“Okay. What length of pants? Shorts?”
“Not too short.”
“More of a point and click kind of guy, aren’t you?” She grinned.
She was totally belittling me in a flirty kind of way. Was this flirting? I couldn’t decide if this would be what it was like to shop with a girlfriend or a sister.
“Don’t worry. It's more fun if I don’t know what you like.”
“Oh. Great.”
The pace quickened as she seemed to have figured out what we needed to do. Before she got totally carried away, there was something I’d been meaning to ask.
“So why did you sign up for Freedom?”
She stopped so suddenly, I almost ran into her. After her initial hesitation, she continued at a slower pace.
“I thought it would be fun. I’ve spent most of my life studying, so it was an opportunity to get a yearlong vacation.”
“What were you studying?”
“Mostly the boring stuff. Politics, economics, biology.”
“With the competition so fierce to get accepted into Freedom you must have done something special. Peter said that you were a healer. Did you get an athletic scholarship?”
“Of sorts. I’m a dancer.” Stopping again, she turned. Looking down, her mouth opened to say something, but then it closed. “I… To answer your question honestly, I think my mother pulled some strings to get me in. I’m a political charity case.”
She wouldn’t meet my eyes as if ashamed.
“So that’s how you were able to start off with Peter. He said he knows your mother.”
“Right. Oliver and Peter work for her.”
“Hey.”
Still downcast, her eyes met mine.
“There’s nothing wrong with using the advantages you have. I’m glad to have met you last night. Just think how beat up I would get over the next year if the three of you weren’t here to keep me in line.”
She looked up at me. Her mouth pursed as if to laugh. “If you continue to throw yourself into hopeless situations I don’t know if there is anything to do except to nurse you back to health.”
“You’re right. I let myself get hit last night because I thought it might be more dramatic for my fans.”
“Really?”
Well, that joke fell flat. If it wasn’t for the 100% pain it would have been true.
“No. I’m insane, but I’m not foolish.”
She shook her head with a chuckle. “So that’s that why you are here? To get fans?”
“Basically. I want to be a pro gamer.”
“That explains why you like wizards.”
“Right.” I grinned.
Before we could arrive at who-knows-where, Drool stepped out in front of me stopping me in my tracks. She leaned in close to examine my face.
“Hi?” I said.
Victoria was no longer holding onto my arm. It suddenly concerned me that Drool may have just seen it. Another part hoped she had.
“You’re Lucius, right?”
“It’s him,” Vector replied. He was now at Drool’s side. Treetop loomed behind.
They hadn’t wasted their time since yesterday. Drool was sporting a leather vest with a light purple dress over the top. Her cleavage had been carefully prepared for the eyes of others. The skirt of her dress was just long enough to keep the imagination engaged.
Vector and Treetop had decent leather and red overtunics, the primary color of Vector’s team if I remembered. Had he recruited Treetop?
They were only level six, so they weren’t able to see name indicators above our heads yet.
“We saw you fight,” Drool said, crossing her arms. “You made us look good.”
Us? Did they remember I was there when they had failed while fighting the boar?
“The athletes have been dominating,” Treetop said.
Even though there was no hostility from Vector, he was looking off into the crowd like he had better things to do.
“I’ve noticed,” I replied.
“Are you going to man the wall tonight?” Vector finally spoke.
“Yes. We are gearing up.”
Grabbing my arm above the elbow, Drool hugged it to her chest.
I would be lying if I said my body didn’t react, but my years with Destiny had prepared me for girls like Drool. Let’s say I was preconditioned to respond to her. It wasn’t hard to tell what she wanted and that she was willing to use me to get it.
“Do you mind if we join you?” she asked.
There was no doubt that they had just seen me face off with the hobgoblin, and were following where they thought there would be the most viewers. She couldn’t afford to leave the spotlight. None of them could. Sure I had gained a huge following in the last 24 hours, but it was nowhere near what they probably thought. A couple million people weren’t much in comparison to billions.
There really wasn’t anything wrong with what they were asking. My problem was her. She had made a living out of embarrassing guys, often destroying their careers. She was the Male Fail Videos queen.
“I’m afraid not.”
She immediately pulled me down to look her in the eyes and said in the sweetest voice, “Why?”
Because you will destroy me and lick up the pieces while smiling all the way.
As I hesitated with what to say, Victoria replied, “It’s my fault. My friends want to keep the group small. We are starting a guild soon and you guys will be welcome to join then.”
They were already talking about starting a guild? A guild was an organization of players with a common goal. The ability to start one was a reward for surviving week one.
Drool let go and the tension in my body eased. She looked up at Victoria but was quickly distracted by her outfit.
“Where did you get this?” Drool asked, reaching out for Victoria’s sleeve. With a nod, she lifted and tugged at the material. “I wasn’t able to find anything that fit this well.”
“Oh, I made it.”
Tilting her head, Drool pulled back.
“No, really. Come with us. I was going to set Lucius up anyways. You will probably appreciate crafting more than he will.”
She winked at me, then set off chatting with Drool.
“What just happened?” I said after she had left.
“Girls,” Treetop said as if there was nothing more to say. “She’s cute, though. Have you claimed her?”
We followed behind at a distance.
“I have the word of a giant that she’s taken.”
“Bleh. All the tall girls are taken. Do you think she’s the casual type?”
He was just like St3alth. I didn’t know her well enough to say for sure, but I wasn’t going to encourage him regardless.
“I doubt it.”
“What was your uptake after last night?” Vector asked. By uptake, he meant new followers.
Pulling up my menu I accessed my Player Profile to find the shock of my life. Doing my best to act like nothing was out of the ordinary, I replied. “26 million.”
“Very nice,” Treetop said.
“I was expecting more.” Vector shook his head.
How many followers did he have if 26 million wasn’t enough?
“You had one of the top three moments and there have to be at least a billion people watching. Probably many more times that. There had to be something else going on in Freedom that was getting everyone’s attention last night.”
“My uptake was only 2 million initially, but has grown to 26 since then,” I replied.
“Interesting. So our village probably didn’t have as many viewers’ attention until after Mia’s show. How’s your back by the way?”
“Good. Surprisingly, I’m not even sore. How’s your leg?”
“Oh, just fine. I can’t say the same for not being sore.”
“Drool’s probably to blame for that,” Treetop smirked.
I stopped short. Was he insane? Sure she was as attractive as they come, but didn’t he know who she was?
Vector shrugged.
“What about…” I said, unsure how to word my question.
“Her reputation?” Treetop replied. “Drool’s easy to figure out.”
Sighing, Vector added. “She knows I have a lot of followers so she will leech off me until another guy comes along. I’m not stupid enough to put myself in a situation where she can take advantage of the situation. Besides, we are all newbs right now and there is no advantage to her betraying any of us. Maybe you. If you let her join the group, she’d likely reward you. Be careful, though.”
How could they speak so nonchalantly about a person in their group? Looking ahead, I watched her as she talked with Victoria. My eyes wandered to her bare legs. Lingering too long, I diverted my eyes, terrified what easy prey I would be for her.
We neared the front gate where the majority of merchants parked their carts.
Wink started to snarl.
Nasally grunts joined the clash of steel. Dozens of goblin militia were swarming in from the entrance, attacking players and merchants alike. We were about 100 meters away.
“Well, that’s handy. I’m going to have to get me a pet,” Treetop said.
My initial thought was to form a defensive line with the gamers, but at the first sign of the goblins, Victoria retrieved her spear from her inventory and raced forward. Drool didn’t miss a beat and was right beside her.
Something primal held me where I stood. Without my permission, my body hesitated. A tingle in my back brought the memory of the uncontrollable spasms to the forefront of my mind.
Then I remembered the anger Victoria displayed when she couldn’t do anything to help me. She pounded on Peter’s chest. Now she ran off to face a horde of goblins with a short little gamer chick in tow. I wanted to grab her by the hair, sit her down, and give her a talking to.
I took off after them not sure if Vector and Treetop would follow. If I had been in my right mind I would have tried to group message Peter, Kline, and Oliver, but I was too distracted.
Pulling a leather wrapped, highly weathered shield from my inventory from last night’s loot along with my spear, I saw that the girls were about to be in trouble. There was a group of players protecting a merchant that Victoria was heading for. From my angle further back, I saw a handful of goblins were about to join in and overwhelm them. Victoria would be swept away.
There was no time, this was going to hurt.
Digging deep, I widened my shoulders to let my spear and shield pump as I sprinted forward. They were too close to the action to stop now. There was a gap between the goblins already fighting and their reinforcements. I headed for it.
Shooting past the girls, I was going full speed. I didn’t stop. Reaching the gap I skewered one fighting goblin from the flank, losing my spear, and leveled one of the reinforcements with my shield. Not daring to stop, I ran past them. Hopefully, it would be enough.
I found myself behind the goblin line, surrounded by dozens. Turning frantically, I saw the five goblins had given me chase and were seconds away from overtaking me.
Unsheathing my sword, I gripped the rickety shield I hoped would hold for one more impact.
To my horror, Victoria was giving chase. She impaled one of the goblins from behind.
Drool was at her side, almost losing grip of her sword as it slashed down on the back of the same goblin. She chewed her lip with a wide-eyed glare.
A hatchet swung for my leg. I lowered my shield to block it without thinking. Thankfully the shield held together. I parried a club, with more a swat than a turn of the wrist. The blows came faster. I pumped my arms in desperation, never knowing what angle the strike would come. The shield held.
When Victoria lunged for another goblin, two of them turned on her. It was then that Vector and Treetop caught up.
Were they all crazy? Now we were all in the belly of the beast with me.
With only two goblins left, I threw my shield at the one on my left and slashed down with all my weight at the other.
Its club reached up and met my spear in time, but my blow crumpled it at the knees. With that one on its back, I slashed low, severing the stunned goblin’s ankle. As it fell, I bullied its hatchet from its hand and chopped down at the other one on the ground. It was an awkward left-handed blow, but it sunk into its hip. My blade stabbed into its chest but didn’t pierce more than an inch because of its leather vest.
Without the skill I had gained in normal virtual reality, I was left with no other avenue but brute force and my wits. Thankfully they were much smaller than me.
Regaining my feet, I spun, retracting my blade at the last moment before scalping Drool.
“Sorry!” I pleaded.
Her jaw was clenched as her chest heaved, air flaring her nostrils as she caught her breath.
After that, I could cross off my chance to hook up with her. That was a relief.
“That was foolish, Lucius!” Victoria said. “Why did you run in here?”
Was she rebuking me after what I had just done for her? Correction. Tried to do for her.
I didn’t take kindly to her accusation. “Because you were about to get run over by five goblins! So I got their attention and ran.”
She looked at me blankly. A twitch of her mouth preceded a giggle. “I was wrong. You are a kind fool.”
Arguing the fairness of her words would have to wait for later.
I scanned the chaos trying to find a gap we could retreat to.
A familiar hand caught my wrist causing my chest to tense up. Did she really want to argue right now?
Finding Victoria’s face closer than expected, I had to crane my neck.
“There.” She pointed the city gate that was wide open without any goblins blocking the way.
Of all the ridiculous ideas… Wait! That’s it. She was as big a pain in the butt as Destiny was.
Nodding, I pulled her along, her grip releasing as we started to run. I turned and made sure everyone was behind me. The three gamers followed but looked at me like a crazy person. There was a lot of that going around.
Exiting the city gate, we met no opposition. The only monster of any kind was a boar a group was fighting in the far distance. They were far enough they had likely missed the attack if it happened as quickly as I thought it had. After the initial relief, Victoria set off immediately toward the group yelling for help. Drool followed her.
“What now?” Vector asked.
It was a great question.
“I’ll message the rest of our group?” I replied.
“Wait, you have group chat?” Treetop asked.
“Yeah, I purchased it at level 6.”
“Ah. I got Danger Indicator.”
“I waited to get that one.”
“What level are you?” Vector asked.
“12. The boss last night gave me nearly three levels.”
Vector’s brow tightened as he considered what I said.
“The city is being attacked! Come quick! We are just outside the city entrance!” I said, directing what I said to my group chat.
“Lucius?” Kline replied.
“Yes.”
“We are on our way,” Oliver replied.
“Protect Victoria at all costs,” Peter added.
“She’s safe.”
A few minutes later, Victoria had returned, and a group of four players was headed our way at a jog.
“What’s the plan?” Vector asked again.
Victoria and Drool were breathing heavy but were all ears.
“We ambush them from behind.”
Chapter 10 – This City is Ours
Vector crouched to one side of the gate, with Drool, Treetop and a guy from the group that had joined us. Victoria and I crouched on the other side with two guys and a girl from the same group. They were even lower in level than Vector’s group, all level 4. The lack of gear was a concern, but at the most everyone had played Freedom for a single day, so I didn’t hold their level against them.
At
least two of them were athletes, the man that joined Vector’s group and the girl that joined ours. If everything went as planned it would be enough. Kline, Peter, and Oliver were racing this way. I kept an eye on my Local Map. After letting them know where we were I expected them to force a number of goblins to retreat if they didn’t die before they came our way. Send ‘em our way!
During our set up for the ambush, I realized that something must have happened to the archers above in the gate towers. I hadn’t seen a single arrow shot.
Wink had been rather quiet. Currently, she was invisible to the world and viewed the enemy, her fur on end. During the fighting, she had turned invisible as soon as the action started on her own. She just stayed close and watched. I suppose that was her job. She wasn’t capable of actually fighting.
Daring to look, I could see much of the fighting that was still going on. I estimated fifty goblins were still causing havoc. Merchants’ carts were turned over, and some of them were fighting back. At least three were dead. They were possibly players. Almost double the goblin’s number in players faced off against them. They defended well enough, but there was no forward movement. It was a stalemate. The battle momentum was theirs.
I heard it before I saw it. A fury of gasping snorts. Behind the wall to my side where I couldn’t see, someone was making progress. A grunt stopped mid-gasp right on the other side of the wall.
“Be ready,” I said.
They came.
Three goblins ran out the gate. One hobbled.
Vector didn’t hesitate, meeting the first one head on, stabbing it through the heart. He remembered to jump back this time.
I held my hand out to stay our attack, but the two guys followed their female companion. They rushed to the second goblin, littering it with uncountable blows and killing it in seconds. Their lack of patience earned one of the guys a slash on the shoulder from the hobbling goblin. Treetop beheaded it with a two-handed slash of his sword, despite his lanky awkwardness.
More goblins came.
The three retreated slowly. Vector’s group joined them. Our plan to ambush was already going all wrong. Standing in the middle of the entrance to block their retreat, we became a cap on a massive pressure-building bottle. The question remained, could we handle the pressure or would it blow us off its top as the goblins fled.
Codename: Freedom: Survive Week One Page 13