Wesley blocks the strike and returns his own sword thrust to the ninja's face.
The opponent ducks under the blade and tries to jab at the chest.
However, Wesley counters by twisting his forearm downward, knocking the Tonfa stick aside with his sword. He punches forward with his shield and slams it into the ninja's face.
The ninja allows his face to move backward with the momentum of the blow, and hops back a few steps. Seeing that the blow has resulted in Concussion status, the ninja quickly tosses another smoke bomb on the ground, and rolls away from the area. Before the smoke could clear, he tosses another bomb.
Wesley wisely moves away from his former position, choosing to hide behind a large rock formation. I guess he really does want to play hide-and-seek, the warrior thinks with amusement.
Once the Concussion status is gone, the ninja activates his “Stealthy Movement” skill and starts looking for his prey. He stumbles over a loose rock with his left foot, and stomps on the ground with his right foot to steady himself.
Wesley nears the sound nearby and quickly jumps out of hiding. “En garde!” he says as he tries to stab his opponent in the heart.
The ninja’s Tonfa stick blocks the blade, and he quickly snaps a foot into the warrior’s torso.
The unexpected kick forces Wesley to shuffle a few backward as the cavalier tries to remain on his feet.
The ninja uses the opportunity to strike at his opponent’s head, intending to deliver a Concussion status.
Wesley regains his wits in time to block the stick with his shield. Suddenly he feels the shield being tugged to the right. The experienced warrior experiences a flashback to the mock fight with the Chinese intern a few months back. Knowing exactly what the ninja is planning to do, Wesley rotates his avatar’s body, pivots on his left foot, and kicks out his right foot in one motion.
The move slams the leg into the ninja’s back, catching him off guard and pushing him in front of the ex-Marine.
Now! Wesley thinks as he thrusts the sharp end of the long sword into the ninja’s back and skewers his opponent. Wesley waits a moment and he sees that the man is motionless and hanging limply on his sword. Wesley plants his hand on his defeated opponent’s back and pulls out the sword in one smooth motion.
The ninja’s body lands on his knees; then he topples, face first, onto the dirt.
Wesley raises his sword in the air, striking a victorious pose for the camera.
Chapter 74 – Expiration
“Wow! Another victory for the Eternians!” Evan exclaims excitedly, trying to muster up some enthusiasm for the viewers at home as the outcome of the Hundred Man Tournament is becoming obvious now.
“Yeah, the Eternian players have been riding a string of victories in the individual match ups. And with five minutes remaining on the clock, it looks nearly impossible for the Virtuans to break through,” Antoinette agrees.
“There are only a handful of Virtuans remaining on the field: three on the mountain top and two more on the ground; that makes a total of five. On the other hand, there are still eight Eternians in the game,” Evan notes. Even though the lives counter on the viewer screen will show exactly how many players are still alive, the host still wants to bring it up in order to fill some air time, so to speak.
“On top of that, the Eternian necromancer is still maintaining the Wall of Bones. I assume the two Virtuans hiding on the ground are hoping the necromancer will run out of mana, and then rush through the portal when the wall collapses,” Antoinette adds. “But you have Heimdall and his impossibly long reach with his halberd to guard the portal. So a mad dash through the portal strategy wouldn’t necessarily work on Heimdall.”
“So it looks like final hope for a Virtuan victory rides on the shoulder of the CEO of Virtuous Gaming Co. With that, let’s turn our camera to the duel between the two company chief executives at the Town Square,” Evan says.
* * *
Charles Winter is sweating heavily. He can feel the sweat dripping down his face. He would like nothing better to log out of the stupid game and take a nice, long shower. However, he can’t. Not when the fate of the company now rides on Charles’ duel with his hated rival.
Richard takes a wild swing of his long sword at the monk’s torso. Although he is keenly aware that his players are winning the Hundred Man Tournament, Richard would like nothing better than to humiliate Charles with a complete and utter defeat.
Charles blocks the blade with his wooden staff. Why did I pick monk class anyway? The man takes a moment to consider the rationale behind his choice of avatar class to bring into the game. Oh, right. I wanted to showcase the Oriental Expansion, and monk was one of the new character classes introduced into World of Eternia. Also, I wanted to show that I’m different, not some Joe Smoe always picking the safe warrior class. Charles smiles at the thought.
“Now I think you must have gone insane. How can you be smiling when you’re about to lose your company, Charles?” Richard taunts.
“It ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings,” Charles retorts while taking a big swing with his staff.
Richard blocks the blow with his shield and counters with a slash at his opponent’s torso.
Charles hops back just in time to avoid the long blade. I think I finally got my timing down. The monk starts spinning his staff in front of his body.
"Are you trying to show off now?" Richard taunts and lounges his shield into the staff.
Charles sidesteps the charge effortlessly like a bull fighter, and whacks his armored opponent in the rear.
Richard quickly turns around.
Charles suddenly jabs one end of his staff against the ground, and pushes his body off the staff. The unencumbered man flies, feet first, through the air and kicks the knight squarely in the face.
The blow disorients Richard and drops him flat on his back.
Charles quickly takes advantage of the momentum to jab repeatedly at the fallen man.
Richard raises his shield, but with the Concussion status in effect his avatar is unable to block a majority of the strikes. His health bar starts to decrease rapidly: eighty percent, seventy percent, sixty, forty, twenty, ten. . .
Suddenly, fireworks go off in the air. BANG-BABA-BANG! The tournament has ended!
With the Concussion status suddenly gone, Richard lifts his torso off the ground and smashes his shield into his opponent's abdomen in one smooth motion.
As Charles was looking up at the sky when the shield is shoved into his avatar, the monk is knocked off balance and his character is forced to take several steps back.
"It's over. You lost!" Richard gloats.
Charles stares with hatred at his rival, and sudden remembers that the duel is being streamed live. He offers a fake smile for the cameras and drops his weapon. He claps his hands. CLAP-CLAP-CLAP! "Well played," he says cheerfully and casually walks up to Richard with a hand held out.
"Great match," Richard smiles graciously and shakes the loser's hand.
The two stare at each other, neither man willing to say another kind word to the other.
* * *
"And there we have it! The Eternians have won the Hundred Man Tournament!" Evan says while clapping his hands in appreciation of the players' efforts.
"It was a great match full of surprises," Antoinette adds. "I think the MVP of this event has to be Heimdall."
"I agree. He took down so many opponents by himself in the passage way, after his comrades got bombed out of the game. The man refused to back down despite the severe man-disadvantage, and held down the fort. Heimdall offered a clinic on the art of melee fighting," Evan praises generously.
"But the runner up has to be Laura Deathmaiden. If Heimdall is the ace, then Laura is the closer who shut the door literally and saved the Eternians from a disheartening loss," Antoinette notes.
"Yes, and hopefully both players will stick around for the festivities afterwards here in the Town Square," Evan continues. "Since the Hundred Man Tournamen
t has ended, World of Eternia is again open for non-participants to log in. I hope you will join us."
"Right. And you viewers at home who have watched the match, please stick around for the celebrations," Antoinette urges with a dazzling smile.
Chapter 75 – Winners
As the two chief executives shake hands, players and NPCs alike begin entering the space formerly vacated for the duel.
Clap-clap-clap-clap-clap! People standing in the Town Square start clapping and cheering. "What a blast this event was!" someone yells out.
"Thank you both for making this happen," another player yells at the two.
Richard quickly releases his rival's hand, and waves with a bright smile at the public gathering. "Thank you for your support!" he says.
"I hope you will still be involved in the company," another player tells Charles.
The loser glances over at Richard and points a finger. "He's now the boss and it's up to him what my role in the new company will be," Charles answers politely.
Richard puts a hand on Charles' shoulder. "We will sit down soon and discuss what role he would be interested in playing in the combined company," the winner replies.
“Strangers! Strangers! Strangers!”
The duo turns as the five members of The Strangers enter the Town Square. Players start gathering around the group and offer hearty slaps on the back.
Laura raises her skeletal hand focus item as a warning, and players instantly shrink back and avoid touching her.
Standing besides her, Conrad soaks in the adulation from the crowd. "Thank you!" he says as people slap his broad back, and the man fist bumps everyone in his vicinity.
Wesley stands in the middle of the group, and waves to the crowd with a smile on his face. He would rather go offline and hit the showers at EDE’s headquarters right now, but Wesley understands this is another obligation of his as a player consultant. In fact, he was the one who insisted on The Strangers coming to the Town Square afterwards; otherwise, only Conrad would bother to show up.
To Wesley's immediate right, Lucious pointedly ignores the cheers. He'll play a good trooper and hang out for a few minutes for his leader's sake. But that doesn't mean Lucious has to enjoy it.
Diana stands on the end and smiles politely at the well-wishers as she waves her hands to the crowd.
Richard walks over and offers a man hug to Wesley. "Where is Heimdall?" the CEO asks in a low voice.
Wesley shakes Richard's hand and replies. "Heimdall bailed out immediately afterwards. He said something about needing a long shower." The knight shrugs.
"Smart man," Lucious mutters under his breath, and earns an elbow to the ribs from his girlfriend.
The two men look outward for the camera as they continue shaking hands.
Finally, Richaurd holds up his hands to quiet the crowd. "What a magnificent match!" he begins. "The match was extremely well organized, planned, and executed by our players. These five standing before us are not just players; they are our heroes and champions. Thus, it would be proper to bestow new title to them, and to all participants. Yes, all one hundred players in the Hundred Man Tournament will now have a special title: 'Hero of Eternia.'"
The crowd claps hard at the news. Titles often come with special benefits in the game.
Richard holds up his hand and continues. "Second, all participants will receive one year subscription time to World of Eternia and a free copy of the Oriental Expansion. Third, their characters will receive one thousand pieces of gold each in their inventory, along with five potions of healing and mana."
The crowd cheers wildly at the obscene amount of gold the CEO is handing out. One thousand gold pieces is enough to buy permanent player housing.
Richard continues after the cheers die down. "Fourth, all experience loss from the death penalty will be restored, and one million experience points will be added to each participating avatar."
The crowd cheers again. It could easily take a month of hardcore dungeoneering to accumulate that kind of experience.
"Finally, all participants in this event will be considered for beta testing in future expansions to World of Eternia," Richard announces.
The crowd erupts at the suggestion of more expansions on the horizon for the game. The Oriental Expansion took a year and a half to be released after the launch of World of Eternia.
Richard smiles once more for the camera. He nods at Charles, who takes the cue to log off the server. "Now, please enjoy the rest of this event. We have special missions and quests available for players to attempt for today only. Thank you again for your support!" He waves at the crowd again, and logs off the server.
Chapter 76 – Suspicion
Once Charles logs out of his player account, he immediately contacts Digital Bandit via a special chat room. The executive types: “What happened to the speed hack? And why weren’t my players able to do any damage?”
A moment later, the hacker replies: “Your friend is a very cunning man. His staff divided the mountain area into two instances, with the first being the ground level and the second being the mountain top area. My hack was apparently only effective for the ground level, and I didn’t have enough time to put in a hack for the other area.”
Charles replies succinctly: “I didn’t get what I paid for.”
Digital Bandit punts the blame back: “It was a rather unfortunate development that your staff, which had access to the game code, neglected to inform me of this important fact. Also, if the speed hack extended to your avatar, EDE would have rock solid proof of tampering as Richard himself would have first person encounter with it in your personal duel with him.”
Charles allows the counter point to stand unchallenged. “What about my players' inability to do damage while in the ground instance?”
Digital Bandit fully expected this to come up. “Apparent, your friend also cheated to ensure that his players will win the match. Perhaps you could bring this up in mediation?”
“You had nothing to do with it?” the executive types.
“LOL. You think I’m a double agent? That is rich,” the hacker responds smoothly. “Think what you will. There are plenty of hackers available to assist Richard. It could also be the work of a WoE player taking the initiative on his own to ensure that the game servers will remain online. After all, there was intense speculation online that you will shut down WoE completely if your company wins the tournament. I’m sure the game has some very hardcore fans and they were frightened by that prospect. We have no way to tell who put in the damage hack. Anyway, I wish you the best of luck in your next endeavor.” With that, the Digital Bandit leaves the chat room.
Charles exits the room as well, and leans back in his chair as he thinks about the hacker’s responses. The World of Eternia’s server takes a professional to hack in. There aren’t many players who would have the skills, and be willing to risk losing their accounts to pull this off. Moreover, the way the damage hack totally negated the player advantage from the speed hack points to someone aware of the presence of the speed hack. The only persons knowing about the speed hack are himself and Digital Bandit. Unfortunately, the hacker has his bitcoins now and Charles won’t be able to get a refund.
SLAM! Charles pounds a fist on the table at his helplessness.
Chapter 77 – Mediation
The two company chief executives stare at one another across the long, conference table. Each man is accompanied by members of the respective company’s Board of Directors, legal counsel, and other senior executives.
The mediator is seated at the head of the table. He turns on the old fashioned tape recorder and begins the session. “Good morning. My name is Alfred Godfried and I am the mediator between Virtuous Gaming Co. and Eternia Development & Entertainment, Inc., regarding their pending merger. The main focus of this session is to gather facts to determine who ultimately will retain controlling interest over the combined companies. So let’s start with a player event and its role in this determination. Who would l
ike to start discussing this event?” he asks.
Richard T. Gibson immediately raises his hand, in order to take control over the session. “Please allow me. My old friend and college roommate, Charles Winter, had contacted me on a number of occasions expressing interest in buying my company. However, I had reservations on a number of issues and declined to entertain this notion. Finally, Charles launched a very public challenge via a player event, with our ownership interest in our respective companies as the prize. I belatedly agreed and thus, we recently held a ‘Hundred Man Tournament,’ which my players eventually won. Therefore, it is clear that I am entitled to Charles’s private shares in his company per the terms of the gentleman’s challenge.”
The mediator nods. “Is there anything you would like to add or correct, sir?” he asks Charles.
“Yes sir. I am in agreement with Richard up to the point where the Hundred Man Tournament event was held. However, there were incidents that arose during the event that calls into question whether the event should determine whose shares should be forfeit,” Charles Winter explains.
“How so?” the mediator asks.
“During the final hour of the match, a glitch appeared that severely reduced damage produced by my players down to one point per attack. However, the glitch did not seem to affect the opposing players, and therefore it raises a question of fairness as the opposing side had a distinct advantage. In addition, this glitch arose at a critical juncture when a wall was magically raised to surround a portal that my players needed to enter in order to win the event, Charles explains.”
“The wall, called into existence and placed strategically by an Eternian player, can be broken down; however the damage glitch prevented my players from being able to do so. Thus, if you look at the totality of the circumstances, the glitch was a critical incidence that denied my players the ability to break down the wall and pass through the portal. Consequently, this so-called win by the Eternian representatives should be vacated,” Charles argues. “If necessary, I can contact the players and ask them to confirm with you the glitch and how it prevented them from passing through the portal.”
World of Eternia: The Complete Collection Page 43