Man Made God 003

by Brandon Varnell

  “Including you?” asked Adam.

  Titania scrunched up her face. “I am a fairy, so of course I am sensitive to their magic. If we happen upon an area steeped in the magic of the Fairy Clan, I will definitely pick up on it.”

  “Can I ask why you didn’t want to let me know?” asked Adam.

  “Let’s just say I wanted to put the past behind me.”

  Adam accepted her words with a nod. “I suppose everyone has skeletons in their closet that they don’t wish others to know about. Thank you for telling me this.”

  Titania smiled wearily but waved off his thanks. “Go on and ‘log off.’ I am certain your lover and friends are wondering why you haven’t returned to your original world by now.”

  Nodding, Adam opened his status screen and tapped the button to log off.

  Big News

  It was late in the evening when Levon received the news. After learning about it, he went to his office within the Pleonexia Family estate, logged onto his computer, and quickly went through several Age of Gods forums. His fingers flew across the keyboard and his eyes were locked firmly onto the screen.

  Every single one of them said the same thing.

  The Mayor of Solum was hosting a tournament in two weeks. The reward for the winner would be a [Guild Creation Token].

  He couldn’t believe it.

  Ever since the first VRMMO had been created, this name had been synonymous with power. Anyone who got their hands on a [Guild Creation Token] could create a guild. And the most important [Guild Creation Token] of all was the first one that appeared in the game. Whoever got their hands on the first [Guild Creation Token] would hold the prestige of being the first person inside of the game to create a guild, which came with not only substantial in-game benefits, but allowed the reputation of the guild’s creator to sore far above those of everyone else.

  As the leader of the largest guild in the American Federation, Levon could not let anyone else have this [Guild Creation Token]. The honor of creating the first guild needed to always be him.

  He exited the forums, accessed his Skyline app, quickly selected several names, and hit the call button. While waiting for everyone to respond, he leaned back in his seat, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes.

  The first one to respond was Connor Sword.

  “Levon, I’m guessing this isn’t a social call.” Connor’s face appeared in the center of his screen, the same lazy smile as ever-present. Despite that lackadaisical expression of his, his eyes were sharp like the sword he wielded. “I saw the news in the forums. Is it true?”

  “Let’s wait for everyone else to arrive before we discuss that,” Levon said.

  Shortly after Connor accepted the call, the man known as Flame Emperor accepted, and his face appeared on the upper left corner. He was a good-looking man of about twenty-seven. Older than Levon by a few years. He had brown hair and gray eyes like. His masculine jawline and strong features projected an aura of power and arrogance that Fayte lacked.

  “Levon,” he greeted with a simple nod.

  “Congratulations on reaching level 15,” Levon said with a good-natured smile.

  Flame Emperor’s smile looked forced. “I am still behind you.”

  “I have the added benefit of being in a party with Connor.” Levon shrugged. “Between the Sword King and myself, we level up a little quicker than most.”

  “Still not fast enough to beat Lin, the Spear God, or that Adam player,” Connor chimed.

  Levon scowled but didn’t say anything.

  Three more people soon arrived.

  The first was a dark-skinned woman with a cold look on her face. She was gorgeous, but it was the kind of untouchable beauty that caused weaker men to look the other way. Her dark eyes were intense, the frown on her face made her look unapproachable, and the straight hair that traveled down her back made her seem more severe somehow. She was the only woman among his Four Elements.

  Player Name: Gaia.

  The second person looked almost like a slob compared to everyone else. His face was masked by five o’clock shadow. Dirty blond hair surrounded a face that would have been attractive if he took better care of himself. How this man scored so many women was beyond Levon, but perhaps that slightly rugged and devil may care quality the man possessed was what drove women to him. He was a well-known player among his guild. There was even a rumor that he had slept with more than half of the Ploenexia Alliance’s female players.

  Last among them was a man whose face was even colder than Gaia’s. He wore no expression like his face was chiseled from ice. Despite that, or perhaps because of that, his face possessed a chilling beauty. His looks were so feminine it was easy to mistake him for a woman, which further enhanced the aesthetic of a hauntingly beautiful man.

  “Hey, Guild Master,” the slovenly man greeted with a casual nod as his visage appeared in the bottom right corner. The woman merely gave him a respectful nod. The last among them said nothing.

  “I’m sure you already know what’s going on, so I won’t bore you too much with the details,” Levon began. “Just the other day, the Mayor of Solum announced that he was hosting a tournament at the Solum arena. The reward for winning is a [Guild Creation Token]. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what that means.”

  No one displayed surprise. The news had already spread across the entire globe by this point. The forums were exploding, and it was even being reported in several news stations that paid attention to the virtual world. Since Age of Gods was the biggest game on the market, with more players mere days after its release than any other game available, it was also the one everybody paid the most attention to.

  “I’m guessing we’re gonna compete?” asked Thor God of Thunder, scratching his beard. “I, uh, hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t think I’ll be able to help you here.”

  “Why not?” asked Levon, eyes narrowing.

  Thor God of Thunder coughed into his hand as his cheeks turned red. “I, er, I think I might have pissed someone off. The Soul Reapers have been targeting me in Age of Gods ever since I left the Village of Beginnings. They killed me so many times now that I’m back at level 1. I’m… well, I’m trying to regain those lost levels, but it hasn’t been easy.”

  Like with most games, death resulted in a penalty. Some of the more demanding games were so bad that a person who died was forced to start over from the beginning. In this case, death in Age of Gods meant all your experience points and reputation reverted to zero and your character’s level was reduced by one.

  Levon Pleonexia took a deep breath to contain his anger. The Soul Reapers were a free guild made entirely of players in the Assassin Class who paid homage to no one. Neither his Pleonexia Alliance nor Daggerfall Dynasty was able to bring this guild into their pockets, but it was not for lack of trying. No one wanted to inadvertently push this guild into another’s camp. It helped that all of them were skilled at what they did and no one could find any information about their identities in the real world, so pressuring them outside of the virtual world was impossible.

  “Fine. I guess it can’t be helped.” Levon sighed but soon focused on the task at hand. “I want the rest of you to sign up for this tournament if you haven’t done so already. I’m sure Daggerfall Dynasty will also have their strongest players sign up as well, including the Spear God.”

  At the mention of the Spear God, Connor Sword’s eyes lit up with a competitive fire. He had once challenged the Spear God during the International Power Ranking Tournament and lost miserably, thus earning him third place on the International Power Rankings. Levon did not doubt that his second in command longed to have a rematch with his rival.

  Whether the Spear God felt Connor Sword was worthy of being his rival or not was an entirely different matter.

  “Will you also be signing up, Levon?” asked Flame Emperor.

  “Of course.” Levon smiled. “Nobody will follow a leader if all he does is issue orders from the back.”

 
With just two weeks before the tournament was set to begin, Adam decided that the most important thing their party could do was level up. He wanted everyone to gain at least one more level before the tournament. Even if they all had hidden classes, and even if their levels were above everyone else’s in the game, he wanted them to shock everyone so much that no one would dare to even think about messing with their guild after it was created.

  That was why they had headed back to the valley surrounding the Sunset Mountain Range day after day to level up. This valley was home to monsters that were levels 30 to 40. These monsters earned them the highest amount of experience points they could get so far.

  Unfortunately, the current monster they were up against might be a little more than what they had asked for.

  It was called a [Twin-Headed Mountain Troll]. It was a 2-Star monster at level 40. Thanks to Titania’s [scan] ability, everyone knew what kind of stats it boasted, and all of them were shocked by how powerful this creature was. With over twenty million health points and a Strength stat of six thousand, it was easily one of the strongest 2-Star monsters they had ever fought. It also had five skills, all of which were powerful enough to kill any of them with a single hit. It’s five abilities were [Earth Stomp], [Double Layer Smash], [Earth Bullets], [Chomp], and [Fist]. It also had a passive skill called [Gaia’s Love]. It was a skill that let it regain health points so long as it was standing on solid ground.

  The last ability listed was probably the one it had started with. [Fist] sounded like a pretty generic ability. It also had two AOE skills that were fairly deadly, and one ability that would instantly kill anyone regardless of their level. Combined with its massive amount of health and it was pretty much the most fearsome opponent they had faced since fighting the Elemental Master.

  -53,730; -161,190; -483,570; -1,450,710; -4,352,130!

  Being the heaviest of their hitters, Adam was fighting the monster up close, pulling in all of its agro so the magic users (Fayte and Kureha) and the Fairy Archer (Susan) wouldn’t be targeted. He had immediately activated [Blood Sacrifice] and began [Dance of the Sakura Blossoms] the moment this battle had started. While this monster still had a lot of health, the amount of damage he did was staggering.

  Unfortunately, the [Twin-Headed Mountain Troll] was not something that could be defeated just by dealing a lot of damage. The monster roared as it raised one massive leg and stomped on the ground. The earth shook so fiercely that Adam was afraid a landslide would sweep over this mountainside and bury them all.

  He leaped in the air and kicked off the monster’s other leg to give himself that extra height, then used [double jump] to ascend even higher. With his +6,260 Defense, he would only be dealt -2,740 damage, but he preferred not getting hit at all.

  -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100; -2,100!

  While Adam may have been the heaviest hitter who dealt the most damage, two other melee fighters among them could also deal some pretty impressive punishment.

  Among those two was Aris, who quickly raced up to the [Twin-Headed Mountain Troll] seconds after its attack ended and began attacking with [Blade Dance]. It was a skill that allowed her to constantly launch attack after attack without the need to pause. The downside was it consumed 5 MP every time she swung her swords. She had +400 MP at present, meaning she could attack 80 times before she needed to retreat and consume an [middle-grade magic potion].

  Thanks to Titania’s [Song of Vigor], her +700 Physical Attack had tripled. Nearly fifty thousand points of damage were dealt to the [Twin-Headed Mountain Troll] by her in less than five seconds. She wielded her two scimitars as though they were lighter than feathers, swinging them constantly as she danced around the giant monster’s legs.

  -29,385; -29,385; -29,385; -29,385; -29,385; -29,385; -29,385; -29,385; -29,385!

  Lilith was the last among their melee fighters and also someone who had a good amount of Attack Power. The only issue was that, as an assassin, she wasn’t really meant for front line combat but stealth attacks. Even with her class changing to the hidden class, Demon Knight Assassin, her skills and most of her stats were all related to her stealth and hidden attack power. Even so, the amount of damage she dealt as she used [slash] was nothing to scoff at.

  While Aris was attacking the monster’s legs, Lilith leaped onto its body, landed on its hand, and ran up to its shoulders. She swung her dagger while holding it in a reverse grip. Each attack created a line of light along the monster’s body and enraged it further. The [Twin-Headed Mountain Troll] beat its fists against its chest and issued what sounded like a roar of challenge.

  While Adam, Aris, and Lilith were attacking this monster from close range, Fayte, Kureha, and Susan were lighting it up with magic and arrows from a distance.

  -22,620; -56,550; - 22,620!

  Because they had yet to find a good weapon for her, Susan dealt the least amount of damage out of their original party. The only person who dealt less damage than her was Aris, who did not have the benefit of +1,000 extra status points. Despite how she didn’t do quite the same amount of damage as everyone else, she still fired off a regular [Deadeye], aiming for the weak points on its body before hitting hit with [Fairy Shot], which was like an improved version of [Deadeye]. While [Deadeye] only did x2 critical damage, [Fairy Shot] did x5 critical damage.

  -35,640; -27,000; -35,640; -27,000!

  While completely unassuming, the little fox standing beside Fayte and Susan shot lightning and fire from its two tails. The respective attacks were called [Thunder Bolt] and [Fireball]. Both attacks had a 10 second cooldown time, but Kureha resolved this issue by using each skill in five-second intervals. In this manner, she could unleash an attack every five seconds.

  The heat from her fireballs was scorching as they slammed into the [Twin-Headed Mountain Troll] and exploded. Even when Adam was nowhere near the blast zone, he could feel his body warm up, and the searing wind push against him. The scent of burnt flesh hung heavily in the air. Meanwhile, the lightning bolts sizzled through the air and left black scorch marks on the monster’s hard skin. This enraged the creature, but it could not attack their long-range fighters because Adam, Aris, and Lilith were keeping it occupied.

  -114,624; -157,608; -95,520!

  Ever since she received the Elemental Master hidden class, Fayte could no longer be considered the same person she had been before. Her attack power had increased substantially, she had more magic spells than probably anyone else in the game, and she had gained equipment that suited her class. The damage she now dealt made her their most powerful long-range attacker. The only downside to her new spells was they all had a long cooldown time, but she made up for that by bombarding enemies with [Energy Bolt], which had a 0 second cooldown time, while waiting for the cooldown time on her other spells to end.

  “It’s using [Double-Layer Smash]! Lilith!” Adam shouted as he jumped back.

  Lilith leaped in front of Adam just as the [Twin-Headed Mountain Troll] swung its clasped hands down. The attack was so fierce it created a burst of air that slammed into Adam and blew his hair out of his face. Facing this intense attack was Lilith, who only narrowed her eyes and timed the attack so she could unleash a stunning [Counter].

  -95,950!

  The [Twin-Headed Mountain Troll] roared in surprise and stumbled back when its own attack was turned against it. A large number sign floated above its head, though compared to the amount of health this creature had, -95,950 damage was not very high.

  They had already dealt around ten million points worth of damage, give or take two or three million, but this monster had twenty million health, so they still had a ways to go. They were fortunate it was so slow and dull-witted, unlike Alexandra Mystique. Its attack patterns were predictable and because it was so slow, it was easy to tell what skill it was going to use several seconds in advance. The only real issue they had was that it automatically reg
enerated health.

  “Hee-hee. Looks like it’s my turn again!”

  With a tinkling, bell-like laugh, Aris rushed forward and unleashed her special skill [Dancing Swords]. It was a technique similar to Adam’s [Dance of the Sakura Blossoms]. Aris used her two swords to continuously attack in quick succession. Each successful attack consumed 50 MP, but they also did x2 damage with every attack, and the damage stacked so the amount increased with each attack.

  -2,100; -4,200; -8,400; -16,800!

  There were a few downsides to her skill. The biggest one was that it couldn’t be interrupted. If Aris was interrupted while executing her skill, she would receive twice the damage she normally did and would be stunned for 10 seconds. Since they were fighting a monster with a Strength of six thousand and Aris only had 2,240 HP, a single attack from this monster would kill her.

  As she was executing her attack, she ended up pulling all of the [Twin-Headed Mountain Troll’s] agro. It raised its leg to stomp on her with [Earth Stomp].

  “Lilith!” Adam shouted.

  As if she could read his mind, Lilith once more stepped in front of the attack, timing her own attack to counter this monster’s. Her timing was impeccable. Just as the [Twin-Headed Mountain Troll] brought its foot down, she swung her dagger up and flawlessly countered the attack.

  -95,950!

  -17,910; -53,730; -161,190; -483,570; -1,450,710!

  Immediately after Lilith used [Counter] to block the monster’s attack, Adam rushed in and used activated [Dance of the Sakura Blossoms]. His Attack Power was lower than when he used this the first time because [Blood Sacrifice] had entered its cooldown period, but he still removed a large chunk from the monster’s health.

  Their attacks continued, with Adam issuing commands to everyone on the field, directing the flow of battle, and while there were several close calls, it did not take more than maybe one hour before the [Twin-Headed Mountain Troll] lost all of its health. When its health reached zero, the monster stumbled back and released an unwilling but pitiful roar as it fell to the ground. Aris screamed as she nearly fell when the earth shook, but Adam held onto her and bent his knees to keep himself steady. Lilith was much the same. Fayte, Kureha, and Susan were far enough away to not be affected by the titanic crash and Titania had wings, thus she was unaffected.