I pushed of from the ramp. The ground came rushing against me. I planted my feet and tucked my head between my elbows. My body became a whip, and then I was skidding along the hard crust of the snow. I pushed my feet out and it dug them into the snow, stopping my advance.
I looked up at the vanishing aircraft.
The tall guy with the dark hair was already standing crouched, waiting for the slap. He was too far away for me to say for sure, but it looked like he stared right at me.
I got to my feet and ran towards a craggy rise of boulders on my left. A ridge climbed from them boulders and I needed to get to higher ground.
The guy who had disembarked before me had the bow of slow and the lanky guy had chosen a magical robe of destruction. I had preferred if at least one of them had been melee, but this was how the dice had rolled.
I tried to remember what number 15 had chosen and I was pretty sure he was the one that picked my epic sword. That could mean that number 16 would go for him, rather than me. One thing I was certain of, though, was that the lanky mage was coming for me.
I moved fast up the side of the hill, trying to advance behind the protruding black rocks where it was possible. My feet skidded in the mushy snow and the cold wetness seeped through my boots. There was a flash of blue in my vision:
Contestant number 3: Eliminated
Someone was making use if their legendary weapons, it seemed.
I was breathing hard and stopped to catch my breath. I had climbed as high as I could, but I couldn’t rule out the possibility that the other guy had climbed even higher, and could advance on me from above. I… Wait…
There was a dark figure down at the foot of the incline, clearly visible against the snow, only now starting to climb up the mountain.
Looked like I had overestimated my opponent.
I pulled out the bow and an arrow. It was regular steel arrows without any enchantments. The bow granted 30 percent extra fire damage, and it would continue to cause damage until he got the fire out. I wouldn’t let him, though. In a crouch I advanced down the mountain, careful only to move when number 18’s line of vision was obscured. When I was in position, sitting crouched waiting at what I guessed was number 18’s intended way up the mountain, I nocked one of the arrows, feeling the tension of the string. It was a good bow. Nothing fancy but a good bow.
I heard number 18 pant when advancing. Scree rattled down the mountain, he made no effort at all to conceal his position.
I drew the string. It creaked.
The panting and the rattling from the other side of the boulder stopped. I rose and looked right into his pale, frightened face.
I let the arrow go.
It hit him like a punch in the chest. He crumpled and then his black robe caught fire. Screaming and flailing he stumbled between the boulders before sagging down into something looking like a praying position. My vision flashed up in blue:
Contestant number 18: Eliminated.
Over the corpse of number 18 the figure 25000 XP rose. My level bar made a leap to the right.
Holy crap, that was a lot of XP.
I ran the numbers in my head and found that it wasn’t out of the question that I could hit level 20 if I won the whole shebang, but that was if I was an active hunter, not if I just sat back and let the other guys kill each other.
I looked at the crumpled pile that had been contestant number 18 and felt a pang of guilt. It was something different killing a human player than a mob, but according to Sarah, contestant number 18 would spring to life back home in his couch, screaming ripping his mask from his face, in shock, perhaps, but otherwise okay.
We all knew what we signed up for.
I looted his corpse and found a healthy stack of healing potions, fire wood, three slabs of meat and a whole apothecary of power up juices, poisons and flasks of mana regeneration. Most of it stuff I couldn’t use, but that would sell for good money if I ever got out of this alive. I looted his robe of destruction as well, even if it was a smoldering pile of burnt fabric. When it went into my inventory it appeared as new, and when I pulled it out, it was.
Nifty.
There were two announcements in quick succession:
Contestant number 5: Eliminated.
Contestant number 15: Eliminated.
I had been right, then. Number 16 had gone after the sword wielding number 15. Who he went after next was anyone’s guess. I continued up the mountain and found a cave that was protected from the wind. I needed to rest and to eat. I needed to start a fire and roast some of that meat I looted from 18. Then I realized I had no matches or fire steel. Then I got into the game and realized I had both a bow of burning and a robe of destruction. Fire was one of the three elements that counted as destruction damage, together with frost and lightning. I pulled out a pile of firewood from the inventory and piled it up against the cave wall. To shot an arrow at it seemed…reckless and I would probably shatter my arrow. I only had 19 more of them. According to the information tab, the robe of destruction increased destruction magic with 30 percent, and granted access to the three basic destruction spells. Okay, here goes nothing. I pulled the robe over my chainmail. It got stuck on my iron gauntlets but I managed to tug the sleeves down after a while. There was a low thumping sound and a swirl of blue in front of me.
New Spell Learnt: Fire Casting
New Spell Learnt: Frost Fall
New Spell Learnt: Thunderstrike
And then:
Achievement unlocked: Spellcaster, for learning a magic spell.
Award: 250 XP
That didn’t even make a dent in my level progression. I closed my fist and thought of fire. Didn’t know what else to do, but then it came to me as an old memory.
“Atra,” I whispered and snapped my fingers.
Something that looked like a heavy spark, almost a marble of fire, popped from my fingers and hit the pile of wood. It caught fire instantly.
My progress bar for destruction magic rapped over to level 2 and filled half the next bar as well. Ahh, how I missed the days of easy leveling.
I started to try and wiggle out of the robe, but then thought, what for? It didn’t hinder me in any way. I could pull my bow and my arrows directly from the inventory, and even if it was a bit tight around the chest and under the arms, I still had full movement. I guess I looked kind a dorky with it over my chainmail but dorky hadn’t killed anyone, and this robe with the base magic it granted me could come in handy.
I put a piece of meat on one of my arrows and held it over the fire, sitting so that I had the cave entrance in view. The smoke that crept across the cave roof and spilled out as grey fog, would be visible. That wasn’t necessary a bad thing. I needed to be active in the Clash and if I could get my opponents to come to me, instead of the other way around, that saved both time and energy.
When the steak was ready, I dug into it with my teeth. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was and I devoured the meat as a starved dog. I moved closer to the cave entrance and scanned the mountainside and the rocky hard ground that sloped away into a pine forest down below. It was cold, just above freezing and in time I would see more fires out there. For now, people seemed to hold out, enduring the cold and the wetness. I walked back into the cave and shoved my fire with the side of my foot closer to the cave entrance. I felt the cold water in my soaked through boots get tepid and before I had moved the fire all the way to the cave mouth, they were decidedly hot and gave away a strange smell. Well, the fire was where I needed it to be now, and I sat down at the entrance by the warmth and swept my gaze back and forth. While I did I saw a menu I hadn’t seen before – Scoreboard.
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I opened it.
Artes Belgrave, level 15: 50 000
Brad Richards, level 10: 25 000
Jack Marsh, level 14: 25 000
Artes Belgrave. That had to be either number 1 or number 2 – one of the guys that snagged the legendary weapons, most probably number 2 since number 3 was the first one to be eliminated. Jack Mars, then, had to be number 15, the guy with the bow of slow that went for number 15 instead of me.
In another drop-down menu I found the eliminated contestants.
Contestant number 3: Paul Noles, level 13
Contestant number 18: Tom Carlsson, level 14
Contestant number 5: Aaron Laws, level 15
Contestant number 15: Tremayne Nichols, level 15
Remaining contestants: 37
So, Tom Carlsson was the name of the guy, then. Wasn’t much of a name for a mage. I stared at the name. Christ. I needed to stop thinking about him as if I had actually killed him. I still had the guy’s panicked screams ringing in my ears.
Enough.
Put that to rest and focus on the mission, soldier. There was a new flash of blue.
Contestant number 21: Eliminated.
I went to the scoreboard and a new name had appeared.
Artes Belgrave, level 15: 50 000
Brad Richards, level 10: 25 000
Jack Marsh, level 14: 25 000
Tristan Toth, level 15: 25 000
If there was a name I should stare a bit extra on, it wasn’t the ones of defeated enemies, but the last one on this list. Something told me that young Toth wouldn’t be last for long, and that we would clash before this event was over. I would have no qualms at all putting down Vinger’s baby brother. It would do me no good at all, but if the option was to fail the Clash just not to anger Vinger, then, that wasn’t an option at all. Winning the Clash would make me someone to notice and the way I saw it, that was protection. If I was just another no-name-player that could be dragged into an alley and killed, that would be worse, so my reasons to win the tournament had just grown even bigger.
While sitting by the fire I pulled up my progress page. I hadn’t yet assigned my Skill Points but it was time to do it now. I was level 10 which meant I had 9 skill points to spend. I had done the match and if I maxed out all the tiers of the skills I choose, I could max out 16 in total – at level 100. I had already set out on my path to be a Brawler-Warpblade Class, but since the only weapon I had now a bow I needed to adapt. I opened the archery skill tree.
Archery
Eagle Eye
Level 15: 15% increased accuracy with bows.
Level 30: +10% critical chance.
Level 45: +15% critical chance and 10% faster draw speed.
Pinpoint Precision
Level 45: Time slows by 15% when aiming.
Level 75: 30% time slow.
Level 100: 45% time slow.
Hunter’s Focus
Level 15: Bonus accuracy when stationary (+10%).
Level 30: Bonus increased to 20%.
Level 45: Critical hits deal 25% bonus damage.
Arrow Storm
Level 50: Rapid firing increases damage by 5% per shot.
Level 75: Bonus increased to 10% per shot.
Level 100: Arrows shot in rapid succession pierce through targets.
And the skill tree for unarmed combat:
Pure Savagery
Level 15: Unarmed attacks deal 10% bonus damage.
Level 30: Unarmed attacks deal 20% bonus damage.
Level 45: Unarmed attacks deal 50% bonus damage
In Your Face!
Level 15: Increase attack speed by 10%.
Level 30: Increase attack speed by 20%.
Level 45: Increase attack speed by 50%.
Going Feral
Level 50: Three punch combos deal 15 % bonus damage.
Level 75: Three punch combos have a 50 % chance to place stagger on the enemy.
Level 100: Three punch combos have a 70 % chance to stun the enemy.
Last Man Standing
Level 50: Grants 10 % physical defence when in unarmed combat.
Level 75: Grants 20 % physical defence when in unarmed combat.
Level 100: Grants 50 % physical defence when in unarmed combat.
I wasn’t completely sure how the skill level progress was calculated but there seemed to be a splash effect from other similar abilities. My skills as a sniper, which I brought into the game, had as I already knew bumped up my ability progress in ranged ballistic weapons to 47 and for ranged plasma to 32. I had been using my bow quite frequently, taking down low-level mobs with the Musketeers but that practice didn’t amount to my proficiency with the bow, that according to my stats was 28. The same with the unarmed combat that seem to have a bleed over effect from one-handed weapons. My one-handed skill was at 24 and my unarmed combat at 17, even though I hadn’t killed a single thing with my bare hands. What I knew, though, from Rick and the others was that gauntlets counted as unarmed combat and my gauntlets was reinforced with iron over the knuckles. If I ever got the opportunity, I would fit them with some vicious spikes or something.
An Archery skill of 28 opened up the entry level ability of Eagle Eye and Hunters Gaze, that would give me 15% increased accuracy and another 10 % accuracy if I was stationary. That added up to 25 more accuracy if I was stationary which, to me sounded almost OP. And they would cost me only 2 skill points in total. That was a multiverse skill as well, which would give me the corresponding abilities in Elatrion.
Done deal.
I picked them and the lit up from blue to yellow in the skill tree. I needed two more skill points to lock up two other skills and with my new improved accuracy I thought I would get there pretty fast. I then got the entry level skills in the un-armed combat tree; Pure Savagery and In Your Face! bumping up my punching power and attack speed with a fair margin.
I’d spent 4 of my skill points and had 5 left.
I was pondering for a moment to just save them, but decided against it. I was up against level 15’s, players that had grinded for weeks longer than me and had the stats to prove it. I needed to do whatever I could to even the playing field.
To invest some skill points into the light armour tree would give an instant benefit, but what if I killed an opponent with an enchanted chest piece of heavy armour? Well, that was the thing, wasn’t it? I had told myself to plot my course and stick to it. Maybe I felt now that I was flushed with skill points but that wasn’t too last; it would be a hell of a slog bringing in the next 10 points. These choices mattered and if I started sprinkling points all over the place, based on my present situation it would all turn to shit.
So, I picked Weightless Movement, giving me a 10 % reduction in stamina cost when moving and fighting in light armor, together with the skill Elusive giving me a 5 % extra chance to dodge. The light armor had three entry level skills and I could also afford Flexible defense that gave me 5% resistance to stagger. I would have preferred something that gave me extra resistance to magic, but that was further up the tree.
I had 2 skill points left to spend, and the obvious next stop was one-handed weapons. I didn’t have a one-handed weapon at the moment, and there was no guarantee I would get one, but I had already bought all the skills I could get at my level. I was looking the skills over.
One-Handed Weapons
Blade Mastery
Level 15: +10% melee damage with one-handed weapons.
Level 30: +20% damage, critical hits deal 50% more.
Level 45: +30% damage, enemies struck are briefly staggered.
Riposte
Level 50: Successful parries deal 25% counterattack damage.
Level 75: Counterattacks deal 50% damage and disarm opponents.
Level 100: Counterattacks deal 75% damage and slow opponents.
Whirlwind Strikes
Level 15: Gain 5% bonus movement speed after a strike.
Level 30: Speed boost increased to 10%.
Level 45: Speed boost also increases attack speed by 5%.
Flurry
Level 50: Landing three successive hits increases damage by 10%.
Level 75: Bonus increased to 15%.
Level 100: Bonus applies to all strikes for 5 seconds after a combo.
Duality:
Level 15: Dual attacks grant 5% bonus attack speed and 5 % extra damage after a strike.
Level 30: Dual attacks grant 15% bonus attack speed and 55 % extra damage after a strike.
Level 45: Dual attacks grant 50% extra damage after a strike.
Some good stuff in there, and three more entry level skills that I could afford. But, at the same time I was only two ability points away from hitting level 30 in archery and locking up the second tier of skills there. I decided to hold on to my remaining 2 skill points for now.
Time to get busy. I piled on more firewood and threw a handful of gritty snow on top of the fire, making the smoke thick and a greyish yellow. Then, I left the cave and climbed further up the mountainside until I found a boulder to take cover behind while I still had a view of the rocky foot path leading up to the cave. The hook was baited, now I just needed to wait.
A terrible idea.
I don’t know for how long I hunched behind that boulder, but the wind howled around it, tugging at my black mages robe and turning my hands into red lumps of ice. My teeth were chattering and I wasn’t sure I would be able to pull the bow string and get an arrow away when I needed to. Hard thing to do when you couldn’t feel your own fingers. The sun was setting and the day had turned a dark grey. Soon darkness would fall. What was I to do? I couldn’t return to the cave after signalling my position the whole day, and I couldn’t stay here; I would freeze to death before this was over. While I’d been standing there, I had gotten notifications off two more contestants being eliminated, one by Tristan Toth who now was at the top of the score board together with Artes Belgrave.
I had already been down to the cave twice to put on more firewood, and soon I had to do it again.
Crap.
And that was when I saw a shadow silently advancing up toward the cave entrance in a crouch, the shape of a one-handed sword held low.
About time.
My heart started pounding. My hands were suddenly hot with rushing blood. I pulled out my bow and a steel arrow. I needed to kill him with the first shot. If not, he would dive into cover behind a boulder and pop health potions until back at full health.
He was still too far away for me to try a shot. It would be a difficult shot. Very difficult. He was approaching in a crouch; I was sitting high above him which made him an even smaller target. I wouldn’t be able to hit him in the chest and if I scored a head shot from this distance, that would be pure luck. Only fools and idiots put their trust in luck.
He hesitated at the cave entrance. He couldn’t see much in there with the fire burning at the entrance. He smelled a trap, and he was right, but he didn’t yet realize how this particular trap was set up. Then he ventured in. As fast as I could, I descended the mountain side, carefully not to set any stones tumbling down the foot path. I tried to put myself in his place. No one in the cave. He had not been attacked when advancing to it. Would he expect to be attacked when leaving it, or would he presume I was out hunting? In that case, would he decide to stay in the cave, waiting for my return?
Maybe.
I descended in a diagonal so when I was level with the cave entrance, I had some distance between it and me. I hadn’t seen the guy leave yet, but he could’ve snuck out the other side. Maybe he was descending on me, in this very instance?
I scanned the dark rocks.
Dusk was in full bloom, only a sliver of pink behind the distant mountains in the west. Soon it would be completely dark.
Then I saw him.