by EA Hooper
“What is this crap?” Amelia questioned, staring at the white lines on the ground. “Restoration runes? Are you serious? Whose idea was this, Noah’s?” She glanced around the area until her eyes fell on the Demon Lord.
“What the hell are you?” she questioned, raising an eyebrow.
Of all the people that had crossed Noah’s path since he’d taken up the mantle of the Demon Lord, his wife was the first that had shown no hint of fear, anger, or even excitement at the chance to fight him. Even after killing herself over a thousand times, she still had the same dulled-over eyes she’d had decades ago. Noah had only seen brief glimpses of her since then, but he knew Isaac had recorded her deaths to keep track of her respawn timer.
Amelia, my love. Please, for the love of god, don’t recognize me. I never wanted you to see me like this.
Almost as if mocking him, the devil in his body stepped forward and equipped basteel axes—exact copies of the weapons he’d used for decades on Lavrin.
“Noah?” she asked, her eyes widening with confusion. “Is that you under that helm?”
The Demon Lord leapt forward, taking a swipe that Amelia didn’t even bother to dodge. The axe lopped off her head, but white light instantly restored her.
“Noah?” she said, shaking the Demon Lord by the breastplate. “Answer me!”
The Demon Lord grabbed Amelia by the throat and slammed her against the Daiglass Tower.
Stop! Don’t do this! Please, for the love of god, don’t hurt my wife. This wasn’t part of our deal—this was never part of the deal!
Amelia didn’t struggle, even as the Demon Lord choked her. Her hands reached forward, and she tried to get the helm off his head. After several seconds of Amelia’s strength slipping, the devil released her neck and unequipped the helm himself.
Amelia mouthed her husband’s name, although no sound escaped her lips.
Stop! Stop! Stop!
“Your husband wants me to stop,” the devil said with Noah’s voice. “I’m quite enjoying this, however.”
“Stop this,” Isaac said as a holographic projection of him appeared beside the couple.
The devil released his grip at once, and Amelia collapsed to the ground. From his reflection in the Daiglass Tower, Noah could see tears hanging below his glowing red eyes. The devil saw it, too, and wiped them away with a chuckle.
“This really isn’t funny,” Isaac said with a serious tone. “I brought you here to show Amelia what had become of her husband.”
“Isaac?” Amelia gasped, still trying to catch her breath. “What is that thing? Why does it look like my husband?”
“Your husband’s pursuit to beat this game drove him to make a deal with devils,” Isaac explained. “Even worse, it drove him to make a deal with me. I betrayed him and had a devil take over his avatar. Now, I’ve turned all of Risegard into an endless torture chamber.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Amelia demanded.
“I’m helping people reach their potential,” Isaac replied. “Just look at you. You were on such a good path and had so much promise, but you chose to call it quits early and go home. What’s waiting for you in the real world? A meaningless life of procreation in a world where humans are outdated and unimportant? You’re better off here. In this magnificent world, you can reach your potential. You can find purpose—even rise to the top!”
I can’t even tell if he’s just playing a cartoon villain or if he’s starting to believe his own ramblings.
“Have you lost your damn mind?” Amelia said. “You can’t just torture people or hijack their bodies.”
“The determined will always control those with little willpower,” Isaac replied. “In essence, I can do whatever I like if everyone else is so far beneath me. However, for the sake of my friend Noah, I’ll give you one last chance to make the right decision. You can either join the strong and help me hunt down the weaker players out there, or you can join them and suffer immensely.”
The Demon Lord held out a hand toward Amelia.
She glanced over the prompt before slapping away Noah’s hand. “Screw you,” she told Isaac’s hologram. “I’m not playing your twisted game.”
Isaac smiled. “You’re playing it regardless. I was only giving you a choice to pick your team. That’s okay, I suppose. The weaklings out there could use someone like you. Noah, send her away.”
A portal opened against the Daiglass Tower, and the Demon Lord shoved Amelia through it, sending her to the Outer Sanctum.
“Shall I hunt her down?” the Demon Lord asked, equipping his helm once more.
“No, it’s a little too cruel to have her husband torture her,” Isaac said.
Oh, thank god.
“I’ll have the others take care of Amelia,” the hologram added before vanishing.
I’d like to see them try. My wife won’t take this lightly. If anyone can put an end to this mess, it’ll be her—I’m sure of it. She’ll get ahold of Zhang and figure out something.
Chapter 28 | Year 93
Player: Vincent the Builder
Location: Lavrin (World) | Great Vanguard’s Outpost (Region)
Class: Ranger
Subclass: Mage
Vitality: Lv 186
Spirit*: Lv 196
Resolve: Lv 178
Perception*: Lv 202
Agility: Lv 186
Strength: Lv 185
After using his Builder Points to create a basement below the outpost, Vincent and Xan went to train while Juniper worked on the forge. Both players took turns using Debuff Chains to cut their levels in half while the other tried to keep them alive. Between the bonuses from the high gravity, the ants’ challenge rating, and their lowered levels, Vincent managed to increase his Perception after a few days.
With True Scan, he could see the actual XP bars normally hidden by the game, and he found himself impressed with how quickly it rose when the three bonuses were added together. Xan even leveled her Strength and Agility during that time. The biggest problem was keeping each other alive during the fights, but they were both quick to break their chains if overwhelmed by hell ants.
Any time Xan had to use her Divine Healer’s Pendant, they called it a day and returned to the outpost to practice their spells. Vincent continued trying to combine Impact Blaze with negative energy, and Density Field with Gravity Shield. Both required a great deal of mana, so he typically practiced under one of Xan’s World Fountains rather than waste ethers.
Xan had taken a different route with working on a spell to destroy the Foundry. She took off her boots, planted her feet on the ground, and meditated for long periods of time while trying to circulate light through her body and into the ground. She told Vincent she wanted to make a spell like Zero Field, only using world magic instead of negative energy.
Xan took breaks from meditating to practice crafting monster-control runes, and she created a circle of them around the outpost. They weren’t quite as strong as the originals, but at the very least they seemed to keep wandering hell ants from paying attention to them while they were in the circle.
Juniper worked tirelessly to design a new forge below the outpost, and she already had plans for a refinery. However, she knew that would need to wait until they found a basteel mine somewhere underground—which could take months, if not years—so she didn’t consider it a priority at that moment.
After more than a week had passed since leaving Styxis, three players approached the outpost while Vincent and Xan were practicing their spells. Instinctively, both players readied themselves for a possible fight, but then they recognized Antonio, the Cricket lieutenant for Styxis. The southern man looked worn-down, but he also seemed happy to see them.
“Vincent, thanks for telling me where to find that Jump Gate,” Antonio said, shaking his hand. “I’m forever in your debt, my friend, though I do bring bad news. The devils—there was an army of them chasing us across the world. It’s a miracle we found that gate, but it’s almost certain they�
�ll destroy it.”
Vincent’s heart sank in his chest. Any hope that Quinn might make it to the Jump Gate once she respawned faded in an instant. He looked at Xan and could tell by her sad expression that she’d had the same thought.
“I’m sorry,” Antonio said. “I was trying to lose them, but they were relentless. Originally, there were twelve of us that made it out of the city, but we three are the only ones that reached the gate.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Vincent said. “I’m surprised even you three made it with an army chasing you.”
“It’s only because of this woman,” Antonio said, gesturing to the short woman with curly blonde hair. “I believe you two are friends with her old teammate, Zhang.”
“Antonio told me you defeated Lucas,” the woman said, reaching forward to shake Vincent’s hand. “Thanks for saving Zhang. I’m his friend, Firefly Amelia of the Great Vanguard.”
“Woah!” Xan shouted, stepping forward. “You’re Firefly? That Firefly? Zhang told me all about your group. He said he wasn’t sure what happened to any of you.”
“I’ve been killing myself repeatedly to escape the game,” Amelia explained. “At least until Isaac stopped me. My husband made deals with devils that cost him control of his body. That monster with Noah’s face has been running around calling himself the Demon Lord.”
“Woah, hold up,” Xan said. “How did getting possessed turn your husband into a boss monster?”
“It has something to do with his helm,” Amelia said. “I couldn’t see his player profile until he removed it.”
“It’s like my mask,” Vincent realized, putting on his Mysterious Mask. “Try to look at my player profile. Most of the information is gone, right? I got this by trading a Unique Token to an NPC named Archie. Your husband might’ve gotten that helm from him too. I’m sure your team had more Unique Tokens than anyone in this game, right?”
“Yeah, we had plenty,” Amelia said. “I didn’t know they could be traded, though.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Antonio asked Vincent. “You and Xan must have an idea for stopping Isaac, right? This is just like what happened with Lucas. Everyone thought he was unbeatable, but your team saved the day! I’ll do anything I can to help.”
“Me too,” Amelia said. “I’m not quitting until I get my husband back.”
“I can help too,” a quiet voice called from behind Antonio. Everyone turned toward the timid-looking man.
“Who are you?” Xan asked.
“Keith, uh, the Bold,” he replied. “Okay, look, I’m not a fighter or a hero. I was one of ARKUS’s developers, and I worked for Iijin Industries until Isaac kicked out most of us. I happened to be investigating the destroyed Jump Gate when I received a message from a friend in the Inner Sanctum that warned me the drones were killing everyone. So, I hid and kept watch on things from a distance. When I spotted Amelia leading a group away from Risegard, I thought it would be smart to join them.”
“How do we know you aren’t working for Isaac?” Xan asked.
“He’s not,” Antonio said, placing a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “This guy is too much of a wimp. He literally cried when the devils almost caught us.”
“I don’t have as much experience with dying as the rest of you,” Keith defended. “I’m only a dev, not a hardcore player. After ARKUS disabled pain reduction, I’ve barely even left Risegard.”
“So, you’re no help to us,” Xan said. “We’ll escort you to Cryasal as soon as we can fight Narak again. You can just hide during the fight.”
“I can assist in other ways,” Keith said. “I know more about runes than anyone else in this game—probably even more than Isaac. I made the original restoration, communication, and alchemic runes. A few others too. Most the players that make those are just copying my early designs from the beta. I also helped build the Foundry. If you want to stop Isaac, then you’ll need to disable or destroy it.”
“We figured that,” Xan said. “I’m working on world magic spells that will let me start a chain reaction.”
“Did you know there are four stabilizing tanks spread across the Inner Sanctum that will stop any reaction if something goes wrong?” Keith asked.
“Where at?” Xan questioned.
“I can draw blueprints of the Inner Sanctum to show you where they are,” Keith said. “If you bring them down, it’ll make the Foundry vulnerable to a large reaction.”
“You said you can make restoration runes, right?” Vincent asked Keith.
“Yeah, I designed the first training chamber for the mods, so they didn’t have to worry about respawn time,” Keith replied.
“We need something like that,” Vincent said. “It’s a hassle running around finding hell ants to fight. If we could have a training chamber under the outpost, Xan and I could bring hell ants down there and fight them for weeks—even months—nonstop. We need to gain levels faster than the possessed players.”
“You won’t ever catch up to Noah,” Amelia said.
“Maybe not, but we can try,” Vincent replied. “I’ve been piecing together strategies for gaining levels as quickly as possible. We just need to be more relentless and more efficient than Isaac’s torturous game. However, I don’t expect everyone to go to such lengths. It’s something all of our allies will have to decide for themselves. Until you three get new spawn points, though, you should stay inside the outpost and help Juniper. I don’t mean to rush off, but Xan and I can’t waste any time. Every hour of every day of every year needs to be used wisely.”
Vincent and Xan stepped back under the World Fountain and continued to practice their spells. Xan made sure to let her mana refill before the fountain disappeared, so she could cast it again. They continued training spells and power-leveling against hell ants until their team could challenge Narak again.
The next time they faced the boss, Vincent and Xan fought more ferociously, keeping Narak’s attention so she wouldn’t target the players that needed new spawns. They ended up defeating her twice as fast as before.
With a base secured, Valery thought it was safe to bring them allies from various worlds, including Jim’s granddaughter River, Xan’s sister Athena, and their father Lloyd. They carried the daiglass shard that players could use as a portable spawn point, which prevented their allies from wasting Jump Crystals returning from Cryasal every time they died.
Valery soon brought May, Keanu, and Jim’s other lieutenants. Even with so many people offering to help, Vincent and Xan felt the pressure was mostly on them. They knew only negative energy could bring down the Eternal Ring, and only world magic would destroy the Foundry.
The two continued training relentlessly, and once Keith built them a chamber lined with restoration runes, they decapitated two ants and brought their heads to the lowest underground room before sealing themselves inside. A small opening in the ceiling allowed Juniper to drop them weapons directly from her forge, and it also let friends and family speak to them while they power-leveled. Vincent cast Debuff Chains on Xan and then himself, and they watched nervously as the runes restored the monstrous ants.
The two friends spent much of the next forty-two years in that chamber.
Chapter 29 | Year 135
Player: Old Man Vincent
Location: Lavrin (World) | Crickets’ Outpost (Region)
Class: Ranger
Subclass: Mage
Vitality: Lv 330
Spirit*: Lv 340
Resolve: Lv 329
Perception*: Lv 345
Agility: Lv 330
Strength: Lv 328
It had taken Vincent a long time to settle on his newest player title. He’d started World-Tree Online feeling youthful and spirited again. The name Noble Vincent had been a split-second decision when he’d challenged Quinn at the arena on Teramor. Years later, he’d taken up the mantle Vincent the Eldritch just to scare Lucas’s followers when they faced him. He’d become the Wanderer after years of traveling and seeing the sights of the World-Tree. Vince
nt the Builder had started as a nickname by people seeking his services on Risegard. That name hadn’t lasted long, but he’d liked it.
During his first decade of training in the restoration room, which Xan had named the Kill Chamber, Vincent had swapped between several titles. He had wanted a name that showed how serious he felt about stopping Isaac, but most of those titles seemed silly to him years later. During the second decade or so of training, he hadn’t even bothered to use a title. He went back to being regular old Vincent, and something felt right about that.
However, without a proper title, his allies inevitably gave him different nicknames. Valery liked to call him Modslayer, and that nickname had caught on until River’s habit of calling him old man gained popularity around the outpost. Vincent thought it humorous since he wasn’t even the oldest member of the Crickets—they had a few members above the age of a hundred—but even those members started referring to him as Old Man Vincent. Finally, he’d given in and changed his title.
After leaving the Kill Chamber long enough to finish the two spells he’d been working on, Vincent returned to train until Xan was ready for the war. River and Athena spent a few years in there with him, fighting off the three hell ants that had long ago replaced the original two. It’d gotten a little too weird after Xan named them Biter and Billy, so Vincent had passed a new rule not to give them names.
After River and Athena left, Vincent trained alone for a long time. He didn’t mind the solitude, but one day Juniper brought his training to an abrupt end.
“Xan says she’s ready!” the girl announced, speaking through the hole in the ceiling that she used to drop items into the Kill Chamber.
The words almost didn’t make sense to Vincent. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“She finished the spell upgrades she was working on!” Juniper cheered. “We can finally take back Risegard!”