by John Gold
We’re walking along the streets of Kkhor, each of us thinking our own thoughts. Femida is playing with her enormous sword. I’m thinking of my village and all-too-brief childhood. Mama’s smile, the way she praised me for my cooking and sewing and father’s restrained happiness when I got better at fishing, hunting, trapping… I can remember ever emotion, every smile, every squint of an eye, and even every pleasant silence at every family dinner. It’s almost like I can smell the porridge in the kitchen. The aroma of hay wafts into my bedroom. I hear the door squeak, mama singing, and the water splashing in the lake by the house. It could be LJ, or it could be that I’m changing, but emotions and the memories tied to them are becoming easier to understand. I get Isaac, the way he picks on Femida, and his constant wisecracks. He’s looking for attention and understanding from the people he trusts. When the blacksmith recognized him as a master, Isaac was really and truly happy. For him, the respectful bows are just as important as greetings. Isaac is desperately alone, something Femida understands, even if she can’t be his friend. That’s the way I see it.
“Hey, wake up!”
Femida is standing in front of me.
“What?”
“Where are we going next?”
“I can’t go to the Academy—there’s definitely a trap set there. Tomorrow is the last day for the trial with the Hunters, so we’re heading to Gimza, a mining city in the south of the continent. We can head out as soon as we pick up some food. There’s nothing else for us here.”
We’re ten minutes from the capital’s southern gate, and the watchtowers in the white wall are clearly visible. Blending into the crowd of trading caravans heading south, we leave the city quietly and head toward the trading rows. There are stalls selling food and other traders lining the road leading into the heart of the continent. The smell of meat, vegetables, and delicious fruits makes my stomach growl.
There aren’t too many customers around one stand, though the aroma is mouth-watering. We stop to buy enough food for our two-day march. Sitting down next to the stand, we chow down, and Femida pulls something out of her metaphorical sleeve.
Taking a theatrical pause, she asks a question.
“Why are you normal?”
“It’s my choice. And it’s easier to live around people this way.”
“No, I want to know why you’re still normal even after Hell, after your parents were killed right in front of you, after the psych ward, after the blood rituals, after all of it. You were a child! That should have traumatized you.”
“Fem, if you think about it, normalcy is overrated. I could’ve become a psychopath, a maniac, a murderer, or a sociopath, though I’m smart enough to hide it. Oh, don’t look at me like that. I know you pretend to be normal, too. Everyone has their secrets, some even without realizing it.” Femida shrugs vaguely. “What saved me in Hell were my memories of my parents, fishing with father, eating breakfast with the family, warm hugs from mother, and my short childhood. Killing? Sacrifices? Becoming a demon? It was then that I decided I’d do anything to get back to my family.”
A group of players rides by on their mounts. Femida watches them go with a derisive look—we’ve been all over the world on our own two feet.
“What about your parents dying? Sorry, I shouldn’t mention that.”
“No, it’s fine. I know you’re not actually worried. I mean, you’re just worried about how I think of you. About my parents…everything is more complicated than it looks. It’s been half a year since I left the coma. LJ was the one who had to deal with the strongest feelings of loss, loneliness, and emptiness. Now, he… How do I say this? He’s who makes sure I stay mentally even. He shows up when I go to sleep, and he warns me when I’m in danger. He’s faster at reacting in battle than I am. Psychologically speaking, he compensates to make me normal, smoothing out any spontaneous behavioral deviations that happen.”
“Uh-h… You have split personalities?”
“No. LJ is really more of a subpersonality. He’s part of my consciousness and acts as a shield against emotional ups and downs. On the other hand, he never dominates, he doesn’t make any decisions, and he doesn’t talk, just displaying emotions and the way he feels about events that happen. Lying, deception, fear, rage, danger, help—we speak the same language, a language based on emotion. Fem, don’t worry, my personality is whole thanks entirely to him.”
It’s getting toward evening. The trickle of wagons and players walking turns into a river, and it’s time for us to get going.
We set out for the very edge of the Darin Empire, skirting the elves’ Summer Forest. The enormous, majestic wall of trees towers over the road as it guards the border of the forest people’s land. Next, we run through the lands occupied by the warring barons in their multitude of castles. We cross the Small Salt Sea and the unique creatures who live in it—stone elementals and other organisms who can withstand the salt.
We make our way through the eastern dwarvish mountains and see a whole flock of wyverns flying by. They’re heading toward the equator, where there’s more wildlife and it isn’t so cold. We have to eat as we run and put off sleeping until we get to the city.
Thirty-six hours later, we get to Gimza and rent a room in the tavern where the trial is supposed to take place. We sleep until the next day. Femida climbs out of her living armor and refuses to take another step until she gets a shower and eats, and the only thing worse than a hungry Femida is Slender watching her in the shower. He always tries to scare her, and he’s always successful.
Isaac takes some lipstick and writes a note on the door of the bathroom: Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. Femida comes flying out with just a towel wrapped around her, cursing like a stevedore, and reaches for her sword, though Slender disappears into the shadows faster than she can go to town on him.
The living armor pretends he’s a clothes tree, and all the conjecture, wild threats, accusations of voyeurism, and the wish for a quick death get piled on me. Isaac is enjoying the view of Femida half-naked, not to mention the fact that he got off scot-free. Slender peeks out happily, and I’m the only one sitting on the sprouting floorboards.
“Everybody wait here! I’ll be back for you when the trial is over, Fem. Hey, you, clothes tree—don’t let her out of the room.”
There are two more hours left before the beginning of the trial, but I decide to go see the barman. For the third time, I recognize Hunters in everyday life, and for the third time, they’re working in a tavern. Two waiters are teaching a third how to move and place his feet without making a sound. I think I can tell what training they had in mind for us after the first trial.
The barman, noticing where I’m looking, just smiles and asks if I need anything. I give him the code phrase, and he takes me down personally to the mobile portal I remember.
Once again, teleportation flashes, and I find myself in the room where the participants are gathering. It’s the same square, underground bunker with an arena in the middle. This time, I see a veritable ocean of children, a motley group of players, and lots of judges. If there were around four hundred people there for the probation period last time, there are far more this time. The administrator is talking about the skills the Hunters offer from the podium. I have to listen standing up, as the seats are all taken.
The trial is going to take place in Katain. The League of Hunters is putting together an unprecedented effort to offer military aid to the population there, and Hunters from three continents will be participating in diversionary operations across Katain. The best clans in the world will be launching an attack on all fronts, with most of the gods taking command in the main battles with the demons. Still, that isn’t enough to win. The average difference between the demons and the players is 330 levels. In other words, participating for most players means certain death, which is why only the strongest groups will be fighting. The attack itself was cooked up as preparation for the war with the demons, and to provide cover for the evacuation of everyone living in far-off villages without port
als. The job handed to the Hunters and those going to the trial is to destroy mobile antiportal installations.
I notice Urius, who had been in charge of the trial in Ovidius, among the judges.
The swordsman’s glance slides across me, though without recognition.
As the judges are explaining the idea behind the League of Hunters, I send Femida the low-down on what we’re going to be doing.
Grab your things, head over to the auction, and activate the invitation for the liberation mission in Katain. As soon as you get there, let me know. I’ll tell you where the fun’s going to happen.
The supervisor is wrapping up his speech.
“…all you need to do is survive for twenty-four hours and destroy the target we give you. As soon as we get the exact locations of the antiportal installations, the operation will begin. You’ll all be distributed into groups of approximately equal strength.”
From what the people on the benches next to me are saying, the trolls, ogres, orcs, and goblins requested aid, offering to unlock their races for players in exchange. The young gods remaining after the death of the trinity jumped at the opportunity and hired the entire League of Hunters. Lunar is probably doubling their yearly income just from the commission on all of this.
A hubbub breaks out, some people offering their wares even here. I get a notification that Ekron added me as a friend.
If you’re ever in the neighborhood, just keep on walking.
No such luck. The entire world is about to get together for a party with the demons in Katain, so I’m not going to be able to keep on walking.
You’re going, too?
I have probation with the Hunters. See you there? Maybe, see how we match up?
Freddy vs. Jason?
Hey, I’m Jason! Let me know when you’ll be in Katain, and I’ll stop by. Okay, I’m off to get my ski mask and machete ready.
Things start moving, and the first players head through the portal. It’s there that Urius and I glance at each other. He still doesn’t recognize me, though I can sense his fear. I assume his group is in for a serious battle, and he’s local, so he has a dog in the fight.
The portal takes me to Raban Plateau. The sky and clouds are blood-red, the air is hot and dry, and there’s some creature screaming nearby. The demons are moving quickly through Katain. Somehow, it feels like there’s a terramorphing machine nearby—the grass is barely alive, and the crimson flowers I remember from the Inferno are starting to pop up. Demons generally get hit with debuffs when they’re in our inhospitable world. I have to guess that their antiportal installations are modifying the magic field, enabling the demons to operate freely.
I arrive fourth to see that my groupmates are all really strong. I’m just a question mark as far as how I’ll fight, as my clothes from the clinic keep my name a secret and stop portals from scanning my attribute panel. The League is using me as a dark horse.
My group is a highly unusual one. There’s a shapeshifting paladin who’s both a healer and a tank at the same time, wearing armor with the likeness of an animal god on it. Then, there’s a girl who’s a water and air mage with two tadpole familiars. The third is a guy with a huge bag over his shoulder for carrying javelins. Where are the normal people? Why does the spear-thrower have two extra joints on both his arms? Who is the mage girl whose body is made out of water, with the air around her so compressed that it feels like a tray sphere? It’s practically cheating. I half expect to find out that the paladin is a saint or even a god.
The trio eyes each other, figuring out who’s strongest where and deciding how they’re going to be working together. None of them pay any attention to me. After a little while, a judge steps out of the portal, which closes behind us. There are only four in our group.
Without wasting time on greetings, the judge starts giving us our assignment.
“Your target is the troll castle of Rumak. It’s a kilometer to the north of here, and the demons massacred the warriors there and captured it. What you need to do is destroy the antiportal equipment and survive for twenty-four hours until our main forces arrive, while preventing the demons from rebuilding it. You can use any available method—this is war. All magic, all weapons, and all pets are on the table if they’ll help you reach your objective. The only thing you can’t do is kill other trial participants.”
Sagie, if you’re reading these lines, forget what happened during the probation period. It was just your usual siege, killing demons, and capturing a castle, all of which turned into the castle’s defense. I spent the whole time doing nothing. As soon as Femida showed up and I threw on my battle outfit, however, the attitude the trio had toward me changed quickly to fear, doubt, excitement, and disagreement.
Sanity wins out over greed, and all of them go to their corners. Operating separately from us, they do good work during the first wave of attacks. Femida has fun with her sword, killing demons by the dozen. Her Level 900+ and achievements, mastery, and advanced swordplay skill give her a huge advantage over anyone else when it comes to close combat. She really is a Valkyrie.
We constantly move around, causing chaos in the demons’ ranks while the three future Hunters defend the castle. The inner courtyard is a trap. The paladin slams the door shut when they get enough demons inside, and the mage girl uses tray spheres to do area damage. As it turns out, the spell doesn’t do her any damage in liquid form, though it does damage armor. The spear-thrower heads up to the main tower and picks off enemy archers and mages.
The attack lasts about two hours. Then, we spend fifteen minutes fighting off the last demons, all of them on the edge of psychological exhaustion. At the last trial, we were able to fight on our own terms and with a more predictable opponent; this time, we have to stick close to the remains of the castle. There are four attack waves, our opponents grow stronger, and the trio’s strength is nearly exhausted. Fem and I, on the other hand, just relax under the red sun.
We’re feeling so at ease that we don’t even notice a girl walk up in a mage’s red outfit. Her black hair is streaked with gray, her face is set firmly, and her figure is superb. Isaac notices her, though he doesn’t react.
Our guest takes a deep breath and lets out a roar at the top of her lungs.
“Pies, hot pies!”
And that’s the first thing I hear Ekron say. She turns out to be a very attractive demonologist girl.
A minute later, a battle begins between the three future Hunters and the leader of the Katain demons. She uses Satan’s visage to block the paladin and, at the same time, cast two spells. Her magic shield deflects a javelin, and a shadow time spell kills the spear-thrower by burning him to a crisp. The paladin’s head is taken right off his shoulders, helmet still on. And neither the incredible dense shield the mage girl casts in the air nor her body made out of water save her when Ekron detonates the former and dries out the latter with an infernal ball. Smart move! She used trap spells to beat a tricky opponent.
We watch as the girl has her fun. Femida eyes her as if she were an opponent, though I’m more interested in who our new friend is.
As it turns out, Ekron is a fire and space mage. That choice gave her access to the demonologist subclass, and she wields Level 1881, enormous resistance to all kinds of damage, the patronage of all four of the kings of the Inferno, and a wide array of unique battle abilities. She is in every way my equal.
Two pairs of arms, a tail, an enormous maw, and demon scale armor appear when she’s using Satan’s visage. Her body turns into something the size of a large crocodile, something we see the value of when she rips off the paladin’s head.
Beelzebub’s visage enables her to control up to eight different modifications.
Spy, scout, warrior, and defender—she’s a universal fighting machine. Beelzebub’s visage makes her enormous, though her body is hideous, and she has weak wings. Also, her complete inability to fly like that makes her an ideal target for ranged attacks. On the other hand, she has incredible reserves of health and
survivability, a hundred times more than a cockroach. Her health regeneration is intensified when she’s by a fire and there are fresh corpses nearby, too. Even if it were possible to cut her head off in that form, it would take another finishing blow to chop through her skull. Otherwise, she’d regenerate from just the head.
Lucifer’s visage gives her added strength, covering her body in wide red stripes. It turns out to be something very similar to the amplification the League of Hunters offers. In that visage, she has a pair of working wings and two scythes she can only use up close. But she leans on that ability to fly pretty heavily.
Petbe’s visage doesn’t change the way the girl looks; it just means that the locals are more loyal to her. She turns into a spirit protector, the symbol of vengeance. Petbe’s visage enables her to completely ignore all kinds of damage, almost as if she doesn’t actually have a body.
She can’t pass through things, though she would be entirely capable of surviving a meteor or dead sun. The visage lasts for a minute, and she can’t use it any more than once every twenty minutes. Really, it’s better than the bubble paladins have, as theirs takes an hour and lasts just twenty seconds.
Everything’s going well. The girls are exchanging interested glances, Isaac realizes what’s going on and is rethinking his relationship with Femida, and I’m thinking that I just met a very strong ally. Of course, she wouldn’t join a group—she’s too independent and distrustful for that. But as a warrior and a fighter, she’s incredibly powerful. Her fighting abilities, her incredible wealth of experience in battle, all the spells she knows, her sharp mind, her impeccable will that is every bit Femida’s equal, and her personal qualities make her better than the swordswoman. She’s a surprising person combining strong intellect, independence, and will. Really, she’s the female version of me, and, as I can see, much more attractive to Femida. I figured out where her tastes lie a long time ago.
Suddenly, I can sense another presence, even though there definitely isn’t anyone for a hundred meters around us. A portal!