Immortality Experiment

by Vic Connor

  Jeny had taken a lot of damage. Fob threw a glowing, spinning chakram their way, and it bounced off Kiele, Niko, then Jeny. It did a fair amount of damage, and healed Jeny, though Niko wasn’t sure by how much.

  Niko unleashed his volley of punches, and with Kiele’s help they steadily chunked Jeny’s health back down. An owl flew past them.

  “Guys, Cal is positioning to attack the back line,” Tim called on comm. Niko looked back and saw Hunk, looking panicked, a chattering skull floating above his head.

  “Hunk’s been hexed,” Kiele said.

  “He can hex from all the way back there?”

  “Yep. Heals can’t reach that far, though.”

  “All right, let’s back up then. Focus on disengaging them. We want the team as separated as possible.”

  Niko and Kiele fell back from Jeny, converging on the back line where Cal landed in a swirl of feathers and black sand. She made a face as if she knew they’d be there and backed up, unloading bolts at Hunk. Tim blocked them by stomping the ground, making a wall of rock sprout from it. Niko and Kiele attacked Cal, draining her health fast. Since we’re all packed together, she can’t teleport out with her dagger strike, Niko thought. Her owl is her only other escape move, and she just used it to get here. Cal had no escape, and everyone who knew her move-set knew it. Including…

  “Incoming!” Tim called.

  With a huge slam, Jeny came barreling in like a charging bull, pushing Niko onto his back. Three spikes stabbed into him, one after another. Out of the corner of his eye, Niko saw Alonso, wet and furious, sloshing toward them.

  “Disengage!” Niko gurgled. “We can’t win a team fight yet.”

  Kiele cast swamp gas, and the glowing wisp danced in front of Jeny’s eyes. She watched it, then leapt off Niko, chasing it like a cat running after a laser pointer. Tim stomped up another door-sized wall of stone that blocked Cal from shooting while she retreated. In the same moment, Hunk cast his first ability, Run Away! Their team’s health and speed ticked up.

  The team scattered, but just as Niko was about to get away, Jeny’s tusks pulled out, stunning him into immobility. In that short amount of time, Alonso flew in, knocking him to the ground with a charged punch. Niko’s health dipped to a third.

  “Niko!” Hunk cried, then cast a bubble around him, blocking Alonso’s next volley.

  “Kiele, is swim off cooldown?”

  “Just about!” she yelled.

  “Go after Fob,” Niko croaked into his mic. “If he lives, fine, it’ll drain his mana and get them to back off.”

  “Got it.” Kiele ran for the back line, then used her Swim to close the rest of the substantial distance. She got Fob with a crocodile chomp, taking a toothy chunk out of his leg. Fob cried out. Jeny turned—Niko saw her lips move but couldn’t hear her because of the comm enchantment.

  Alonso looked between Niko and Fob, then snarled, pushing Niko off and rushing to the back line. Jeny and Cal chased after him.

  “Get hits on Jeny as they retreat,” Niko called.

  “Uh, Niko?” Kiele commed in. “They’re…all coming for me.”

  “Don’t worry,” Niko said, activating EditValue, “I’ve got you.” Just as Alonso charged a shot aimed for Kiele, Niko snapped her away from the fight to behind Jeny, who was protecting their retreat. Kiele stood stunned for only a moment, then attacked Jeny as she fled. Jeny put up her shield to guard against it. When she rejoined the group, Fob sent a chakram around, bouncing off every member of the team to heal them up.

  Both teams reset, grouping together and staring one another down. “I’m guessing Fob’s mana is low now,” Kiele said. “We have to keep the pressure on, though.”

  “I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” Niko said.

  Alonso was heading for them, Cal in tow, whispering in his ear. Alonso barked back, audible even from this distance, “I don’t care. He’s dead.” Cal made a face, then disappeared in a cloud of black sand.

  Niko took a breath, squaring up. “Okay,” he said, “Let’s—”

  A thick, ivory tusk jabbed into Niko’s chest and came through out of his lower back. It didn’t take out nearly as much health as it felt like it should. Another tusk entered in his stomach and jutted out the back of his neck, and then another and another as Jeny ran in. Behind her, Alonso was staring him down, his gauntlet charging with a crackling blue light. They were all going after him. He almost felt flattered.

  “Tim?” Niko choked as the world swam aground him in splashes of red. “Alonso…”

  “On it!” Tim cried out, jogging around the outside to intercept Alonso. “Time to take out a few months of…exasperation.”

  Niko turned to face Jeny, who was smirking at him from underneath her long hair. He wondered if she was thinking the same thing Tim was.

  “All right, ya mouth-breathing bampot. I’m going to take ya down a peg.”

  “You sound like a supervillain on a kids show,” Niko croaked, teasing her, unable to do nothing else from his pinned position. “Maybe you should—”

  His comeback was cut short when Jeny recalled all of her tusks at once, latching onto the forearms of her beast like armor. Niko stood, stunned and immobile while she came out swinging at him. A great paw smacked him across the front, making him see stars.

  The hit made Niko regain his ability to move. “Don’t you think…it’s a little unfair…to punch me with that giant seal…thing?” He darted, boxer-style, to Jeny’s left, and got three good jabs in on the shoulder. The whole beast clenched, as if it were the one getting hit.

  “If it’s a fist fight you want, I’ll take you on after the scrim, ya charcoal-headed taffy-pull.” She swung again, and her beast mirrored her, bringing a wide hook around. Niko took it on the shoulder, nearly falling.

  Hunk commed in. “Uh, N-Niko?”

  Niko spun about. Cal had finally appeared, going for Hunk again. In the back line, Fob was focused on Tim and Alonso. He looked beat. So did Jeny, grimacing and swaying inside her beast.

  Alonso was getting all the heals from Fob, and Tim was shouldering all the damage. He was at half-health. He wouldn’t win against Alonso in the long run, but he didn’t need to.

  “Kiele, get Cal away from Hunk,” Niko called. “Pull her into a duel if you can.”

  “What?” Kiele quacked, “I can’t duel Cal.”

  “You’ve been analyzing her play since freshman year,” Niko said. “If anyone has a shot, it’s you, y’know. We’ll support you, but we got to keep Hunk—”

  “DOWN!” The announcer cried. Hunk had managed one last gasp of cooldowns, but Cal had expertly melted his health to ten in seconds.

  Kiele grimaced. “I’ll get him back up if I can,” she said, then jumped in after Cal.

  “We’re not putting out enough damage to drain Fob’s mana,” Tim rasped. His voice hissed with pain.

  Niko peered at Alonso, then at his three abilities, all off cooldown. “Okay. More damage, then. Tim? Come to me. Attack Jeny.”

  “Uh…whatever you say, but then Alonso is going straight for you.”

  “I’m counting on it,” Niko muttered.

  Tim threw up a rock wall to cover his retreat, then backed up to Niko’s position, attacking Jeny instead. She snarled, looking ragged and trying to decide who to focus on.

  Coming out from around the wall, Alonso locked eyes with Niko and brought up his fist to charge a punch. Niko watched closely; he would have to leap out of the way at exactly the right time to dodge it. Just as Alonso flew forward, Niko snapped behind him. The punch went on without its target, its momentum carrying Alonso directly into the back of Jeny’s head. She wailed, fell, and the announcer called, “DOWN!”

  Tim, who had been her opponent, blinked in bewilderment.

  “Tim, keep Alonso there!” Niko ran to the back line, activating his ABIL_IfElse trap. If Fob tries to heal himself…cause damage? That didn’t work. If Fob tries to heal himself…drain his mana? No, the ability didn’t take that either. I
f Fob tries to heal himself…make it cost a lot of mana.

  There. The number for Mana.Cost scrambled up to double its original value, and white words in the system font appeared above Fob’s silver-haired head. “CONDITION SET.” Niko charged into him, pounding him with a RecursiveFunction flurry of punches. Sure enough, Fob tried to heal himself, his chakram bouncing between himself and Niko before returning. Though Niko couldn’t hear what Fob commed next, he could gather from the expression on his face. With a few more uninterrupted hits, Fob’s health shrank to ten, and the announcer called “DOWN” over the comm.

  “Hey, uh… I could use some of that teamwork stuff you mentioned earlier.” It was Kiele over the comm. Cal was bearing down on her, laying down one crossbow bolt after another as Kiele’s cooldowns recharged.

  Tim shared a look with Alonso, then charged over to help Kiele, gesturing at Niko as he did. “He’s all yours, man.” Tim spared an apologetic grimace for Niko.

  Niko faced down Alonso, who was charging a beam from his gauntlet. “Always seems to wind up this way, doesn’t it?” Niko snapped in, throwing a fast jab at Alonso’s jaw.

  He took it on the chin, gave a crooked grin, then blasted Niko in the chest. A fat chunk of Niko’s health drained away.

  “And every time we go one-on-one, you bite it, Somov,” Alonso said as a blue energy exploded around him, making his blond hair stand on end. Niko clenched his fists. He wanted to hit Alonso for that, but as Cal would say, it was the truth. Keep your cool. He’s just trying to bait you.

  Niko threw down an ABIL_IfElse trap at their feet. Alonso stepped on it, and it took a fat bite out of his health. Like using EditValue to move around, it was simple but effective.

  “Most times have been too close for comfort, considering I’m level four.” Niko unleashed his Recursive punches, knuckles slamming into Alonso’s body. I’m doing it, he thought, this time, I’ll beat him!

  Then, hot white energy exploded across Niko’s cheek, the beam from Alonso’s gauntlet becoming an energy-infused haymaker. His health plunged down to 20 as he landed on his back.

  “That’s because you’re weak,” Alonso spat, grabbing Niko by the collar. In the background, the announcer called two K.O.’s in quick succession. Alonso’s hard, rhythmic punches didn’t give Niko time to check and see who had gone down, but he’d bet money that it was Tim and Kiele both. He couldn’t win, not without them. “Your team carries you,” Alonso said between hits. “You could never measure up alone. You need them, but me? I don’t need anyone.”

  Niko sucked in a breath, and for a moment, the pale ghost pines of Territoria were evergreens; the pink quartz lake was a thin brook, its water trickling down his face. Niko pawed for his cross, but his fingers didn’t land on the smooth metal of the pendant, but the textured chain. He felt every link with the pad of a finger. “Maybe,” Niko muttered. “But at least…I’m not alone.”

  Alonso looked at him, quizzically, then angry again. As Niko braced himself for the final punch that would knock him out, a puff of green fire appeared in front of Alonso’s face, dancing before his eyes. His look glazed over, giving Niko enough time for the cooldown on his first ability to reset. He snapped away, nursing his last sliver of health.

  There, thigh-deep in the lake and dripping with water and beaded jewelry, was Kiele, battered but still in the game. The two K.O.’s must have been Tim and Cal. “You beat her after all,” he whispered.

  “Couldn’t have done it without Tim,” Kiele croaked. “Guess he really isn’t the worst person I’ve ever met.”

  Alonso came out of the spell, and his face morphed into a mask of rage. As Kiele prepared her crocodile bite, Alonso charged his fist and flew into the water like a bullet. Niko could hear the crack of Kiele’s jaw on impact. She splashed down into the water, her big, green sweat ballooning on the surface. The announcer chirped, “DOWN” but Alonso didn’t seem to hear it. He roared a curse, dropping down over her and slamming her head against the sharp quartz bottom of the lake, her head held underwater. He kept repeating that same angry word. Clouds of red floated to the surface. It froze Niko in place; made him feel ill.

  “Kiele!” The cry came from behind him. Niko turned and saw a clutch of all the eliminated players huddled on a large, flat rock near the lake, a barrier barring them from re-entering the field. Hunk was running back down the path Goseyun had disappeared down at the beginning of the match.

  Cal pushed her way to the front, pounding on the barrier. “Niko! Do something!” she screamed, her voice cracking. “He’ll kill her.”

  Niko finally broke out of the trance, shaking his head and running at full tilt toward the two of them, the water and sharp bottom of the lake slowing him down. A siren had started sounding in the background, the announcer calling: “Warning. Player health dropping to dangerous levels. Warning. Emergency services has been contacted. Warning.”

  After what felt an eternity, Niko slammed into Alonso’s shoulder, dragging him down by the coat. They fell into the water with a splash, the quartz at the bottom stabbing into his knees. He got one glimpse at Alonso’s face, twisted and ugly with rage, before he blasted the rest of Niko’s HP away with a beam to the chest.

  BATTLE COMPLETE!

  PLAYERS DEFEATED: 3

  WIN BONUS: 0%

  900 EXPERIENCE GAINED

  PASSIVE EFFECT: 900*1.5 = 1350 XP

  6850/6750 XP

  DING! YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 5

  HEALTH: 210 HP (+35)

  ATTACK: 100 (+20)

  CRIT RATE: +0.77% (+0.07%)

  ATTACK SPEED: 1.7 HITS/SECOND (+0.1)

  DEFENSE: 10 DAMAGE MITIGATION (+2)

  ARMOR: 50 (+10)

  “GAME!” the announcer’s voice called. The barrier holding the knocked-out players went down, and the whole group flooded toward them. Some ran to Kiele, lifting her out of the water. Others charged for Alonso, pulling him off Niko and holding him by the arms, like he was an animal gone rabid. Everyone was screaming. It made Niko dizzy.

  Jeny dragged Niko to the shore, then dropped to her knees beside him. “You all right?”

  “I’m… I’m fine. Kiele—”

  “Hunk ran to get Dr. Goseyun. Fob’s trying to stabilize her, but…students aren’t trained to do that. We need—”

  “Out of the way!” Dr. Goseyun, trailed by Hunk, pushed through the students to get to Kiele. Cal had carried her to the shore and was hovering over her now. When Hunk pulled her away, Niko saw she was crying. All he could see of Kiele was a mass of mossy, bloody hair. He looked away.

  Above them, a bird-of-prey shriek pierced through the cries of students. The surface of the quartz lake rippled, then Ms. Gyatso descended on her hawk-winged pegasus. An additional passenger rode behind her.

  “What’s he doing here?” Niko asked under his breath. Headmaster Okonjo deftly slid from the horse’s back and leaned back, arms folded, surveying the scene. “It’s like he only shows up to watch someone die.”

  “What?” Jeny asked.

  “He was there when I almost went down in the Hunt. Like he’s curious about it or something.”

  “Very well, worms,” Ms. Gyatso snapped, marching into the group surrounded by strong gusts of wind. “Emergency services are on their way. Get back to your dorms to give them space. And you—” She turned her small, ferocious eyes at Alonso, who was being held back by Tim and Fob. With a lift of Ms. Gyatso’s polearm, blue chains of energy slithered around Alonso’s wrists, binding them together. “Come with me.” Ms. Gyatso turned, and the blue chains tugged, forcing Alonso to follow after her. After using the chain to pull him to her, she took Alonso by the back of his collar and lifted him onto her horse as if he weighed nothing at all. They flew away.

  Okonjo scanned the group of students, hands behind his back. The sound of helicopter blades whirred in the distance, approaching. Reluctantly, the mass of students shuffled back toward the path, heading for their dorms. Hunk had his arm around Cal. Jeny helped Niko up.

&n
bsp; As they walked past Okonjo, his eyes followed Niko, smiling, but not quite smiling.

  From Territoria’s fact book:

  ALONSO DE LUCA, LEVEL 12 JÁRNGREIPR MYTHIC CLASS

  Passive: Take no fall damage

  ABILITIES:

  Beam Shot — Fire a beam of lightning at an enemy, dealing 10 damage.

  Flying Gauntlet — Charge forward up to 15 meters, dealing 30 damage to the first enemy you hit.

  Electrifying — Imbued with electric energy, you gain 20% increased attack-damage for 4 seconds.

  Ultimate: Bolt from the Blue — Power up, then unleash a 10-meter-wide beam of lightning that deals 90 damage to anyone in its path.

  22

  Two Can Play this Game

  “Thank you, Nikolai,” Headmaster Okonjo said, tapping the magical recording device off. “Your testimony is very helpful.”

  Niko felt the muscles in his jaws tighten when Okonjo’s eyes locked on his. The man’s eyes were an odd shade of light blue, almost like ice. Niko’s own eyes started to burn as he forced himself not to blink.

  Niko shifted in his seat. He’d never been in the Headmaster’s office before. The furnishings were fine—overstuffed chairs upholstered in lavender leather; tall bookcases stuffed with crisp, magical tomes; a great desk made from ghost pine. A single window hung immediately behind Okonjo’s chair, and the afternoon sunlight cast him more as a dark shape than a man. Muffled yelling drifted in through the closed door. It was Tim, Niko could tell, but he couldn’t hear what was being said.

  “Is Kiele okay?”

  “She’s been airlifted to the hospital,” Okonjo said. “It’s touch and go right now. We’ll let you know as soon as we have an update.”

  “Okay,” Niko said. “And Alonso is getting expelled, right?”

  “We’re going to review the testimonies from you and the other students and come to a decision.”

  “You’re considering letting him stay? He put Kiele in the hospital. She could die, y’know.”