Clans War

by Mahanenko, Vasily

  “Master, we still need three months before the next jump is ready,” the goblin began, but I interrupted.

  “Bill the cost of the jump to my account. You can go.”

  “Ten million…” grumbled the goblin, but he didn’t dare argue with me, leaving the three of us on our own.

  “Question number two. What will happen if I will be gone for a week?”

  Silence reigned again.

  “Let me be more specific. I have an idea of how I can teleport to any point in the continent without violating any of the restrictions that have been placed on me. But I won’t be able to return quickly. I’ll need those five days that Stacey’s talking about. How will my absence affect our progress through the Labyrinth and the arena?”

  “Why don’t you just tell us what you have in mind?” Stacey gave me a look. “And then we can come up with a way to put off the arena for five days.”

  “What I have in mind?” I made a dramatic pause, then laughed and began to explain. “I assume everyone knows why the Mage towers are always the northernmost buildings in our continent’s cities? The next fog is expected no sooner than three years from now. I wish to accelerate its arrival. And not only by setting it on Malabar and Kartoss.”

  “That would force the Emperors to recall their warriors! To defend!” Stacey even jumped up from her seat from the news. “The tournament would be paralyzed!”

  “Why would it be?” I blinked innocently. “The tournament is under way. No one has canceled it. If the invited guests and participants decide to abandon it, who’d be at fault? Obviously not me. I’m more worried about the five days that it’ll take me to fly back on the GAS. I wouldn’t like to lose out on the arena.”

  “How do you plan on reaching the north?” Stacey began but cut herself short, recalling my words.

  “I was promised two teleports,” I confirmed her guess. “One to Pryke and one back to Altameda. Whose business is it that my castle can change its coordinates?”

  “I’ll think about what I can do about the arena,” Stacey drawled pensively. “At first glance, I’d say nothing — failing to show up is an automatic forfeit. Whatever the reasons might be. I’ll need to read the rules. As for your mini-tournament, that’s a simpler issue. Let your opponents queue up. When you get back you’ll show them what’s what.”

  “Mahan, I asked you for a miracle — not a defeat in the arena,” Plinto frowned unhappily. “Let’s do it this way — tomorrow the arena is at 1 pm. After that you can go to Pryke. We’ll come up with our next move later.”

  “Not even a question. Stacey, when are you going to come to terms with Geranika?”

  “Erm…” Stacey froze. “That’s right. I forgot about it entirely.”

  “Geranika, we need you over here!” I shouted into the air, certain that the Imitator and his NPC would hear us. After a short hesitation, I added: “I grant you guest access to my castle!”

  “Thoughtful of you,” said the Lord of Shadow. “I was starting to feel bad for your little hob-boogers. All right, out with it Mahan: What do you need?”

  “I’ll give you another player in exchange for the option to teleport to my castle from any location of the continent,” I said as three pairs of eyes stared at me in puzzlement.

  “And whom, may I ask, are you offering?” Geranika caught on quickly and began to ply his line. “Who am I supposed to violate the will of Barliona over?”

  “Me,” replied Stacey, without looking away from me. Her eyes told me that I should have discussed this with her first. “He’s talking about me. If you grant Mahan the option of returning to the castle from a location besides from Pryke, I’ll represent Shadow at the tournament.”

  “Do you understand the consequences of your decision?” Geranika asked seriously and it was clear from the motion of Stacey’s eyes that she was reading the system text.

  “I understand them,” the girl stated with certainty.

  “I accept your decision, Holy Paladin Anastaria,” said Geranika in the same formal tone he had used when accepting Plinto to his ranks. “You are bound to me by your obligations, so there will be no reward for you when the tournament ends. Mahan will be allowed to return to his castle one more time. But only once!”

  “We’ve solved the issue with the arena,” I smiled when Geranika vanished and Stacey punched me in the shoulder. Or rather, she wanted to punch me: They system interpreted her action as aggression and kept her from doing damage to me. How I love Barliona! “Now the million dollar question — what will happen to us if we open Pandora’s Box?”

  “Hatred with the entire world,” Stacey said resignedly, deciding that in Barliona she couldn’t do anything to me and putting off my execution until we returned to reality. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

  “Among other things. What about our clan? Is Fleita ready to become our new head?”

  “Is there something I don’t know?” Plinto asked with curiosity. We had to bring him up to speed on our decision.

  “Makes sense,” the Rogue agreed with our reasoning. “It’s a nice way of getting the clan out of harm’s way. Is the girl game?”

  “Yes. I was actually dealing with this today when Mahan called screaming about this meeting,” Stacey couldn’t avoid sending a barb in my direction. “The documents are ready, all she has to do is sign.”

  “So get her over here then,” I didn’t bother reading the contract Stacey had drawn up. What was the point of working against my better half?

  New private challenge received. Mahan/Plinto vs. Kei-Ten/Methodious. The bout will take place in 60 minutes in the private arena. Fighters’ level: Current.

  “Oh really?” Plinto grunted with surprise. “Check it out. We’re going to fight Kei-Ten and Methodious.”

  “What?!” Stacey froze as if the names meant something to her.

  “What you heard,” Plinto grinned. “I was trolling everyone all day without any success. But as soon as Mahan told off Bihan, we’re sent a new pair. Cool, huh…A duel at our current levels.”

  “Plinto?” Stacey gave the Rogue a serious look.

  “We’ll make it. If anything, Mahan will figure something out.”

  “Guys, hang on. What is this couple? Are they veterans?” I reminded the two of my presence.

  “That’s one way to put it,” Plinto explained. “The last three years, these veterans have put the kibosh on every taker. They’re from Caltua but they work as mercenaries. They’re the most annoying idiots in all of Barliona. Remember me before the Legends? I was a child compared to them. A Naga Rogue, Master of Venom and a Human Hunter, Master of Beasts. The Hunter will have his damn pet with him so in effect we’re going to be facing a combat trio, and I’d be at pains to say which of them is the weakest. As for levels…They’re both over 400.”

  “Kei-Ten is Level 403 and Methodious is Level 406. His cat alone is Level 410,” Stacey offered. “He prefers to work with them the last two years.”

  “That doesn’t absolve us from the need to sign the documents,” I summarized, utterly unfazed by the famous names. Perhaps if I had any experience with this couple, my reaction would’ve resembled that of Plinto’s and Stacey’s, but at the moment these two names were little more than a collection of sounds, so I saw no reason to get distracted. I’ll make my decisions when I’m in battle. Not right now.

  “So we have to decide the most important thing — when do we start?” As soon as I signed the contract, the ‘Enter’ icon vanished from my avatar. I had left the clan entirely, not wishing to interfere in its business. Leaving Fleita alone with Mr. Kristowski, I pulled Stacey and Plinto over to the neighboring hall.

  “Start what?” quipped Plinto. “We’ve been starting so many things lately that I’m all confused.”

  “Mahan is talking about the Eye,” Anastaria guessed. “A two-sided problem. On the one hand, the Dungeons are all shuttered at the moment. But only the Dungeons of this world. The Eye opens a portal to another world, so purely theoretically, th
at Dungeon should remain accessible. The catch is that it would require a one-off run. If we start to do it, there won’t be a way back. Or a second attempt. I suggest we try to do it anyway…”

  “No second chance…” Stacey started saying something, but I withdrew into my own thoughts. “There won’t be a second chance…A second chance…”

  “Answer me, Mahan! Earth to Shaman Mahan, this is Houston!” Plinto’s mocking voice drew me out of my half-daze, which I had slipped into without really noticing.

  “Stacey, we’ll need your help.”

  “Someone kill him!” Plinto even threw up his hands. “Are you going to show us some new miracle?”

  “We will have a second chance. I once gave Evolett two portals. Did they ever complete those?”

  “Not yet. But how would you…”

  “What would happen if we activate the Eye, enter its portal and activate the Leg — or whatever it was — inside the other world. Will the system open another portal? Will the system lock up? Will the system simply send us to the final boss? Or will it simply send us to the beginning? Which would still be in the same world. WHAT?”

  “Hi uncle!” Instead of answering me, Stacey called Evolett. “I need that piece of the Dark Widow that Mahan gave you.

  “Hi niece,” came the voice from the amulet. “Are you trying to conquer the world again?”

  “I’m not alone,” Stacey checked him, giving us an embarrassed look.

  “So you’re not even alone?” Laughter sounded in the amulet. “Hi, Mahan!”

  “Hi!” I said when Stacey spread her arms in helplessness. “What’s up with the Dark Widow?”

  “She shriveled up and died. What else could happen with her?” Evolett went on having his fun. “I’ll bet dinner that Victor doesn’t know about this call.”

  “Will you help, uncle?”

  “Mahan has been declared Barliona’s most wanted, and you know how I feel about outlaws.”

  “Where and when?” A happy smile appeared on Stacey’s face and she held up a thumb.

  “Tomorrow at the tournament. It’s too late today. I was going to exit. As for dinner, that wasn’t a joke. Allie has been driving me crazy. She wants me to introduce her to the prettiest woman of Barliona.”

  “Are you there on the islands?” Anastaria clarified.

  “Where else would a poor retiree spend his dying years, once everyone’s given up on him?” The voice in the amulet sounded upset with the entire world.

  “I love you, uncle!” Stacey sent an audible kiss and hung up the amulet, then looked at us with satisfaction. “It’s quite rare that two pieces of the Dark Widow are in Barliona at once. Ok…Plinto, can we meet your fighters before the mission?”

  “They’ll be here tomorrow,” Stacey’s excitement infected the Rogue. He jumped to his feet and began to pace back and forth across the hall. “I have twenty, but it’s better to find ten more. Stacey, do you have any candidates?”

  The two began discussing names that I’d never heard before, so I quickly grew bored. This wasn’t my line — vetting people, discussing their strengths and weaknesses. That’s what I have my wife for. She’d already proved her competence in this issue by choosing me to begin with…

  * * *

  “Listen up.” Fifty minutes later we were again on the arena’s yellow sand and Plinto was again briefing me on the tactics. Which I had already memorized! If you ask me, the Rogue was nervous. A typical duel with typical fighters, what’s the big deal? “Our job is as easy as a cork — we kill anything that moves. And if it doesn’t move, we kick it and then kill it. Are there any questions?”

  “Welcome to battle!” shouted the announcer’s voice. Our surroundings came into focus and I couldn’t help but whistle in astonishment: The arena had changed. As I had managed to learn, any spectator wishing to see the battle on the visualizer at home with a beer and a blanket simply needed to send his virtual body to the arena’s seats. This was done in order to give the combatants a sense that they were being watched. If there weren’t enough spectators, the gaps were filled in with NPCs whose purpose it was to simulate a crowded audience. But if there were too many spectators…We were inside a brimming, colossal edifice whose top rows disappeared in the sky above us. I looked over at the announcer’s box and saw a constantly growing number that was currently a little over ten million. Wow! Do people have nothing better to do than to watch a battle inside a game? Found themselves some gladiators…

  “May the strongest among you triumph!”

  “Bets?” Plinto asked with a nervous giggle when the system reached the last few seconds of the countdown. As I had also managed to learn, neither team could cross the special line several meters from the fighters until the countdown expired. Otherwise the system would assign the violators a forfeit.

  “Why not?” I opened the betting interface and bet ten million on our victory. I didn’t even look at our enemies’ chances, since the odds of 1/26 for our victory didn’t really motivate me.

  “Fight!”

  On the other side of the arena, an ordinary Hunter with a spotted white/black tiger began to walk in our direction. Methodious. Like any decent Rogue, Kei-Ten went into stealth and was currently rushing to take up his position based on whatever the duo’s plan was. That’s okay, we’ve got plans too. I will try to do as Plinto asked me.

  The battle’s conditions allowed me to take full advantage of my character’s specialization in Intellect. The Shadow Shields that appeared around me and Plinto at the very beginning of the fight wanted nothing more than to absorb two million points of damage, while I still had 241,000 Hit Points at Level 333. This duo is really much too strong for me, so I’ll have to play the role I hate — a Shaman Healer. On the other hand, this was Level 395 Plinto’s moment to shine. The important thing is that his nerves calm down and he comes to himself. Otherwise, we’ll have a tough time of it…

  “Mahan!” Methodious yelled, stopping beyond of my Shadows’ range. “I was asked to relay a message to you: ‘The insolent dog yaps at the tiger so long as the latter is in a cage. But when the tiger is released, the dog makes a puddle and runs to its master.’”

  “How positively philosophical,” I muttered. Methodious’s self-assurance undermined my confidence in our plan. This duo had encountered Plinto many times and should be familiar with all his tricks.

  “When you come flying out of the arena,” I didn’t feel like remaining indebted, “and stumble upon your kitty trembling in the bushes somewhere, simply pet him. Don’t do anything else to him. Don’t even take his money. Let this defeat be yours personally and not his. Let him continue to imagine he is a great and terrible tiger. If his courage consists of finding two griefers to deal with an insolent dog…then I truly sympathize with him who hired you. He sits there, frets and worries that the kids are about to get it. Pfff…”

  “I like you,” Methodious smiled. “It’ll be a fun knocking you out and then hunting you. I heard there’s a nice bounty on your head…”

  “Uh-huh. Well. Shall we get to it, then? You see, I’d like to warn you, just so you don’t waste anymore breath needlessly. I’ll attack in 5…4…3…2…”

  “Come here, Draco!”

  “Coming.”

  “Maximum acceleration! Kill the enemies!”

  “I’m on it!”

  “One!”

  Shield on Draco! To battle!

  You have been stunned for 60 seconds!

  Damage taken…

  You have been blinded for 60 seconds!

  You cannot summon Shadows for another 30 seconds.

  Your Totem has leveled up! Current level: 301.

  Battle completed.

  “They died?” I heard Draco’s voice through the fading white film of Blindness.

  “This is an arena, it’s just sport,” I rushed to assuage the pacifist. Tactics, strategy…Like hell! You summon a Level 300 Dragon, have him accelerate to his maximum level of acceleration and then pour fire on everything
and everyone. There’s not a single tank that’ll withstand that. Unless he has a healer, of course. And neither the Rogue nor the Hunter were that.

  New private challenge received. Mahan/Plinto vs. Kei-Ten/Methodious. The bout will take place in 60 minutes in the private arena. Fighters’ level: Current.

  “Never imagined they would get so pissy,” Plinto muttered pensively, patting Draco on the neck. “Hello, you scaly badass you! I’d forgotten about you somehow. You look good, kid!”

  “Thank you!” Despite being five meters long, Draco was a very flexible and mobile creature. He coiled around Plinto and took him in his…embrace? Coils? Vices? It’s hard to find the word for the nightmare that I was currently witnessing. “It’s nice to see you too!”

  New private challenge received. Mahan/Plinto vs. Kei-Ten/Methodious.

  New private challenge received…

  New private cha…

  It’s a good thing that it had occurred to me to limit our bouts to five a day. Otherwise our enemies would simply wear us out! The tactics for this duo turned out to be simple as all hell — Draco would fly up, ‘accelerate’ to his sixth level of acceleration and in a few seconds wipe out the Hunter and his pet tiger. Then we’d wait around until the Naga appeared. He couldn’t Stun Plinto due to the Patriarch’s Tooth and it made no sense to Stun me since then Kei-Tan would be wide open to Plinto who was at his level and had a Shadow Shield to boot. Meanwhile, I’d set Draco free as soon as the Hunter had been wiped out — out of harm’s way. The last thing I needed was to have my Totem sent to respawn!

  “Mahan!” When it became clear that the duels had ended for the day, Plinto began to express his complaints: “Naturally, I understand that five unique items is quite a haul. And that we’ve just griefed those who are more accustomed to griefing others. That’s cool and all! But your damn arena caused us to miss the most important event of the first day of the tournament!”

  “W-what?” I even stuttered, not expecting such a dressing-down from Plinto.

  “And he even has to ask! Lori was performing today! Come on, I still have a recording of it! We need to celebrate!”

  “I kindly request a few minutes of your time.” A goblin in a tuxedo appeared beside us. His voice instantly told us who we were talking to — the arena’s announcer had blessed us with his presence.