Orc Glitch- The Mad King

by KJ Harlow

  “Earth Wall!”

  Cist and Kai had copied him, throwing themselves down onto the ground as flat as they could. They were shrouded in the shadow of the colossal Earth Wall. Cal looked up. Spires bounced off the top of the earth slab, spinning and hurtling into the crowd of soldiers and eryn. Most of them crunched into the wall. 20 seconds later, everything was silent. Cal, Kai and Cist got to their feet. The Earth Wall was not only high, but also wide. For all they knew, Fetter could have been standing right on top, about to rain more spires on top of them.

  Cal dropped the wall and it ground back down. As the dust cleared, they could make out Fetter’s outline. He looked less than impressed.

  “I keep forgetting that you’re an earth user as well.” He covered his face with his hands and scrubbed it in frustration. “Can’t you guys just d-d-die already?”

  Fetter let his arms swing by his side. “Wait a moment. You just want to see it again, don’t you?” He put his hands on his hips and chuckled. “Liked what you saw when I got it to crush your precious ice king, didn’t you? Well why didn’t you say so!” He clapped his hands and danced on the spot excitedly. “That makes the f-f-four of us!”

  He stopped laughing, letting his arms swing by his side again. His face went slack and his body began to glow with yellow light.

  “Cal…” Kai said under his breath.

  “Shut up,” Cal responded quietly. He was standing there, but he wasn’t ‘there’ anymore. He was sitting at a table by himself, much like the one at Theo’s tavern. Splayed out in front of him were all his memories so far in ValorVale. He divided them up chronologically and shifted the ones prior to Natasha’s death to the side. He looked closely at what was remaining.

  The earth behind Fetter began to cave in. It was a small indent at first. With every second that passed, it got deeper and deeper. Then the golem’s head appeared, ruby eyes afire.

  “Cal.” Now it was Cist’s turn.

  Cal didn’t even respond this time.

  Your best bet is to kill him quickly. Hector’s voice echoed in his mind.

  “But how?” Cal whispered. He looked down at the remaining pieces. There was one that was upside down. He flipped it around and his eyes went wide.

  “Kai,” Cal whispered hoarsely. The werejaguar shot him a look. “We haven’t tried it yet.”

  “Tried what?” He kept one eye on the stone giant rising out of the ground and one on his comrade.

  “The Fusion Attack.”

  Kai narrowed his eyes in confusion for a moment. Then just like Cal, they shot open.

  “Remember what Marc and Anton said?”

  “Not really but–”

  Cal closed his eyes again, mouthing silently to himself. He opened them then looked at the moons. “15-Sibelle. That means…”

  “My multiplier is 15.” Kai said, starting to nod. “Yours is too.”

  “15 by 15 is… 225. Then you add our levels together. You’re 40, I’m 39, so that’s 79. 79 times 225 is a fucking huge–”

  “It’s 17,775.” Cist said, catching on. “You can deal at least 17,775 damage to Fetter. Add a double multiplier on top of that.”

  “Why?” Cal and Kai asked in unison.

  “It’s 15-Sibelle. It will be a Focal Fusion Attack.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Cist nodded vigorously. “I used to have someone I could do it with…” his eyes lit up. “Add another double multiplier on top of that.” His eyes were shining in excitement now. “Cal, the Lucky Coin.”

  “Right.” He shoved his hand into his satchel and fished it out. “So 17,775 times two, times two…”

  “71,100. You can do up to 71,100 damage.”

  “Hey, I pull out all the stops for you and not even a ‘wow’?” Fetter crossed his arms in mock displeasure. “Almost didn’t have enough mana to pull it off too. Whatever.”

  He looked back at his summon. “Golem!” Its ruby eyes flashed again. “Crush those three fools. Leave nothing behind.”

  The golem stepped over Fetter. “With me!” Cal ordered. Cist and Kai took a sharp right, running around the edge of the ward. He shoved his hand into the satchel and pulled two bottles out. “Kai take this MP potion. Don’t use any more craft attacks. We need all our mana for the Fusion Attack.”

  The werejaguar had downed the bottle and already thrown it to the ground. “Got it.”

  “Cist.” The Lightblade regarded him quietly. “I need you to do what you did back in the Catacombs with the minotaur. Create your Lightclones and bind Fetter. We need a clear shot at him and it’s going to be hard enough with with the golem trying to squash us. Can you do that?”

  “Yes, Cist said. Good luck.” He broke off and ran towards the golem. It bent forward and looked down as the speedy assassin weaved between its legs. He invoked the incantation and created half a dozen clones.

  “Are you sure you want to use that coin?” Kai asked. It had grown warm in his hand.

  “I’m not sure yet. If it lands on minus, it will halve our attack points.” He looked past the golem at Fetter. He had just skewered a Lightclone, which erupted in a puff of white smoke. “Half of 71,100 is… what level is Fetter again? How much HP does he–”

  The golem jumped and came crunching down on Cal and Kai. Cal rolled out the way. The Lucky Coin flew out of his grasp, past the soldiers and eryn who hadn’t fled yet and rolled down the street.

  “Kai!”

  “I’m here.”

  “How much is half of 71,100?”

  “35,550.”

  Hopefully that would be enough to kill the bastard.

  Cal and Kai were on either side of the golem. It looked between the two, unsure of which to squish first. “Follow me!” Cal yelled. He unholstered the minotaur axe and ran to a clearing in the middle of Fetter and the golem. Fetter was rooted to the spot. He twisted his head this way and that, straining at the almost invisible Lightblades holding him in place.

  “Golem!” He screeched, spittle flying out of his mouth.

  Kai was in the clearing before he was, his lance in his hands.

  “Ready?” He asked, raising his lance diagonally and into the air.

  “Ready.” Cal crossed his axe over with Kai’s lance. The golem had turned around, its ruby eyes aflame. It clenched both hands together and raised it above its head.

  “Fusion Attack!” Cal and Kai shouted at the same time.

  The golem hesitated. “Golem! C-c-crush them!” Fetter screeched. The stone beast turned around and looked into the sky.

  Something was forming above the moon. Something large, maybe almost as large as the golem itself. There was an ear-splitting ripping sound, almost as if a titan in outer space was pulling a giant zip open.

  There was a blinding light, like an atomic bomb exploding in the middle of the sky. Cal smiled, closing his eyes. He hadn’t seen anything so bright since being back on earth and watching the sunset.

  Something emerged form the brightness. It moved slowly at first but the closer it got to the castle, the faster it became.

  Fetter kept screeching and thrashing but the Cists weren’t letting go. The soldiers and the eryn were now all looking up and pointing at the sky.

  “What is that?” Kai whispered.

  Cal opened up the notification spinning excitedly in the corner of the screen.

  Lisgladio (Fusion Attack)

  Lisgladio is a blade of the hottest flames said to come from Lis itself. It can only be summoned at Sibelle’s midpoint with a fire user of at least Support level B.

  The golem raised a hand, as if to try and shade its eyes. The giant, enchanted sword pierced the golem’s hand then ground its way through its chest. It disintegrated into sand and dirt, falling with a hiss onto the ground.

  Destroying the golem slowed it down, but Lisgladio had a final destination.

  “Cist!” Cal roared over his shoulder.

  The giant, flaming sword pierced Fetter and drove itself into the ground behind him.


  “AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGG–”

  -9,001 Damage!

  Cal turned around. What? Wasn’t it meant to be…?

  The giant sword kept grinding into the ground, kicking up embers and chunks of rock… but something was wrong. The giant, flaming sword had driven itself to the hilt before dissipating, shrouding its impact zone with dust. Cal dropped his axe and took a step closer. He waited and slowly, the dust parted.

  C was standing there, hood folded back. She held her left arm up and parallel to the ground. A new ward that surrounded her and Fetter blinked, reflecting Sibelle’s moonlight. Fetter lay crumpled in a heap on his side, body blackened but in tact. He stared listlessly into the ground, as if brain dead.

  Crack.

  Cal shielded his eyes from the bright burst of light that shone from his vanquished foe. Fetter’s bejewelled gauntlets floated through the air, hovered between the two parties, as if thinking which party its allegiance lay. It continued its journey until it was floating happily in front of Cal. He held his arms out and the gauntlets dropped into them.

  You have obtained Chaos Gauntlets!

  ERROR #20529: No details available for Chaos Gauntlets!

  C slowly lowered her arm until it was by her side. Cal and Kai grasped their weapons, waiting for something to happen. She stared at the orc. Eventually, her red lips curved into a smile.

  “Cal.” The werejaguar’s breath caught in his throat. It was something Cal had only heard a few times when the werejaguar was truly afraid. He knew why.

  Examine.

  NAME: C????????

  CLASS: Arc Druidess

  LVL: 750

  HP: 10,490/10,490

  MP: 8,800/8,882

  “A Fusion Attack.” She turned and looked down at Fetter slumped over on his side. “My, this does make things interesting.”

  She crouched down. Fetter wasn’t a tall man, but he was still bigger than C was, especially with his battle armour. She effortlessly flung his limp arm around her shoulder and supported his weight as she stood up.

  “What are you going to do now, Callahan Rogers?”

  Cal stared at her at a complete loss at what to say.

  Her smile faded slightly. “You don’t always have to know what to do next.” Fetter stirred, trying to stand up before he sagged downwards again. “Especially in a game.”

  There was a loud blip and a flash of light. When Cal dropped his hands, C and Fetter had disappeared.

  35

  We Will Rebuild

  20,156th Cycle

  20-Sibelle

  Cal rubbed his thumbs into his eyes. Stack after stack of parchment sat on the handsome, redwood desk in front of him. He hated paperwork, but Fetter had let a lot of it – scratch that, all of it – fall by the wayside during his tenure. Frankly, Cal didn’t blame him.

  Three, quick, sharp knocks at the door made Cal sit up in his tall chair. He smiled; only one person knocked like that.

  “Come in.”

  A slight man slipped in, his knives and daggers swaying at his hip. Cal got out of the chair and walked around the table.

  “Cist.” He clasped the leader of the Lightblades’ arm.

  “King Cal.” The assassin’s mouth turned up in a wry smile.

  “Don’t. I told you it reminds me of a nursery rhyme.”

  “I am bound to respect all Dresham laws, especially those that pertain to addressing Your Majesty.”

  “I’m going to have to get around to fixing that one.” He threw a cursory glance over his shoulder at the stacks of parchment. “Eventually.” He chuckled and released his grip.

  “How are things around town?”

  “Nothing new to report since the last moonshift. Efforts to locate displaced Thaylians around Dresham are going smoothly; a few hundred more will be coming back from neighbouring communities as soon as their homes have been rebuilt.”

  Every time he heard of the need to rebuild houses, he couldn’t help but think of Fairshade. Cist caught the faraway look in Cal’s eye.

  “You did everything you could,” the Lightblade said.

  “I know. It’s just… he was so scared of death the moment he became king. I’m glad that he was able to come around at the end.” Cal didn’t know what he was trying to say. It was hard keeping his thoughts and the numerous affairs of the kingdom disentangled.

  “How are people taking it? That their king is, you know…”

  “An orc?” Cist suggested. Cal nodded. “After what they experienced with Fetter, they really have no right to be choosy. Though you must give your commencement speech eventually.”

  Cal pursed his lips. “I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.” It was one of a hundred and one things to do and at the bottom of the list; he’d never been much of a public speaker.

  Cist glided across the ornate, carpeted floor and gazed out the window. “Who would have thought, huh?” Cal said.

  “Hm?”

  “That I would actually have become king.”

  “I was not surprised.” He turned around. “Anyone who challenges the incumbent deserves at least a shred of faith. After fighting by your side in the Catacombs, I had that and then some.”

  “You’re a higher level than me. And you’re pretty skilled at handling all these diplomatic matters.”

  Cist raised an eyebrow. “Are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting?”

  “I’m suggesting… no I’m saying that I’m grateful for your guidance.”

  The leader of the Lightblades inclined his head. “It is my duty and privilege to do so.”

  “It’s not just with all this royal stuff,” Cal said, waving a hand indiscriminately through the air. “It’s your friendship too. When we couldn’t find you after Fetter and C left I…”

  “That again?” Cist shook his head. “That Lisgladio of yours could have plowed straight through me and I wouldn’t have had even had a scratch.”

  Cal’s mouth twisted into a wry smile. It was ironic how an NPC knew more about the game mechanics than he, a player, did.

  “Anything of C and Fetter?”

  Cist’s face immediately darkened. “Nay. I have tapped my networks through Dresham, extending to some of the border communities. Most have not come back to me yet but the ones who have said there has been no sighting of two figures by those descriptions.”

  Cal sighed. He thought as much. She could have taken Fetter out of the game for all he knew.

  “It will not be the last we see of her,” Cal said. “She will find me when she needs to.”

  “Let my men and I protect you, Cal. I beseech you…”

  Cal put his hand up. “For the last time, no. You saw how powerful she was. I don’t mean to discount the Lightblades, but if she we wanted to kill me, I would be dead. There would be no doubt. I’m not going to squander innocent lives.”

  Going by Keizen’s prophecy, Fetter and presumably a few other members of Urathi royalty would be able to kill him permanently. Did this include C? It probably didn’t matter; she had already shown that she had the power to take him out of the game. It wouldn’t be too far a stretch to deliver permadeath to him.

  Cist crossed his arms. “If you insist… though when you leave the castle, the Lightblades will guard you from the shadows. I don’t trust the soldiers and the eryn.”

  Cal nodded. “Have it your way. That’s something else I have to do, isn’t it? Talk to the soldiers?”

  “Aye. They are still milling about aimlessly, waiting for their king to direct them.”

  Cal winced. “Yeah, right. What else do I have to do?”

  “The documents are on your desk.”

  “I know but…” Cal looked at Cist helplessly.

  Cist raised an eyebrow. “I will have to seek compensation for additional clerical services.” He laughed softly as he glided to the desk. He thumbed through some of the documents, slipped a few out and read through them.

  “Address the Thaylian Council, develop a reconstruction plan then
rebuild Thaylia, address the people, introduce yourself to the leaders of Dresham’s neighbours…” He looked up at Cal, a sympathetic smile on his face.

  “How about right now?”

  “Just start with the soldiers.”

  Cal exhaled slowly. “Alright. Where were the barracks again?”

  In a blink, Cist was by the door, holding it open for Cal. “This way, Your Majesty.” Cal walked across the room, something caught his eye on the wall to his left. The Chaos Gauntlets were propped up, gloves pointing up at the ceiling. Dark mana curled around its fingers. The purple diamonds seemed to wink at Cal.

  “You should let the smiths in town inspect those.” Cist said, eyeing the cursed loot.

  With great effort, Cal dragged his eyes away from them. “I’ll get around to it.”

  “Orc.”

  “Kai.” The werejaguar extinguished his Blood Lance and holstered it.

  “How goes the sparring?” Cal asked.

  “Bah, these soldiers are pathetic. The eryn are only slightly better.” Cal looked around the training hall. Soldiers and their flying defenders stood around listlessly or talked amongst themselves. Noticing Cal gazing at them, they cleared their throats and looked away from him.

  “Examine,” Cal said under his breath.

  The names of each of the players and their eryn hovered next to them.

  Cal changed the view:

  Darren Ross 27 E Feint

  Plains of Abundance

  Samantha So 17 F Tam

  Gale Cliffs

  Michael Lee 29 W Art

  Thaylia Training Ground

  The data rearranged itself into a table, detailing the name, level, elemental affinity of the soldier and their current location. He scrolled through sheet after sheet, letting the text blur out. The very last sheet was on the 5,000th page.

  “Arrange by authority,” he commanded.

  The table blinked and rearranged the names so that the most senior soldiers were on the first page: Colin Greaves and Susannah Busto were the commander and sub-commander respectively.