by Edwin McRae
“I’ve seen FIVR addiction plenty of times,” continued Arix, regardless of whether Vari wanted to hear him or not.
She sorely wished her spell commands could be activated mentally instead of verbally. She’d Rend Flesh that annoying tongue right out of his mouth.
“I did a few videos on it during VR addiction awareness week. Views were through the fucking roof. You’re dangerous, Vari, and people know it. A drug.” He drew closer and stared into her eyes, like he was trying to see the strings and wheels inside her head. “It’s the feedback loop, innit. He thinks he’s in love with you and you’re programmed to give him the right feedback so that he keeps on projecting those feelings. But it’s all a lie. You’re no more capable of love than my iPhone is.” He chuckled. “People say they love their iPhone but no-one ever expects the fucking thing to love them back. I’ll be having a few words with the Reign of Blood devs about this. They’re facilitating FIVR addiction. Greedy, callous bollocks if you ask me.”
Vari was not asking Arix and rather wished he’d shut up so she could concentrate. While a gag effectively disabled her spell casting abilities, it could do nothing about her skills. He’d need to gag her brain to stop those. In particular, Vari hoped that her theory about Physik Perception was going to pay off.
Arix the Damned
Class: Executioner - Level 9
Progress to Level 10 = 3022/5000
Body: 18
Modified Body: 19 (+1 from Dusk Leather Armor)
Mind: 15
Spirit: 15
HP: 162/162
Modified Body: 171
EP: 135/135
Skills
Axework (Tier 5)
Horse Riding (Tier 2)
Arbalist (Tier 4)
Acrobatics (Tier 3)
Climbing (Tier 3)
Buzzard Eyes (Tier 2)
Fox Ears (Tier 2)
Hound Scent (Tier 1)
Enduring Will (Tier 1)
Spells
Chopping Block (Tier 3)
Truelight (Tier 1)
Clean Slate (Tier 3)
Justice Prevails (Tier 3)
Righteous Fury (Tier 2)
Blood Retribution (Tier 1)
Suspended Sentence (Tier 1)
Her first analysis of Arix only won her the basics. Vari could now see his full character sheet, but she needed more. Karina was living proof that this world’s magic could reach into Mark’s ‘real world’. The inquisitor called out to the metal brain, asked for a demon and got Arix the Damned for her troubles. Vari wondered what else could be asked of the marvellous machine.
“So here’s what’s happening,” continued Arix, heedless of the fact that Vari was now picking him apart with her eyes. “I capture Mark when he shows up to save you. And he will. He’s balls-deep in love with you, poor deluded bastard.”
Her Physik Perception bored into the executioner, tunnelling under the skin into the viscera beneath. She could see how his Acrobatics skill was linked from the muscles in his arms, legs and back to the section of his cortex that managed proprioception. His Arbalist skill was a series of strong cords linking his hands to his eyes via a part of the brain that handled depth perception. His Axework skill was a latticework of fine threads that covered almost his entire body.
“Karina will cut you open and bleed you all over them altars so she can do her Breaking Dawn thing. I’ll make Mark watch that. Not because I’m a cruel bastard,” Arix hastened to add. “This isn’t fun for me, yeah? It’s supposed to be a fucking game. I like Mark. He’s a good gamer and his heart’s in the right place.”
Your Physik Perception skill has reached Tier 5.
Congratulations!
You have unlocked a new skill.
Meta Sight (Tier 1)
You have earned 200 XP for unlocking a hidden talent.
Vari found herself going deeper, passing between the fibers of Arix’s flesh and blood into something else. The sensation was both shocking and exhilarating. She likened it to the flight of an albatross as it soared out over the low-hanging clouds. How it then dove and broke through the concealing vapor, revealing the grey-bue vastness of the Karajan Sea beneath. Symbols flowed before her, an ocean of glistening iconography.
“Actually, scratch that. His heart’s in totally the wrong place right now, but that’s going to change, innit. Once you’re dead, Mark’s got nothing keeping him here. Yeah, he’ll kick and scream for a bit, probably call me every name under the sun, but he’ll come around eventually. He’ll see what a nutjob he’s been. Bit fucking embarrassing, yeah? You can love your algorithms. You just can’t loooove your algorithms.” He laughed at his own joke. “That’s a bit of a laugh. Must remember that for my first show back.”
At first the symbols coalesced around Vari, swamping her with incomprehension, but then she noticed the patterns. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself enough to focus on one thick stream of letters and numbers. Words popped up, begging to be read. Binocular Vision. Magnification. Depth of Field. Terms associated with vision. She followed the stream to where it tumbled like a waterfall into a swirling pool of text. Extensor Carpi. Flexor Carpi. Grip Pressure. Muscle Tension. She was looking at Arix’s Arbalist skill now in its most fundamental form, a tapestry of pure information.
Your Meta Sight skill has reached Tier 2.
“Anyway, I know you can’t understand any of this, Vari. Not really. You’re just a lump of machine code and script. I’m pretty much talking to myself, but I guess that’s okay, innit. Better to talk it out than bottle it up. That’s what I tell Krissy when she’s having a bad one.” Vari could see how the code changed as he rolled his eyes, as the symbols simulated his extraocular muscles. “Sometimes she tells me to shut up and leave her alone, so I respect that. She comes right. She always does.”
Vari pulled back, soaring upwards until she had a birds eye view of Arix’s information. She could feel her own brain making sense of it now, forming all that abstraction into a human shape. Head, torso, arms and legs were all there like a man-sized sculpture made from trickles of liquid metal. It was frustrating. She could see a thousand different ways to kill Arix right now, a multitude of strings she could slice through with her mental scalpel. If only she had one. She was the observer this time, not the surgeon. But there was one thing she could learn about Arix the Damned, one thing she could replicate for herself that might make all the difference.
“Damn, I miss my Krissy. Can’t wait to see her face once I finally wake up from this virtual shithole.” His mouth twitched into a sneer. “Can’t wait to see those dev’s faces when I sue their asses for this whole ‘no logoff’ bollocks. I could probably retire on the proceeds of that court case. But then...what would I do with myself? Probs drive Krissy nuts if I slacked around the house in my underwear all day. Drive myself nuts too.”
Like a hawk sweeping the area for prey, Vari glided over Arix’s data until she found what she was looking for. It was tucked in beside his cardiovascular biometrics. Whoever had written these codes had a poetic sensibility, clearly. This was very close to Arix’s heart.
“Actually, will probs be too busy patching Mark back together. He’ll hate my guts for a bit, but he’ll come around eventually. Geeza’s got potential, you know that? Nah, of course you don’t know. He’s got the brain of a pro gamer and I’m going to help him train it. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the best gamer in the world. Don’t have the patience for it, to be honest. But Mark, he could really go places, yeah? Just needs the right kind of management.”
Vari studied the symbol and the shifting seams of code within. Arix would talk himself out soon, she could see it in the tides of his brain. The numbers associated with guilt had steadily dropped while he’d been monologuing. They were almost at comfortable levels. She didn’t have much time left.
“It’s all for the best, innit. Sacrifice is a necessary thing if you want to make something of yourself in this world. Mark will come to realize that.” He smirked and patted her
on the head. “Nice talking to you, Vari. Best chat we’ve ever had.”
Arix stood, looked like he was going to say more, but then simply shrugged, pushed the tent flap aside and walked out.
You have cast your line into the river of consciousness and fished up a glistening talent!
Your Personal XP Reward = 150 XP
Vari bit down on her gag, struggling to contain her excitement. A squeal of delight would only draw the wrong kind of attention right now.
Mohkash wonders if you will release this prize fish into your own Flowing Waters?
This will enable you to activate your acquired Core Ability once the conditions are met.
Y/N
Yes! thought Vari.
She felt her new talent sink into her belly like a warming draft of mulled wine. Vari grinned behind her gag. Arix had said that sacrifice was necessary if you wanted to make something of yourself. The executioner was going to find out just how right he was.
27
[Mark]
The reivers worked under torchlight as they prepared the Breaking Dawn ritual. Inquisitor Karina was at the black heart of it all, drawing her runes and performing her incantations. From what Mark had seen in Ishka’s book, he understood that the ritual was a lengthy process, as any bit of world-changing should be. Harnessing the power of the Chasms of Corruption, that wasn’t something you wanted an apprentice inquisitor to accidentally trigger while she was goofing off on a Sunday afternoon.
But he also knew that Karina would need to have everything ready before dawn, and that she would sacrifice Vari as the first rays of sun touched the altars. Mark planned to strike just prior, in the narrow window between the end of the inquisitor’s preparations and the beginning of the new day.
Of course, Arix was down there too, lurking about, observing the proceedings. The executioner had an impatient air about him, never settling in one place for too long. He was clearly excited about going home. Mark honestly couldn’t think of anything worse.
“Mark?”
“Yup, Sid?”
“I just wanted to say that you are the finest Warlock I’ve ever worked with.”
Despite the chill of the night air, Mark felt a flush of warmth inside. “Thank you, Sid.”
“Now please, promise me something.”
His inner warmth give way to a clammy dread.
“Depends what it is.”
“I’m not sure how to put this delicately…”
“We’re not going to fail here, Sid. We’ll get Vari out and-”
“If things don’t turn out quite as we hoped,” interrupted Citadel gently. “I need you to promise me that you’ll go through with the Breaking Dawn ritual, that you’ll banish the corruption so that Garland will be safe.”
He didn’t want to go there. He didn’t want to think about the gaping emptiness that Vari would leave behind. Instead, he focused on making a promise that he dearly hoped he would never have to keep.
“Yes, I promise,” he rasped. “Even if Vari…” The words caught in his throat.
“She would not want her death to be in vain,” urged Citadel.
“Even if Vari dies, I will complete the ritual. I will protect Garland just as I vowed.”
“Thank you, Mark.”
“But that’s not how it’s going to be.”
“Of course not. I just needed to hear the promise.”
He cast his gaze back down to the reiver camp and caught sight of Karina before she disappeared into her tent. Although he’d only read through the ritual’s instructions once, a quick survey of the preparations told him that the inquisitor was finished. The night sky was brightening too. It was time to move.
Mark looked over to where Greta was curled up into a furry ball, sleeping peacefully. If he shook her awake he’d probably get his throat slashed open. Instead, he picked up a pebble and tossed it so it landed next to her head. Her eyes snapped open. Mark’s hand went to his sword as a savage fury flickered across her cold, blue orbs. But then she yawned and her ferocity faded away as she stretched like a dog.
When she was done, Mark nodded his head towards the camp. “Ready?”
She greeted the question with a sharp-toothed grin. “For breakfast? Fuck, yes.”
Under other circumstances, Mark might’ve laughed. “Let’s just focus on the task at hand, eh? Lots of distraction and plenty of smoke, please.”
The wardog nodded and slunk off into the shadows. He only had a few minutes before she would launch her attack.
“Ready, Sid?”
“As much as one can be under these trepidatious circumstances.”
“Same. Let’s do this.”
The first scream went on for a long time. Mark tried not to picture what Greta had just done to that poor reiver. A shout followed, meat and metal hit the ground with a thump. A torch flew end over end through the gloom and landed on the roof of a tent. The canvas burst into flames. The occupants tumbled out shortly after, shrieking and burning.
The Wardog has slain four Level 3 Reivers.
Your XP reward per party member = 60 XP
Your party consists of two members.
He shuddered and looked away as he murmured “Ethereal Flesh”. His vaporous body poured across the packed earth of the camp. As best he could, Mark hugged the shadows whilst keeping an eye out for Arix. The executioner was the only one who might recognize his mist form, having seen it during their previous assault on the reivers. Soldiers tore through his vapor as they ran to put out the fires and do battle with the wardog. Greta howled as she burned and butchered with unsettling enthusiasm.
The Wardog has slain three Level 3 Reivers.
Your XP reward per party member = 45 XP
Having reached a large pile of firewood, Mark solidified and cast his next spell, Lurking Inferno. He set it to explode on command rather than contact, then checked his EP count.
EP: 102/144
This was going to be tight, especially since he didn’t have one of Vari’s essence potions to top him up. He didn’t have any health potions either. Arix had stolen most of Vari’s potions before leaving Citadel, and smashed what he couldn’t carry.
He melted away again and this time followed the line of tents that Greta had conveniently set fire to. There was enough smoke billowing up that even Arix would have trouble picking out what was natural and what was warlock.
Speak of the devil, Mark thought to himself. The executioner now stood with Karina outside the inquisitor’s marquee. The inquisitor’s expression was impassive, but there was a smile on Arix’s face that would’ve sent a shiver down Mark’s spine had he possessed one in that moment. The bastard was enjoying this. Mark silently wished he’d chosen to upgrade Ethereal Flesh so he could melt that smug smirk right off his lips.
Mark settled in behind a stack of food crates and returned to solidity. He was within a knife’s throw of the marquee. He laid down another Lurking Inferno before rechecking his EP count.
EP: 60/144
The Wardog has slain five Level 3 Reivers.
Your XP reward per party member = 75 XP
“Greta is keeping herself rather busy,” whispered Citadel.
“Better yet, she’s keeping the reivers busy too.” He took the amulet from his neck and pressed it to the ground.
“Can you sense where Vari is?”
“There’s a small tent to the right of the inquisitor’s marquee. She’s lying on her side so I imagine her feet and hands are bound.”
Mark gritted his teeth. “I’m going to seriously fuck Arix up for this.”
“And let me be the first to congratulate you when that transpires.”
Mark popped the amulet’s chain back over his head. “Sooner rather than later is what I have in mind. Ethereal-” He stopped and watched as Karina ducked into her marquee. At the same time, Arix set down his crossbow and walked towards the smaller tent. Vari’s tent. “Shit, what’s he doing? We’ve got a good hour before daybreak.”
“What
did Ishka write about the timing of the sacrifice, Mark?”
“As the sun kisses these sacred stones, the living waters shall rain upon them.”
“Is that the exact wording?”
“Yes, I memorized it.” Then he felt his own living waters run cold. “Change of plan, Sid.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“The blood needs to be poured over the altars as the first light touches them. Ishka didn’t say that it needs to come straight from the victim.”
As if to confirm his fears, Karina reappeared from her tent, a large steel bucket in her hands.
“Oh, my,” exclaimed Citadel as Arix returned from the smaller tent with Vari slung over his shoulder. “What do we do?”
“Kill Arix before he can pick up that fucking crossbow of his!” He drew Volcanic Bastard as he growled “Obsidian Plate!” For the briefest of moments, Mark was surrounded by a wet fog of glimmering black. The vapors coagulated like blood cells to an open wound, scabbing over Mark’s body from head to foot.
EP: 49/155
He didn’t wait for it to finish. He was already charging at the executioner, another spell lashing out from his tongue. “Terrifying Manifestation!”
EP: 34/155
Arix shrieked like a little boy. “Oh the horror, the terror of it all! Mummy!” Then a grin broke the executioner’s mock expression of fear as Mark stopped in his tracks, dumbfounded. “Come on, Mark,” oozed Arix, his voice oily with smugness. “I seen you use Terrifying Manifestation on them reivers, remember?” He nodded his head in Karina’s direction. “Got some help from my new BFF over there. Bit of mental protection.”