Brad raced off to the other side of the road, looting what he could from the few remaining avatars. Multiple flashes could be seen ahead as penalty times for those players completed and they respawned elsewhere.
As they moved forward down the road, he sensed that the Phoenix was following them. The Phoenix had stopped and swiveled its head around in all directions. He looked askance at it and would have turned around to question it had it not been for his friend shaking his head.
“Why is that Phoenix following us?” Allan asked.
“I told you already - the Phoenix’s mission is to protect. I’m guessing it is following us and it will protect us until our quest is complete. To tell you the truth, it’s a good thing.”
Allan just shrugged. Having a monster as a companion would definitely make a difference. Perhaps the Phoenix would come in handy. That could give them time to search for Vickie and not fret about mindless fighting.
A prompt appeared in his NR enhanced vision.
System Alert!
The Seer Stone has detected a foreseeable outcome in an upcoming scenario. Do you wish to activate your foresight skill?
Yes | No
Allan made a side glance at Brad, who continued to plod along. As he suspected, only he received the alert. Even though last time he almost lost his lunch when he travelled through that vortex, hitting yes totally saved his butt. It had definitely given him a huge advantage, that’s for sure.
Allan cringed, and pressed ‘Yes’. With a tiny flash, the Seer Stone appeared again in his right palm. A blue mist swirled around it, and seconds later he was sucked into the portal it created. Spinning wildly, he concentrated on keeping his vertigo in-check. The massive flash of light that ensued sent him tumbling wildly in the air, landing hard on the ground. It was really disorienting to fall from the sky and land in the exact same spot where the portal had opened.
This is going to take some getting used to.
“Dude, what happened?” Brad laughed, “Did you trip?”
Allan ignored him as he stood and brushed himself off.
Suddenly ahead of them on the street, and also to his flank, the dead bodies rose up from the ground - awakened like zombies. All of their eyes were glowing icy blue. The phoenix roared, the fire on its hands flaring bright once again.
Threat Detected: Level 3 Undead Avatar
HP| N/A
Strengths: Undead Avatars do not have Hit Points (HP), so wounds do not affect them. Will not remain killed.
Weaknesses: [LOCKED].
***Disclaimer: If you are killed by an undead avatar, your lockout time doubles. Meanwhile, your own avatar becomes undead***
He took up his sword and slashed at one of the undead avatars that had come snarling at him. His sword cut its hands.
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[No Effect]
Slash.
[No Effect]
Strike.
[No Effect]
Stab.
[No Effect]
Behead.
Decapitate: Easy
Instant Kill
[+150 XP]
Skill Unlocked: Decapitate
Delivers an Instant Kill when hacking off the head of an opponent. Only works at close range. Greater chances for Instant Kill increase with higher levels. Requirements: Level > 11, Agility > 8, Stamina > 12, Willpower > 8
***Disclaimer: This skill can only be utilized with a large sword***
Aha! That worked!
That was all he did for the next few minutes. One undead body after another, he took their heads off. Five easy decapitations later, and he heard a lovely chime from the sky.
LEVEL UP!
+1 Intelligence
Feeling confident having achieved Level 13, he attacked with vehemence. But to his dismay, the second wave of Undead Avatars were higher levels with thick armor. They weren’t going to be as easy to defeat.
Threat Detected: Level 12 Undead Avatar
HP| N/A
Strengths: Undead Avatars do not have Hit Points (HP), so wounds do not affect them. Will not remain killed. Thick armor does not add any Hit Points (HP), however it does make the opponent a more challenging foe.
Weaknesses: [LOCKED].
***Disclaimer: If you are killed by an undead avatar, your lockout time doubles. Meanwhile, your own avatar becomes undead***
Allan tried his hardest to lop off the undead avatar's head, but clearly it had a high level of agility stacked up. He missed, and hit the metal plates of the avatar's shoulder blades instead which sent a spray of sparks to the ground. The forward momentum caused him to lose his balance and stagger, and was unable to avoid his opponent's first attack.
[-250 Damage]
He parried the next blow, but then shrieked in pain as the avatar's sword pierced through the upper plates of his armor and through his chest. His HUD glitched violently again, almost to the point where he was unable to see.
[-1,000 Damage]
CRITICAL HIT!
He watched in horror as the brute warrior's undead avatar twisted the hilt and kicked against his chest to retract his blade. The virtual pain was excruciating, unlike anything In RL he had ever before experienced. His HUD went berserk with static, and he sucked in a final raspy breath as his body crumpled to the ground.
GAME OVER
Cause of Death: StabTwist
[-500 XP]
System Alert!
You have been killed by an Undead Avatar. You now face a penalty lockout of 20 minutes. Any unlocked items in your inventory are subject to looting.
***Disclaimer: You can bypass the penalty lockout by paying the Penalty Fee. For more information about this option, you can chat with a CyberBolt Associate HERE***
Good thing this is just a foreseeable outcome. That penalty sucks! And what’s with this glitching HUD whenever I’m about to suffer an in-game death?
System Alert!
This completes your foresight into a foreseeable outcome. You will now be returned to your save point.
***Disclaimer: If you change the circumstances in your upcoming scenario, you will effectively change the outcome***
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