by Matt Ryan
The fall was too far. I flailed in the air, knowing I was going to die. Then I remembered Moonchild. I blasted through the menu, and pulled her out of inventory. I flung her cage door open and she flew out.
“Help, girl!”
She let out a screech, digging her claws into my shirt and flapping her wings vigorously. Her efforts slowed my descent, but I was far too heavy for her. The wind from her flapping was incredible though. Her wingspan must have grown another foot while in her cage.
With all her might, she softened my landing to the point where my HP didn’t get dinged. A golden shot hit me.
Heal Spell from KILLian
+115 HP
145/425 HP
“I’m out of mana!” KILLian warned.
I heard the thump of a spider as it smashed against the ground and exploded in a yellow and black mess. Directly above, Moonchild squawked and moved on to another spider.
Unfortunately, the queen had landed like some badass super hero, with no HP taken. Then I noticed something at the same time she did.
The sounds . . . they were gone. The drone of cables had ended with the snapping of the last one. I glanced back at the forest of spiders and saw they had all halted, looking frozen except for their eye movement.
The Spider Queen looked around, backing up with what might have been fear in her eyes—if I could read the black and red in them correctly. She turned around and rushed to the stone house door, but KILLian froze her a few feet from it.
“Kill her!” KILLian directed. “I’m out again.”
Gor and I, shoulder to shoulder, rushed at the queen. She broke free from her frozen cocoon and leapt into the front door of her house, shattering it in the process. Gor and I ran into the house on her heels.
Past the shattered door, the room had stone walls and almost no furniture besides a desk and a book case. A few candles were burning, giving off a little bit of light. The Spider Queen stood at the desk, with her back turned to us. She held a book in her hands and read from it in a language I couldn’t understand, but it sounded like chanting.
Gor glanced at me.
“Let’s take her down before she gets her spell off,” I whispered. I wasn’t entirely sure if she was casting a spell but whatever it was, I didn’t want her to finish it. Nothing good came from evil chants.
Gor rushed up and struck her down with a jump and hammer-down attack across her back. I thought she might have tried to dodge it but she didn’t move.
She fell to the ground with the book in her hand, reading a few last words. Then she slapped the book closed and laughed. Gor did one final strike with his ax, ending the queen’s life.
Good Job! Spider Queen is dead.
+ 200 XP
Congratulations! Level 11 Unlocked:
+ 5 Attribute Points
KILLian entered the house with us. Her health was as low as ours, but we all had enough energy to smile.
“We did it. Yes!” Gor said, pumping a fist.
Behind the queen, a chest glistened in golden light. But even that couldn’t hold my interest, as I wondered about the book on the floor and what exactly she’d been chanting. I glanced at our back, thinking something might be coming to get us. I glanced at my screen and saw we were out of combat. It was over.
I moved closer to the chest. “Who gets to open it?” I was sure there were pieces of the queen’s heart, and the next step in my quest.
We surrounded the chest, staring down at it.
“This better have some warrior gear in it,” Gor said.
That’s when I felt a stab in my back. Both literally and metaphorically. With my depleted HP, the minimal wound killed me and a little text floated out in front of me telling me as such.
Magoton has been Stabbed.
-150 HP
You are dead
As I died, I spun around to see the man behind the blade. Trevor. Gone was his jovial smile; replaced by the sneer I was much more familiar with. Spider guts and goo covered much of his body but his blade held my blood.
MacGyver and Shatter had appeared as well, each delivering a fatal blow to KILLian and Gor. All three of us were falling to the ground and I tried to apologize to my friends, but my last words were a garbled mess.
What happened when you died in this world?
Chapter Thirty-Three
I floated in a blackness. Not much unlike the one where I died next to the angel, but here, an option popped up in front of me.
Resurrect at the starting point angel for $1,000.
Resurrect where your body lies, at half health, for $2,000.
If you cannot pay for either of these options, you will be demoted to a lower realm.
The three options hung in the air like a monolith. I knew Gor and KILLian had enough money to do the second option, but would they use it?
Gor would, I was sure of it. So, maybe KILLian would think I would as well. It would be risking everything though. We would only have half health, and if we got killed again, that would be it, demoted down a realm and who knows what happens from there.
Not wanting to waste another moment of time, I selected the 2k option. The world around me swirled and I floated above my body on the floor in the Spider Queen’s small house. The world didn’t fully come into focus though. It felt more like living in a shadow filled with a haze. Near me, I saw Gor and KILLian floating like ghosts over their own bodies.
They had the same thought as me. Let’s rez here and kill Trevor, MacGyver, and Shatter.
We couldn’t speak, so we used a form of charades. I got Gor and KILLian to follow me out of the house. That’s where we spotted Trevor with his back to one tree and the other two hugging nearby trees.
They were defending themselves from us rezzing right behind them and getting a quick upper hand. So, they’d been expecting us to fight back.
With more hand movements, we picked our targets. I chose Trevor and moved closer to him. They would know the second we rezzed, so I’d have to get a few quick attacks off if I had any chance.
I got Gor and KILLian’s attention and they nodded, they were ready. This was it, if we died again, we’d be done with this realm. Even if one of us died, we’d lose our team. I raised three fingers, then two, then one. It was the moment I’d been waiting for . . . the moment I’d get to kill Trevor.
The world went from a fuzzy gray to a vivid color that shocked my senses for a split second. I used my deflection spell and broke off some loose bark on the tree next to him. He turned, daggers out, and I use the moment to dash. I timed it perfectly and sliced him across the back of the neck.
Critical Hit! Trevor has been Stabbed.
213 Damage
He wasn’t dead though. He must have put some points into stamina, but I saw I’d taken good chunk of HP from him.
He spun around, using an AoE whirlwind attack that I felt stupid for not avoiding. His blade struck my arm and shoulder before I leapt back.
Magoton is Hit.
- 60 HP
Trevor glared at me with his crazy eyes. He touched the back of his neck and looked at all the blood on his hand. Like a shark in the water, the sight of his blood sent him into a frenzy. He dashed toward me, but I was expecting it. Stepping into a shadow I casted, I knelt. His blade went over my head. He spun his AOE and struck me, popping me out of it.
Magoton is Hit.
- 60 HP
He glared at me kneeling below him and raised his dagger. A screech from high above sounded as Moonchild dove at his face.
Using the moment of distraction, I stabbed him in the stomach with my blood red dagger and left it in him.
Critical Hit! Trevor Has Been Stabbed.
212 Damage
He grabbed at the dagger and my hand, trying to pull it from his stomach, but it was stuck, pulling his blood—draining him. He only had a few health points left, and the dagger was happy to pull the last bits from him.
Trevor fell to one knee, and looked up at me. “How could you have killed me
?” he said with his last breath, looking completely confused, before slumping into a heap on the ground.
Good Job! Trevor is dead.
82 Damage
+ 90 XP
Special Ability: Twin Daggers: 1/100
The life left his eyes and I scrambled back from his body. I spun around, searching for Gor and KILLian. They were both bent over, breathing hard and standing over their victim’s bodies.
“We should spread out, in case they try to resurrect,” KILLian said, panting.
“Okay,” I said, but it came out garbled.
KILLian proceeded to hit us with a few healing orbs, then she used a mana pot as we dropped out of combat. With my health back to being decent, my wounds felt fine again and I took a position near the rock outcroppings, backing up into a crevice barely wide enough for my shoulders.
After a few minutes, one by one, their bodies disappeared, leaving only Trevor’s behind. If their bodies disappeared here, that meant they had resurrected elsewhere. Probably back at the angel.
“The two are gone,” I said. “But I bet Trevor is raging in the darkness, unable to press the button of defeat.”
“Do you think they even had a thousand to rez here?”
“I hope they don’t. If not, they won’t even be on this realm anymore,” I said.
Finally, Trevor’s body disappeared as well. I took a quick moment to wish that he had no money and would have to drop a realm. With Trevor gone, everything would be easier.
Moonchild flew down and landed on the ground next to me. “Thanks girl, I owe you again.”
She let out a soft screech and I put her back in the cage and into my inventory.
Gor came out from his tree cluster and stepped toward the queen’s house. “Guys, we’ve got some freaking epic loot waiting for us in there.”
We did and I couldn’t help but get excited to see what was in the chest. They told me I had to be the one to open it, and I didn’t argue. I knelt in front of it, flipped the golden latches, and opened the lid.
Inside, sat the rod the witch had used, along with the loose garment that had once barely covered her body. I pulled them out and handed them to KILLian, then searched deeper.
An orange stone; it didn’t have any writing on it, but with it in my hand, I felt stronger and checked my stats.
+ 10 Strength
No wonder she felt as powerful as she did. I handed it to Gor, who danced with glee.
“That’s nothing, Gor, take a look at this,” I said, pulling out a large piece of chest armor. It gleamed much like the guards in the city did, and I handed it over to Gor.
“Are you crying?” KILLian asked.
“No, just some dust in my eyes . . . freaking allergies,” he wiped his nose and took the armor. In under three seconds, he had it on himself, with the orange stone embedded in the middle of the chest plate. He touched it, as if not believing it was real. “I’m the most bad-ass player in all the realms.”
He very well could’ve been.
I went back to the loot box and at the bottom sat a book. I recognized it. It was the same one she’d been reading when we killed her. What was so important about the book that she would spend her dying moments reading it? I picked the book up and couldn’t read the language it was written in. Shrugging, I put it in my inventory.
A small stack of bills sat neatly in the box as well. Just a few hundred, mostly in twenties, but every bit helped in this world. I wanted to get back to a thousand dollars as quick as possible though. The idea of dying and leaving realm one terrified me.
At the bottom sat three red shards. I picked up one and saw it was a piece of the heart from the Spider Queen. Finally, a step forward in my mission with Sephorus. He’d said this was some kind of key that would help us get into Trinity Hall.
I handed the other two pieces to Gor and KILLian.
“Are you going to use that rod?” Gor looked to KILLian.
“Are you kidding me? It gives me a plus fifteen on spell power, and a 5% mana regen. This is so much better than my last rod. It’s even got some cool inscriptions on it.” She looked closely at the rod. “If I could only read it . . .”
“Well, this stone of strength I can carry with me forever. No matter what weapon I use. I bet I can even double dip for extra strength. I can feel the power of it. So bad-ass. Plus, this chest plate gives me another plus 10 strength and 20 defense.”
“What was that book you got?” KILLian asked.
“I don’t know. I can’t read it,” I said. “We should get back to McFischer and turn in this quest.”
“Anxious to get back?”
“I want to get away from this place,” I said.
The house, the webs, the dead spiders, and the ghost of Trevor’s face haunted me. I’d feel better when I got out of an open PvP zone and back into some friendly territory.
Our journey to McFischer went smoothly and when we got back to the old man, he seemed skeptical we’d completed the quest.
“Show me her heart,” he said.
We did.
“I can’t believe this. She’s actually dead.” He seemed genuinely shocked.
Quest complete! Show heart of the queen to McFischer.
+ 230 XP
Congratulations! Level 12 Unlocked:
+ 5 Attribute Points
+ 2% Crit Rating
+ 2 Attack Power
+ 3 Specialization in Daggers
Unlocked Ability:
Learn from Shadow Caster Master
Realm First: Finish Spider Queen quest
My screen exploded with chatter. It seemed as if every player in the realm blew up my inbox at once. Most were excited, but there were the usual haters mixed in.
Gor and KILLian laughed, reading some of the negative notes.
Donjon69: Hope you die
ShieldRhage: Hacks!
KnObGoBliN: You suck
FrothyFRITZ: Your mom paid for win on her knees
Vani-HighKILL: You’re on the KILL list now
Thalos: Cheaters!
Wiz24: Hey assholes, what’d she drop? Link it!
Seeing those comments, I wondered what the city’s reaction would be when we returned. We had McFischer shoot a flair into the sky and awaited the Fluffy Ferry to take us back to the mainland.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“I need to go to Tommy’s,” I said, once we were back on the mainland docks.
“Why?” KILLian asked.
“I need to see a man,” I said and hoped to leave it at that.
“Good on you, travelers,” Captain said. “Next ferry ride is on me.”
“Thanks,” Gor said as we walked down the pier.
KILLian seemed to catch my drift about the man I needed to see and didn’t say another word about it.
As we jogged down the street, people clapped as we went by, or outright cheered us on. Some even started jogging behind us with big smiles and loud chants.
Gor raised his ax, pounded his new chest plate, and produced more cheers from the growing crowd.
When we reached Tommy’s Inn, I dashed in without a word.
Tommy rushed to me with a big smile. “From villain to hero. How about that?”
“I need a room. The room,” I said and glanced at the hall where Sephorus’s room had been. Without saying another word, he brought me to the door.
Walking through the threshold, Sephorus ambushed me at the door, shutting it behind me. “We have to be quick. She’s searching for me.”
“Who, Abigail?”
“Yes, now give me the heart.”
I pulled the heart from my pocket and held it in my hand. Sephorus leaned forward, exposing his face to me for the first time. He was a younger man than I expected, with sandy-blond hair that looked a bit too long in the back. None of this was as distinguishing as the scar on his face; exactly the way KILLian had described it—running down from below his eye. The truth scar as she’d called it.
“You’re Seth.” I leaned i
n to get a better look and he pulled his hood further over his face. “You’re KILLian’s brother.”
“How would you—is she here?” he said, looking at the door behind us.
“Yes, and she is looking for you. Did you know she hasn’t logged off once since the start of the game? I’ve got to go get her.” I took one step toward the door and Sephorus grabbed my arm.
“We can’t get my sister involved, and we’ve already spent too much time in here. I can feel her eyes, searching for us. Give me the heart, before it’s too late.”
“First, you tell me what the hell this is about. Because I’m starting to feel it’s not about money.”
“Listen, it is about money. This whole game is an experiment being conducted by Adam. He finds money interesting; especially the lengths to which people will go to get it. If they learn you are interfering in their plans, they will make it difficult for you in Avarice, and maybe even out in the real world. I’m begging you, hand me the heart before it’s too late.”
“What’s it for?”
“There are items hidden around the world. By themselves, they might not do anything special, but put together, they can unlock this world. Think of it as a piece of the key that will open unimaginable wealth for you and me.”
“That’s it? This is just about robbing the bank?”
“That isn’t enough?”
I handed him the heart stone and he quickly stuffed it in his pocket.
“What do you want me to tell KILLian?” I asked.
The door crashed open and there she stood, with Tommy frozen in the background.
“Who are you?” she demanded, squinting at the man in the cloak.
He sighed and pulled his hood back.
“Seth!” she cried out and ran to him.
He held his arms out and caught her in a bear hug as tears wet her cheeks. “Why did you come in here?”