Constitution:
1(61)
Dexterity:
14
Intelligence:
13(103)
Agility:
8
Wisdom:
1
Stamina:
1
Charisma:
64(124)
He had shifted around his stats to focus on being essentially a turret. There’d be no retreating here. No second round or extra inning. Here he would stand and here he would live or die.
Fanned out around and behind him were Sophia and his guard. Their instructions were simple. Protect his flank and rear while he worked. Don’t hesitate on potions and call out needs. Behind his guards were rows of healers and support classes. All tanks and fighters had been shifted further to the sides in a line expansion or to the third row.
Runner would be the primary component of the center and the one under the most pressure.
The cannons opened up and began unleashing their lethal storm of ordnance. Two hundred explosions detonated in the rank and file of Lambart’s followers. Death came in the hundreds. They marched onwards heedlessly. Soon the front line couldn’t be touched due to the fear of friendly fire casualties.
Letting out a shuddering breath, Runner shook out his hands. He’d prepared as best as he could. Targeting the first person that would come into his range, he prepared his Banishing Bolt attack.
Throwing his hand forward, he let Banishing Bolt fly. Every person it hit promptly disappeared. With one attack Runner banished ten.
Targeting the front line as far as his own guard could cover, Runner fired off the spell every time it was up off cooldown.
Holding up his left hand he triggered a rod he had enchanted with multiple uses of Scott called Scott’s Law. He fired off all ten charges across the middle of the enemy force, then switched back to Banishing Bolt.
Then the two lines met.
Runner was in the third row of the front line and worked at clearing those who engaged with his guard. Banishing Bolts flew out over the shoulders of his protectors to vanish their attackers. Those who did reach his line were quickly drawn into combat by the tanks.
Alexia was going to be overrun with new people if this battle was drawn out. Drowning in them even. Like snow landing on warm pavement, the enemy front line disappeared under the grisly grindstone of his personal guard and his spells.
Endlessly Runner cast into their ranks. Every time his potion timer expired he drank another mana potion. Each time Scott’s Law came off cooldown he, emptied it into the mid ranks.
When he could spare the mana, he made sure to drop a Regeneration on those directly around him, doing his best to contribute in every way he could.
“Sir! They’re trying to push in from the side and create a hole!” Sophia shouted into his ear.
Runner nodded his head and followed the line of her pointed arm. They were using heavily armored troops to try and gain purchase where his guard left off and the normal troops picked up.
“Grace, hold here!” Runner demanded, handing her Scott’s Law. Pressing himself through the crush of his guard, he pushed and shoved his way to the weak point.
Stopping inside the corner of his personal guard he pressed himself up against a Sunless shield maiden and tried to damn well become her backpack.
Targeting the lead of the heavy soldiers, he fired off a Banishing Bolt. Fizzling on the armor, it did nothing other than highlight him as an attacker.
Resistant to magic? Fan-fucking-tastic.
Runner growled, unhitched himself from the woman, exited the protection of his guard, and slid into the front line of the normal troops.
Driving his hand into the gut of a heavy soldier, he activated an ability he had called Taxi. All it was designed to do was utilize GMHub 2 and then GMHubReturn in succession.
/GMHub 2
Teleporting…
/GMHubReturn
Teleporting…
Only a fraction of a second had passed in the time it took him to warp the soldier away.
Thrusting his hand out at the next closest soldier, he used Taxi again to the same effect.
As he came back to the fight, he received a stroke from a third and fourth before he could launch a Slash at the third and Riposte the fourth to keep them busy.
His health stayed relatively high thanks to his increased constitution but his damage was null. His entire build relied on the ability to banish his foes.
Bumping against the Human soldier on his left, Runner felt hemmed in. His attacks were stymied by his own troops and their job.
Fuck it.
Sheathing his sword, he stepped into the enemy line itself. Runner began attacking every heavy armored body he could find while activating Taxi.
Letting slip a Challenge and a Zombie Horde, Runner had all the enemies he could want. And then some.
Throwing an unarmed Flurry into the group in front of him, he spun his body around as quickly as he could, activating Taxi as his fist connected with each foe.
Stepping into his area, a huge Human male brought down a two-handed axe on Runner. Smashing him to one side, Runner hit the man with a basic attack and a free ride to another dimension.
Runner’s health fell into the orange, forcing him to spend precious mana on healing himself. It drained him to the midway point of his ability to cast. He had to be more careful.
Letting loose, he worked his fists to the best of his ability. After what felt like a lifetime of fighting just inside the enemy’s front line, Runner managed to worm his way back to his own soldiers.
Holding up his arm, Runner poured his available mana into a shout he had called Inspire. A blend of Persuade and Intimidate with Regeneration. He’d put it together with the goal of giving his people a leg up. Then he let it rip.
All around him soldiers stood up straighter, raised shields a little higher, moved swords that much quicker.
Sliding in deeper amongst his ranks, Runner began forcing his way back to Sophia. He found her exactly where he left her, though it seemed without him his guard had suffered losses.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with Sophia he began emptying his mana bar as fast as he could, throwing Banishing Bolts and Regeneration as the spells came off cooldown.
Slowly, inevitably, even this became mundane. The press of bodies, enemies trying to kill him, his troops trying to kill the enemy.
Amazingly, they still held. Runner had no idea what was going on elsewhere, but he couldn’t concern himself with it.
He had given up control of the majority of his army to others so that he could help save lives here on the front.
Distantly he could see the top of tanks working through the flanks of the enemy. Here and there were unmoving tanks.
To him they had the appearance of grave markers of where a tank had been stopped. Hopefully the crew were trapped inside and hadn’t been dragged out and slaughtered.
“Sir!” Sophia shouted, leaning in close to him. “Faye reports second enemy host in sight! They’re moving to engage us from all sides! A few minutes away at most!”
“Fuck me…alright!” Runner looked rearwards and found that it’d be impossible to escape the line. Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, Runner found he wouldn’t be leaving his chosen spot.
There would be no negotiations. No meetings. No offers to have them quit the field. Runner found himself left with choices he didn’t want.
Runner turned his thoughts inward and called up a console.
He could exit to the GMHub and save himself, leaving everyone to their fate.
That simply wasn’t an option. Not to him at least.
There was the possibility of forcing his way inwards and to his inner circle. Getting them out first provided he could get to them. That’d leave his army and the entirety of Tirtius to the tender mercies of Jacob’s army.
Last but not least, he could move everyone in the area to the medical server. Condemning them to whatever fate the server
doled out. Up to this point that fate had been terminating life support.
In the end Runner knew his choice. Long before Jacob had sentenced him to a life imprisoned here, he knew he didn’t want to leave. Killing Ted hadn’t been the start of this dilemma, it’d been the end.
A turning point.
Runner enjoyed living here. A great deal more than he did in the real world. Chewing at his lower lip, he began keying in the commands he needed.
“Fuck it, at least they can’t escape me now. Got them right where I want them.”
/Who Tristan’s Field
Over 100,000 matches.
Display all matches?
Yes
He copied out every name in the list into one large batch file. Adding the medical server commands as well, he set it to execute.
Waiting for the inevitable error and authorizations needed, Runner cast a few lazy Banishing Bolts into enemy.
Transferring…
Error: Credentials lacking for MedServ01.
IT department must authorize
User: NorRun001
Transfer request pending
Please enter Password: ***************
Password Accepted
Further confirmation needed
Captain must confirm transfer
User: NorRun001
Transfer request pending
Audio verification needed: 1529356 Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
“One, five, two, nine, three, five, six, whiskey tango foxtrot.”
Verification Accepted
Transferring…
Transfer Complete
And in the space of a minute Runner sentenced three hundred thousand people to a fate no one knew the answer to.
Then doubling down, he altered the batch file to log everyone out with the LogOut GM command with an attached one-year timer.
Uncaring, he dismissed them from his mind and executed the file, logging them all out of the game.
He had a war to win.
Throwing down an Inspire, he laid Banishing Bolts across the front line. They would be here a while but he could tell they could hold. Hold and win. It would be costly though.
Hours later Runner watched as the enemy line broke and ran. Into the waiting arms of tanks and cavalry who would undoubtedly round them up for prisoner transport.
Crumpling where he stood as his knees gave out from sheer exhaustion, Runner didn’t fight it. Letting his face hit the grass, he closed his eyes and let the mental stress of it all overwhelm him.
“Sir?!” Sophia said, excited, bending down to roll him onto his back. She peered down at him, her black eyes searching his face. A cool hand pressed to his face as her other pushed his hair back from his eyes.
“I’m alright, Grace. Tired. If people come looking for me, I’m right here.”
Sophia nodded her head and stood up, then moved out of his view.
Runner felt a lovely breeze brush over his skin as the lines broke apart. Taking slow breaths, he let his mind wander.
For better or worse, he’d sent the major portion of his crew to death. He’d also allowed himself the realization that he didn’t want to leave. He didn’t care about rebuilding humanity. Didn’t want to try and restart human civilization.
He only wanted to be left alone in Otherlife to live his life.
That wasn’t possible yet though. There was still a capital to take, a champion to kill, and a war to end. This had only been the climax of the war. Not the end.
“Sleeping on the job? Fuck, you’re a lazy bastard, eh?”
A boot nudged his leg. Reaching out he laid his hand on the boot and wrapped his fingers around it loosely.
“Lazy as I can be. Feel free to cuddle up and join me. Did…did we lose anyone?”
A momentary delay made his heartbeat speed up. Something wasn’t right.
“No, no one from our personal group. Despite those fuckers doing their best to kill us all. Fuck them. Our losses were significant though. Maybe thirty percent,” Hannah said.
“Mm. No way around that. We weren’t going to fight a group three times our size and come out unscathed. Only thirty percent is an amazing victory. Fantastic even.”
“Indeed, Lord Runner. I do have to confess, you held the center in an amazing way.”
“Oh? Praise from you, Sparky? I’m no good with compliments. Tease, insult, or flirt with me. I’m better with those.”
Runner closed his eyes, feeling better with each minute. Tired, but better.
“Always a problem. What now?” demanded Katarina, her heavy footfalls marking her approach.
“Nothing. Just tired, Kitten.”
“I imagine so, dear heart. Your little lightning trick looked handy. Teach me later?”
Runner made a flippant motion with his right hand, his left hand still gripping Hannah’s boot.
A shadow blocked out the light hitting his eyelids. Cracking open an eye, he found Isabelle’s face hovering directly over him.
“Should we utilize the same lottery system as last time, my lord?”
“Yeah. They’re familiar with it and it’ll speed it up. Thanks for taking care of that, Belle.”
Isabelle disappeared as soon as she got her answer. She was a quick little thing.
Runner considered the losses and the best way to bolster his people’s morale and belief.
“I want a monument erected here. We’ll be dedicating it to our fallen and our goddesses. Would any of our fine pantheon be willing to contribute a very large block of stone? Brighteyes, Angel, Minxy?”
“Of course, Runner,” came back the disembodied voice of Brunhild.
“Fantastic.”
“Runner, what happened to the secon-nd force? Did-did you do what you said earlier? With the medical server?”
“I did.”
Nadine fell silent. It was clear she wanted to ask but everyone would know if she did. Runner waited for it. Nadine wasn’t the type to let things stop her in her pursuit for what was right.
“You killed them-m?”
“Possible. Don’t know. We’ll find out soon enough.”
“Wait, what’s that, dear heart? I thought…I thought you said the server was operating correctly?”
“It’s killed everyone I’ve sent over by terminating their life support. I personally believe it’s because all the ones I tried were brain dead. So here we are. I’ve possibly killed three hundred thousand people.”
“Because they were going to fucking kill us first,” Hannah said. To Runner it sounded more like a statement than a question.
“Yeah. Because they would have stripped this land clean. There’s a point in time coming where this land will Awaken on its own. Soon I think. With Jacob in charge over there he would have taken the entire land. The idea of him holding rule over everyone in Tirtius…I couldn’t just let that be.”
“Lord Runner, I admit I’m the newest one here but…from my understanding, we’re all fictional characters in an elaborate story. That you and those like you made this. Made us.”
“That sums it up, Sparky,” Runner agreed. He turned his head towards Faye’s voice to catch her with his eyes.
“You may have killed them all for bits of imagination?”
“Sure did. Ask Hanners about that sometime. That’s enough about this for now. Seems like everyone needs a job to do. Let’s get this show on the road,” Runner grumbled, getting to his feet. He walked off, trying to pick out a spot for the monument.
Finding the right spot took a few hours but he got what he wanted.
A vigil was held for the fallen. All three of the triumvirate of Vix made an appearance and blessed those who lived and those who’d died.
During their visit the monument was created. Brunhild summoned the marble plinth, Ernsta formed the bronze statues atop it, and Amelia made it indestructible.
The base spanned twenty feet in length and forty feet wide though only four feet tall. The names of the fallen were inscribed along the front and sides.
On the top of the plinth Ernsta had formed bronze statues of their forces: Sunless, Human, and Barbarian troops locked in combat with unseen foes. Defending, engaging, and avenging each other.
Because of the amount of space available, the figures further back were slightly elevated and enlarged in comparison to the ones in the front so that they could be seen. Casters and healers had been set in the middle as they worked to protect the front line.
At the very rear of it all, Ernsta had placed likenesses of Runner and his inner circle. So deep that it would go unremarked by most.
Truth be told, Runner wanted it that way. This wasn’t a monument for him, but for those who’d died.
At the feet of the front line rested the Triumvirate’s equilateral triangle.
When it was all said and done Runner could feel that his troops felt justified. Vindicated. They had triumphed in the face of adversity and accomplished it through mixed units and depending on each other.
Runner’s plan for Tirtius moved on.
Chapter 20 - Countdown -
5:04 am Sovereign Earth time
12/12/43
Runner stood out near the edge of the camp as he sulked in his own thoughts. He felt better alone as of late.
While the march on Faren had been uneventful and easy, it had taken a toll on him. Every town they encountered received an inquisition of sorts. If it had a church or temple dedicated to Lambart, the worshipers were converted or banished, the site claimed in the name of the Triumvirate.
Which left Runner with an ever increasing number of people he banished.
After having defeated both the country’s army and the army of faith, nothing barred their progress, which only made him feel worse about it. They had no defense.
The medical server had only terminated roughly four hundred people so far. Runner couldn’t tell if they’d been in a graveyard nearby or if they’d been normal crew members killed by his own hand when he dropped them from the server. The number grew daily as the server processed each person in turn.
Otherlife Nightmares: The Selfless Hero Trilogy Page 36