by Brent Roth
Healing myself as Valerie healed the others, I quickly checked the Leaderboard to see how people were faring. Valerie had zeros across her name as Barik had two kills and three assists. Ethan had one kill, eight assists, and thirty participations. Emily had fourteen kills with no assists and no participations. I had managed ten kills and two assists, with no participations. Twenty-seven people killed by our hands within fifteen minutes of the battle actually starting.
There were only thousands left to go and a few hours left to do it but we would wait. This wouldn’t be decided in one battle, there were far too many players for it to end all at once. Concealing myself against a tree as enemies approached, the only tell was the yellow band around their arms. Our blue bands were the colors of the House of Harmont, while yellow was of Woodfall and purple was of Blacktomb… it made it all too easy.
As everyone hid behind a tree of their choosing, the enemy players were fifty yards out and concealed by the trees and shrubs. My keen sight the only reason we were aware of their presence, it was unlikely that they had seen us. Casually walking through the forest without a care, their voices could be heard in the distance as they slowly inched closer.
“Those guys are stupid, fighting like that.”
“Won’t catch me at the front, I’m not some trash mob.”
“We’ll wait here, when they try to escape we’ll cut them down, surprise motherfuckers! Hahaha!”
As the last laugh echoed in the distance, an arrow found its mark as a fireball impacted the third man. Jumping through the brush with bow discarded and axe raised high, Emily cut me off as she swiped the legs of my target and forced me to correct my swing so as not to hit her. Axe swinging wide and twisting awkwardly as I tripped over myself, I stumbled forward and tried to regain my balance.
At the same time Ethan pelted the third man until he died as Valerie and Barik watched from a distance. The now lone man on the floor attempted to get up as Emily brutally smashed his face in, leaving him a complete mess on the forest floor.
A clean kill through the temple with a single arrow, the first corpse was as fresh as could be while the second to die was nothing more than the burnt skeleton of a man a step slow. The last man standing was the only man with his brain splattered on the white snow floor, exposed and censored for all to see. It was a gruesome way to go.
Dragging the corpses into a bush while covering the stained snow with fresh, cleaner snow and mud, the bodies were now hidden as we returned to our hiding spots and waited in ambush. These bodies wouldn’t disappear for twenty-four hours… so we couldn’t risk them giving our position away.
Killing the stragglers that found their way into the forests, we kept our position behind the trees as the victims continued to funnel in. Small groups one after the other, there seemed to be no end to them as players sought shelter from the battle. Believing in the safety of the forests where one could hardly be seen, we racked up another twenty-two kills with ease, bringing our total to fifty-two right before the clock struck 2:00 AM.
Watching the battle from a distance in our downtime, it became obvious that both sides had yet to fully engage themselves in the turmoil as roughly eighty-percent of either force stayed clumped together a fair distance from the actual fighting. From the side it was a rather odd display of two solid bodies separated by maybe two-hundred yards of space, with little dots representing people spread between.
At first I believed they were keeping their distance for ranged attacks but that was dispelled after only ten minutes of non-action from either side. They literally stood there and did nothing… they might as well have brought out picnic baskets and umbrellas.
If that remained the case for too long, this war would fall into a stalemate as the eager would revive and return. Something needed to be done… we needed to hit their flanks and send the mass of bodies moving one way or the other in reaction. Anything to spur one side or the other into movement. If necessary, a lightning strike could do it.
But I didn’t want to use any lightning magic if possible.
Alerted to the movement of more players heading our way, the glimmers in the distance were small but were enough. Signaling to the crew to prepare, the glimmers suddenly froze in place as if they had also been alerted to something. After thirty seconds had passed, the enemy players retreated out of sight as it occurred to me that they must have had an archer as well.
“They’ve retreated,” I said with a light laugh escaping me. “Duel of the Keen Sights… out in the forest.”
“Oi, then I’m having a snack,” said Ethan as he plopped down and pulled out some dried meat to chew on. “Can’t believe we’re already halfway through this, what with the late start. And look at them, they aren’t even fighting!”
“Yeh, this ain’t much fun,” said Barik with a sigh as he sat down as well.
“I was having fun…” replied Emily with a frown as she looked at the battlefield with longing eyes, clearly wishing to return to the field.
Turning to Valerie, she had her arms crossed and was giving me a dirty look nearly an hour and a half after the fact. She was still upset with me for picking her up and carrying her out of the battle. Maybe it was inappropriate but her actions had caused me to worry. It wasn’t exactly a typical response, to sit down and watch a battle unfold all around you as weapons clanged and bodies fell inches away from you.
“Do you wish to stab me again?” I asked while looking at Valerie.
“Perhaps,” she replied curtly.
“You were in danger, I’m sorry if I didn’t ask for permission beforehand,” I stated with a shrug while I turned my hands up in a way that indicated that I didn’t know what else to do. “You’re free to stab me if it will make you feel better, though I would worry more if that were to happen… not a good thing really… to stab people when angry.”
“I have no particular desire for such things,” she said while turning to look the other way. “It’s more so that you seem to respond well to pain.”
“You know him well hah!” said Ethan with a quick laugh.
“Yeah… something like that,” I mumbled.
Sitting down with nothing to eat, Valerie then handed me a piece of bread and cheese from her bag as everyone else was busy munching on their snacks. Most of our items had been stored with the quartermaster provided by the House of Harmont at the staging camp, safe from thievery thanks to the game’s design. I didn’t trust it at first but Emily assured me it was safe.
Between us all, the only one with a mass collection of weapons was me. Everyone else brought small bags and pouches with random items inside. We all left our money behind though, everyone did. If money was dropped on the field it was due to player ignorance. The temporary bank of the quartermaster kept our money and items safe for now.
Wanting to remain light on my feet while burdened with an excess of weapons, all of my other items had been left behind. There was a sheath with a knife attached to each outer thigh, with two more along the small of my back with handles facing out, then one straight up centered on my left pectoral, and a sixth with the handle on the bottom on the right pectoral. Also on my waist was a quiver which had been tied shut for now so as not to lose any arrows while the bow hung from a sling off my back. The bearded axe had a sling fashioned as well but I kept it over my shoulder for now.
If I still had my hand axe, it would have dangled from its loop on the left-side of my waist… but it was no more. My shield though… that had been left behind, as I felt it too cumbersome on my back in the heavy fighting and in such tight spaces. There really wasn’t a lot of room to move in the thick of it.
“Thanks,” I said as I nodded in appreciation towards Valerie for the food.
As we watched the remainder of the battle fizzle out with both sides eventually pulling back largely unharmed, I was disappointed that so little action had actually taken place. Glancing at the Leaderboards, of the four-thousand, five-hundred and thirty-seven players that we started with, six-hundred an
d eighty-five died.
A little over fifteen percent of the force, meaning three out of every four players that had joined the fight in the center didn’t make it out alive. One out of five fought, three out of four of those that did died.
I was afraid that our names would be on that list, if we had stayed in.
Combing through the Leaderboards, interestingly enough Alliance One was actually the highest ranking player on our side of the boards with twenty-seven kills, zero assists, and zero participations. She racked up thirteen more off the twenty-two that came by.
Bored out of her mind while waiting, we let her have them without much argument from our side. She was ready to steal them from me if I didn’t give them up anyways and with no desire to chop her in two by mistake, I stayed back and gave her the space she needed and wanted. Emily was as bloodthirsty as they come.
Ethan and Emily both worried me a little.
In addition to Emily’s progress, Barik had moved up to four kills and nine assists, while Ethan accumulated five more kills and a bunch of assists. Valerie still had zeros in every category as she didn’t care to join in.
As for me, I added two more kills and five assists to bring my total to twelve and seven respectively. The most interesting thing from all of that was how twelve kills put me into the category of Known Threat on the rankings, while Emily was now at Notable Threat having broken into the twenties. We were wanted targets now.
Alliance One and Alliance Zero.
“Congrats on number one Emily,” I said as I exited the boards.
“You know it,” she replied with a pat on her flexed bicep. “If we were still out there, man… I’d have like a hundred kills by now.”
“More likely you’d have been dead at the thirty minute mark as exhaustion set in or other players grouped up to target you,” I claimed as I rolled over and lay out on my back.
“Psh yeah right, I would have dominated if you didn’t hold me back,” Emily joked in reply as she threw a muddy snowball at me for fun.
“Notice how all those people on the Leaderboards are dead though?” I explained as I stared at the stars. “Grayed out names of players with all the kills yet still behind you and they won’t return for another twenty-four hours. War is an endurance race, not a sprint. You train to endure and outlast, not to rush to your death.”
“Uh okay Mr. Tactical Philosophy,” she retorted as she threw another snowball at me, missing this time as it splashed a bit of mud on my face.
Continuing to stare up at the sky that was quickly transitioning over from day to night, the first battle was over as players filtered out and returned to the camps. We weren’t obligated to return and I had no intention of doing so as it was already 4:00 AM. It would be easier to log out where we were, only to resume our activities with the coming sun.
Four hours wasn’t all that long of a wait.
“Hey guys, where’s Alan?” I asked as the thought randomly occurred to me, curious as to why we hadn’t seen him in so long.
“Had a kid,” said Barik immediately. “Didn’t ye know?”
“What…” I replied while still lying on my back, too comfortable to be bothered to move. “So that’s why he hasn’t been on… when’s he coming back, if he is coming back?”
“Couple months,” Barik answered as he got up. “We’re headin’ out if you guys are done ‘ere for the night, play time is burnin’ away.”
“Yaauuuhhh, yeah I’m calling it a night,” said Emily with a drawn out yawn. “Good fight today guys, see you at the break?”
“Break of dawn?” I inquired, wanting to be sure.
“Mhm!”
“Yeah, I’ll be on in four hours,” I replied while closing my eyes.
The sounds of Barik and Ethan’s footsteps soon disappeared into the distance as Emily’s body vanished with the blue rings signaling her logout from the game. The only one who had yet to leave or make a move or sound was Valerie as I turned and glanced her way.
Lying on her back the same as I was, she was staring up at the virtual ceiling and enjoying the scene as random shooting stars crossed the night sky. The moon wasn’t visible from our position but the stars were bright enough on their own. There was no aurora down here but the place still had its own charm to it.
“I’d offer you my coat, but I’ve got no furs with me,” I said as a joke, as the weather was pleasant despite it technically being winter for a few more weeks. The ground was still wet though.
“Mm. Appreciated,” she replied.
Silence returned as we both relaxed and spread out, neither of us in a talkative mood. After watching the stars for what seemed to be an hour, she started to nod off and eventually fell asleep only a few feet away.
Automatically logged off, her body disappeared as I was left by myself for the remaining three hours. A nap in my real bed didn’t sound half bad this time… especially since there was no Katherine around to keep me warm.
A strange thought, really.
Chapter 113: Stages of War
(Thursday, February 24th Game Day / Saturday, May 22nd Real Day)
Thousands of men and women marching in half-assed unison arrived at the designated location and promptly halted their advance. Stopping short of actually engaging once again, the adventurers froze and waited for others to join in. With the inhabitants providing only support for now, they resumed their drums and horns and did what they could to add to the atmosphere as hundreds of players began to filter out.
As if watching a mob of ants swarm from their holes, dozens of bodies began to fill the space between the two masses as the fighting finally resumed. Arrows and magic of all colors bombarded the center as friendly fire was largely ignored. Shields clashed into other shields as men were impaled by spears and women fell to swords.
Axes and polearms dismembering and beheading with wide arcs as the entire scene turned to red. Unorganized masses fighting without unity, without care, with only glory on their minds as allies bumped into allies and friends were shoved to the side. Players were falling by the second as the second battle turned far bloodier and far more brutal than the first.
Watching from the comfort of the northern forest, large groups of players were seen moving about with some form of unity as they hit weak spots and then promptly retreated. My side was outnumbered from the start nearly two-to-one and with the growing confidence of the enemy army, more and more began to join the fight.
Dark magic caught my eye as a few users utilized area-of-effect magic that seemed to suck and displace bodies in an unnatural way, only for fire and ice to rain down on the clustered souls that had been hit by the large crowd-control. Waiting and watching as our side began to falter under the might of the entire enemy force, a weak lightning strike struck the crowd and brought a smile to my face.
“Lightning has now been unlocked,” I mumbled with a grin.
As both forces began to unleash a torrent of magic, dozens of lightning spells flashed across the field and paved the way as my individual specialty would no longer single me out. The kaleidoscope of colors nearly blinding even from a distance, the mixture of dark and holy magic providing contrast as fire and frost dueled for supremacy. Nature and lightning too, played their part as every color imaginable burst onto the scene.
Heading out and picking up our pace as we flanked the enemy army, the five of us stuck to the cover of the forest for as long as we could as we began to build momentum. Nearly sprinting as we turned within a hundred yards of the enemy force, all eyes were facing forward as we charged. Gripping my axe tightly as I entered a full sprint at maximum effort, my allies were left far behind as I came within fifty yards of the enemy force and immediately dropped to a knee.
Sliding in the muddy snow with momentum carrying me nearly ten yards forward, my hands began to spark with electricity as I tossed my axe ahead. Mouthing a chant and staring at the ground ahead of me, I completed the cast and jumped back up to my feet as the other four caught up nearly five seconds later.
Resuming my sprint while grabbing my axe that was sticking out of the mud on the way, a dark cloud had formed over the heads of the dense crowd in front of me. Streaks of lightning dancing in the cloud as the eyes of my victims remained fixated on the threat ahead of them. Engaged and preoccupied with the thousands of others battling it out with every type of weapon imaginable, they couldn’t see it coming.
Entering into the crowd with a bull rush, Barik barreled through with shield held high and sword held straight ahead as I followed closely behind and swung my axe in a circular motion with little care to what I hit. Decapitating and dismembering everyone in my path as I spun a whirlwind of destruction, I stopped for a second as I turned my head away and put my hand up to signal the others.
Closing our eyes for a fraction of a second, the God-tier lightning strike flashed and streaked down the sky in a magnificent display of pure power. Blinding white light piercing and burning through the crowds as the eruption of a thunderous ground-shaking roar hit our ears. In an instant hundreds of players all around us on both sides clutched their ears and eyes as they struggled with their loss of hearing and vision.
Eyes opened, Emily caught the first disabled man in front of her with a flying knee that sent him flailing to the deck as she transitioned and followed with a heel stomp to finish. Ethan rotated over and with a shift of his position, crouched and released a flame wave over dozens of unsuspecting players.
Following up with vision and hearing still intact, I began to cut down the disabled players as they screamed and shouted while lit aflame. Barik came in low and repeatedly sliced at hamstrings to force players to drop to a knee and as they fell, ended them with a quick thrust and pull.
Turning to Valerie as she stood and watched, Emily came up and finished another with an elbow to the exposed neck of a man on his knees as blood shot forcefully out of his mouth with head dangling and flopping all the way down to the ground. Pushing through the crowds as I cleared a path with senses now returning to the enemy, I mindlessly hacked away while continuing to make way.