MM - Chapter 74 - A DAY TO REMEMBER

Rhino’s paranoia exceeded Raine’s expectations. One contract wasn’t nearly enough to settle his nerves. In the end, it took three, each more complex than the last. The boy shook his head, “Can’t believe a contract can cut off your arm while increasing the pain high enough to actually kill. ZionLine’s system is intense. How did that make it past the devs?”

Raine couldn’t blame the boy’s reaction, his had been the same when he learned how lethal contracts could be. When he saw the first realworld corpse, killed by nothing more than a thetadrive headset with his own eyes, he was never able to look at ZionLine as a ‘game’ again. This place was just as real as any other reality, and its consequences equally deadly.

“If you’re satisfied, sign and let’s get started. If we delay any longer, Righteous might reposition their people before we catch them with their pants down,” Raine wasn’t willing to negotiate further. The deal he was giving the kid was better than he would get anywhere else.

“Alright, alright. I heard you the twelfth time. This is a big decision for me, two years is a long time,” Rhino’s lips were pulled back in an ugly cringe as he stared at his interface.

Raine was at his wits end, annoyance creeping into his tone, “Then we’ll make it a year, but I’ll cut your benefits in half.”

“No! That’s… not necessary. I’m fine the way it is. There, I signed. Happy?” Rhino winced, closing one eye and turning away as if expecting a blow.

Raine’s jaw jutted forward with a sigh and he shook his head, “Seriously?! You still thought it was a trap after all the contingencies and exit clauses we added? It doesn’t matter, you’ll understand eventually. Here, take the flag and stealth to these coordinates. Ping me when you get there. I’ll send a message when it's time to start.” 

Raine first invited Rhino to a party, then activated the flag, marking himself as the leader so it still ‘belonged’ to him before handing it over. He then used an inventory-to-inventory trade and selected over two hundred pieces of basic gear, which Rhino accepted with wide eyes and a disbelieving shake of his head.

Not waiting around, Raine dashed into the tall grass, heading toward the nearest search party. They weren’t the only ones alerted by his loud approach. Several level seven and eight Shadow Raptors perked their heads above the grass, spotting him and giving chase with warbling cries. The players shouted as well, gleefully charging his position.

Raine sprinted low, not bothering with complicated maneuvers to minimize damage as he barreled right through the center of the players’ formation. Since they were spread out, only a few managed to swipe at him as he blurred by, and only one connected. Without being affected by multiple defense weakening debuffs, the hit failed to penetrate his armor. [-1]

Confused, the players spun in an attempt to get a good look at him, “Who?”

“That’s not-Argh!” The speaker was pounced on from behind by a level eight raptor that sliced his back open.

Raine Lunged, canceling his forward momentum to spring back into the action. A shield appeared on his arm and he adjusted his swing to catch the nearest woman with a hook punch that brought its metallic edge into her jaw. The level five woman didn’t fly away, or even recoil from the hit. After receiving several times her health pool in overkill, she merely burst into a cloud that produced a pair of gloves wrapped in a bubble of gray light. Humming cheerily, Raine scooped up the loot.

The next closest player dove at him with bloodshot eyes, “Mariaaaaaaa!”

A casual sidestep sent the spear’s tip sliding harmlessly under Raine’s arm, the same arm that delivered a devastating shield blow to his face. A pair of boots joined Raine’s growing collection of donations. All but five of the thirty remaining players turned on him, fury clouding their judgement.

Their leader shouted, spittle flying from his lips, “Kill him!” Raine laughed in their faces, then turned and slowly ran toward the direction of another group he’d spotted from the air. “Groups two and four, deal with the raptors. Everyone else, after him!”

As they gave chase, the nearby search parties received intel on Raine’s location and quickly positioned themselves to surround him. Seeing them take the bait, he changed his course, heading toward the nearby town. By the time he needed to break through another group, over twenty raptors were on his tail along with several hundred players.

This time, he singled out their leader—a massively muscled middle-aged man. He was the highest leveled player Raine had seen at fourteen, and carried a massive greataxe. As Raine heedlessly charged toward the man through rank upon rank of players, a wave of undodgeable debuffs showered him.

[Negative afflictions received: Armor Down -50% (Duration 3.21 seconds)]

[Negative afflictions received: Resistance Down -50% (Duration 3.21 seconds)]

A shower of arrows and blasts flew toward him and Raine crouched, momentarily halting his momentum. He jumped with all his Potency, hurtling forward. Most of the ranged attacks whiffed and a full-power burst of bloodlust caused the melee players around him to jerk back in surprise, some even falling to their knees as unexplainable terror overwhelmed their instincts. 

Raine hadn’t left combat yet, so he still had a shield on his arm, the weight pulling him slightly to the side. The leader shrugged off the fear with a grin and repositioned himself, clearing hoping to take advantage of Raine’s supposed imbalance. 

Raine’s earlier fears of facing a powerful martial amidst an army he couldn’t counter yet became a reality. From a martial stance that Raine recognized all too well, the burly leader front-flipped forward with a burst of Discipline, turning his huge axe into a whistling cleaver powered with Slash.

Raine clicked his tongue, dipping into his precious resources to Parry the dangerous attack. An ear-cracking pang resounded as the man’s rotational force turned against him. His trajectory was jarringly altered and he flew to the side, cleaving through two players before crashing into the ground.

“General!” A concerned woman shouted, sending a ball of green light zipping through the air to heal the fallen man. 

The general was already back on his feet by the time her Mend uselessly splashed across his chest, “Fool woman! How many times have I told you to check my health before wasting your CP?” With a growl, he pointed at Raine’s retreating back, “After him! 1st and 3rd regiments, block him before he reaches town!” 

Since a regiment could contain up to five thousand players, Raine knew he had their attention. No longer limiting his speed, he tore across the plains toward Shadow Springs Town.

General? This guy is no joke. A peak class four expert, maybe even class five master. At least by today's standards. How am I not familiar with him? He’s using Torune’s techniques so he can’t be an outside professional. Who is this guy?

Marco Salvatore

 - 1st General of Righteous -

After issuing several commands, Marco punched in an Ncode and sent a message marked as urgent, then called the same recipient. She picked up on the first ring, an annoyed twist to her lips. Seeing the much younger, thin-lipped woman, Marco smiled broadly. The anticipation of claiming her caused his heart to clench and heady emotions to leak into his voice, “Wife, I’ve caught the little fly who embarrassed you so severely.”

“Don’t call me that!” Vaneese snarled, “I’m already watching your vodcast. The only thing you’ve caught is a face-full of mud.”

Marco shivered, his desire only ratcheting higher the more she resisted the inevitable, “Wife, you’ll soon learn that everything I set my eyes upon eventually becomes mine.”

“Keep dreaming, disgusting pig. Why are you even pretending to fight one of yours in the first place? You’ve already achieved your goal with this farce. Don’t tell me you betrayed him after getting what you wanted? How classic of you and master. I look forward to watching him kill you. Then, I’ll relish watching my forces finish him off.”

Utterly confused, Marco shook his head, “What nonsense are you spewing? Well, it hardly matters what fanciful ideas are rolling around in that pretty little head of yours. I’ll let it slide since you were kind enough to send your husband reinforcements. It’s nice to know you care despite your sharp tongue,” Marco’s smile was back, his legs pumping to catch up with the slippery player. 

They both knew her 5th Division was enroute. The delayed arrival of her twenty-five thousand players was the only reason they hadn’t re-distributed their forces yet after calling an end to the war. When they did arrive in a few minutes, their total on-hand players would exceed a hundred thousand: a full fifth of Righteous's borrowed manpower—from Morok The Viper. It was more than enough to snuff out one insignificant player, no matter how stubborn he might be about dying.

Vaneese’s upper lip pulled back in disgust. Unable to bear Marco’s voice, and his stubborn denials of using the mysterious disciple to betray her, she ended the call.

Raine KongRu

Over the next several minutes, Raine broke through multiple spread-out lines of players arrayed to trap him. He took a circuitous route, giving Rhino time to get in position. When he received the ping that everything was prepared, Raine angled directly toward the front gates of the town. Several thousand fighters, rangers, and casters blocked his way. More piled out from the safety of the walls with each passing second.

Eager to begin, Raine dashed straight toward their ranks. The sky darkened, filled with arrows, then it blossomed with multi-colored brilliance as the casters unleashed their salvos. There was too much incoming fire for a mere sidestep or Lunge to save him. Debuffs coated him before the attacks landed, ensuring more than enough damage would be dealt to kill him.

Raine altered his angle of approach by fifty degrees, sprinting to the side. A majority of the attacks would now miss but the players were far from done. A second wave of projectiles and spells were launched, then a third in the opposite direction, cutting off all avenues of escape. He didn't change directions again, instead flowing into a complex series of shuffle-steps that made it impossible to tell how far away he was. The fourth wave of missiles were loosed right as the second showered down around him.

Just before they struck, a spear materialized in his right hand and a brown sheen of energy flowed from the ground to slither across Raine's armor.

[Guardians Embrace - Novice: Buff an ally within 10 meters for 5 minutes. Increases Defense by 50 + 10% maximum CP (Cost: 40 CP) (Cooldown: 5 minutes)]

[Heavy Spear of Conductivity: Lustrous Blue - LVL 15 (AP +75) (DEF +15) (AS -.25) (PTC +12) (ACU +12) (PHY +12) (Durability 200/200) Innate passive - Channeled elemental damage increased by 15%)]

Due to the debuffs on him, Raine only received half the bonus Defense from his expensive skill, which was a not-insignificant 32. Unfortunately, many of the players he was facing were elites who managed to stay alive through most of the war. Any above level ten were unaffected by the law of five, meaning their damage was unmitigated by the level disparity. Even so, not many had the attributes necessary to break through Raine’s current 157 Defense.

Yet the despair of absolute numerical advantage reared its ugly head. Even doing a single point of damage, Raine was hit enough times that his health quickly dropped below fifty percent. He started counting down from five, and more damage notifications flooded his HUD which began flashing crimson. Only a quick application of Healing Burst kept him alive. [+292] 

[Healing Burst - Novice - Celestial: Lay hands upon a target to restore health equal to 200% CP. Additional 200% CP health restored over 120 seconds - stacks 3 times - each stack refreshes timer (Cost: 30 CP) (Cooldown: 60 seconds)]

Raine’s blood sang with adrenaline as the fourth deadly wave loomed high. A tall, broad-shouldered woman lowered her raised arm and the front rows of players charged. Before they met, arrows and spells crashed into the ground behind him, releasing a thunderous clatter. Raine’s repeated martial techniques threw off their aim, combined with a double Lunge, he managed to escape with only another hundred damage.

He met the charging players head-on, roaring as he dove into their ranks. Their combined warcries utterly drowned him out. He crashed into raised shields and his arm snaked out to grasp a man's face. Life Drain brought him down to sixty-one Celestial Power, killing the man and charging Raine’s health. [+292] He only had enough CP for four more uses of the skill, and the battle had yet to truly start.

The sky once more filled with enough arrows and Blasts to blot out of the sun and simultaneously birth a new one. Snarling, Raine jabbed his spear forward releasing a Rupture that popped two dozen players, clearing him a path forward. Shouts too numerous for any one to be discernible assaulted his ears as the wide gap he’d created was filled in moments. Raine dove into them, his Potency more than sufficient to throw players bodily away from him. Unfortunately, that just left them piling up, creating walls of flesh, armor, and iron he couldn’t possibly budge.

Most of the bombardment fell behind Raine, killing hundreds of players. His eyes were glued to his health. He relied solely on his peripheral vision to dodge and stab with his spear. Men and women fell like flies before him as his health rapidly ticked down. Just before the cooldown on Life Drain reached zero, Raine forced another activation of his Roulette. The cursed item’s vile lightning coursed through his veins, attempting to seize his muscles. [-102]

He swore at his foul luck when his spear was replaced by a two-handed mace. At the same moment, both Greater Werewolf’s Regeneration, and the HOT (Heal Over Time) from Healing Burst activated. [+105] Rained grumbled under his breath that at least the two canceled each other out. Then, he utilized the martial spin-step he’d stolen from SolemnRiver so long ago. His body blurred as he spun and the heavy weapon crunched through more bodies than he could count.

With his Celestial Power already low, and having yet to draw a slashing weapon for Great Divide, Raine desperately needed to balance his health below half to get the most out of his aspect’s healing. With little choice but to accelerate his plans, Raine sent the already composed message to Rhino, telling him to begin.

Idris Iselda AKA Rhino

Rhino had been holding the precious item in sweaty hands for what felt like hours as players from Righteous charged by to surround his mysterious new boss. Crouching in the tall grass, he could clearly see the innumerable ranged attacks filling the sky in the distance. Shouting and explosions rang loud in his ears while the ground beneath his feet trembled from thousands of boots. His torso was wound so tight with urgency he felt like he was going to piss himself.

When the message arrived, Rhino’s grin split his face. He slammed the butt end of the item into the ground, activating its effect.

[Flag of the Bandit King: For one hour, summons 2 bandits for every piece of sacrificed equipment. Bandit levels are equivalent to sacrificed equipment (Minimum level 5 / maximum level 15)]

Nothing happened until Rhino started unloading the two hundred plus pieces of equipment Alaric had given him. The moment the first hit the ground, it vanished and two misty apparitions formed into men in loose, linen armor. One wielded a curved shortsword and shield, the other a spear and shield. They ignored Rhino, and with a whooping shout, charged the nearest player as a dozen more bandits began to materialize behind them.

Taken off guard, the first players died in a second and others nearby called out in alarm, “W-what?! We’re under attack!”

“Where are they coming from?”

“It doesn’t matter, they’re only level five. Kill them!”

When tens of bandits turned into a hundred, the scattered members of Righteous found themselves outnumbered. Order was quickly established by one of the many nearby commanders and a hundred players turned away from the battle at the walls to engage the few bandits. 

While not full-on mercenaries with excellent gear, these bandits were nonetheless Vaaterrans, and therefore held the minimum standard of a class three martial. Boosted by attributes equivalent to a player with every attunement unlocked, they cut through the members of Righteous as easily as running through the grass. The hundred players were decimated, and their dropped loot was quickly gathered in dirty hands to spawn even more bandits.

Raine had made sure to include several pieces of level ten and fifteen gear in what he’d given Rhino. The bandits created from them were higher level, and much better equipped. They quickly took command of the others. Two in particular were created from a level fifteen Lustrous Blue breastplate. They stood head and shoulders above the others, wielding wickedly serrated glaives.

One charged into battle while the other raised his weapon high, “There’s enough shiney’s here to make us all kings! Gather the loot and get it back to the flag, boys! Let’s raise an army and show these motherless dogs what a real war looks like!”

The bandits’ return roar shook the ground, rattling the teeth in Rhino’s ear-to-ear grin.