Codename: Freedom: Survive Week One

by Apollos Thorne

  It was safe, so I looked back to find reinforcements had arrived. The square-jawed man that had thrown the table stood behind me with a toothy grin, very much reminding me of a bulldozer with a mop top.

  ***

  I was able to pry myself from the fighting fifteen minutes later. It was only then that someone switched with me. I was exhausted but still determined to find my group. The dots on my mini-map were close.

  After three more alleys, I finally found them. They were near the rear of some of Cornelius's men. With spears resting against the ground, it looked like they had just gotten off of the front line.

  Peter, Kline, and Oliver were all covered in multiple wounds. Blood covered their arms and seeped through at random, staining their clothes. None of the wounds seemed to be bothering them, so most of the serious ones must have already healed. Mostly.

  “Lucius!” Victoria choked, still catching her breath.

  Her arms flew around me, nearly crushing me even with my new armor.

  “Never do that again,” she insisted.

  Before I could remind her she would have been hit with the stone if I wouldn't have jumped in, she cut me off.

  “We dragged you off, but there was nothing we could do. We were being attacked. I'm so sorry.”

  “Fall in!” Oliver interrupted.

  Victoria’s neck twitched, startled.

  We followed his command. This wasn’t the time. I could see in her eyes she had more to say.

  As I joined the line Peter met me with a welcoming nod.

  At the flank of the group, even the mighty Kline was still trying to catch his breath. It didn't stop him from greeting me. We were in a much wider alley, more like a small street, that skirted along the wall of the city. Half of Cornelius's men were with us fending off the goblin surge. It was still unclear where their leader was.

  “You okay?” Kline asked.

  “Yeah. I passed out, so didn't have to deal with the headache long.”

  “Haha! It looks like getting hit over the head was good for you. You almost look as pretty as me with that shiny shirt. I'm going to have to get one myself. Can you believe these boogers? No goblin is allowed to outshine Kline!”

  “You're becoming a fine gamer.”

  Cranking his head to the side, he looked at me offended.

  “It's all about the loot!” I added.

  “Oh. Oh! Look at us! You're starting to become a jock and I’m a virtual master with muscles. Loot! Give me goodies and experience, you beautiful toothpick wielding turds!”

  Even Oliver turned his head and I could have sworn I saw the faintest grin.

  ***

  We stepped between the frontline players as they retreated to the back. Another five or six players were lined up on the other side of our group closest to the wall. I was on the opposite side next to a log building. The extra security to my right meant I would have an easier time defending and hopefully get some kills. My experience bar was sitting close enough to level 16 that it became my new short term goal. Well, and helping Kline get his shiny armor.

  A spear point knocked against the top of my shield. Even after so much abuse, it was holding together well.

  It was time to take advantage of my position. Jabbing low, the goblin in front of me stepped back to avoid any damage. Perfect. Shifting to the side, I impaled the goblin to my flank in the temple.

  Level 16

  You have reached Level 16!

  Ability Points +1!

  Your Creature Indicator range has increased by 2 to 38 meters!

  A lunge from the goblin facing me pushed me back, stabbing my shoulder. The armor did its job, leaving nothing but a shallow bruise.

  Not happy about the realization that I would have just gotten impaled, I hit the goblin high on the shield, then low and high again. It knocked him back into the goblin behind him. I happily stabbed the mob in the bicep.

  Kline surged, shield-bashing one back and literally pushing another to the ground with his spear. He ninja looted the goblin with speed any game mentor would be proud of. The old fart had his new armor on before he even stood back up.

  The smile of a madman turned to greet me.

  “Shiny,” I said.

  “I know, right?”

  He celebrated by smacking the goblin he had just shield-bashed back to the ground. His spear swept low and scored a hit on two different goblins in one swipe.

  As each minute came and went, each seemed to last longer than the one before it. My time on the front line could have been no more than fifteen minutes. This new level of goblin, the Goblin Heavy Footsoldier, was the hardest common enemy that we had faced by far. They were strict in their formation and their shields and armor made it close to a stalemate.

  That wasn’t the worst of it.

  “Make way! Wounded!” called a voice from the middle of the player line.

  The players between us split to allow them through.

  A man in Cornelius’s burnt orange dragged one of his comrades away from danger. The man being dragged had a gash above the knee, just under his tasset, the armor overlaying his groin area.

  It was a debilitating wound, for the moment, but the man rescuing him had an even worse wound on his shoulder. It was deep and covered his arm in red. He had the wounded arm looped under the arm of the man he was pulling. His good hand grabbed onto the other’s wrist, and he used his own arm like a harness to pull the man to safety. There was little doubt he had gotten hurt while rescuing the man.

  These goblins weren’t just better equipped but were smart enough to capitalize on moments of weakness.

  When it was my turn to fight again, it had been about twenty minutes, tops. Even then I hadn’t completely recovered. It seemed like my body healed faster than my stamina filled up. It had risen to just under the three-quarter mark from full.

  We held our ground well, but there was no doubt we were slowly being pushed back. They just kept coming and we couldn’t kill them fast enough.

  Kline wasn’t having the same problem I was with running out of endurance. His movements had been noticeably reduced to optimize his energy reserves. Standing firm, he shifted his weight to meet blows with his shield, instead of stepping deep into the block. There were no exaggerated movements even when he attacked.

  I started to mimic him, but it was difficult to fully grasp all his tricks with the pounding of spear points that thirsted for my blood. Even then my efforts to become more efficient were helping. The drain on my stamina slowed.

  It was while fighting the endless horde of green warriors that I learned what it was to really be exhausted. Not being able to fully recover was taking its toll even as I was wising up to how to manage my movements. Breathing became more difficult before the strength in my arms bled from me. I lost all track of time. When someone called from behind, I nearly fell back as the player rushed forward to take my place. It was a miracle I wasn’t killed right then.

  I caught my breath soon after, but still, my stamina wasn’t building fast enough. As my group was halfway through our breather, a tremor rolled over the goblin army. There was a sudden tension in their ranks.

  The battle cry of men sounded, not from inside the city but from without. What was going on? Had we won at the other gate? No, it couldn’t be. There were still thousands of goblins there; it would take hours to kill them all, even if they were winning.

  Within moments, the goblins’ ranks turned from well-formed to every goblin for himself. The goblins started to fall easier, but they were also unpredictable. Instead of trying to break through our line to gain ground into the city, now they were trying to get past us to flee.

  The men out front tired quicker as the pace turned frantic. My turn up front came.

  “Where you think you’re going?!” Kline bellowed.

  With only fifty percent of my stamina recovered, I ignored it and followed Kline’s enthusiasm. Grow, stats, grow!

  I still limited my movements and emphasized my shield, but my
spear found itself the busiest it had been during the entire battle. Forget pretty. Instead of going for killing shots, I stuck out my spear with little more than arm strength behind it and let the spear point do the work. It caught shin, knee, and thigh, using the chaos of the desperate goblins to my advantage. This helped me keep the goblins back and actually allowed my body to rest more than before. Blocking blow after blow was having more of an effect than I had realized.

  Then the goblin line shattered with the surge of the player army outside trying to come in. The goblins had gone from pushing us back, to trapped.

  Chapter 20 – Inspiration

  Our forces were split into two fronts. The thousand men Cornelius had requested had first come as small groups, slowly strengthening our forces from inside the city. That had only been the beginning while Harrison worked his magic. A large force of five hundred or more players had broken off of the main force at the front of the city and marched around the city wall to attack the goblins from behind. It had stopped the attack and earned us all a couple of upgrades to our armor, but there were still thousands of goblins at either gate.

  Within an hour we had set up a second barricade at the smaller gate. This one was smaller than the first, with a similar design, and much thicker obstacles. That was only the beginning. It was decided most of us would be purposely shut out of the gate as the gap was closed and transformed into a new section of the wall. This would be the last place the goblins would want to look for a weakness when the merchant-craftsmen were done. Once finished, we would form up and rejoin the rest of the player force at the front of the city. If anyone was left alive.

  This didn't fix the problem of Sneak-Thieves being able to scale the wall and kill people in their sleep. We still had no idea how many people had died. Since the small population of NPC guards was nearly worthless, after this the players would have to come up with a plan to stop it all together.

  It was only dumb luck that the goblins hadn't sent a bigger force into the breach. They were trying to make up for the missed opportunity now by sending at least double the size of our force to regain ground, but we had already dug in. A thousand players fought the goblins in waves. It was by far the bloodiest battle yet. With their advanced equipment, we were losing more players than ever before.

  The third wave came. We were to the far west of the line, near the opposite side of the city from the main gate to the east. The new barricade was southeast of our position.

  I had regained my endurance somewhat when the work began on securing the location and the first wave of goblin warriors attacked. Almost to level 17 and being forced to learn to better manage my endurance, I steeled my focus.

  I braced for the slash from a short sword. This lot didn’t have the spears of the earlier goblins.

  Kline to my right and Oliver to my left did the same against the onslaught. Peter was at our left flank next to a player group and another player group flanked Kline. Victoria was at our rear, trying to feel for kill shots when the opportunity came. She wasn't alone. A group we had agreed to switch with was at our backs and relieved us when we tired. There were other layers to the player line, but this partnership had greatly improved our efficiency.

  My spear struck high, pushing up the goblin’s shield. A push from my shield set it off balance and I stabbed it in the leg above the knee. Another push and my spear found the goblin high on the neck.

  Level 17

  You have reached Level 17!

  Your Creature Indicator range has increased by 2 to 40 meters!

  Getting to level 20 would likely give me some pretty nice upgrades, especially if it was anything like level 10.

  My years of gaming had taken over. The constant exhaustion had placed me in survival mode. My mind and instinct took turns, not knowing who was leading who.

  I dipped low to catch a hatchet with my shield, leaving a good opening. A spear from the player behind me flashed forward impaling the goblin’s arm. It turned to face me with its shield and went into an annoying defensive stance. I started jabbing at its foot. I didn't have the range, but seeing it hop over and over again was worth the effort.

  When it started to get the hint that I didn't have the reach, it stopped hopping and leaned forward, relying on its shield completely.

  Okay then. Have it your way.

  I lunged forward, confident its weapon arm was completely useless and drove my weight into its shield while jabbing down at its foot.

  Score! I had hit my target, bloodying its boot, but realized I could have easily killed it with an overhead stab.

  Blah.

  It moved to retreat when I hooked my shield over the top of its own and pulled it to me while driving my spear into its neckline.

  Who just got two undamaged chainmails? Now we're talking!

  The next goblin pounded my shield with its club a single time before the horn of retreat sounded. It snorted as it faded back, a pathetic little snort at best.

  No one followed. To pursue would bring you face to face with the rest of the goblin army.

  A gurgling cry came from a player down the row to my right. A few of his friends knelt down to help. Blood streamed from under his hands, which he held over his neck. There was nothing that could be done for him.

  An uneasy air settled around the men as they watched their friend pass out and a few minutes later dissolve into mist. It wasn’t a terribly difficult death considering. Is it wrong for me to think that way?

  The players that died here would respawn inside the city and head back to the other side of the construction behind us on the wall. If for some reason we failed, everyone who died would respawn and be waiting for them a second time after they destroyed the barricade. That is if everyone found the heart to carry on.

  With them gone, I knelt down and looted the two corpses. Immediately I equipped an average quality iron long-sleeved chainmail. It was rare even now among the sea of bronze.

  Turning to the player behind me, I offered him the bronze one. It was fine chain, so the difference between them wasn’t much. His eyes went wide at the offer.

  “Seriously?”

  “Oh yeah. You basically handed the last one to me.”

  “Thank you!”

  With them gone, for now, we pulled back to a makeshift camp we shared with many other groups. There were a few stumps, but it was mostly a fire and a bunch of spread out blankets.

  “Lucius, Oliver, and Kline will try to sleep until the next wave. Victoria, it’s your turn to watch with me,” Peter said.

  It was my second round to lie down and rest. Next round I would be on watch.

  ***

  Unsure how long it had been, I was shaken awake. I sat up quickly. Somehow I had managed to sleep.

  Kline was standing over me, his finger over his lips.

  “They're attacking?” I whispered.

  “No. Come with me.”

  I followed him away from the camp of restless players trying to sleep. Checking my menu, it was 4:23 am. I had slept maybe 45 minutes. It had been enough.

  Character Status

  Player Name: Lucius

  Level: 17

  Health Points: 272

  Endurance Points: 420

  Combat Level: Unknown?

  Strength: 31

  Dexterity: 47

  Endurance: 42

  Strength +1, Dexterity +2, Endurance +3

  Today’s growth was the highest yet! It might not seem like a lot but my endurance had already increased by 15% in four days. I just had to keep pushing my body to the breaking point each day and my stats would soar! Whatever they were pumping me full of was working.

  We found a well shadowed, mostly quiet section of wall. He turned and faced me.

  “Victoria told me what happened.”

  I was speechless, but I should have seen this coming.

  “Can you tell me what happened?”

  Swallowing deeply, I tried to answer. This was Kline. As an athlete, he might be able to help. Actua
lly, as a professional fighter, he might be the perfect person.

  “After seeing Cornelius fight…”

  “You felt like a bunny rabbit trying to swim with sharks?”

  “Eh… I guess.”

  “He's pretty impressive. Cornelius.”

  “He is.”

  “Did you freeze when you saw us fighting the hobgoblin?” he asked softly. There was no accusation in his tone.

  I looked down and stared at the heavily trotted grass. “No. Not exactly. The hobgoblin has something to do with it, but it wasn’t fear that stopped me. I can’t compete with Cornelius. Or you, Oliver, Peter.”

  He nodded as he took in every word. “I can’t complete with him either. Yet. What do you think held you back?”

  “I wish I knew. I felt like I would get in the way, I guess. Becoming a pro gamer has been my goal for years, but being here, seeing how I compare to real fighters… Everything I have been working for feels fake.”

  “Are you going to quit?”

  Looking up, I felt like I had just been hit in the gut. “No. Never!”

  “Why not?”

  My mouth opened, but I found no words.

  “Lucius. Not knowing what you are fighting for is one of the most deadly diseases a fighter can catch. I believe you when you say you aren’t going to quit. You have a problem that is just as serious. Your body may still be able and your mind may be sharp, but without motivation, your loss to a driven opponent is inevitable, even if he’s inferior to you. Only you can find the answer. What is worth fighting for?”

  I wiped my forehead, then sat my chin into my palm to think. Going pro, proving my father wrong, and impressing my fans seemed to have lost their appeal. How could something go from the most important to meaningless overnight?

  It was over a minute before I responded. “Why do you fight?”

  “That’s easy. I want to remind people that there is a difference between martial arts and fighting in virtual reality. To grow stronger. To reach the height of legends, a level that only men like Cornelius have reached. Since the beginning of the human race, before war and conflict, men have always had a competitive spirit. Have you ever met two brothers that didn't grow up wrestling? We are designed for competition. Combat sports are the ultimate way to challenge yourself. Now you have seen a master in action and are just realizing what so many have before you.”