Quite aware that each potion would give 100 health, Cole knew he had to be strategic with the three potions he had in his inventory. He had to choose between taking one right now, and using the rest one by one as he progressed through the fight or taking two right now to bring him to full health and save one for later.
The former would help him endure the battle longer, but he had to make sure to suffer only minimal damage as he progressed. The latter would be a good decision since that ensured that he would be able to withstand another explosive barrage. But then that would still leave him vulnerable if there was ever a second flurry of explosions.
Having high agility meant he could be fast enough to dodge attacks, but would he be faster than the arrows? He could barely trace their movements. Daniel was more equipped for that. Daniel was more equipped for everything. Cole was just slowing him down. He checked Daniel’s stats again to confirm his strategy.
Name:
Riverrun Bright
Mana:
165/300
Primary Class:
Fighter (Knight)
Strength:
315
Minor Class:
Priest
Stamina:
590/1160
Level:
28
Agility:
215
Rank:
Silver I (2/5)
Mind:
30
Health:
1870/2150
Persistence:
240
Riverrun Bright’s Skills (4/4)
Skill Name
Energy Usage
Active Time
Cooldown Time
Holy Hands
65 (mana)
30 seconds
3 minutes
Holy Shackles
100 (mana)
Indefinite (Item Buff)
Indefinite (Item Buff)
Holy Shield
115 (mana)
45 seconds
2 minutes
Keen
35 (stamina/mana)
15 secconds
30 seconds
Daniel could either use Holy Shackles to restrain the enemy and Holy Hands to heal Cole in a pinch or use Holy Shield to save them from a nasty barrage. Cole adjusted his strategy.
“Cole,” Daniel said, “we have to move now. Come on.”
“Give me your helmet,” Cole said.
“What? That wasn’t on the list. Do you want him to shoot me in the head?”
“You’re gonna be fine. Just keep Moving. You’re faster than I am. I’m counting on that.”
Daniel took off his helmet and handed it to Cole. “Let’s go.”
The two of them sped off around the corner of the temple and out into the open. Cole kept the black goo on the ground in the back of his mind. RemmyThenBenny started shooting arrows, but most of them missed as they ran hard. They weaved between goo and ruins that glistened in the moonlight. Every time Cole heard a whistle, he panicked. Every time it was followed by a hard thud he had a sense of relief as an arrow struck a ruin. But that relief quickly faded as more whistles followed.
After clearing about thirty meters without incident, Cole dove behind a tall broad column. The faded grey stone barely reflected moonlight. Hopefully, that works in his favor. The less Remmy could see, the better. Since Daniel was still running, Remmy should be distracted enough to give Cole more time. He noted that as the arrows no longer whizzed by him. The whistle sounds strayed further and further as Daniel kept running. Cole got to work.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
He set the helmet down on the ground and scooped some goo into it, about four handfuls. He slowly withdrew his ax, being careful not to catch the moonlight and give away his position. Cole tried to steady his hand and his breath from the hard running. He turned himself at an angle and carefully used his ax to chip at the ruin he was hiding behind.
Cole had to be precise and quiet with his hacking, all the while peeking around the ruin to triangulate the origin of the sailing arrows. Hacking the ruin to get what he needed proved to be more difficult than he anticipated. He either got pieces that were too small for his purpose or whatever he chipped at broke off in crumbles. Another explosion from his left, inside the temple, steals his attention.
Frank and Syrian were still fighting in there. Cole wondered how they were managing. They weren’t all in a party together so they couldn’t communicate over private voice chat. He needed to defeat Remmy so that he could help them inside.
Right, focus. Daniel’s counting on you. Frank and Syrian are counting on you, even if they don’t know it. All of Sonner is counting on you.
Dammit!
Why the hell would the game give him such a pivotal quest when he’s just a Level 8 barbarian? Cole had racked his brain trying to figure it out as they trekked to the temple. It didn’t make sense any way he flipped it.
Sure, Daniel said that the game is dynamic and everyone’s decisions impact the entire world, but leaving the fate of an entire nation up to him didn’t make sense. He had opted to forfeit his own life in the real world, what’s to say he won’t end up forfeiting the lives of millions in this game?
A dull pain settled in Cole’s ankles. Nothing that affected his health stat, just his mind. That reminded him to be wary of the goo; he couldn’t afford to lose his ankles right now. Not when everyone’s counting on him. Not when Daniel is too far away to run back fast enough to heal him before a barrage took him out.
This was Cole’s quest, he had to see it through. He couldn’t afford to die here. He finally broke off a sizable chunk of the ruin that could be of use to him. He dumped the rest of the items he got from Daniel into the helmet, filled it with two more handfuls of goo, and then started blending everything by grinding the mixture with the chunk of ruin.
The black goo clawed at his hand, trying to restrain his fingers as he pressed and ground it. A single explosion from his right makes him look up from his work, even though he hasn’t stopped grinding. He could barely make out Daniel’s form being thrown in the air and into a column.
Shit, Remmy caught him.
Cole slid his back along the ruin behind him so he could peek around the corner.
Cole spoke via the private voice chat. “Daniel, you need to move before—”
It was too late. Remmy was too quick. He capitalized on Daniel’s temporary disorientation. Unlike before, Cole saw the attack this time. He saw the arrows arc in the air, whizzing so fast he could barely keep track of them, but their destination was sure. The arrows rained down and explosions rocked the ruins, sending chunks of stone, dust, and black goo flying.
Cole checked Daniel’s vitals.
Health:
1155/2150
Status:
Stunned (15 seconds)
Fifteen seconds. That’s more than enough time for Remmy to release another volley. But how much more could Remmy send out? Cole noted the breaks in between barrages. Remmy could’ve used more barrages to weed them out from early on. That must mean Remmy is on the tail-end of his stamina.
Based on the damage they’ve both taken before, Cole calculated that the first explosive arrow inflicted 65 damage. Full exposure to an explosive barrage would inflict 650. Daniel could only take one more without dying. After that, another barrage would wipe him out completely.
Cole found himself stuck between very hard choices. He wanted to create a distraction to buy Daniel time to move, but that would compromise his own position: further compromising his strategy and the quest. If he allowed Daniel to use Holy Shield, then Cole would have to make sure that he doesn’t get a scratch on him or everything would be over.
It was unavoidable. He had to adjust his strategy.
“Daniel?” Cole said. “Use the shield if you have to.”
Daniel’s words came winded. “No. I have to save mana in case you get hurt again. I’ll be fine. I think I know where he is. I used Keen to trace the trajectory of his arrows, even though I couldn’t pick him up directly.”
“So his skill still hasn’t timed out yet?”
“Maybe it did and we missed it. Maybe it’s passive and it never will. I don’t know. Just move fast, and get to him.”
An alert popped up for Cole with a pinned location on the map. It was at his 9 o’clock. Cole peeked around his right and searched in that direction. He found a high ruin with columns and beams, the shell of a building. That’s where Remmy must be. Cole slowly stood up, tucked the helmet under his left arm, hitched his ax to his waistband, and took up a sizable rock.
He checked again for Remmy but didn’t see him. As he started running to his left, he threw the rock far to the right. He knew he shouldn’t have done that, but he wanted to buy Daniel time. As Cole ran, he waited for an arrow to strike him, but the whistling of the arrow came from the other direction. Remmy took the decoy.
As he got closer, he started to move slower, using everything Daniel taught him to mask his movements. He wouldn’t be as stealthy as Daniel, but he hoped it would be enough to sneak up on Remmy.
It was torture though. While Cole silently crept to Remmy’s location, Remmy was shooting at Daniel. So far, Cole counted two shots. Based on Daniel’s grunt, the first was a direct hit. No explosion though, so Daniel only lost 50 health. Cole watched for the next arrow, trying to see if he could use it to spot Remmy. He came close, but couldn’t see the man. The second shot bounced off Daniel’s shield.
When Remmy launched his next attack, Cole finally found him. It was brief, barely visible, but Remmy seemed to fade in and out of existence, shrouded by odd darkness. Cole jogged closer to the tower ruin, trying to be swift but stealthy at the same time. He needed to get close enough so that Daniel could finish this easily and quickly. Beating the barrage was also crucial.
When Cole was about ten meters away from Remmy, he stopped and put the helmet on his head. Black goo gushed from the helmet and covered Cole’s body. Once it did, he was taken to a blank space with only light green grids all around him. As the caster, a prompt came up. The prompt was familiar, but this place was not. Is this where Marlok went when they used him to summon Frank?
Instant Translocate Activated
Please enter the name of the contact to be transported in place.
Name:
Confirm
Cancel Cast
Cole quickly entered Daniel’s name, but it was too late. Somehow, he heard the barrage mid-transport. The sounds of explosions filled the grid space and then intensified when the temple yard manifested around him. Dust clouded his vision. Heat from the explosions stung his skin. He checked Daniel’s vitals again.
Health:
505/2150
Status:
Stunned (15 seconds)
Daniel being at 23% health while Remmy was untouched was bad. Being stunned and unable to attack Remmy was worse. But, as Cole ran through the dust cloud to act as a distraction and back up Daniel, he realized how terrible the situation was.
Daniel was not only stunned and low in health, but he was also being targeted by Remmy. The man must have somehow heard Daniel appear behind him, and now he was firing arrows at Daniel.
Two shots pierced the defenseless Daniel before Cole managed to throw a rock at Remmy. Remmy spun to Cole and shot him in the leg. Cole dove behind a column before two more arrows landed where he once stood.
“Daniel? Daniel?” Cole called over the private voice chat.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” Daniel sounded winded again. The explosions have done a number on him. “You still have one potion left right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I’m going to use the shackles, and then end this.”
Daniel currently had 3 times as much health as Cole, and he was 3½ times as strong. Using Holy Shackles to restrain Remmy, Daniel could end this with five critical blows.
Cole peeked around the corner of the column as arrows sailed left and right. Once the stun wore off, Daniel charged at Remmy. He needed to be close enough so that the shackles could reach Remmy quickly. Cole heard Daniel whisper the invocation, but it was stopped short by an arrow to Daniel’s chest.
Daniel tried a second a time, speaking quicker, and the chains sprung from around his waist and at Remmy. It would’ve worked, but there was too much distance still. It gave Remmy time to jump back, but it caused him to misstep on the beam, and he fell backward and to the ground.
Despite being angled poorly, an arrow flew from Remmy’s bow. Daniel’s golden chains grabbed Remmy by the foot, snaked up to his torso, and started anchoring into the ground and columns. Even though Daniel had Remmy mostly restrained, the arrow Remmy shot pinned the part of the chain that was lunging for his upper torso and arms to a column. That gave him enough time to attack.
Remmy launched five plain arrows in quick succession but only two of them landed as Daniel dodged or blocked the others. Remmy managed to launch another attack into the sky before the chains successfully restricted his arms. Daniel finally closed the distance and went to work.
Daniel hit hard and fast. Determined to eliminate the threat as quickly as possible. Remmy’s grunts and yells grew louder as Cole approached. Cole was now twenty meters from them. Daniel had gotten in four blows when Cole heard the distinct thud of arrows piercing dirt. They filled the otherwise silent night. When everything finally clicked in Cole’s mind, the sound of the arrows echoed in his skull.
Then everything exploded.