The Virtual Realm

by Daniel Perusko

  Truth be told, as much as she despised Raven, his boundless strength and overwhelming confidence really turned her on. She did not love him, but she could not quell the uncontrollable lust she felt. Raven and Shark both knew the paradigm of their relationship, without even having to say a word. To them, the arrangement was mutually beneficial, so there was no reason to complain. This was likely the closest thing to a stable relationship either one of them would have with the opposite sex, the irony of it being how unstable it really was.

  Raven grabbed Shark’s arms, pushing her away from their kiss in disgust.

  “You taste like blood. How many times have I told you to clean yourself up before touching me? Disgusting. Now there’s blood all over me.”

  “Mmm, but isn’t it all the more exciting this way? You like it.”

  A prime example of why humans don’t deserve to live, Leo nodded to himself.

  “No matter how many times I see you, you still make me wanna throw up, Shark,” came the voice which belonged to the one called Kevlar.

  “Is that right? You know I still haven’t forgiven you for taking my prey in that dungeon.”

  “Your prey? Just who are you talking about? You’ve killed so many men that I’ve lost track.”

  “I’m talking about that blue haired Knight, dumbass! A couple of months ago in that dungeon, when you killed those newbs; except for that one guy who we were ordered not to kill.”

  Kevlar remembered it now. Just hearing any mention of Dusk made his body tremble in rage. Back then, that newb was nothing to him. But now... now that damned Phantom was his worst enemy. Raven and Leo made sure to keep him up to date on the fact that Dusk’s and Tsuki’s relationship had progressed from friends into lovers. Next time he saw him, he’d kill him for sure.

  “Oh right, him.” Kevlar spoke calmly, suffocating his endless rage beneath an ocean’s facade. “Back then I had forgotten you wanted to kill that Knight.”

  “Such bullshit, you just wanted to hog all those kills for yourself, admit it!”

  Kevlar wasn’t about to get into a childish argument with this fool, but Shark wasn’t done talking.

  “To think, you’re killing all these people just so you can see one woman again. It’s incomprehensible; do you think her pussy is the Holy Grail or something? You’re so pathetic.” Though she would never admit it, Kevlar's devotion to this mystery woman made her jealous. Not that she wanted him, he repulsed her in fact; but deep down, she wished that just one man would have shown that kind of dedication and care to her. Now it was too late — far too late.

  She hit a tender spot with her words. Kevlar couldn’t hold back any longer.

  “I would do anything for her. I love her and her alone. I don’t expect you to understand, since you’re a slut who has a different guy every day.”

  “Oh really?” Shark equipped her blade, ready to make him regret those words. “Perhaps I’ll kill you next.”

  “Shut up already.” Raven threw them both into the wall with telepathic force. “I won’t let your infantile bickering get in the way of my plans, now shut up and listen.”

  The entire room fell into an obedient silence.

  “Now... let’s get started.”

  The meeting lasted a full hour. Shark was pissed. Raven had interrupted her fun time for this? She would definitely make sure he repaid her later. She surfaced from her own rage filled world just in time to hear the meeting coming to a close.

  “Now...” he continued, “Leo, are the preparations ready?”

  “Yes,” replied the plum-haired man, with a stony expression as always.

  “Eagle, are the troops ready to deploy at a moment’s notice?”

  He was pointing this question towards Eagle, the last part of their core group. In truth, Ouroboros, which was the name of their group, had hundreds of members, but most of them were pawns. The ones who called the shots were in this very room. Eagle was a war veteran who had been through many battles. But they weren’t the grizzly tough guy that you would expect when you hear the term war veteran. Rather, it was a slender yet athletic woman clad in blonde hair, zipped up in yellow latex. Where her appearance may not be what was expected, the weary expression in her battle hardened eyes of brown told the story of a lifetime of carnage.

  “Yes, sir. They’re ready to fight and die valiantly.” Eagle spoke with her hands tightly at her sides, still thinking herself a soldier.

  “Shark, you’ll be on the front lines, carving through the battlefield. I know that’s where you want to be anyways.”

  “Aww, you always know how to please a girl, don’t you?” Shark smiled warmly.

  He finally turned to look at Kevlar, the last piece of the puzzle.

  “Kevlar, you know what to do. You’ll finally get your chance to do what you’ve wanted to for months.”

  “There’s nowhere I’d rather be.” Kevlar’s words were set ablaze with passion.

  “We execute the plan in two days. You’re all dismissed.”

  ~~~~~

  Kevlar walked back to his room and sunk into his bed wordlessly. What was he doing? In truth, these people were abhorrent. He knew they were villains. He knew what he was doing was considered wrong. But this was a necessary evil.

  Back then, she left without even saying goodbye, as if the two years they spent together meant absolutely nothing to her. Granted, he was smothering her and he knew it. The more he pushed, the more she pulled away from him. He was technically alive, but he wasn’t living life. He was nothing but a hollow shell of a man. He never stopped searching for Karla, but he never found her.

  Giving up on the real world, he went back to the one and only place he could get his mind off the painful truth—videogames. He went back to World of Lorecraft, competing for the gladiator title. Every time he had competed for the title, he had attained it. He’d won every single PvP tournament he’d ever played. But that day, he lost for the first time against a player named Raven. Raven and Kevlar quickly became friends afterwards. One day, after a heavy barrage of alcohol, Kevlar bled his heart out to Raven, telling him of his plight and his great love for Karla. Months later, Raven breathed life into his shattered soul. Two days before it had come out, Raven relayed a message to Kevlar asking if he wanted to join him in War of the Elements. Very intrigued by the new concept of a VRMMO, he couldn’t say no to the prospect. Originally he had joined for the new experience, but two days into the game, Raven had told Kevlar he had spotted Karla within the game. His body trembled in anticipation upon hearing the news. He wasted no time at all in getting all the information he could about this. Unfortunately, even though he had known Raven for months now, he actually knew very little about the man. He had a way of keeping things secret, and Kevlar didn’t want to pry.

  At first, he thought it was intriguing that Raven was able to hack the game and start them off at max level. They would get the best gear far before everyone else. The worst part happened when Kevlar asked to see Karla again.

  Raven offered to oblige him, but he had to do some things for him first. At first they were small, but they gradually ramped up in severity. The sheer thought of seeing his lost love again possessed him completely. He no longer cared what boundaries he had to cross to make it happen. It became his obsession, his reason for living. Before he knew it, he found himself killing people, all for the chance to see her. He couldn't keep living this way. This was the last straw. After this one last task, he would meet her again even if it meant going against Raven’s wishes. Then there was the company Raven kept.

  He could definitely tell they weren’t good people. Especially the one called Shark. He knew in his heart that he had spiraled out of control, but he wasn’t about to stop now. Not now... he would see her again no matter what, and set things right. Most of all, he would protect her even if it cost him his life. He would not hesitate to turn against Raven and the others if that was what the situation required. There was no love lost there.

  He now stood at a hair’s
breadth of achieving what he went through hell and back for. No one would stand in his way. Not Raven—not Ouroboros—not Dusk.

  Chapter 12

  Feb 20, 2019

  Dusk released a powerful yawn. How long had he been standing here doing nothing? Three hours? Four? Some of these Legendary Monsters would only spawn once every day. This one in particular dropped an item that was worth millions of crylla. He wasn’t the only one who camped here. There were at least fifteen other players standing in this fifty by fifty foot area, just waiting for the beast to spawn. Whoever attacked the monster first had the chance of receiving the item. What this meant was that he couldn’t relax too much if he wanted a crack at the loot.

  Why was he wasting his time like this? Descent was taking a week off to max their crafting skills and make loads of crylla to upgrade their guild house. Since Descent was busy, Phoenix couldn’t tackle raids right now, and they had already obtained the best dungeon gear available. Dusk could’ve spent his time crafting, but he never did enjoy crafting too much in MMOs.

  As such he sat there like a hawk. Watching... waiting. Suddenly a periodic ringing disturbed his concentration. He was afraid if he stopped to answer the call, the monster would spawn and he’d miss his chance. He tried as best he could to ignore the ringing noise in his head. Two minutes later it still persisted.

  Whatever it is must be important, he sighed to himself, answering the call. It was from Omni.

  “Yes, what’s up?” Dusk asked.

  “Come to East Bermia right now. This is very important.”

  “J what is this abo--”

  Before he could even finish asking his question, Omni hung up on him. Dusk rubbed his chin as he contemplated what could be so pressing. Maybe Raven had revealed himself.

  East Bermia. That’s the low level zone right outside the city of Bermia. Is something going on in the capital?

  !

  As soon as he arrived in the rocky zone of East Bermia, he received a party invite from Omni. Thunderbolts were crackling through the bleak skies as usual. Startled slightly at the speed of Omni’s invite, he thusly accepted the invitation. Tsuki, Scarlet, and Reaper were already present.

  Dusk quickly brought up his map to locate them, sprinting to them in a beeline. His mind raced with possibilities. Finally he spotted them all at the top of a cliff, staring into the distance.

  “There you guys are. What is this about?” Dusk inquired anxiously.

  “See for yourself,” Omni suggested as he stepped aside.

  Dusk did as ordered, planting his foot on the cliff end as he gazed at the capital. His mouth dropped to the floor as his body tightened into stone.

  “Oh my god...” he whispered, awestruck. Nothing could’ve prepared him for what he saw that day.

  ~~~~~

  Four Hours Ago.

  The trio of black, purple, and yellow stood atop the castle rooftop, gazing out at the endless army of bipedal fish before them. It was like an ocean of people slowly approaching the city gates with the tide.

  “So it only took those filthy Pollusks two days to send their armies to our front door after the Prime Minister sent me this declaration of war.”

  Leo held out the letter to Raven that was signed by the Prime Minister himself. In this virtual world, normally cities were safe havens, but in wartime it was different. When a country had war declared on them by another country, people could be killed within the cities. There was no safe haven then. Nowhere to escape the cold reality of death. The victors of a war in War of the Elements could receive all sorts of benefits. These would range from increased experience and crylla, to possession of valuable resources and territories. Of course, they could even instill their government on the defeated nation, not to mention possession of their elemental stone. The elemental stones could only go to one person per nation. Currently, Omni had the Elemental Stone of Lightning. If one nation collected all six elemental stones for themselves, they could free their race and their race alone from this virtual prison.

  “They do move quickly don’t they?” Raven replied wryly.

  “So eager are they to butcher and kill.” Leo’s words hissed with poison.

  “How long until they get here?” asked Raven, turning his head to Eagle.

  “Sir, at their current pace, two hours, three at the most.”

  Raven placed his hands behind him as he focused on the sea of sharkmen before him.

  “I see. Go and assemble the troops, Eagle. I leave the battle plan up to you.”

  Eagle gave Raven a firm salute before she excused herself from the premises.

  “Yes, sir!”

  ~~~~~

  Two hours later, Eagle had assembled a most formidable army in front of the city gates, just waiting for their opponent to advance. On her side were approximately twenty thousand Wizards, ten thousand Masters of Arms, fifteen thousand healers/support, and roughly thirty thousand frontline fighters, all ready to start this war. Wizards and snipers were placed on top of the walls of the city gate. The healers were split between the gates and the frontline army, in order to maximize efficiency on heals. Not everyone in the Harian force was level 50, but they were all at least level 40 or above. Any less would’ve been certain suicide.

  The enemy army was almost here. Eagle took this moment to speak to the over seventy thousand troops who were fighting for their country.

  “My brothers and sisters of Bermia! An army of sharkmen has come to fight against us. They think they can challenge us. They think they can defeat us. The proudest warriors of Bermia seek to protect our elemental stone, so that we can free ourselves from this prison. No longer will we be shackled! We will be free men and women!”

  Eagle paused as her eyes roamed among the massive army which fought for a united cause.

  “But the nation of Necrobia seeks to stand in the way of that dream. You see the heathens who would think to march upon our city? They seek to keep us chained; they seek to take our freedom for their own. Let’s show them what being a soldier of Bermia is all about! Let’s show them, we will not lay down and die. We will fight for our dreams to the bitter end! To our last breath!”

  She raised her rifle into the air as she shouted her battle cry with all of the fervor she could muster.

  “For King Leo!”

  “For King Leo!” the army chanted in valor.

  “For Bermia!”

  “For Bermia!” The collective voice of almost eighty thousand Harians rocked the capital city to its core. They were ready to fight and die for a greater ideal.

  This was where Eagle felt most at home; on the battlefield. This is the only way she knew how to live. Memories of her past flashed through her. In the real world, she was a ghost now. Here in this virtual world, she was flesh and blood.

  “How long?” Eagle asked the scout, who diligently peered through his scope.

  “Three minutes, ma’am!”

  “Good. Now give me that spyglass, soldier!” Eagle commanded.

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  The enemy army had brought a full siege kit. Trebuchets and battering rams loomed prominently over the gigantic enemy force.

  The entire Pollusk army crouched behind a wall of shields. There must have been at least ten thousand Knights, if not more, to create such a complete shield wall. Eagle could spot a formidable force of Wizards, healers, and soldiers in the backline. They had advanced far enough, it was time.

  “Ready!” Eagle issued her order to the snipers and Wizards. The snipers all hunkered down, focusing their senses and concentration into their scope enhanced eyes. This was it. There was no more time to think, no more time to pray. It was either kill or be killed.

  “Aim!” The enemy was mere steps away from the threshold now. In but a few moments, the war for which this game was so aptly named would begin.

  “Fire!”

  This was the declaration which triggered the war. Countless explosions could be heard as ten thousand bullets and twenty
thousand fireballs all fired simultaneously, filling the bleak skies with fatal projectiles.

  Bullets tore through armor and fish flesh as blue blood stained the ground. Fireballs turned roughly five thousand Pollusks into charred corpses. The enemy was not shaken in the least; they continued their advance. Their trebuchets were now in range.

  “Alpha team, focus on siege! Bravo team, focus on the casters!” Eagle shouted out.

  As instructed, Alpha team—the Wizards, stopped attacking the frontline, instead focusing their efforts on the trebuchets and battering rams. If they could throw enough fire at them, the machines would burn to the ground.

  Meanwhile Bravo team was focusing on sniping the lifeblood fueling the Pollusk force. They set their scopes on the Clerics, Sword Mages, Enchanters, and Summoners, in that order.

  Another salvo of bullets and fireballs assaulted the enemy. Clerics were dropping like flies as the wooden trebuchets slowly burned to ash. This only made a dent in the enemy forces, however. There were still quite a few Clerics alive, and the Pollusks had as of now no shortage of siege equipment.

  Necrobia had enough of taking this onslaught sitting down. It was time to fight back. Prominent whooshing noises pierced the vapory masses above as trebuchets flung countless flaming boulders into the thundering skies.

  The heavy stones shook the city walls as they slammed down on the ranged unit, killing hundreds instantly. Cries of death filled the air; so many lives being snuffed out as if they were just another number. Such was the reality of war.

  This bloody defense continued for an hour. The Harians lost about twenty five thousand soldiers, while the enemy lost roughly fifty five thousand of the one hundred fifty thousand they had. In terms of sheer numbers, the Pollusks had a massive advantage. In truth, the battle was nearly even. The Harians had the advantage of the high ground as well as their stalwart walls. In order to sack a city, oftentimes you would need to have twice as many soldiers as your enemy; it was definitely an uphill battle.