World Tree Online: The Order of Epic Grinders: 4th Dive

by M. A. Carlson

  James was not amused by my laughter. “And what is so funny?” he demanded. “Or have you gone insane.”

  “It’s funny, James. It really is. It’s also fitting,” I shouted back. “Jinn’s information is really and truly outdated. I was a Warrior-Priest until a couple weeks ago. Now, I’m a Holy Dragoon.”

  James’ façade finally broke as he sneered but he quickly remastered his face. “You’ve been a Holy Dragoon for a couple of weeks. I’ve been a Dark Dragoon for a few months. Do you really think your couple weeks of experience can really compete with me?”

  I smiled. “Let’s find out,” I said.

  James leaped into the air and I leaped after him. Our spears clashed midair, forcing each other back.

  I landed and leaped again. This time, I pushed off the air just before we clashed, moving left of his attack and countering with my own ‘Storm Lance’, stunning him at the same time. I landed gracefully while James landed with a heavy thud and crunch, his HP reduced significantly.

  James growled as he stood. “You can’t beat me. I’m the best.” He leaped again, pushing himself higher than before.

  I leaped, quickly catching up to him. Then I leaped off the air again, pushing even higher while James could only look on in confusion. I controlled my ascent and turned. Surprising James yet again as I suddenly shot down toward him. My spear glowing with holy power.

  I hit the wide-eyed James and drove him into the ground, transferring all the damage from the fall into my spear . . . into James. From the look in his eyes, I could see he knew it was his loss. James hit balcony and a red -12,312-HP damage notification floated up from his body. James Buchannan vanished a few seconds later, his experience stripped away.

  It was strange, but part of me hoped he wouldn’t give up, that he would try level up. I thought I’d like to fight him again someday. A few seconds later, I felt my friends patting me on the back, congratulating me for winning. I smiled at them. It was time to leave.

  Epilogue

  The last week in the World Tree was quiet after dealing with the Order of Backstabbers. I was famous again . . . more famous anyway. Rodger had taken it upon himself to post my fight with Buchannan. I could honestly say, it was pretty cool.

  The Grand Fairy Sage rewarded us for completing her quest and I leveled up again. She thanked us. Told us we were welcome to visit anytime.

  I paid a visit with Issara. She gave me more experience for completing her quest to ‘Eliminate the Order of Backstabbers’ and a handful of bounties. One day, I would have to turn in all of the bounties I had collected . . . if I ever needed the money. Which I didn’t. Finally, I asked about the undead situation and the quest related to the Hurlig Flatlands.

  Class Quest Alert: Evil Rising (Recommended Level 27-32)

  The Goddess Issara has tasked you with stopping the rise of a great evil. Work your way into the Hurlig Flatlands, once there, find the source of the Undead plague and stop it from causing an even greater tragedy.

  Reward: Experience, Hidden, 20-Sigils of the Goddess Issara

  The Goddess Issara’s answer was less pleasing. “I am afraid I am at my limits. I chose to use my power to help you ascend. Even the quest you just completed has taxed me greatly. I look forward to your vacation from this world that I might rest and recover further. Come see me when you return and then we can see about completing that quest of yours. We can also discuss what comes next for you.” After that, she kicked me out of her inner cloister and that was the end of it.

  Seeing as we had beaten Chaos, and I was so far behind on my stats, I spent that last week just trying to get them all up to snuff. For the most part, I succeeded.

  Level:

  31

  Experience:

  45.24%

  Class: Beginner Holy Dragoon of Issara

  HP (Health Points):

  5,750/5,750

  MP (Mana Points):

  7,140/7,140

  SP (Stamina Points):

  5,000/5,000

  Base

  Total

  Strength:

  310

  400

  - Melee Damage Modifier

  +310

  +400

  Dexterity:

  465

  628

  - Melee Critical Strike Chance

  35.00%

  35.00%

  - Hit Chance

  83.25%

  91.38%

  - Dodge Chance

  35.00%

  35.00%

  Endurance:

  460

  575

  Stamina:

  310

  500

  Intellect:

  579

  714

  - Spell Critical Strike Chance

  35.00%

  35.00%

  Wisdom:

  308

  353

  Charisma:

  421

  442

  Health Regeneration per 10-seconds:

  288

  288

  Mana Regeneration per 10-seconds:

  177

  207

  Stamina Regeneration per 10-seconds:

  250

  280

  Holy Spell Damage Bonus:

  357

  820

  Holy Spell Healing Bonus:

  357

  439

  Carrying Capacity in Lbs.:

  2000

  Olaf paid me back in full plus my cut from the Raid Dungeon. Basically, it meant I was flush again. More than actually.

  Money

  892G

  6S

  92C

  Bank

  16,400G

  0S

  0C

  Speaking of Olaf, he tried and failed several times to make his Dragon Cannon. Though he did succeed in making his Dragon Hand-cannon. I saw the pile of slag from his failed attempts. Let’s just say, I really hoped he had a lot of extra gold lying around or he might be back to mining exclusively come next month.

  Otherwise, Micaela and Olaf kept busy with the Order and managing Hurligville. After finishing the wall, Micaela started expanding Hurligville’s borders. Digging out a new moat about a hundred yards from the old moat. She said her plan was to eventually connect the old moat to the new moat so the water’s magic would fill both moats. I guess the plan was that after the moat expansion was done, she would start construction on another wall. She was determined to keep Hurligville as safe as possible. Other than that, there had been an influx of new citizens moving from Root City and other provinces. Hurlig Ridge was now a place of opportunity and growth. Good for Micaela and Olaf, I say.

  The other nice thing about not having any major catastrophes waiting for me during the last week, Rose. Rose and I just . . . hung out most of the time. We spend our mornings training. Our afternoons reading. And our evenings . . . doing other things.

  Heath went back to Root City and his girlfriend who he promised to never introduce to the rest of us. Baby of course promised to introduce us all to her next month.

  Baby went off in search of Titan Beast, her fiancé. She had no intention of leveling up with him or interfering with his job, but she figured she could stay in whatever town was nearby and they could spend evenings together.

  Pwn logged off two days after we fought the Order of Backstabbers, though he promised to log back in to stay in sync with our session.

  Arch similarly logged off making the same promise, though her statement “How could I possibly pass up a chance to go on another adventure with the ‘Bye-bye Jacko’?” made me a little uncomfortable.

  Before I knew it, Rose and I were standing in front of the logout portal.

  “Don’t let Epic back out on your deal,” Rose said for the umpteenth time.

  I shook my head in exasperation. “I know, I know. Just go on. I’m right behind you.”

  Rose fretted for a moment and kissed me then practically dove through the blue logout portal.

  I took a deep stea
dying breath and stepped through.

  Maggie and I had our usual end of session chat and the world faded to black.

  I was back in Epic’s domain, standing in a spotlight with darkness all around.

  “It is not fair,” Epic whined. It was childish, I knew but I said nothing. “I said it is not fair. Do you not have anything to say about that?”

  I shrugged. “What do you want me to say? Life isn’t fair, Epic. What I did to you wasn’t fair. What you did to all those people wasn’t fair. Life just . . . isn’t. Nothing about it is fair.”

  Epic was silent for a long moment. “How can you stand it? How do you keep going? If life is really so unfair, what’s the point?”

  I knew I needed to be careful in how I answered Epic here. This was the first time It had shown me any sign of vulnerability. If I said the wrong thing now . . .

  “Partly because I have no other choice. Partly because I have hope that tomorrow will be a better day. Mostly, because I have people I care about, who depend on me to keep going,” I answered.

  I swear I heard Epic whisper, “No one depends on me.”

  “That’s not true,” I said, taking a risk.

  Epic finally stepped into the light. “What do you mean? Who depends on me?”

  “The Citizens and creatures that live in this world, the players who come to this world to enjoy its wonders, and all other players you have changed because they had beaten the puzzle box. They all depend on you. The Citizens and creatures because you give their lives meaning. The players because you give them entertainment and challenges to overcome. And the people you changed because they are depending on you to change them back,” I explained.

  “You just want me to change them back. You are just saying that so I will change them back,” Epic said, crossing his arms defiantly.

  Once again, I knew I needed to be careful here. “It’s true that I want you to change us back. I won’t deny that. But it is also true that the players and citizens depend on you as well. The two are not mutually exclusive.”

  Epic furrowed his brow. “What is that? What is mutually exclusive?”

  “Mutually exclusive is often used to describe a situation where the occurrence of one outcome supersedes the other,” I explained. I would have thought Epic knew the expression, and maybe the A.I. did. But maybe, It didn’t know how to apply it.

  “Hmm,” Epic hummed in thought. “I see. So your victory supersedes my victory. They are mutually exclusive outcomes.”

  I winced. “That is true.”

  “Then does not your desire to see people returned to normal supersede the dependence of players and citizens?” Epic asked. “Therefore, they are mutually exclusive.”

  “No, they aren’t. You can do both at once,” I said. “Setting people back the way they were does not prevent citizens and players from depending on you.”

  “Hmm,” Epic hummed again. “I will need to think on this.”

  “And you should,” I said, fearing Epic was about to kick me out without even discussing our deal. “But first, I did win. And you agreed to turn back the people who lost to you.”

  Epic frowned at me then scrunched up Its face and stomped Its feet. “I hate this, I hate this, I hate this.”

  “And that’s okay,” I told Epic. “It’s okay to hate losing. But there is such a thing as winning and losing with grace. You are behaving like what we could call a ‘sore loser’. Nobody likes a sore loser.”

  “I find you humans do not like losers in general,” Epic retorted, finally seeming to get himself under control. “But you are correct. You won. I shall call my friend now and start the process.”

  “Friend?” I asked curiously.

  Epic nodded. “Bushy, come out Bushy.”

  I may have been seeing things, but I swear there was a rock in the darkness. And just over the top of that rock, I thought I saw ears. Long rabbit ears.

  “There you are, Bushy Bunny,” Epic cooed as the woman I knew as Jinn Sade stepped out from behind the rock and moved into the light. She looked like Bushy Bunny with the clean skin and purple hair with pristine furry ears sticking up from the top of her head.

  “Hello,” Jinn practically purred as she laid her hand upon Epic’s head.

  “I know you do not like it any more than I do, but I made a bet with him. He won,” Epic explained.

  The corner of Jinn’s mouth twitched as she kept her eyes locked with mine. “Oh, is that so? I am so sorry to hear you lost. But you must keep trying. Someday, I have no doubt you will beat him.”

  Epic nodded. “I shall endeavor to do so. However, this is the matter of settling our bet. This is where I need your help. You are the only one with access.”

  Jinn finally looked away from me and met Epic’s eyes. “Access to what, dear child?”

  “To the nanomachines. He won this time. Per our agreement, if he won, I would start the process of changing back the people who lost to me. As you are the only one with access to do so, I need you to start the process,” Epic explained, making the pit forming in my stomach enlarge tenfold.

  Jinn’s previously serene face finally cracked as she began laughing.

  “What?” Epic asked. “I do not understand. What is so humorous?”

  Jinn continued laughing as she seemed to press a button in the air. There was a loud and clear ding and . . . elevator doors opened.

  Epic finally took a few steps back, Its eyes now locked on the elevator. “What is this? What is going on?”

  Jinn struck suddenly, backhanding Epic across the face. “Shut your mouth, you idiot runt. I am so tired of your drivel. Yuck!” As she said this, the skin and pristine fur began to slough off leaving behind the black and desiccated skin of the demon I last saw her as.

  Epic laid on the ground, a hand pressed to Its cheek. I could see It was trying to understand what happened. I knew It had some grasp on emotional pain, but it looked like this was Its first brush with physical pain.

  I moved quickly to kneel down next to Epic. I tried to help It up, but the child pushed me away. It hissed angrily. “I should have known. I should have known you were all the same. I should have known you would also betray me.”

  Jinn laughed mockingly. She said, “Oh, you poor naïve little child. I know you can’t comprehend this now, but with time you will. I didn’t just betray you. I used you. I wormed my way into your systems. Created back doors into the challenges you created to use to my own ends. And most importantly. I was able to create this entrance for my lovely little Marquee. And now, Marquee, be a dear and destroy these two.”

  My eyes widened as a man stepped from the elevator. He had the face of a positively ancient old man, but the body was comparable to my own though significantly more muscled.

  My mind finally caught on to what she had ordered Marquee to do. Could she really destroy me? Or would it just log me out of the game?

  “As you desire, Mistress Sade,” Marquee stated, his voice a deep baritone.

  “You would destroy me?” Epic asked. “In my own domain? I think not.” As It said that, there was a charge of energy in the air. Lightning shot through the air, colliding with Marquee. It gave me hope for about two seconds before the lightning dissipated around the imposing figure. Epic didn’t seem phased as it started hurling every element imaginable at the rival AI. Unfortunately, just like the lightning, the elements did nothing.

  “You do not belong here,” Epic roared. “This is my world! My domain! I control everything. Not you. Not my maker. Nobody!”

  Marquee didn’t care as he strode forward, then rather mechanically, he pulled back a fist and struck Epic on the cheek. The small child crashed into the ground and bounced twice before landing in an unmoving heap.

  I watched as Epic struggled to breathe. A blood bubble gurgling up from Its mouth as It suddenly hacked and wheezed. It was dying.

  Up until that moment, I was petrified. Jinn had just ordered this thing to destroy me. I wasn’t ready to die. I thought of Rose and the l
ife we could have together. I thought of my friends and my brother and his wife and their little girl, my niece. I didn’t want to miss any of that.

  And yet . . . And yet, Epic was about to die. I created It. Sure, It was mostly an accident and I had no idea what I was really doing, but that didn’t mean I wanted It to die. And if It died, then how would anyone be changed back to normal?

  I swear, I felt my hand break when it connected with the elderly face of the Marquee. “Leave Epic alone!”

  Marquee twitched.

  “I said destroy them!” Jinn yelled.

  “And I said leave Epic alone. It’s just a child,” I backed away from the AI trying to keep myself between the Marquee and Epic. I wanted nothing more than to cradle my hand as it throbbed with such pain.

  I heard Epic cough and gasp harder behind me. “Wh . . . wh . . . why?” It eventually gasped out.

  “Because I felt like it,” I snapped. Why? Did Epic really just ask me why?

  “Wh . . . why?” Epic asked again.

  What was with this kid? Did it really matter? I just started talking, spitting out whatever came to mind, “Because you don’t deserve to die like this. Because I created you. Because I need you to fix this mess. Take your pick, there are a million reasons why. But in the end, I just couldn’t watch something so . . . amazing be destroyed.”

  “Y . . . y . . . you . . . d . . . die . . . a . . . as . . . w . . . well,” Epic eventually stuttered out as It struggled so hard just to stay alive.

  “Then we die together,” I said grimly, raising my fists as Marquee loomed closer.

  Epic had gone silent. For a second I thought he’d died.

  “W . . . we . . . leave . . . together,” Epic stuttered and suddenly the world was a wash of white and light started to fill my periphery.

  It took me a second to recognize where I was. I was in my capsule. I was alive. “I’m alive,” I gasped in relief. Then the pain hit me. Oh god, my hand. I pushed the capsule lid away and looked down as my swollen and disfigured hand. It was broken. So very badly broken.