He grins. “I’m a man of many talents. Honorable deception is one of them.”
I roll my eyes. “Right. So what happens to the rest of the Broken Lands during all of this? Is the battle royale going to stay or is just for the tournament?”
He shrugs. “Can’t say for sure. That’s a bit above my paygrade. From what I’ve heard, the rest of the Broken Lands isn’t changing, and this is some kind of regional event for the NPCs that will play into the story going forward.”
Grayson nods. “Time will tell.”
We sit and talk with them for half an hour. It’s nice to talk about things other than the tournament for a bit. I think it’s good for Dean to experience what it’s like to have the kind of relationship that I have with Buzz and the others. That even if he doesn’t have a family in the traditional sense, he can still make his own.
We say our good-byes, so that we can get in one more round of training for the night.
Grayson pulls me aside before we leave. “Remember what I said. Dean is a great asset. I’ve watched the replays, and he has natural instincts, probably better than any other apprentice in the tournament. Don’t be afraid to rely on him when you need to. Treat him like a partner.”
“I know. We’ll give it our best shot.” I clear my throat, realizing that my mouth is suddenly dry. “I just hope it’s enough.”
We head back to my place and log back in. Now that we’ve dealt with the pain of testing out all the abilities and weapons, we can finally move on to tactics.
For the next two days, we’re going to grind like our future depends on it, because for Dean, it does.
“Time flies like an arrow.” Dean smirks as he attempts to hold in his laughter. “Fruit flies like bananas.”
I shake my head. “I don’t care how many times you say it, it’s still not funny. Now get ready, the tournament starts in an hour.”
He rolls his eyes as he picks up his immersion helmet. “Oh, come on, it is funny. Show a little excitement. This is what we’ve been working towards this entire time. Everything up to this moment doesn’t matter, and we have as good of a shot as anyone at winning it all.”
I force a smile. Honestly, I’m not sure how he is the calm one when it’s his future on the line. But if he can enjoy the moment, I need to do my best to do the same. I take a deep breath and grab my full-immersion helmet.
We’ve spent the past two days training nonstop, aside from the scheduled interviews we’ve had to do for the Pangea stream. If the forums are any indication, Dean has grown quite a following even without us being able to stream full-immersion. So much so that he might be able to get a streaming contract when this is all over.
The days passed quicker than I would have liked, but we’re as ready as we’re ever gonna be. We know the items. We know the terrain. The only part we’re not prepared for is what the other challengers will do.
I’m pacing around my home portal waiting for The Vacuum to open when I receive a message. Notifications are muted for everyone except a few special people, so I pull it up.
Hey, mind if I stop by for a minute?
-Aleesia
I quickly respond, telling her to come to my home portal. Seeing her will keep me from stressing during the time between now and the start of the tournament. Honestly, I would have been better sleeping in and getting ready at the last second, but of course I set five alarms to make sure we didn’t oversleep.
Aleesia arrives wearing a black robe with flames embroidered down the sleeves. The outfit brings out her red eyes, setting them ablaze against the charcoal skin of her dark elf.
She wraps her arms around me. Without the haptic suit, I can’t feel the embrace, but memory does a good job of filling in the details.
I can immediately tell something is wrong by the look in her eyes. “What’s going on?”
“I thought you would have already seen it.” She sighs. “It’s Ryken. He put up a video this morning. He called out my father in front of everyone. Then he attacked me, and of course he had to throw in a few jabs at you.”
Ryken always has been a first-class jerk. “It doesn’t surprise me. What did he say?”
“It’s probably just better if you watch the video.”
I find the video and pull it up on the far wall.
Ryken sits on the obsidian throne in his home portal. His eyes are a menacing orange behind his hellish helm. When he speaks, his voice sounds distorted and demonic.
“Today, I will claim what is rightfully mine and prove once and for all that I am the greatest competitor Pangea has ever seen. Before I go in, I have a few things to say. First, to my father. You thought kicking me out would teach me a lesson. In a way, I guess it did. It taught me that I had the strength not only to survive without you, but to thrive. Your constant lectures and lessons did nothing but hold me back. Once I no longer had you to keep me on a leash, well, we see how well I’ve done. And to my stupid sister and her cheating boyfriend, you robbed a tournament from me once by cheating. It won’t happen again. You better hope that someone finds you before I do, Esil Allen. My sister can’t save you this time. And neither can your dead daddy.”
“What a piece of trash!” Dean is on his feet, face contorted in anger. “I don’t care if we win. I’m going to hunt down that jerk and make him pay.”
I push my own anger aside to focus on keeping Dean calm. “Don’t worry about it. He’s just trying to get under our skin. He knows we have a shot at winning this thing and wants to throw us off our game. We stick to the plan and deal with Ryken only if we have to.”
Dean clenches his fist. “I hope we run into him.”
Aleesia puts her head in her hands. “I’m sorry. I was certain you would have seen it, or I wouldn’t have brought it up. The video has been circulating all over since he posted it.”
“Hey.” I pull her hands away and look her in the eyes. “Don’t worry about it. It’ll take a lot more than a spoiled brat with daddy issues to get under my skin.” I point to the portal that just appeared in the middle of the room. “Looks like we can finally go to The Vacuum now. We’ll see you later. You should go watch the tournament with Buzz and Grayson.”
She wipes away a tear from one eye before kissing me on the cheek. “Okay, I will. Go give them hell.”
When we arrive at The Vacuum, it’s much quieter than before stage two. Everyone stands further apart, and very few teams are talking to one another. Ryken towers over most of the people around him. The two gnomes nod at us, more of an acknowledgement than an invitation.
Talia materializes next to them and looks around. I wave to gather her attention.
Her eyes light up when she sees me, and she runs over, Chadwick following close behind.
“Well, this is ominous.” She frowns.
People stare at us since we’re one of the few teams talking to one another.
I grasp Talia and Chadwick around the forearm in turn. “I agree. I think we’re all just wondering what to expect.”
“You guys have a plan?” asks Chadwick.
Dean nods. “Yep. You?”
“Yep.”
Even though we’re friends, there’s still tension in the air. We all know what’s coming.
We stare at one another awkwardly and I have never been so relieved to hear Nancy’s voice booming from above.
She soars in on her pegasus and hovers in the air wearing her Valkyrie armor. “Greetings, adventures, and welcome to the final stage of the Pro-Am Tournament! This is the match you’ve all been waiting for. One hundred champions. One hundred apprentices. All fighting for glory in front of Pangea.
“Over the past three days, we’ve introduced the world to the Broken Lands, Pangea’s revolutionary new game world where users can finally experience deep-dive full-immersion. A world where you can taste the meat pie at the local tavern, feel the heat from the fireball before you incinerate your foes, and experience pain and pleasure at your desired comfort level. This is just the tip of the iceberg, but beli
eve me when I say that the whole world is watching. More people are tuning into the Pangea stream than ever before. Before we get started, here’s a message from Benjamin, President of Pangea Online Entertainment.”
Benjamin’s face appears in the sky like some god peering down from the heavens. Everything about him is perfectly manicured, and his eyes radiate with energy.
He smiles and his teeth sparkle. “First, I want to say thank you to each and every one of you. To the champions who continue to inspire countless others through your streams and competitions, you show the world the heights they can rise to if they choose to apply themselves. I hope you have enjoyed being a part of the first public showing of our full-immersion technology. And to the many apprentices, you are the future of Pangea. Your desire and drive to put in the grueling hours required for a shot at this internship are inspiring. It’s proof that no matter one’s background, they can still reach great heights across our many game worlds. For without the people, Pangea would be nothing. Good luck out there. I’ll be waiting to crown our victor. Nancy, back to you.”
His head disappears from the sky and Nancy swoops in his place. “Alright, adventurers…”
“Barf!” Dean places his finger in his mouth and fakes vomiting.
“What?” I laugh. “Are you not inspired to reach great heights?”
He rolls his eyes. “Come on, you know it’s pandering. Pangea is not set up to give everyone a fair shot. I’m only here because of you. The beta testers are only there because of you. And you were only able to do any of this because you got lucky. When you had the lucky break, you used it, but there’s a reason why you’re the only famous person from The Boxes.”
I place my arm around him. “Young grasshopper, aren’t you a little too young to be so cynical?”
He laughs. “You know I’m right.”
I do. But right now, we have bigger things to focus on. “We can get philosophical later. Right now is your chance to make the most of your lucky break.”
“…and the ring will continue to shrink until the final circle. If multiple teams are still alive, the ring will collapse, damaging all parties until only one remains. So get ready, your chance at glory awaits!”
She snaps her fingers, and everything goes black.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cool wind blasts against my face. To my right, just like in any other battle royale mode, Dean is connected to me by an invisible tether as we fall toward the earth. The tether will disappear once we touch ground or one of us chooses to release it. All around us, one hundred and ninety-eight other players dive like falcons toward the Broken Lands.
From this high up, I can see the edge of the circle that marks the boundary of the battle royale. Beyond that, open fields and forests expand in every direction. Florian towers above Carolton in the distance, and lightning rages atop Thunder Mountain.
I focus on the circle below us, searching for a safe landing space. Our opponents begin to spread out, diving toward all edges of the map.
Ryken and Dawn dive straight down. My guess is they want bracers, weapons, and vials above all else. Ryken doesn’t shy away from combat. For us, we want to play it smart, fight as few people as possible, and survive until the final round. While some champions will want to put on a show, I’ll be happier fighting only one battle at the end rather than defeating a hundred enemies to get there. A win is a win, and there are no bonus points for showmanship.
Dean points at the far-left edge of the circle. “Let’s hit those ruins. It doesn’t look like anyone is going there.”
I lean to the left and we shift course, diving faster toward the ruins of an old keep at the edge of the map.
I land in a superhero pose, knee bent and hand pressed to the earth as dirt and debris flare up around me. Luckily for us, the initial dive does no fall damage as we touch down.
We’re scouring the area for items when someone lands nearby. I can’t see them, but they are close enough that I heard them land.
My head turns on a swivel as I search for enemies among the trees and ruins. “I thought you said we were alone.”
“I thought we were. They must have been in my blind spot.” Dean disappears behind a rock. “Here, I found a battle-axe and a halberd.”
He holds up a one-handed battle-axe with ax-heads on both sides and tosses it to me. It’s heavy, but I catch it by the pommel. It’s pretty basic with no fancy runes or engravings, but it doesn’t have to look good to get the job done.
“There they are!” someone shouts.
A bright pink face snarls as she shoots an electric bolt at me. I dive to the right, and the bolt explodes against the earth.
Annabelle’s black hair flutters around her as static coats her body. With her tight jeans, leather jacket, and combat boots, she looks like she belongs on the cover to some heavy metal album from the distant past.
Her apprentice, Kirsten, emerges from behind a cluster of bushes carrying a spear. She’s dressed similarly to Annabelle, with a chain that runs from the piercing on her nose to her ear. “They don’t have bracers or magic, only weapons. Let’s push.”
I take a step back and ready for their attack. “Dean, I need you over here.”
He rushes to my side, halberd pointed forward. “This place was a crapshoot. We need to get moving.”
I point out our two opponents as they approach. “First, we need to deal with these two.”
Annabelle unleashes another bolt. I dodge again, but the bolt hits so close that my hair stands on end.
I take cover behind an ancient pillar with Dean. “One has electric magic. The other has a spear. I don’t see any bracers, so we need to end this quickly. Aim for vital spots. You take the one with the spear; I’ll deal with the other.”
A branch snaps on the other side of the pillar.
“Come on out, and we’ll make this quick. We know you don’t have any magic. You put up a good run, but it’s over.”
Dean grips the shaft of his halberd. “Split on three?”
“One,” I whisper.
“Two,” he echoes.
“Three.”
We attempt a technique we’ve practiced many times over the past few days. In the event that we get pinned down, Dean rushes out to the right and I do the same to the left in an attempt to divide their attention.
I jump out from behind the pillar and charge. Annabelle yells like a barbarian as she casts Chain Reaction, and three bolts of electricity hit me in the chest. Pain flares through my body but my mouth clenches shut, making it impossible to scream. I can’t move, stunned in place by the three simultaneous hits.
Metal clashes nearby as Dean fights Kirsten, but I can’t turn my head to look.
Annabelle steps in front of me, her lips curled up in a devious smile. She draws her finger down my cheek. “Like taking candy from a baby.”
She reaches to take the battle-axe from me, but the stun has it lodged in my hand. She frowns, jerking again, but it still doesn’t come free.
The stun fades. I push her back and kick her in the chest before she has time to attack again. Annabelle falls to her back, grimacing as she points her open palm at me. I duck and the bolt soars over my head. Before she has a chance to cast again, I bring my battle-axe down on her head.
My whole body feels jittery after the electrical attack.
Behind me, Dean and Kirsten are engaged in a fierce battle. Kirsten parries a swing of the halberd, letting the blade scrape down the length of her spear. She follows up with a jab of her spear, but Dean is ready, deflecting the blow to the side.
She’s so focused on Dean that she doesn’t even notice me before I bury my axe in the back of her skull.
Dean sets his weapon on the ground and shakes out his hands. “Man, I didn’t expect my adrenaline to get going like that. This was intense. Look at my hands.”
He holds them out and they vibrate with excitement.
We survived the first trial, but I doubt this is the last of the excitement. I give
him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. “This is the real thing. Now, let’s get moving. We need bracers and magic ASAP.”
He drops the halberd to take the spear off Kirsten’s body, and we head toward our next objective.
In the top right corner next to the map, there’s a counter for the number of teams and players still remaining.
Teams: 89
Players: 147
Forty-three players eliminated already, and we’ve been in the ring less than five minutes. Judging by the numbers, there are quite a few solo players running around. They’ll be less aggressive, so we’ll need to keep our eyes peeled.
A gong reverberates across the battlefield, and the location of the next circle appears on the map. There’s a ten-minute timer underneath the map icon, letting us know how much time we have before the ring begins to shrink. Once the ring closes in on the next circle, we’ll receive another timer before the ring shrinks again. So on and so forth until a champion is crowned.
We’re close enough to the next circle that we can take our time and make sure we find a suitable position to hunker down. We make our way toward the next set of ruins, careful to keep as low of a profile as possible.
“Sweet!” Dean kneels next to a boulder and picks up a brown vial. Earth magic.
He offers it to me, but I push his hand away. This is his show, so I want him as stacked as possible.
“You take it. I’ll get the next one.”
There’s a sound like a sudden gust of wind just before I spot an elf hovering in the air holding a bow. Her back is turned away from us as she scouts the area.
“Quick, take cover under that tree.” I point toward a towering oak that should keep us hidden if we hurry.
We run toward the tree and take shelter beneath its dense foliage.
“Close one.” Dean peeks around the edge of the trunk. “Looks like she was heading toward the next circle.”
“Good. We’ll hang back for a minute and try to rotate farther east. We don’t have the range to handle them at the moment.”
Pangea Online: The Complete Trilogy Page 71