You have been Challenged!
The Challenger, Pereion Machie, has Challenged you for the Title: Owner of the Dark Woods.
Conditions:
Fight to the death
Add Condition?
Y/N?
Rewards:
Title: Owner of the Dark Woods
Do you accept?
Y/N?
Note: Refusing the Challenge will be seen as a forfeit, awarding the Challenger the victory and Rewards.
“What?” Jake stared at the screen in surprise, looking back up at the scowling giant in front of him, “What is this?”
“A Challenge,” Machie sneered, “One that you have no hope of winning. So, add your condition if you so wish, not that it will save you.”
“Condition?” Jake muttered, looking back at the screen, “What do I get if I win?”
“If you win?” Machie laughed, the sound loud and cruel, “You won’t, Traveller. But I will humour you. I shall put up my Title as Mayor of Machiville as your reward should you manage to best me.”
The screen shimmered as the words changed, Jake reading over the new text.
You have been Challenged!
The Challenger, Pereion Machie, has Challenged you for the Title: Owner of the Dark Woods and the Title: Mayor of Machiville.
Conditions:
Fight to the death
Add Condition?
Y/N?
Rewards:
Title: Owner of the Dark Woods
Title: Mayor of Machiville
Do you accept?
Y/N?
Note: Refusing the Challenge will be seen as a forfeit, awarding the Challenger the victory and Rewards.
Jake stared at the screen, the spark of annoyance that had ignited in his chest beginning to burn into a flame of anger. The emotion flooded through him, his body almost vibrating as the sensation washed over his limbs and mind. It was strange, like drinking too much caffeine at once, but strangely pleasant all the same. He hadn’t felt this anything close to this since the fight with the Alpha, the battle playing through his mind in an instant. Suddenly, Jake realised what he was feeling.
“What’s wrong?” Machie chuckled darkly as Jake began to shake slightly, “Afraid? Shaking in your fancy boots? Good, maybe you’ve come to realise the folly of you arroga-.”
“No, not afraid,” Jake growled, looking up into the larger man’s eyes as Machie took a small step back in surprise, “I think…I think I’m excited.”
And he accepted the prompt.
------
Pereion scowled as he led the damnable Traveller through his home and down the stairs. They quickly reached the ground floor, the rowdy shouts of his men falling silent as they saw him stride down the wooden steps, taking three at a time. He glanced behind him, hoping to see the Traveller struggling to keep up with his longer gait, but the man was right behind him, still visibly shaking as if something were wrong with him.
Shaking his head, Pereion looked around the room as he came to the ground floor, twitching his head at the crowd as he almost stormed out of the front door. As one, they all rose, following after him as he stepped out into the dirty square beyond. Walking across it in a few strides, he headed towards the rear gate, several of his men running ahead and shouting. In less than a minute Pereion was walking out of the wide-open gates, stepping onto the stiff grass that surrounded the town, his town.
He walked a little further, coming to a halt just before the first of the stumps, turning to glare at the figure behind him. Somehow, the Traveller had managed to keep up the entire time, Pereion only able to tell by his presence behind him, the man making almost no noise, and the little that he did was drowned out by the tromping footsteps of his own men. Snarling, he pointed back towards the gate.
“Fifty span that way, Traveller,” he growled, “You’ll not stand directly before me when we start.”
“Fine by me,” the man said almost jovially, Pereion clenching his fists and jaw as he saw him moved smoothly back towards the town.
Quickly, his men formed a ring around them, the two hundred or so Hunters, Fighters and Guards watching and talking quietly, discreet hand movements indicating the bets were already being placed. Pereion grinned at that, knowing full well that the bets weren’t about whether he’d win or not, but how quickly he would do it. Cracking his neck, he looked over at the Traveller, who had stopped the appropriate distance away, calling out to him.
“Are you ready, brat?”
“Yes,” the voice that returned was strong and determined, making Pereion snarl in response.
“Fine,” he growled out, “Let the Challenge commence!”
A chime sounded through the air, like a bell tolling, seeming to surprise the Traveller as the circle began to form around them, a bubble of impenetrable energy closing over them. Pereion smiled as he saw the man’s confusion, readying himself for the second chime. He began chanting the moment it sounded, and the arrow punched through his shield.
------
The first toll had taken him by surprise, Jake quickly recognising the shield that was surrounding them for what it was. Andy had described to him how player fights, or Challenges in GNW, usually worked, with a bubble or shield forming over them, both to prevent others from interfering, and also to protect spectators from getting hurt. He nodded as the second toll sounded, drawing his bow and an arrow in one swift movement, firing it at the large man standing opposite him without even using his [Aim] Skill.
The air around the man cracked like glass, the arrow halting just in front of his shoulder, a look of surprise on his face as he kept chanting, Jake blinking as the air around him started to waver with heat. Drawing another arrow, he fired again, this time aiming a little too low as the shaft cracked the air around the other man’s thigh, once again stopping before if could harm him. Drawing a third arrow, Jake aimed for the chest, firing it just as the air began to ignite around the apparent Mage.
The shield shattered, throwing all three of his arrows away with a blast of force, Jake blinking as the gust of hot air hit him in the face, almost pushing his cowl off. Drawing another arrow, he simply took aim and fired, expecting it to hit now that the magic armour had apparently broken.
“You’re too late,” the giant laughed between chants, “You may have broken my initial protection, but you have no hope of harming me now!”
The arrow wobbled in the air as it shot towards the giant, the steel head glowing red hot before the whole thing suddenly ignited, burning up in an instant. Jake stared, open mouthed for a second, before he simply slipped his bow back into its holder.
“Giving up already?” Machie laughed again, “I will admit, you managed to break my shield almost as fast as Bertram can, so you might just have an iota of potential. Maybe after I’ve killed you and claimed this forest, I’ll even consider hiring you on!”
“I would prefer to just stay dead,” Jake muttered back as he flexed his hands, gathering Mana in them but not activating any Spells.
“Then die,” Machie growled, raising his hands as the heat haze around him suddenly gathered above his palms, licks of flame dancing around the outside as the air itself ignited.
Then the blazing force slammed into Jake’s chest.
He coughed as he was thrown back, slamming into the barrier that formed the arena, his breath coming in short gasps as he tried to touch his chest, the leather of his armour smoking slightly as the notification blinked in his vision.
Warning!
Health below 50%!
“What?” Jake managed to choke out, looking up at his opponent, the giant simply smiling cruelly at him, “How?”
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“By the might of Ignis, lord of fire and flame!” Machie laughed, “As I said, little Traveller, you have no hope of besting me!”
“We’ll see about that,” Jake coughed as he managed to force himself to his feet, calming his breathing slightly as he caught his breath, feeling the magic still boiling beneath the surface of his skin.
He threw up his right hand, launching a bolt of green energy at the man, before darkness erupted from his left, covering him entirely and sinking into his cloak. A moment later, he was gone, running around the edge of the arena towards his target.
“Ha!” Machie shouted as the bolt of Nature energy burst against the air, sending a spiderweb of cracks across it once again, “You waited a little too long, Traveller, my shield has returned!”
Jake remained silent as he continued to charge around the edge of the dome, quickly approaching Machie as he drew Alpha’s Fang and his Ritual Dagger. The air was far hotter on this side of the arena, making Jake’s sweat evaporate almost instantly as it formed. His lips felt dry and chapped already, but he kept going, the strange sense of excitement in his chest burning hotter with each passing second.
“There,” Machie suddenly said, Jake’s eyes going wide as he instinctively leapt to the side, the ground just behind where he’d been standing exploding into a pillar of flame and molten earth, “You cannot escape me, Traveller! I know where you are, even if you can use foul magics to hide yourself!”
“Then I guess I don’t need to waste my Mana on this,” Jake huffed as he released the Shadow Mantle Spell, fading back into view as he leapt off the ground, sailing straight towards the Mage, “Take this!”
“How foolish,” the man laughed as Jake struck, the air once again cracking and shattering as he slammed Alpha’s Fang against the invisible shield, a burst of kinetic energy throwing him backwards as the air around him scorched his face and armour, “As I said, you have no hope of harming me, Traveller, much less even reaching me! Now, die!”
Jake rolled as the ground he’d been lying on erupted into a pillar of fire and slag once again, gasping as some of the molten earth splashed onto him, burning him through his armour.
Warning!
Health below 25%
“Not the time!” Jake growled as he scrambled to his feet, staring down the giant as he stood in the exact spot he’d started in, while Jake was now standing in the middle of the arena, sweating heavily as the air continued to heat up.
“Do you feel it, Traveller?” Machie laughed, “The power of the lord of fire and flame? The glory of the magic he has awarded me, his loyal follower?”
“If you’re talking about the heat, it doesn’t seem that impressive,” Jake snarled back even as he felt like he was starting to get cooked alive, the grass around him starting to crinkle and smoke, “You can’t survive too much longer in these temperatures either.”
“Fool,” Machie snorted, “I am the source of this heat! These invisible flames! They may be my lords, but I am the one in control of them! Now, do as I say and DIE!”
Jake leapt forwards as the blast of scorching heat passed over him, singing his cloak and burning into his back. He gasped as he hit the ground, his skin feeling like it was cracking apart under his armour.
Warning!
Health below 5%
Seek healing immediately!
“Not good,” Jake coughed as he snatched a bottle from his waist, downing two charges of potion in one gulp, the aching pain through his body vanishing in moments, making him sigh in relief.
“My, using potions?” Machie laughed as Jake stood again, picking up his dropped sword and dagger, “I suppose it wasn’t banned, and you would need as much of a crutch against me as you can get, so I’ll allow it.”
“Shut up,” Jake growled, his face already starting to hurt from the hot air blasting off the man, “You’re as full of hot air as your god!”
“You…,” Machie blinked in surprise, before his face twisted into a vicious snarl, “You little heretic! I shall show you the true power of my god then!”
The man began to chant again, Jake gasping as the temperature began to rise even faster, the grass around him igniting under his boots. Clenching his teeth, Jake charged forwards, but was almost immediately rebuffed by a wave of heat so intense it felt like a punch to his entire body.
Warning!
Health below 50%
Jake immediately took another swig of Health Potion, gasping as he felt his skin heal and burn at the same time, the feeling excruciating as both relief and agony washed through him at the same time. He felt his tears evaporate instantly as they left his eyes, which were almost entirely dried out by the heat.
Warning!
Health below 50%
He took another drink of health potion, the liquid almost boiling as it slipped down his throat. It was hot, too hot. Jake could barely handle it anymore. He tried to drink from the bottle again, finding it empty, his mind foggy from the heat. He barely managed to hook the bottle to his belt as he looked around for something, anything, that could help him, all he could see was fire and smoke.
“Welcome, little Traveller!” the voice boomed from somewhere in the flames, “Welcome to the world of my lord! Welcome to the realm of Ignis!”
“Shut up!” Jake tried to shout, but his voice was gone, swept up in the heat and haze of the fire, his armour starting to smoke as he coughed, his throat drying out almost instantly, “Shut…up…”
The world span as Jake dropped to his knees, unable to breath as the heat and smoke filled his lungs. He was going to die. He was going to fail and lose his Title. The same Title that had brought him here in the first place, that had brought him to the forest, and, eventually, this hellscape of flame and heat. Maybe it wasn’t so bad to lose it then, if it meant he wouldn’t have to face something like this again.
Warning!
Health below 25%
The heat pressed in from all sides as Jake collapsed to the ground, his body roasting alive inside his armour, sweat and blood mixing as the skin cracked and split. Pain wracked his body as he felt the flame inside him being choked out, dying slowly until it was little more than a spark once again.
Warning!
Health below 5%
He had no chance. No hope of winning this fight. He had lost. And the Dark Woods would suffer for it. His thoughts wandered to Luna and her pups, images of them being hunted and killed, or worse, captured, drifting through his mind. He saw the trees falling one by one as the town grew, building up into a city that engulfed the land the forest had once occupied. The lake was tapped dry, the cave turned into a mine, the East Oak reduced to firewood. And the Shrine. It was destroyed, broken apart and defiled in such a gruesome way that Jake couldn’t hold himself back any longer.
Warning!
Health below 1%
The flame blazed in his chest as fury swept through him, ignoring the pain in his body as he cast a Spell of himself, the healing effect barely enough to allow him to stagger to his feet, even as the screen kept flickering on and off in front of him, his magic barely able to keep up with the damage the heat was doing. It started to run out as Jake took an agonizing step forward, so he cast it again, green light suffusing him and keeping him barely alive. He opened his mouth and spoke, the word barely more than a whisper.
“[Empower].”
[Empower] activated. Base Stats increased by 50% for one (1) minute.
Time remaining: 0:59
Bones groaned and skin split as Jake felt the power surge through him, strengthening his body in an instant as he let out a howl. The wind flared around him, pushing back the flames as green energy burst off his body, his eyes burning as he looked around, spotting the large man still standing at the edge of the arena. Jake jumped, sailing into the air as he let out a vicious snarl, his blades clenched in his hands as he shot towards his target.
“Fool, you have no hope of even scratching me before you perish! My shield will-!” the man laughed as Jake slammed into something, bringing his sword and dagger down onto it as the air cracked, and then shattered instantly, startling the man as Jake forced his hand through the burst of kinetic energy and grabbed the half-giant by the arm.
“I won’t…let you…do it…” Jake growled, the sound coming out breathy and faint as the intense heat around the man instantly dried out his throat and mouth.
Pereion looked down at the hand that had grabbed him in disgust, the soot and ash covering it getting onto his sleeve. He raised a hand to brush Jake off, but he was too late. Jake thrust forwards, ignoring the smell of burning flesh and feeling of his blood boiling in his body as he slammed Alpha’s fang against the man’s chest point first. Machie laughed, saying something about enchanted fabric as strong as Rare Quality steel, but Jake wasn’t really listening. He just clung on and pushed with everything he had. The giant in front of him simply stood, smiling gleefully as Jake was burned away, barely conscious enough to cast his healing Spell on himself once again.
“You only prolong you suffering,” Machie laughed, not making any moves to stop Jake’s attempt to stab him, believing he was perfectly safe as the human only delayed the inevitable, “Just give in, let the flames take you. Perhaps you shall see the burning lord himself and he shall take you into his fold.”
“Fuck…you…” Jake grunted, the words lost in the stream of flame as it consumed him, though Machie still frowned.
“Hmmph, this has persisted long enough,” the giant muttered, lifting a hand and gathering some of the heat above it, “Let us end this now.”
“Yes…” Jake hissed, his voice rasping in his blood-filled throat, “Let’s...”
The ball of invisible flame, pure condensed heat, shot down towards Jake, punching a hole straight through the right side of his chest as he staggered back, looking down at the gaping wound in shock.
“Huh, I win!” Machie laughed, before he felt the pain bloom in his own chest, looking down at the handle of the blade that had sunk into his body, “What?”
“…” Jake tried to speak, the sound only coming out as a rasping breath as he staggered further back into the flames.
“No,” Machie growled, grabbing the handle of the blade, able to feel the tip just piercing his heart, tearing deeper with each beat, “No! I will not fall to the likes of you, Traveller!”
Jake watched as Machie gripped the handle tightly, before wrenching the short sword form his chest, sending a spray of gore and blood out of the wound, a look of surprise on his face as the torrent of blood actually extinguished some of the fire. Machie’s face paled as he looked at the wound, blood steadily pumping out of it and spilling onto the ground. With a gasp, he tried to place his other hand over the wound, beginning to chant something even as the blood poured out between his fingers.
Pain lanced through Jake’s head as he cast Nature’s Boon one last time, his Mana bottoming out as he gasped and staggered, barely able to put one foot in front of the other. Somehow, he reached the giant just as he was finishing his chant, heat and magic gathering around the wound as the blood flow began to slow.
“You…lose…” Jake coughed, Machie looking up in shock at the word, blinking as the preternaturally sharp blade slid into his throat, cutting off the last words of his chant. The magic failed as he choked on his own blood, feeling like his life was being drained away even as his opponent started to look stronger and healthier, Jake speaking once again, “You lose!”
Jake yanked the blade from the man’s neck, snatching his Alpha’s Fang from the weak hand and bringing both down on Machie’s neck. The world around him shattered as a bell tolled, Jake gasping as fresh air rushed in around him, the flames around him having already starved themselves of oxygen. He barely had time to register the screen in front of him before the pained roar echoed in his ears, turning to see a mountain of a man charging at him, fists swinging wildly as they pummelled into his body.
A flash of pain was all he got before it was over and a new screen appeared in front of Jake as the world went black.
You have died!