“You’ve helped gamers save face since Freedom went live. The athletes have an obvious advantage here, but not for long.”
“That ends tonight,” Corkscrew replied, a strategy expert known by his hooked nose and constant squint.
Treetop roared that he agreed. Everyone else seemed to agree with his assessment, though not as loudly.
“Will you lead us?” Vector asked.
My mind began to swim, completely taken aback by the request. It was one of the greatest moments of my young life. They knew me. They were acknowledging me.
I studied each face. There wasn’t an objection among them. Treetop’s eyes were now able to focus, so his smile was obviously for me.
I remembered Victoria and a strange question came to mind. Would I be able to leave Destiny if she were here?
“Thank you, but you brought this group together. I have other responsibilities, for now.”
He glanced at Victoria. “I understand.”
There was something else that had to be said and only I could say it.
“I’ve been a fan of yours for years. I’m still a fan.”
He placed his hand on my shoulder, studying me for a moment, then nodded. My meaning was clear.
Looking each of the gamers in the eye, I let them know what I said was meant for all of them.
Crying at the top of his lungs, Treetop marched out to the front of the group, jostled his belt and began relieving himself while taunting the goblins.
“Is he going to be okay?” I asked, cringing. Moving to block Victoria’s view, I realized she wasn’t with me. When I spotted her, she was already turned away, trying to unsee the unseeable.
“Oh yeah,” Drool replied, joining Vector’s side. “This is normal for him.”
“He’ll be able to fight?”
“I don’t know how he does it, but yeah.”
All I could do was shake my head. Weird dude.
Stepping forward, Drool surprised me by leaning up and kissing me on the cheek. The seriousness behind her eyes rebuked my body’s response to her touch.
“You’re a good guy, Lucius. Take care of Victoria.”
“I will,” I said, shocked at her genuineness. I knew then I had been unfair with my judgment of her. Everything I knew about her was based on her reputation. Even Vector was still with her, perhaps finding out she was more than he thought as well.
I took my leave, afraid that if I didn’t leave now, I’d find it impossible to do so. I couldn’t say for sure if it was even wise to do so.
Rejoining Victoria, she asked, “Treetop?”
“They said this is normal for him.” I shrugged. “Be sure to stay at my rear. I’ll be your shield. You poke them from behind. Oh, and if I yell to run, turn and do it, no questions asked.”
“Got it.”
“Time to save some newbs.”
Victoria started shifting from foot to foot, her shoulder circling back. Did she know Marabella or something? Perhaps it was because she was a dancer too.
At that moment, over fifty players splurged out of the forest just south of us. Instead of snipers firing, the best-armored goblins I had ever seen, twice as many as the players, swarmed after them.
Before Harrison could give the word, all three groups ran toward them as one.
Unwilling to stay at the rear, I took a slot that opened up to join the frontline. In seconds their titles became visible, as did their beacons that towered over their heads, but didn’t light up the goblin itself to make things easier to see, unfortunately. Well, unfortunate for those without nightvision at least. They were the first Goblin Soldiers we had faced.
No more militia, I guess. These creatures were something else, still shorter than the average human, but thicker chested. Many had bronze armor, both chain and scale, but their biggest advantage was their shields. What was rare among the other goblins was now common.
Aware that I felt no sign of the hesitation-inducing fear, I charged forward happy to meet their advance.
Victoria kept up just fine but gave me room for the coming collision.
Lowering my shoulder behind my new bronze shield, I dipped low to meet an opposing shield. Our momentum came to a head; the ugly little toad weighed more than I thought, jarring my shoulder.
-4 Damage
Even though I won the contest of strength, my left arm became difficult to lift.
A spear from behind slid up under the rear-ended goblin, gutting him where he lay.
My own spear missed its mark, another goblin nudging it away with its shield. Night vision’s bold motion streaks took a few moments to get used to, but in comparison to fighting in the limited moonlight, this was cake. It also looked amazing. From this close, the black streaks moved as one with the enemy. There wasn’t the delay that I saw from a distance. I had to jump back to avoid a blade to the side of my head.
My next thrust caught chainmail, severing a few rings, but causing little more than a scratch. The player to my right downed one that fell into my spear, pinning it to the ground.
I raised my shield to block a new opponent, gritting my teeth as it impacted my sensitive shoulder. I concluded it was officially jammed.
We had surprised them enough by intercepting them. They started to retreat. The men retreating from the forest had turned and joined us, helping to push them back.
More groups were running toward us from the main defensive line. If the goblins had stayed they would have soon been outnumbered.
Feeling Victoria pat my shoulder, I looted the two goblins she had killed for her. I didn’t have the same luck. These were much harder to kill because they had the right equipment for the job.
The fifty or so players that had joined us from the forest were not in good shape. They didn’t join the main camp, deciding to stay even when the goblins fled. Vector and the gamers made the point to spread out before them to form a protective wall. With the majority of the wounded being athletes, I knew there was more to the action than just compassion.
Another tap on my shoulder brought me face to face with Victoria.
“I’m going to help.” She waved toward the wounded.
The more I was around her the more I could see that she did have the heart of a nurse or healer of some kind.
I followed her to the back of the pack. The most badly injured had already been gathered together.
Fishing a wad of clean rags from her inventory, Victoria went to work bandaging any wound that looked like it was still bleeding. I wasn’t able to confirm if they were suffering bleeding damage because I could still not see any other players’ health bars.
Handed a jug, I offered swigs of what I guessed was the same substance that had burned my throat last night. Just smelling it cleared my sinuses.
The state of these wounds sent chills up my neck. One man’s arm was almost severed at the wrist. Another somehow managed to retreat with a knife still sticking in his side. Three players had head wounds, two of whom didn’t even know where they were.
“What’s your name?” Victoria asked a man with a vicious cut from cheek to chin. She thought twice when seeing his injury. “Never mind. Can you escort these players to the gate and give them as much to drink as they will take?”
I handed her back the now half-full jug.
The confused men were taken by the arm and led away by other wounded men that were better off.
“Thank you,” said one of the men. “The goblins that chased us were only a fraction of them. Half our group fell in seconds. So many rocks…”
We departed and shared the news with Harrison.
“Figures. Hopefully, we can kill some more tonight. Their armor would go a long way to blunting their bullets. Wilson!” Harrison paused and asked, “What’s the other leader’s name?”
“Vector.” I grinned.
Vector joined us with Drool at his side. Her being there was more than just for looks. Besides her reputation, she was well known for using interesting strategies, not all having to
do with seduction.
“Alright. I think we need to move south. Most of the players in the north have either died or returned, but almost no one down there has come back.”
Everyone turned to spy out the southern tree line. No one had their pets visible, besides Harrison.
“Cornelius is down there with his group. If anyone has it covered, he does,” Wilson replied.
No one asked who Cornelius was. No other Combat Arts legends had agreed to enter Freedom, except for him.
Vector sighed. We both knew that was a goal neither of us could reach. Some athletes were just untouchable.
My ribcage rattled from a bellow of something huge coming our way.
As one we turned to see a hobgoblin lowered in a sprint firing out of the woods.
My stomach wrenched tight and I was suddenly covered in a clammy sweat. A twitch in the middle of my back caused me to act. Before I realized what I was doing, I grabbed Victoria’s hand and ran.
Well, at least I hadn’t frozen.
Reaching the barricade I leaped up with enough awareness to turn and grab Victoria’s hand. Players made way as we landed among them. There were no complaints as we took a place overlooking a cart.
The fight was still uncomfortably close. Nearly half of the players, mostly those from the retreating party, had also run.
Fifty spears were all raised in the direction of the giant. He wielded a tree-club like the other hobgoblins but had no mace.
At first, there was just a mob of players, but they soon merged into three loose groups. They were actually holding him back. The massive piece of lumber made it difficult for the players to go on the offensive.
Harrison’s group backpedaled when a swing came their way.
The gamers, now facing the beast’s rear, took their chance. Rushing forward a dozen spears pierced it low in the back.
It turned to respond, but Treetop had strapped himself to the hobgoblin’s right leg. Hugging the monster’s same leg at the knee, Scarecrow’s shoulder clamped under the monster’s glute. Multiple spears remained firm against the massive back near either kidney. Both LadyHeadshot and HandshakeDeath intercepted its shoulder with their spears when it tried to turn, keeping it steady. Their fans must have been freaking out. They were known for being rivals.
In a sudden leap, Vector sunk two daggers high on the giant’s back, hanging there.
Like a raging bull pinned down, the hobgoblin twisted in rage, unable to spin fully, but sending Vector for a ride. The creature’s club toppled a player trying to brace the trapped leg from the side.
The leg Treetop had latched himself to rose a few feet off the ground. With a swat of its massive hand, Treetop was brushed aside, but held on with everything he had. Sinking low on the monster’s leg, when the bouldering foot returned to the ground, Treetop’s lower body was caught underneath it.
Victoria’s hand shot to her mouth.
Nausea stirred in my gut.
With unflinching resolve, Treetop didn’t let go.
The other gamers didn’t try anything desperate but continued to hold the hobgoblin in place. Doing anything else would possibly get them all killed. They were professionals.
A moment of calm came as the hulk summoned its strength. Pulling out a blade, Vector heaved himself up on the hobgoblin’s back and buried his blade. In a flurry, he pulled out his other knife then slipped it in the beast's neck over and over again.
The grunted cry proceeded the tree-club whipping Vector from its back.
He made it to his feet after a roll.
The hobgoblin was now off balance, its club flailing wildly above. It fell forward, dropping its club while grabbing at its neck.
Treetop finally let go, shrieking as the pressure from the creature's weight left him.
The giant legs kicked out and spun with the beast as it turned to its back.
As the gamers moved back to keep from getting kicked, Wilson and Harrison’s groups collapsed in on it. Spears bathed it with piercings where it lay.
“Are you okay?” Victoria asked.
I… What could I say? No? “Harrison made me promise to get you out at the first sign of danger we couldn’t handle.”
“I know. Thank you, Lucius. Let’s go help.”
I hesitated before I helped her onto the cart. We ran toward Treetop, who was pushing at the ground with his arms. He wasn’t moving his legs.
Before we reached him, he cried, “Kill me! I’ll respawn! Kill me or I will get up from here and beat you!”
I pulled Victoria to a stop.
When she looked at me to protest, a single shake of my head was all it took for her to understand why.
It was HandshakeDeath that stepped toward him without a word, grabbed him by the collar while taking a knee and turned Treetop’s head to the side revealing the back of his neck. Treetop was shaking but didn’t stop him. With a single thrust from the base of the neck up into the brain, it was over quickly. HandshakeDeath set his comrade down gently. Some skills from other games do transfer to this one.
The gamer assassin stood, his eye never leaving the fallen Treetop. LadyHeadshot joined him, not saying a word. It was two minutes before his body disappeared.
“Should we have killed you?” Victoria asked. Her hand touched my forearm but then drew back. Her eyes were off somewhere else.
“I don’t know.” Sure, part of me thought Treetop had just cheated but was it right to just take someone’s life even if they would respawn? “I don’t know if there is a right answer to that question.”
Chapter 16 – The Hunt
That morning, my chance to talk to Peter never came. The hurried opening of the front door brought with it an announcement. “We leave in ten!”
Kline stopped at the entrance of the living room, arms crossed with his bearded smirk. Lulu, his white-backed pup, ran over and begged Wink to share her bowl.
“So you were pretending to sleep in so that you could steal my breakfast when I wasn’t paying attention, eh? You were too slow, villain! I saw through your deceivery and ate like a caffeinated squirrel!” He bared his teeth and chattered, looking more like a beaver with a cheek-fro.
“I’d pay to see that.” I snorted. “I had trouble sleeping, but even with what, four hours of sleep I feel perfectly rested. I’m not even sore. Isn’t that odd?”
He relaxed his stance, pulling his hands together behind him. “Not really. The government is likely loading us up with a special cocktail. If you forgot, you are actually dangling inside a big black ice cube with mechanical tentacles ready to tickle you at any time they request. Steroids, hormones, protein… they’re giving us all the good stuff.”
“Seriously?”
“They’d be stupid not to. It’s not like it’s dangerous. Gamers might not use them, but such therapies have been allowed in athletics for centuries. You don’t get monthly tonic injections?”
“No. I get a yearly one.”
“Well. It’s better than nothing, but now that you are pushing yourself, a higher end tonic is a must. Unless they are using us as guinea pigs for something new, it’s a good thing.”
“You think they would do something like that? Something new?”
“Not likely. At least not something untested. There are billions of people watching and some of these guys and gals are the most popular people in the world. Helping us with muscle recovery and strength development would be their goal. The more often we can fight the better their ratings.”
“Is that why our stats are going up?”
“That and all the hard physical work we’re doing. The best tonics in the world won’t help much if you aren’t pushing yourself.”
“Gotcha. What are your stats anyways?”
“Eh.” He pulled up his menu and scratched his head. “Oh yeah. Here.”
Character Status
Player Name: Kline
Level: 13
Health Points: 591
Endurance Points: 870
Combat Leve
l: Unknown?
Strength: 78
Dexterity: 55
Endurance: 87
“You are a monster,” I said, coughing.
“Yes. A yummy one.” His jaw dropped, in mock surprise.
Sigh.
Character Status
Player Name: Lucius
Level: 13
Health Points: 243
Endurance Points: 370
Combat Level: Unknown?
Strength: 29
Dexterity: 43
Endurance: 37
Dexterity +1, Endurance +1
My stats had increased again but compared to Kline… The only thing I seemed to have an advantage in was speed even though his Dexterity was higher. Remembering the tutorial, it was probably because I was taller and weighed less. All that muscle made him a little husky. I needed to work harder. Besides the lack of soreness, I still didn’t feel any different. Maybe I had more energy?
Another thing that had been bothering me came to the forefront of my mind. “Do these cocktails affect other things besides sleep and recovery?”
“You mean like manly urges?”
His chest huffed with his laugh when he caught my eyes dart to the ground.
“Yes. It can become difficult to think clearly around the ladies. Kline’s law still stands. You should still mind your manners, whether they like it or not. If they like it, then… run, because ladies are dangerous.”
“Really?”
He chuckled and changed the subject. “So you ready to go hunting for a goblin penthouse or two?”
With a command and a few flicks of my wrist, I was fully geared. Bashing my spear against my shield set if off like a gong.
“Penthouses, really?”
“What, do you think they live in holes in the ground?”
“No, in trees like caffeinated squirrels.”
“Oh, look at that. Does your shield have more dents in it than before?”
I froze in place. I had been so worried about Peter finding out about my little outing last night that I hadn’t even considered Kline. He had been sleeping across from me. If he had opened his eyes for but a moment he would have seen that I was gone. Lucius, you’re an idiot.
Codename: Freedom: Survive Week One Page 18