by EA Hooper
Finally, the last few spriggans retreated, and the five players relaxed.
“Good job with the World Boss,” Zhang replied. “It was nice to fight with a real team again after so many years.”
“You know, you could always join us,” Vincent told him. “We’ll climb to the top, angels or not. Maybe we’ll find other strong players along the way. Or maybe we’ll inspire more people to challenge the World-Tree and its angels.”
Zhang’s cold face softened into a smirk. “Perhaps I’ll join, but only if I know Midrun is safe. The council’s friends on other City-Worlds say that Lucas has been World Teleporting his strongest men. They’re worried he’s getting ready to make a move against cities that don’t follow his rule. Possibly even Midrun.”
Vincent nodded. “We’ll give you time to think about it. Worst-case scenario, you could always catch up to us after you find more players willing to take on the challenge.”
“So, how do we get out of here?” Quinn asked.
“I’ll help you out,” Zhang answered, letting his ice blade vanish. “I have a spell I use to launch myself off low-gravity spots on branches to reach worlds faster. If you get on my back one by one, I’ll jettison all of you out of the cavern.”
They journeyed back to the spot below the cavern entrance. Xan climbed onto Zhang’s back first, and the Ice Knight held out his hands. Icy magic blasted from both his palms, propelling them upward into the air, and Vincent Scanned the ability.
Ice Jet (Mage Only) – Mana Usage: Varies | Generates a pressurized ice blast. The mana usage is determined by the size and pressure of the blast.
Zhang returned a minute later and used Ice Jet for a split-second to slow his descent. He carried the other three players one by one to the top of the gaping cavern they’d originally explored. After dropping off the last of their team, he drank two ethers to restore the mana he’d spent.
Zhang put the empty bottles back into his inventory. “Are you four heading back to Midrun right away? Or were you going to do more ex—” He stared off into space, the universal sign that a player was using private chat. “Oh, my god.”
“What?” Vincent asked.
“That madman,” Zhang growled. “The childish mod, Lucas. Our scanning runes at the Jump Gate detected him and a small army. He really is planning to attack Midrun. I need to stop him.”
The Ice Knight aimed his palms at the ground and cast Ice Jet from both hands once more. He flew out of the cavern and landed on a small plateau. He jettisoned again, disappearing from the team’s sight.
“Uh,” Quinn said, worriedly. “Should we follow him?”
“Yeah, let’s go,” Vincent replied, rushing toward the canyon’s entrance.
Chapter 21
Player: Lucas the Just
Location: Helquin (World) | Jumper’s Fate (Region)
Class: Sheriff (Moderator)
Vitality*: Lv 100
Spirit*: Lv 109
Resolve*: Lv 106
Perception*: Lv 104
Agility*: Lv 100
Strength*: Lv 99
Lucas eyed the men he’d gathered on Helquin. His Justiciars had held an outpost there for several years because many people used that world to jump to Valahym. He had about seventy men that had been working at the outpost, but Lucas also brought five others: Silver Erik, Killer Sam, Jackal-Heart Ryan, Titus the Butcher, and Wayward Charlie. Titus and Charlie were two of the highest-level Justiciars and had proven themselves both obedient and ruthless—two traits Lucas had grown to admire most in his Justiciars.
They gathered around the Jump Gate, and everyone readied their Jump Crystals.
“Remember,” Lucas said, “our goal is to breach the wall. Once inside the city, I doubt they’ll stand up to me. No one wants to get banned, after all. However, feel free to tear down anyone that attempts to stop us.”
His men grinned and cheered.
“Let’s go!” Lucas shouted, aiming his crystals at Valahym.
Lucas took off through the air, and his men followed. They flew through the space between worlds, and then floated on to Valahym. Once there, they marched toward the towering walls of Midrun.
The Wardens on his team prepared powerful team barriers to prepare for Midrun’s cannons. When the holographic depiction of a man appeared, demanding that they halt, Lucas cast it away with a wave of his hand. He continued his march until he reached the barrier.
The cannons opened fire on the Justiciars, but their barriers held through the first wave of explosions. His Wardens rebuffed the barriers, and a few took gulps of ether to top off their mana reserves.
Lucas and his men drew their weapons and attacked the city barrier. They blasted it with mana, slashed at it with swords, and a few of his mages hit it with elemental attacks. Lucas’s Wardens held through another wave of bombardment, but a couple of his men had accidentally exposed themselves by attacking the enemy barrier. The two men were ripped apart by the enemy cannons, but the rest of his Justiciars kept their focus on the objective. Soon, they tore a hole through the city barrier and continued onward.
Lucas’s men formed a tight group around him, ready to protect their leader if their barriers failed. The cannons ripped through one layer of shielding, and then a second soon after. His Wardens rushed to make more, but the cannons tore through them as soon as they appeared.
Almost there, Lucas said, rushing at full speed. All we need to do is breach the wall. Then my victory is assured.
All of his men equipped the rune bombs they’d prepared and tossed them. Explosions rippled across the wall, blasting chunks of the stone away. They unleashed all of their bombs, and then blasted at the holes with Mana Magnums.
Almost there. Almost there.
“Everyone, hold!” Killer Sam shouted, raising his greatsword high. He charged it with his upgraded Breaker, and the dashed toward the damaged wall. The powerful player swung at the stone several times, and his last swing smashed through to the other side.
Lucas’s men charged through the opening with warrior screams, but the guild leader waltzed inside with a smile on his face. I’ve already won. This is my city. The crown jewel of my forthcoming empire.
His men fought and slaughtered the nearest guards, however when people saw Lucas, they threw down their weapons and surrendered. A few players fired at them from nearby guard towers, but they stopped when Lucas held a finger in the air to signal his Mod Gun was ready. The Justiciars hurried down the streets, and everywhere they went, people surrendered at the sight of Lucas.
I’m like a god. They can’t even oppose me. My mere presence causes them to throw down their weapons and drop to their knees.
“Stop this madness!” a man shouted, holding his hands in the air. “Lucas, you have no right to do this!”
Lucas banned the man and walked past him with a smirk. “I can do whatever I like. I’m the god of the World-Tree.”
He continued through the streets with no one trying to stop him. However, they found another barrier that appeared over the council’s tower. Lucas chuckled and shook his head. “Why do they even try? It would be easier to just surrender.”
“They’re fools in an ivory tower,” Erik said. “They’ll learn to kneel to you soon enough.”
“You know, I was expecting a little more of a fight,” Sam said with a frown. “After being locked up for so long, I wanted a nice battle to get the blood flowing.”
“Uh, you might get your chance,” Ryan said, staring at the sky.
A figure shot over the city, leaving a trail of ice particles behind him. The figure jettisoned toward the Justiciars at superhuman speed.
Zhang! Lucas realized, raising his finger to ban him.
A massive wall of ice appeared in an instant, freezing Lucas, Erik, and twenty nearby men. Lucas couldn’t budge inside the ice, and he wasn’t even able to angle his finger at Zhang.
Zhang flew down and sliced through three Justiciars with a blade made of ice. He gulped down a mega-ether with his
other hand, and then fired a Mana Cannon that tore through three more men.
Lucas’s men attacked in a panic, but Zhang Vanished several times, leaving Ice Doppelgangers. The doppelgangers fought off several men until the remnants shattered, but Zhang flew past and cut down the men his doppelgangers had been fighting.
Lucas and his frozen comrades used mana to melt the ice, but each spell only took out a small chunk of the massive wall. Once the moderator could move his hands, he directed mana at the ice holding his body in place.
Sam and Ryan broke out of the ice wall first. By the time they’d released themselves and readied their weapons, Zhang had taken out half of the Justiciars.
Sam charged his greatsword with Breaker, and his blade clashed with the Ice Knight’s. Zhang blocked attacks from him and Ryan, and then the Ice Knight cut through both layers of Ryan’s Mana Shield with one swipe.
Sam tried to hit Zhang as the Ice Knight swiped through his friend’s shield, but the enemy moved too fast. Zhang blocked the attack and shoved through it, shattering Sam’s sword. The famous Chinese player cut into Sam’s Mana Shield, but the grizzled man jumped backward, avoiding a second attack. Sam replied with a close-range mana blast, but Zhang Vanished.
The Ice Knight reappeared behind Ryan and decapitated him with a quick slash. More Justiciars charged at him from all directions, but he danced around their attacks, and slew them with lightning-fast-attacks.
“Now, this is a fight!” Sam shouted, grinning. As Zhang cut down men left and right, Sam used potions to temporarily boost most of his stats. He gulped down an ether, and then tried to aim his palm at Zhang. It took a few seconds as the Ice Knight zipped back and forth, cutting down Justiciars, but Sam finally found his opportunity and cast Mana Cannon.
The blast hit Zhang head-on and knocked out one layer of his Mana Shield. The second layer held through the blast, which meant he’d upgraded it to either a 250-rating or the maximum 300-rating.
Zhang Vanished, reappeared in front of Sam, and ran his ice blade through the man’s chest.
Sam coughed blood and smiled. “Got ya.” He flashed the Lotus Capsule in his teeth before biting down.
An explosion of blue mana rocked the area, but when the light faded, Zhang still stood. He’d covered his face with his sword, but the second layer of his shield had fallen, and his black chainmail had taken moderate damage.
The explosion had melted a large chunk of the wall, and when Erik broke free, he started to blast the ice encasing his leader. Lucas shot a hole through the ice and tried to point at Zhang, but the Ice Knight Vanished out of the moderator’s line of sight.
Zhang’s blade cut through a section of his own ice wall. He broke the Threshold on Lucas’s Mod Shield, and then the Ice Knight severed the mod’s arm with a second swipe.
Lucas screamed as his arm fell off, and he dove back against the ice. Before he could raise his other finger, his enemy Vanished once more.
“Lucas!” Erik screamed, melting an opening through the ice wall large enough for them to escape the encircling ice. “We need a Cleric! Did we even bring any Clerics?”
Lucas pointed his finger left and right, trying to find Zhang. His heart raced, and tears poured down the sides of his face. The pain of his severed arm felt worse than anything the Sheriff had ever experienced, but his fear of Zhang was greater than the pain.
Where is he? Show yourself!
Another portion of the ice wall collapsed, and Zhang appeared in the corner of Lucas’s vision. He didn’t even have time to aim his finger as the Ice Knight charged him.
Erik must’ve spotted Zhang first, because he tossed himself between the two. Instead of severing Lucas’s other arm, Zhang’s blade split Erik in half.
Lucas pointed through Erik’s split body and fired Mod Gun as Zhang swung again. The moderator fell to the dirt, gasping and crying. He gaped at the immobilized man in front of him. The ice blade had stopped just inches from where Lucas’s arm had been when he fired.
A Justiciar ran to Lucas and cast a healing spell on the Sheriff’s severed arm. “I subclassed in Cleric.”
“Here, I have a mega-elixir,” another Justiciar said, handing the bottle to Lucas.
“I have some numbing pills,” a third Justiciar added.
Lucas took several numbing pills and downed the entire mega-elixir. However, his terrified eyes stayed on the immobilized Ice Knight. He tried to wipe away his tears as the pain subsided. The mega-elixir caused his bones and flesh to regrow at a slow rate, but the Cleric sped up the process.
The surviving Justiciars rested for thirty minutes until Lucas’s arm had fully regrown. He stared at the destruction Zhang had caused.
Half of my men are dead. He even took out Ryan and Sam. If Erik hadn’t sacrificed himself, Zhang would’ve single-handedly stopped us from taking Midrun. It’s hard to imagine one player could be so powerful. He could even challenge me with my mod powers. This is why I can’t let players explore the worlds. They’ll grow too powerful for me to control. Once my empire is established, players will only be allowed to travel if my Justiciars allow it. No farming. No level-grinding. No climbing the World-Tree. I can’t risk it.
Lucas tried to force a smile. “That was a nice try, Zhang. It would be great to have someone like you follow me. Maybe I’ll give you the opportunity to pledge your loyalty to me—once my men and I gain more levels anyways. I can’t risk you de-arming me so easily. Until then, I’ll have my Justiciars keep you in one of the extra-strong cells in Snowcrag. It might be a few days or weeks before I get around to unbanning you, so I hope you took a big breath.”
Lucas touched Zhang and World Teleported him to Sarfin.
“Okay, men,” he told his Justiciars. “Enough rest. Tear down this barrier so I can ban this council already. It’s about time someone put them in their place.”
His surviving Justiciars slashed at the barrier. Without Sam, Ryan, and Erik, however, it took a lot longer to put a dent in the forcefield.
“Wow, they must’ve pulled their best Wardens to this tower when they heard we were coming,” Lucas said. “I suppose I can wait a little longer for my victory. I am a patient man, after all.”
He waited for several minutes, and then the barrier came down. His men stormed into the tower, and Lucas followed with a slow pace. He smiled as the Wardens near the entrance killed themselves to avoid getting banned.
I told my men to mark death timers. We’ll be waiting for these fools to respawn in my city.
Lucas slowly made his way across the great hall. By that point, his men had already cleared the large chamber. They found no council members, but the piles of dust and item crystals let Lucas know they’d all killed themselves.
“Search the upper levels of the tower,” Lucas demanded. “They might be hiding.”
His men nodded and obeyed, leaving Lucas alone in the great hall.
“I think I’ll scrap these council chairs and put a throne here,” he muttered. Lucas glanced around the elegant great hall. “This’ll work as my throne room. The entranceway could use some decoration, however. If I cleared out these benches, I could have entertainers in that corner. Guests and loyal followers to sit on the opposite side. I like it. This’ll make a good home for me.”
He leaned on one council member’s desk as Justiciars sent him messages, detailing what they’d found throughout the upper levels of the tower. They’d discovered some rare items and armaments, but they’d also come across one last group that had cast barriers over the entrance of a locked room.
>Lucas: Well, take care of it. I can’t do all the work.
He smiled and looked around the empty chamber. Slowly, the smile left his face. Is this what it’s like standing on top of the world? It feels… lonely.
The sound of footsteps called from the entrance, and four people hurried into the great hall. He recognized one as Crow-Foot Jim.
>Lucas: Tell the men we have more company downstairs.
“Hello, guests,” he said
, forcing his smile to return. He held out his arms. “I hope you didn’t come to stop me.”
“Where’s Zhang?” Jim asked.
“Oh, the Ice Knight is off-world at the moment,” Lucas replied. “If you two are friends, I could put you in a cell across from him. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“You animal!” Jim yelled. “You can’t just take cities that don’t belong to you and ban anyone that stands in your way. Where’s that woman that was with you? At least she seemed reasonable.”
Lucas frowned. “She, too, is off-world I’m afraid. We had a… disagreement.”
“Listen,” the man beside Jim said. “I know it must be fun to have so much power, but what you’re doing here is wrong, kid. You—”
“Kid?” Lucas shouted. “I am god of the World-Tree, and you will address me as such.”
The man sighed. “Fine, I’ll address you like I do any other enemy.” He pointed his finger at Lucas and launched a black bolt.
Lucas smirked as the man cast his spell, but then the black bolt tore through the Sheriff’s Mod Shield and put a hole in his chest. He gasped, gripped his chest with one hand, and pointed his other hand at the man. He fired Mod Gun, and a flash of black and white flickered as the invisible wave hit the man.
Target Unavailable
“Wha—what?” Lucas screamed, collapsing to the ground.
Several Justiciars rushed downstairs and flashed shocked expressions at Lucas. The moderator glanced from them to the four intruders, only to find them retreating through the entranceway. With no commands, his Justiciars raced after them.
Lucas sat immobilized, trying to comprehend what had happened, and then the light left his eyes.
Instant Respawn…
Lucas respawned and slumped against the desk where’d he’d died. His eyes remained fixated on the empty spot where his killer had been standing.
I—I don’t understand. My Mod Gun didn’t work? I can’t ban him? And how did his attack go through my Mod Shield and still hurt me? The Mod Shield has a nine hundred ninety-nine rating. Even if it breaks the Threshold, it should negate the rest of the damage from one attack before disappearing. This makes no sense! Is he cheating? I’ve never seen anything like that black attack. Was that negative energy? That’s cheating. He must be cheating!