Syndicate Slayer

by Mars Dorian

  Enemy: Sunblood Scout

  HP: 957

  Armor: Light Plating (+2)

  Weapon: Gunsaber + Thermal Scope

  Weakness: Sharp Weaponry

  Drops: Gunsaber, Thermal Scope upgrade, 150 Credits

  He was right; a single soldier made no sense. Maybe he belonged to a vanguard group and his comrades stood ready for an ambush. The cave offered many opportunities for a surprise attack. The second the single soldier saw us, he ran in the opposite direction.

  “Don’t let him escape,” Rokkit said.

  The Sunbleeder’s light armor and minimal weight made for the perfect harpoon attack. I unleashed my chainlink skill, hit the runner in the back with the sharp edge of the harpoon, and pulled him over to me. The guy whined but didn’t bother to attack.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Let me go.”

  Rokkit hammered his fist into the guy’s face. HPs dropped. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

  “I’m just researching the crystal infestation.”

  “What for?”

  The scout looked at me with fearful eyes.

  “Just tell us the truth and we’ll let you go.”

  I shushed Rokkit before he could ruin my interrogation.

  The scout stuttered, “The S-Syndicate is s-scouting different sections of the W-W-Western Crescent for possible mining branches.”

  “When? How?”

  The scout swallowed and hesitated, fear flaming up in his diluted eyes. “They’re going to kill me if I tell you more.”

  “Not going to happen,” Rokkit said and rammed his polearm into the scout. The tip pierced the Sunbleeder’s thin chest plate and ripped through his body. Blood leaked out and sank into the rocky ground. The corpse tumbled to the ground. Rokkit collected the items—two potions and three anti-Reepo vaccines.

  “Was that really necessary?” I said.

  “I need the experience.” He patted my right shoulder plate with force. “Remember whose side you’re on.”

  He handed me the thermal scope which I could use for my old gunblade. I turned around and only saw L’ocean standing next to us. She had been silent the entire time.

  “Where’s Yumi-D?” I asked.

  A high-pitched squeal blasted my ears. All of us ran toward the nest where the sound originated from. Yumi-D used her Windcutter and aimed her arrows at a creature triple her size. She retreated toward us but kept her aim targeted at the disgusting abomination. The creature used its wings to propel the mighty body forward in bursts.

  Whop whop.

  A crystal Reepo rash ate through its leathery skin and protruded from its claws and beak. Judging from the bestiary in my e-scroll, the normal Skyscratchers didn’t look like zombified mega-birds hooked on Crystal Meth.

  Enemy: Infected Skyscratcher

  Type: Reepotile

  HP: 10700

  Armor: Medium-hardened Skin (+4)

  Weakness: Fire, Thrusting weapons

  Ability: Fly attack, Howling pain

  Drops: Reepo samples, Raptor teeth, ???

  The Skyscratcher squealed again. The earth-shattering scream warped the air around it and stopped our movements. The status effect ‘stagger’ appeared in my HUD. My movements halted for a few seconds. If that abomination unleashed an attack right now, we’d receive major damage.

  “What did you do?” Rokkit said to Yumi-D.

  “I was just checking out the nest again when the monster mummy approached me.”

  L’ocean cleared her throat in the most polite way possible. “You guys, let’s focus on fighting, shall we?”

  The Skyscratcher stomped forward to us. The monster used the claws in its wings to push its body forward. Yumi-D fired a couple of standard arrows at the beast to check the resilience. Damage was okay, but the creature’s crusty skin absorbed almost half of it. We needed bigger fire power to defeat it.

  “Watch out.”

  The Skyscratcher swung its left wing at me. I miscalculated its wingspan and received the full brunt. My char flew over the rugged ground and hit hard. Fourteen percent of my health gone, just because of one false move. Worse, the creature targeted me. It stomped forward and opened its beak. I tried to escape its close combat perimeter, but the new shout attack paralyzed my movements. The air waves warped the air around us and halted our party. Before the effect waned, the bird monster rammed its sharp beak into my back and penetrated my armor plates. Another seventeen percent gone and the fight had just started. Thank tech my co-players went on the offensive. Lancer Rokkit use his polearm and peppered the beast with a couple of jabs. Minimal damage, but it caught the creature’s attention. The Skyscratcher rotated around and attacked Rokkit with its beak. Unlike me, he carried an advanced shield and blocked most attacks. Yumi-D fired a couple of armor-piercing arrows and chipped off more HP. L’ocean avoided the close range perimeter, mostly due to her light armor and relatively low HP. She kept a ten meter distance and supported all of us with buffs. Our attack speed and accuracy increased. I was tempted to use an exploda but feared burying us alive inside the cave. Environmental destruction played a big role in the game and could backfire. Every time the monster dared to unleash its screech attack, we increased the distance to escape its area of effect. Thankfully, the shout’s sonic waves only reached ten meters. Still, the Skyscratcher’s attack pattern was impossible to predict. Thanks to the Reepo infection, the beast swung its tail after us before randomly picking a single player and going for the beak burst attack. I aimed for the Skyscratcher’s head and wanted to shove my blade down its throat when the unimaginable happened: the sucker snapped my precious Blitzblade and swallowed it. It took me a full five seconds to realize the oddity.

  It swallowed my freaking blade.

  An update confirmed my suspicion.

  “What?”

  I was shocked and it wasn’t because of the scream effect. I had no idea that enemy beasts could actually steal valuable player items.

  “Don’t just stand there, Boltzmann,” Rokkit said.

  I doubled the distance to the creature and chose my old gunblade which delivered far less damage. I quickly added the thermal scope I had gotten from the dead Sunbleeder scout and fired a pellet. The Skyscratcher had lost one third of its hit points which only seemed to infuriate the creature even more. When Rokkit landed a swipe attack, I aimed my harpoon at the creature’s right arm and pulled the trigger. The chained dart pierced the Skyscratcher’s skin. I pulled the chain with all my might and slowed its movements by at least twenty percent. I tried my new thorn move and ran around the beast, wrapping my spiked chain into its hardened skin. The creature’s HPs dropped by the seconds. Two run-arounds later, the Skyscratcher looked like spiked, crispy chicken—a mutated version. Its health dropped below half. But then the birdy abomination freed itself and ground me along the rugged soil. Single digit HPs dropped by the second.

  “Dash,” Yumi-D and L’ocean said as they watched me getting dragged across the cave. The Skyscratcher increased its speed. I wanted to release my harpoon anchor when the creature jumped over the cliff edge and spread its wings. No freaking way.

  The motion swung my character through the air like a pendulum. Worse, the Skyscratcher lived up to its name and ascended into the clouds. The Killa Kanyons disappeared below as white foam smoked the vision. I pulled myself up and clung onto the giant raptor bird. I used my new claws to tear its flesh and steady my balance. I was officially riding an infected Skyscratcher.

  Good for views.

  Bad for player health.

  My co-players pinged me over the comm, but frankly, I was too busy trying to survive. The creature somersaulted through the clouds and tried to throw me off. My claws pierced the hardened skin and solidified my mount. The attack-climbing shipped away only few HP, so I crawled along the creature’s spine and aimed for its head. Since I carried no other potent weapon but my old gunblade, I had to ponder my attack options.

  Fast.

  “I�
��m sorry, but there’s no other way.”

  I placed a sticky exploda mine on the back of the Skyscratcher. The creature had only 900 HPs left, and with the likely critical damage, I’d bring it down with one launch. With my claws, I slashed at the creature’s head, causing critical damage. The head was almost always the weak point of enemies.

  When the Skyscratcher’s HPs dropped to the 200 and below range, I retracted my left hand claw, fell through the sky, and pulled my overpriced parachute, plunging into the abyss of the Killa Kanyons below. My finger remote-detonated the charge and exploded the Skyscratcher’s head like dynamite in a melon. Brain and meat pieces splattered into the wind in all directions as the headless winged creature plummeted into the canyon and smashed its infected body into a rocky wall. The beaten corpse plunged into the valley and splattered on the ground. Thanks to the intuitive controls of my parachute, I glided down in a spiral and reached the lowest ground of the valley. My boots landed softly on the soil as I pulled the parachute into my gear pack. I hurried toward the corpse of the creature, well, whatever was left of it. A giant bloody puree of shattered bones, broken wings and…my freaking BlitzBlade among the intestines. I downed a low Anti-Reepo potion to mitigate the effects of the infection and pulled out my beloved mid-rare BlitzBlade. The quest updated.

  You have discovered the reason of the Skyscratcher egg shortage. Return to the Preshaar Village and tell Chieftain Kharra about your findings.

  A whopping ten minutes later, my co-players finally arrived at the corpse site. L’ocean hurried toward me first. “Are you okay?”

  I hoisted my blade like a trophy. It reflected the sun rays and gave my pose a heroic vibe.

  “The creature’s dead and I got my BlitzBlade back. Not to mention, quest success.”

  “You’re a crazy mofo, Boltzmann,” Rokkit said.

  His admiration lingered for a whole second. “I had no idea you were into chains and bestiary.”

  “That beast gulped down my rare baby.”

  “Mid-rare,” Yumi-D said. “Just saying. We want to keep the game lingo right.”

  My real body shivered. This quest counted as the wildest fight I had experienced in my gaming career. And judging by the massive amount of experience points trickling in, it was also a rewarding one. Level 16 knocked.

  “Let’s return to the village and tell Kharra the bad news.”

  Strangely, I feared the chieftain’s reaction more than the Skyscratcher fight.

  12

  We grabbed our fowls from the valley and dashed back to the village. When we arrived, the beast men shot us bemused and bewildered glances. They probably expected us dwarfs to get slaughtered in the canyons. To be frank, it had been a close call. But thanks to our fighting skills and preparation, we had triumphed in an unknown location with environmental dangers.

  To my surprise, the leader of the Preshaar stepped outside her lavish tent and awaited us in the central plaza. A crowd gathered at the speed of light and circled around us. All feral eyes on me.

  Kharra said, “We saw a giant Skyscratcher whooshing through the sky. A dwarf dangled down a rope. Was that you?”

  “I fired a harpoon to slow down the creature’s movements. Unfortunately, it yanked me off the cliff and tried to toss me into the valley.” I paused. “Thanks to a parachute I bought at one of your shops, I killed the beast and landed safely on the ground.”

  I thought I had made a diplomatic statement with an elegantly slipped-in compliment, but Kharra’s mighty eyebrows furrowed. “You slay one of our Skyscratchers?”

  The beast men crowd moaned in unison. More anti-human name calling and dwarf insults ensued. I swallowed hard when L’ocean came to my aid. “The poor creature had been infected by Reepoisoning.”

  “Reepoisoning?”

  “The Skyscratcher mother got infected by the crystals and went full zombie-mode.”

  Kharra squeezed her feline face. Oops, I was using real life lingo again. I quickly adjusted to the game narrative. “I mean, the Reepo rash infected the mother’s body and morphed it into something sinister. She was in deep pain and fought everyone in her way. We had to redeem her.”

  Kharra purred or growled. I still couldn’t detect the difference. She marched around us. “What is the Reepo doing in our lands?”

  Yumi-D stepped forward and offered her advice. I loved how my team worked together not only in fights but in tough conversations as well.

  “We’ve spotted a Sunbleeder scout near the crystal spread. He claimed the Syndicate was scouting the area for possible mining dependencies.”

  Kharra bared her teeth. I feared she was going to jump at us and tear her bangs through my pink meat. “Sunbleeders… those naked, spineless, hairless dwarf cousins of yours.”

  “Well, we’re not technically related.”

  “But they are naked dwarves like you.”

  “Well, yeah, but they’re different. Sinister. Evil.”

  Kharra showed her teeth. Razor-sharp suckers that equaled tactical blades in length. I mentally counted down her bite attack.

  Anytime now.

  Kharra said, “We will wipe out those Sunbleeders. We will pierce their puny skin with our claws and turn their spines into necklaces for our children.”

  “Best birthday present ever,” I said.

  L’ocean chimed in. “That’s why we’re here, Kharra. To combine our forces and push back the Syndicate.”

  “Kick their smelly asses,” Rokkit said as if my point wasn’t valid enough.

  A few festive-dressed Preshaar stepped up and whispered something into the leader’s ears. She turned left and right, as if to take their opinions into account. “We will think about your offer, pink ones.”

  What more can a player ask for?

  Your affiliation with the Preshaar tribe has turned from hostile to neutral.

  Yes, yes. On top of the diplomatic success, we received a new skill point each, which I’d distribute once this conversation was over. I stepped forward and reached out my hand, but Kharra stared my fingers with bewilderment. “Are you trying to hit me?”

  “It’s a handshake. It’s what we humans do to seal a deal.”

  More grumbling from our hairy soon-to-be-allies. Kharra slapped my hands away. “We are not in human land. You follow our customs now.”

  “Right.”

  “Send the message to your leader but stay nearby. I will talk to my advisors. Come back later.”

  “Merci, chieftain, we will,” Yumi-D said.

  The chieftain turned around and stepped into her majestic tent. The crowd around the plaza dissolved. The beast men crawled back into their spire houses. The slender ones climbed on their wires and disappeared into the higher levels of the spires. At least they let us walk around without observing every step. Progress in pieces.

  “Well, that wasn’t too bad.”

  Rokkit sniffed. “Who needs Sunbleeders as enemies when these furries are around?”

  Yumi-D eyed the alley with a swift glance. “It might not be a good idea to insult them in their own village.”

  “Surely these proud warriors can stand some dumb jokes from us dwarfs.”

  Thankfully, no beast man lurked around to hear Rokkit’s insults anymore. Otherwise, we would have switched from alliance to hostility in a heartbeat. With a little breathing room after the last quest, I wanted to check out the gear shop from before when exhaustion haunted my body—my real meat and bone-based version slaving away in Sparrow’s room. I desperately needed a break to recover from my digital adventures before my brain melted for good.

  “Crusaders, I’ll have to go. My body seriously needs to get reacquainted with my bed.”

  Rokkit smiled. “Too much for you, eh? Alrighty. You did good today, Boltzmann. There’s hope for you after all.”

  “Oh-uh,” I said. “Getting my mental armor up.”

  “Don’t go full victim when I make a compliment. You think I don’t recognize great performance?

  I was waiting
for the snark. I waited in vain.

  “Ping us when you’re back. Mrs. Furry is probably cooking up a new quest as we speak.”

  “I will.”

  I said goodbye to Yumi-D, Rokkit, and L’ocean. It was time to log off and reappear in the real world, where a different quest awaited me.

  13

  I had played almost eight hours straight, and my body made sure I felt it. My limbs ached. A cramp molested my legs. Black dots flickered in my vision. Lightning flashes tentacled into my view before they disappeared again. Not to mention the vertigo effect as my head spun around and around. It got worse; a dullness hammered through my head and made thinking difficult. Forming a single coherent thought proved challenging. I should have paid attention to that first warning at around six hours. I was just about to switch off the computer when a big number caught my waning attention.

  424,115.

  Six freaking figures.

  My streams had exploded. Viewership had upped by thirty-four percent, judging by the metrics, which was a massive win over last time. Reasons to kiss the ceiling with an epic double-jump, but my body barely managed to lay low in my sleeping bag. Heck, I was even too tired to brush my teeth or change my clothes. My body slapped down the sleeping bag and crawled under the sheet.

  Perfect darkness engulfed me.

  A welcomed change from the hyper resolution color bombs in the VR world.

  The door screeched.

  A shadowed silhouette appeared on the doorframe. Couldn’t see the details, but the silhouette leaned against the frame and eyed me. I thought the figure sprang from my imagination—a result of transition from the VR word to real-life —but the silhouette moved with grace, like a ghost dancer. My mind slipped into slumber but the shadow in the doorframe remained.

  “Can I help youzzzzzz,” were the pathetic words that tumbled over my lips before my mind shut down.

  Zzzzzz all the way.

  The next day, I stumbled out of the bathroom and found Sparrow in the kitchen. Her thin lips slurped a coffee juice pack with Kanji symbols. Probably another import from Japan. Seriously, that girl slurped the strangest liquids from the Land of the Rising Sun. A video game soundtrack played in the background and featured a funky vibe, maybe from a popular anime or a modern action adventure.