“Shock resistant,” Jace said, examining the metal knee guard.
“That’s all?” Will looked at the item.
It was surprising how many hidden mirrors were scattered out in the open. So far, the group had defeated four more elites, as well as a pack of goblins at the outside parking lot. Helen’s level had been bumped all the way to eight, which made all subsequent fights more difficult. At the same time, everyone agreed that to be a good thing: it meant that they’d be a lot more prepared for the boss. The issue, if any, was the quality of loot items they’d gotten up till now. All of them were gear and, for the most part, were largely useless.
“Remember when I said that the belt was crap?” The jock tossed Will the knee guard. “I was wrong. This is fucking crap. There’s not even a pair of them.”
Unlike the weapons, no one really wanted to put on the gear. As a result, it was Will who got it all thanks to the reflexes his class provided.
“I’ll take it,” he said after a long silence, strapping it onto his left knee. With that he had a pair of boots, a belt that reduced the sensation of pain, a single fire-resistant leather arm guard, and now a shock absorbing knee guard.”
“Bro,” Alex laughed.
The style mismatch was such that even Helen had to join in the chuckle.
“You’re definitely not becoming king of the prom.” She shook her head.
“It’s just temporary.” He stood up and took a few steps. The knee guard fit comfortably, not restricting his movements in the least. They had already noticed that all items adjusted size according to their owner.
“Want the shield?” the jock offered.
“Keep it for now.”
With the entire school yard and surrounding areas combed, only a small number of additional buildings remained: Spencer’s corner shop—from where Alex got his daily supply of muffins—and the gym. As much as the goofball would have loved to go through the shop, it was far too exposed, leaving only the other option.
The plan was simple—Jace and Helen would remain outside, while Will and Alex went through the area to place a few traps.
It was known for a fact that there were a set of mirrors in the locker rooms, with a good chance of them having wolves inside.
“Gear is lit,” the goofball said, looking at Will’s arm guard. “For real, bro. It’s just not of a set.”
“Yeah.”
“We’ll need to find a place to stash them. Would be oof, if you find some really cool loot but must throw away some gear to make place.”
Alex continued dissing the management problem of eternity’s inventory system. The point had a certain degree of merit, but Will’s mind was elsewhere. He didn’t regret turning Danny down, but he couldn’t deny feeling worried about what was to come. Not the elite on the second floor—it was only a matter of strategy to defeat him, even with the former rogue involved. The real problem was with what followed. Even if Danny had lied his head off, something about eternity terrified him. The question was, did it involve Danny alone or would everyone be affected?
“You ok, bro?”
“Huh?” Will snapped out of it. “Yeah. Was thinking about after the tutorial.”
“For real.” The other nodded. “We’ll have time to get back to Danny. Lots of paper to go through.”
No wolves appeared in the locker rooms. That was somewhat of a relief. There was a good chance that at least one of the mirrors would spawn goblins, so Alex placed a dozen mirror taps in each. Everything else seemed pretty standard—lots of sports equipment and a giant room for indoor basketball play.
To be on the safe side, a few more mirror traps were placed at every doorway. With that done, the duo returned to the entrance to pick up the rest of the group.
“All set,” Will said, looking out from the door. “You can come in,” he told Helen. “Jace, you stay here. And keep away from the door.”
“Whatever, Stoner.” The jock grunted.
Drawing his poison dagger, Will opened the door wide, letting the girl step inside.
“There are traps at every door,” Will said, leading the way. “We’ll start with the basketball court.”
“How many do you think there’ll be?”
“Probably one.”
At every step, Will’s eyes moved about the room, looking for any instance of a mirror suddenly appearing. Alex was nowhere to be seen, of course. The goofball tended to move on his own timetable, abusing his thief skills to vanish and appear as it best suited him.
“Careful,” Will said as they approached the door to the basketball court. “There’s half a dozen there.”
The floor had no indication anything had been placed there. Will knew from experience that only the person placing them retained the ability to always see them. Everyone else was a few minutes away from having their image erased from their conscient self.
The court was everything that the school wasn’t. Whether it was the city or individual sponsors, a lot had been poured into making sure that every student had the chance of excelling in their respective field. Football was king with a small shared field on the city outskirts, but basketball also got its share of investment. All hoops and backboards were of professional quality, replaced two years ago.
Will still remembered the commotion at the time. Someone had spread the rumor that they’d be adding the new transparent type, so everyone was excited for no good reason. When it turned out they weren’t, the disappointment was palpable.
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“I don’t see anything,” Helen said a few steps from the entrance. “Let’s check the lockers.”
“Hel, I need to ask you something.”
Helen looked at him with suspicion. It wasn’t lost on her that he had waited for them to be alone—or relatively alone, considering Alex—before making his move. Also, he started with a warning instead of the question itself.
“You said Danny took you hunting in the subway. How did he do that?”
“I told you. He’d gotten a permanent reward.”
Indeed, she had told him many things, though not all of them made sense.
“But you didn’t.”
There it was—the trap she had walked into without even realizing. Will didn’t feel particularly pleased about it. Despite what it appeared, his goal wasn’t to out her, but rather mentally prepare her for the revelation that Daniel was still alive. Everything suggested it was a mistake to do so, but he felt he might not get a better opportunity.
“What if I have?” she asked, walking past him towards the center of the court. “Secrets come with loops. Once you pass a thousand, things change. You can’t judge me.”
“I’m not trying to. I just think that he’s been lying to you.” He continued. “He’s been hiding things.”
“Do you think I’m stupid?” The girl snapped, briskly turning around. “Of course I knew! You have secrets. Alex has secrets. Even Jace does. Do you want me to apologize?”
“No,” Will said in a firm tone, joining her in the penalty area of the court. “I’ve been helping you way before I knew what was going on. I just want to understand a few things.”
“Like what?” the girl snapped. “That Danny was my ex? That’s my business, and I—”
HIDDEN BOSS FOUND
Purple letters shined through the basketball backboard—the one place they hadn’t been able to see when they had initially entered the room. That didn’t matter so much, because at this point the mirror had seen Helen, causing it to trigger.
“Shit!” Will grabbed Helen and leaped back just as three short spears shot out from the mirror.
Mercilessly, they struck the floor at the exact point she had been.
“Alex!” Will shouted, grabbing a throwing knife. “We need more traps!”
A roar mixed with laughter filled the room. On the mirror stuck to the backboard, a new message emerged.
SPATRA THE POISON SPEAR
(Kaleen Faction)
Victory reward: ???
The mirror’s surface shattered, and a massive figure leaped out. It was outright massive, making the dark knight they had faced several dozen loops ago look like a child.
Nine feet tall, the creature could be described as humanoid in only the most general of ways. With arms and legs as tree trunks, the elite was dressed in a combination of leather and metal armor covering his entire upper torso. Dark brown leather trousers and knee-length boots suggested that he had spent his entire existence in the wilderness, if such a concept existed in the mirror realms. Most shocking of all, the entire skin of the enemy was paper white, making the veins in his arms even more pronounced.
Purple eyes glared at Will and Helen in turn as the elite reached into the massive quiver on his back, taking hold of five more short spears. His left foot took a step back, stomping onto the floor.
A loud shattering sound followed, along with the twinkle of broken mirror fragments.
“You’re not a goblin, are you, bro?” Alex appeared twenty steps away. “I better—”
Before he could finish, the elite threw two of the spears right in the goofball’s chest.
In his mind, Will expected to see the usual message marking the unsuccessful end of the tutorial. Instead, Alex shattered into fragments.
“I knew you’d do that,” the goofball said as dozens of new versions of him appeared in the room. There was no telling which one of them was the real one. If Will had to guess, he’d probably say that none of them were. Alex had proven he was a master of deception, especially when taking things seriously.
On cue, Will leaped to the left, increasing the distance between him and Helen. If they were to fight, it would be best if they didn’t make it easy for the monster.
“How do you want to do this?” Helen raised her sword, holding it confidently with one hand.
“He can see traps,” Alex said. “So, that’s useless.”
“But he can’t see you sneak. Hide, we’ll create an open—”
Three spears flew Will’s way. Even with his current reflexes, his body felt sluggish when compared to the speed of his enemy. It was only thanks to his evasion that he managed to twist his body just enough to have the lethal weapons fly inches away from his waist and shoulder.
Unwilling to take any further chances, he leaped back away, increasing the distance between them.
KNIGHT’s BASH
Damage increased by 500%
Floor shattered
Helen’s blade struck the spot where Spatra stood. Unfortunately, his reaction speed had proved too great, allowing him to retreat just enough to avoid the blow.
The hidden boss leaned back, as he kicked Helen straight in the stomach and with such strength that it caused her to spit out a full mouth of saliva.
Gritting her teeth, the girl refused to collapse or let go of her weapon, enduring the attack that pushed her fifteen feet back.
“Got you, bro!” A new Alex appeared a step away from the enemy, instantly attempting to stab him in the side. The knife struck the boss’ armor, shattering on the spot. The fate of the knife was instantly shared by the rest of the mirror copy, which crumbled on its own accord.
Will held his breath and took advantage of the momentary distraction to throw three knives at the target. Two of them bounced off the man’s protective gear. The third one, thankfully, struck his right biceps.
Crimson red blood spilled out, made even brighter due to the skin’s whiteness. Sadly, that was all. At a ten percent chance of paralysis, there was nothing to be surprised of, but Will really wished luck had smiled on him.
“I think you should have taken the chain, bro,” several Alexes said as they charged forward.
Unimpressed, the boss avoided them like leaves in the wind. So great was his confidence that he didn’t even bother to attack them, letting them occasionally break their blades on his armor and shatter as a result.
“Are you okay, Hel?” Will asked, throwing three more daggers.
“Just catching my breath,” she replied. “What about you?”
“Perfect.”
In truth, he had just run out of special throwing knives, but he didn’t want her knowing that. The only thing that mattered right now was to stay in the fight and find a weakness he could exploit before any of them got killed.