“Thank you, Nick,” Kenji said. “It’s good to have an offensive spell or two in the mix and your main weapon seems formidable. We don’t have enough information to create complex strategies. But try to save your spells for critical moments or for enemies that aren’t a good match for conventional melee tactics. I don’t think many people have evaluate threat maxed by this point, so I’d appreciate it if you kept an eye out for hidden dangers that the rest of us miss. It should be especially useful with your high mind to help sift through the data.”
Nick was deeply impressed by Kenji’s evaluation and efficiency. His gaming senses told him that the scarred man was an experienced tactician. That following his advice would greatly improve their odds, especially given the limited time they had to prepare.
Now that his armor was on, Nick walked over to the racks holding weapons. He picked out a short sword, then attached the scabbard to his belt along with a pair of daggers that were in better shape than the one he had found in the dungeon.
He picked up as many javelins as he could carry and put them into his pack, along with a coil of rope and a few other odds and ends, intending to toss them into a pile for people to use once the fight began. Nick wasn’t sure that he could use a bow effectively in the middle of combat, but his throwing practice should help him hurl a javelin to at least some extent. By now, the others had made their selections and begun to introduce themselves as well.
“Devin,” the athletic man flashed a nervous smile, raising a hand in greeting. His sandy blond hair had begun to form rough spikes, thanks to a month of hard living, far from conditioner and other modern conveniences. “I prefer to do my fighting up close. I only have two things that make me stand out, besides some decent physical attributes and an affinity for swinging an axe.
“The first is my ability, flashfire pulse. I have to take a beating to let it build up a charge. Thankfully, blocking blows with my weapon or shield counts. I can release the stored energy to create a brief sphere of flame. The power depends on how much force I have absorbed. Even at full blast, flashfire pulse doesn’t do a ton of damage, but it’s great for searing soft tissue and it can blind if I get fire into my opponents’ eyes. I can’t control the detonation at all, so I need to move away from the party to safely activate it.
“My other unique aspect is this,” Devin lofted his wicked double-bladed axe into the air for the others to examine. Its haft was forged from a strange blue metal, so dark that it was nearly black. The double crescent blade was formed from a radiant white ore, creating a sharp contrast where the two metals came together. “This version is great against large or heavily armored opponents, but it leaves me exposed between swings. However, when I do this…” Devin flexed and pressed a button on the shaft. There was a flash of yellow light. When it faded away, Nick realized that Devin was holding something different than before.
In one hand was a smaller, pure white axe, the shape reminiscent of the weapons wielded by Vikings. In the other, Devin clasped a blue-black round shield. It was circular and perhaps two feet in diameter. “Both versions are unbreakable, at least so far. The change is instantaneous with no restrictions on the number of shifts. Obviously, in this configuration I’m better defended, and this axe is better suited to fighting in a line.” When Devin was finished, Kenji offered a few pointers, keeping the conversation moving along at a steady clip.
The next person to speak was the longbowman, who appeared to be Russian or from somewhere nearby. Watching his lips move, Nick realized that the man wasn’t speaking English. That his Gift of Tongues trait allowed him to communicate not only with the alien species he met, but to anyone of his own kind as well.
“My name is Paul. I fight primarily with a short sword and a longbow. I put all my free points into dexterity, allowing me to fire with incredible accuracy. I have an ability that can weaken and confuse any enemy within twenty feet of where my arrows land. The effect becomes stronger if I can hit them directly. The downsides are that the debuff will affect any allies that are caught in the blast, and I can only use it twice a day at the moment. My other attributes are balanced, so I’m decent in most situations, but I can’t take a ton of hits and don’t have much staying power if I’m forced into melee.”
When Paul was finished, the woman with dark skin and natural hair addressed the group. She was wearing a set of sky-blue silk robes and had a guarded expression, as if she wasn’t quite certain how much she should reveal about herself.
“Sophia. I specialize in a fighting style that uses two daggers and focuses on targeting vital points. I’m good at dealing damage but am weak against enemies with strong armor or ranged attacks. I have a passive ability that will make everyone a bit stronger and tougher if they stay within twenty feet of my location. It won’t work if I get knocked out. Oh, and these robes are magic. They offer a level of protection comparable to chainmail but are light and don’t restrict my movement.” Sophia concluded her brief address, then moved to pick out a short bow from the wall.
The next people to speak had arrived together and appeared to be a few years younger than Nick. Somehow, he was certain that they were siblings, although their features were strikingly different. The man had short black hair with a mustache and goatee that had been recently trimmed. He had high cheekbones and angular features, and his frame was lean and muscular. He was in the middle of putting on a heavy set of half-plate, reinforced with chain, and had a massive two-handed claymore propped up against the bench beside him. He’s either ignoring Kenji’s advice or has prior experience wearing heavy armor.
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His sister was short and sturdy, with soft features and long blond hair. She wore black clothes beneath her light leather armor and wielded an unusual pole weapon with blades on both ends, which she had carried with her through the portal. “Sarah and Bret,” Bret spoke for them both. “Our gear is as you see. Sarah can create simple illusions and I can blind enemies with patches of darkness if I can land a direct hit with my sword. Our spells will only last for a few minutes, and we work best when fighting side-by-side.”
Their personalities were a study of contrast. Sarah was bright and sunny, her expression radiating a cheerful warmth, despite the stress lining her face. Bret’s features had an indifferent cast, as if he only cared about what happened to his sister and himself. Something in his eyes told Nick that Bret would gladly sacrifice the rest of them if it came to it, and Nick resolved to keep one eye on him once the battle was underway. After a brief comment from Kenji, the next person in the circle rose to her feet.
“Veronica,” the leather-clad woman made a small bow. “I specialize in dealing damage over time. I have high dexterity but lack the toughness to take many hits. These are my weapons of choice.” She pulled back the sleeves of her tunic to reveal a pair of crossbows mounted to her wrists, the objects she had initially concealed. Then Veronica made a gesture, like a cat unsheathing its claws. To Nick’s astonishment, her fingers began to lengthen as her hands grew wider. Her nails surged forth, extending past her fingertips to form talons with serrated edges. Ragged ivory blades designed not to slice flesh, but to shred it. Nick stared at Veronica’s hands, his jaw hanging slack, because he had never seen anything like it.
“I have two active abilities. The first creates these claws and drains my stamina to exude a poison that makes whatever they cut bleed profusely for a couple of minutes. The drain is low when I just have them out like this, but regenerating the poison takes a lot out of me. The other is a spell that infuses my crossbow bolts with a powerful blend of acids. It costs mana instead of stamina. I can use both abilities twice a day without repercussions. I can squeeze out a third bleed in a pinch, but it will leave me critically low on stamina and I won’t be worth shit for the rest of the fight.”
The final three people had entered as a group and were wearing t-shirts and backpacks stamped with the logo of the university they had been attending when the System integrated the Earth. The men were eighteen and the woman was only a few years older. Shockingly young to be engaged in a contest with their lives on the line. They were doing their best to keep it together, but they were clearly overwhelmed by the magnitude of the situation.
When Nick reflexively sized them up, he got the impression that they were several levels lower than the rest of his team. They already knew one another, and the woman briefly explained that they went to the same college and had entered their tutorial together. None of them had acquired any abilities yet and only the woman had found a modified item.
Her name was Julie, and she wielded a staff that could act like a flamethrower three times a day. Kevin, the young man with long black hair and piercing brown eyes, preferred to fight with a spear, although he grabbed a bow from the wall too. The other teenager, James, had dark skin, braided hair, and wielded a compound bow that he had carried with him from Earth.
Nick was surprised that they were counted in the top thousand participants, since he could tell that they hadn’t spent much time leveling or training their attributes during the tutorial. He was worried that their presence would be more of a liability than an asset once the fighting was underway. Still, they must have raw talent and a few tricks up their sleeves, as they were some of the top scorers in the tutorial.
When Julie was finished, Kenji continued. “It seems that only Paul and I have practiced with our weapons outside of the tutorial, and that Nick has the highest level among us by a fair degree.” He rubbed his bare scalp with one hand as he processed what he had learned.
“Alright, Devin and I will be the primary tanks. He can guard the front line while I protect our ranged fighters. Nick and Veronica will do best alternating between short and mid-range, so try not to get locked into hand-to-hand for long. Bret and Sophia are our finishers, although Devin can swap into that role as needed thanks to his unusual weapon.
“Nick, you’re well-rounded and battle-tested, so use your own judgement and put yourself where you’ll be most effective during the fight. You three have some experience in fighting as a group, but are too low level to trade blows on the front line.” Kenji pointed to the young trio.
“Your job is to work with Paul to dish out damage at range, or to flank our enemies once someone else has engaged them. Don’t face anything head on unless you have no other choice. Julie, save that flamethrower for when it will do some real damage, or to drive back an opponent if they break through our line.”
Following along with Kenji’s words, Nick made his final selection from the racks and placed a treated leather cap over his head. The reinforced rim stopped just above his ears, but the armor would help keep his skull from being staved in, giving him some protection for his head for the first time.
With their formation decided, they used the rest of the time going over Kenji’s five strategies, fear and excitement writ clear upon their faces. As he began filling his pack with additional weapons to distribute during the fight, Nick wondered how many of them would live to see the sun rise tomorrow, assuming that any of them survived at all.
“We’re out of time,” Nick pointed to the clock a few minutes later. As everyone rose to their feet and gathered their weapons, he looked each of them in the eye in turn.
He wanted to say something, anything, to acknowledge their bravery, and spoke the first words that came to mind. “Ok people. Let’s do this. It’s time to show these bastards what humanity is made of. We’re going to win both rounds, get a shiny new class, then pry the Earth free from Taltos’s grasp. I hope to see all of you again on the other side.”
With those words, the clock hit zero and the gate creaked open, letting bright sunlight and the roar of the crowd come flooding into the room.