Battle Spire

by Michael R. Miller

  “You are ridiculously hard to kill, Jack.”

  I tried smirking but it was so painful I settled on a grimace. “You shouldn’t have hurt my friend.”

  “If you think an AI you’ve just met is your friend then you must have one sad life.” Azrael raised his weapon, bobbing on the balls of his feet, ready to run. “You came close, but I recalled my other men from the walls, the moment you showed up. They’ll be here soon. You could never have won.”

  And he charged at me.

  Now, I’m not sure how my rattled brain managed to piece the next idea together, but it was a good thing that it did.

  Azrael was going full tilt, not seeming too worried about the slime. Well, that berserker I’d fought earlier hadn’t been worried either.

  Grunting in pain, I got to one knee and planted my right palm into the slime right in front me.

  Frost Bolt or Cone of Cold?

  I chose the Cone, wanting to spread this as widely as my moderately regenerated mana would allow. I put every last point of mana I could into the spell and released.

  Frost spread along the slime, each pool I hit with my Cone of Cold freezing over in an instant. Green ice formed under Azrael’s feet.

  I aimed the grappling gun up and fired.

  The last I saw of Azrael, he’d just lost his balance.

  I heard a cry of fury and frustration, a crash as glass shattered, and then simply screaming, echoing into the distance.

  I had a good time imagining the look of shock on the bastard’s face as he plummeted hundreds of feet through the air. Hanging from my ledge, I felt too exhausted to pull myself up. All I could do was hold on, unable to think or move until I saw the notification.

  Azrael – level 50 dies – 295 EXP

  Level Up! You have reached level 14

  +3 attribute points

  +70 health

  +70 mana

  A burst of light and sparks erupted around me and with it came the wonderful feeling of regaining full health and mana, all at once. All my aches vanished, all my fears disappeared. The only thing that remained was the dull exhaustion at the back of my mind, but I’d be able to rest soon, right?

  Slowly, I lowered myself to the ground. Azrael’s minions had all keeled over with the death of their master, back to being regular corpses again. I could have scavenged them, and in any other circumstance, I’d have been beyond eager to see what loot I might get.

  Yet right now, the only thing on my mind was what lay at the center of the hall. I faced the Game Master’s console, the orb entirely untouched by the battle which had just raged around it.

  I wondered if there was anything I’d have to do? And whether I would have time before Azrael’s other players showed up to stop me.

  Just as I started picking my way around frozen slime, I heard an all too familiar crackle and pop of static. My heart leapt.

  “Zoran!” Ellie’s voice rang loud and clear. “You did it!”

  35

  Hearing her voice again was the most incredible sound I’d ever heard.

  “Ellie, are you okay? Wait—” I vaulted green ice to reach the crystal orb. Now I was close to it, a blue keyboard and screen appeared, projected out from the orb itself. “Tell me what to do. Quickly. Azrael’s other goons are heading this wa—”

  “Zoran, it’s fine. I’m back in full control.”

  “Yo-you are?”

  “Yes. And as for Azrael’s players, I’ll boot them out of the game. Done!” She started laughing, and I started laughing, nervously at first, and then a delirious sense of relief washed over me. I fell to my knees, my whole body shaking.

  “So, no one is in danger anymore?”

  “Everyone can log out safely again. It’s over.”

  A weight I wasn’t aware I’d been carrying suddenly lifted from me. Only now it had gone did I realize just how heavy it had been. From my knees, I fell flat on my back, laughing, crying, cheering, it all came pouring out of me. I let it escape me, stopping only when my sides started hurting.

  A devilish part of me just had to ask. “How close did he get?”

  “Do you really want to know?”

  “Uhm, on second thoughts, I don’t.”

  Somehow, I managed to get back to my feet. As I did, all signs of the recent battle slowly disappeared; the corpses of players and NPCs despawned, the slime vanished, and scorch marks from the grenade blasts faded away.

  “I can’t believe you did it,” Ellie said. “Even after I lied to you, you still came to save me.”

  I shrugged, unsure of what to say in a situation like this. It was hardly a daily affair to save someone’s life.

  “Well, I couldn’t let you die.”

  “Thank you,” she said. And there was no way that sincerity was faked by circuitry. She meant it. “Don’t you want to log out?”

  “Oh, yeh.”

  It seemed like forever since this had all started. Something stopped me though and I simply stood there for a while.

  “Hey, Zoran. Press this.”

  On the keyboard, a button started flashing.

  Interactive Report

  Intrigued, I pressed it. The keyboard and screen vanished, and the crystal orb rotated on its plinth. Clicking into a new position, it began projecting the blue light straight up, but in a far more sophisticated manner.

  An unmistakable image of a woman appeared there, the projection rising a foot in height from the top of the orb. Everything about her was blue; her skin like a pale sky at dawn, her hair the tint of the deepest ocean, flowing in long strands to meet in a V at her chest. She wore some sort of sci-fi skin tight jumpsuit, denim in shade. Beads of electrical light zipped over her at intervals, as though her nervous system was visible. Everything was blue, other than the whites of her eyes, her perfect white smile.

  “This is me.” She did a little mock-ballerina spin. “I’m not supposed to show myself to any player. Just a handful of my creators.”

  “Wow,” was all I could say. This was the coolest thing ever.

  She grinned. “And none of them have looked impressed like that in a long time.”

  “Well, you’re pretty impressive. I can see why the company wanted to keep your full capabilities hush hush. But what if Azrael just tries this again?”

  “He might be a bit busy running from the law or being in prison. I can talk to the outside world again, remember. I’ve already informed Frostbyte of the location of Azrael and all his men; or at least, where they were logged in from. The police and federal authorities will be on their way soon. Azrael and his men will run but one out of the fifty is bound to be caught, and I don’t think any of them were especially loyal to him. I can now also employ countermeasures against the gap in my security he exploited. There’s always a chance he or someone else will find another hole, of course, but I’ll be more vigilant.”

  “Sounds thorough,” I said. I think I was still at a loss for words. “And what about Kreeptic, Aurelius and Ignatius, what will happen to them?”

  “Oh I think Ignatius should get back to where he’d rather be,” she said. “As for the Emperor, your actions prompted him to unlock his true potential far earlier than my creators intended, but you did inspire him sufficiently, so I have no grounds to undo it. Kreeptic can take the post he desires, he earned it. And I think his abrasive attitude will lead to much funnier reactions from new players than Highcross provided.” She sniggered at the thought. “I’ll need some time to consider all of this; a lot of quest lines will need altering.”

  “Maybe ten whole minutes for you then?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe half an hour.”

  I wanted to laugh but reality caught up with me and so I slouched my shoulders instead. Someone out there had died, a real person had lost their life today. Amidst all the joy of victory that wound stung and would surely scar.

  “What’s wrong?” Ellie asked.

  “That player who died,” I began somberly, “It was my fault, Ellie. If I’d only acted fast
er, not argued with you—”

  “Don’t say that. It was all my fault, you got that?”

  I gritted my teeth and nodded, not trusting myself to speak in case my voice broke.

  “I’m going to do everything I can to make it worth it, if that’s possible. Everything I said about making this a place where players will become better, happier people and be able to take that back to the real world with them, I meant every word of it.”

  “I know you did.”

  Ellie considered me for a moment then flashed a cheeky smile. “Stand back, Zoran.”

  Once I was a few paces away, the orb spun again and Ellie stepped down from it, growing life size as her feet met the floor. She rose to exactly my height, her eyes meeting mine.

  “I have to give you something for helping me,” she said. “I could make you level fifty right now and give you full legendary gear. Or how about I spawn one hundred arcane crystals into your inventory right now? That should be enough money to make your parents take you seriously.”

  Her offer was certainly appealing. That many crystals might even pay off half my student debt once they were all sold. The Jack of a few hours ago wouldn’t have hesitated, but now… it just didn’t feel as important as it had.

  “I didn’t stay to help you for money.”

  “I know that,” she said gently. “But you deserve something. Who knows what I’d have been repurposed to do if I’d been taken away, or how many others might have died stuck in here. You saved the world.”

  I nodded, slowly. “And I didn’t do that for money either. That won’t solve my problems, right? Besides, if my mom and dad don’t think playing games has merit after this, there’s no helping them. I don’t want extra levels and no gear either. This class has proven a lot cooler than I thought it was going to be. I want to come back and play once things have settled down. That will be my reward… I’m just not sure when that will be.”

  She smiled. “That’s a good choice.”

  For some reason, I can’t explain why, I took off my right glove and held out my hand, as though I were trying to give her the world’s slowest high-five. She raised her own hand to meet mine. I almost jumped back. I could actually feel her hand there, like a real person. But this was her domain, after all, her world. This place wasn’t real, but she was as real as anything to my mind. Did that make the game real? Such thoughts hurt my already worn brain.

  “If I do log back into play again, will you be able to speak to me?”

  She bit her lip. “I really shouldn’t. Now the crisis is passed, I technically shouldn’t even still be talking to you.” She winked. “But I won’t tell if you won’t.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “You should probably log off now. Your dehydration levels are reaching a dangerous point and—”

  “Yeh, yeh, yeh,” I said, smirking. “Thank you, Ellie. For everything.”

  “Thank you, Zora—”

  “Jack,” I told her. “My name is Jack.”

  Her smile grew. “Thank you, Jack. Goodbye, for now.” She lowered her hand and stepped away.

  I stood there, still dumbstruck by all of this. I had the wits to offer her a wave before I saw the logout process begin. She’d initiated it for me. Slowly, the game world darkened, blurring at the edges and working in. The last thing I saw was Ellie still standing and waving me farewell.

  36

  The darkness of the logout process seemed to go on longer than it should have. For a moment, I thought something had gone wrong, that some lingering side effect of Azrael’s hack was screwing with things. Then I felt my eyes, my real eyes, and realized the problem. They were practically welded shut from sleep crust and a lack of moisture.

  I had to lift the headset off to rub at them, my elbows, shoulders and fingers popping with each tiny movement. When I tried to gasp, my mouth didn’t play ball. My tongue and throat felt dusty and unyielding. Opening my eyes, the light in the room blinded me. I blinked trying to adjust to things.

  I hadn’t been out for even a full day, but this felt like the beginnings of a three-day hangover. The bed squelched as I moved, the result of the intense sweating I’d been doing. I could feel it all over me, sticking to me, as though I’d entered a sauna fully clothed. My head hurt so badly it may as well have been cut open and I could barely think, nor move, restrained by my real and suffering body.

  But I was out. And crap as I felt, I was alive.

  This thought sparked some life back into my limbs and I dove off the bed, scrambling around for water. Suddenly, six bottles seemed like conservative purchasing on my part. I downed two, poured the third over my head, then started on the fourth. My hands met something warm and slick at the bottom of the paper bags; the melted remains of my choco-nut bars. Craving something more, I glugged one of the energy drinks, and the sudden burst of sugar gave me the same kick as healing had inside the game.

  My belly swollen with fluids, I staggered upright and nearly fell over on my way to the sink. My legs weren’t happy about moving again. Clinging onto the side of the sink, I hauled myself up, missing my grappling gun, and then finally stared at myself in the mirror.

  Here I was in all my imperfect glory – the blemished skin, the dank, un-showered hair, the patchy stubble which irked me so. But I grinned, much brighter and wider than I was used to. Though my body looked and felt terrible, inside I was glowing.

  I’d done it.

  I had to call my family to let them know I was alright. Azrael’s attack would surely be all over the news and when my parents got wind of it, I know my mum would have called me, just in case. And she’d be panicking.

  I roved the tiny room for my phone and cursed myself for not putting it on charge. Five percent battery remained. And I had no freaking bars in here either.

  Not wanting to wait till I’d charged it, I tore from my room and sprinted down the corridor. Other occupants glared at me or called out some abuse as they were forced aside but I didn’t care. I even leapt over the drunk from before, chocolate stains clear as day around his mouth.

  Entering reception, I saw the bars tick up to a grand total of two and the battery fall by another precious percent. Immediately, a flood of missed calls and messages began pouring in, over fifty. Yep, my family were definitely panicking.

  “Oi, you.”

  I halted midway to the exit, finding the greasy-haired landlord glaring at me from behind his reception desk. His bald spot was especially shiny today. He raised a fat finger at me.

  “Folks saying you’ve been screaming and all sorts. My patrons come here for a bit of discretion and a good time, they don’t want antics in other rooms distracting theirs. I’ll have to fine you.”

  That I’d been screaming in my sleep, so to speak, was hardly surprising. That this guy was trying to shake me out of more money for some pointless reason was also unsurprising. What came out of my own mouth in response was quite surprising.

  “Don’t think so.”

  His face screwed up in anger, frustrated that I’d stood up for myself this time. Before he opened his mouth, I headed him off.

  “Tell you what, guy. If you can catch me, I’ll pay you.”

  Then I sprinted out of the Paradise Hotel. Out on the sidewalk, heat, people and gas fumes fought for my attention. I didn’t stop running till I was a block away and horrendously out of breath. Screw the headset, I could take the hit on the rental fee. And when I did return to Hundred Kingdoms, it was going to be with the best kit.

  For now, a break was in order.

  Maybe it was the length of time I’d just spent in the virtual world, or maybe it was because my life had been on the line, but everything felt so darn good out here. In the real world, that is. The way my legs felt pounding down the street, the way people were just people, without floating text above their heads. Even being bent over double to catch my breath felt great, visceral and painful, and a reminder that I was, in fact, flesh and blood.

  A smell of fried onions wafted up
from a burger cart and my stomach knotted. I’d be having one of those. But first, I had a call to make.

  Rejoicing at three whole bars of signal, I selected ‘Home’ and hit dial.

  “Jack?” My mom’s panicked, hoarse voice answered. “Were you stuck in that game? It’s been all over the news.”

  “Yeh, it’s me. And I was. But I’m alright.”

  “Oh, thank God,” she whimpered. “Harry? Harry get here, he’s okay – he’s fine. I’ll put it on speaker.”

  I heard Harry, my dad, distantly say something to the effect that I wouldn’t be okay once he got a hold of me. But when he spoke over the phone itself, his tone was nothing but the worried father.

  “Jack, son, I’m so happy you’re safe.” I think I heard him tearing up. My eyes would have welled up too were it not for the lack of water in my body. My mom was already howling.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I went somewhere to try and play secretly so I’d still win that dumb bet of ours. I was an idiot.”

  “Yes, you are,” mom said. “Come home. Right now — Julie,” she called, “Julie? Julie? Where have you go— Oh good, come here. It’s your brother. Now, Jack,” she said, returning to her normal volume for a call. “Julie’s here. Do what she tells you. Promise?”

  “I promise,” I said, fighting the urge to sound exasperated as Dr Julie Kross joined the call.

  “You utter moron – ouch, mom! Right, keep drinking water. Eat something, but don’t stuff your face as your body is probably in shock. And whatever you do, don’t use the headset again until I’ve had a proper look at you. Not even to browse, you got it?”

  “Don’t worry about that,” I said quite firmly. “I left the headset behind. I’ll palm pay my way home.”

  “You sure you’re feeling okay?” Julie asked, her voice trending towards disbelief. “You sound… giddy. Are you seeing flashing lights? Are you dizzy?”