Trapped in a Game Pt. 05

Serra maintained the spell as she danced out of the way of Blitz's swings, and I used the distraction to lunge at Tsun.

I aimed my stab directly at his face, but as he twisted his head out of the way, I redirected my stab, and thrust it downwards and into the unprotected place at the back of his knee, and he glared at me, seething as the blade sank into his flesh.

I withdrew my blade and leapt clear just as he broke free of the shackles and swung his sword in an arc in my direction.

He hobbled a bit in the aftermath of my strike, but it was a small meaningless victory that didn't change the fact that this was going terribly.

I used the momentary respite to chance a glance around.

Blitz was pressing Serra, and though she didn't seem to be in trouble, he was keeping her occupied as he attacked her in a rage.

Raging was a berserker ability which allowed them to deal an increased amount of damage for some time while also mitigating the amount of damage they received. It was a troubling ability to cope with all on its own, but coupled with the 'bear aspect', it spelled trouble for Serra as this allowed him to also mitigate the damage he received from magical effects, essentially rendering her smites as useless.

She wasn't wasting too much magic on him, instead opting to restrict his movements whenever she could, but since her swings could barely scratch him, it allowed him free reign to attack her with abandon and keep her for the most part, pinned down.

Dana and Diego were trying to protect Pete, who seemed to be badly wounded, and David was barely standing, leaning on his tall shield for support as he panted from over exertion.

A single rogue seemed to be wreaking havoc on Mackenzie's scouts, and while she and Karn were still up and fighting, they were both engaged with a monk who was proving to be quite a handful all on his own.

If my estimation was right, both of those enemies were s-rank, so counting Tsun and Blitz, the enemy team comprised of at least four s-rank players.

I was just about to remark on the hopelessness of the situation when Serra shot Kelly a suggestive glance, and to my surprise Kelly nodded.

"Guard me," Kelly muttered, as she began to excavate another stone boulder from the floor.

I nodded absently and moved in to engage with Tsun, but I felt seriously annoyed.

Why the fuck was Serra communicating with Kelly when she'd given me no more than a 'stay away from me' message worth of instructions?

Prior to this fight, those two seemed on the verge of a confrontation.

But now they were carrying out secret plans and leaving me out altogether?

Tsun was still moving slightly slower, and I gritted my teeth as I barely evaded another swing before dashing in to jab several times at the weak points in his armour.

The attacks were barely putting a dent on him, but I was determined.

Tsun glanced past me as I pressed him, and I felt my anger rise in my chest.

Do they all think I'm useless?!

Was that what it was?

I pressed him back a bit, determined to force the situation, but in my overzealous pursuit I quickly made a wrong step, and he smirked as he swung his great sword towards me in an arc.

It was too late to dodge, so I tried in vain to parry the blow with the slender blade and-

"Ugh!" I cried out, my hands shaking as the force of the blow coursed through me, and my rapier clattered to the floor as I fell helplessly to my knees.

"You're quick, kid, but this isn't D&D. Dexterity isn't some god stat in this game. You know, I thought for sure it was you, but maybe I was wrong..." Tsun called, his eyes scanning the battlefield as he spoke.

I grimaced, my hands clenched tightly into fists as I stared up at him.

What exactly did he think I was?

I was confused, but I needed to figure out a way to fight him and quick.

Think, Josh think.

Be useful.

Do something!

Anything!

"Astral..." I began casting but-

"-Fuck!" Tsun cursed, and I glanced to my right just as Kelly launched the enormous boulder that she'd excavated, across the room at Blitz.

Rather than dodge, he braced for impact and absorbed the hit, but while the hit itself seemed to do very little to him, the boulder pushed him across the room, and Serra smirked before darting away from him to attack Tsun who now turned his attention completely away from me.

"Couldn't you just stay on your own server, Tsun?" she chided, "I heard your 'supreme commander' even made a special server just for you people."

She uttered the words mockingly, and Tsun's eyes lit up with rage.

"That's the wrong FUCKING KOREA!" he bellowed, and Serra darted to my left as Tsun pursued her intently.

I picked up my rapier and got ready to join her when Kelly stopped me.

"Come on, we need to go," she called, her voice tense with urgency as she pulled me roughly along, but I resisted.

Tsun's anger might have affected his judgement, but in his frenzy not even Serra could evade all of his strikes, and as she parried a few of his swings with her hammer, I flinched as the sound of metal clashing against metal rung out across the chamber.

"We worked hard to earn this distraction, and if we don't move now it'll all be for nothing. Josh, look at me!" Kelly cried out, and I turned my gaze away from Serra to study her as she continued, "Serra is protecting you. You're the one Tsun is after. Help is coming and Serra can draw the fight out long enough for them to get here if she doesn't have to worry about you being hurt."

"What?"

Was that what this was?

She's trying to protect me?

The thought made me feel sick.

I wanted to be useful.

I wanted to stay and fight!

But as Kelly pulled me along, her eyes filled with worry, I realized that if I stayed I'd be putting her life in danger as well, so I swallowed my pride and gave up my resistance.

"There," she called, "there's an exit."

I studied the tunnel and noted that the astral prison covering the exit was indeed down.

"How?"

"Serra sent Caliban to secure a way out for us," Kelly explained, and I chanced one more glance back at her as we neared the opening.

Blitz had joined Tsun's side and the two were now attacking Serra, but I noted that she was fighting seriously now, and to my surprise, she was doing quite well, keeping Tsun occupied while evading Blitz's attacks.

I forced myself to look away, but as we closed in on the exit I felt the faint vibrations of heavy, galloping hooves reverberating through the ground towards us, accompanied by an almost indistinct clanging metallic sound and-

"What're you-?" Kelly began, as I pulled her to a halt, but before she could finish her sentence I shoved her hard, as far out of the way as possible, and not a second too late as a massive bull like creature came charging down the corridor towards us.

I tried to dive out of the way as well, but just a second too late, and I cried out in pain as a sharp horn pierced the leather armour at my hip and dug deep into my flesh, and the creature carried me with it as it galloped, trashing and shaking me painfully before smashing me to the ground with a huff.

"Josh!"

The panicked cry sounded like Kelly's, and I gasped for breath as the air seemed to leave my lungs all at once.

I struggled to get to my knees, and as I looked up, my vision blurring, I was greeted with the sight of an enormous hulking bull, the creature's red eyes glowing wickedly as it reared up onto its hind legs.

The creature's hooves landed on either side of me as it leaned down over me, exhaling a noxious cloud of smoke.

I coughed and choked as the gaseous cloud engulfed me, unable to stop myself from inhaling the fumes by reflex, and I quickly felt the muscles of my body tightening up and going as cold as stone.

Unless I was mistaken, the monster towering over me was a gorgon.

When most people think of the gorgon, the medusa from Greek mythology is most often the first thing that comes to mind, but it was a bit of a tradition in the dungeons and dragons games for the creature to be depicted instead as a large, magnificent bull covered entirely in steel plates that gave it an almost mechanical appearance.

Kelly rushed to my side, tears filling her eyes, and I tried to reach for her but my hands felt as heavy as stone.

I'm being petrified! I thought, and I tried to calm myself enough to will the effects to end.

I closed my eyes, trying to gather my thoughts as blaring pain seemed to scream throughout my body.

I knew that the noxious fumes that the creature exhaled were capable of petrifying flesh, similar to the effects of the stare of its Greek counterpart, but as I tested my hands, balling them into fists several times, I sighed with relief as the numbness seemed to ebb away.

I opened my eyes slowly.

The creature was standing menacingly over me and Kelly, but my sister's focus was on me and the grave wound that the attack had left me with.

What the hell was a gorgon doing in a vampire's lair?

As a monster, it was seriously out of place, and as I studied the creature I noted that it seemed to be studying me intently, not like a monster at all but more like a fellow player.

Could it be a player?

Sure, there were spells like polymorph or shapechange which allowed players to transform into monsters, but there were restrictions on what these spells allowed a player to transform into, and the gorgon was a 'class A' monster that would ordinarily never meet the requirements for such spells.

"Hahahaha!" Tsun's laugh echoed wickedly across the cavern.

"Isn't it magnificent?" he asked, and Serra furrowed her brow in annoyance.

"Cheating, Tsun? Really? I'd pegged you for a lot of things, but not a cheater," she muttered angrily, but Tsun seemed entirely unfazed.

"There are no limits besides what a game does or doesn't allow. Special spell scrolls are everywhere and we've seen no penalties for using them. So is it really 'cheating'?"

"It's cheating and you know it!" she lashed out, and he turned on her coldly.

"Oh? Is it? And why is that? Is it because I'm not playing the game the way it was intended? And if I am, so what? Isn't that what you did when you buried that Lich in his lair in week one? Or... does it not count when Serra 'the genius' comes up with the exploit?"

"The game environment is actually a part of the game, Tsun..."

"And now these spell scrolls are as well, aren't they?"

Serra was staring daggers at Tsun, and I took a deep breath, trying to collect myself.

Tsun wasn't wrong.

From a coldly objective standpoint, the two things could easily be argued as being the same.

Serra had done remarkable things by using the game's features in unusual and creative ways, and perhaps some of those ways may have been nothing like what the designers had in mind when they created them.

This was something that had been done for as long as games have existed; players pushing the very boundaries of what the creators had in mind.

But these spell scrolls and cloaks?

They allowed players to hide their identities, and instantly granted them access to high tier abilities.

It was a bit more like typing in a cheat code for unlimited lives, rather than putting in the hard work and practice to actually excel at playing.

But this game wasn't just a game.

People's lives were at stake, and these items were a danger to everyone.

Tsun began walking towards me and Serra grasped her hammer instinctively, but as he eyed her with a smirk, she quickly relaxed her grip on the weapon.

"This is him, isn't it?" Tsun asked, gesturing towards me, and I looked over at Serra, feeling slightly confused.

As he neared me, Kelly stood up, getting ready to fight, but I placed a hand on her leg, and shook my head.

"Don't do anything stupid," I muttered, but I'd barely finished speaking when the gorgon behind us suddenly reverted to its player form, and the cloaked figure grabbed Kelly, putting a blade to her neck, and leading her helplessly away from me.

"You see, this is the part that really confused me. I was sure this was your partner, but he seems to be in his own little world with his girlfriend over here. Did you set this up?" Tsun asked, his question directed at Serra, and she shrugged.

"I have no clue what you're talking about. Their party was just here when we came in," Serra answered.

"Oh? Is that so?" Tsun asked, stowing his great sword on his back and withdrawing a little dagger from his inventory.

I gulped as he stood wickedly over me, before turning back to Serra.

"So you won't mind if I do this then?" Tsun asked, suddenly plunging the dagger into my hand without warning, nailing it to the ground, and despite myself I cried out in pain.

Serra didn't flinch, but her teeth were tightly clenched.

Kelly began to struggle with her captor, and even his blade cut into her neck, she broke free of his grasp and shot a deadly wave of fire directly into his chest.

He fell to the ground, unmoving, but as she dashed towards me, Tsun withdrew a spell scroll.

"Dimensional shackles," he chanted, and tendrils formed from light suddenly appeared and wrapped themselves around Kelly, restraining her and stopping her in her tracks.

"Ugh!" she screamed, as she fought in vain with the bindings, and as she struggled Tsun studied her with interest.

"Your girlfriend really is something," Tsun commented, and I gritted my teeth angrily.

"Is torturing couples your new way of getting off?" Serra suddenly asked, and Tsun chuckled.

"Well, not usually. But I'm following your recommendation that I- what was it? 'Try new things'?" he replied, and she glared at him as he continued to study me.

"I don't get it... he's not really that skilled... and he has a girlfriend. What am I missing here?" Tsun asked, and Serra sighed.

"The obvious, maybe? This isn't my partner, Tsun" Serra muttered, and Tsun rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"That would be sad," he admitted.

"Aww, you really wanted to meet him, huh... too bad for you, but I sent my little tempest on a bit of a side quest," Serra countered, her voice seeming a little shaky despite the playful tone she tried to convey.

"Oh really? Then... I guess you won't mind if I just kill this one?" Tsun asked wickedly, and Serra shrugged, trying her best to feign disinterest.

Tsun let go of the dagger, and I gulped as he retrieved the great sword from on his back.

"Let's see... a fifth level smite combined with searing strike. And his HP's pretty low too. He'll probably die outright, won't he?" Tsun asked, studying Serra thoughtfully, but she showed no reaction.

"Please, stop this," Kelly cried, and I glanced over at her as she began to struggle with her bindings once more, but Tsun seemed oblivious to her pleas.

As he lifted his sword, I glanced at Kelly one more time, and as he began to swing I shut my eyes tight!

"Okay, wait!" Serra suddenly called, and Tsun smiled gleefully at her.

"It is him, isn't it?" Tsun asked, and as Serra's eyes shimmered a little, Tsun began to laugh maniacally.

"This is precious, it really is. You know, when I heard that Serra had a new partner, I was surprised. Serra? Playing nice with a plus one? Unthinkable, right? Not even for the most skilled player in the universe would she even consider it... but then I hear that the ice queen herself was in a panic, trying to find a wizard to cast dimension door because her partner was stuck in another elemental plane... I thought to myself, 'ah! I get it.' She found herself a love interest. This I could understand! But then I get here and the only tempest I can spot is in his own world with this cutie over here," Tsun gestured at Kelly, and she glared at him as she continued to struggle with her restraints.

"This is quite the conundrum," Tsun continued thoughtfully, "I have to admit, with all this talk about 'the gloom stalker and the twilight princess,' I was a little excited to meet him... but he's not even really that skilled... and he has a girlfriend. What's the catch here? Maybe our dear tempest is cheating on his little birdie? Or does he have some kind of special talent that I'm missing? I do wonder."

Tsun rubbed his chin thoughtfully, as he slowly circled me.

"You're torturing people who have nothing to do with us... if you want your revenge, I'm right here Tsun," Serra called, and Tsun chuckled with amusement.

"It's true... I do have you backed up against a wall... but you deserve so much more than death for what you've done," he muttered.

"Why do you hate her so much?" I asked, and Tsun looked down at me, amusedly.

"You have no idea who I am, do you... I can see the confusion in your eyes. Serra's told you nothing of her past, has she?" he asked, and I glanced over at her as he spoke.

"Serra and I have quite the history," he began, "when the MOBA game genre took off, I was already an established player within the League of Legends community. I joined a small team of talented players and as we gained a reputation. After some deep runs in a few Asian League tourneys, we quickly attracted some decent sponsors. Then the DOTA 2 Bucharest Major happened. A local amateur team went six and 'O' in the best of five match ups, and came up against a blistering hot team Na'vi. The internet was went wild with hype. Twitch's EU servers got overloaded for the first time in its history. Dendi was at his glorious best, and no-one thought the result would be in doubt. But the unthinkable happened. Na'vi went down in three games, and the king of carries himself suffered the first 'O' and fourteen game in his professional gaming career. The internet went crazy, because of the twenty total deaths he suffered in that series, one single player had killed him nineteen times... this little girl from Hamburg," Tsun explained, and I glanced at Serra as I pondered the info.

It sounded exactly like her, but I still had no clue as to why this would make Tsun hate her so much.

"She was a blazing hot star at that tournament, and even when they crashed out in the later stages, every MOBA team in the world was hunting her signature. All of the scouts were watching her, and her stats were off the charts... it wasn't just her kill ratio or her win ratio... her reflexes, her awareness, her creativity... everything about her seemed almost superhuman, and my growing little team was the one who decided to put out the two-hundred thousand dollar contract that it would take to secure her signature. We were ecstatic. A dedicated carry was exactly what we needed, and with four rising stars already assembled we were set to take the world by storm... but that's not what happened, was it Serra? Why don't you tell your dear partner here what Team HyperX's professional record was?" Tsun asked, and Serra gritted her teeth angrily.

"Forty-two losses," she muttered, and Tsun laughed.

"We never won a single series. What could be wrong? We had a team of rising stars, yet we crashed out of every major tournament for about six straight months. It was only a matter of time before our sponsors finally pulled the plug... It was an almost career ending humiliation. And for what? What was it the psychological assessment said? 'Does not work well with others' -and that's all we were left with," Tsun muttered as Serra stared at him, her eyes wide.

"I was seventeen! I cracked under pressure, and none of you ever listened to me! I never wanted to play carries!" she shouted, but Tsun merely glared at her with hatred.

"Didn't want to play carries? You were taking home half of our entire sponsorship money! For what? For you to play supports? Tanks?" Tsun spat the words out with disgust.

"It's what I was good at, but you never listened!"