by Alex Knight
If he didn’t look directly at them they stayed mostly transparent, but when he focused on them they would solidify so that he could read each individual name and their hit points. As he did, he noticed six of the health bars were already empty. The remaining four players reorganized to the top of the list.
Clutchtime - 90%
gtrain_737 - 33%
MadKilla - 20%
Tomari9 - 82%
“Command says that for each player who dies you’ll lose fifty percent of your reward EXP. Being realistic, though, if you get two out alive, I’ll consider it a success. Sound good?” Lieutenant Ellenton said, inspiring as ever.
“I’ve sent you the layout of the Mochinki, so your minimaps will guide you to relevant destinations. Right now, that’s the galley. If you need me, holler. In the meantime, I’ve some pirate scum to scrap.”
With that, the Borrelly exploded out of the hangar with a roar and a flash of light.
The backblast from its engines slammed into Kaiden and the others, nearly throwing them to the ground. Kaiden stumbled several steps, struggling to catch his balance as crates and shelves toppled to the floor.
“That was an...enthusiastic exit,” Zelda said, straightening after bracing against the shockwave.
“So, about those noobies we’re supposed to rescue?” Titus said, drawing everyone’s attention back to the job at hand.
“Noobs," Zelda corrected him. “No one says ‘noobies’.”
“Sure, whatever.” Titus turned toward the door leading out of the hangar.
“Stay ready for any pirates,” Kaiden cautioned them. No need to be reckless. But at the same time, he was kind of hoping they’d run into a fight. He had work to do in uncovering Bernstein’s murderer, but he also had to admit, playing Nova was fun.
Maybe that was why the thought of facing battle again wasn’t anywhere near as frightening as it had been on the Dalcinae. It probably helped that they weren’t here to fight a swarm of tentacled, many-toothed, stinger-wielding voidspawn. Compared to that, simple pirates were considerably less frightening.
“Lieutenant Ellenton said she’d marked the route to the noobs on our tiny maps?” Titus said.
“Minimaps,” Zelda corrected him.
“Yeah, those.” Titus looked annoyed at being corrected again. “So what are we waiting for? Let’s get to it.”
“Let’s,” Zelda agreed. “And hurry. I want to be the first squad to reach the trapped players. It’ll make us look good to Captain Thorne and Command.”
They followed their minimaps along a predetermined route and left the hangar with shields on and hammers raised.
A fight had obviously already taken place in the hallways. The walls were scorched and gouged, the metal still molten and glowing in some areas. And then there were the bodies.
Everywhere. Face down, face up, and some torn apart, though Kaiden tried not to pay special attention to those.
Does this game have a gore filter? There’s no way they can legally let kids see this kind of stuff...
“I’ve seen gang wars that caused less mess than this,” Titus said, taking in the chaos with raised eyebrows. “Except for when the Southside Boys get involved.” He paused at that. “You don’t think they’re playing this game, do you?”
“Uh, probably not,” Kaiden said, keeping his eyes on their surroundings as they progressed through the halls.
Static blared in Kaiden’s ears and then a message appeared in his vision.
Local area comms detected
Join channel?
“Are you seeing this message?” he asked the others.
“Yeah. Should we tune in?” Titus asked.
“Oh god. That’s not good.” Zelda’s eyes were distant, staring at nothing in particular. A moment later she blinked, then looked at them. “Join the channel. You need to hear this.”
Kaiden focused on the ‘yes’ option of the message.
Channel joined: Mochinki Station general
The static hissed louder, then resolved itself into voices. Panicked voices, set to a backdrop of the sounds of battle.
“They got one of the squads over at the docking port. Ganked them as soon as they left their shuttle, then took down the shuttle too. They didn’t stand a chance,” a man said. Something exploded near him and he grunted. “They’re on us now. Where are you, Sola?”
“We’re headed your way, Terrel. Hold tight,” a woman’s voice – presumably Sola – replied with a steely calm that was somehow reassuring.
“Our enhanced is KIA and the other squad’s shielder and blaster are below twenty percent.”
“We’re coming.”
“It’s not looking–”
His mic fell silent.
“Terrel? Talk to me. What’s happening?”
Kaiden looked to Zelda and Titus. Both stood with wide eyes and deep frowns.
“Should we say something?” he whispered to them, hoping his mic didn’t pick it up.
“Say again. I could barely hear you.”
Crap. She heard me.
“Not Terrel. This is, uh, Ensign Kaiden. Reporting in?”
“Ensign? Stars above, you shouldn’t be here.” Sola’s calm tone changed to a more admonishing one. “Command needs to get their heads on straight. This isn’t a mission suitable for ensigns. You’re going to get torn to pieces.”
“Ensign Zelda here. What are we dealing with? We were told there were pirates.”
“Pirates?” she laughed. But it wasn’t a happy laugh. It was more of a ‘there’s no hope, why are we even trying?’ sort of sad chuckle. “No, not just any pirates. Raged.”
Raged? Why is that name familiar? Kaiden swallowed hard as he read the text that faded into view.
**Update – Parameters Changed**
Quest: Rescue trapped players on Mochinki Station
Part 1: Reach the players
Expected difficulty increased: Veteran
Rewards increased: +900 EXP, +4 faction prestige
From novice difficulty to veteran. That can’t be good.
“Raged?” Zelda asked.
“Yes, raged. You know, cannibalistic pirates driven insane from contact with voidspawn? Bloodthirsty berserkers some twisted dev at NextGen decided should be virtually immune to pain.”
“I didn’t know,” Kaiden said. “But now that I do, I kind of wish I didn’t.”
“Wait until you meet one.”
“Ensign Titus here. The raged are human, right?”
“Barely.”
“A scruffy-looking bunch? Carrying big weapons? Covered in blood and sweat?”
“Yeah,” Sola said. “Spot on. How did you know?”
“We’ll call you back,” Titus said, then tapped Kaiden on the shoulder and pointed down a hallway. “I’ve finally found someone messier than the Southside Boys.”
Kaiden turned to look, then froze.
“You know, maybe the voidspawn weren’t so bad after all. Can we have those back, please?”
Ahead of them, a hulking figure broke into a trot, then snarled and kicked its pace up into a wild sprint. It was a monster of a man, and all out of proportion, too. As if someone had taken a picture of a normal person, then stretched it a bit too much in every direction.
Too-long arms were coated in bulging muscles. A broad chest was clothed in scars and painted with dried blood.
A scream echoed down the hallway as the figure raised an axe with what appeared to be electricity crackling down the blade. Clutched in its other hand was a warden hammer, perhaps freshly looted from a recent kill.
“Ensigns? What’s happening?” Sola’s voice crackled through the general comms, but was ignored.
Kaiden focused on the approaching figure, desperate for any information the game would tell him.
Raged Berserker
Level: 6
Quick facts: Raged will attack on sight. They almost exclusively prefer close-range combat. Their active abilities reflect this through devastating melee at
tacks and grapples, while their passive ability reduces damage received while in combat by 50%. Their attacks have a small chance to apply the ‘Touched by the Raged’ debuff.
A health bar above the berserker’s head was yellow, but verging on the red.
He’s badly injured. That’s something, at least.
“Fight together. If we all attack him at once, we can do this. I’m sure of it!” Kaiden said, lying through his teeth. Staring at the man-beast charging down the hallway, he wasn’t sure of much except that this fight looked like it was about to go south, and fast. Even injured as it was, the berserker was four levels above him. Not that Kaiden had time to worry about that, because even as he raised his weapon, the raged was on them.
The giant spun, whipping its hammer at Titus, who blocked the blow with a resounding crack against his shield. A second blow from the axe followed, then another and another.
Kaiden watched in horror as Titus’ shield flickered…and died.
Before Titus had regained his balance, the raged kicked him in the chest and sent him to the ground. A health bar appeared above Titus’ head, then drained to yellow as he fell away.
So I can see my squadmates' health bars now? Is that a perk of being in a party?
Zelda charged in with a hammer strike at the berserker. He slapped her attack aside with the flat of his axe, then swung his axe into her shield. Her shield flickered, but remained on.
While the berserker was distracted with Zelda, Kaiden rushed forward to attack it from the side. He scored a solid hit on its body, drawing its attention onto him.
The raged swung its axe and Kaiden managed to jump aside at the last moment.
Attack dodged!
Note to self: dodging works.
Despite his attack, the brute’s health bar had hardly moved at all.
This...could be bad.
The raged took a swing at his head next. Kaiden blocked it with his shield and saw the white of his charge bar fill nearly to the max. One more and the charge bar maxed out.
Shield overloaded. Shutting down.
Reboot in 30 seconds.
It blinked rapidly, then disappeared.
Crap.
The berserker was already swinging again. Desperate, Kaiden leaned backward, turning his head. The axe blade missed, if only by a millimeter, then embedded itself in the wall.
The raged pulled back, trying to rip the axe from the wall. For a moment his arm was stretched taut, muscles straining.
Zelda took her chance, whacking the raged on its torso just like Kaiden had. Its health moved a smidgeon down.
Hitting this thing in the easy spots doesn’t do much. But what about the head? Does Nova have a critical hit system? Only one way to find out.
Before the berserker could pull his axe free, Kaiden straightened and brought his hammer down on the raged’s head with a sickening crunch.
Critical hit!
+50% damage (Headshot)
Quick facts: The chance of a critical hit is determined by dexterity and location of the strike. Striking points of weakness, such as strikes from behind and to skeletal joints, will result in a higher critical hit chance. Strikes to the head will always result in a critical hit.
Finally, the raged’s health bar slid a noticeable chunk.
“Well done,” Titus called. He was on his feet and advancing slowly, wary of attacking without his shield.
“Headshots are guaranteed crits, guys,” Kaiden said. “Hit it now while it’s stuck.”
Zelda wasted no time.
“What’s a crit?” Titus asked.
“A big boost to your damage,” Kaiden said, taking another swing.
Critical hit!
+50% damage (Headshot)
“Just hit it.”
“That I can do,” Titus said. The big guy rolled up just as the raged pulled its weapon free. Zelda and Kaiden got in one more hit each, and Titus managed to smash his hammer into the raged’s face before it had a chance to react.
That finished the job.
Raged Berserker assisted kill - 150 EXP gained!
Achievement Unlocked!
Indiscriminate Killer - 50 EXP gained!
First it was voidspawn, now you’ve killed a raged. How very diverse of you. Think of all the other things you can kill next!
Level 3 achieved!
Max health and stamina increased
+3 stat points
Ability unlocked: Shield Bash
Wow, Kaiden thought as he scrolled through the text. Taking that raged down earned me enough experience to hit level three, though I guess the achievement helped as well.
He hadn’t yet allocated the stat points he’d earned from his first mission, and while he was tempted to use all six of them now, he needed to learn more about which warden specialization he wanted to pursue. As with most MMOs, he suspected different specializations worked best with different stats. Until he knew more, it didn’t make sense to spend stat points. The ability, on the other hand, he could use right away.
He focused on it and more details faded into view.
Shield Bash: The warden strikes out with their shield, dealing no damage but stunning the target for 2 seconds. Cost: 15 charge. Cooldown: 2 minutes.
A stun effect? Now that’s interesting. This could be a game changer. Kaiden almost wished another raged would show up so he could try it out. Almost.
Speaking of shields, his came back online. With his new move, there was even more incentive to not overload his shield. If it was offline, then he couldn’t use Shield Bash.
As Kaiden returned his attention to the others he noticed Zelda was staring off into space.
“Leveled up?” he asked her.
Her eyes were still moving side to side, reading text he couldn't see, but she responded with a nod. He looked to Titus next and found the big guy’s face screwed up in confusion.
“‘Shield Bash?’” Titus said. “And some more of these stat points. What do I do with them?”
From their lack of a proper introduction to the game, Kaiden had figured Nova Online assumed its players came in with some basic MMO experience. In Titus’ case, they had apparently assumed wrong.
“Nova’s like most role-playing games, and has stats,” Kaiden explained. “It’s a system which you use to increase the general power of your character. In Nova, it’s perception, endurance, dexterity, strength, and intelligence. Which stats you choose to improve can synergize with your class’s playstyle and make you exponentially more powerful. I don’t know much about the warden specializations, so for now I’m saving my stat points.”
“Right,” Zelda chimed in. “But if you knew what spec you wanted to be, you could start using your points right away.”
“So,” Titus began slowly, “it’s like how if you were going to be a thief with the King Street Gang, you’d want to burn your fingerprints and learn how to hack door codes.”
“Er, yeah,” Kaiden said. “Something like that.”
He noticed a line of text hovering in the air nearby. It was above the raged’s body.
Loot corpse?
“Can you guys loot this?” he asked.
“Yep,” Zelda said. “Seems like that hammer it has is a warden one. Maybe it picked it up during a battle with one of the other squads. One of us could use it.”
“Let’s see,” Kaiden said, eager to see if it was better than the weapon he currently had. He wasn’t disappointed.
Strategic Warden Battle Hammer
One-Handed
Base Damage: 9 bludgeoning, 12 smashing
+20% damage inflicted on critical hits
“Wow,” Kaiden said. “That extra crit damage looks pretty powerful.”
Decimating the raged’s health with critical hits had given them a fighting chance. Maybe there’s something to maximizing its output? Probably increasing my dexterity would improve my crit chance like in most other games.
“So how do we decide who gets it?” Zelda said.
“I say Kaiden gets it,” Titus said. “He’s the one who figured out the crit thingy and all.”
“It wasn’t exactly difficult,” Kaiden began, then stopped himself. He really wanted that upgrade. “But, y’know. If you guys insist?”
Zelda harrumphed.
“You want it?” Kaiden asked.
“No, go on, Kai. You seem most excited about it.”
“Awesome,” Kaiden said. He looted the new hammer and immediately equipped it.
“Hey, looking good,” Titus said.
Kaiden looked down to the weapon and had to agree with the sentiment. It didn’t have the same design as a standard battle hammer. Its handle was about one and a half times longer, and instead of a completely flat surface, its two smashing heads rose to slight points such that they looked like a pair of low, flat pyramids.
His old hammer was just sitting in his inventory. Checking on it, the game gave him another option.
Would you like to dual wield weapons?
Note: dual wielding will disable any equipped shields.
Note: weapons cannot be switched during combat.
An interesting idea, but losing my shield is too great a price. Building charge is core to the class design.
Kaiden selected the ‘no’ option and his old hammer remained in his inventory.
“I have one last question,” Titus said, sounding annoyed, though more at himself. “How come my shield turned off?”
“It overloaded,” Zelda said, a touch wearily. “When they absorb too much damage too quickly, they shut down. It takes thirty seconds for it to reboot.”