“Whoa,” Stan’s avatar took on a dreaming expression. “Maybe it’s not such a bad job after all.”
Kai rolled his eyes. “Really? Of all the amazing stuff I’ve told you about, that’s what excited you most?”
“Hell yeah,” he answered with a shrug. “Girls in gimps. Sounds like pure porn to me.”
Kai laughed. “Now that you say it… but I assure you, the girls working there are badass.”
“Oh I bet. The sheilas that were part of the Cyber Squad that saved our asses looked smoking hot.”
You have no idea, Kai thought.
He hadn’t told Stan about Alice, and he wasn’t planning to. It was bad enough that his teammates were mocking him about his obvious crush. He didn’t want Stan to chime in on that. Besides, somehow, she felt of too high value to include her in a conversation like this. It felt disrespectful.
The further they advanced into the swamp, the darker and gloomier it became. Toxic green fog circled above the muddy waters that covered the lower parts of the leafless, mangrove-style trees. Carcasses and bones stuck out of the shallow water in many places. Now and then, they passed dead warriors, who had been mutilated and must have died a horrible death. The closer they got to the location that was marked with a red skull on the mini-map, indicating a powerful world boss, the more it became clear that the monster lurking here had to be particularly nasty – and dangerous.
Dark clouds veiled the low afternoon sun, turning its reddish rays into an unearthly, purple light. Suspenseful music made the scenery even more eerie, holding a promise of great dangers ahead.
From time to time, they encountered some smaller creatures, such as anacondas, poisonous fire-lizards or giant ticks, but unless they attacked them, Kai and Stan ignored them. They weren’t here to waste their time on low-level trifles. They were here for the big guy.
Kai was enjoying simply playing a game for a change instead of testing and scanning it for issues. It felt relaxing. Although, admittedly, he had to restrain himself from looking out for bugs. At one point, he saw some particle movement that seemed off to him. Not long after, a crocodile made swimming movements on land. Seeing it, he felt the urge to open his tester HUD and write a ticket.
This made him wonder if he could theoretically open the console in this game, if he wanted. After all, Topher had told him that the console was universal and that the code sequence to activate it had been attached to his neuro-plant signature. So, theoretically, it should be possible, right?
Could he jump into the sandbox of this game? Or, even better, activate god mode? He made a mental note to ask Topher or Lex next week.
“Earth to Kai,” Stan said, amused. “You there?”
“Huh?” he twitched.
“I said, I was wondering how long you’ll bother to hang out with your unimportant friends in TSOTA anymore, now that you’ve moved up into the ranks of the cool guys,” Stan said snottily.
“Ha, I’m far away from being one of the cool guys there,” Kai assured him. “I’m a total noob. The good stuff comes with reaching Level Two, and I’m light years away from that.”
“Don’t downplay yourself, mate. You’re one of the best players I’ve ever seen. Everyone in the guild has been talking about what you did in the spider lair. You’re a bloody hero.”
“I didn’t do anything special. I would have been toast if not for the Cyber Squad.”
Stan stopped his mount and turned his head to Kai, a serious expression on his virtual face. “That’s a pile of rubbish and you know that. You saved those three on the ground.”
“Any word from them?” Kai asked.
For some reason, he had avoided asking that until now. After what he had learned during the last couple of days, he feared the worst.
Of course, he hadn’t told Stan about his disturbing experience with the death sequence on high intensity. That was a part of his job that had to remain confidential.
“Oh, right! You don’t know!” Stan said, clapping his forehead. “Apparently Red, Cloudgirl and Serene are fine.”
“Thank God. What did they say happened to them exactly?”
“I have no clue.”
Stan shrugged, spurring his mount. He continued on the narrow path, wriggling through the deadly swamp, and Kai followed him.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that no one’s spoken to any of them since the incident. Apparently all three have been banned from X-Perience. The guild has received a written message from Red saying that he’s stepping down as guild leader. And that’s that.”
Kai didn’t react. At least on the surface. Luckily, it was much easier to hide one’s feelings when inside an avatar than in real life.
In truth, he found Stan’s words deeply concerning. After all he had learned over the last five days, this sounded more than fishy.
“Why have they been banned?” he asked.
“No idea, mate. Apparently some glitch. Hopefully they’ll be back soon.”
Kai stared at his friend, wondering if he really believed that, or if he simply chose to believe it.
Chances were high that this was a cover-up and that something serious had happened to the three players damaged during the glitch. Thinking of the bruises he had suffered, Kai could only hope that they were alright.
Have you never wondered what happens to people who die while they’re connected to VR?
Kai heard Marco’s voice echo in his head and suddenly felt ice-cold.
“And what about the healer?” he asked after a moment.
“Ah, that guy. No one knows.”
“He’s just gone?”
“Yeah. Maybe his account was locked, too. Or he had enough of it after the experience. Frankly, no one liked the guy anyway, so no one really misses him. Dude was a cunt.”
There’s some scary shit out there.
Kai shook off the uncanny feeling getting a grip on him.
It was fascinating how easily people believed what they were told.
Then he realized why everyone was so proud to be a part of Cyber Squad. It was their job to prevent stuff like this from happening to anyone. They were the ones standing on the line between oblivious players and all the dangers lurking on the Net in VR.
“Ok, we’re almost there,” Stan said, pointing ahead.
They approached a steep cliff, overgrown with lush plants and an unsurmountable obstacle. It formed a half-circle around the target location. The path they had followed ended there.
Stan halted his mount and descended. Kai scanned the area, following his friend’s example. He had never been here before. The whole swamp was a remote area, far away from any main quest. They were the only players here. Often people would gather around world boss spawn points, waiting for others to join in before they engaged the challenge. World bosses were tough enemies and designed to be challenged by groups of players. However, it wasn’t impossible for two or three experienced, well-equipped LVL 799s to beat such monsters.
“So, what’s the mechanic?” Kai asked.
The green swamp fogs were so thick here that he could hardly see anything, especially since the light was now fading rapidly. No doubt they were poisonous. Thanks to the Set of Arachnophobia they both were wearing this wouldn’t bother any of them though, as the set gave 100% resistance against any poison.
“Um, we go in and kill the ugly wanker?”
“That’s a fantastic plan.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you have any details to share, maybe? The next spawn point is a ten-minute ride away, and if we both die, chances are high no one will come and revive us. What do you want with this boss anyway?”
“The achievement for beating all world bosses in Tamuria.”
Kai whistled. “Ambitious. How many do you have so far?”
“Three.”
“Of how many? Twenty?” Kai asked with a laugh.
“Eighteen. It doesn’t matter since you’re gonna help me with the rest. You owe me.”
> “For what?”
“For fucking disappearing for a week.”
Kai sighed. “Fine. Let’s do this then.”
He drew his sword and approached the area surrounded by the cliffs. The music changed from suspense to the combat theme assigned to the swamps of Tamuria.
Only now did he notice a huge cave entrance. Countless skulls and bones were piled up in front of it. Humanoid ones. Some still had rotting flesh attached.
An unpleasant odor hung in the air. For some reason, it reminded Kai of the stench in the hall of his apartment building. He wrinkled his nose.
The level design suggested that the monster would emerge from the cave, and it didn’t take long for that to happen.
After taking a few steps, they heard a furious roar echoing from inside the cave. Kai had heard such roars before in this game and had an idea of what was lurking inside.
A second later, he received confirmation.
Following another roar, a massive figure emerged from the mists circling the cave. Its head was bald, and it had pointy ears and gray-green, wrinkly skin. The body was humanoid in shape, yet at least twelve feet tall. It was dressed in a stained leather loincloth, leaving the rest of its overly muscular body on display.
The creature opened its broad mouth, showing long, razor-sharp, yet crooked teeth as it let out another bone-shaking roar. Its hands were so huge that they could easily crack Kai’s or Stan’s skull, if they got ahold of either of them. But right now, the monster was holding a massive club spiked with rusty metal fragments, swinging it menacingly. Its more than impressive arm muscles flexed. It was ready to attack.
A red tag appeared above the creature’s head, identifying it as
Biwak
Swamp Troll
(500000/500000)
“Damn,” Kai said. “That’s an ugly son of a bitch.”
“Yep. You said it,” Stan confirmed. “And pretty strong.”
“Half a mill health… this could take a while.”
Quickly, Kai opened his inventory and buffed himself with health and stamina boost potions.
“Ok. Let’s do this.”
“The swamp mists are poisonous, but thanks to our awesome armor we don’t need to give a shit about that,” Stan said with a grin.
“But if the smelly bastard lands a direct hit on your head with his club, it’s an insta-kill, so be careful,” he added.
Before Kai could answer, the swamp troll attacked, letting out another horrifying roar, its maw drooling. Apparently it was expecting to add more bloody bones to its collection.
It would be disappointed.
Kai stood still and watched the massive body of his opponent charge toward him. The troll wasn’t intending to take prisoners and instead was swinging his club aggressively.
At the very last moment, Kai dodged.
Pirouetting on one leg, he avoided the attack. The monster rushed past him, and now it was on him not to waste any time. He swung his sword and stabbed the swamp troll in the back.
Critical hit! 25000!
“Woohoo, well done, mate!” Stan called out, skillfully dodging the attack himself.
“Yeah, only 475000 hit points do go,” Kai said dryly. “Does he have adds?”
“Sure does,” Stan said while simultaneously attacking the troll’s side with his dual wield daggers.
Red numbers rushed down at high speed, indicating minor damage. “There’s gonna be some poisonous fire lizards. Piece of cake.”
“Ok, you throw AoEs on the lizards and I’ll take care of the big guy,” Kai said, dodging another swing of the massive club.
He countered with his sword, then blocked a strike from a giant hand with his shield.
The troll staggered for a second, which gave Kai the time to swing his sword into a heavy attack. He landed another critical hit. The monster was down to 88% health. If it followed a typical boss mechanic, the adds would spawn when the troll lost 25% of its health.
Biwak swung the club into a heavy attack. Kai roll-dodged out of the area of impact. But when the club hit the ground, the impact was so massive that the soil shook, creating an AoE. Kai and Stan both got stunned, and a timer in his field of vision indicated three seconds.
While this was hardly more than the blink of an eye, it was enough time for the troll to lash out and kick Kai with its leg, which was the size of a huge tree trunk.
The momentum ripped Kai off his feet and made him fly against the cliff. Damage numbers rolled through his view. The assault had cost him more than 20% health and the impact had stunned him again. Not wasting any time, the troll charged toward him.
Shit, Kai thought.
No wonder Stan had been unable to beat this opponent by himself. The bastard stunned and then landed devastating blows with its club.
But Kai was lucky.
The damage he had taken triggered the special feature his armor set provided. With a blood-curdling shriek, a giant spider spawned right next to Kai. It wasn’t as huge as the Guardian, but it was at least the size of a cow.
Now his limited-time familiar, the spider instantly attacked the troll. Kai watched with satisfaction. This feature came in real handy. It had been even more fun in PvP when he and Stan had tested it the other day. He couldn’t help but snicker while watching how the enemy players had run away, chased by his own giant spider.
Against a world boss, it was pretty clear that the spider wouldn’t do much damage, but it would keep the troll occupied – at least for a bit. Kai doubted that the mini-guardian could sustain more than two hits from the massive club, and since the boss had a poison mechanic, it was highly probable that he was immune to poison himself.
Kai jumped up and activated Lunge, an ability that came with the Sword & Shield specialization. He lunged forward, performing three long steps and jumping up. Using the built-up momentum, he stabbed his sword in the troll’s side with full force, draining 50% of his stamina.
Critical hit! 29000!
It brought the troll down to 71% and triggered the adds.
Eight nasty-looking swamp lizards attacked them from all sides.
“Your turn, Stan!” Kai called out. “Take care of your pets!”
“On it!”
A metallic sound could be heard as the Dark Elf threw caltrops in the air. They exploded before hitting the ground, covering the approaching lizards with sharp metal shards that caused damage and slowed them down.
Stan exploited this and jumped at the lizard closest to him using the dual-wield Whirlwind attack. Flesh, blood and bone shreds flew in all directions as he turned the lizard into twitching pulp.
Meanwhile, Kai kept hitting the boss with all he had, rotating the special attacks of his character and weapon classes. The giant spider kept the troll occupied, although its health bar was down to under 25%. One more hit and the spider would be done.
But at that moment, another shriek could be heard and a second spider spawned right next to Stan. He was under attack from three lizards at once and was taking damage, which had triggered the spawn mechanism of his spider.
“You ok?” Kai called while stabbing his sword in the troll’s guts and twisting it sharply, landing another critical hit.
“I’m good, I’m good,” Stan replied, desperately trying to fend off the attacking lizards.
The troll let out a bone-shaking roar that sounded like a surprisingly convincing mix of pain and anger. Down to almost 50%, the boss AI suddenly switched into a state of frenzy.
It first smashed Kai’s spider to the ground, killing it off, then it turned its full attention to Kai.
Kai swore inwardly, cursing his friend for not telling him about this important mechanic. In a desperate attempt to fend off the troll’s frantic attacks, he lifted both his sword and shield upward, crossing them. The troll hit with such force that it surely would have been a killing blow if it had hit Kai’s head instead of the sword and shield. Yet it still made Kai stagger back.
Luckily, Stan’s spider attac
ked the boss from behind. Before the troll could hit Kai again, it turned its attention to the mini-guardian. Kai regained his balance and was about to hit the boss with full force when he heard his friend call out.
“Kai! Help!”
Turning his head, he saw that Stan was stuck in climbing plants, which were growing in the misty swamp water. They wiggled around his feet, clearly alive. Probably also poisonous, but at least that was something neither of them needed to be concerned about. Without the poison resistance, this boss would surely be impossible to beat for two players. It was tough as it was, without a tank and a healer.
The plants had instantly got a firm grip on the Dark Elf, immobilizing her and dragging her into the water while the lizards continued the attack. Kai left the troll occupied with the spider and stormed toward his friend. But the troll wouldn’t let him go that easily. It swung its massive leg and kicked Kai in the side. Again, Kai flew against the cliff.
At that moment, he was glad that he wasn’t testing the game and that there wasn’t any kind of glitch going on. Instead of experiencing any pain, all he felt was a tingling in his body as he hit the rocks. But his health dropped below 50%.
“Damn it!”
“Kai! I’m being eaten alive here!” Stan complained. “Do something!”
“It was your glorious idea to come here in the first place!”
Kai got up and used a health potion, then hurried to his friend. This time he was smarter about it and tried to run in a circle around the troll so he didn’t get hit again – only to get stuck in the plants on the other side.
“Argh!” he called out in frustration, yet he didn’t waste any time. With his sword, he quickly cut through the plants climbing up his legs. It took him valuable seconds, and when he finally was on the run toward his friend again, it was too late. He saw Stan’s health bar drop to zero as the lizards overwhelmed him.
“Why, thank you,” Stan said, anything but amused.
Kai turned around and saw that the troll was still busy with the spider, but it was only a matter of seconds until the monster destroyed the arachnid.
There were still three lizards left; Stan had managed to kill the rest of them. Kai engaged the reptiles, hitting them with all he had. If he managed to revive Stan while the troll was still busy with the mini-guardian, they had a realistic chance of beating the boss. His own spider was on cooldown, and so was the ability to take another healing potion.
Cyber Squad - Level 1: A Gamelit/LitRPG Lite Cyberpunk Adventure Page 20