The humans were a ragtag bunch. They rushed over, their downcast air evaporating when they caught sight of Rick and company.

"Humans! Are you real?" There were five of them, enough to have been a whole party. “We're so glad to see you. When did you come? Are there more? Did you bring a ship?" The words washed over Rick like a tide, then were drowned out by a roar. He looked around for the source of the hideous cry. It had to be something huge.

"Oh, the giants are back," one woman called. She didn't seem particularly concerned. "They're big and terrifying, but they don't attack us. Just the caravans, and they’re all smashed up now.” She had an Irish accent and looked to be in her fifties.

Rick was certain these humans were from the Mars base. Some of them were still clad in bits of leisure attire—loose shorts, tank tops, the kind of things the astronauts had been sleeping in.

"The creatures were terrifying at first, but they never attack us," one of the men said.

"Oh, that's good," Daniel said, relief clear on his face.

Gambit was breaking away from the group and readying his spear. "I don't think that'll apply to us. These aren't combat players."

"What?" Daniel was incredulous. “Uh-oh.”

Rick gave one of the Mars crew a quick inspect. Gambit was right: she was labelled as an NCP. How was that possible? Rick put it out of his mind and turned to the looming prospect of a fight. "All right, everyone, stand clear. Are any of you combat players?" Their astronaut training gave them a military frame of mind, primed to respond to the voice of authority, but they clearly didn't know what he was talking about, all shaking their heads and muttering denials. "Right, anyone who can't fight, get over by the wagons."

The entire group broke for it, leaving Daniel, Rick, and Gambit out in the open.

A moment later, a massive head lifted over the boulders on the low ridge nearby. It was enormous. The face was flat and meaty, bearing a stupid expression. The brows, bushy as hedges, grew together as it laid eyes on Rick's party. Then the rest of the giant lumbered into view. It was twenty feet tall, with arms bulging with muscle and a pot belly. It was dressed in a ragged tunic bound at the waist by thick leather belt, but no pants. Thankfully the tunic hung down halfway to its knees. It dragged a stone club behind it as it came up around a bend in the road and headed for them.

"Battle formation!" Rick shouted, but it was unnecessary. Gambit was rushing forward, readying his spear, and Daniel moved to the side to get a clear shot.

The creature had 80 hit points. Daniel unleashed an arrow and then another. They struck, but barely twitched its health bar. Rick hit it with a Force Wave that stunned it for a second. It shook its head, growled, and started forward again just as Gambit reached it. The Mongolian roared and thrust his spear.

Rick felt the tingle of magic wash over him. He felt stronger and more alive. Gambit's shout had been a buff for the party and a debuff for the giant, who somehow looked a little shorter and less terrifying.

Gambit stabbed it in the thigh with his spear. The giant roared and swiped at him before he could leap away. The blow caught Gambit in the shoulder and sent him tumbling to the ground. He was up again almost instantly, with eight points knocked out of his health bar.

Rick targeted him with a Soothing Mist, and his bar filled all the way back up.

The giant hefted his club and pulled it back for a mighty swing. A cast bar appeared over his head. It had the name of an attack, [Colossal Smash], and a cast time that filled up quickly as the giant started his swing.

Gambit dove to the side, landed, rolled, and came up spear-ready as the club slammed down where he had been. The ground broke and cracked at the point of impact in a ludicrous fashion. Even something as heavy as that club shouldn't have done more than make a dent, but it threw up hundreds of shards of stone.

An instant later, as the giant lifted his club, the ground was smooth again. Was it just a visual effect, or would it knock down anyone the club hit? Rick had no interest in finding out the hard way.

Daniel continued unleashing arrow after arrow. A few sailed past the giant and into the boulders, and some bounced off the enormous club or the metal studs on his thick belt. The rest hit and stuck. The giant’s shoulders and chest were starting to look like a pin cushion. Each hit ticked its bar down a little more. Now it was at 45 HP.

The giant roared and looked around, spotting the source of the annoying arrows, and lumbered towards Daniel. Its ponderous steps ate up a lot of ground. The club came around in a quick blow with no casting time that caught Daniel square on and sent him flying through the air.

His health bar plummeted as he did a complete flip in the air and slammed into a boulder, which took out another chunk from his health. He was deep in the yellow, with 7 HP remaining.

Soothing Mist came off cooldown, and Rick hit Daniel with it. The initial heal took him up most of the way, and the subsequent ticks would get him to max hp if he didn't take another hit like that. “Stay back!” Rick shouted.

Gambit ran in, stabbing the giant’s backside with his spear. The thrust did a sizable chunk of damage, but the ogre was still fixated on Daniel.

"Taunt him!”

“I don't have one! Run!" Gambit yelled back.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Daniel was shaking his head and didn't seem to hear him. [Stunned] floated over his head. He’d been debuffed and Rick had no way to cure it.

The giant was almost on them. Rick lifted his hand to Force Wave but hesitated. His mana bar was down to just above half. He wasn't going to get very many more spells before he was out. He needed to concentrate on healing the others.

The giant swung his club. Rick lunged forward, trying to get between Daniel and the incoming damage. It worked. A crashing blow knocked him flying. He tasted Martian soil as he plowed into the ground. He rolled over and struggled to his feet.

Daniel cried out in pain, his health in the red. A moment later, a tick of the heal over time from Rick's soothing mist brought him from red to yellow, but he was still dangerously low. Rick's own hit bar had plummeted 13 points, leaving him at less than half. The giant loomed over them. Rick cast Soothing Mist on Daniel again. His health bar leapt up, and an instant later took two more jumps forward as Heal over Time ticks went off.

Oh, that's nice. The hots stack, Rick thought just before the club smashed into him, and the world went black.

He could have only been unconscious for a moment. When he came to, he was crumpled at the bottom of a boulder. The giant was still looming over Daniel, who had just turned to run. Gambit was furiously stabbing at its back with his spear. Rick just wanted to lay there and die. Every bone in his body felt broken. Gambit yelled, and Rick felt instantly ashamed of himself. He wasn't out yet. He had only just begun to fight.

Rick staggered to his feet and almost charged towards the ogre before catching himself. He came up short. What the hell was he doing? He was down to five HP, his health bar flashing crimson. But the giant itself had just ticked into the red.

"Shoot, Daniel! Up and shoot!"

The colossal mob finally noticed Gambit and turned. It lifted its club. As the Mongolian stabbed again, Rick considered healing himself, but even that wouldn't give him enough health to take a hit. It was better for them to get the monster down now.

He aimed a Force Wave for the club as the monster lifted it. It started casting Colossal Smash again just as the spell hit. Its cast was disrupted.

For a moment, the ogre was disoriented and confused. It glanced at its weapon with furrowed brows. Gambit stabbed it again and again. Its health bar was almost gone.

Daniel finally raised his bow and put an arrow into the monster's face. It let out a tremendous roar. Rick felt suddenly terrified. Gambit roared again, and Rick felt like he could take on the universe. He was looking to his Force Wave cooldown when the effect of Gambit's second shout hit, and he noticed the cooldown ticked down faster. Force Wave came ready, and Rick fired just as a spear thrust and an arrow also struck the giant. With a roar of agony, the beast fell dead.

Rick had only a moment gather his wits before a shadow blotted out the sun. The second ogre had arrived.

"Oh shit!" Daniel scrambled back and raised his bow.

Rick shouted, "Stop! Hold your fire!" The second ogre’s name plate was flicking back and forth between the red of a hostile and yellow of neutral.

The ogre stood, looking between the group and his fallen companion. For a long moment, nobody moved. Then the ogre spoke with a deep, gravelly voice. "You kill Thorog. He strong. You must be stronger!"

In the silence after the ogre finished speaking, Rick stood awkwardly. He felt like he needed to say something. It was easier in a game when there were dialogue pop-ups and options.

"Ah, was he your friend?"

"No. Thorog strong, so me follow. Thorog say I weak and stupid. Well, Thorog dead now.”

"Thorog attacked someone he could not beat," Rick pointed out. "You have not attacked. You are smarter than Thorog. Being smart is better than being strong."

The giant considered. After a moment, his name plate switched to solid yellow. Rick let out the breath he had been holding.

"Me smart giant." He looked over the party and nodded. "Me no fight. Me no can win. Smart giant is not dead giant." The giant smiled to himself as if amused by his own joke.

Rick noticed the smaller giant didn't carry a weapon. "Come, even smart giants need a weapon sometimes. Take Thorog's club. With that, you can be strong and smart."

This clearly pleased the giant. He stepped forward. The earth trembled with tiny quakes every time his feet landed. He lifted the club, which was longer than a man and probably weighed 400 pounds.

"Me think, now me strong and smart." The giant's expression turned to feral cunning. His bar, which had been solidly yellow, now flickered to red and back again.

"Me strong now. Stronger than you?"

Rick shook his head vigorously. "No, Thorog had that club and we beat him. You are still not as strong as Thorog, but you are smarter than Thorog."

He felt like he was talking to a toddler, only this one weighed as much as a Mack truck and was considering squashing him.

"Yes, me not as strong as you, and you very smart. Me thank for club and thank for kill Thorog, him big jerk."

The giant's name plate was still solidly yellow as it turned and wandered off, seemingly forgetting that they were there. The party breathed a sigh of relief.

A moment later, the other humans came rushing over from the ruined caravan.

"Who are you? Thank you for saving us. Did you come from NASA?" A babble of voices washed over them.

"Quiet!" A tall man with a German accent stepped forward. His name plate said he was Dr. Schneider. "I am the most senior here of our expedition."

"What happened to everyone else?" Rick asked.

Schneider shook his head. "Dead, or we don't know. It was dark and there was a lot of fighting. I'm pretty sure something killed me.” He shuddered as if remembering the experience. "Same for all of us, then we all woke up again in town. We were wandering around aimlessly and then,” a look of puzzlement crossed over his face. “We had the idea of coming out here in a kind of caravan." He frowned and looked around at the broken wagons.

Rick followed his gaze. "Where did you get the wagons?" He was only half listening. Sam wasn’t here. Was she still out there somewhere? What if she was in trouble? Or really-dead, not… whatever had happened to these?

“I have no idea,” Schneider said, sounding troubled.

One of the other members of his group, a woman with short hair wearing a bathrobe, addressed Schneider. "You remember, we all discussed this. Heading to Red Rocks would turn a profit for our band."

Schneider shook his head. "What band? What profit? What are you talking about?"

The woman sighed. She pointed to the wagons. "Those held our trade goods.” The man beside her nodded in agreement.

Schneider turned to Rick. "There's something affecting our minds. I don't know where any of these wagons came from. One minute we were walking around town discussing what had happened to the others and the next we were standing by some wagons and talking about taking a kind of trade caravan to another city. I know it’s called Red Rocks but if I think about it I would swear I've never heard of the place. I don't know where any of this is."

His gaze focused sharply on Rick. "This is a kind of game world, isn't it? Are we dead?"

Rick returned the man's look. "I don't know if you're dead. I know I'm not, but I do think this is like a game world. I don't think the normal laws of the universe apply."

Daniel, who had been standing by listening, chimed in. "He's right. This place has rules that make absolutely no sense."

Schneider focused on Daniel as if noticing him for the first time. "You're military."

"That's right. We came as part of an expedition. Part of the crew is military." He pointed at Rick, then Gambit. “We brought others for their expertise.”

Schneider looked at Rick. “Who are you? What sort of expertise?"

Rick smiled. "We're gamers.”