Dreaming Orora

by A H Alshehabi

The party members stood around him. Everyone coming to the realization of their own bodies. Looking about. A dark backdrop enveloped them. An emptiness beyond a big circle of a field. How light was within the dome bothered him at first, but that was the beauty of a make believe world, it doesn’t have to follow the physics of the real world.

  In the corner of his eyes Hok noticed a counter ticking down. 59:34.

  He drew a slow breath. The moment of truth. This was what they fought for. It’s not the end by any means, rather the chance to end it. To bring back their loved ones and put an end to this Dark One. A smile cracked his face. He could not hide the excitement. He clinched his teeth and his grip tightened around his sword, Seven. Do or die time.

  “She must be there,” Eric said.

  Hok looked at Eric, his gaze glued on something above. Hok followed the gaze. A platform suspended in the middle of the dome, above their heads. He couldn't tell what loomed up there, but they all hoped for the same.

  “Can’t call my wyvern, otherwise…” Eric’s attention drifted. It's a testament to him to keep calm at this stage. To keep in check and don't risk everything now. To anger, or haste.

  “Two minutes to buff,” Hok said, “come on guys.”

  Everyone started casting and firing buff spells. They went off like fireworks on the fourth of July. Hok was done after only one. Not much expected of him to buff his party members anyways. He went to his menu and run through his food items. He highlighted a steak with sautéed mushrooms and consumed it. His best item to boost agility. For him speed meant everything. It also helped raising his chances of dodging few attacks.

  A figure cloaked in darkness stood dead ahead. The Dark One stood there, waiting. Just like any other instanced battle Hok joined, the boss stood motionless until they approached within reasonable distance to provoke him. This gave them ample time to buff up. They could use all the time in the world, but the clock in the corner of his eyes kept ticking. 58:41.

  “I fear for you,” a voice crept in his head. He looked around; the others had the same expression of being startled for a moment. This trick never gets old.

  “Forget him,” Murad said, “keep buffing.”

  “Do you not see the wrongs of your way? Where you falter? Can’t you tell you are fighting for the wrong side? That you fight for the one who started this all? The one who intends to end it,” the voice said.

  Hok looked at Eric, a puzzled look grew on his face.

  “Haven’t you wondered how I got out of this dome in the first place? How, what you call an NPC, was able to break an otherwise unbreakable rule?” a soft laugh played in Hok’s head.

  “What the hell is he talking about?” Eric said.

  “Forget him,” Kensin said, “probably just trying to provoke us.”

  “You people are still oblivious to who your real enemy is,” The Dark One said, “who holds the malice intentions against your world.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Eric said, “you got our people and we are here to get them back.”

  “Don’t fall into his provocations,” Kensin said.

  “Like I said, a couldn’t be avoided collateral damage,” The Dark One said, he started pacing left and right. From where Hok stood, a figure cloaked in dark flames moved left and right. “Those who seek to reclaim this world are waiting in the dark, and yet you choose to fight the wrong war. Darkness is not the only wrong answer; a blinding light is just as bad. Ever asked why I never actually attacked Buharr?”

  “The intention was there, Gods know what you were waiting for,” Bale said, “Just like you did with my outpost.”

  “Ready to attack?” Hok said.

  “Just a sec,” Paragon said casting another spell.

  “Ah, Warden of the East,” The Dark One said.

  “I’m warden no more!” Bale exploded.

  The Dark One laughed, “And you didn't ask yourself when did this happen? When and why you became warden no more? Just know this, those who wish to see this world in runes, like me, can affect your world as well. And they got players amongst their ranks as we speak. In fact some are right here.”

  Eric arched his eyebrows and turned his head about him.

  “Ready,” Paragon said.

  “Alright,” Kensin said and stormed forward, katana in hand, “this is for One-san.”

  The three tanks Fitch, Bale and Qaz charged towards The Dark One. Hok stalked towards them. Need to give the tanks some time to establish hate. With Seven in hand he was without a doubt the best damage dealer amongst everyone present.

  The Dark One raised both his arms, “Let’s not make this fight any longer than it should be.”

  A crack in the space above him formed and a huge claw ripped through it. The huge dragon followed close behind.

  Everyone charging towards The Dark One stopped. “Damn it,” Hok said, “Majoran this early on? Guess it can’t be helped. Take your form guys. Diego, Balard, to me. The rest, take down the dragon.”

  “On it,” Qaz said and proceeded to provoke the dragon and pulled him to one side of the arena. The rest of the members followed, save for Hok and his small party.

  Hok tossed a knife at The Dark One who dismissed it with a wave of his left hand. He looked at Hok with those dark smiling eyes of his. Good thing getting his attention was not hard since he decided to call his dragon before anyone even touched him.

  “Alright guys,” Hok said to his small group, “we got to work our magic. Balard, I’m afraid you’ll have to keep an eye if things go south on the other end of the battle.”

  The old man sighed, “good thing I lost my powers then ha? Got to focus on healing.”

  Hok run towards The Dark One who balled both hands in fists, waiting. Getting closer, Hok saw dark smoke rising from both arms forming sword like objects. They looked more like sharp extensions of his arms.

  Purple tentacles broke from the ground and wrapped themselves around The Dark One’s feet. It presented a moment of broken concentration from The Dark One’s part. Hok slashed at his enemy and dashed few steps back. Not a fatal blow, not a big damage dealer even, but it made sure the hate stayed on Hok.

  The Dark One tried to step off the tentacles, but the more he tried the more they tightened. Not a bad move from Diego. His abilities had to be tested early on in the battle. Not what Hok had in mind, no choice but to go with it now. He stole a glance at the battle in the far end of the arena, the dragon dominated the scene visually, but none of his party members HP dipped in the danger zone. They must be handling it well.

  That fleeting second he took his eyes from his opponent proved ample enough for The Dark One to break free from the tentacles and dash towards Hok. He slashed but Hok dodged fast enough and tossed a knife few inches behind The Dark One. Hok didn't miss and the dodge was not at all a dodge. It’s what you get when you prepare well for your opponent’s next move.

  Hok smiled looking at The Dark One who struggled in his place but failed to move an inch. He stopped and tilted his head to one side, “let’s see for how long you’ll manage to run away.”

  Hok had a distortion ability on, a Ninja move which he had for a sub, nullifying a direct hit off the user without losing a step. It’s a good move to avoid a direct hit which Hok anticipated plenty of in this battle. It ate the attack and made it look like a miss. As for the knife, a shadow bind ability directed at The Dark One’s shadow to plant him for few seconds.

  “Oh we didn’t start with the hiding yet,” Hok said.

  The shadow bind wore off and slabs of rocks grew from the ground and enveloped The Dark One.

  “This’ll hold him for few more seconds,” Diego said.

  A metallic hue glittered off of Hok’s skin for a second. Iron skin. This should take few hits off him as well. “Thanks Balard,” Hok said.

  The rock prison shook once and the ground around it cracked. The second time cracks formed on its walls. The third time it shattered to million pieces.

  Hok started to run but slowed down when
he saw The Dark One unmoving. Not a good sign. He had one finger touching his temple and a thumb below his lower lip. He was casting. Really not good.

  Dark spikes pierced the ground in succession towards Hok.

  “Shit,” Hok said and jumped to one side. He wasn’t fast enough. They hit and tossed him few feet back. His HP did not take a hit, but his iron skin was no more.

  “That was an SP move,” Balard said.

  “How the hell did he build SP?” Hok said.

  “My rock prison I think,” Diego said, “any hit to it builds SP.”

  “Ok,” Hok said, “better lay off it for a while unless we really need it.”

  The Dark One still had his hand in a casting position. This time he split into three and two dark soldiers came to life from his shadows.

  “Guys,” Hok said, “we need a damage dealer here. Soldiers.”

  Hok tossed a knife to lure The Dark One away from the soldiers and took off. A dark crimson ball engulfed The Dark One and dissolved to the ground. Gravity. The spell slowed him down to a crawl, but the soldiers came after Hok full speed.

  A red trail whizzed by Hok and exploded on one soldier. The shock tossed the other soldier off balance as well.

  “Leave them to me,” Oz said running parallel to where Hok stood.

  If this continued, the dragon should be down in no time. Hok looked at the big beast biting and slashing at his friends then back at the gaining Dark One behind him. Unfortunately, the longer this continued, the more tolerance The Dark One would build towards their spells. Got to end the dragon fast.

  To use certain abilities called SP moves, you need to build SP. You can accumulate up to 300%. Some moves need 100, 200 or even the full 300% to be used. Every job got its unique SP abilities.

  Any action you do during battle accumulates SP. Attack, get attacked or certain spells all add to the SP. Some actions accumulate more than others.

  Do be careful though, monsters also got SP moves.

  46 – Of Fire and Steel

  “Heavens this dragon is tough,” Bale said as he took another swing from the beast. He raised his shield to block the attack, but one couldn't block what was two times one’s size. It pushed him few feet back, but he stood tall still.

  Between him, Fitch and Qaz, they bounced the hate so they gave their healers enough time to keep them up and functional, and gave them enough time to gather their composure. The damage they took was negligible compared to how much each hit threw them off balance.

  Not counting the two times Fitch bit the dust, only once did it came too close to annihilation when Qaz took a lava breath followed by rapid slashes. Both healers, Paragon and Kosaki, plus the support, cmfour, had to intervene to keep him alive. Qaz tossed a heal onto himself to maintain hate off the healers and kept himself afloat. Aside from that incident, it was smooth sailing.

  Bale broke a sword on the dragon’s skin and two shields fell to its claws. Good thing he kept spares in his inventory. All his life in the outpost, Bale never saw the need to change a weapon or shield mid battle. Before all of this, the wandering garrisons of Beastmen or the occasional unruly Recruits were all the threat he ever saw. Now, he stood before a dragon ten or more times his size.

  So far, the dragon held on to one third of its HP. Few more minutes and they would put an end to it and be able to return to The Dark One. Since they started, Bale didn’t get the chance to sink his sword in the one who caused all of this. The one who started his life in a downwards-spiraling unfortunate event after the other. To some extent, he feared anger would blind and consume him. Revenge dominated his thoughts, and for what? A kingdom that no longer honored him? Countrymen who abandoned and dishonored him? Some downright incriminated him. For now, fighting the dragon provided a good distraction.

  The dragon faced Bale and took a deep breath. Crackles rose through his teeth and smoke lazily seeped through. By now the team knew what would follow, an area of effect fire attack. The mages and support took a side step and Bale stood alone to take on the heat.

  The dragon gulped at the end of the inhalation, closed its eyes and paused.

  “That’s new,” Bale said as he brought up his shield and braced for impact. Iron skin grew on him, good call by one of the mages.

  The dragon craned its neck upwards and spewed its guts. Fire burst upwards, but molten lava oozed from its mouth down its skin. It covered the whole beast. For a second it stood motionless. A large dragon made of fire.

  Bale took a step back and so did the others. “Any idea what’s going on?” Bale said. Few heads shook, no answer came.

  The beast’s eyes snapped open to reveal big fireballs. Then the dragon roared and took a swing at Bale. The tough scale and claws hit from before was now mixed with molten lava. The blunt hit of steel on his shield forced Bale’s hand aside. A burning wave of fire followed after. The fire lingered for three seconds after.

  “This is bad,” Murad said, “the attacks are far worse than what it used to be. We need to take it down faster.”

  “We have worse news here,” Hok said, “This guy is starting to resist our spells.”

  Bale stole a look at the other battle. He couldn't make out anything from where he stood.

  “Shit,” Hok said, “Diego is down. He’s spawning back.”

  As if to follow up with the bad news, the dragon took another deep breath. Bale grabbed his shield. He got startled for a second when a body started to form beside him. Another second and Diego fully materialized next to him. Talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

  “I’m back,” Diego said just as the dragon let his guts out.

  A column of fire sprouted through hitting everything and anything on its path. Bale raised the shield and tried to cover Diego, but he was too slow to get him. He turned to ash in an instant.

  “What the hell?” Diego said.

  “You spawned right where we are fighting,” Oz said laughing.

  “Wait a minute,” Qaz said, “we’ll have to move him a bit.”

  Qaz provoked the beast and ran on the opposite direction hugging the dome wall. The dragon followed after and so did the party.

  “Should be good now,” Qaz said.

  Bale reached the dragon and gave him a taste of his sword. A fire tinge hit him back with minor damage. That was not the only thing Bale noticed. The attack did less damage from what it used to. This fire skin acted as a defense and offense mechanism. Murad spoke truth; they need to take the dragon down fast.

  “Well,” Diego said, “I’m back but weaken. Need five more minutes.”

  “Ok,” Hok said, “help however you can meanwhile.”

  “Um, guys,” Diego said, “what the hell is that?”

  Bale looked towards Diego who pointed towards huge white cracks on the dark dome. They formed at the base and crept upwards.

  “Not good,” Balard said, “A wizard is at the wall.”

  “What do you mean?” Hok said, “No time to be cryptic old man.”

  “Not cryptic,” Balard said, “technically another dark wizard, or rather someone with a certain item, can break the dome. Kind of like Seven if you remember.”

  “I thought you are the only dark wizard?” Eric said.

  “Technically, yes.”

  “Damn it,” Hok said, “no time to argue here, we need to finish this fast. And hope we are lucky enough whoever is trying to break the dome fails.”

  47 – Breaking and entering

  The more she pulled, the more it pulled back. Just like quicksand, not that she ever experienced one. She was elbow deep into the dome and a glimpse of fear sparkled within her.

  “I think you should log out,” Jade said pulling one more time at Maia’s other hand. She grabbed her waist and pulled again. Not an inch.

  Halvar and his team secured the parameter from the charging dark soldiers. Jade, alongside Maia, tried her level best to free her. All their efforts went to waste, if anything, they managed to get her sucked in deeper.

>   “I believe your friend is right milady,” Halvar said looking back at Maia.

  Log out? Sure it might get her out of this trouble, but then what? Was she to miss all the action again? She wanted to answer the calling of the dome and the push from the dark soldier only expedited the inevitable.

  Maia exhaled a confident breath, “Nope, I’m going in.”

  “What?” Jade let go of her. Took a step back and gazed at Maia. Hand half stuck inside the dome. “You don’t know what’ll happen.”

  “Exactly. Wouldn’t you want to know?”

  Jade didn’t answer and looked spaced out for a moment. She looked back at Maia, “Please tell me Eb is fine if you got in.”

  Maia nodded and smiled. She looked back at the dome and pierced her lips. It’s just a game damn it, what’s the worst that could happen?

  She took a step forward and the dome welcomed her with open arms. She didn't feel anything against her skin where she expected some coldness. For a moment she sunk in total darkness. Deprived of all senses, she remembered why people were fighting the dark one. He put people in a coma. Not in game, but in real life.

  Maia’s heart raced and she tasted copper in her mouth. She couldn’t breath and gasped for air. She calmed herself down and started to breath slowly. She could still think clearly so at least it must not be a coma. She focused her view and the HUD came up. A rush of calm washed over her. Nothing crippled her but her fears. It took over her for a second to the point of desperation, but only a second.

  She took a step forward and the darkness gave way. A big space covered in swirling darkness. Light illuminated the inside from an unknown source. She spotted some movement in the distance. Two, no three figures.

  In the corner of her eyes a number was counting down. 32:13.

  A roar startled her and she looked up. A dragon soared the sky and spitted fire on a party below. Maia recognized Rain and Borg amongst them.

  “Get down,” a man said and tackled her to the ground.

  A fireball flew above and exploded on the dome behind them.