by Dante Doom
"I'd wager to guess that the entire game's population is going to be there," Kylian said. "Win a tournament and become a pro? That's the best deal in the world, if you ask me."
"True," Van said. "Alright, so seriously, let's get moving."
As the team started to prepare for their journey – gathering horses, filling supply bags, and gathering weapons – a young woman came running into the courtyard as fast as she could.
"Sir! Sir!" she shouted as she bolted towards Van. Fredlin growled and drew his staff, but Van held up his hand; he recognized the girl as one of the team's messengers.
"What is it?" Van asked.
The yellow-haired runner slid to a halt in front of him and took a moment to catch her breath. "Sir," she wheezed, "I've just gotten word from another messenger. The tournament's been moved up."
"What?" Van shouted as the rest of the team crowded around the girl. Everyone looked shocked at the news.
"It's tomorrow," said the messenger, whose name was Cassandra. "Draco apparently randomly moved the date up."
"No doubt to foil our big plans," Sang said. "Crap. This changes everything."
"How are we going to get there that quickly?" Van asked. "It's way too far off. And if we don't make it to the tournament in time, they're not going to let us in."
"We should fly!" Sahara said. "Jet is big enough to carry us there!"
"Yeah, that would do well for our attempts to go incognito," Kylian said. "Let's all just swoop down on a dragon that's a known ally of the Iron Dragons."
"Well, do you have any other ideas?" Sahara asked.
"Can we teleport?" Van asked as he opened his inventory to check for a Stone of Teleportation. This was purely reflexive, of course. He barely had anything in his inventory. All of these new characters were equipped with enough gold to go on a shopping spree, but there wasn't enough time for them to collect items and get to the tournament.
"No one has anything," Fredlin said, "and I don't have any teleportation spells."
"It'll take two days of hustling to get there," Sang said as she pointed to a large map display that she had brought up on her HUD. "There's no shortcuts, as we've got to get through that huge swamp there." She pointed at the large mass on the screen that was full of green. "It covers the whole region."
"Ergh, swamps?" Van repeated. "There's gonna be all sorts of things to trip us up if we move through it."
"Clock is ticking," Fredlin warned. "Whatever we do, we gotta get moving now if we're going to make it."
Van sighed heavily. "Sang, can you hack us out something to speed us up?"
"Oooh, I don't know," Sang said as she gritted her teeth. "I can screw with the system and get us there faster, but… it might tip off Draco. If they figure out that I'm the one hacking, it won't be hard for them to connect the dots."
"What a second!" Sahara said as she pointed to Fredlin. "Don't you have the Advanced Invisibility Spell?"
Fredlin shrugged. "Yeah, but what good is that going to do?"
"It's simple! We just cast invisibility on ourselves and have Jet fly us over the tournament. No one will see us since we're invisible!" Sahara said.
"Of course," Van said, "and then we just need to wear Rings of Soft-Falling so that we can jump off without anyone knowing how we got there."
"Draco will try to chase after Jet," Kylian said, "distracting them while we get into position."
"Sahara, you are a genius!" Van said. "Alright, team, new plan! We're going skydiving!"
Van gritted his teeth as he held onto the side of Jet's scales. He could see the dozens of tents set up in the valley beneath them. Large flaming words hovered above the tournament area, and they read: The End of Ages Starts Here. It was the most ironic sign he had ever seen.
"All ready!" Kylian ordered. "Jump on my mark!"
"I hate heights," Sahara groaned.
"It's not real," Sang said. "You're literally just sitting in your bedroom right now."
"Try telling my brain that," Sahara said.
"Three… two… one…" Kylian counted down. "Jump!"
Van leapt off the dragon and plummeted toward the ground. He couldn't see his allies at all, as the advanced invisibility spell made a player completely invisible to all forms of detection. Even friends couldn’t see each other. As he fell to the ground, he felt the ring around his finger buzz a little. The words Soft Fall – No Damage appeared in his UI as he continued toward the ground. Right before he smacked into the ground, a gust of wind blew beneath him, slowing his ascent down radically. His feet dropped to the grass gently.
"Whew, nice," he commented as he looked up at the sky. Thousands of arrows were being shot through the air in the hopes of hitting Jet, but the dragon was far too fast for them to have a chance of hitting him. The word Dodge! littered the air over and over again as Jet magnificently barrel rolled across the sky. A few griffon riders took off after him, but Jet didn't bother to engage them. Instead, he sounded off a triumphant roar and took off towards the South.
If anyone followed Jet, he would lead them to a large fortress that was full of players. These players, of course, were nothing more than illusions created by a few of the wizards of the Iron Dragons. The illusions would be enough to trick any casual observer into believing that the gathering was the Iron Dragon base. This fake base had been built a week ago, thanks to Bidane's quick thinking, and would serve as nothing more than a ruse to distract Draco while the real Iron Dragons moved into position.
A few voices caught Van's attention as he watched Jet disappear. He glanced around to see that he was standing right next to one of the brown tents that littered the entire field. It looked as if there were hundreds of players who had arrived early to the tournament and who had been camping for quite some time.
"This is it!" said one of the voices – a female. "This is going to be our ticket to the big leagues! Can you believe it? We're going to be Draco pros!"
"Calm yourself, woman," said another voice, this one gruff. "Do you know how many people are here? What level they are? How long they've been playing this game? We're not here to win because we can't win. Instead, we're here to make some friends."
"Friends? Speak for yourself, but I’m not going to try and endear myself to some Draco pro in the hopes of getting the crumbs of victory. I'm going for the whole piece of bread," the woman said back.
"Yeah, at level 15? Good luck."
"That's the thing," the girl said, whispering a little. "I heard a rumor. Don't know if it's real or not, but the rumor said that Draco's not just testing to see who has the best gear or not. They say that this tournament is going to be as realistic as possible."
"What does that mean?" the gruff man said back. "This game is already as realistic as possible."
"I'm not sure, but there were a few people who were adamant about… about this tournament being really different from all the other ones. I know we have a shot at greatness."
Different. What did that mean? Van grimaced as he thought back to his time in the Designated Reality Zone. Levels weren't nearly as important in those places as fighting ability was. Would this entire tournament be a DRZ? If so… that meant everyone in the tourney would be killable. Everyone would die except for five.
"There you are!" Sang said as she walked over and clapped Van on the shoulder, breaking his concentration. His invisibility spell had worn off without him noticing. "I cannot believe we pulled this off! Come on, we've got to go register."
"Yeah," Van said as he followed after his companion. If the tournament came down to kill or be killed, what would he do? For a moment, he felt envy for Sang's beliefs. But, that sensation quickly left his head as he saw a group of players walk past him. They were all laughing and shoving each other, telling jokes and bragging about how they were going to win. They had no clue that the game they were playing was meant to obliterate mankind. They were so innocent and ignorant.
"There!" Sang said as she pointed to a large tent with the word Registration hover
ing above it. The line wasn't too long. This was probably because the entire tournament had been moved up without any kind of major warning.
Kylian, Fredlin, and Sahara were already in line. They waved Van and Sang over.
"That went amazingly well!" Sahara said as Van joined her in line.
"Yeah, you had a really good idea," Van replied. "But let's try not to brag about it too much."
"Yes, sir!" Sahara said cheerfully. She gently leaned her head back, pressing against Van's chest. Van very slowly took half a step back to get away from her. He figured she had some kind of a crush on him, but he really didn't want to focus on that right now. The only thing that mattered was winning this tournament.
"Kylian!" Van said, waving to his ally. "A word?"
"What's up, boss?" Kylian asked as he switched positions in line with Sahara.
"I've been hearing some rumors about the tournament being ultra-realistic," Van whispered. "I'm thinking this means that the tourney is going to be a Designated Reality Zone."
"That ain't good," Kylian said. "That's gonna be a lot of dead players... I don't know about that, though. It... it wouldn't make much sense for them to do that."
"I'm just saying we need to be extra certain that we're all on the same team," Van said. "And that we're extra careful if we end up on opposite sides."
"Good point," Kylian said. "Well, let's just do what we can."
"Should we tell Sahara?" Van asked. "I don't think she's equipped to risk her life for the cause."
Kylian shook his head. "She's stuck around so far. You've told every recruit that they're risking their lives to defeat Draco. She's had every opportunity to leave, like the rest of us. If we're risking our lives in this stupid tournament, then it's no different than if we were rushing one of Draco's DRZs."
"Good point," Van said as the line began to move forward again. "I'm just nervous."
"I think we all are," Kylian said. "I think we all are."
The team idly chatted as they made progress through the line. After an hour, they were finally able to reach the front of the line. There was a single NPC sitting beneath the tent; he was an Orc with the words Registrar Level 44.
'Next in line," the Orc called.
Van walked up and pressed the clipboard on the table. An interface popped up in front of him.
Welcome to the End of Ages Tournament
Register as an individual
Register as a team (five max)
Rules
Van selected the rules section. The section quickly expanded in front of him.
Welcome to the End of Ages Tournament! This tournament can be undertaken as an individual or as a team! If you play as an individual, you will be randomly placed in a team for group events. There are five events total:
The Gauntlet: Conquer a deadly gauntlet and earn points by killing monsters, evading traps, and completing the event quickly!
Capture the Flag: Steal the opposing team's flag before they can steal yours!
Meanest Mother: A team versus team brawl with an old twist!
Escape the Room: Can you escape from a dungeon room before it implodes?
Survival Quest: Only those with the greatest endurance can survive this one!
Van tried to find additional information, but those descriptions were the only descriptions available. He looked around the display system a little longer, but to no avail. Those vague offerings were the only rules that were available. With a sigh, he brought up the Register as a team display. He quickly filled out all of the information and muttered a quick prayer to whatever deity would be listening right now. They were going to need all of the help they could get.
"Welcome to the tournament," the Orc grunted as he pointed to the door behind him. "Please enter, as the tournament begins in twenty minutes."
"Man, these times keep jumping around," Van mumbled as he waved his team on. "Let's go!"
They walked up to the door that was jutting out of the back of the tent. The words Zone: End of Ages floated above it.
"Of course, it's going to be its own special zone," Fredlin grumbled. "They're gonna have total control in there."
"They have total control everywhere," Sang said as she walked up and put her hand on the doorknob. "But that doesn't change the plan one bit. You guys ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Van said. "Let's do this. Let's win this tournament!"
"Or, at the very least, survive it," Kylian quipped.
5
Sang squinted as the bright lights blinded her for a moment. Pushing through the door into the new zone had led them to a large iron gate. Hordes of other players were crowded around the gate and Sang could barely count the sheer number of players.
"Man, what a place!" Van whispered as he pointed at a gigantic castle located behind the steel gate. The sky was blood red and lightning was constantly flashing across the landscape.
"Greetings, adventurers!" came a voice from above the crowd. Everyone craned their necks to look upwards. A large red dragon was slowly gliding down to the top of the iron gate. It perched atop the gate and beat its wings a few times before leaning its head down toward the crowd. "You are here because you wish to join Draco! This is such a noble goal, but be warned, for it is a quest fraught with peril and danger! The Gauntlet is the first test!"
"That's really a Draco operative?" Sahara whispered.
"Shhh, it might hear you!" Fredlin growled back.
"The rules here are simple. You must enter this castle through the dungeon and get to the throne room. In doing so, you will encounter traps, monsters, and maybe even a puzzle! Every time you achieve any kind of victory, you or your team will receive points! Those who continuously die or incur injuries will lose points. At the end of this round, only those with 500 points or more will be able to continue to the next part of the journey. The faster you finish this round, the more bonus points you will receive. Are you ready? Begin!"
The doors to the gates swung open wide and players began to pour through. As soon as a player would cross through the gate, they would vanish. This meant the dungeon would be an instance, which was a specifically generated area just for Sang and their team. No one would have to interact with other players yet, so this at least was a good sign.
"Charge!" Van shouted at the top of his lungs as he drew his warhammer out and ran toward the gate. His team followed after him, all of them shouting out battle cries. As soon as they crossed through the gate, they were transported to an underground area.
"Whoa!" Sang said as the floor beneath her shifted. "Where are we now?"
"From the looks of it, I believe we're in a dungeon," Kylian said. "But that's just a hunch based on what the dragon told us earlier."
"You don't need to be so sarcastic," Sang replied as she examined the area. They were in a large room with a few torches dimly providing light. The stench was unbearable.
"There are no doors here," Van said. "Kylian, start searching for secret doors, and the rest of you, get ready for a fight."
Sang nodded and grabbed her bow, nocking an arrow on it. A timer could be seen in the corner of her HUD – it read 00:00:30. It was counting up, which meant that this was how it would track their time. On the left-hand corner of her screen was a large display that read Tournament Points: 0.
As Kylian walked along the walls, pressing his hands and searching for a secret door, a loud hissing sound came from above them.
"Crap!" Van shouted as he pointed upwards. "Murder holes!" He was pointing at a few small holes in the ceiling.
"The hell is a murder hole?" Sang asked. Arrows answered her question as dozens of arrows began to fire out of the holes toward the team.
"Get behind me!" Fredlin yelled as he raised his staff high and muttered a few arcane words. A powerful field of energy wrapped around the team and the words Arrow Resistance hovered above them.
Sang could hear footsteps above them now, as well as the grunting of Orcs. She aimed her bow and fired through one of the holes. T
he words Hit 350 damage clipped through the wall. She heard the sound of a thump, and the words Kill +10 points came onto her screen.
"Come on, Kylian!" Van shouted. "Find us something." Arrows were flying down hard, but they were bouncing off of the energy field that Fredlin had created. Fredlin's staff was still high in the air as he continued to chant.
"My spell won't last much longer!" Fredlin called out.
"I'm looking as hard as I can," Kylian said, "but I’m not finding anything."
"Enough standing around!" Van said as he grabbed Sahara. "Give me a boost!" he ordered, and she knelt down. He rushed up to her and, with her assistance, leapt up to the ceiling, swinging his massive warhammer into one of the murder holes. The ceiling cracked apart and began to crumble. A few dozen Orcs spilled out from the opening.
The words Alternate Route Found +15 points appeared in Sang's HUD. The Orcs were scrambling to stand up, but Sahara was hacking away at them already, dealing loads of damage to them.
Sang fired off a few more arrows, killing two of the Orcs and gaining more points along the way. Her experience bar was beginning to fill, as well. If they kept this up, she'd be able to level up in a matter of hours.
"Nice work, team!" Van said once they finished killing the ambushing Orcs.
"We gotta move," Kylian said as he threw a rope with a grappling hook up the shattered ceiling hole. "Time's a'wasting!"
They all scurried up the rope and into the next room. The walls of this area were different, as they were made of pure steel. And as soon as the last member of the group climbed onto the new floor, the hole sealed itself up completely.
"That ain't good," Fredlin said as he pointed to where their entrance hole had been. There was a loud click followed by a grinding noise.
"That doubly ain't good," Kylian retorted as he pointed to the steel walls that were now slowly beginning to close in on them.
"Okay, think fast – how do we get out of here?" Sang asked as she scanned the area, looking for some way of escape. The ceiling was made of steel, just like the walls, and the two big walls on opposite sides of them were the ones that were starting to move.