by Rick Scott
To say that she’s beautiful is an understatement. But she’s much more than that. She’s powerful, intimidating. If presence were an attribute, she’d have over 100, easy. I almost feel sorry for the trolls as they slam into her like a wall of gray flesh.
Half of them are instantly stunned by a flash of white light that comes from her sword as she raises it high above her head. She yells and slams into the trolls, keeping their attention as the rest of her party catches up to her. When they do, she cries out in booming voice that sounds like it belongs to a goddess.
“Hit them now, Thanus!”
Far behind her, I can hear one of the mages begin to chant. A half second later, the air above the trolls’ heads opens up in a massive dark void. Bolts of lightning shoot from it like rain. The accompanying thunder is deafening as it reverberates in my chest. The dozen or so mountain trolls take more damage than I’ve ever seen in my life. They fall to the ground as their Health bars deplete to zero in less than a second.
“Wow . . .” Gilly says next to me, looking stunned. “That was cool.”
I can’t help but agree.
As the corpses of the fallen trolls begin to disappear, the giant woman strides from within them, headed toward us! I still can’t get over how tall she is. At first, I think she’s elven, but she’s not slender like an elf, more buff like an amazon. And her ears are normal like a human’s, not pointed.
I check her character to see who and what she is.
Name: Val Helena
Sex: Female
Race: Half-giant
Class: Paladin
Level: 85
Guild: Ragnarok
Holy crap! A max-level character!
Her full-plate armor gleams like it’s made from ivory, trimmed in gold with a royal blue underlay. Her shield is embossed with a massive gold cross, and her sword—which, up close, looks like a longsword built for her proportions—is built like a two-handed claymore.
I take a quick peek at her armor set.
Royal Holy Knight’s Circlet: +20 Valor +30 TP
Royal Holy Knight’s Breastplate: +850 HP +30 VIT +30 STR +30 Valor
Royal Holy Knight’s Gauntlets: +350 HP +20 STR +20 MND
Royal Holy Knight’s Greaves: +850 HP +10 STR +10 AGL
Royal Holy Knight’s Boots: +350 HP +20 VIT
Royal Holy Knight’s Shield: +100 Valor +100 TP
Royal Holy Knight’s Sword: +30 STR +30 MND +30 Valor
My mouth literally hangs open. I’ve never seen such amazing gear, and on such an amazing-looking character. The combination is enough to make my mind froth with a wicked combination of adulation and envy.
Val Helena towers over Gilly and I as she comes to a stop before us. I have to crane my neck to see her gorgeous face. She has to be at least a couple feet taller than me!
She rests a gauntlet-clad hand on her hip and lets out an exasperated sigh. “What are a couple of noobs like you doing down here?”
Her voice sounds amazing to me, even with the insult. It’s deep and sultry, like a hot teacher, or someone’s hot mom. She looks older like that, too. Not cute, like Gilly, but intimidating. A mature woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to demand it. My heart pounds, and I can’t tell if it’s from excitement, my libido, or just plain fear.
“Hey!” She snaps her fingers in my face. “Can you hear me down there? I said, what are you doing here?”
“We’re mining. What’s it look like?” Gilly snaps back, unfazed. “And what’s it to you?”
“Mining, huh?” A male warrior in red-plated Samurai armor sidles up next to Val Helena. He’s got a dark, full beard, and a top knot that reaches to Val Helena’s chest plate. “I’m betting they’re spies.”
Spies?
Gilly and I share a look of confusion, and I send her an in-party message that the newcomers can’t see: What are they talking about?
Gilly: No idea. :/
“What guild are you guys with?” Val Helena demands more than asks.
It takes me a second to remember, since I never really interact with anyone besides Gilly on there. “The Nasgar Labor Union.”
“Yes, I can see that much from your character info, Reece,” Val Helena says with a raised brow and a sneer. “I mean your real guild. The one you use for your main class?”
“This is my main class.”
The male warrior laughs—his name is Zeke and he’s Level 45, according to my quick check of his stats. “I bet you guys are snooping for the Storm Raiders. They’re always trying to steal LM claims from us.”
Val Helena sucks her teeth with a look of disgust. “Would be just our luck. We finally get an LM spawn all to ourselves, and this happens. I bet they show up in two minutes and start camping right on top of us. The pricks.”
LM claims? Camping on top of them? I got no clue what these guys are talking about.
“Maybe they’re just here to get the TOD,” says a new person who’s just joined us. It’s the mage who cast the lightning storm—Thanus, I remember Val Helena calling him. He’s like the exact opposite of her, though; a male Halfling who’s barely four feet tall, old, and dressed in dark robes with funky magic symbols all over them. “I know I used to do that when I was low level. Used to sell it to the high-end guilds for like 10k a pop.”
“What’s a TOD?” Gilly says.
Val Helena regards us both quizzically. “Maybe these guys really are just noobs.”
I ignore her statement, since it’s probably accurate, and look to Thanus. “What was that about 10k a pop?”
Whatever the heck it was, if I could leave here with it and trade it for 10k credits, I would do it in a heartbeat. I’d have hit the jackpot.
The Halfling laughs at me. “Go look it up yourself, you lazy noob.”
“On it,” Gilly says through the party chat, and then her eyes glaze over.
“Anyway . . .” Val Helena gives us an eye roll. “You two better clear out of here. An LM is about to spawn, and it’s got a massive AOE attack. If you’re not clear of here when it pops, you’re both going to die real quick.”
I at least know what AOE means: Area of Effect. Kind of like that lightning storm thing Thanus used.
Val Helena turns on her low-heeled boot and strides away, giving me a mesmerizing view of her armor-clad hips as they rock from side to side. Zeke and Thanus leave with her, listening as she issues orders like a battlefield commander.
“Zeke, take your party and clear out the adds as they respawn. Top up your rage meters and save them for when the LM pops.”
“Will do.”
“Thanus, make sure your guys all use some kind of TP regen food. Especially the healers. This thing hits like a truck. I’m going to need to be kept topped up at all times.”
“Got it.”
“But don’t over heal, either. Remember, this is a marathon. Conserve where you can. And tell them not to spam heals. Get them to set up a healing order and alternate the heals between themselves. This thing’s got a rock throw that will one-shot the entire back row if they pull hate off me, even for a second.”
I find myself listening in on their conversation as they depart. I’ve still got no clue what she’s talking about, but Val Helena really seems to know her stuff, and by the way her guys respond to her, it’s obvious that they respect her. It makes me respect her even more. You have to respect someone who’s reached that level and has that kind of gear, but even more when they know in-depth game mechanics and can lead a raiding party with that level of efficiency.
I’m so enthralled with their conversation that I don’t even notice the huge shadow that falls over me. It’s only when yells go up from the rest of Val Helena’s party, waiting by the cavern entrance, that I get the hint that something is wrong.
“Pop!” they keep shouting. “Pop! Pop!”
Val Helena stops dead in her tracks and looks over her pauldron-clad shoulder. I follow her gaze to see a mountain troll standing right behind me! But it’s no ordinary troll. It’s
about twice the size of a normal one, and wears a crown that looks to be made from dragon teeth. In its hands is the thick iron shaft of a massive hammer, the head of which looks as a big as a car!
I hear Val Helena’s voice as she yells out, “Run!”
I do so without thinking.
It’s only when I deplete about half my Stamina bar that I realize Gilly is not with me. I look back to see her still standing there, multitasking, caught in her trance. The massive troll faces her and raises its hammer to strike.
“No!” I cry. “Gilly!”
I dash back toward her and reach Gilly just in time to shove her toward the cavern wall. The massive hammer slams down on top of me with a sickening crunch of bone, and the world goes black once again.
Chapter 6: Dodge Tank
Congratulations! You have learned a new ability: Rescue.
Sacrifice yourself to absorb an attack for another player.
Your Valor increases by 0.5.
You are defeated.
Ah well, at least I got something out of it. And in my current state of death, I finally have a chance to check out the monster that destroyed me.
Gruzug
Legendary Monster
Level: ???
Gruzug, King of the Mountain Trolls, is rumored to have slain the great sandworm Torrumott to create his legendary crown of teeth. His great hammer is said to have been forged in the heart of a mountain, and is a gift from the dark Earth Goddess Tarrena.
Affinity: Earth
Guess I was wrong about the dragon teeth. I didn’t even know worms had teeth! But at least I know what LM stands for now. I check my combat log and see that it hit me for 1342 damage. Ouch! I pan my vision above my flattened corpse so I can see the massive battle now taking place.
Val Helena is at the forefront, going toe-to-toe with the massive creature. Even her impressive form looks diminutive against it. She activates a bunch of abilities, which I presume are defensive, as they all involve some kind of blue or green geometric shape that briefly forms over her body as the ability goes off.
Gruzug bashes Val Helena with its hammer, and her Health bar goes down by about a quarter. She responds with a bash of her own from her shield, and a double slice with her sword. The big monster’s Health bar doesn’t move. Before it can attack again, though, a burst of white light glows around Val Helena—a spell cast from one of the healing mages. Her Health bar is topped up just in time for Gruzug to take it back down by a quarter.
I turn my attention to what the other members of her team are doing. Now that I check them, they all seem to be in the 40 to 50 level range. The party led by Zeke has a couple Warriors and a Thief—all damage dealers. They stay mostly behind Gruzug, slashing away at its legs while Val Helena keeps its attention focused on her. They perform abilities as well, which I assume are special attacks for more damage. Every so often, a normal troll spawns, and the damage dealers leave Gruzug to chop it down before they come back and unleash a flurry of special attacks that remove a noticeable sliver from the big troll’s health.
But the really big damage comes when a massive ball of lightning shoots across the cavern and slams Gruzug for a good chunk of its health. I check the combat log to see how much.
Thanus casts Thunderball!
The Thunderball hits Gruzug for 10513(8940) damage.
Holy cow! How many hit points does this thing have?
I’m not entirely sure why there are two numbers, one within brackets, but I guess it’s some kind of damage mitigation from the troll’s armor. Or maybe the number in brackets is the real damage, and the higher number is actually some kind of bonus damage for being lightning or something. Trolls have an Earth affinity. With lightning being strong against Earth, it would kind of make sense.
The cycle keeps going like this: Val Helena tanking the big, slow hits and the occasional double attack, the Celestial Mages healing her back up, while the melee players go all out, and the Elemental Mages make step changes to the LM’s Health bar with massive damage spells. It’s all quite impressive to watch and entertaining despite my being dead for over five minutes.
And then a room-wide message appears:
Gruzug readies Mountain Buster!
“Here it comes!” Val Helena shouts.
The double-sized troll faces his hammer head down, holding it like a sword he’s about to plunge into the ground. I get a pretty quick idea of what’s about to happen next. The mages back up an extra step or two, and the damage dealers start to use what look like defensive abilities of their own, as does Val Helena. She encircles herself with another thick shield of blue polygons, ready for the attack.
“Hit me with a Heal IV as soon as it lands,” she says. “And then heal up the melee party as quick as you can afterward!” Her eyes shoot in my direction. “Why hasn’t that dumb girl moved yet?”
I pan behind me to see poor Gilly still standing there!
Gruzug slams the hammer down with a massive boom that sends a shockwave across the cavern floor. Val Helena’s Health bar drops to a third, and the melee partly is almost killed, surviving the blast with only about 10% health left. The mages are out of range, so they go untouched. But poor Gilly gasps in a death cry and quickly joins me on the floor.
Val Helena glances at Gilly’s corpse and then takes an unfortunate double attack by the huge hammer. Instantly, her health is knocked down to 2%. My heart jumps.
“Heal me up!” she yells, panicked. “Heal me up!”
The hammer is just about to slam down on her again when a heal finally lands, bumping Val Helena back up to 40% before being knocked back down to 10%. A flurry of heals washes over her then, including one she remarkably casts herself, quickly topping her up to full health.
My heart is still pumping. Man, that was close!
“Nice work,” Val Helena says as she recovers. “Get the melee healed up.”
I get an in-party message.
Gilly: Hey! We’re dead! What happened?
Me: Gruzug happened.
“Ah, so that’s what they came for,” Gilly says switching to the party chat. It’s kind of funny to hear her voice coming from a body that’s face-down on the floor. “No problem, though, we should still be able to get the TOD even if we’re dead.”
“What’s that?”
“Time of Death.”
“That sounds morbid.”
“All Legendary Monsters spawn on a set timer that starts from the last time it was killed. So if you know the TOD, you’ll know when it will spawn again. And if you’re the only one who knows it, it means there will be no one else to compete with you for the claim.”
“Yeah, what’s that claim thing all about?”
“You see how the Gruzug’s name looks gray to us right now?”
I didn’t really notice before, but when I focus on the LM again, I see its name in gray text. “Yeah . . .”
“That means it’s claimed by another party. If we were fighting it, it would be red. We can’t engage it in combat unless we’re in the same party. Once it’s claimed, that party gets to fight it, kill it, and loot it. No one else.”
“I see.”
“When it spawns, the name is white, meaning it’s unclaimed. So whoever can engage it first essentially wins.”
“Ah . . .” I get it now. “So Val Helena thought we were here with a rival guild, trying to steal the claim first.”
“Val who?”
“Val Helena. The half-giant lady?”
“Oh. Her . . .”
I can hear the eye roll in her voice. “What?”
“Well, you pretty much couldn’t keep your eyes off her. Could you?”
“What?” I say again, indignant. “She’s the first Level 85 character I’ve seen. Plus, she is kind of awesome, you have to admit.”
“Awesome, you say?” Gilly huffs. “I can think of something else she is that begins with an A.”
I laugh.
“Here, I’ll prove it to you.”
Gilly t
hen does a yell command, which sends a message to the entire room, even if you’re dead. A last-ditch way to beg for help if you die.
***Gilly: Hey, Giant Lady. Are you just going to leave us here? Dead on the ground?
Val Helena looks annoyed by the distraction. They have Gruzug down to 20% now, and it seems to be fighting back more aggressively than before. “That’s why I warned you guys to clear out of here. Idiots.”
***Gilly: So is that a yes, then?
“I can get them, Val,” one of the mages—an elven girl—shouts from across the cavern.
“No, I’ll get them,” Val Helena says. She mutters a bit after she says it, though. Then, in a feat that looks as miraculous as the spell itself, she times her casting of Raise in between taking hits from the troll’s hammer and slamming Gruzug with a shield bash.
A bright light engulfs my corpse, and a message pops up:
Val Helena has offered to raise you. Do you accept? (Y/N)
I hit yes, and Val Helena suddenly cries: “No! Wait!”
The spell completes, and my body slowly starts to rise off the ground as the words appear.
Gruzug readies Mountain Buster!
I land on my feet, my hit points refilling to a paltry 10% of max, just as the Mountain Buster goes off. I see red again as my character hits the floor. A massive Level Down message appears across my vision, accompanied by an ego-deflating sound effect.
What? I didn’t even know that was possible! “Man, dying really sucks in this game! It’s no wonder I don’t play the combat classes.”
Laughter and comments float in from Val Helena’s crew.
“Oh snap! He leveled down! Lol!”
“LMAO!!”
“LOL!”
“Poor noob!”
“Shame on you for raising him, just to let him get killed again, Val! XD”
Apparently, seeing someone level down is one of the most amusing things in all of Crystal Shards Online. For me, it’s one of the most humiliating. I’m never getting caught in combat ever again!