Awaken Online: Inferno (Tarot #3)

by Travis Bagwell

  Daniel’s words just fanned the flames of his own doubt, punctuated by the still-simmering burn in his left arm. He felt better with the blade mounted to his left arm, but it wouldn’t even begin to equal his multi-casting. And particularly not with the loss of 10% of his base stats. A glance with his Mana Sight confirmed that the infection had indeed spread with just that short bout of casting, the angry red tendrils creeping further up his bicep. He was still weak, lost, and alone.

  On the other hand, it didn’t help to sit here and throw himself a one-man pity party. He should count his blessings. Bilel could have wiped them all out and permanently destroyed their characters. Yet Finn was still alive, he was back inside AO, and he was relatively safe. Besides, he had learned to live with pain a long time ago – pain far more intense than the fiery ache in his arm.

  He had also faced far worse problems. That sense of despair in the wake of Rachael’s death. His own failings as a father. The obstacles he had endured since entering this world. Learning a new language. A grueling deathmatch. A fall into the Abyss. A fight against both champions. And an encounter with a demon king.

  Despite those hardships, he had kept going. Kept putting one damn foot in front of the other. And now he needed to do the same; he needed to get his shit together.

  He had a mission to complete – a king to kill.

  And a prize to claim.

  I’m coming for you, Rachael.

  With a grunt, Finn lifted himself to his feet, grabbed his bag and hauled it over his shoulder, and then began heading for the darkened tunnel, his flaming orb lighting the way.

  “C’mon, Daniel,” Finn said over his shoulder. “Let’s see if we can figure out what the hell happened to our teammates.”

  Chapter 2 - Tested

  Finn soon discovered that the narrow tunnel stretched on for about a hundred yards. It took a winding path through the earth before opening into a much larger cavern.

  He knew this because he was currently crouched farther back along the tunnel, his hand resting on the nearby wall as he peered into the stone. Finn peeled away the intervening layers of earth mana like a magical onion. The emerald energy abruptly dissipated twenty feet from his location, outlining a roughly cylindrical room. At a guess, the cavern was about sixty feet in diameter, and the ceiling stretched up at least a few dozen feet into the air. More problematic, the curve of the walls was too even, creating a nearly perfect circle.

  It didn’t look natural.

  On the bright side, at least his map had begun to cooperate, showing him the thin path back to the small cavern where he had woken up. He could also now see two telltale flickering green dots just past the large cavern – indicating the position of his teammates. However, they still hadn’t responded to his messages, and they were unmoving. His guess was that they were either incapacitated or being held under guard… or both.

  “What now?” Daniel asked quietly, his form flickering in a show of anxiety.

  Finn let out a soft sigh. This cave felt off somehow. Frankly, it felt like a trap. But he didn’t see any other option aside from entering the room, and he needed to recover his teammates. The tunnel only led one way, and he lacked Kyyle’s earth-moving abilities.

  Which left just one option.

  “We’re going to have to enter the cave and see what happens,” Finn replied finally.

  “Are you certain that’s a good idea?” Daniel asked tentatively.

  “No, not really. But I’ve gotten better at winging it,” he offered with a lopsided grin, trying to distract himself from the worried pit in his stomach.

  Daniel didn’t seem to share his cavalier attitude, the glowing ball of fire dimming slightly. That wasn’t the rousing support Finn had been hoping for, but he could sympathize with the AI’s doubt and anxiety. If he died, he wasn’t certain where he’d respawn. If the game returned him to Lahab… Well, that would be bad. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to improve their situation. They just needed to roll the dice.

  Finn swiftly rose to his feet, shouldered his pack, and forcefully channeled his fire mana, the burning sensation sweeping away his own anxiety and replacing it with boundless energy. The metal embedded in his eyes began to glow, warming the skin of his face.

  It was time.

  He started down the tunnel with the AI reluctantly following him.

  The pair soon moved out of the darkened passage into the large circular cavern. Finn’s gaze swept the room, but he only observed a ring of green energy around him – the rock walls of the cavern. At this distance, he could also see that the walls created a sheer, vertical barrier that ringed the room for about fifteen feet before flattening out into what might have been a rough terrace. The rock walls had been worn smooth by something… or someone. And there was no sign of his teammates.

  Finn stepped into the center of the chamber.

  The cave was still. Quiet. Eerily so.

  This doesn’t feel right. That feeling was back but amplified a thousand-fold. It was an odd sensation, just a tickle along the back of his neck that made Finn feel like he was being watched.

  His focus shifted, his attention flitting to the ambient air mana that hovered inside the chamber. The yellow energy was dim here, only faint currents drifting through the underground cavern. Acting on instinct, Finn removed the earth mana from his sight, focusing only on the air in the cavern. He could see it swirl and ripple, reacting to his movements. Each puff of breath created a faint cloud of amber light. He froze in place in the center of the room and stilled his breathing. Watching that energy carefully, he searched for any sign of movement.

  Then he saw it…

  And just in time. A blade rocketed through the air, only barely intercepted by the flaming orb that hovered protectively beside Finn. The weapon ricocheted off the metal with a shower of sparks before embedding itself in the dirt lining the floor. Finn glanced down. It was a throwing knife, the metal carefully forged and polished.

  Humanoid enemies. Unknown number. Undetectable to my sight. Finn’s mind ticked off the variables automatically. That led to one inevitable conclusion.

  The Khamsin.

  If he were right, he wouldn’t be able to easily see his opponents coming. They must have removed their armor, and they were likely holding unenchanted weapons, the earth mana in the metal blending into the walls of the cavern. They would be nearly invisible to Finn’s Mana Sight. It was also difficult to detect their presence with the way the air mana swirled and rippled erratically, too faint to make out much detail. To make matters worse, the single opening blow had placed Finn in combat, which meant he could no longer use his Short-Sighted ability.

  That left him with only his Mana Sight.

  Finn took a deep breath, focusing only on the air currents in the room. “Daniel. Build a circular model of the exterior walls of the room, assuming a 60-foot diameter. Then use my sight to highlight unnatural air currents and extrapolate the position of our enemies.”

  “Of course, sir. This will take thirty seconds.”

  Finn didn’t have time to think about much else as a barrage of knives raced toward him, a faint ripple of air mana the only giveaway.

  Diving to the side, Finn rolled across the ground, coming up in a crouch. He sensed a ripple of yellow energy in his peripheral vision, and his orb moved forward. A blade skittered across the metal, but this one was connected to a limb. Finn was able to detect the faint mana signature of the man’s clothing at this range. When they moved in close, the Khamsin were just barely visible.

  Finn immediately retaliated. His flaming orb smashed forward around the knife and struck where Finn suspected his enemy was standing. The sphere passed harmlessly through the air, but not before Finn saw orange and red mana flare brightly, briefly illuminating a human-shaped form.

  Damn it. That confirmed his guess. Only one opponent could absorb his mana like that. And that inevitably led to a more unsettling conclusion. These weren’t novices. He was fighting experienced Khamsin
.

  Another blade rocketed forward, and Finn was moving again. Spinning and dancing through the room, sidestepping a blow, deflecting another with his orb, letting a knife slice through the edge of his molten armor, before smashing aside a fourth with his new bladed arm. Yet the fifth knife cut a line across Finn’s cheek, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

  Damn, I’m a little slower than usual. A parting gift from Bilel.

  With a grimace, Finn ratcheted up the temperature on his orb, swiftly moving it up to heat rank level 4. It would take more concentration to hold the liquified metal together. And that only gave him about 90 seconds on his channel before his mana ran out, but he needed the added speed and force if he was going to survive this fight.

  Another blade skittered toward his legs. The molten globe of metal arced forward, flattening into a disc in mid-flight. The throwing knife was caught in the web of liquid metal, swiftly heating and melting down the blade and adding the substance to the disc.

  A second blade speared forward from Finn’s left, and he brought up his bladed arm. He managed to parry the blow, but the knife ricocheted wildly and cut into the edge of Finn’s thigh. He let out a hissing breath but couldn’t spare the wound any attention. He’d have to rely on his natural health regeneration.

  Okay, maybe a lot slower than normal…

  “Analysis completed!” Daniel reported.

  Four roughly spherical targets were now highlighted in Finn’s vision. The absence of air mana was almost imperceptible, particularly with his attention focused on avoiding the Khamsin’s attacks. Apparently, Daniel had experienced a similar problem. The highlights only gave Finn a rough location. The faint energy and subtle movements of his opponents made it difficult to pick out their position with precision. At least it was enough to anticipate the direction of their attacks.

  Although, it didn’t help Finn deal with the question that kept bouncing through his mind. Why the hell were the Khamsin doing this? His memories were a little fuzzy, but he could have sworn that the desert folk had been responsible for saving them after their confrontation with Bilel.

  Yet, even as that thought crossed his mind, Finn recalled the way Aerys had attacked him outside of the Abyss. The desert folk placed value on strength and readiness. His opponents also seemed to know Finn’s abilities. Why else would they have dropped their armor and used only unenchanted gear? Or launched that first knife to ensure he stayed in combat? They had also left him his equipment and had placed him in a tunnel connected to this large cavern.

  Finn grimaced as he deflected another barrage of blades.

  That could only mean one thing…

  This was a test.

  If he was right, that meant he needed to not only win but, ideally, avoid killing his opponents. While the Khamsin might not hold a grudge, he was ultimately going to need their help. He doubted that they would be happy with him for killing or maiming their members. And he knew he was going to need every able-bodied soldier for the war that was coming.

  Although, that didn’t help him right now. How the hell did he hit what he couldn’t see? Or defeat an enemy that could absorb his mana? Especially if he wanted to avoid killing his opponents. To make matters worse, he was running out of time. His mana was depleting swiftly. But if he dropped the heat rank on his orb, he would be too slow to avoid the Khamsin’s attacks. He was already struggling with his new handicaps.

  Finn ducked under another blade and slid to the side, feeling a second weapon slice through the armor along his left arm. That strike sent him off balance. The Khamsin capitalized on the moment of weakness, and a third knife raced forward, given away only by a faint streamer of air mana. Finn didn’t have time to move his orb into position. Instead, he was forced to lift his right arm, letting the knife embed itself in his forearm.

  Acting quickly, Finn grabbed the hilt with his teeth and ripped the blade free. Blood trickled down his arm and around his fingers, where they continued to maintain his channel. The strike had narrowly avoided the tendons in his forearm, and the skin began to piece itself back together slowly as his regeneration kicked in.

  They’re trying to whittle me down and wear me out, Finn realized. And it was working. Everyone had their limits. Eventually, he would move too slowly, take a hit that couldn’t heal easily, or knock out his channel, and then the deathblow would come.

  Although, that thought gave him pause.

  Everyone has limits, he repeated to himself.

  Didn’t that also apply to Finn’s opponents?

  He needed a way to put them off balance. Or, better yet, a way to overwhelm them and give himself a window to retaliate. Finn glanced at his mana. He also needed to recover some mana. He was already below half.

  Could he kill two birds with one stone?

  He could vaguely recall the tooltip for his Mana Absorption – hitting intermediate had increased its range, sensitivity, and area of effect. Could he use that here somehow? Except, there didn’t appear to be any sources of heat…

  A pause. But was that entirely true? Finn smacked away another blade as he eyed the cavern around him. There had to be some heat in the cavern. After all, he wasn’t freezing to death.

  Acting on instinct, he focused solely on the fire mana in the area around him. At first, he couldn’t make out anything. He pushed harder, narrowing his focus. Faint traces of orange soon appeared in the air, just a thin haze that lingered across the cavern and drifted up toward the ceiling. He could see now how the ambient heat tinged the air mana a slightly darker hue. The heat also permeated the rock around him, but it was even more subtle.

  That must be the ambient heat in the room. Could he absorb that?

  A glimmer of an idea ignited in his mind, fueled by his desperation. His mana surged, burning away the last traces of his doubt and hesitation. Finn’s lips pinched into a thin line. There was nothing for it. He was going to have to give it a shot.

  “I’m going to do something reckless again. Give me a timer on Haste once it’s active,” Finn barked at Daniel, earning him a flash of acknowledgment from the AI.

  He moved quickly. As he dropped the channel on his right hand, the metal orb crashed to the ground with a dull thunk. His enemies didn’t hesitate, and a fresh barrage of blades whistled through the air. Finn dropped to his knees, raising his left arm protectively and accepting the blows. He felt the metal cut into his molten armor, slicing it apart. However, the blades soon stopped against the dense metal that coated his arm. Finn looked up as another wave of missiles raced toward him.

  He wouldn’t be able to stop all of the knives. There were too many, and they were moving too fast. Finn was barely able to follow them with his Mana Sight.

  His spell completed, and fire raged through his body, and his skin began to shimmer with flames. As his Haste fully took hold, the incoming missiles seemed to slow in mid-flight, as though the air itself had turned to gelatin. Then Finn moved. Rising to his feet in a fluid movement, he spun, and the blade along his left arm neatly deflected each missile, sending the weapons crashing into the ground. From his opponents’ perspective, Finn suspected he must look like an orange blur of flame.

  “You have 21 seconds on Haste and roughly 30 seconds on your channel,” Daniel reported from his position atop Finn’s shoulder.

  Finn could see his stamina and mana dropping fast, but he didn’t plan for this to last long. He focused on the room around him, narrowing his Mana Sight and concentrating on the faint traces of orange that lingered through the room. There was heat everywhere, in everything, at least some faint trace. The air. The rock around him. Even his own breaths sent a puff of thermal energy into the cavern.

  Here goes nothing.

  Finn took a deep breath, then called that ambient heat to himself. Yet he didn’t pull on a single source of flame or fire. He pulled on the entire cavern around him.

  The fire mana resisted at first. It felt sluggish and weak. But he didn’t relent. He yanked, pulled, and tugged. He demanded tha
t it return to him.

  Finally, the energy responded.

  Heat leeched out of the rock and air. It swept toward Finn, just a trickle at first. But that trickle was swiftly growing into a torrent of energy as he urged every last trace of heat to return to him. Even as he called to the ambient heat in the cave, Finn continued to dart and weave through the center of the cavern. In a blur of flaming motion, his bladed arm swept aside each blow and slice from the Khamsin.

  The cavern began to grow colder. It was gradual at first. But the air soon grew crisp, and a thin coating of ice began to cover the dirt floor. Under the effects of Haste, Finn was insulated from the cold by the fire mana that burned through his body and coated his skin. The energy seeped into his Najima, adding to his mana and causing his blood to simmer in his veins as his health dropped. Yet Finn ignored the pain. He had endured worse.

  The Khamsin weren’t so lucky. They grew more frantic, sensing the danger. They weren’t immune to the frigid bite of cold that now lingered in the cave. They couldn’t absorb the absence of a specific energy.

  They rushed at Finn as a group – as he expected they would.

  And he was waiting.

  He dodged under a snapping limb, whirled to avoid another stab, and his blade intercepted a third strike as the world around him blurred and swam. Yet his opponents were slower now, a combination of the frigid cold and Finn’s enhanced speed. And yet, he never stopped drawing on that heat, forcing the temperature in the cave ever lower.

  “Twelve seconds on Haste,” Daniel reported.

  The Khamsin withdrew, desperately trying to regroup. Finn could visualize their thoughts. They had already revealed that they were aware of Finn’s abilities, which meant they must know the duration of his Haste was limited. If they couldn’t overwhelm him, they would wait him out. Bear the biting cold and hope that they could eliminate him once he dropped the spell and his stamina bottomed out.

  They were playing a game of chicken.

  A faint grin stretched across Finn’s face. He didn’t plan to wait that long.