Chapter 34

  My hammer broke against the dying world, and the swarm that had been crashing toward us . . . went still.

  All three of us sprinted toward the Safe Zone, jumping over the rotting creatures as we went. Our health ticked down at three percent per second now. Mie kept the heals coming as we ran.

  Greg: There are still four red dots ahead of you. I’m not sure if they are partied with each other or not.

  We all continued at a sprint. I held Mie’s hand, her vision, I decided, much worse in the black fog. Every time I let go, she would go stumbling in a different direction. So, I gripped on tight, and she squeezed my hand in return, continuing to heal as our health ticked down and down. Liam easily navigated the terrain right behind us. I looked at the player count.

  Players Remaining: 7

  I really hope these last four are not in the same party.

  I glanced at Liam’s nameplate.

  HaveYouHeardAboutSugma

  Level 35, Goblin, Druid Fang

  Life Credits: 0

  Oh boy, level 35. Mkay. “Uhh . . . Sugma?” I asked.

  “Sugma balls!” Liam responded with a smirk.

  God damn it. “Mkay, well played. What can your class do?”

  “Think part rogue, part healer, part bear. I have a blink, backstab, self-heal, and root. When I change to a bear, I can force a mob or player to focus me for five seconds. That’s my ult, and it basically locks them down because they can’t cast abilities but can still Basic Attack.”

  We were nearing the mid-sized stone gazebo-like structure now, and as we got within ten meters, the horde that had been swarmed around the pillar that was the Safe Zone turned in our direction, sensing a new target. The ghouls I had stunned had also caught up from behind.

  With no better plan, I threw my dome, which had come off cooldown, in front of us near the Safe Zone so that the two circles touched. The dome blasted the mob of ghouls in front of us away. I turned and smashed two ghouls that had latched onto Mie, and jumped into the safe area the dome had created. Mie and Liam fell through beside me.

  Three players were peering in at us from a door-sized opening where the shield dome met the pillar of the Safe Zone.

  Larry#ReallyReallyBigNumber

  Level 50, Fairy Dwarf, Luckiteer

  Life Credits: 0

  Ian#ReallyReallyBigNumber

  Level 45, Dark Elf, Duelist

  Partied with Larry#ReallyReallyBigNumber

  Life Credits: 0

  Violet#BigNumber

  Level 51, Upland Highborn, Priest

  Partied with Larry#ReallyReallyBigNumber

  Life Credits: 0

  No life credits across the board. That’s good. A Luckiteer?! Fuck. Fred had the Ambient Dungeon Stone. We could really use that stone right about now. Also, how the hell did an Upland Highborn win the entry event?

  In almost any other scenario, I would have targeted the healer, but if that Luckiteer one shot us . . . I glimpsed a few blue teleportation traps in the dead center of the pavilion.

  The Safe Zone continued to shrink at a slow rate. There must have only been thirty feet of diameter left. We steadied ourselves, wary of the three players. I kept my eyes open for the fourth. I was really kicking myself for already using my Warden’s ult.

  Sam: Mie, they are going to target you. Liam, if you can root that Duelist, that would be great. We need to take out that Luckiteer first. Watch out for that teleportation trap.

  Liam: I have an idea.

  Sam: Just do what I say.

  Liam: Sugma balls, I have an idea.

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  Sam: We don’t have time!

  Greg: For the . . . balls thing?

  The Luckiteer made the first move. A familiar green spell, followed by the sound of dice rolling rose above our heads. We rushed forward into the Safe Zone proper. I watched the spell in horror. The other party members, Violet and Ian, had smirks on their faces.

  BAM!

  Lightning rooted in from the Black Zone, bringing Mie down to ten percent health and stunning all of us for ten seconds.

  The Duelist Ian started walking calmly up to us.

  No . . .

  Mie used her ultimate, and a massive white pane of glass fell through all of us, cleansing away our stuns and catching the enemy by surprise. We all acted.

  I shifted to my Wind Rogue, blinked toward Violet the priest, shifted to Warden, and Ass Cracked her, stunning her for seven seconds. Then I activated Allied Cry to cause more confusion. Five guards appeared in front of me and started attacking Violet.

  While this was happening, Mie started Flash Healing herself, and Liam threw out a green bolt of something that looked like twisting vines. Roots spilled up from the ground along with the transparent chains, rooting Ian in place. Then Liam blinked behind the Luckiteer Larry, transformed into a huge brown bear, and clamped down on his arm, just as Larry popped his invisibility. Larry reappeared and frantically started Basic Attacking Liam, bashing his black nose with his staff ineffectively.

  Liam snarled and started tugging Larry backward like a dog playing tug of war. It all happened so fast, I didn’t have time to react, or help, or do anything.

  “Liam! Watch out—!”

  Crack!

  Both Liam and Larry vanished from view, one of the blue teleportation traps now gone.

  I turned and started peppering Ian with Wind Spears, panicking.

  Mie was frantically healing herself back to full and put up her Holy Armor. Ian’s root fell off, and suddenly he was a whirling mess of swords behind her. Some sort of ultimate ability. Her health dropped by seventy-five percent.

  Liam: I’m Knocked. So is Larry, I think. He ran off, but there is no way he is making it all the way back. We’re a couple miles from the center. Hope my idea was good enough for you, Mr. Captain sir.

  Violet was growling, her stun almost up.

  I was too frustrated to respond to Liam, not to mention dealing with two more players. I shifted to my Rogue and activated my ultimate, targeting Ian. I was behind him suddenly, my blue blade sliding through his spine. His health, which had been lowered by my spears, plummeted by three fourths.

  C’mon.

  I dealt another Basic Attack, and Mie sent a Black Spider his way. He Knocked.

  I turned to face Violet. She quickly topped off her health, ignoring my guards, and then her body . . . shifted. White armor appeared, and her muscles grew thick with cords. A massive two-handed sword appeared, and her eyes narrowed in on Mie.

  She has two classes, I realized.

  “Damn, I’m so mad someone else got to pick that class,” Mie said.

  Violet#BigNumber

  Level 51, Upland Highborn, Warrior

  Life Credits: 0

  I watched Violet sweep her massive sword, and a white crescent-shaped arc of light flew forward at Mie. I stepped in front of her, shifted back to my Warden, and activated Impact Armor, but the blast was strong. I rocketed backward into the Black Zone. I crashed through the wall of ghouls and fell to the ground a few feet out of the Safe Zone. Ghouls were everywhere. They pinned me down, biting and gnashing like a fish frenzy after scattering food into a pond. They did as much damage as they possibly could, and I was on my back barely able to move.

  My health notched down due to the rotting effect and the ghouls’ attacks, but I could feel the power my Impact Armor absorbed growing inside of my chest. As a Mountain Elf Warden, Strength and Constitution were my primary stats. I bellowed out a raw yell as I rose from the ground, squatting the massive load of thrashing creatures. I stepped back into the Safe Zone shedding the weight of the horde off of me . . . But Mie was already Knocked. Violet’s back was to me, and her sword was sweeping through one of my guards.

  I shifted to Wind Rogue, dove toward Violet, shifted to Warden, and Ass Cracked her just as it came off cooldown. She turned to face me, but it was too late. A stun appeared over her.

  “I don’t want to do this,” I said right before I unleashed the damage the Impact Armor had built up with a backhand swing into her head. Her jaw exploded. Teeth, blood, and bone scattered as her health dropped to the single digits. The crescent attack must have been an ultimate? She assumed I was dead. That or that the damage from the ghouls and the Black Zone would be too much for me.

  Her eyes were screwed up in pain, but, before I swung again, I hesitated. Her mouth moved.

  I leaned in as she said it again. She said it so soft, I could barely hear her.

  “End this. End all of this.”

  I caught her eyes, and nodded my understanding, a dark sadness inside of me.

  Her stun almost up, I swung my hammer again, and she fell over, dead.

  My hands were shaking and my teeth were clenched as I started rezzing Mie. I checked my party interface. Liam’s face was grayed out.

  I sighed. He must have died in The Black Zone, his immunity buff up. Without his quick thinking . . . getting the Luckiteer off us . . . I looked over my shoulder at the hidden camera, thinking he might be watching.

  “It was a good idea, Liam. A really, really fucking good idea. Thank you.”

  I glanced at the player count next.

  Players Remaining: 3

  I glanced at the remaining blue teleportation traps in the center of the Safe Zone. Our little friend Mike was still slithering around. I turned to Mie once she popped back up, pulled her head close to mine, and whispered into her ear, “I think he’s on the roof.”

  She shivered but nodded with understanding. I made some movements with my hands, trying to silently communicate a makeshift plan.

  At this point, the ghouls around us were almost all but dissolved away. A few were still wildly attempting to reach us, but it was no longer a solid mass of rotting flesh all around us.

  There were only two teleportation traps left. Not wanting to suddenly be deep in the Black Zone, I rolled Violet’s body over one, and Ian's over the other. Their corpses disappeared with loud cracking sounds, clearing the remaining area of traps.

  The Safe Zone was at seven feet wide when the last ghoul disintegrated, and by that time, we couldn’t leave the interior of the stone structure without going out into the Black Zone.

  Nervous, I stepped into it for a second, testing its strength. My health notched down at five percent per second. We would have about twenty seconds out there, regardless of any healing. More than enough time.

  We both stood directly in the center of the Safe Zone back-to-back. I turned back to Mie as I felt an abrupt detaching change in her mood.

  Like a part of her had left.

  She looked at me with sad eyes, and I could feel her conclude that this really was the end.

  No way, I thought. No fucking way. This isn't over. Not yet.

  I gripped her hands, looked her into her eyes intently, and asked, “Do you trust me?”

  She nodded, her big eyes wide, trying to hold back the tears.

  “Together,” I said.

  Then sickening black terror flooded into her as we charged out—once again—into the darkness.