On the hour before the first wave, everyone was sent a pop-up notification to meet up at the castle gates. This didn’t come as a surprise to most of them as they were at a nearby restaurant getting themselves mentally prepared. This event was stressing some people out to the point that getting some sleep was nigh impossible, others slept like a panda.
Faith, Parker, Sean, Ruby, and Zack sat at a round table in Leviere’s most luxurious restaurant when they received the alert. They were talking about their lives back in Vermont like their transportation happened years ago. Faith would bring up memories of her middle school days that she had with the others, and they would share a laugh. A shot of Api-juice and a bowl of warm golden beef stew was all it took to refresh their minds and get them back on track.
All of the boys were wearing the same torn-up clothing they had on during the previous war, while the two girls changed their appearances. Faith was wearing the purple robe she recently purchased, and as they assumed, it fit her perfectly.
Faith proudly displayed her new hairdo, keeping her hoodie down. She had twisted strands of white hair on either side of her head, with a longer strand flowing down from the back. On the left side of her hair, she had placed a hairpin shaped like a flame emblem. She softly curled her hair to resemble waves on a hot summer day, attempting to maintain her African-American heritage. Her new look was vastly different from her previous one.
Ruby on the other hand decided to go with a more comfortable route. Rather than dressing all noble, she equipped some powerful casual clothing. She was wearing a horizontally split black and white T-shirt that had the shoulders cut off. Her black jeans matched her theme but felt awfully bland. In a world of endless possibilities, she decided to go with clothing she could buy at a local Target™. She got strange looks as she made her way to the tavern.
Half drunk,
Zack: [Looks like our time has come.]
He stood up with a grunt and slammed five gold coins down on the table.
Zack: [We better get going.]
Ruby: [We should get Abrianna before we leave. She should be awake by now.]
Zack: [I doubt it. Elves need 20 hours of sleep to function well.]
Parker and Faith laughed to themselves.
Zack: [You can go to get her. Be sure to meet with us before the thirty-minute mark.]
After taking a look at her timer, Ruby nodded and walked away. Before she stepped out, she waved at the group with a smile. They all synchronously waved as she closed the door.
Sean: [Ruby's pretty nice, isn't she?]
Faith: [Yeah, but don't let her fool you. Nice girls are always hiding something.]
Zack: [Don't act like you have experience talking to girls, man.]
Parker: [Don't forget, y'all! He had a girlfriend for a year that none of us ever saw.]
Everyone except for Faith laughed. Crossing her arms with a pout, Faith rolled her eyes as far back as they could go.
The guys remained in the restaurant for a while longer. They didn’t have much to talk about, but hastily going to the castle felt unnecessary for a majority of them. While they were there, Zack had to speak up about their involvement in the war.
To their surprise, Zack didn’t want either of them to partake in dangerous events even if they volunteered. At first, they laughed at him but they soon came to realize that he wasn’t joking around.
Sean: [Listen man.]
The wizard stood up and walked over to Zack’s side of the table.
Sean: [Leviere pays more than any quest I can find at this level.]
Parker: [It isn’t just about the pay – though that is a pretty big factor. The amount of experience and rewards are unbelievable.]
The three of them couldn’t stop laughing at each other while Zack remained confused. With his head lowered and hands grasped around his mug,
Zack: [What about finding Ismail and Andy?]
The laughter quickly died down at the mention of those names. It was almost as if Zack had said a taboo word and triggered some sort of sadness within them. Sean walked back to his seat and stared at the table with gloomy eyes.
Sean: [We haven’t forgotten them.]
The wizard tightened a fist and deepened his voice.
Sean: [Finding them is our first priority.]
Zack: [Then why don’t you–]
Faith: [Zack…]
Her interruption surprised him.
Faith: [You heard Ruby’s story on why we’re here, right?]
Zack shook his head and then turned to Parker as he sighed.
Sean: [She says that everyone from Winooski was transferred into this world… but that’s not all. The messenger and Felix's old mentor were people from Colchester.]
Zack: [That’s crazy. I haven’t met anyone else in this world who is from the old one.]
Parker: [Think about it, Zack. All of these names are familiar. Devon, OJ, Vijan, Sophia, Keshab… and that’s only naming a few.]
Zack: [There’s no way they are the same people. Those names you listed have been here since they were born!]
Faith: [That is the same case with the beloved queen Ruby.]
It took Zack a moment to think out everything they had been telling him, but he eventually came to agree.
Faith: [We came to the conclusion that the only way out of this world is by completing the campaign.]
Zack: [How does this connect to your participation in this war?]
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Parker: [We don’t know, but every event that happened during the Hydra war was documented and checked off our quest line.]
Confused, Zack opened his quest interface and began scrolling around. What they were saying wasn’t a lie. Even for Zack, everything he did was recorded. Killing the Hydra, finding Ruby, and even the arrival of his friends were written down and checked off.
Zack: [What the hell does this mean?]
The sorceress sighed and pushed her back against her chair.
Faith: [We have no idea… and the worst part is that there is no way for us to check the future quests.]
Zack closed his interface and then looked around the near-empty restaurant.
Faith: [Since everyone we've met by doing the story is somehow connected to our memories of the real world, we believe the campaign is the answer. Please let us help. It could get us closer to the others.]
Zack grimly stared at the three of his friends. Concerned for their well-being, he tried his best to come up with an idea that would turn them away. Looking at his friends, Zack knew that nothing he would say could get them to change their minds, especially the dedicated sorceress. With a sigh, he grimly accepted their choice.
The three celebrated amongst themselves as Zack reminisced the moment before they were transported. Though it had been longer than a year ago, he fondly remembered the time he spent with them and the smiles they would share around their lunch table. Zack had a soft smile on his face while he watched.
Zack: [I know we're in a new world, but you guys changed… a lot.]
Faith turned to him with a wide smile and eyes full of curiosity. For that split second, Zack saw a ghost of Faith’s old body hovering behind her and making the same expression.
Zack: [Especially you, Felix.]
Faith: [I mean, I am a girl now!]
She giggled as Zack chuckled and agreed stony-faced.
Zack: [I can't let you guys into battle without knowing how far you've come, so I’d like to challenge you three to a spar.]
Sean chuckled in disbelief.
Sean: [You think you can face us, three-on-one?]
Zack: [I’ve faced stronger, more capable people. Besides, you’ve only been here for a little more than a month! I have a year over you.]
Parker: [I think the alcohol is kicking in.]
Faith and Sean laughed.
Zack: [Harr harr! Do you three honestly think you can take on a Paladin?!]
Faith: [Oh-ho! We’re much stronger than you remember.]
Zack: [Then prove it!]
Faith turned to Sean and Parker and saw their amused grins.
Zack: [If I hit you too hard, I can heal you with a potion.]
Faith rose from her seat, her posture confident, and extended her hand towards the Paladin. She clasped the Paladin's hand firmly, and they shared a smile with their friends, both of whom also radiated confidence in their abilities. The trio agreed wholeheartedly, ready to face the challenge ahead.
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Zack brought them to the cliff just outside Leviere's capital, the same location where they first arrived in the new world. The atmosphere was eerie and tense, just like before, but this time the sky was a deep shade of red that blocked the sun from view. Faith gazed down at the capital from the edge of the cliff and couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia. It was the city where their journey began, after all. With a chuckle, she turned around and walked back to the others, who were already facing their opponent. Zack stood in front of them with his arms crossed and a smirk across his face. He was exuding assertiveness to a degree, unlike the others. There was a certain glow around him that they couldn't replicate.
Parker: [Are there any rules?]
The Paladin smirked and reached for the holy sword resting by his waist. As he pulled out the Sword Breaker, a silent breeze blew around the battlefield and circled around him.
Zack: [Only to go all out.]
He held the weapon with a single hand and positioned it forward. His weapon glimmered a bright green and several unidentifiable characters appeared on the blade.
Paladin Zack [Give me everything you’ve got.]
Sean: [Say less!]
Sean reached into his inventory and pulled out his small wand, tightly gripping it between his palms. He closed his eyes and whispered an incantation, causing a bright cyan light to appear at the tip of his wand. A magical circle of the same color slowly descended from the brim of his hat to the soles of his shoes. He had cast a swiftness spell on himself, causing his body to glow with a faint blue light.
Before the other two could prepare themselves, Zack swung his blade, cutting the air in front of him. Sooner than they could have expected, a barrage of wind blades instantly closed the distance between them. Taken by surprise, Parker stood still like a deer in headlights. Faith jumped on him to force him down right before the blades could scrape his cheek. The two laid on the ground as the blades cut through everything they came into contact with.
Faith quickly stood back on her feet the instant the blades came to an end and threw her arm forward. Gushes of black liquid appeared out of thin air and collided, forming ten tiny balls of black energy around her hand. Each individual ball shot forward at light speeds.
Zack stood confidently as the balls approached him, but vanished the moment Faith gained a glimpse of hope. The balls flew off into the distance and created miniature black holes that quickly faded away.
Sean: [Above you!]
Faith raised her head and saw the Paladin of Leviere with his sword raised to the clouds and the clouds parting with the swing of his blade. Parker slammed his staff against the ground and raised his glowing hand in the air.
The ground beneath them began to shake as roots arose from the ground and created a dome around the three. Zack smiled from the outside and lowered his sword, dropping an enormous wind blade onto the dome and cutting through it like a knife through paper. Surprised, Parker stared up at the clouds once more. Zack remained in the air using a small tornado as support.
Faith: [Sean!]
The wizard made his way to her as soon as he heard his name. Faith created a portal behind them that looked like it shot them into space. Confused, Parker watched as the two whispered to one another.
A new portal silently appeared behind Zack without making a sound, and Sean came falling through it. With a fist of black energy, he sucker-punched Zack in the back of the head and sent him crashing to the ground. Faith came out of the portal and raised both of her hands, making a tall black spike rise from the ground. Zack came to consciousness right before he collided headfirst into the tip of the spike, and aggressively pushed his hands forward.
He called forth an enormous burst of wind with enough pressure to flatten the spike. Faith’s eyes widened in shock as Zack softly landed on the dark matter floor. Sean raised his wand,
Sean: [Quả cầu lửa!]
Dozens of fireballs appeared out of thin air.
Parker summoned the remaining pieces of his demolished dome and aimed them at Zack. A relentless barrage of fireballs rained down from above, while thick roots emerged from beneath the ground, trapping the Paladin. Zack closed his eyes and caressed the enchanted letters on his blade before a powerful sphere of dense wind blades enveloped him. Once he released his blade, the wind blades burst out in all directions, extinguishing the flames and shredding the roots into pieces.
Faith and Sean landed side-by-side on the black platform, frighteningly staring at the Paladin as he sheathed his weapon in the smoke. Zack raised his head with a smirk.
Sean: [Are you surrendering?]
Faith opened a portal beside her that led to Parker on the ground. He walked through and the portal immediately closed.
Zack: [You guys improved, but you’re still no match for me.]
Parker: [We can still go on!]
Zack: [I know, which is why I've decided I don't need a weapon.]
He slid his hands into his pockets. Faith and Sean laughed at his gesture.
Zack: [I thought you guys were more capable than that.]
Sean: [Oh, you motherfucker!]
Zack: [Let's see how the three stooges do against a handicapped Paladin.]
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A few minutes passed and the final result was a cloud of ash and two bodies lying unconscious beneath Zack's foot. With his arms remaining in his pockets, he was unscathed and brimming with excitement. His smile wide from the joy of battle and eyes dead-set on the battle-torn sorceress in front of him, all he could think about was his inevitable victory.
The terrain surrounding them was a mess, with roots sprouting from the ground, dozens of debris and dirt spikes scattered about, and several deep craters that couldn't easily be cleaned up.
Zack: [I'll give you the chance to give up.]
Finally taking his hands out of his pockets, Zack crossed his arms.
Faith: [It isn't really fair when my class is designed for larger targets, don't you think?]
Zack: [Feel free to make excuses, but they won't save you now.]
In the blink of an eye, Zack appeared by Faith's side and put an arm on her shoulder. Before she could even flinch, Zack whispered.
Zack: [Let's call it a day.]