Man Made God 003

by Brandon Varnell

  “What the fuck?! That wasn’t even a skill! I call foul!” Cherry Summers accused, but then he screamed like a little girl upon realizing the Spear God hadn’t lost any speed. He fired several more arrows, unleashing [Deadeye] and [Rain of Arrows] in quick succession. His first attack was swatted away. Then the Spear God showed off his incredible reflexes when he moved through the arrows raining down on him. Seeing this caused Cherry Summers to scream. “Don’t blame me for this! It’s your own fault for being too damn strong!”

  His last attack was [Curve Shot], which was the attack that couldn’t be dodged. The arrow flew from his bow and curved around. If the attack hit, it would penetrate the Spear God’s flank, right where he couldn’t see it.

  If it hit.

  The Spear God did not dodge this attack. Just like when Cherry Summers used [Triple Fire], he spun the spear around in his grip and created what appeared to be an impenetrable shield. It was at this moment that Adam realized what that shield was.

  “Form Five,” he whispered.

  “Adam?” Aris looked at him.

  “That’s the form the Spear God is using,” Adam said. “It’s… a little different from what I remember, but he is definitely using the Pleonexia Family’s fifth form. Known as Form Five, it is a stance that combines their spear intent with an intense spinning motion that allows the spearman to create an impenetrable shield that can block even bullets.”

  Aris looked at Adam curiously, but she didn’t express any suspicions over how he knew about the Pleonexia Family’s spear technique. Fayte, on the other hand, was staring at him with a look so hard he could feel her eyes drilling into his skull.

  “How do you know so much about the Pleonexia Family’s spear techniques?” she asked.

  He sighed and replied evasively. “Let’s just say I have as much reason to hate the Ploenexia Family as you and leave it at that.”

  Fayte didn’t look like she was satisfied, at least from what Adam could see of her eyes, but she didn’t say anything and turned her head.

  The battle between the Spear God and Cherry Summers was already winding to close. The Spear God shifted from the defensive Form Five to the poisonous [First Form], which was an actual skill for the game. His movements became choppy and erratic. It looked almost like he was moving on eight legs instead of two as he closed the distance between him and Cherry Summers in an instant.

  Cherry Summers did try to get away, but what made [First Form] so deadly was how it trapped opponents within a web of attacks. Even if someone could dodge one or two of them, it was impossible to dodge all of them, and these attacks could not be blocked. Cherry Summers was struck by several webs formed from spear intent and his health was decimated.

  -7,050!

  Cherry Summers was “killed,” but he was revived using whatever magic was woven into this platform and reappeared next to the combatants, leaving Spear God alone on the platform.

  “And Spear God wins!” Sandra screamed. “What an incredible match! Cherry Summers did his best to take down this incredible spearman, but he just wasn’t good enough!”

  The crowd was going crazy over Spear God’s victory, shouting and clapping and screaming his name over and over. The thunderous roar mixed with the stomping of feet to create an intense vibration that made Kureha cover her ears and whimper. Daren looked so proud, as if he’d been the one who earned that victory himself. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Connor Sword and Levon Pleonexia looked like they had swallowed something sour.

  “Fuck you!” Cherry Summers shouted obstinately. “I would have beaten anyone else! It’s your fault for pitting me against that monster!”

  Mist sighed. “Don’t be stupid. You would have lost against most of these players.”

  “Wha—don’t say that, man! You know how talented I am! Hey! Say something! Come on! Don’t go silent on me like that!”

  Despite Cherry Summers screaming at Mist, the man remained silent, stoically looking at the screen as several faces flashed by until two faces appeared.

  Adam versus Kevin Swift.

  “Looks like I’m up,” Adam said.

  “Good luck!” Aris, Fayte, and Susan said. Lilith only nodded at him.

  Adam waved at them as Titania fluttered off his shoulder and moved to sit on Aris’s shoulder. He walked up the platform at the same time as Kevin Swift, an attractive blond man with blue eyes and a boyish smile. He looked younger than Adam by a few years. He carried a basic sword at his side. Down below, three women were cheering him on.

  “Go get him, Beloved!”

  “Hey, Stud! If you kick his ass, I will plow your ass tonight when we’re in bed!”

  “Don’t be so lewd, you damn fox! K-Kevin! Don’t lose to this guy! I won’t forgive you if you do!”

  “Your harem?” asked Adam, raising an eyebrow.

  “Ah ha ha ha… kinda. It’s… complicated.” Kevin rubbed the back of his head.

  “Are both fighters ready?” asked Sandra as the two stood several yards apart and faced each other.

  “I am,” Kevin said.

  “Me too,” said Adam.

  “Then let the match… begin!”

  The moment Sanda said “begin,” Kevin was throwing himself forward into an all-out sprint. Adam didn’t know what this boy’s stats were, but he must have thrown most of his status points into his Speed. He was sure that Kevin believed anyone else would have been shocked by how fast he could move.

  However, Adam had already seen Aris’s Speed.

  Aris, who had a Speed of +6,400 and a Movement of +51,200.

  There was no contest.

  -9,080!

  The moment Kevin reached Adam’s range of attack, Adam swung his spear, activating the [slash] skill and demolishing the poor kid with a single hit. It didn’t matter if Adam didn’t know what his health looked like. Nobody in the game had enough health to withstand this attack. Kevin’s health dropped to zero, then revived to +1, and then he found himself standing outside the platform with a befuddled expression on his face.

  “W-what… just happened?” he asked himself.

  “You lost,” the redhead said.

  “You lost badly,” the raven-haired vixen added.

  The littlest among Kevin’s harem scowled. “You had your ass beat even faster than that loser, Cherry Summers.”

  “I heard that!” Cherry Summers screamed.

  “Oh…”

  “Don’t worry, Beloved. I’m sure the only reason you lost is because we’re just cameos,” the redhead tried to reassure her boyfriend.

  Kevin still didn’t look like he understood how he’d lost, but he wasn’t the only one. No one in the audience spoke up. The entire crowd was quiet. They couldn’t understand what had just happened either. Adam could see after enhancing his eyesight with energy that everyone was whispering to each other. He could read lips, so he knew they were trying to figure out how he could deal so much damage in a single attack. A few of those people were looking pale.

  They must have used [scan] on him.

  “Good job,” Fayte said as he walked down the platform and stood next to his party members.

  “Thank you,” Adam said with a courteous nod.

  The other players were staring at him again, all of them wary. Levon, in particular, wore a dark expression as he stared at Adam. However, it was the Spear God’s stare that caught his attention the most. Even though the man was wearing a hood and covering his face with a mask, Adam could tell the man was staring at him. He turned his head and stared right back through the other man’s mask.

  “All right! Adam defeated Kevin Swift. Not sure how, but he did. Anyway, it is time to select who will fight next!” Sandra declared.

  The battle after Adam’s was between Levon Pleonexia and Skyrim. Levon had the Warrior Class, while Skyrim was a Mage class with several additional skills aside from the beginner skills. His two additional skills were [Water Dragon Roar] and [Wind Wall].

  Adam noticed the moment the fight sta
rted that Levon’s skill with a spear had improved greatly from when they were kids, but he did not have the Spear God’s heaven shattering talent. He was also not as good with his spear as Lexi had been.

  Being familiar with the Pleonexia Family’s style of spearmanship, he did not fail to notice that the Spear God’s style varied a little from the standard Seven Forms that Levon used. The Spear God’s style was highly modified for someone with a lower center of gravity. The Seven Phoenix Forms Style was originally designed for someone with a center of gravity near their chest, but the Spear God had modified it to fit someone who had a center of gravity near their hips.

  The battle between Levon Pleonexia and Skyrim lasted a lot longer than his or the Spear God’s battles, but it eventually ended in Levon’s victory after Skyrim ran out of MP.

  “Thank you for letting me win,” Levon said with a polite smile as he bowed toward Skyrim. It was a very respectful attitude that did not contain a hint of arrogance—at least, no arrogance that any normal person could see.

  “Haaa… It looks like you’ve improved,” Skyrim said politely. “It’s unfortunate I’m a Mage in this game. Perhaps I could have given you a better fight if I chose the Warrior Class.”

  Levon did not say anything and only kept his polite facade in place as the two left the stage.

  “Levon Pleonexia has won! That was a good match! Now let’s see who will fight next!” Sandra shouted as the screen once more shifted through the faces of every competitor at neck-breaking speed.

  The following two battles were Connor Sword versus Oblivion, and Ymir versus Gaia. Connor Sword defeated Oblivion. Meanwhile, Gaia beat Ymir. After those two battles came one that caused Adam to pause.

  Flame Emperor versus Fayte.

  Adam glanced at Fayte when her veiled visage appeared next to her brother’s on the screen. Her eyes were calm, composed, and tranquil, but her left hand was clenched into a fist and shaking. No matter how determined she might be, how much stronger than her brother she became, it was still hard for someone as kind and compassionate as her to fight against her family.

  “Fayte.” Adam placed his hands on her shoulder, startling the woman. Veil and mask met. She stared into his eyes as he said, “You’ve got this.”

  Fayte took a deep breath, her eyes softened almost imperceptibly, and it looked like she was smiling behind her veil.

  “I know,” she said. “I’ll be sure to bring back victory.”

  Adam nodded and removed his hands. As Fayte walked onto the platform, he noticed Levon glaring daggers at him, which made him very glad he wore a mask. No one could see his smile.

  “Hey, Adam?” Aris suddenly looked at him curiously.

  “Yes?” Adam looked at her.

  “Do you love Fayte?” she asked.

  While Kureha did not respond to the question, Lilith, Susan, and Titania all focused on Adam, making him feel like several lasers were being pointed at him. He worked his mouth to say something, but he didn’t know what to say. He knew he should say no. However, the words “Of course I don’t love her” never left his lips, like they were stuck in the back of his throat.

  “Why… do you ask?” asked Adam after several seconds of silence.

  “Hee-hee. No reason.”

  Even though she was wearing a mask, Adam could tell through long-term exposure to Aris’s personality that she was giving him one of her more mischievous smiles.

  He decided to focus on the battle instead of the girl hugging his arm.

  On the stage, Fayte was staring at her older brother’s cold visage with uncertainty. The staff she now held in both hands shook only slightly. She took several deep breaths as though hardening her resolve. As she did, her gaze became deeper, calmer, and more placid, like the bottom of an ancient well.

  “Elder brother,” she said in a soft voice.

  Flame Emperor snorted and tapped his staff against the ground. “A little girl who ran away from her responsibilities has no right to call me brother. I was hoping Levon would be the one to battle you, to show you the error of your ways, but since he is not the one standing before you now, that means it is up to me to beat some sense into you.”

  Nobody could tell what sort of expression Fayte was making underneath her veil, but those who knew her could probably imagine. Susan was tearing up. She looked like she wanted to say something. Adam was also biting his lip behind his mask. While Lilith’s expression was as cold as always, Aris looked at the two of them before she cupped her hands and shouted.

  “Fayte! Kick your older brother’s butt! Show him you’re not some weak little girl who needs to be shown ‘the error of her ways.’ Don’t let that loser get the better of you!”

  Flame Emperor cast a glare at Aris. If looks could kill, she would have been dead, but all Aris did was make a hand gesture like she was blowing him a raspberry. She couldn’t do that since she was wearing a mask, but the intent was clear.

  Fayte saw this and smiled before casting a hard gaze at Flame Emperor. “I hope you’re ready, Elder Brother… no, forgive me. I hope you are ready, Flame Emperor. I won’t hold back.”

  “Hmph. That should be my line.”

  “Huh? What is this?! Are these two related?! Is this a sibling rivalry here?!” Sandra asked uncertainly. “It seems both fighters are more than ready for this. So let the battle begin… now!”

  Flame Emperor had a magic class like Fayte, but his class was simply Mage while hers was Elemental Master. He had all the basics skills of a Mage like [Energy Bolt] and [Energy Blast], but he also had the [Scorching Blaze], [Fire Spear], and [Firestorm] skills. Each skill was impressive, to be sure. Anyone else would have been stunned by how powerful his skills were.

  Unfortunately, he was fighting Fayte.

  Perhaps it was because he was upset, but Flame Emperor used [Scorching Blaze] right from the beginning. The ground beneath Fayte’s feet turned bright red before a tornado shot up around her. Even though Adam was standing below the platform, he could still feel the incredible heat from the skill.

  +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300; +300!

  Adam was not sure what impressed him more. The quietness of the crowd that had been roaring for blood seconds before, or the way Flame Emperor’s jaw dropped when he saw his own attack healing Fayte.

  “Hee-hee. I bet Fayte’s idiot older brother didn’t expect that,” Aris said in a self-satisfied voice. She looked quite smug with her hands on her hips, chest thrust out.

  “He most certainly didn’t,” Susan added with a small smile of her own. Despite her generally timid nature, it was clear from the look in her eyes that she was happy to see the scene unfolding before her.

  “W-what is happening?!” Flame Emperor asked in shock, though the question seemed rhetorical. “This is impossible! This shouldn’t be impossible!”

  “It is not impossible,” Fayte said after the 30 second period for [Scorching Blaze] ended. Her veil fluttered a little as the intense winds died down. “You don’t know because you probably haven’t looked at the most recent Class Ranking Chart, but I had a class change recently. I’m an Elemental Master now, and I have several pieces of equipment that lets me replenish my health when I’m hit by elemental attacks.”

  “W-wha—but how?! How could you get such a class?!” screamed Flame Emperor.

  “How?” Fayte tilted her head, then looked back at Adam. A softness appeared within her eyes as they locked gazes, though it was only for a moment before she turned back to her brother. “I have great friends who helped me.”

  That was all Fayte said before she unleashed her own attack. She cast [Firestorm]. She could have used [Fireball], but it was clear to the members of her party that she was trying to make a point.

  A great wave of flames erupted from her staff and swept over the platform like a tidal wave sweeping over a small village. Flame Emperor tried to dodge, but
that was no simple matter. It would have been easier to avoid a hailstorm of bullets fired from a fully automated assault rifle at point-blank range. The wave of flames swept over Flame Emperor.

  -16,716!

  It looked like Flame Emperor’s equipment negated a portion of the fire damage, but it didn’t really matter in the end. Whether Fayte’s attack did the full -23,880 or only -16,000, Flame Emperor did not have the health to survive. His HP dropped to zero. Then he was revived and transported off the platform. He appeared next to a dead faced Levon, whose lips were drawn into a very tight line.

  “Well… that… was… impressive,” Sandra said into her magic microphone. Even she sounded like she didn’t know what to make of that battle. “It seems there are quite a few strong people here. In either event, it is time for the next battle to begin!”

  The next battle ended up being Gaia versus Mist. Adam originally did not pay much attention to the battle because neither opponent interested him, but as the fight wore on, he began focusing more and more on Mist. What he saw left him stunned.

  Mist was of the Priest Class, which meant he had no offensive abilities to speak of. All he had were the spells [Healing], [Physical Boost], and [Mana Up]. Those were the spells every Priest Class player started with, and he didn’t use any others, so Adam assumed he didn’t have them.

  -10; -10; -10!

  The first thing Mist had done was cast [Physical Boost] on himself. [Physical Boost] was a simple buff spell that increased a person’s Strength. It was clear from how little damage he did that his Strength and Physical Attack stats were pathetic because he only did -10 damage even with [Physical Boost] active, but that was what made the man all the more astonishing.

  -10; -10; -10!

  “Hold still, you little bastard!” Gaia shrieked in a chilling voice—not that it did much good.