by Wolfe Locke
As soon as Lirai finished the explanation, the notifications started again over the loudspeakers. This time I was able to see a number of white loudspeakers hanging from thin wires overhead blasting the message.
Notification: Participants! Ready yourselves. Begin!
Honestly, I wasn’t really as ready as I should have been or as ready as I wanted to be, but I had a plan. It wasn’t a particularly good one, but it was a plan nonetheless, and that gave me a leg up on probably a lot of other people. I didn’t think I could kill 90 people today. That wasn’t quite my style. Maybe in the future, I could work up to it, but the option wasn’t ideal by any means. From the sound of it, this was a marathon, not a sprint, and I would absolutely screw myself if I blew my load, trying to run around like a madman to make the kill count. I wanted to survive this, hence the plan.
The Australia Strategy from a certain board game that we all know and love to hate.
Chapter 21: Into the Labyrinth
See, the Australia Strategy was pretty simple, and for those of you who’ve ever played Risk, you know exactly what I’m talking about, and for those who don’t, it’s turtling. Sitting back and trying to wait until everyone else exhausts their strength, as you consolidate your own all the while. It’s a pretty dickless strategy and total bullshit to play against. Yet there I was, shamelessly deciding to go down that dark path as I tried to think of ways to somehow survive that first round.
So yes, I did what I had to do; it wasn’t sexy, it wasn’t fun, but doing what it takes to win rarely is. I remembered an old movie about a horse race somewhere in the desert that really hit that piece home in one of the opening scenes. Showboating gets you killed, and I had no intention of dying.
Whether or not I’d respawn, it didn’t matter. For one, for those without special powers to figure this one out, getting killed hurts a lot and always puts me in a pissy mood. Secondly, I had no guarantees that whatever rule or magic was behind my ability to respawn would continue to work, or if it had a limit, and I had no intention of putting it to the test here. I know that was a little hypocritical of me after my long-winded engagement with the undead outside my house, but it was what it was.
As soon as the proverbial horn went off, all hell broke loose. Instantly, 99 other people were suddenly revealed scattered through the battle arena. They didn’t just magically materialize; it was more a case of them just becoming visible. The few people that I could see before they went sprinting off didn’t seem to be surprised by that.
From what I could tell, barely any of the other participants seemed panicked. Instead, what I saw was the complete opposite of the indifference I saw in the staging area. By and large, most of the people I saw appeared to be battle maniacs, ready to go and prepared to kill. I recognized the look from my Army days. War Junkies we called them, and it was weird though seeing the same look that took months in a warzone on so many people when the world had only been turned upside down for two days max.
Meanwhile, the ground itself began to break apart as randomized and gigantic rock formations of red and gray stone emerged. The hard rock pushed aside the shredded tires as the newly emergent stone formed into carved winding paths, platforms, and tunnels for us all to battle within. A battle labyrinth, and although there were plenty of twists and turns away from everyone else, it seemed to me that there was at least one obvious path straight to the middle of the arena, an express route towards death for the bold and the dead. Just in case, I used Accumulate.
Unlike far too many of the other people, I didn’t just sprint out into the middle of the battlefield and start trying to mow people down. Sure, I wanted a fight, but I also wanted to win. Besides, I had a plan, remember? A plan that went south as soon as the battlefield was turned upside down by the protruding rock formations and newly-minted labyrinth. Mind you, I was still able to start running a path that ran around the perimeter, it was just I only got about ten, maybe twenty feet into it before turning a corner and the bare minimum of a plan I had started going further off the rails.
You might have thought with everyone else being preoccupied and engaged with the all-out sprint to join the battle royale in the center of the arena, it would have made it a little easier to move about. Well, that wasn’t the case, not even close. See, one important part about trying to go the Australian route and to focus on turtling was that you got completely fucked if anyone else had the same idea. Which, based purely on what I’ve said so far, was exactly what happened.
I found out the hard way that somebody else had the same idea that I had when I turned that first corner in the newly-formed maze as I tried to work my way around the perimeter. I heard a blood-curdling yell and felt a searing pain in my side as blood began to trickle down my leg. My health bar dipped about a third of the way and went from green to yellow. If the wound had been in a different spot, it might have done more damage, but also my health was higher than most participants’ since I had opted to go all strength.
Looking down, I saw that a steel ax was embedded horizontally in my leg and holding on to it was one of the guys I recognized from earlier, an accountant named Greg, or Stan, or Paul. Whatever, those assholes all blended together. Greg, as I will call him, unlike me, still had full health.
Apparently, Greg’s plan had been to camp out and try to kill the first person to come around that corner, maybe more if it worked out for him, because when he saw I was still standing and still had most of my health, his expression changed from one of glee to one of shocked horror. As quick as he could, Greg dropped his hold on the ax handle and looked up at me with a sheepish grin, and tried to offer me a half-hearted apology, “Sorry about that, man, my bad. I didn’t see you there. I’m just a little jumpy. Maybe we should team up?”
Obviously, I knew he was lying, but what was not as apparent to me was how much the difference in our strength mattered. With a surge of rage that surprised even me, I replied to him with a hard look of pure anger, “The fuck you didn’t.” I cocked the bat back and swung without a shred of remorse. The body of the bat started to glow with a deep blue shine as it slammed into his cheek with a sick-sounding thud, his skin rippling in waves as his health bar went from full green all the way to an empty dark. I was a little awestruck by it. I had just expected him to fall to the ground in an unconscious, though a bit bloody, heap. I thought he’d still be alive, and I’d have to hit him again.
Notification: The passive on-hit effect of frost has been applied to the attacks of the Steel Core Bat.
I watched in morbid fascination as a crack formed in the man’s head between his upper and lower jaw, his skin literally starting to flash-freeze. His head basically turning into frozen glass, even as the force exerted by the bat was still being applied. He shattered like a porcelain vase as a sizable portion of his upper skull with bits of frozen brain attached went flying into the distance.
Notification: Experience Gained - +5 experience, next level in 95 experience.
Notification: Emblem Unlocked - Man Killer.
Details: You have killed your first true sentient. As such, you have earned the “Man Killer” Emblem. You will now be viewed with derision by most people who do not yet possess the Emblem. No bonuses are awarded for this Emblem.
Notification: Emblem Unlocked - Are You Not Entertained.
Details: For using a theatrical fatality during a public spectacle, you have earned the “Are You Not Entertained” Emblem. As such, you may now devise your own “Finishing Moves” that can be triggered once an enemy is at less than 20% health.
Notification: Finishing Move.
Details: What would you like to name the finishing move consisting of the use of the steel bat, flash freezing, and an overwhelming exertion of strength? You may rename this move at a later time for a small fee.
I thought for a second. I wanted something super cool, even cooler than Edgelord Supreme. Still, I needed to be careful; I didn’t want to give away too many details in a name and I sure as shit didn’t want to run
into other people using the same thing. I ran through a bunch of random words before just blurting out “Absolute Zero.” I’d actually been leaning more towards “The Snowman’s Lament,” or “Springtime for Hitler,” but thought one was too extra and the other too niche for people to get them.
I looked down at the headless dead man’s body and said, “That was a lot cooler than I expected. Thanks, dickhead.” No puns intended. I’m a 90s kid, hip lingo and all. I pulled the steel ax out of my leg, and though the wound had stopped bleeding, my health hadn’t recovered; I’d need to be careful. Even if I was pretty sure I’d respawn, that didn’t change the fact that I wanted to win, and I had a suspicion that even if I revived, I doubted they would let me continue to participate.
“Alright, self, let’s do this. The only way out is through.” I tried to hype myself up as I started running again, limping a little bit on my wounded leg. I tried to stick close to the walls as I moved, not wanting to be caught out in the open. Injured as I was, I’d be an easy target if I made myself more vulnerable by being exposed. It didn’t take me long to find that I wasn’t the only one who had been bloodied. The first battle I came across was at the base of one of the big pillars near my end goal of where I had planned on turtling.
I saw a bunch of wild Ashleys clustered up in a group as they engaged in what looked suspiciously like some sort of some satanic blood ritual; gone were the boring girls I’d seen before. The target of the ability, or at least the intent, seemed to be bringing down a fortress of ice erected by two guys named Len and Barry. I knew this because Len and Barry’s health boxes showed through the ice castle. It didn’t conceal them, not really.
It was weirder seeing it in person than how I’m describing it. This group of girls all with the same name, holding hands around an oversized igloo, and not in a Children of the Corn sort of ritual, but more like a hivemind sort of deal. Mean Girls meets The Craft. I could only guess what was going on or who was going to be the victor. I just knew I didn’t envy the guys on the inside of the igloo. Even now, I could see their health bars were dipping from yellow into red, though I wasn’t sure if they were being harmed by the Ashleys or if it was a side effect of the ice they were hiding inside of.
I spent too much time wondering instead of asking. “What the shit is wrong with me? I don’t need to guess anything. Lirai, what’s the deal with those Ashleys?” I mean, if I had basically my own personal Google service, I needed to be using it, right? Anything else would be reckless.
Notification: Query - “Seeking Information About Nearby Female Combatants.”
Details: The female combatants known as “Ashley” possess the “One of Us” ability trait which allows all nearby Ashleys to share the total stats among themselves, and also link damage dealt and damage received.
Ok, that just sounds redundantly complicated. “Ok, Lirai, what should I do here? Is there any benefit to trying to help those guys out? What do you suggest?” I’ll admit it, I was a little in over my head. I’d talked a good game about the Australian Strategy, but here I was watching two guys basically get Mean Girls’ed to death, and they at least had a magic fortress to try to wait things out in.
Notification: Query - “Best Course of Action.”
Details: There is no benefit to helping the two men. However, as participants are defeated, some of their stats are transferred to their slayer after death. This is done to discourage non-participation in the activities and encourage conflict between participants. Allowing either group to win this engagement could cause power disparities that could drastically increase the difficulty of achieving victory.
“Ah…” I shook my head realizing what Lirai was saying. I made the French Mistake and thought my troubles would get smaller if I tried to outwait them. “Ok, so I’ve just got to kill them all. That’s not too difficult.” Just what, six, seven, maybe eight Ashleys, a Len, and a Barry.
Chapter 22: The Horde and the Tower
I’ve been told on a few different occasions in my life that one of the worst mistakes a man can make is to let himself be taken for a ride by trying to carry sunk costs forward. Sometimes you just need to cut bait and drive on. Drink some water, rub a little dirt in it, accept the loss of time, resources, opportunity, and move past it. It seemed easy enough when it was put that way, but it really wasn’t. I fully admit I was just as guilty of doing this as everyone else was. This particular mistake was a favorite of mine. In fact, it’s been a familiar destination on the menu of my frequent flyer mistakes.
Even though I was aware of that inherently fatal flaw, I still had a penchant for, and attraction to, sticking around longer than I should. Having committed, I felt I had no choice but to ride it out and see what happened, and so I hid.
So there I was, hidden behind a rock formation as I watched the two groups continue their battle. Parts of the surrounding labyrinth were beginning to bow and warp from the effects of the abilities and magic being used. I wasn’t sure if it was the chanting of the Ashleys or the magical nature of the ice fortress, but one or the other seemed to have created a micro arena of this personal battleground within the labyrinth.
From my vantage point, I was able to count and confirm that there were a total of eight Ashleys. Each one looked bloodthirsty, like erratic maniacs, as they encircled the base of the magical fortress of ice. Each of the Ashleys wielded identical steel katanas that were used as a channel for the ability they were using.
A soft and shrill chant went out from each of them as they spoke words I didn’t recognize in unison. There was something otherworldly about it, and it was difficult for me to follow along and try to pick up the sounds. Regardless of my ability to listen in, it seemed to be working as a glow began emitting from the points of their katanas and was projected directly at Len and Barry’s ice fortress.
The base of the magical construct began to warp and shift as the pale blue of the ice turned to white and red. I watched in uncomfortable fascination as the tower began to rapidly melt, dropping feet in height in mere seconds as a dark mist and steam steadily rose off it. I was a little awed by the use of both powers. Is this the sort of power everyone else is going to have? And what do I have? The ability to wake up back in my dirty ass room?
I know; no whining, it’s unbecoming. It was just a thought I had, a little bit of power envy. Respawning wasn’t as sexy or flashy as some, or rather, almost all of the powers people were either given, found, or had taken for themselves in the apocalypse. I could only imagine that Len and Barry were feeling a similar sort of way inside the melting fortress. Or they could just be panicking and had no time to be petty. It was hard to tell from the outside trying to look in.
The guidance I had received from Lirai was directing my movements, or rather was the reason behind my newfound restraint. I needed to wait for just the right moment to make my move, so I could sweep whoever came out ahead in the battle. It was on me to ensure I recognized the right moment when it came and was ready to go. I gripped the bat in my hands as frost rolled across the weapon’s surface. I held it at a ready position, completely prepared to erupt from my hiding spot and launch into a series of uses of Absolute Zero. It wasn’t much of a plan either, but I’d never claimed to be a genius planner. I hadn’t thought beyond the part of diving into the fray at the opportune time. Honestly, I didn’t know what I expected to go down; my sense of timing had always been off.
Here it comes, I thought to myself as the rest of the ice fortress finished evaporating, leaving behind a thick mist that was somewhat difficult to see through. The Ashleys didn’t waste the opportunity as they closed their encirclement, katanas still held outwards, ready to strike down the two men at a moment’s notice. Meanwhile, I watched as Len and Barry were left shaking from the cold, each of them wet from head to toe as they looked at each other in pure misery with what could only be considered being resigned to their fates. Poor bastards should have gone out swinging, at least.
One of the Ashleys stepped forward, and for lack of
a better word, I’d have to call her the Alpha of the group. The remaining girls tightened their circle once she left it, cinching the noose ever so slightly, making sure neither Len nor Barry would get a chance to make a break for it. There was a certain level of finality about it that was almost soothing in a creepy goth before Hot Topic kind of way.
“You two, it’s over,” she yelled with an eerie calmness that seemed at odds with the bloodlust that had been radiating off the group she led just moments before. She had a voice that was absent of anger, malice, or even the barest hint of violence. “My name is Ashley, and I’m the leader of this group. I can promise you a quick and clean death. A death without suffering, if you submit now.” She paused for a second, letting the two men consider her words before driving home another point. “Or you can die writhing in agony and unbearable pain. The choice is yours.”
Barry dejectedly looked down as his face grew pale. I knew that look; it was the look of somebody afraid to die. His partner Len had a look of defiance as he dismissed the deal out of hand and replied with a laugh, “Joke’s on you, lady. We’ve still got For General Audiences on. Threatening us with a little pain isn’t going to do anything. Do your worst.”
“No, you’re wrong,” Barry quickly interjected in a sudden movement that reeked of desperation. His quick movements drew the ire of all the Ashleys as they prepared to strike him down before he explained in a low voice. Stepping forward, Barry turned to the friend he had interrupted as he held his hands up in submission, the mist continuing to rise all around them. “You’ve still got For General Audiences on, but I opted for Mature Mode. I know you told me not to, but I thought it was a content filter. I don’t want to die, Len, but I definitely don’t want to die in a lot of pain. If they can make it painless, I’d prefer that.”