Jay stared at the message for longer than strictly necessary. Kylar had died? The Elvish Alliance laid siege to the government sector. There wasn’t anything strange about a player falling. Kylar had gone to look after the evacuation, which happened on the other of the wall. What danger could possibly have befallen him there? Jay glanced over at Taylor Lynn, who continued manically flinging deadly spells without a care in the virtual world. She was having the time of her life.
Sometimes, it truly fell on the person who wanted something done to do it. He would wrestle command back from her if the guild weren’t down to a few dozen people. Giving away his frayed authority had been a mistake—an overreaction to heartbreak. With an internal moan of defeat, he went to speak with the Guard Captain.
The Guard Captain wielded a sword that allowed him to fling shining blades of blue energy into his enemies.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
“I hope so,” Jay said, unable to hide the glibness. “Do you need me here? Someone managed to kill Kylar inside the city.”
The NPC’s face darkened. “That’s the one we sent to check on the governor and his people?”
“Yeah.”
The silence stretched as the guard fired pinpointed slivers of destructive energy. He offered nothing further with his words, instead issuing Jay a quest directly.
Quest Offered: Kylar has gone missing on a task to see Ilra government officials’ evacuation. The Captain of the Guard asks that you determine his fate and that of the governor. Objective 1: Fate of the governor discovered. Objective 2: Fate of player “Kylar Westwing” uncovered.
Jay glanced over the quest. It seemed straightforward enough, so he accepted it. The task was what he wanted to do either way. “Do I need to undertake this alone, or can I bring some friends?”
“Bring as many people as you want,” the Captain said gravely. “We won’t be able to hold if they figure out a way through that wall.”
As if cued, the dance of the Elvish mages came to a halt. The shimmering field of magic dissipated, leaving behind a threatening message in Jay’s field of view.
System Message: Enemy guild “The Elvish Alliance” has completed a Ritual Raid Summon. A level 100 Treant has been summoned.
The monstrous creature in question stood at five times the height of any building in the city, though its size ended there. The monster was tall and skinny, lurching forward with inhuman movements. Either way, the Treant reached heights fully capable of stepping over the wall.
The strange movements were slow, but the creature moved forward. It immediately came under attack from various wall defenders, including Taylor Lynn and Lurian. Their damage output, while substantial, only managed to drain the health slowly. Each wave of attack yielded tiny fractional damage.
The resistance wouldn’t be nearly enough against a level 100 siege monster. It was one creature that Jay didn’t expect he could add to his Bestiary.
“Well, don’t wait for this thing to crush us,” the Guard Captain snapped. “Get moving and find the governor.”
Jay knew he couldn’t do anything the other guild members weren’t already trying. Traps would be utterly ineffectual; he was all out of tricks. Barring a miracle, getting the officials out safely to regroup could be the best outcome. Having no available help, he made haste down the stairs, entering the sector.
The streets of the sector waited, completely silent. Jay didn’t see anyone moving through the area, so he rushed into the city streets. The buildings were more spacious but didn’t climb nearly as high. The walls offered more protection to smaller buildings.
Jay kept his eyes peeled for signs of violence in the street. He couldn’t spot any broken windows. There weren’t any doors torn off their hinges. The first thing to catch his attention ended up being an open door. It wasn’t damaged, hanging ajar from someone forgetting to close up shop.
“Anybody there?” he asked, stepping up to the threshold. “I’m here to help you evacuate?”
No forthcoming answer reached him. Feelings of being completely silly surfaced; he knew people would have evacuated as fast as possible. Most likely, the people who owned this shop had simply rushed off to evacuate with the others. He couldn’t see any dead NPCs inside.
Jay briefly considered looking for unconscious or injured in the room but determined it was a waste of time. Even if he found people, they were unlikely to be combat-focused NPCs. They would only hinder his ultimate quest to protect the governor’s office. Moreover, he needed to figure out what happened to Kylar before it happened to the rest of the guild.
He made it two steps away before hearing the light touch of a footstep behind him. Whirling, he drew his sword in the same motion, catching a short blade with his purple sword, Purple Haze.
The attacker, utterly unfazed, pressed the assault, rapidly swinging twice at him with an ability. Jay quickly stepped backward, dodging both strikes. With extreme speed, the character lurched forward—another ability.
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Jay activated his own ability, Air Dodge, to create breathing space. With a few yards of space, he had enough time to take in the would-be assassin. The player’s name was hidden, but their other character data wasn’t hidden. Their class was Bladewalker, and they’d gained level 50—nothing particularly scary. Jay hadn’t heard of the class but drew a repeating crossbow: Wrath.
He would fight in Outlaw style. Rapid Fire had worn off long ago, so he fired the first shot, initiating the cooldown. Two seconds. The unknown player dodged out of the way, throwing a knife at Jay. Without much effort, he deflected it off his own sword.
Before Jay’s crossbow recharged, the Bladewalker threw another knife. Instead of waiting for the knife to approach Jay this time, they kicked themselves up into the air. Using the knife as a platform, the Bladewalker launched themselves forward, throwing an array of weapons at Jay.
Once the figure closed within a few feet, still in the air, Jay made his move. He simply stated, “Cuddles,” and activated his Vital Points to trigger a critical hit.
The Strogian Death squirrel fired laser beams directly into the Bladewalker’s center mass. Surprised, Jay’s assailant fumbled to the ground. Leveling his crossbow at the ground, he blasted the assassin with a critical shot at point-blank range. The kill was instant.
He quickly searched the body for loot but found none; there wasn’t even a leftover throwing knife.
Jay grunted as he stored his weapons. The presence of assassins didn’t bode well for Kylar or the governor. It was unlikely an army made it through the walls. He could believe a few assassins found a way, but he didn’t see how. Did they climb the walls? The guards would surely have noticed people slamming spikes to scale the surface.
There weren’t any tunnels that he knew of, but there could be a sewer area. Jay hadn’t trained there if it existed. Still, it was a common area for low-level players. Could the Elvish Alliance create tunnels? The giant boss on Mercura Island marked the only instance of a power like that he’d seen. He didn’t have high hopes for future conflicts if they already gained tunneling abilities.
He gritted his teeth as he weighed the choices before him.
Jay could double back, recruit a few companions, and return to finish the mission. Taking more time increased the risk that the governor’s people would die if they weren’t already dead. Kylar was already dead. The other option was to press on, undaunted by assassins, and fight his way to the teleportation circle.
Ultimately, he decided to push on, stopping only to send a message to the guild officers. He let them know about his plan to press on despite the assassins. If they were in a position to help, they would head to meet up with him, an unlikely possibility.
Jay continued on, trying to outsmart his competition. He used buildings for cover, hiding in alleyways wherever he could find one. It didn’t seem to help. A new assassin would appear out of the shadows every few streets. If he could see his own back, he expected there would be a target.
Each kill brought him new experience chunks, slowly leveling him up. Though sieges didn’t cause level loss, kills still rewarded competent players.
Finally, Jay broke. The next time an assassin struck out at him, he kicked them in the elbow, forcing the woman to drop her weapon. She lunged at him, pulling a backup weapon. Dodging to the side, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled.
Once fully disarmed, she folded her arms across her chest. The level 48 Shadow Dancer clearly expected a quick kill. When one wasn’t forthcoming, she asked, “Can I help you?”
“Do you wanna tell me how you all keep finding me?” He was quite grumpy but needed to get the conversation over quickly. The next contestant would be tracking him down in another minute or two.
“Why should I help you?” she demanded. “What are you going to do if I don’t? Throw me in jail?”
Jay frowned. The offer was tempting, but she’d be broken out in a heartbeat even if that feature existed. Then, he’d be forced to fight her all over again.
“Not likely,” he admitted. “I was hoping for a little goodwill since I bested you.”
“This isn’t an honor duel,” the Shadow Dancer pointed out, laughing in his face.
So, Jay shot her in the face.
The next assassin ended up being a little more forthcoming. Not everyone accepted the radical shift in Elvish Alliance policy. Plenty of cutthroat players wanted to win the siege and create a new Faction of Elves allied with the other major powers. Many other players, however, thought betraying their own Faction would come back to bite them. Jay hoped those people were right.
“You’re a one-of-one class,” the player explained after breaking down the different philosophies within the fractured guild. “Using an ability to track classes makes you light up like a Christmas tree. While intended to keep track of squishy targets like healers or mages on the battlefield, the ability is a firm screw you to… well, you.”
“Yeah, well,” Jay said, his aggravation coming to a head, “screw them right back.”
He activated his Beetler Wings ability and took flight. The wind rushed past him, magic lifting him into the air. Soaring to above the reach of any building, the players below him became ants. Assassins were no longer any serious risk.
Jay knew to spend the time wisely, but he spared a glance at the situation on the walls. Even from above, Jay could tell the city would soon be lost. Fighting continued below, but the Treant, still alive, had breached the wall. It was only a matter of time before the enemy took the city.
The stolen magic wings carried him swiftly to the governor’s mansion. He saw no reason to announce himself. An open window on the house's third floor easily allowed him inside.
Fighting had happened in the room where Jay landed, recently enough for there to be blood trials. Whatever NPCs fell, they had already despawned.
He searched the room and found more evidence of a battle: broken arrows, gashes in the wall, and singe marks originating from spells.
The door clicked open. To Jay’s surprise, an Elvish woman walked through the doorway. She regarded him casually, nodding as if his presence was no surprise.
She dressed in chain armor. At first, Jay expected she might be one of the governor’s guards.
“Ah, there you are,” the woman said, but she did not speak with a woman’s voice. She spoke with Lester’s voice.