October 10, 493 U.C.
A breeze blew against the school the next day, bringing sorrow and mediocre news with it. Things were a mess. The war was escalating, and I still had no answer to the riddle that Ela refused to answer.
Blinking repeatedly, I looked up from my desk. Could he be slower? The teacher was giving a lesson on something that the internet could have summarized in two minutes. Yet, somehow, he was dedicating the entire hour to it. It was like a slow spell, and I hated it.
A look around the room revealed students who clearly agreed. Trevor and a few other boys were playing games on their computers. Ryan was slumped in her chair with a glazed expression. Some of the girls were outright whispering. Daniele was being a perfect student which made it worse.
Grabbing a piece of paper, I began wadding up little pieces and chucking them at her. Daniele continued taking notes for a good few seconds before she spun and glared at me.
I stuck my tongue out at her and giggled. She smiled and went back to her note-taking. Spinning, I looked for a new victim and spotted Ryan. Then I jerked around my chair as massive letters appeared.
High Urgency Quest: Breech! – An unknown hive has breached Seattle’s defenses! Reward: 1000 Reputation (Additional available based on contribution). 5000 Credits (Requires registration).
“Casey! Please?” Ela wrung her hands.
“How bad?” I asked. That was when the fear hit. A tear ran down Ela’s face. There was no way that was good.
“There are new guardians there. One’s about to die! Remember --”
I didn’t let Ela finish. Time ceased moving around me as my throat seized. My own vivid failures sprang to mind.
Letting some new guardian die wasn’t on the table. The fact that they were repeating my own story did not improve my mood.
I swapped to Platinum guise. Then, I grabbed a holo-drone, prepped it, and dumped it. After checking supplies and grabbing things, I willed myself there and surveyed the place. Buildings towered around me, reaching up towards the blue sky above.
People were running. The obvious cause was easy to find. Somehow, a hive had formed under the city. The insects had burst out of the ground and were wrecking things nearby. Shattered glass and abandoned cars littered the bug-covered ground. Looking down the street, I saw the young guardian. She was standing there in a blue and white dress. Her shimmering black hair was tied with a white bow. She had tears running down her face while blood poured down her side.
My past rose to haunt me. This wasn’t something she’d just shrug off. The girl was on the brink. She knew it too. You could see it in her eyes. This was her last stand to try to help humanity. Tears began to roll down my cheeks. That poor girl was just trying to help. Then she’d gotten exposed to it like this. It was painful to watch.
I pulled her out of spacetime and then gently poured a potion down her throat. It hung there, slipping inside. Then I let the tiniest bit of time pass. “You’ll be okay. Don’t spit it up.”
The girl continued sobbing, nearly spitting up the potion.
“You’re safe now,” I said gently, patting her arm.
“What?”
I patted her again. “Just give it a moment. You have time.”
Her eyes came into focus as the potion kicked in. That was when she realized. “Platinum? What?”
I winked at her. “A spell. One of my strongest. I need to make plans. There are a lot of bugs to kill and very little time to do it. Luckily, that’s sort of my thing. I need to put you with some melee fighters or in a fortified bunker.”
“Where are we?” she asked, peering out towards the still-life around us.
“I’ll leave that mystery for another day.” I smiled at her. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“It got in melee,” she whimpered.
“Yes, this shouldn’t have happened.” That made me frown. Truthfully, these bugs shouldn’t have happened. Why had it happened? That was when a horrible idea hit. I’d seen the lab. I’d seen the samples. Had we weaponized the bugs?
I forced the thought aside. Perhaps one just escaped. It was only Seattle.
“Is time just frozen?” the girl looked out at the still life around us. “This is trippy.”
I smiled at her. “I’m going to put you near a bunker. You can help defend it if the worst happens. I’ll do a bit of cleanup.” I willed myself near one. Then I smiled. “Tell your familiar if you need help.”
“Thanks, Platinum. Can we meet? You should register.”
“I’m sure we’ll meet again. Please don’t tell people about this.” I put her back into reality, and then I went back to the hive.
There were six tunnels, the worst of which was in the middle. They emerged from a massive hole in the middle of the street. I made preparations for everything, then used haste and resumed time.
Wanting to preserve mana, I used the old-school bug lumberjack technique. It was utterly terrible. I shan’t repeat the extreme monotony of chopping down bug-trees in and around the tunnel.
After three extremely long seconds, I finished a tunnel. Then I dashed down the streets, leapt, and landed on one. At that moment, I knew that I messed up. My strength and speed combined. I went right through it, covering myself in smelly bug goop. It was disgusting and smelled like a garbage heap on a hot, muggy day.
My loud wail rose through the sky. “Aww, man!”
Since I was already a disaster, I decided to mimic an ancient video game. I played trampoline on the bugs.
“Ela! I need to get points for this!”
“Okay!”
+1 Point – You have the high score in bug-bouncing!
I giggled and leapt off one, smashing it onto the pavement in a smear. Landing, the next exploded like a dropped egg. The green smear covered the sidewalk. I leapt to the next. Bugs exploded like dropped eggs as I bounced around. It was gross, but I was already plastered.
+55 Points - You are winning!
“Ela! This is exhausting.”
“But you are winning!”
“I guess. I am so tempted to cheat. But I better not. Ugh!”
“Collateral damage would be high.” Ela twirled. Then she grinned as her outfit shifted to match.
“Just let me know if another person’s about to die.” I opted to resume smashing bugs while singing to my heart’s content. Apparently, people liked it. And it helped soothe the angst.
It took me an eternity to clear things out and make my way down the tunnel. Embracing my inner troll, I lumbered forward swatting things. That was when I made the next mistake. I swatted the queen. She was still young and hadn’t had a chance to get a super hard carapace. She exploded and slammed into the wall. That’s when it started collapsing. I let out a groan and ran into the room full of bug eggs, scrambling them with my hatchet before teleporting out.
Quest Completed. Reward: 5000 Reputation. 10000 Credits (Requires Registration)
With a smile, I teleported to Daniele’s house, got cleaned up, and appeared back in class. I figured she wouldn’t mind.
The professor continued droning on. As it turns out, that took me three minutes. He had two more sentences on the board. How he’d gotten so little done in that time remains a mystery to this very day.
“Casey,” Daniele whispered. She gestured towards her desk, which had the news.
I pretended to be shocked. She stared at me while I texted her.
To Daniele: I used your shower! Thanks!
Daniele: Wait. What?
I turned and grinned at her. She rubbed her brow and then stared at the news again. Spinning, I pulled it up and my heart dropped.
Guardian Command requesting Worldwide Bunker Protocol!
Active and Defeated Invasion Fronts!
The list went on and on, I grabbed the second one and wanted to vomit again. There were seven of them. The drones were having moderate success due to the hive age, but it was pure chaos in six cities which dropped to five and then four as two more were flagged as complete.
Then the number jumped to ten. Sweat and dread rolled through me as I watched the number start ticking up even while victories rolled in.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Opening another browser, I searched further while the scene from the lab played in my head over and over.
I rapidly searched for any messages from the nobles. That was when I found his press conference. Peter was up there, offering to help if they conceded and joined his group.
I wanted to go strangle the guy while leaning back in the chair.
Our instructor knocked against the board. “Focus, please. Let us resume the discussion on genetics.”
“But Earth is under attack!” Trevor continued watching a feed on his desk.
“And you can look at that after class. Now, let us resume…”
High Urgency Quest: Assault! –Twenty-three additional hives have registered so far. Earth nobility has requested Viper’s aid in removing as many as possible. Reward: 5000 Reputation per hive. 25000 Credits per hive. (Available on site).
I rapidly studied the requested targets in India; they somehow had four of the things. It was madness that could have only happened on purpose. I froze time and swapped attire with a long breath. I was going to be very low on mana, but I did not care. People were in danger.
I used Time Stop and swapped my appearance again, becoming Viper this time. Then I appeared next to a towering wall in India. I looked around. Drones were above me. Artillery was going off. It looked like the military here had mobilized rapidly because they were raining hell on the bugs. But they have four of them. I nodded as I realized. If it had been one, they would have been fine. They had four! It was absurd.
Dropping Time Stop, I strode forward to a group that looked to be in charge. Smoke hit my nostrils. The smell of burning bugs filled the air and the noise was deafening. Guns were going off everywhere, sending rolling bangs and booms through the area.
A man in uniform saw me. “Viper, excellent. We have payment here. Could you please?”
“Certainly. Give me a countdown and avert gazes if they don’t have ocular protection.” I took the card and stashed it in my subspace. Then I used Haste and leapt up to the wall.
“Awesome,” one of the men said as the area shook under the barrage of weaponry. A massive explosion filled the air.
A guy nodded at me. “Fuck yeah. Nuke it, Viper.”
I watched the clock tick down. Then I used haste and rapidly cast the spell. The orb of light shot out at high speed. Once again, the colors started shifting while I dropped Haste. “Avert!” I yelled as that vibrant blue hit. Yes, I closed my eyes and spun around too.
The collapsing light went off like a bomb. A thunderous boom rolled through the air. Heat and smoke smashed over us. Looking out, steaming and dying bugs were left everywhere. Vegetation was burning. Some bugs smoldered.
Using Haste, I shot forward through the mess as the fire died down. Honestly, the stuff on the ground was wrecked. There was bug glop everywhere. I then teleported and dashed through tunnels, exploding bugs as I went.
Quest Complete: Assault! Reward: 5000 Reputation. 25000 Credits (Available on site).
As the text displayed, I teleported, appearing back at the command table. I looked over to the man.
“Viper? Can you take another?”
“Using haste, yes. Stop shelling it.”
“This one, please.” The man handed me another card. I teleported and then zipped through the area while punting the bugs. It was absurdly boring. Wishing that I had more mana, I chopped through the endless bugs while stewing on it the circumstances.
I knew they did it. It was just too obvious. All the pieces were there.
Smashing a bug into pieces, I started to cry. What the hell do I do now? It was all a disaster. My group wasn’t any better. They were willing to kill millions to force it. We were supposed to be the glorious rebellion, not the criminal syndicate trying to take over the place. And Dad…
An icy chill washed over me. Deep down I knew. Every lesson he’d taught me was the same. For the greater good of whatever you are doing. He did it too. He knew this would happen. I was certain of that.
With my guilt and sorrow at new levels, I took it out on the bugs, smashing everything around me while water ran down my cheeks.
I ran out of bugs before I ran out of anger and sorrow.
Quest Complete: Assault! Reward: 5000 Reputation. 25000 Credits (Available on site).
I ran over and grabbed my credits.
“Can you get another?” the man asked, gesturing at the map.
It did not improve my mood. The entire world was a giant mess as militaries everywhere mobilized.
“Sorry,” I replied, shaking my head. Then I teleported, showered, and returned to class.
Sitting in my chair, I slumped and ignored the probing look from Daniele. Instead, I laid my head on the desk and tried to figure out what I was going to do about the group. My phone buzzed.
Raptor: Viper! What the hell?! You are under orders!
Me: I was contracted. The city was under attack. We can’t lose whole cities. That was never on the table.
Raptor: We were leveraging! And we lost a large amount of leverage! Do not aid again!
Raptor: I expect the credits to be given to your father.
Me: Fuck off.
Raptor: Get ready. We may need you should they request aid.
Me: I’m out of mana.
I looked at the phone and let rage flow through me. I’ll tell Ela — No, I’ll do it myself and then tell Ela.
A finger hit me, pulling me out of it. I leaned towards Daniele’s desk. It was the news, and it wasn’t about me.
~~~
A massive beetle charged. Its massive, rhino-like skull smashed into the wall. A crack rang through the air as cement chips flew. It waddled backward in preparation. Then it was engulfed in fire as a missile hit. The beetle charged forward, slamming into the wall. A crack rang through the air. A piece of concrete broke free, smashing into the beetle below. The dazed beetle staggered back. Then it died as another shell hit.
Soldiers began yelling while guardians raced for the breach. Fanged Fury took a stance and began cutting into them. He was forced aside as a massive one charged. That was when Sunshine hit. A beam of light flashed. The massive beetle popped like popcorn. Guts spewed outwards while several small bugs raced forward.
“Hold the line!” Fury yelled.
The group of guardians did just that. Bugs were dying everywhere as the squad unleashed magic. A torrent of ice hit, smashing one down. Fury decapitated several. Another massive one stumbled and fell. Rose healed someone and then she smashed one with a hammer, sending it flying through the air.
A massive boom sounded. Then another chunk of wall came crashing down.
“Shit!” Fury yelled. “We need backup!”
Bugs began streaming through the other gap. They charged up into the buildings. Anyone who hadn’t bunkered began fleeing the streets. It was pandemonium as another feed popped up. Over seventy of them now? Dread filled me in newfound earnest. We’re going to lose so many. I started crying again.
One of the girls nearby let out a choked sob. I could relate. I looked back at the horrible screen while the hive count ticked up again. We’re going to die. All of us. The numbers were way too high. The initial surge of heavy hitters had stomped the number, but it just kept growing while we sat there without mana.
The rest couldn’t keep up with the absurd flood. I looked back at the numbers. Twenty-seven hives destroyed. Forty-nine left. I wanted to vomit as it ticked up to fifty. Another feed popped up.
“Have you decided?” Lord Peter asked, leaning back in his chair. Then he spun as a fae with shimmering white hair walked forward.
“Delegate Jethildra?” someone asked.
“Would you like to reconsider our offer of aid?” Jethildra asked as she walked forward. “We are ready and willing. Your worlds will fall if you don’t allow it.”
“You would hold us hostage?” a man yelled in fury.
“No,” both replied.
Peter’s smile crept higher. “You are holding yourself hostage. You just need to sign. We’ll handle the rest.”
Jethildra ignored him. “We made agreements regarding fae involvement. Do you wish to suspend and renegotiate? That is the request. We will aid you. You know the price; we will also oversee and protect Starb along with Vuln.”
“Done!” someone shouted. “Fae may access my territory! We can resolve the remainder after that fact.”
“Agreed!” a woman called.
A man nodded at her. “Agreed! You can have Starb! I don’t care!”
Jethildra monitored and took notes. “Then we will do what we can. I expect you to hold true to your word.” She took a seat.
I looked back to the feeds from various cities. The worst was a city in Texas. The place had six hives. It was absurd. Then every bug in the city exploded, showering goo everywhere.
The camera panned to a fae woman who was flying above it. She vanished and appeared near the group of guardians. “Hello, guardians. I’m Liani. Nice to meet you.”
“Hello,” Sabrina said in surprise. Several others looked over.
Liani walked to them. “Let us finish the hive. Then we will aid the others. It is good training for all of you.” All of them vanished and appeared next to the wall.
Liani smiled and looked up at the camera. “This isn’t my typical choice; call it an homage to someone who has caught my attention.” She gestured. A massive ball of light shot forward. Then it collapsed as it shifted color. Bugs and dirt were sucked into the black thing. It ripped the queen and eggs out of the ground. Thunder boomed as the feed went black. Then it snapped back, revealing smoldering dirt and insect remains.
“Next.” Liani gestured and all of them were gone.
Liani… Liani… My eyes sprung open as I recalled where I’d heard the name. She was the one that got involved. I turned back. Fae began appearing at every site. Each arrival was met with rampant bug destruction as they unleashed their magic. It was both inspiring and horrifying. Okay. The rebellion is dead. I looked at my empty mana. Will they run?
A slamming sound hit my ears; I jerked and stared at the teacher who’d slapped the board.
“Focus, people! No internet!” He gestured and the feed cut. “Let’s stick with the matter at hand.”
Several groaned, grumbled, and complained. I sat there stewing over my choices.
Current Level 12 Current XP 15.47% Current Max Mana 18910.13 Regen per minute 26.26 Reputation 30100
Tier Skill Cost Tier 11 User Time Dilation (Haste)
- User experiences 256 seconds for 1 earth second.
- Force transference limited to 25%. 1 mana per earth second. Tier 7 Pocket Dimension
- 128 cubic meters of pocket space.
- Rapid stash and rapid draw.
- You may tether objects to your pocket space.
- Your pocket space cleans, preserves, and organizes items inside based on your will. 32 mana Tier 7 Time Stop
- Caster leaves spacetime. They may remove and place things back in spacetime.
- You may control the flow of time in the demiplane.
- You may summon in willing living creatures.
- This automatically triggers if you take significant damage.
- Recast to gain vision. 200 mana to cast.
Variable cost to move items in and out. Tier 7 Teleport.
- Teleports the caster or a willing creature.
- You may cast this on a willing or unwilling creature if they are within fifty meters.
- You may teleport inside an object, causing the matter to push outward.
200 mana for the caster.
400 mana for a willing creature.
1000 mana for an unwilling creature with no resistance.
- Short range casts cost less mana.
Tier 3 Attire Swap
- Locked to a single outfit. Current outfit set to Magical Girl Uniform.
- Attire cleaned on swap.
- Attire repaired on swap. 20 mana. Tier 3 Enhanced Body
- Caster’s body is enhanced by a factor of eight. 2 mana per caster second. Tier 2 Enchanting.
- Enchantments last twice as long. Variable cost. Tier 2 Potions.
- Potions last twice as long. Variable cost. Tier 2 Familiar Manifestation. 20 mana to cast Tier 2 Free casting
- Cast any spell you can replicate.
- Slotted Spell. Use half the normal cost of the spell to store a single spell for future use. Cast the spell for the remaining cost. Variable cost. Penalty of 8x mana.