by Rick Scar
“My people!” His voice came over the crowd like a wave. As he spoke, he walked toward the first lines. “Everyone makes mistakes, and I’m no exception!” His aura was activated. People within its reach were falling to their knees, looking down. They parted in front of him like waves breaking against a rock. “But my strength,” he continued, looking closely at the crowd, “is that I accept them as I pave the way to the better future for all of us, despite all the losses. I’ll make Adamarona great again! Since the times of the Iron Throne, we’ve had our fair share of ups and downs. We were tossed from side to side like a ship in a storm, but we are now a kingdom no one dares to mess with. However, pain and happiness are inseparable.”
Pausing, he looked up at the banners flying on the arrows stuck in the heads. “Look!”
Everyone obeyed his request. Although they had seen the sight already, Will’s passive skills and passionate speech set their hearts ablaze, invigorating them, bringing up the stories that they had heard from their parents and grandparents about Adamarona once being so vast that its very name had been awe-inspiring, and its power envied by everyone.
“I took the first step no other king ever dared to take! And I’m ready to die, as many times as it takes, for us to be,” his fingers curled up in a fist, “respected by everyone! By our allies and enemies alike! I’ve enforced our borders with new fortresses. I’ve raised great walls. I’ve trained a strong army to protect us from those who dare come here to plunder our houses, and enslave our women and children! Will you hide when they come? Or will you fight by my side to protect your home? What say you?!”
“Aye! Death to the enemy! Death!” People stood up one after another, like wheat that had been bent by wind but then reached for the sun once it stopped.
Emin smiled as he watched the inspired crowd. Then he looked at the king who stood with his arm raised and eyes staring into the distance.
We’re coming. The captain raised his fist and shouted with the chanting crowd, closed his eyes, and soaked up the atmosphere.
***
“How was it?” Nanel asked.
Although she knew how cruel Raven could be, she preferred not to witness it. That was why she had stayed in the palace to train.
Raven had entered five minutes ago, but she had been too busy attacking a training dummy to greet him immediately. Having placed her sword on the wall and wiped her face with a towel, she sat down at the table, across Will who was staring ahead blankly.
She knew what that meant, so she let him be. She just observed his face, his sky-blue eyes, and his lips, realizing that he was becoming dearer to her heart with every passing day.
She sighed at the memories and turned away, taking the training room in. They were to set off for the Monarch’s Door really soon. And although she had become much stronger, the upcoming journey was unnerving her. This anxiety would only be relieved by spending another day practicing her combat skills, but she still shivered all over at the thought of what awaited them.
Will was reading the information about Round Three that was too scarce for him – or any other player – to understand what exactly they were about to face.
The devs had been extremely secretive this time, thrilling everyone by posting nothing but the round’s time, duration, and name: The Siege. No goals. No description.
More and more players were voicing their support of the Brotherhood’s theory that the whole game was some sort of a challenge. Lots of threads were created with lightning speed, branching so quickly you could easily lose any of them.
That’s really, really weird.
As Will closed the window and stretched, he saw Nanel’s pensive face.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, no...” Snapping out of her own thoughts, Nanel asked again: “How was it?”
Will stood up from the wooden chair and turned away to the window before he answered.
“There was a casualty. You were right...”
Having told her what happened, he noticed that Nanel was about to say something but just huffed and shook her head before coming up to stand by his side.
“Don’t lose yourself in this war. Please.” She embraced him and rested her head on his shoulder.
“I’ll try not to,” he whispered as he embraced her back, his voice suddenly silent. “Actually, I came for a reason. What about some hunting?”
“Hunting?” Nanel looked up to stare into his eyes. “Why?”
“Do you remember my rite?”
“That disgusting blood-drinking thing? Your half-dead victim?” She recoiled and arched her brows, staring at him in astonishment. “Are you going to do it again?”
“Yes, I am.”
“No. I want no part in it.” She lifted her hands and walked away. “Call Daltaro or, better, Rinnah. She’s sure to like that.”
Will couldn’t blame her for turning down his offer. The sight must’ve been really horrible. Just thinking about it made him grimace and his stomach turn.
***
He found a victim quickly, but then he had to donate in order to be able to use the rite; there was too little gold in his account after all the recent spending. Soon, he got a level-up, for the first time in a long while. And one skill point that rounded up their total amount to ten. He was still looking for a good use for them.
As he read the characteristics of his newly available weapon, Will couldn’t help but smile broadly. His eyes were glued to the lines.
HEART DAGGER
Item rank: Diamond
Description: Part of a set (1/2). One of the two daggers created for instantaneously killing any enemy. The dagger can pass through any physical or magic armor.
Usage requirement: Level 105+
Characteristics:
Damage: 645–780
-46% target armor’s resistance
+12% chance of paralyzing the target for 2 secs
+250% attack strength when the dagger reaches the heart
Classes: Rogue, Thief, Hunter
Features: Can’t be lost or stolen. Can be upgraded.
Upgrade requirements: Schematic, and a skilled crafter.
The thin crimson blade, about one foot long, adorned with red sparks running down it, seemed to be breathing. Gripping the handle, he felt the dagger become an extension of his hand. His heart pounded joyfully.
What a long way I’ve come.
He had obtained this weapon a really, really long time ago. He tossed it into the air, then made a series of practice blows. Looking around, he decided to test it on an actual target.
The dagger exceeded his best expectations. The speed and strength of its piercing attack were simply amazing.
After leaving the hunting grounds in the Taargada forest, he messaged Curtis. His friend replied after some time. Reading the answer, Will realized their meeting would have to be postponed indefinitely. It was hardly a problem as he had lots of other things to do.
Night fell quickly. Studying his state management menu, he reached the taxation issue but, as he was unsure about the consequences, decided to leave it to his sister. War preparations required a higher tax, but if he made it too high, his people would revolt. He preferred not to starve his citizens when there was any way to avoid it.
After exiting the game, he emailed all the information to Leah. Darius was at home, watching TV. When he saw Will get out of his capsule, he saluted with a can of beer.
“Welcome back. You’ve been in there for quite a while. Is everything okay?”
“Don’t worry. I can leave the game at any moment.”
…though it’s really difficult to do at times, Will thought but said nothing. He could deal with this problem alone, without involving his father.
“By the way, I’ve browsed the net and found a few good options. We can take a tour of those whenever you get time.”
“I don’t really know much about apartments. I’d rather trust your choice. The only thing I care about is that Leah’s close to school.”
<
br /> “Sure I’ll see to that.” Darius took a sip of beer and said in a quieter voice: “I’ll see.”
His face became thoughtful.
“Hey, old man,” Will called when passing by. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. I’m fine.” Darius waved.
Will shrugged and thought that it could somehow be related to their recent talk about Ascension.
“I’ve made some soup. Help yourself to it.” Darius pointed with his chin at the kitchen and turned back to the TV.
“Thanks.” At the mention of soup, Will suddenly realized that he was starving, so he changed his plan of taking a shower and going to bed to include a dinner first. As he took a clean plate out of the cupboard, he glanced back at Darius.
I wanted him back so badly, but now I’m always away. It’s wrong. But I must keep doing it to help Leah. I need to put in more effort to take over the Floor.
With his lips forming a thin line, Will swallowed and nodded as he poured himself soup. He had to get back into Ascension as soon as possible.
Chapter 249. Rules of Survival
I n the morning, Will hurried to continue the last day’s checking of the walls and fortresses and distributing the potions and the treasury-paid scrolls to his soldiers. This couldn’t wait as Round Three was to last up to three days. Unaware of what challenge exactly awaited him, Will could only hope that Adamarona wouldn’t get attacked by the Swarm or the holies while he was away.
During his visit to the fifth fortress, a message arrived that Hade had come to. This excellent news brought with it a wave of relief. With her available to help him in the tournament, his chance of winning increased greatly. Summoning her, he was surprised to see that she now looked older and more mature. Her eyes had a new gleam in them.
Is that because of what she has been through? he wondered and shuddered at the sudden realization that he was seeing the game as the real world. In the past, he had had to put a lot of effort into changing his mindset so as to see the game as actual reality and not as a piece of software. But now it came naturally to him.
He was no longer viewing the NPCs or the mobs as merely lines of code, and it felt weird. Or rather, the feeling of living in two worlds at once was familiar, but he lacked the knowledge to explain this change. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was a byproduct of his abnormal sensitivity level combined with total immersion.
Round Three, unlike the last two, was to begin at noon. The arena automatically transported all of the participants and spectators to their assigned places. Upon entering the room named The Siege, Will immediately found himself standing on a city wall.
Alone.
…or rather, he was the only player there. All of the archers, soldiers, and catapult and ballista squads standing on the wall by his side were NPCs. But it was not them or even the place that concerned him.
Stretching as far as he could see, and probably even farther, were monsters. Legions of them. No one would even think of fighting that many at once. But the most surprising part wasn’t even the size of this mob that included zombies, fifteen-foot-tall frogs, and twenty-foot-tall cyclops with hammers for hands, but the fact that they seemed to be organized.
Will started to realize why they had been allowed that much time to prepare for this round.
Zombies, drekars, and other types of monsters he had had no idea this game even had were marching in phalanxes. The chivalry was separated, and the long-range attackers (archers and wizards) were protected by armored monsters that were to serve as living shields.
Behind the last lines, the three leaders stood. Using a spyglass, Will managed to see who, or rather, they were.
Name: Fenrir
Rank: Count
Level: 95
Name: Black Annis
Rank: Count
Level: 87
Name: Krokhrokh
Rank: Count
Level: 99
All three were oozing with bloodthirst. Fenrir was three times the size of a regular human, with rotting skin that exposed his bones and muscles. His horned, dog-like head and paws that dangled all the way to his knees were covered with blood and morsel. There was nothing but void in his obsidian eyes.
Black Annis stood by his side, looking like a fairy-tale hag, with a crooked spine and a humpback. Covered with leather belts, she resembled a caterpillar shedding its skin. Her face structure created an impression that she was always smiling – or rather, grinning like a hungry animal.
The last of the three was a weird hybrid of a crocodile and a tree, with scaly roots shining in the sun like armor, making it look like an armadillo, although four times the normal size.
Having put his spyglass back into his inventory, Will took a look around. The city was rather large; its main square and streets were swarming with soldiers who were leading civilians away from the gates.
“Oh, look at that. A real war simulation.” The words were plucked from his lips by a gust of wind. He had nothing to do but wait for the round’s rules to be announced.
The other participants found themselves in identical situations, except for the structure of the hordes and their leading trio. Their levels, ranks, and numbers, however, remained the same.
Unlike the audience (who had a fantastic view of the multiple battlefields), the players couldn’t see each other. Soon, they heard Kurt describing their situation – and the rules.
“Hello, everyone! Welcome to The Siege! My name’s Kurt, and I’m happy to welcome the players and the audience to Round Three of the one and only Ascension tournament! This show will be like nothing you’ve ever seen! That’s why I have Julia here today to assist me.”
“Thanks, Kurt. I had no idea how nice it was to be on this side of the screen.” The female voice elicited an approving murmur from the crowd. “As you might have noticed already, each player has been assigned to a city that’s about to be stormed by legions – legions! – of mobs. Just look at them! What do you think, Kurt?
“I can say one thing for sure: the devs spared no expenses in preparing this round. I can’t wait! By the way, did you know that this time, the audience is free to move about? You can watch any battle from the thick of it!”
“Oh! That’s splendid news for everyone!” Julia screamed in excitement.
“You bet! Dear audience, you can go anywhere! You can stand behind any player’s back, or come closer to any monster for a better look. Ain’t that cool?!”
“Also,” Julia said, “if you look at your character’s skill panel, you’ll notice the ‘instant teleport’ button. With it, you can switch between castles to make sure that you don’t miss anything! I must say, the devs had done an amazing job with this one!”
“We’ll be keeping you posted thanks to the special screens we’ve been provided with. On these, we can see all the castles and the forty players who are ready to familiarize themselves with the rules.”
“Dear players! The rules have been emailed to each of you! And for our dear audience, I’ll go over the main points.” Julia’s exultant voice reminded Will of Sarah who was always brimming with enthusiasm. “Each city has two thousand civilians. The goal is to protect them from the monsters at any cost. The enemies will be coming in waves until all of them – or all the civilians – are killed. It’s up to the players to pick a strategy that suits them the best. Will they prepare carefully and debuff one wave after another? Or will they launch a suicide attack? This choice will bring them either victory or death! The NPC soldiers and civilians will obey the players!”
“The rules are quite simple,” Kurt followed up. “But that doesn’t mean every battle will be the same.” His voice suddenly became serious. “There are three ways to win. The first is to kill all of the enemies before Sunday noon. The second is easier: to stay alive till Sunday noon. The third, and arguably the most difficult one, will grant you an instant pass into Round Four: destroy the three enemy leaders before Sunday noon. And now for the last and most important thing. Only twenty players wit
h the highest scores will make it into Round Four. Your scores will be affected by the number of alive civilians, and the number of killed monsters. So, if I were you, I wouldn’t just sit inside and wait.”
“It couldn’t get any simpler.” Julia smiled. “Round Three will last three days, noon to midnight. In ten minutes, the countdown will begin and the soldiers will be ready to obey the players’ commands. The first wave will begin in half an hour. If I were a player, I’d waste no time preparing for it!”
Will could hear the two perfectly well. They had recited almost all the rules except a few regarding the inventory and skills. The cooldown of any skill used in Round Three would be paused when a player left the location and would be resumed upon their return. Any inventory item collected in the arena couldn’t be used outside it.
These rules made perfect sense. Everyone would complete this round with what they had begun it with. But if his guess was right, the loot dropped by the mobs would be an exception to this rule, compensation for being unable to do any shopping during Round Three.
Having read the rules once again, Raven closed the mail, and stared at the mobs. It was now clear why there were so many opponents, but he still wondered when their leaders would join the fight.
Chapter 250. Wave One
I t was a bit before noon when Lily came down from the wall, looking around for any senior officer that could explain the situation to her and fill her in on the number of soldiers, and any other details she would need to complete her task.
The situation was pretty bad. Lily hated being a leader. Even before Ascension, she had preferred to fight in the front lines as a soldier, obeying the orders coming from Mollie and other seniors. Perdition liked the excitement of battle, of fighting in the vanguard, sieging castles, or putting up traps for the enemy to fall in. But now she couldn’t do either as this would, if the female commentator was to be believed, be suicide. She tried to remember how Mollie had led her clan.
Fighting other players is more complicated, anyway. After realizing her search would take too much time, Perdition just asked the nearest soldier where the officers were. He pointed at a house guarded by two battle-ready sentinels.