Brent Roth - The Dragon's Wrath: A Virtual Dream

by Brent Roth

  These warriors were of significantly higher level but it didn't matter if you were level one or level one hundred when it came to vulnerable areas and fatal blows.

  If the neck or skull is exposed and solid contact is made with sufficient force, the end result is often the same.

  That result, is death.

  The two warriors that had been stalking Selene quickly ran back and saw their three comrades lying in the snow with blood spilt, a face missing, and a head separated. They raised their spears and shouted profanities and insults but it didn't faze me.

  I would have a much harder time with them in straight combat as I had lost the bonus of surprise, but I had an ace up my sleeve still. I quickly started casting a [Lightning Bolt] at one of the warriors as the other took an arrow to the back and stumbled. I was counting on Selene to turn back if fighting had started, even if she didn't I could die and respawn all the same.

  But she was dependable and I had bet correctly, the surprise arrow to the back had completely caught the warrior unaware as he turned around unsure which way to run.

  In that momentary distraction I finished my cast and watched as a ball of condensed lightning shot out of my hand, leaving a small trail of lightning that looked like bluish-white string connecting the mass of energy to my fingertips.

  The [Lightning Bolt] hit the other warrior that was still charging at me square in the chest and he collapsed to the ground while convulsing, paralyzed by my special ability for a second.

  I quickly ran forward and wasted no time in swinging my axe down on the defenseless man before me.

  I've split a lot of logs this way.

  In the confusion the last man with an arrow sticking out of his back lunged at me as another arrow hit him in the neck. He lost his balance and stumbled as another arrow hit him in the shoulder, but that alone wasn't enough so I brought my axe up high and to the right and swung downwards at an angle, just grazing the neck enough to cut into the larynx.

  As the man grasped at his neck I simply kicked him down and embedded my axe into his chest.

  Just like chopping wood.

  In all honesty it was the first time I had killed another humanoid-type in the game and it was realistic enough to consider it a killing of another human being.

  This wasn't the same as in other games where they might have looked realistic but they were on your television or computer screen.

  Even in the other virtual realities there was some disconnect between the interactions and your personal experience.

  I felt the shudder of the axe as it contacted and smashed through bone.

  I could see and feel the warm blood that had spurted onto my face.

  I could see the, thankfully, dumbed down version of the dismembered corpses in front of me.

  If it was completely realistic I think I would have quit the game. The game was real enough and I was glad it wasn't overly detailed and grotesque.

  I was already desensitized enough when it came to killing humanoid-types anyhow.

  As I stood there contemplating what I had just done I was prompted with a system message, [You have learned through trial and error, the Skill: Execute] [Execute: A finishing blow delivered on a target that has been rendered defenseless. A successful Execute boosts the chance for a Critical Fatal Blow.] …it seems my log splitting on the warriors when they were on their backs or on their knees while paralyzed or staggered was actually an ability in-game.

  I knew the attacks were effective because it was in a fatal zone, but now I knew there was also a corresponding skill that I could use to ensure a one-hit kill… hmm, I might just be using [Execute] a lot more from now on.

  Selene came over and interrupted my deep thinking with a tap on the shoulder, I guess she was talking to me and I didn't hear or respond.

  She was wondering what we would do next.

  I needed to strike while the proverbial iron was hot so I told her of the rather simple plan, "I think we should set up camp here, eat our fill of the bear meat, move those bodies behind the forest line and wait for the Earl to send a search party.

  "He has fifteen warriors left at his disposal and if we fought them now in the town we would certainly lose. If we retreat to fight another day he will surely bolster his forces and either raid the Northern Triangle or send search parties out until they find us… I'm betting he would do both."

  I was fairly certain the Earl would use this opportunity to claim more territory and eliminate any potential desertions, so in my mind the only way to resolve this properly was to sever the head of the snake and destroy the eggs.

  Every one of his warriors needed to die along with him, his wives, and children.

  It may sound cruel but hatred and revenge is something born of time; if I left his wives and children alive, if he even had any, they would surely come back to haunt me in the future.

  I didn't want to pay the price for being the nice guy.

  Reality is a cruel thing after all.

  Selene thought it over and simply replied, "Well if that's what you think is the best strategy, I won't say it is a bad one."

  Shrugging my shoulders, I meekly replied, "I'm open to suggestions, by all means."

  "No, I believe yours will work. I just hope they send less than ten."

  "Ten would be about perfect for me though."

  "I disagree; I can't save you from that many. I only have so many arrows."

  The truth was the more men that left the town the better, out here in the woods we could easily kill two to four men from a surprise attack before the rest caught on. From our vantage point I could then get off at least one or two [Lightning Bolts] before engaging in melee while Selene could continue to pick people off.

  I would much rather fight ten here and then leave four plus the champion back inside the village. That would make things much easier.

  But that was for tomorrow as I was tired and could use a real dinner.

  After relocating the bodies, setting up a makeshift camp with a fire, and roasting up some bear I decided to log off briefly.

  I would eat dinner, clean up, and then log back in and sleep in-game incase of attack.

  It paid to be diligent.

  I had no plans to miss out on any opportunity that presented itself.

  I had to be ready.

  Chapter 19: Awaiting the Search

  (Monday, March 8th Game Day / Saturday, January 23rd Real Day)

  It was a moonless and starless night as the clouds hung low and obscured our vision, denying us the privilege to gaze upon the heavens and the light that would have shined down upon us.

  It was indeed a very dark night.

  I had purposefully placed our campsite behind a grove of tightly clustered trees that would block out the sight of the village, more out of an attempt to keep them from finding us than it being a sore sight for the eyes.

  Thankfully the fire had plenty of kindle and burned hot throughout the night but with snow still on the ground it was still quite cold. Selene had taken position opposite of me on the other side of the flames and was in a deep sleep… she must have been exhausted.

  I felt a little bad, even if she was just an NPC.

  As the sun peeked over the top of the mountain ranges to the east and light cascaded down through the tree tops I took a moment to simply bask in the warming light.

  Sometimes one has to enjoy the simpler things in life.

  A sunrise is one such natural beauty.

  Selene had woken now with the sun's rays illuminating her face and I was able to get a good look at her, unabashed as she sleepily started to move.

  She was quite pretty in her own way, not necessarily a knockout or nearly as beautiful as Kate but she was attractive nonetheless.

  The developers of this quest chain must have had some weird ideas… to create two attractive women and have them be killed by an Earl with his deformed wives; I certainly couldn't understand the appeal.

  The fire was put out as soon as the sun had starte
d to rise but the smoke was still lingering and it wasn't long before I saw small dots appear at the village's edge.

  Soon those small dots turned into eight warriors.

  It wouldn't be long now.

  The bodies had been more or less hidden in the snow so they wouldn't be able to find them without careful search, but only one glance in the direction of the bodies told the story.

  Wolves had come in the dead of night to munch on the corpses and they were strewn about in plain sight… well, at least I had the presence of mind to strip the bodies of their gear.

  Profit was to be made after all.

  I figured it was time to set up our ambush, "Selene why don't you climb one of these trees and get a good vantage point to fire from, I'll stay down here near the campfire and the bodies of the dead. They're coming straight for us so we can use that to our advantage. It will be a straightforward ambush once they are distracted or split up by the bodies and the campfire."

  While Selene found a suitable tree to climb the warriors had closed in on our position and had started to fan out into a walking line. The warriors continued to spread out until there was roughly ten paces between them; it worked out for me since I could now start at one end and work my way to the other.

  Only a minute had passed since they entered the forest line but the anticipation while waiting in ambush had made time slip by slowly… it felt like minutes were passing me by.

  And then it all began.

  As one warrior pointed to the corpses of their friends, they all drew their weapons and continued to pace forward.

  Another minute had passed as two warriors came up to the bodies while the rest continued to comb the forest floor for a trail.

  While I waited patiently behind a small cluster of trees I decided to chant a three verse [Lightning Bolt]. With sufficient time, I could extend my charge by one-second per verse in addition to the normal two-second cast time. Each Chanted Verse added a +33% bonus modifier to the original strength of the spell.

  It was worth it, if you could manage it.

  Turning my head to look for Selene, I realized that I couldn't see her from where I was but it was of no consequence; she could see me and that was all that mattered.

  Yeah, it was time to start.

  "Through power, darkness turns to light, render all to ash," as I finished my chant and quickly stepped out from behind the tree, I whispered "Lightning Bolt!"

  A surge of balled up electrical energy was released just as the warriors down the line had yelled, "Found a camp!" The next reply wasn't what they expected though as a warrior was knocked on the flat of his back, unable to scream due to the paralyzing-effect of the lightning as he writhed on the floor.

  The one next to him yelled in his stead, "AMBUSH!"

  I quickly drew my bow and released one well-placed arrow into the convulsing body on the ground, cleanly entering under the warrior's chin and up through the skull.

  It was a clean kill; only seven to go.

  I stood my ground so all could see and continued to release arrows as fast as I could, caring little for accuracy at this point as I simply wanted their attention on me.

  The warrior that was standing next to his fallen comrade quickly became a pin cushion as he charged at me, collapsing but ten feet in front of me.

  He was still alive but he was severely wounded and would bleed to death on his own, I had no time for him now. I turned my attention to the six men that were charging towards me with their mix of spears and axes drawn, some with shields as well.

  I would be shit out of luck if I had to melee against these odds, but then I saw Selene deliver a well-placed and timely arrow to the last warrior at the back of the line.

  The surprise of the arrow hitting him in the collarbone while in full sprint caused him to trip over an upright root and sent him tumbling head-first into a tree with a loud thud.

  I quickly let off another arrow into the lead warrior that was simply deflected by his shield; I had now run out of time to shoot.

  Tossing my bow to the ground I drew the woodcutter's axe from my sling and met the warrior's charge head-on, as axe clashed with shield the force of my blow staggered the warrior and I pressed on with my onslaught.

  From above my head I swung down with a fierce blow, hard enough to shatter a portion of the shield in front of me as splinters of wood exploded in all directions.

  I quickly kicked out against the man to free my axe as a spear was simultaneously thrust at me from a second warrior.

  It was a shallow glancing wound and I paid it no heed.

  I pressed on with my attacks as an axe belongs to an offensive style; defense was created through offense here.

  I went with a horizontal swing towards the man's midsection, a blow he could only hope to deflect with his broken shield. As anticipated, the man in front of me raised his shield while bracing for the impact to come.

  The axe-head landed with a solid ker-chunk as it shattered the shield entirely and continued on with a soft thud into the arm of the warrior, stopping only at the contact of bone.

  A loud scream pierced through the snow covered trees of the forest as birds flew from their nests and cubby holes in a state of sudden confusion.

  The man himself fell to his side as he grasped his arm writhing in pain.

  Without a moment of hesitation I transitioned from the pull of the axe out of the man's arm into an upright downward swinging motion.

  I used [Execute].

  The first man to be properly [Executed] died with an arm dangling by his waist and a forearm shielding his face. Unfortunately for him, I had aimed for the chest and split it open like a budding flower.

  Staring at the imagery in front of me I was soon brought back to reality as the pointy end of a spear found its way into my side. My body instinctively twitching from the sudden burst of pain, all I could muster was a glance in the spear's direction as I attempted to create separation.

  It was a deep wound. I could feel that much… yeah, I could really feel it.

  The wound burned as pain radiated throughout my stomach, causing me to place my hand over the hole in a vain attempt to stop the pain.

  Gaining the necessary distance between us, I turned my focus onto the second warrior before he could freely attack a third time.

  But, I was disappointed in what was standing before me. In the few seconds that we had been fighting the other warriors had appeared as well.

  I was surrounded by four warriors now, all bearing shields and an even distribution of spear and axe.

  Things weren't looking up for me as the two spearmen violently thrust their weapons towards me.

  I could only parry and deflect the spears with my axe and soon was hit from behind by an axe to the shoulder.

  The blow was strong enough to knock me forward and onto a knee as I rushed to get back on my feet.

  It was too late.

  I was hit with a shield from behind that knocked me flat on my stomach.

  I could only turn my head as the men prepared their final assault.

  Four men raised their weapons but only three attacks came down as I frantically tried to block the two axes. I had no time to look for the two spears but by the registered pain in my side I figured one spear was accounted for somewhere in my liver.

  The other spear couldn't be felt and as I rolled around on the ground I saw a man with an arrow sticking out of the side of his temple.

  I wanted to yell, "Boom! Headshot!" but I didn't have the time to goof around as an axe dug deep into my thigh.

  That got me to yell for a brief moment, more in anger than in pain though.

  As another arrow found its mark, I found myself getting hacked to death by the two axe-men. My health had depleted considerably and I was losing anywhere from ten to twenty percent of my health with each swing.

  I wouldn't last long at this rate.

  No, I wouldn't last more than a few more seconds.

  As their blows continued to land I wa
s simply left to covering my head, as I pathetically lay there waiting to die.

  All I could do was try to buy some time for Selene before I met my fate.

  Selene had landed a few more arrows as I was being butchered and soon the attacks had ceased. I was already below critical levels and would bleed out within a few moments but it wasn't that big of a deal.

  The fight was over, that was all that mattered.

  We won, my sister in arms survived.

  A necessary sacrifice I was willing to make.

  Selene rushed over to me and soon stopped in her tracks, I simply wasn't in the kind of condition that gave people hope that they could bring you back.

  A tourniquet and some wound pressure wouldn't really work here.

  She seemed worried.

  I decided to cheer her up, "Ah, don't worry about this. You know we adventurers are chosen by the Gods right? Cough I'll be brought back to life in short order. Just make sure they're all, cough cough, dead."

  It was the truth after all, as players didn't have permanent deaths like the NPCs; we simply lost experience and time.

  By the look of Selene's face you could tell it was a hard concept to understand but in a moment it was as if she had completely accepted it. She simply turned around and began to check all of the warriors that were strewn about.

  Not even a nod of acknowledgment for the parting.

  I muttered my last breath before dying, "Damn that's cold… just walking away…."

  My ghost spawned at the town square but the world was only shades of gray and I couldn't see or interact with the living; the death state was pretty cool yet trippy and scary too. I had the option to revive in the town or to find my body, with a stiffer penalty if I chose immediate resurrection.

  Well, even if I revived in the center of town I would probably just get cut down in my weakened state by the guards.

  Forced situations made decisions easy, really.

  After ten minutes of hopping and skipping I arrived near my body and was prompted with a system message:

  [Would you like to Resurrect?]

  [Yes / No]