Then the world disappeared around him.
***
Finn slumped to the ground, unable to stay standing. Aching lines of pain had been etched into his chest, his blood leaking onto the ground. Even worse, his stamina had finally hit zero, his muscles burning and unresponsive.
He gasped, a roaring sound in his ears.
It took him several precious seconds to realize he was still alive and that the roar wasn’t his heartbeat. It was the cheers of hundreds of students – a flickering screen hovering above him. In his peripheral vision, he could already see green-robed mages rushing to tend to his injuries. His eyes drifted to his hand – his knuckles white. His fingers slowly unfurled. Two tokens rested in his palm.
He had won – if only barely.
Yet as his mana slowly receded and despite the pain and the cheers, Finn could only think of one thing. The image of Kyyle’s bloodied face lingered in his mind’s eye, burned into his retinas with painful clarity.
He had won.
But was it worth it?
Chapter 36 - Shaky
Finn sat in a small tent that had been erected along the side of the courtyard. The green-robed mages had tended to him, healing his wounds and handing him a tonic to help replenish his stamina. It seemed that Nefreet had anticipated some injuries, although Finn suspected that the tent was intended primarily to help treat the residents.
While Finn had been half-carried off the dais, he had heard Nefreet announce that the competition would move on to the semi-finals for the resident students. This would give Finn and Vanessa a chance to recover and regroup before their last match. Finn suspected he had an hour or two until he would be forced to fight the water mage.
Although he had mixed feelings about that.
The image of Kyyle’s bloodied face had stuck with him. Usually, his fire mana made the battles easier, burning away his hesitation and replacing it with boundless excitement. With the other students, he was able to shake it off. Simply ignore what he had done and pretend that they were just faceless opponents.
Yet the warm energy wasn’t enough right now. It was different when it was someone he knew. What had the young man experienced? Trapped inside those earthen walls, a self-imposed prison. The panic at feeling cornered. The burning sensation as the flaming blade stabbed and cut. The image of Kyyle’s body returned then – that expression that lingered in his dead eyes – that was something Finn had seen before. It was the same look he had seen on Rachael’s face right before…
“Hey, man,” someone said, a hand clapping Finn on the back.
He looked up in surprise, nearly falling off his perch on the cot, to find Kyyle standing over him. A shaky grin crept across the young man’s face, and he looked pale. Yet he was alive. In contrast to the real world, at least inside AO Finn’s actions – or mistakes – weren’t permanent. Although, that did little to ease the knot in his stomach.
“You look like shit,” Finn observed with a grunt.
“Hey, that’s my line,” Kyyle retorted. He gestured at the cot. “You mind if I sit down?”
“Go ahead.”
The pair sat there in silence, neither of them quite sure what to say.
“So, I’m starting to understand how you became an A-lister,” Kyyle finally said, breaking the quiet. “I mean, I heard rumors, but…” He looked at Finn and shook his head incredulously. “Once those daggers are imbued with fire, you can actively direct them within your control range, can’t you?”
Finn eyed the healers around them, lowering his voice. “Yeah. Apparently, fire magic is about controlling thermal energy. At least, that’s how Brutus explained it to me.”
“Did he also turn you into a ninja?” Kyyle asked in an exasperated tone. “Seriously, what the hell was that move at the end? You were leaping between daggers that were about an inch or two wide.”
Finn rubbed at his neck. “Uh, well that one might have been Julia.” At Kyyle’s questioning glance, Finn elaborated. “She can be quite nimble… for a mage.”
“For a mage?” Kyyle asked, skepticism lacing his voice. His implication was obvious. He didn’t think Julia was really a student. Not that Finn blamed him. She never attended classes or participated in the duels, and she always kept her arms hidden from view.
Finn just shrugged noncommittally. “And what about you, huh?” he tried to deflect. “Just set yourself up with a little stone fortress. That combo is pretty deadly.”
Kyyle grinned. “You gave me the idea after we tried to survive Brutus’ golems. Manipulating the environment instead of attacking someone directly is pretty effective. You wouldn’t believe how many people I’ve dropped into a hole in the ground.”
“I think I would,” Finn groused. He side-eyed the young earth mage. “Seriously, that was probably the most difficult fight I’ve had in a while.”
“Not surprising. You were dropped into a poorly lit underground cave and forced to fight an earth mage who just happened to specialize in building walls and pits,” Kyyle added with some sarcasm.
“You forgot about the heat-seeking beetles,” Finn groused.
Kyyle barked out a laugh. “How could I forget!”
Then the earth mage’s expression sobered, and he glanced at Finn. “Joking aside, you can’t tell me that that duel felt genuinely random. It seemed tailor-made for me and weighted heavily against you.”
Finn grimaced. The thought had occurred to him, and Kyyle’s whispered words before their duel had stuck with him. “I’ll admit it seemed a bit unfair.” He looked at Kyyle. “But what you’re proposing is one hell of a conspiracy. It would require rigging the rankings, the semi-final selection, and then tailoring the teleportation for that specific duel. You’re suggesting—”
“That at least one member of the faculty is involved,” Kyyle replied under his breath. “That’s the most obvious deduction given the facts.”
“It could be a coincidence,” Finn offered weakly.
Kyyle just gave him a deadpan expression.
“Okay, fine. It seems like more than a coincidence at this stage,” Finn acknowledged. “But what could be the goal of rigging these duels or messing with the students? And why would a member of the faculty be targeting me?”
Kyyle frowned. “That part is still a mystery to me. Maybe they don’t want a traveler to control the city? The faculty are all residents, after all.”
Finn grimaced. That did make a certain amount of sense. Someone could have been trying to undermine his score by targeting him for the assassination attempts. They might have also tried to rig the duels so he would lose.
But it still didn’t address why they were targeting Finn specifically. If Kyyle was right and someone was trying to manipulate the duels, why would they have favored the earth mage over Finn? Were they just assuming that Finn was more dangerous or likely to win? While he certainly appreciated the indirect compliment, Kyyle hadn’t exactly been a weak opponent. Besides, if the person’s motive was to avoid having a traveler win, wouldn’t they be focused on trying to discourage all travelers from participating in the duels?
It just didn’t feel right. Finn rubbed at his temple, closing his eyes as these frustrated thoughts tumbled through his mind. He could see the “effects,” but the “cause” was still elusive and hard to pin down.
Either way, it did little to address the larger question that kept bouncing around Finn’s head. It had been something that had been nagging at him for a while but had only been driven home after he was forced to fight Kyyle.
“Are you going to keep going?” Kyyle asked softly.
Finn looked at him in surprise, suddenly wondering if earth mages could read minds now.
Kyyle grinned at his bewildered expression. “Come on. You’ve had the entire student body gunning for you for a couple weeks now, you’ve basically stopped logging out except to eat and shit, and there is clearly some sort of conspiracy against you.” The young man hesitated for a moment. “Plus, unlike Zane, I don’t get the s
ense that you enjoy hurting other people – even if it’s only temporary.”
“What, are you a psych major or something?” Finn grunted.
Kyyle’s smile widened.
“Damn it, I should have known,” Finn grumbled, glaring at him. Many of the signs had been there. Most earth mages focused on logic and deductive reasoning – peace through the absence of emotion – and Kyyle was no exception. Then there was the way the earth mage had carefully cataloged the other students.
“Hey, watching other people and figuring out what makes them tick is entertaining,” the young man replied. “It’s that sort of experience that also makes it obvious that you’re trying to deflect again.”
“Is this going to be a thing now? Just psychoanalyze me every time we talk,” Finn muttered good-naturedly.
Kyyle arched an eyebrow.
“Okay, I’ll admit I don’t love these duels,” Finn began. “I have some… well, some history I guess you could say.” Even mentioning it tangentially caused a hollow pit to form in his stomach. Finn suddenly realized that this might have been one of the few times he had spoken about Rachael – even indirectly – to someone besides his children. Or a cryptic in-game deity that could read his mind, he supposed.
“I can’t help but wonder if this is worth it,” Finn continued, his gaze dropping to the floor. “Do I even really want to rule an in-game city? Compete in some super deathmatch after this one? Be the target for some ridiculous magical conspiracy?” He hadn’t even mentioned that he had been conscripted into being the “chosen one” for a cryptic lady that claimed to be the god of fire.
Finn shook his head. “I’ve been so focused on just getting past the next hurdle and learning more about this world that I guess I never stopped to consider if this is even what I want.”
As he always did, Finn had let his passion blind him. It was about the chase. The curiosity. The discovery. Yet the last time he had allowed his passions to lead him, he had lost everything. What would happen here? And for what? Some bragging rights in a videogame?
Yet even as he thought that it felt disingenuous. At this stage, he had experienced enough of this place to know it wasn’t merely another game. Someone had created a living, breathing world here – replete with its own lore and people. It sometimes felt so real that Finn had difficulty remembering that he was plugged into a headset.
And maybe that was part of the problem. It wasn’t just that he had been forced to kill Kyyle, or that it looked so damn realistic. What bothered Finn the most was how easy it had been – especially with the boiling energy surging through his veins. He had killed this kid with barely a second thought.
Finn suddenly realized he had lapsed into silence and looked back up at Kyyle, who was watching him with a sympathetic look. “I guess I don’t know.”
“That’s fair. I certainly can’t understand what you’ve been through and I’m happy that I don’t have some huge magical bull’s eye painted on my back,” Kyyle replied.
He hesitated, meeting Finn’s eyes. “But as someone who just spent two weeks grinding away at these duels and who just got a flaming dagger forcibly inserted into some really uncomfortable places, my vote is that you should keep going.”
Kyyle glanced at Finn. “As I was walking over here, I was also eavesdropping on the other students. You know who they were talking about? It wasn’t me, or Zane, or Vanessa. They were talking about you and that crazy batshit plan you just pulled off. How you backflipped off a damn wall twenty feet above a pit full of spikes. Oh, and you were casting at the same time – that point didn’t go unnoticed.”
Finn stared at him in surprise. Kyyle paused before continuing, shaking his head and his eyes on the floor. “There’s something about you. Maybe the same thing your mysterious attacker sees as well. You approach this game much differently than the others – like it’s real. There’s something about the way you tackle a problem or challenge that is just… well… inspiring.
“If you want to call it, I understand. But if my input means anything, I’d love to see you standing on that platform at the end of this.”
Kyyle let out a grunt as he rose from the cot and started heading toward the flap of the tent. Yet he paused after taking only a few steps and turned to look back at Finn. “Or maybe I just want to see someone knock Vanessa off her pedestal,” he added with a grin. Then Kyyle walked out, leaving Finn to his thoughts.
He didn’t really feel any better after the conversation, doubt still flitting at the edges of his mind. Although, Kyyle’s words had softened the sting. He had to admit that he was curious to see where all this would lead. Why had the Seer chosen him? Who was tampering with the duels and why? And there was still a part of him that wondered how he would measure up against Vanessa.
Finn heard the roar of the crowd outside the tent, signaling that a resident duel had just ended. It seemed that he wouldn’t have much time left to sit here and ponder on his life choices. Whether he liked it or not, his duel with Vanessa was swiftly approaching, and there was a horde of other students out there waiting to see the final duels. Hell, he could always decide to leave after he finished this silly competition.
So, Finn did what needed to be done. He swallowed his doubt, smacked himself a couple times, and got his tired, mopey old ass off the cot.
He had another battle to fight, after all.
Chapter 37 - Frigid
All too soon, Finn found himself standing on the stone dais, the gigantic liquid portal shimmering and shifting above him. Hundreds of students lingered about the burning sands and lined the terraces that ringed the courtyard, their eyes all focused on the pair of semi-finalists. An excited buzz of anticipation vibrated through the air. Vanessa stood beside Finn, although she had only given him a brief, dismissive glance. Despite her outwardly calm demeanor, he couldn’t help but notice the way her hands were balled into fists, her nails digging into her palms.
Clearly, he wasn’t the only one who was anxious about this next battle, although he doubted that Vanessa would openly admit that she was worried. Finn knew first-hand the pitfalls of pride. In his case, time and age had worn down that sense of ego. The world seemed to continually insist on showing him just how little control he really had over his life.
“Thank you to our resident novices for their great showing in the semi-finals,” Nefreet announced, bowing his head at the small group of bloodied and injured mages that were being herded toward the healers’ tent.
The headmaster’s gaze turned back to the crowd. “Now we can move on to the last semi-final duel among the travelers. Vanessa and Finn will be facing off to decide which of the travelers will move on to the final elimination duel.
“The rules of the engagement are the same. Whoever returns to the dais first is the victor.” Nefreet turned to Vanessa and Finn. “Are you ready?”
They each gave a curt nod.
“Then let the final duel among the travelers commence!” Nefreet announced.
Without any further ceremony, Finn and Vanessa touched tokens, and they both disappeared in a flash of multi-colored light.
***
The world suddenly snapped back into existence, Finn stumbling slightly. His feet landed with a splash and quickly sunk into thick mud. He immediately surveyed his surroundings and discovered that he was standing ankle-deep in what appeared to be a rice paddock – circular rings of water broken by thin, grassy knolls.
As Finn’s gaze swept the field, he discovered that Vanessa had been dropped off only a few dozen yards away. Their eyes met, and they both stowed their tokens in a pocket before their fingers began winding through a lightning-fast series of gestures. Finn felt his doubt and hesitation melt away under the fiery effects of his mana. He immediately summoned his Magma Armor, the warm substance soon creeping down both arms.
It wasn’t a moment too soon as Vanessa launched an Ice Bolt in his direction. Finn darted toward her, letting the bolt slide off his right shoulder – the ice carving a furrow in the molte
n substance that coated his arm. He needed to get close and stay close if he was going to have a chance of beating Vanessa. He remembered vividly how she had remained at a distance, using her clones to slowly whittle down Zane.
She must have been thinking the same thing since she abruptly changed tactics, and her fingers began to twine through the gestures of Obscuring Mist. A fine vapor was already beginning to form around her.
Shit, Finn thought. He knew her next step. She would slink back into the mist and then create her Doppelgangers. At that point, Finn would be at a disadvantage, his spells giving away his location and Vanessa able to attack at random.
He needed to beat her to the punch.
Finn ran harder, and his feet splashed through the water. The terrain was slowing him down and making it difficult to run, the mud sucking at his feet with each step. It was clear that this environment was better suited to his opponent. Again. However, he didn’t have time to focus on that, continuing his headlong charge.
His daggers soon slid from their sheaths as he finished casting Imbue Fire, the blades rotating around him slowly. Vanessa hovered just outside his control range, and he ordered the blades forward to save himself a few precious seconds. The daggers rocketed through the air, heading directly toward the water mage. Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t slow her casting.
Just as Finn came into range, Vanessa completed her spell. A nearly impenetrable mist exploded outward in an expanding ring, rolling past Finn and sweeping across the paddock. At the same time, Finn’s blades lanced through the spot that Vanessa had been occupying a moment before, the flames barely visible amid the mist.
Finn saw no notification in his combat log.
He had missed.
He retracted the blades defensively. Finn could hear splashing in the mists, but the sound was muted and indistinct, making it difficult to identify Vanessa’s location. Even more problematic, Finn could barely see his own hand in front of his face. Acting quickly, he repeated a trick similar to the one he had used with Lamia. He directed the daggers to spin around him, the combination of the movement and flames creating a miniature vortex that forced away the nearby vapor and created a small pocket of clear air.
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