"You okay?" asked Sophia, forehead hunched with worry as she stepped beside Alex, putting her hand on her shoulder.
"I think I'm getting a little stage fright," said Alex. She took a deep breath and blew it out.
The dark-skinned warrior raised an eyebrow, her lips squeezed together. "This is unlike you, Battleleader. Are you ill? Did the Crimson Scourge poison you?"
"No," said Alex, a laugh slipping out. "Don't worry, Sophia. I should have expected this. I'll get through it. Once we get out there and the fight begins, I'll be better. It's always the anticipation that gets me. More energy for the fight, right?"
Alex fingered the rough end of her whip handle, relishing the feel of it against her callouses. They milled about at the end of the tunnel, squinting into the sun. Nayiri twirled her daggers across her palms idly. Mancalf pressed his knuckles into his bare hands, cracking them ominously, while Sophia gave tentative swings with her morphed battle-axe. Only Blaze seemed to share her nervousness as he paced behind them, talking to himself while puffs of flame kept erupting from his fingertips.
She checked her character sheet, reviewing the updates from her latest leveling to remind herself of her options for the thick of the fight.
Character: Alexandria Duke
Clan: Bravebear
Status: Battleleader
Level: 31
Strength: 6
Intelligence: 16
Cunning: 67
Agility: 7
Endurance: 21
Charisma: 6
Class: Arcane Mastermind
Subclass: Undecided
Health: 971/971
Faez: 435/435
Armor Class: 265
Fatigue: 0%
XP: 5,473,191/5,660,000
CP: 198
Skills:
Analyze: 48
One-handed Slashing: 2
Fire Spells: 5
Devious Device: 23
Sense Direction: 55
One-handed Whip: 31
Water Spells: 21
Cooking: 22
Stealth: 15
Climbing: 6
Air Spells: 39
Unarmed Combat: 8
Unique Skills:
Cunning Strategist: 19
Mastermind: 6
Leadership: 19
Spells:
Dewdrop Orb: 21
Minor Creation: 19
Transference: 36
Cloud Taunt: 69
Misdirection: 36
Wind Gust: 34
Heal Minions: 13
Whip Tricks: 25
Fighting Spirit: 5
Tactical Phantasm: 4
Then the ochre-robed priest who had been assigned as her handler came down the tunnel.
"It's time." He stared at her intensely as he spoke. "When the clan bleeds."
"It bleeds as one," she responded, a little bewildered at the use of the ceremonial language before the fight rather than during. He nodded sagely before stepping aside.
"Greetings, Citizens of Warsong," said High Priest Altarius from the balcony above the arena floor, his voice amplified by magic. "While you have been witness to another glorious day of battle, this bounty has no end, for we have one more event, a contest for your favor.
"We have two teams of gladiators who will face off against an overwhelming foe. If they survive the encounter then it will be up to you to decide who is the winner, who will receive the title of Champion of Warsong!" After a brief pause for effect. "From the Western Plains of Warsong, I bring you Battleleader Alexandria Duke and her team!"
As her name was called, Alex jogged onto the arena floor to thunderous applause. The cacophony filled her with glorious dread, skin tingling in anticipation.
"Holy shit," she muttered as she turned in a circle at her designated spot, coming to terms with the mass of people who were about to watch her battle in the arena. The place smelled like old sweat and iron.
"And from the Eastern Hills of Warsong, I bring you the Crimson Scourge, Lily Brodziak, and her team!"
Alex was transfixed by her opponent's entrance onto the arena floor. Lily wore bright red plate armor with a plumed helm.
Lily Brodziak, Elemental Champion, Level 35
The difference in levels left a sick feeling in Alex's gut. While the crowd wouldn't have access to damage meters like in a proper raid, she was sure they'd be able to tell who was doing more to take down the boss. At a measly level 31, she'd be extremely underpowered when compared to Lily.
But it wasn't just the levels that worried Alex. Lily had been World Champion in MechLeague for a good reason—the girl had mad twitch skills. She hadn't just won, but dominated, pulling off moves that in the early years brought accusations of exploitation.
Lily'd had to subject herself to testing, including magical lie detection and an MRI on her brain while she played to prove that she hadn't been cheating.
After it was all over, Lily had come back for vengeance upon her opponents—beating them in embarrassing fashion.
So it was no surprise to Alex when Lily strode into the arena as if she'd already been crowned champion. Then a flourishing pirouette was followed by a forward front flip into a kneeling sword-down pose that exploded with ribbons of lava, bringing riotous applause from an appreciative audience.
"Wow, that was spectacular," said Mancalf from beside her. "You should have done something like that."
"I'm well aware," said Alex, her chest tight, thinking about the fight to come. She didn't have Lily's martial arts background, nor her experience fighting in front of a live audience. "We'll have to impress the crowd with our battle tactics."
As soon as she said it, she realized that fancy maneuvers or clever stratagems weren't going to be as impressive as Lily's physical prowess. Already her opponent was waving to the audience as if she'd won the battle and they were throwing flowers towards her.
But the display was interrupted by a heavy metal on metal grinding from the back of the arena. Alex, along with everyone else, turned towards the huge tunnel that led from the caverns below.
"The two teams of gladiators will face off against our greatest gargantuan, the Darkstar Behemoth!"
In the pause afterwards, Blaze muttered from somewhere behind her, "That doesn't sound promising."
What emerged from the massive tunnel had Alex thinking less about winning the crowd's favor and more about winning, period.
There were similarities to the Avatar of Destruction in size and scale, but watching the Darkstar Behemoth march in huge lumbering strides onto the arena floor had Alex wiping the sweat from her brow. It had rune-etched black metal armor across its body, including spiked gauntlets each the size of a train car.
Darkstar Behemoth, Boss, Level 40
While the AoD had been tuned by the designers to be defeated in game by a balanced raid party using expected levels of equipment, there were no such guarantees in Gamemakers Online.
"To give the fight a proper amount of impact," said High Priest Altarius from his balcony on the edge of the arena floor, "we've activated the Pillar of Peril, which means our champions and their compatriots will be risking more than just their honor! Any death in the arena will be final and permanent! For our Far Travelers, this means they can never return to these lands!"
The runed pillar, which was taller than the arena, glowed with import as a shimmering field stretched out until it covered the fighting floor.
Alex's stomach sank right past her knees. She glanced at her friends, who looked shaken by the news. If they died, it would be permanent.
"They didn't tell me about this part," said Alex, gritting her teeth. "I'm sorry. If you want to stay out of the fight or return to the tunnel, I'll understand."
"No way," said Nayiri, stepping forward. "We came here to support you. You can't beat the Darkstar Behemoth without us, and the crowd would turn on you if we left."
The rest of her friends nodded their agreement, though Blaze looked like he might throw up.
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Sophia put her hand on Alex's shoulder. "If you're risking yourself, then we should too."
The only thing she could think about was what Lily had told her about the Vigor of the Fallen debuff and the impossibility of beating the boss without utilizing it.
But she couldn't sacrifice them for her own gain. Or was that the point of the zone? Martina had called it a ballbuster, that it wasn't meant to be beaten. She'd thought that she'd meant it had been tactically difficult. But now she was seeing a different side.
She would have to give up her friends for progress in the game. Although she wasn't even sure they were real, there was no way she would do that. Even if Dr. Althud hadn't ordered her to form relationships, she knew she wouldn't have done it. Her hands turned to fists just thinking about how the game had been set up to put her in this situation.
"Fuck Marzio," she muttered under her breath, regretting she'd ever entered the Plains of Warsong, but realizing that her team was staring at her, expecting her to give them an inspirational speech before the big battle, but not feeling up to it.
A big part of her wanted to give up the fight, let Lily battle the Darkstar Behemoth alone. But even that seemed like a selfish option, as Lily wouldn't be able to win without her help, and she'd lose the chance to find her brother.
No matter what she decided, she felt like she was going to lose. The game was rigged.
Here, make some friends, and now give them up to win the game.
But she refused to play their game. If she was going to play, she would play it her way.
"Let's kill this stupid thing."
Her teammates glanced at each other, shrugging their shoulders as they gripped their weapons tighter.
The two parties and Darkstar Behemoth formed a triangle around the central pillar that protected the stands from unintended magics. The gargantuan beast roared in challenge, hellish fire emanating from its toothy maw as it raised its massive fist. Even though Alex stood hundreds of feet away, she could feel the heat from its mouth.
When Alex gave the signal to the high priest that her team was ready, followed by a similar nod from Lily, he raised his arms to the sky, his voice reverberating through the arena like a thunderclap.
"Let the fight begin!"
Alex glanced towards Lily hoping to coordinate attacks, but she'd already broken into a sprint towards the massive boss with her team right behind her.
"This is going to be interesting," said Nayiri.
The Darkstar Behemoth lurched forward to smash its opponent with its gauntlets, but Lily blurred forward, her trail turning to bright lava, before striking the creature with a massive two-handed sword that had come out of nowhere. The impact sent crackling electricity over the Behemoth until it leaned back its head and let loose a bellow of rage as the crowd erupted in cheers.
"Wow, she's good," said Blaze.
Sophia edged forward. "What are we waiting for? We can take this thing."
Alex hesitated because she didn't want to risk her friends, but how could she win if she didn't get into the middle of the battle?
She growled under her breath. "Let's get in there, but no melee. Ranged only."
"But I don't have a ranged weapon," said Mancalf, holding out his bare hands as proof.
"At least until we know what this thing does," she said.
They reached the Darkstar Behemoth with Alex at the lead, her team in a V-formation. Lily currently had Behemoth's attention, confounding it with deadly speed and devastating attacks while her team struck at the massive beast with their weapon.
Alex unleashed a spell on the boss.
The Darkst*ar Behemoth has been hit by Cloud Taunt for 182 damage!
The enormous creature lurched around, readying a spiked gauntlet to smash her. The fist hit solidly, sending up an explosion of soil and molten rock, leaving a crater in its wake.
The crowd gasped, expecting that Alex had been annihilated by the heavy blow.
But Alex appeared a short distance away.
She'd used Tactical Phantasm to trick the Behemoth into thinking it'd smashed her.
The beast lifted its fist, staring into the hole in confusion.
"Come at me, big boy!" she yelled, the nerves from before erased by the small victory.
The crowd, realizing that she'd survived, erupted. The cheers helped her believe that she'd find a way to kill the boss that didn't involve sacrificing her team. Alex winked at Lily, who stood on the other side of the great beast.
The next phase of the fight devolved into a flurry of attacks from both teams. Alex kept her friends at a distance, using Misdirection and Tactical Phantasm to confuse the Behemoth, while the Crimson Scourge launched thrilling raids that delighted the crowd.
But as skilled as they were, after a minute of furious action they'd barely damaged the enormous creature, whose health still stood at 98%.
With her faez a third down, Alex turned to her team.
"There's got to be a weakness. We've barely damaged the damn thing."
Sophia pulled back her morphed bow and fired another sintering arrow at the Darkstar Behemoth, but it exploded on its black surface.
"My hits aren't getting through its armor. It's like firing at a building with arms and legs," said Sophia.
Blaze wasn't having any luck either. His fire bolts washed over the metal skin of the creature without affecting it.
Only Nayiri seemed to be doing anything as her daggers occasionally slipped between the gaps in the armor, but eventually she ran out of ones to throw and had to wait for an opportunity to run back in to collect them.
No one had any ideas, so they kept their attacks up.
It was shortly after that the first gladiator died.
Mancalf requested a chance to run in close, promising to retreat quickly should the boss turn on him. He was dodging around the building-like feet of the creature, when a heavily armored fighter from the other team joined him, trying to hamstring the Behemoth.
They managed to hit the beast a few times before it raised its foot to smash them.
Alex cast Tactical Phantasm to distract the Behemoth when it anticipated the shift from Mancalf and the other fighter and brought its armored foot down where they'd run.
She was certain that Mancalf had been crushed, especially when she saw his health bar.
But the blow had clipped him, jackknifing him to the side. His big body tumbled like a rag doll, coming to a rest right next to Lily.
The other fighter wasn't so lucky, as he'd been caught in Mancalf's heavy gravity field and was unable to escape.
Alex expected Lily to help Mancalf up, but she kept attacking the Behemoth, so Alex had to sprint forward with Sophia at her side to rescue the big monk, dragging him out of stomping distance.
They were able to get him out of range, which allowed Mancalf to use his self-heal to bring his health back to half.
"Stay out of trouble," said Alex, which received a nod from him.
Next, she targeted the Darkstar Behemoth and saw a debuff icon hovering over it.
Vigor of the Fallen
Effect: For every member of the team less than 5, damage by that team increased by 30% and stats and resistances of the Darkstar Behemoth reduced by 15%.
It was one thing to hear about the debuff from Lily, but seeing it, and how large the benefit was, made her cringe. An unsettling feeling crept down Alex's spine as she thought about her friends. What if this was the only way to defeat the Darkstar Behemoth? Lily clearly had no qualms, and no signs of visible mourning, because she yelled for her team to return to the battle.
When Alex hesitated to reengage the boss, Lily motioned towards her friends, clearly indicating that she needed to put them in danger.
"What does that mean?" asked Nayiri, returning from grabbing her daggers.
"Can you see that debuff?" she asked, but both Nayiri and Sophia shook their heads.
Sophia scrunched up her face. "Is it bad?"
"Not directly," said Alex,
throwing a Cloud Taunt and noting a slight increase in damage, which indicated the second half of the debuff worked for both teams. "Maybe even a small benefit."
But nothing like the benefit she'd receive if her teammates died.
Even if they beat the Darkstar Behemoth, she'd never win the crowd's favor if Lily had dealt most of the damage.
"I never thought my life would come down to a defacto DPS race," muttered Alex as she fired another Cloud Taunt.
With the debuff in place, Lily pushed her team harder, bringing the crowd to a frenzy as they shouted and jostled in the stands, spilling their cheap wine.
Lily shifted her teammates in range of the Darkstar. Alex heard her telling them that their damage would increase if they were closer.
"Is that true?" asked Nayiri as she threw her daggers at the enormous leg of the Behemoth.
Alex hesitated before she answered. The fight was feeling more futile by the second. Based on what had transpired so far, Alex knew there was no way the crowd would choose her over Lily.
"No," said Alex. "But we're going to have to find a way to leverage our team or there's no way the crowd is voting for me."
Before Alex could set any plan into action, she watched as whirling winds formed around Lily, carrying her upward until she landed on the Darkstar Behemoth's shoulder. The nimble fighter held her massive two-handed sword before her like a spear, charging at the creature's ear and ramming the tip deep inside.
The roar from the Behemoth forced everyone in the arena to cover their ears with their hands.
Alex watched as the Darkstar Behemoth's health dropped by a full 3%, which was more than all the damage that had been inflicted so far.
Rapturous applause from the crowd matched the thrilling maneuver.
Even Lily reacted as if she'd already won, lifting one arm in victory.
Then the Darkstar Behemoth knocked her from its shoulder, throwing her across the arena like a crumpled can. At the last moment, Lily managed to activate her whirlwind power, which slowed her impact, but it still sounded like a car crash when she hit the wall.
As the Darkstar Behemoth charged after a shaken Lily, Alex knew there was no way they could kill the boss without both of them alive, so she sprinted ahead of the gargantuan creature, yelling, "Distract him!"
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