by Jason Cheek
Frowning at the negative thoughts, I shook my head in disgust. Hell, even if Miya had fallen there should at least be a bunch of low-level players waiting to enter the dungeon. I mean seriously, what the fuck was going on around here? Biting back my frustration, I focused instead on following through with the plan. All I could do was my best and hope that Yun and Sarka were able to get my message to Miya and the Valkyrie and Devil Dogs guilds in time. Otherwise, this was going to be one short-ass fight.
The low-level Worg Riders on patrol were just starting to take note of the trilling warhorns and the Goblins racing down the ridge into the valley, when I ran in-between the nearest two groups. The aggro range shouldn’t have been an issue due to my higher level, but immediately the Goblins took note of my presence and began chasing after me. At first, I wasn’t too concerned about the increased aggressiveness of the lower level Goblins, but, instead of losing agro as I raced up the steps to the entrance of the mine, I heard the Worgs’ claws skittering across the stones steps behind me as the Worgs continued their pursuit. Once again I swore at the Goblins unusual behavior as I sprinted for the exit stairs on the far side of the rocky alcove. In truth, another handful of low-level Worg Riders chasing after me was more of an annoyance at this point in time. Still, I’d be dead either way if they managed to stop me from reaching my goal. Clearing the far side of the entrance, I began racing across the barren expanse heading for the Delonshire side of the valley.
I rolled my eyes as the two groups of Worg Riders directly in front of me turned around just as soon as my boots hit the ground. Just as an extra ‘Fuck You’ from the game, the mine’s mini-boss patrol was just passing in-between the two groups. For a split-second, time seemed to stop as every Goblins’, Worgs’, and the Orc Leader’s head whipped around to face me before I was anywhere near their typical aggro range.
“Fuck a duck!” I swore as my fingers unconsciously gripped the Dark Blade of Lord Kayden in my hand even tighter. In the blink of an eye, I quickly reviewed the forces standing against me. Once again there were the expected two groups of Level 18 Worg Riders, but, this time the Level 23, Orc, mini-boss was Vorgag Bonesplitter instead of Shivshank Rockcrusher, who I’d killed earlier. I didn’t bother to read the names of Vorgag’s two Level 22 Goblin henchmen, but they were there too.
There was no time to pause to consider my actions or come up with some alternative strategy. I could hear the ten Worg Riders behind me scrabbling over the rocks to the entrance of the mine and the horns of the invading army closing in on our position as I gritted my teeth in frustration. Even as fucked up as I was and nearly out of Mana, I was still an overpowered Level 27 character with melee and magic skills. Tucking my head in close to my chest, I charged the mass of enemies in front of me.
My unexpected assault immediately threw Vorgag Bonesplitter and his Goblins off as their Worgs unconsciously shuffled backward a few steps before the humanoids started angrily yanking on their reins, but by then I’d already cleared half the distance between us. By the time the Orc got his mount under control, my Frost Nova was already spreading out across the ground in the middle of their group. As the wave of ice washed over Vorgag and his Goblins, I shifted my weight forward and leaped into the air over the Worg’s frozen, fang-filled maw heading directly for the mini-boss.
In that half-moment, I saw the look of horror in Vorgag’s eyes as they focused on the Dark Blade of Lord Kayden that was pulled back over my shoulder ready to strike. Unable to move in his icy prison, the Orc helplessly watched the black blade cleave through his thick neck in silent fury. I didn’t need to look at my combat logs to know that I’d crit’d my enemy. The flying head was answer enough. My body slammed into the frozen corpse a split-second later as I rode the Orc’s dead body to the ground in a spray of blood. Without slowing down, I kept running for the edge of the valley as the trailing Worg Riders leaped down from the entrance of the mine howling after my blood.
Ignoring the flashing notification that I was nearly out of Mana, I raced up the slope to escape the Raiders, heading for Delonshire as the valley behind me began filling with the invading army as the Worg Riders that had been trailing after me all this time overtook their comrades from the mine. It was impossible to know if I was going to make it to Delonshire or not. Even though the trail to the city was only a fifteen-minute walk away through the woods, I was learning that even the Goblins non-Worg forces moved much faster then any regular infantry forced had a right to.
I just hoped I could make it to the city ahead of the invaders. Clearing the ridgeline, I plunged into the spindly trees that made up the woods around the outskirts of the town. So far, I’d managed to keep ahead of the green bastards by a combination of my nearly superhuman stamina and frequent use of ambushes. Unfortunately, the sparse forests around Delonshire offered little to no concealment for my flight. Instead of relying on my stealth, I sheathed my sword and shouldered my shield running all out for the city.
Stretching my legs out, I pumped them as hard as I could as I raced through the trees taking the direct path to my goal, instead of following the winding trail. Behind me, the excited howls of the Worgs filled the air as they gave chase, realizing their prey was close. Behind them, the rest of the invading force poured out of the valley like a plague of locusts. It was obvious the enemy knew they were nearing their goal.
With each echoing heartbeat thudding in my ears, I watched my growing Mana bar as I tried to come up with some sort of plan to buy me a little more time. Unfortunately, there was next to nothing I could do but watch the clock tick down in my virtual HUD as I ran. In one way, I had to laugh at the surreal feeling as each second seemed to tick by in slow motion. I’d never had my time dilation reaction kick-in before in a non-combat situation like this, or at least that’s how it felt as I pushed my virtual body to its limit.
Worg Riders drew up behind me in a nearly solid wall of growling mounts as I hit the outskirts of the field surrounding the town. Immediately, my eyes began searching for Miya Faelwen and her guards, when I suddenly realized something was very wrong with the scene unfolding before me. Directly in front of me was a seething mass of players with their backs towards the forest that had to number in the hundreds. Just by glancing at their gear, it was clear that most of these were low-level players.
What was even more disturbing was that they were in the process of attacking the barricades surrounding the town. The defenses that had been thrown up in preparation for the Goblin invaders were now holding the players back as the guards, along with a handful of higher level players, fought to protect the town but, even from this distance, I could see fires raging throughout Delonshire. As the players turned around at the sudden commotion behind them, I heard a familiar voice spat out hatefully.
“There’s that fucking asshole! Get him!”
Immediately upon hearing the voice, it felt like my vision narrowed into a tunnel as my eyes locked onto the hated face of my enemy, Genele Syndicate. For a second, it felt like I couldn’t even breathe as my eyes swept over the rest of the jackals in the man’s guild. Cruel bullies, every single one of them. After everything I’d done to save Miya Faelwen and the town of Delonshire. After everything I’d done to help the local players stand up to this bull. This asshat was trying to fuck it all up while I was gone. As the Syndicate players turned around to attack me, I felt a grim smile split my lips as a new plan began taking shape in my mind.
“Fucking dumbasses.” I spat under my breath, drawing the Dark Blade of Lord Kayden. The idiots didn’t even notice the mass of invaders directly behind me in their rush to take their revenge and end my life. Blitzkill’s and Glaildor’s massive two-handed blades were already raised to strike as they took off running across the field to close the distance between us, while the rogues behind them ducked down disappearing into stealth. Behind the charging warriors, I saw Onepunch and Lamaraldor begin throwing out their long-range ice and fire attacks as more of the other Syndicate ranged classes joined in on the attack.
Sidestepping and dropping to my knee, the blasts flew through the space I’d stood just a second earlier as I hurriedly cast my Ice Barrier and Holy Shield spells back-to-back. As soon as the shimmering gold aura flashed into existence around me, I shot forward out of my crouch heading for the Syndicate’s Guild Leader.
A number of other Syndicate players followed in the two warriors wake, but only Blitzkill and Glaildor had a class skill that could immediately bring them into range to attack. In the blink of an eye, both warriors blurred across the distance between us as they triggered their class talents. The special move reminded me of the warrior’s charge ability from World of Warcraft which, at the range where it could be triggered, was completely unavoidable for the target in question. Unlike the charge attack in World of Warcraft, the skill requirements in The World enabled options more complex than just being pounded by the blanket attack.
I dodged out of the way of Blitzkill’s overhand slash but kept my lower leg stretched out and planted to the side as the warrior shot past. Instead of slamming like he’ planned, Blitzkill flipped head over heels into the air as both of his legs were swept out from underneath him. Glaildor, on the other hand, had an entirely different problem. My sidestep put me on the opposite side of Blitzkill which confused Glaildor’s special attack, forcing him to slam into his friend who was already airborne like a wrecking ball as I ducked low to the ground.
While that was bad, it was nothing in comparison to what happened next. Glaildor’s two-handed sword was already in motion, cleaving a swath through the air parallel to the ground. When I’d dodge, the overpowered strike was already in play. Instead of hitting me, the massive blade sliced through Glaildor’s legs like a hot knife through butter as the two-handed sword passed harmlessly over my head. Glaildor’s face screwed up with a look of absolute horror as his guildmate’s blood sprayed across his face. He tried to recover from the swing, but before he could bring his sword back around into play, I was already moving.
Shifting my weight in the opposite direction, I gripped the extra long hilt of the Dark Blade of Kayden in both hands as I spun around leaping into the air. Using my entire body, I swept my sword up triggering my Power Attack skill. The special attack critted the warrior as the black blade struck deep into the side of his neck, stopping halfway through before coming to a stop. As Glaildor collapsed to his knees, I twisted my blade while yanking the steel from his neck as dark blood began gushing out of the wound like a river down his chest. The warrior’s two-handed sword clattered to the ground as he fell back urgently clutching at his neck to staunch the flow of blood.
A second strike would have severed Glaildor’s neck completely, but instead of following up the attack, I was already moving past the severely wounded warrior focused on my goal. A number of Syndicate players had followed in the warrior's wake, but I only had eyes for Genele as I blasted through their ranks. Arrows zipped past my face as fire and ice spells flared around me almost nonstop as I hammered my way through the lower level players like a bull in a china shop. Lashing out, I caught the first player to close with me in the face with my fist. The blow smashes him into the ground at my feet like a boneless sack of skin as my sword sliced through the forearm of the next player in line. As the fighter numbly watched the hand still clutching his sword bounce off the ground, a blast of fire from behind turned him into a human torch as I shoulder-checked the shrieking man off his feet. Taking three steps, I slammed the heel of my boot into the next fighter’s head and ducked low as multiple arrows slam into the back of the man’s skull killing him instantly.
Silently I sent a ‘thank you’ to the developers of the game for enabling friendly fire as the ranged attacks pummeled the back of the melee fighters before me. Diving into a roll, I sprang back to my feet bashing my way through the last few lowbie players as a gap opened before me to Genele. It was then that I realized the chicken shit bastard was a Level 25 warrior armed with a sword and board.
While a one-handed sword was typically considered a low damage build, he was probably purposely spec’d out like that to be able to lead his guild’s teams and raids through the game’s dungeons. From the look on man’s face, I’m sure he was bugging out at the damage I’d just inflicted on his people. In truth, it wasn’t due to anything special on my account, except for keeping out of his peoples’ line of fire and not stopping to let his peoples’ numbers overwhelm me.
“Get him!” Genele roared, shoving the mages and archers in front of him as he quickly stepped back to put more distance in-between us. My shields shimmered around me absorbing the damage as the onslaught of arrows and spells nearly doubled in their intensity. The confused looks of shock on the squishy classes’ faces brought a smile to my lips. Pushing through their ranks, I lunged past them for Genele with a two-handed grip on my black blade.
I understood their confusion. I was armed and armored like a warrior, but somehow I had a mage and priest shield protecting me. How could that be when I was alone? Unfortunately, my smug thought was abruptly cut-off before I could smash my sword into Genele’s face when a wave of ice washed over me freezing me in place. I silently swore at my bad luck. Obviously, even though I didn’t take any damage, I could still be frozen even with my shield in place.
“Take that motherfucker!” Lamor screeched at the top of his lungs as he stumbled backward from the blow, throwing his hands out in front of him. As soon as the last word left his mouth, a flaming Pyroblast washed over my frozen body as a wave of burning flames blasted out from his hands like a flamethrower from some old World War II flick.
Normally being in the range of such a devastating attack would have been a major problem even with my large Hit Point pool but, in this situation, it was a godsend. Instantly the Frost Nova freeze-effect holding me in place melted away as my Ice Barrier shield flared to life around me in a pulsating glow of blue energy that absorbed the brunt of the fiery attack. While the Holy Shield flared with golden sparks, the incoming arrows from the Syndicate’s hunters harmlessly bounced off the secondary shield protecting me.
Abruptly released from the confines of my icy prison a split-second after the spell was cast, I completed my lung to Lamor’s shocked surprise as the Dark Blade of Kayden plunged through the Frost mage’s chest. As the man’s eyes bulged out in horror at the unexpected attack and his body shuddered in the throes of sudden death, I belatedly realized what had happened as the other casters shrank away from me fearfully. The Syndicate mage was spec’d as a glass cannon. Meaning that he’d sunk all of his Attribute Points into Intelligence and Spirit to increase his Mana and spell power, but that left him with almost zero Stamina, aka Hit Points, which was why he’d died from just one strike.
Kicking the corpse off my blade, I turned to face Genele as intense pain suddenly shot through my back. Instantly my Hit Points took a dump as I lost nearly 1600 points of health in the blink of an eye. Reeling away from the agony surging through my body, I lurched around in a complete circle with my Dark Blade as I struck back at the three rogues that had just appeared behind me with all my might. Even weakened as I was, the difference between our levels and the quality of my blade made a huge difference between our attacks, the overpowered strike blasted through my attackers’ armor like a hot knife through butter. Cheezknife and Desolation were immediately cut down as Eowan was blasted off his feet losing three-quarters of his Hit Points. Before I could follow up with a killing blow on Eowan, Genele’s Shield Bash sent me sprawling across the ground.
“You thought you would challenge me? I’m going to cut your head off and shove it up your ass!” Genele roared following after me. Before I’d even come to a stop, the bastard was on top of me raining blows across my back and chest as I did my best to roll away from the flurry of strikes while pain shot through my body. Slipping and sliding to my knees, I felt the point of his blade pierce my ribs as I staggered to my feet gasping in agony. Blood splattered across the white snow as I roared knocking the sword point out of my flesh with a flick of my wrist.
Before I could retaliate against the asshole with one of my lunges, another Pyroblast washed over my body in a burning wave of flame.
This time my Ice Barrier and Holy Shield failed, giving out completely halfway through the burning attack as I howled in pain while the flesh bubbled on my face. The world dizzily reeled as I was knocked off my feet. The pain only subsiding when my face smashed into a snowbank as I gasped for breath. I tried to get my feet underneath me, but my body refused to move as I lay sprawled out on the frozen ground.
One glance at my HUD told the story. The sliver of red on my Hit Point bar perfectly reflected the forty-six points left to my health. The flashing Stun icon counting down from five also explained why I couldn’t move. My body felt broken as I breathed in a ragged breath watching Genele’s boots stop next to my still smoldering face. I grimaced as the Syndicate Guild Leader’s smarmy voice came to my ears.
“And so falls the leader of the Revenants. It’s good to see you finally know your place, Ironloser.” Genele chuckled darkly. “Just wait until I post the video of your defeat on my stream. You can plan on kissing any sponsors you had goodbye after this defeat.”
“So you kill me once after I’ve ravaged your guild how many fucking times?” Pushing myself up to my knees, I spat in the asshole’s face as my vision partly faded in and out. “What the fuck ever, dickless. Why don’t you go suck a bag of cocks?”
“Ooft!” The grunt was torn from my lips as Genele’s boot smashed my head back into the ground as my health dropped down to sixteen.
“Shut your fucking mouth!” Genele shrieked as several of his guildmates came up behind him grinning evilly. Blinking my eyes to clear the darkness that was encroaching at the edges of my vision, I spat out a mouthful of blood and triumphantly grinned as I met the perplexed looks of the battered Syndicate players that had surrounded me to gloat. I understood their confusion. I wasn’t acting like their normal beaten-down prey. Ignoring the blood running down my chin, I raised my voice so I could be heard over the approaching rumbling roar.