him, sliding her hand into his. “Jeny is a tank, she can take care of herself. She shouldn’t have left you.” The feel of her hand in his made everything go fuzzy, y’know, like soft around the edges. “This is why I wanted you on our team. We’d have never let this happen.”
Niko sucked in a breath, disarmed. “You…wanted me?”
“Of course I did, Niko,” Erica cooed, leaning against him. “We all did. It’s just, Tim was so flustered when Cal switched the choice order. He thought he made the right decision, but I know he regrets it now.” Erica parted her pouty lips. The heat of her body, so close but not quite touching, warmed him. “I pleaded with him to reverse the decision, but Cal wouldn’t let him…”
“Didn’t you guys want Alonso?”
Erica looked at Niko through her lashes. “Alonso isn’t half the man you are, Niko. I feel so guilty about everything, because…I…” She looked away, blushing.
Niko’s heart raced, knees like jelly. “You…what?”
Erica ran her soft thumb over Niko’s fingers, pressing her body against his. “Niko… Ever since we’ve met, I’ve been drawn to you. You know what it means to be independent and strong, a real man who doesn’t need anyone else. It’s like you understand me in a way no one else does.”
Niko gasped for breath. With the dim, silvery light of the ghost pines lighting up her pale face, Erica was so beautiful Niko thought he might pass out any moment. “I… I feel the same way. God, you make me weak whenever I see you.”
Erica smiled devilishly. “The right woman can do that,” she said, sliding a hand on his cheek, leaning in. Niko felt her breath as she spoke. “Oh, Niko… when I’m around you, I just can’t control myself.” She leaned in then and kissed him with a fiery passion. Her lips seared his, and Niko leaned in closer, putting his hand on the small of her back to press their bodies together.
It was good; she definitely knew what she was doing. It was so intense he couldn’t catch his breath. He must have taken more damage than he thought because his legs shook, until finally collapsing beneath him. He fell away from Erica’s kiss, and she caught him in her arms, gently guiding him down to the ground. She crawled over him, staring down with bedroom eyes. God, she was hot, even with the purple skin.
Had she always had that color?
“Oh, Niko,” Erica crooned, lips parting to show a pair of sharp canines. “You just made this…so easy.” A tilt of her head, and Niko noticed the pair of horns curving up out of her hair. He looked to his HP—it was draining.
“You know, back when I thought you’d end up on our team, I was just playing with you for fun,” Erica went on, tracing a clawed finger down his chest. “It worked out, though, since Cal handed Alonso to us on a silver platter. Just so you know, we would have beaten the Sevens either way. But this was a lot more fun for both of us, don’t you think?” She got to her feet—which were now hooves—then laughed as she pranced off into the forest. Niko didn’t even have the energy to curse at her. His health had hit ten.
The businesslike woman’s voice—the announcer—spoke overhead. “Countdown until knockout. Ten… Nine…” The numbers appeared in Niko’s UI, blurring as his vision faded in and out. “Eight… Seven…”
He’d be transported to the barracks, and his team would be one short the rest of the game. Jeny would give him an earful about letting the team down, and she’d be right. It felt bad now that it was actually happening. He should have listened to her about Erica, and listened to Cal when she’d told him to stay put. “Six… Five…”
“Niko?”
Niko hadn’t heard anyone coming, but then, he was barely conscious. When she dropped down beside him, he felt it rather than heard it. “Four… Three…” There was a pop, then smooth glass touched his lips; a cool, crisp liquid slid down his throat. The countdown stopped, and his health bar started to fill back up. Niko sputtered, blinking away the fog.
Cal sat at his side, his earpiece hanging from the crook of her pinky finger. “When I said I was okay if we lost, this isn’t what I meant.” She pushed herself to her feet, then helped him up. Pinching the fur on his neck, she said, “Clearly it wasn’t the Amarok that took you out.”
Niko looked down at his arm, the wound now scabbed over. “No, it was…” He flushed.
Cal laughed one of her one-syllable laughs. “Let me guess. Erica?”
“How’d you know…?”
“Her Mythic’s a succubus, Niko. She’s had you in her sights since day one.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It seemed pretty obvious to me. She’s not exactly subtle.” Cal chuckled. “Besides, I thought you learned that morning in DPS class that you couldn’t trust anyone on Black Fire.” She han
ded Niko his earpiece back. “You want to explain why you took this off?”
Niko swallowed and hooked the comm back on his ear, saying nothing.
Cal clicked her teeth. “All right, well, just warn me if you’re going to do it again. I spent a lot of time tracking you down, so now we’re both undergeared.” Cal clicked her comm. “I found him. We’re on the way.”
The most creative string of Scottish curses squawked into Niko’s ear, and he considered taking the thing off again.
“Come on,” Cal said. “Let’s get you to Hunk; he’ll heal you the rest of the way. How much gold you got?”
“Uh… Twelve hundred?”
“Hm. Not much, but we can get you a couple pots and maybe an upgrade at the gear-goblin. It’s on the way, come on.”
“Pots?”
“Potions. They heal you. You had one in the DPS Class. Also, one of mine, just now?”
Niko managed to look chagrined.
They weaved through the ghost pines, Niko following Cal’s lead. Even through the twigs, leaves, and underbrush, Cal moved in silence. He’d always thought of himself as a good hunter and woodsman, but next to her he was a lumbering oaf.
They emerged into a small clearing. A hut, covered in turning gears and loose springs, sat nestled against a waterway. The front was cut open, and a short creature with a round mask leaned over the counter. Behind them was a wall covered in tools and equipment. Cal walked up, pulling little bat wings from the backs of her curly-toed shoes then putting them on the counter, along with a bag of gold that materialized in her hand. “Upgrade these to Critters. Niko? Come on.”
Niko walked up, cautiously looking over his shoulder.
“We’re instanced in here,” Cal said. “That means no monsters or enemies can get into this clearing. You can look over your shoulder when we come out, that’s when we’ll get ambushed. Put your knuckles up here.”
Niko took off his brass knuckles and placed them on the counter. The short creature in the mask cocked its head at him.
“We’ll have to min-max and outplay to catch up at this point. I recommend Marrmitts, they cost 1150. Spend the rest on a pot.”
