Ultimatum: The Proving Grounds

by Wade Adrian

But fortunately some things were hard coded. The dragon couldn’t move while charging or firing a breath attack, so they could get out of the way if they were fast enough.

  Fire buffeted the doorway they had been standing against as Miller’s dragon vomited up the gout of flames, its head practically on the floor.

  The raid group engaged.

  Melee fighters ran in close, swinging at the ribs between the dragon’s legs while ranged DPS tried to move around to hit it from anywhere behind its rib cage to keep the dragon from blocking or parrying.

  The four tanks were in close, swinging away as healers kept to the pillars for now.

  He could tell them apart. The illusion didn’t change their animations, really. The healers might look like him, and their main hands might hold illusory Soulbreakers, but they didn’t wield them like great swords. That and the lights they threw about made it clear they were casters. The same went for many of the ranged DPS.

  Toby could spot Paul easily enough. He held his Soulbreaker in one hand and moved his other arm as though it had the weight of a shield. Three of the tanks did, but Paul was closest to the front.

  Apparently the minor illusion effect was new. A mostly useless effect that no one had considered to be of use until Toby had told Paul to consider new code when it came to dealing with Miller. Making one player look like another might have some use, but the illusion was dispelled the moment that person took any damage, so it was balanced and mostly useless. A toy. A diversion.

  Except when it came to fooling a thinking foe.

  Miller’s health bar was already dropping. The dragon was just finishing the breath attack. None of the raid members had been struck by it, so all of them maintained their illusions.

  Toby, meanwhile, had moved around to the back of the room and was waiting behind a pillar. He did more damage than the others with his screwy sword but the damage spike might cause Miller to notice him. The fight would go on longer this way, but until he broke the rules and his GM invulnerability kicked in Soulbreaker’s special power wouldn’t work. He was a man acting as a dragon, true, but he wasn’t using any GM abilities as the dragon. The game considered him to be the dragon right now. He was safe behind the rules set up so GMs could run live events.

  At least, that was how Paul had explained it outside.

  The dragon took wide swipes with its front right leg, but the wind up time made it simple for people to get out of the way or block it. He was swinging at them like a man, ignoring most of the things the dragon could do.

  The dragon beat its wings and lifted itself a few feet off the ground. “Enough! This is idiotic. You can’t hide forever.”

  The tooth filled maw lit up once again, but with the dragon in the air they couldn’t retaliate much. A few arrows and spells, but not sustained DPS.

  Worse, it was much more difficult to gauge where the breath attack would go.

  Toby stayed behind his pillar as the others scrambled for cover.

  The dragon looked straight down as its jaws spread wide, the flames falling down to the ground and spreading out over the floor.

  The widened attack, flames fueled by the flapping wings, stretched nearly to the circle of pillars at the edge of the room. It didn’t seem to cause much in the way of damage… but many of the raid members lost their disguises. Paul was among them.

  He lowered his flaming shield. “So, playing by the book is too good for you?”

  Miller scoffed. “What purpose is there in it? I am beyond you. Completely. You’re gnats buzzing about.”

  “Yeah.” Paul glanced about. “Seems like you haven’t swatted anyone yet. And your health isn’t exactly full. Maybe we’re more trouble than you thought.”

  The dragon landed in a single swooping motion, all four feet striking the ground swiftly enough to cause it to shake as the maw hovered inches from Paul. The gust of wind from the descending dragon threw dust about the room. The wings flapped even as it stood, sending out more gusts that kept the raid back. They tried to push against the wind, but couldn’t move forward. It didn’t seem to cause any damage, though, as several Tobins still looked on.

  “You talk big, Paul, but you’re no leader. You built up pawns to throw at me. I watched. They’re replaceable pieces to you. No names. Just classes. Ticking boxes on the spreadsheet.”

  Paul narrowed his eyes. “Tony. Hal. Tina. Jeff. Mary.”

  The dragon’s head reared up a few inches, the eyes moving as if he believed Paul was calling out attack orders.

  But no one moved.

  “Those are the five that fell before. They did their job. They walked in here knowing the risks. And when this is over and done, they’ll be fine and you’ll be arrested. They trusted in that and were willing to fight and fall for the cause.” Paul shifted his stance. “So it’s time to make good on my promise.”

  His sword and shield shined in the light of a few standing fires about the room. Miller hadn’t reacted before Paul seemed to vanish and appear several feat closer, both hands holding an axe that buried its head deep in the dragon’s throat.

  The dragon’s eyes wheeled. Miller had missed the fight with Bulorn, then. Or he hadn’t noticed Paul take the axe.

  The other raid members charged in, giving cries of defiance.

  Toby ducked out from behind his pillar.

  He wanted to help… but he had his orders. Maybe just…

  He hefted Soulbreaker high overhead and cast it forward with all his might.

  The sword sailed across the open space and struck the dragon’s rear leg. It stuck.

  Miller’s head swung about as Toby ducked back behind his pillar. Soulbreaker reappeared in his hand as he stood with his back to the stones.

  The sounds of fighting continued on from the room behind him.

  Miller had definitely noticed the damage spike. That was just from throwing it, his weakest attack by far. Or maybe he was looking for the specific kind of damage Soulbreaker inflicted. Either way, showing himself was a mistake.

  He hazarded a glance from the other side of the pillar. Miller was moving about, his eyes shifting about the room, looking at the various Tobins that remained. He seemed to think one of them was responsible. Good.

  The dragon beat its wings and swung its tail, knocking away the attackers. He wasn’t using the dragon to its fullest, and the raid was outfitted with gear that buffed the hell out of stamina… but they weren’t killing it very fast.

  Had he buffed the damage resistance of the dragon as well? That would just be bad form.

  Toby readied his sword for another throw. At least he could keep Miller’s attention from focusing on any one person. Then again, if he threw again from the same spot it wouldn’t be hard to figure out where he was hiding, even for Miller.

  Hmm. He pondered which way to move.

  He snapped his attention back to the center as cries went up.

  The dragon had taken to the air again, throwing everyone away once more. “Insects. Pathetic.”

  Paul lost his footing and was thrown back against the sealed entrance. He was just getting to his feet when the dragon landed once more. Bits of rock and dust fell from the ceiling.

  “I think it’s about time we were done. Don’t you?”

  Paul had lost hold of his axe in the fall. He raised his shield.

  Toby was racing across the open space before his mind stopped to question it.

  32

  Soulbreaker bit deep into the dragon’s back leg. He swung twice more to build and use the damage combo.

  He hadn’t bothered to throw the sword or use a shock wave. He wanted to maximize the attack on the unaware target.

  The dragon’s head whipped around as it hopped a few feet into the air, landing a few feet away and facing Toby.

  “Ah, there you are. And here I was beginning to think you a coward, Tobin Ironblood.”

  Toby scoffed. “I’m not the one pretending to be a dragon. Why not fight me yourself if you’re so worried about appearances?”
<
br />   The sustained assault on the dragon had had an effect. It was down to sixty seven percent. Nowhere near dead, but they had certainly proved they could hurt it.

  Miller’s amused demeanor returned. “Fighting you as a man wouldn’t do for the event. A greater challenge is required. The greatest this world can give.”

  “Because I wasn’t in the beta? Because I’m not special?” He shook his head. “You set us up to fail. You don’t care about any of this.”

  The dragon shrugged its shoulders, the whole thing shifting upward and back down slightly, first at the front, then at the rear like a cat. A strange gesture. “True. I don’t. I just needed the game to run and for everyone involved to be too preoccupied to keep an eye on me.” The head shot through the air like a lightning bolt, stopping only inches from Toby. “And it worked, too.”

  “And yet you’re losing. Your best isn’t good enough.”

  “My best?” The dragon laughed. “I hardly put a thought into this at all. You think I care what happens in here?” The dragon raised its front foot and smashed it down where Toby stood in one swift motion.

  Black smoke wafted out from beneath the clawed hand as it collided with the floor hard enough to crack the stones beneath.

  Toby swept Soulbreaker across the dragon’s side again and again.

  The other DPS joined him, charging across the room or firing from a safe distance. The tanks moved back in as well, bashing at the dragon even though they must know full well they wouldn’t get its attention any time soon.

  The dragon twisted and turned as it tried to get Toby back in front of it, so he kept moving to avoid that. Miller seemed unaware the back legs could kick, or the tail could swipe. He had used the wings to strike them with wind a few times, but he seemed to have forgotten he could do that, too. He was thinking like a man when the dragon would have long since killed Toby.

  The dragon’s head shifted a bit when its health hit fifty percent. It moved as if it was looking at its own interface and something had changed.

  The creature leapt straight into the air while keeping its wings tucked in close.

  Toby’s eyes went wide. Jesse had warned them about this, but not knowing if Miller would or even could do it had kept them from taking the proper precautions.

  The dragon landed hard against the stones. Several of them broke, causing jagged stones of jut out of the ground around the arena.

  More than a few of the raiders were struck by them and cast into the air. The lucky ones only landed on the solid stone floor.

  Some were unlucky.

  With one attack, six of their raiders had fallen.

  Miller’s laughing voice escaped from the dragon’s mouth as he stood up once more. “And one by one you fall. Too easy.”

  Paul gritted his teeth as he adjusted his grip on his sword. He glanced aside at Toby and signaled with his hand, up high then covering his eyes.

  Toby wasn’t entirely sure what that was supposed to mean… but he had a few thoughts. He had been one of the lucky ones not harmed by the rocks, but he was still at the center of the room. The dragon was momentarily distracted so Toby bolted away and hid behind one of the outcroppings.

  He dug through his inventory and removed his helmet before putting on his anonymous hood. It made him weaker in combat… but combat wasn’t the idea.

  He stood up and gave a wave to Paul.

  The other man nodded and glanced around the room. “Round two!” He cried out, turning his head back and forth.

  Everyone stopped what they were doing and went for their inventories. More bottles appeared and were downed.

  The dragon swept its gaze about the room, doubtless looking for Toby.

  A few moments later, it found him.

  Or so it thought.

  Everyone in the room was Tobin Ironblood again, but this time none of them had name plates.

  The dragon’s confusion was evident as it glanced around at them. “What? How are you…?”

  They charged in again, laying into the dragon with renewed vigor. They had lost several DPS members to the stone outcroppings, but they had not all been DPS. They were down a tank and a healer as well. A full groups worth of players gone in a single act.

  They didn’t bother to rearrange the groups now. They all just laid into the dragon. All or nothing.

  Toby held back for the moment. Soulbreaker striking Miller had tipped him off the last time. He had every reason to believe it would do so again.

  Besides, they were doing okay without him.

  For now.

  No one was really tanking and the remaining healers were just trying to patch up whoever was low, but that tended to be melee DPS who were in close. They had more survivability than the ranged DPS further out. They could take a hit or two.

  The dragon had resumed trying to sweep with its front foot, and occasionally took to the air to send down gusts of wind, but the stone outcroppings provided cover now. It didn’t help him him much.

  Miller was visibly having a harder time picking targets out with no name plates to go by. He was ignoring the outlying ranged DPS entirely as he tried to take out the people weaving around his feet.

  He had called them insects. He probably wasn’t far off, but these insects could bite and sting.

  The dragon dropped to forty percent after a few minutes. Miller being in control of the dragon seemed to mean it couldn’t enrage, or at least that it couldn’t yet. That could be something else that damage or time would trigger.

  The dragon’s eyes narrowed before it took to the air once more. It stayed there, taking the occasional ranged hit. “I’m done with this.” The maw lit up before fire spewed forth, raking the ranks of raiders below.

  He didn’t need to know who was who when he could just take out everyone, after all.

  The dragon flew around the room in a circle, raining fire down. Some managed to find cover… others did not.

  After three passes it settled down in the center again, facing the exit. Paul had lost his disguise, as had everyone Toby could see. Fire had touched them all to some extent.

  Toby leaned out to get a better look. His foot bumped into a fallen DPS. Not one he recognized… probably one of the five that had filled in. They had dropped their second vial before ever using it.

  He gingerly plucked up the bottle.

  Well, that was something they hadn’t planned on.

  He ran into the open, locking his eyes on Paul, trying to remember how to actively target someone. The screen showed a lock after a moment of staring. Paul was his defensive target.

  Toby chugged the potion.

  He didn’t feel any different, and the hands he could see wore the same black armor… but he had a shield on his left arm, and a shorter sword than he was accustomed to in his right hand.

  Could he swing Soulbreaker with one hand? He had never really tried. It might cost him damage or something… but right now that wasn’t his greatest concern. Other DPS were trying to reengage, so he joined them.

  He stabbed his sword into the dragon’s tail as it lay on the floor.

  The dragon’s head swept around, Paul momentarily forgotten. “What?” The eyes fixed on Toby. “How can this…?” Its head swept back to the real Paul. “Clever, trying to hide yourself from me.”

  Oh, well that didn’t work. He had hopes for a few moments of confusion, not being dismissed outright.

  Rude.

  The standing number of DPS members was dwindling. The dragon’s health had only gone down a few points. Paul was still his target.

  Toby sighed and took a calming breath.

  He reached for the Rage button.

  With any luck the dragon would be an obvious giant swirling read and white thing, as opposed to simply being another human sized read and white thing. They would have designed it that way, right?

  His fear at this point didn’t matter much. He might kill someone with an errant swing, true, but the dragon was already trying to kill them and this was his be
st chance of stopping it.

  He hit the button.

  The world once more became a wash of red before fading to black. Sound departed, leaving him in silence again. He could only hear blood rushing past his ears. Only a few bright red and white swirling shapes appeared… and one was quite large. The others were barely discernible in comparison.

  Well, he was happy that had worked out.

  His character’s voice erupted into a wordless cry as he swung at the great red and white shape with all his might.

  He was still disguised as Paul, as far as he knew, so he tried to use the sword with only one hand. He couldn’t actually see his hands anymore, though. Made it hard to know what was happening.

  Rage was a hell of a thing.

  The shapes before him moved and shifted, but not the way a person, or even a dragon would. They moved… through the air, like ghosts or some other ethereal… things. They had no feet and simply wafted about, and likely not in real time. They sped up and slowed down, seemingly at random.

  He kept his attention on the dragon. He would be at his best for damage, and he was going to need every second of the buff if he was going to make up for the fallen members.

  He could… sort of tell what the dragon was doing. The large swirling blob of color didn’t exactly depict a dragon, but it was enough to go by. The wings were a dead giveaway as the large bits moved much faster than the rest of it. The legs were harder to keep track of, and the head tended to disappear and reappear, seemingly moving faster than the Rage effect could keep up with.

  He tried to maintain the position of hitting its side, or failing that, hitting its tail. Miller wasn’t making good use of swipes or kicks, so if he could just avoid the front he should be fine.

  The sword never stopped moving for long. He could barely perceive it, mostly as a black gap in front of the red things. Fortunately he could still see the normal blood and particle effects when he landed a hit. It was enough.

  The Rage effect ended much faster than Toby would have thought.

  Or wanted.

  The dragon loomed large before him even as he moved to keep avoiding it.

  His health was low. Forty percent. The edges of his vision were red, even as white light played over him.