All the pep talks in the world couldn’t have prepared Peacock for the sight laid out before him.
A deep gouge split the wasteland as if an angry god had sliced it open. The unnaturally large, smooth discs which marked the outer training areas covered the inside of the gouge like layers of teeth, ready to devour any who dared go inside.
Nothing appeared outside of the gouge, and if Peacock hadn’t approached it from the air, the surrounding flat expanse of wasteland would have hidden it all from view until he’d plummeted to certain death. As it was, the lack of other entrances meant he had to fly into death’s maw.
Well, here goes everything.
Peacock activated Ubique Sight. It pulsed outward, lighting up dozens of floating, golden spheres inside the cave tunnels. Small letters and numbers hovered over each sphere—player handles. As with all things, attempts at getting Aisha to explain how player handles worked in M and M proved impossible. If Peacock had to guess, knowing the handles would allow him to track Rebirths across characters. A broken ability, for sure, but not one which helped at the moment. What it could help with was showing a clear path into the caves.
He stooped, the night air rushing past in an icy gust. Ubique sight proved the discs were deserted, but that didn’t mean they would remain that way. The quicker Peacock got in, the less likely he’d get caught before he started.
Peacock hurtled toward his chosen disc, pulling up just in time to avoid splattering on the shiny surface. He touched down without a sound, slipping into the tunnel at its base. Just as he remembered, the tunnels were unlit. Dragons had dark vision, after all.
The darkness wrapped him in loving arms as he picked out a solitary sphere well away from the others. Peacock phased through the wall toward it.
The tunnels all looked the same, and Peacock didn’t recognize any of them. Once again, his artifact abilities had turned the impossible possible. The things were so powerful, Peacock wondered if there were supposed to be caps or limitations to them, and if the absence of the admins had allowed him to amass so many. Not that exploiting the situation bothered him. You had to cheat to win against cheaters.
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Peacock appeared behind his target. A soot gray dragon flecked with blue not much taller than he was walked with their back toward Peacock. A quick scan of the dragon’s inventory made Peacock’s breath catch in his throat.
As expected, the dragon had a necklace of orbs, noted in their equipment as ‘Unknown Relic Orbs39’. Less expected, the dragon had three more in their inventory, each one assigned its own random set of numbers.
Peacock slithered up into touching distance and touched a finger to his mark’s thigh. An inventory screen popped up. He’d originally gambled on taking equipped necklaces. Doing so had the highest chance of getting him caught, but his other skills should get him out either way. With necklaces up for grabs in the dragon’s inventory, he probably wouldn’t even get noticed.
Within seconds, Peacock had relieved his target of their excess baggage, drunk a mana potion, and phased into the tunnel over—right into a blood-red striped chest.
Shit. Peacock looked up, realizing too late he should have looked before leaping. His stomach hit the floor as he scooted back. His newest obstacle came into full view. The dragon’s eyes pierced him.
“Welcome home, newb.”
The voice was different. Deeper, dangerous, but the disdain dripping from his words made it clear who stood before him.
“Viseral.” Peacock hissed.
Viseral stood tall and arched his neck. He stood twice Peacock’s height and four times his bulk. A perfect fit for a griefer.
“I knew you’d come back, eventually. You’re too stupid to do anything else. The others didn’t believe me. Kept sending out patrols and wasting time, but I knew.” Viseral’s eyes glinted as he grinned down at Peacock. “Now I finally get to play.”
Peacock took a step back and growled. A small voice told him to run, to teleport to safety, but a louder voice screamed to attack and wipe the sickening grin off of Viseral’s face. “You hurt Alainn.” The thought swelled within Peacock as he said it out loud, bringing with it a wrath which drowned rational decisions.
Viseral’s eyes narrowed. “I enjoyed every second.”
Peacock hit Viseral before he could react. His claws tore shallow grooves into Viseral’s soft underbelly, his teeth ripping a chunk free as he twisted in a whirlwind of rage.
Viseral howled in pain. His tail whipped under him in an attempt to dislodge his attacker, but Peacock flowed around it like water.
Viseral’s cry of pain turned to anger as he rose onto his back feet and grabbed at Peacock. He was slow, cumbersome. Peacock danced around him with ease. He darted between Viseral’s legs, up his back, and to his neck. Peacock wanted nothing more than to feel Viseral’s life pour from him. He was so focused on his target, he didn’t see the orb of light coming until it hit him in the face. All vanished into cold oblivion.