by Lucas Flint
Once I was ready, I pulled up my character sheet with a thought. A menu appeared, showing a small 3D model of myself floating next to a sheet with all of my stats:
Name: Kevin Jason, AKA Bolt
Level: 30
Class: Swordsman
Affinity: Good
Strength: 35
Defense: 25
Speed: 33
Dexterity: 7
Health: 45
Evasion: 30
Mana: 10
Stamina: 20
I sighed with relief. Looked like all of my character data was saved from the last time I was here. I even wore and carried the same equipment: namely, my Cannibal Sword, one of the most powerful weapons in the game, which gave my Attack and Speed amazing boosts and a few neat Abilities. Speaking of Abilities, I still had Swordplay, Dodge, and Scan, which was good, because I had a feeling I would need them soon. They were all still Level 1, though, which made me wonder how I was supposed to upgrade my Abilities. For that matter, I wondered about the Swordsman Class Tree as well.
But I pushed such thoughts out of my mind for the moment. I had more important things to worry about right now than game mechanics. First things first. I needed to figure out what happened to Olga, as well as find Mecha Knight. I checked the party chat to see if I could send them both a message, but unfortunately, I was the only member of my party right now. Our party must have disbanded when we logged off last time, and since neither Mecha Knight nor Olga were close enough for me to send them party invites, that meant I was all on my own out here.
That would have bothered me normally, but I felt pretty secure by myself right now. Especially since I was just in the starting area, which I knew from experience was full of low-leveled enemies that wouldn’t stand a chance against me.
“Olga?” I called out, looking around the peaceful meadow for any sign of her. “Olga, are you here? Hello? Olga?”
There was no response. I looked this way and that, trying to find Olga again, but as far as I could tell, I was completely alone out here. Not a problem. Just because Olga wasn’t in the starting area didn’t mean she was gone. Keoria was a big place. She could be anywhere. Hopefully, I’d be able to find her pretty quickly because Blizzard was still waiting for me to come back and I had promised her that date as soon as I returned.
Turning around to leave the forest, I caught a glimpse of a woman moving among the trees. “Hello? Who’s there? Show yourself.”
No response other than a strangely familiar giggle. I heard rustling in the nearby bushes and looked over just in time to catch a glimpse of another woman disappearing into the trees around me.
I drew the Cannibal Sword and held it before me defensively. “All right. I don’t know who any of you people are, but if you mean to harm me, you’re going to regret it.”
More giggles came from the trees. What was weirder was that they all sounded like they came from the same woman, multiple recordings of the same woman giggling and being played at the same time. It was as unnerving as it sounded.
Then a woman stepped out of the trees and into view. I gaped when I saw her.
She was a tall, thin woman with a very fine figure, emphasized by her long black dress. A witch’s hat sat on her head, while her fingers were studded with rings of every color in the rainbow. She would have been drop-dead gorgeous if not for the scars on her face, as well as the arrogant smirk she wore on her lips.
My tongue seemed to swell when I saw her. “No way. It can’t be … Holly?”
Holly flashed a dangerous smile, but then I heard movement around me and looked around to see more women walking out of the woods.
They weren’t just women, however. They were clones of Holly … and they had me completely surrounded on all sides.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Desperate, I Scanned Holly to find out what her stats were and what I was up against:
Name: Holly
Level: 60
Class: Boss/Dark Sorceress
Affinity: Evil
Health: 100/100
Weakness: Light
Dark Sorceresses are dangerous and powerful women who have been seduced by the Darkness to serve its will. They work primarily through magical incantations, potions, trickery, and manipulation of minions, meaning their attack patterns can be impossible to predict and even more impossible to defend against. They despise Maidens of Light more than any other creature in Keoria and will often drop everything else to kill one in their immediate vicinity.
I got similar readings from every Holly clone I Scanned. I probably should have been grateful that Holly wasn’t any stronger than the last time I fought her, but her stagnation didn’t matter when she had five or six clones of herself with the same stats and attributes while I was by myself. I didn’t even have Olga to protect me.
I drew the Cannibal Sword and held it before me defensively, doing my best to look as threatening and dangerous as possible. “Holly, how did you return? Mecha Knight killed you. You were deleted. You shouldn’t be here at all.”
Holly smirked. “My death was certainly painful, but I barely remember it. I do, however, remember you and your friends. Perhaps it’s time I returned the favor.”
Holly’s voice sounded really weird. The last time I saw her, Holly had sounded like an ordinary person, but her voice now had a strange metallic buzz to it. She sounded almost like a robot, which I guess was appropriate given that she was basically a highly advanced computer virus. Even so, I sensed that this Holly, despite her words, was not the same Holly I had fought three months ago, although that didn’t really matter given how powerful she was.
“What did you do to Mecha Knight?” I said. “Are you responsible for his disappearance?”
Holly’s smirk became even smugger. “As if I would tell you that. Or how I came back to life. I should probably just kill you right now and be done with it, but I am a generous Dark Sorceress and so I am willing to allow you to live if you will log off now.”
I scowled. “I’m not leaving until I find Mecha Knight. And I’ll kill you again if I have to.”
Holly shook her head. “I don’t think you really understand your position. You are in no position to kill, or even threaten, me. I, however, am free to do to you whatever I want. Like so.”
Holly thrust a hand forward and a shadow bolt shot out of her hands toward me. I dodged the shadow bolt with my Dodge Ability, but then a shadow spike shot out of the ground and impaled my left leg.
Pain shot through my body as a notification appeared in my vision:
Damage received! -20 Health!
Debuff added: Broken leg. Movement decreased by 10%, Speed decreased by 5%, Evasion decreased by 5%. You will lose 1 Health every 2 seconds or until your leg is healed.
I gritted my teeth as the shadow spike vanished. Even though that blow hadn’t hit anything important, it still caused a huge amount of damage and hit me with a fairly nasty debuff. I wouldn’t have worried about the debuff under ordinary circumstances, but when I was all by myself facing off against six powerful high-level enemies, each one more than capable of killing me by themselves, I became pessimistic about my odds.
But I couldn’t give up yet. I pulled a Health Potion out of my inventory and tried to drink it, but then a shadow tendril slapped the potion out of my hands and then slapped me in the face just as quickly. That took another 5 points off my Health, leaving me with less than half my Health left, and still dropping.
The blow had also caused me to lose my balance, thanks to my broken leg, which ruined my balance in addition to hurting me. I fell over onto my side and, before I could get up again, thick shadow tendrils emerged from underneath me and wrapped around my arms and legs, pinning me firmly to the ground. Another status notification appeared before me:
Debuff added: Shadow Trap. Movement immobilized for 5 minutes or until Shadow Trap spell is dispelled.
“What?” I said. I struggled against the tendrils, which reminded me a lot of Shade’s shadow tend
rils back in the real world. “Five minutes? Okay, this is just ridiculous and overpowered.”
One of the Hollys walked over to me. She looked down at me with a wicked grin on her face, her eyes glowing softly with dark power. She knelt over me and ran a hand down the side of my face, her fingers cold to the touch.
“Now I have you right where I want you, boy,” said Holly. “The question is, what shall I do to you? I am of a mind to simply kill you outright, but if I did that, you would just be forced to log off and could come back again later. It would make far more sense, I think, to tie you up and haul you off to my master. He would be very pleased with that, for he desires to control you for his own reasons.”
“Your master?” I said, although I wasn’t paying very much attention, because out of the corner of my eye, I saw my Health rapidly depleting. It wouldn’t be long before my Health hit zero and I would be forced to log out. “Are you talking about Seth Richards?”
“His name is Abaddon, actually,” said Holly. She lifted her hand off my face. “Not that it matters. You will soon see him for yourself when I drag you before him like a sack of potatoes.”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, I could not help but find Holly’s attitude bizarre. The Holly I knew was a vengeful, independent-minded virus that had cared about pleasing only herself and no one else. Yet Holly now spoke as if she was the loyal servant of ‘Abaddon,’ which I knew to be one of Seth Richards’ aliases. That made me wonder if she was really the same Holly I had met before or if she was different somehow, maybe reprogrammed to be more loyal to Seth.
Holly put a hand on my forehead. “It will be easier to transport you if you’re asleep, so I will cast a simple Sleep spell to—”
Holly was interrupted by a scream of pain. It came from one of the other Hollies, the one on the other side of the pond. I looked over just in time to see her collapse onto the ground, blood leaking out of a gaping hole in her chest. Her eyes were completely blank and her mouth was open in horror, like her last sight had been a terrifying one.
“What the hell?” said Holly, looking up as well. “What happened? Who did that?”
The other Hollies were looking around as well, but then two large birdlike claws burst out of the trees behind the nearest Holly and snapped her neck. In the corner of my eye, the notification Unknown assailant activates Instant Kill! Dark Sorceress Holly dies appeared, but it still didn’t tell me who was killing the Hollies.
“Don’t panic!” Holly ordered her doppelgangers, who all now wore terrified expressions on their face. “If this enemy seeks to use the shadows against us, then we shall—”
Holly was once again interrupted, this time by the loud flapping of wings. Suddenly, two of the remain Hollies were whisked into the air by creatures that moved too fast for my eyes to follow. The Hollies’ screams were cut short and their bodies fell to the ground a moment later with a dull thud each, leaving only two Hollies left now.
“You!” said Holly to her single remaining clone. “Did you see what did that?”
“I … I’m not sure,” said the second Holly, glancing up at the sky. “I thought I saw feathers and claws, but I didn’t get a good look.” She looked back at the first Holly, her eyes full of terror. “We need to retreat before these monsters get all of us.”
The second Holly turned and ran into the surrounding trees, while the original Holly yelled, “Don’t run! I order you to stay!”
But the second Holly wisely did not listen to the original. She just ran into the trees, but then there was a loud sound like an ax cleaving through wood and one of the trees—the biggest and tallest of the lot—tipped over onto the second Holly, who had just enough time to scream in terror before the tree crushed her under its weight.
“No!” the original Holly called. She stood up and looked around, fear and anger marring her features in equal measure. “Who dares to attack the Dark Sorceress Holly? Not merely attack her, but kill her doppelgangers in cold blood? Whoever dares to do such a thing shall feel the full force of my unforgiving—”
Holly did not get to finish her sentence, because at that moment a bird claw stabbed through her back and out her chest. Holly had just enough time to gasp in pain before the claw glowed like light and exploded. I had to close my eyes to protect them from the proximity of the explosion, but I could hear Holly’s screams of agony as the light tore her apart like butter.
Even with my eyes closed, however, I could still see the notification that popped up:
Dark Sorceress Holly and her Doppelgangers are all dead!
Debuff: Shadow Trap dispelled by Light of Hope.
Debuff: Broken leg healed by Light of Hope. You are no longer taking 1 damage every 2 seconds.
That alone was enough to make my eyes snap open in shock. Luckily, the light had already vanished, allowing me to see that there was nothing left of Holly other than a pile of ash on the ground next to me.
But that did not mean I was alone. A figure stood above me, his claws sharp and bloody. He was a tall, humanoid figure, with the head of an eagle and eyes that gleamed with human intelligence. The feathers on his head were white, while the feathers on the rest of his body were black. Even if I stood up to my full height, he still would have towered over me considerably.
And, although it had been a while since I last saw him, I recognized my savior well. “Aeolus? Is that you?”
Aeolus, the Chief of the Birdman Tribe, looked down his cracked beak at me. “I am. And I am here to kill you for your betrayal.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Aeolus’ claw came flying down toward me. At the last second, I rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting my head torn off by his powerful claw. Rolling to my feet, I held my sword before me as I Scanned Aeolus:
Name: Chief Aeolus of the Birdman Tribe
Level: 100
Class: Chief Birdman
Affinity: Good
Health: 1,000
Weakness: Ice, Electricity
The Chief of the Birdman Tribe, Aeolus is a proud warrior and leader of his people. Although he is a fair and just ruler who treats his allies and people well, he is perfectly willing to do whatever it takes to protect his people. He is one of the most powerful Birdmen, although even he is not as powerful as the Elite Birdman Bodyguards who protect him.
The last time I had seen Aeolus, he had been protected by his two bodyguards Tornado and Cyclone. I didn’t see them now, but I figured they had to be nearby if he was here. That would make it harder to fight him because the Elite Birdman Bodyguards were some of the most powerful figures in the entire game. Even though Aeolus had just saved me from Holly and her doppelgangers, I felt like my situation hadn’t honestly improved that much.
“Hey, Aeolus, what’s the deal?” I said, holding my sword out to keep a good distance between me and the angry Birdman Chief. “Last time we spoke, we ended on a good note. I thought I was considered an ally of the Birdman Tribe. What gives?”
Aeolus rose to his full, rather considerable height, glaring at me like a hawk about to swoop in and eat a mouse. “’What gives,’ traitor? Everything. Height has been destroyed. My people are scattered to the winds. And it’s all because of your ally, the mage, who, under your orders, has been destroying all of Keoria.”
“Wait, what?” I said. “My ally? The mage? Just what the heck are you talking about?”
“The old man,” said Aeolus. “Not the young girl who was with you. That is the mage I speak of, but I sense you already know this and are just playing dumb in the vain hope that I will spare you. How foolish.”
“The old man?” I said. “Do you mean Mecha—”
I didn’t get a chance to finish my sentence, because at that moment Aeolus rushed toward me. He swung his claws at me, which I managed to catch on the Cannibal Sword, but the impact alone nearly knocked me off my feet. Aeolus bared down on me, glaring at me as he pressured me down to the ground, but I held my ground and pushed back against him as hard as I could.
“Liar,” said Aeolus as calmly as if he was stating the weather. “Why do you lie so much? How could you betray us?”
“I didn’t … betray … anyone,” I said. “Now … if we could just … talk this over … I’m sure—”
“The time for talking is over!” Aeolus roared.
He shoved me back, sending me staggering backward. He slashed his claws at me, but at the last second I activated Dodge and jumped out of his reach. Landing on my feet, I glanced at my Health and saw that it was still critically low. I needed to end this fight fast before Aeolus finished me off, but I wasn’t strong enough to beat him through sheer strength alone. My real life powers didn’t transfer to the game world, which meant I needed to use my cunning and skill to take him down instead.
Aeolus let forth another roar and rushed toward me, his claws tearing up the ground as he ran. He seemed to be full of rage and hate and he was planning to unleash all of that rage and hate on me. That normally would have filled me with terror, but I could sense a way to turn this situation to my advantage if I played my cards right.
Aeolus was upon me in seconds, his claws coming down to my face. At the last possible second, I activated Dodge and avoided his attack completely. Aeolus staggered forward, almost losing his balance, but I stuck out my foot and he tripped over it onto the ground. Before he could get up, I jumped onto his back and placed the blade of my sword against his neck, making Aeolus stiffen underneath me.
“All right, Aeolus,” I said, putting all of my weight on him and making sure to keep the sword as close to his neck as possible. “I don’t like hurting you and I don’t want to kill you, but if you keep trying to attack me, I’m afraid I’ll have to use lethal force to protect myself. How does that sound?”