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  “I need a shield,” Ajax said, waiting for her to allow him to access her store.

  She nodded, and in the air beside her appeared a list of her goods. He scanned through the shields. Most were for higher-level players, some were too heavy and cumbersome for his current Might level (these were more suited to Martial Warriors), and others were too small and light (suited for Poachers and Rogues).

  “Can’t find anything you like?” Matilda asked.

  He shook his head, already preparing to head to the next blacksmith. The images disappeared. “Wait a moment.” Matilda walked over to a large wooden chest and opened it. She produced a bronze-colored kite shield. “Take a look at this. I have identified it for you.”

  Ajax focused on it and the stats appeared in his mind’s eye.

  Shield of the Arrow

  +15def

  Special: +5def when facing ranged attacks

  “Not bad.” It certainly beat his old Standard Shield that only had +5 defense and no special ability. He checked his Defense stat with the shield equipped.

  DEF: 75 (Base: 20 +55 from equipment +60 against non-magical ranged attacks)

  Nice. “How much do you want for it?”

  “90 silver.”

  Ajax lowered his head. “I don’t have enough. I only have 78 silver.”

  She started putting the shield away, but stopped as another voice spoke from behind Ajax. “I’ll pay for it.”

  Ajax spun to face the new speaker. “Lillus. What are you doing? Where did you get the coin to pay for it?”

  Lillus took the shield from Matilda, dumped the coins in the blacksmith’s hand, and then passed the shield to Ajax. Kissing him on the cheek, she whispered, “You can pay me back later, sweetie.”

  He stared after the Demon Mage open mouthed as she sauntered away, watching him with a mischievous grin from over her shoulder.

  Matilda came to stand next to him. “Who the hell was that?”

  Ajax shook his head. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  CHAPTER 5

  TO WAR!

  The marshall had given the conscripts their orders.

  Quest Accepted

  Primary Objective: Attack York, a garrisoned town on the border between the Republic of Dern and the Imperium, and take it from our enemies.

  Secondary Objective: Annihilate all resistance, and interrogate then execute all prisoners. Capture local administrators alive. Do not harm the local population.

  Rewards: A Tier-2 magical item of your choosing. 850xp. 4 gold, 50 silver. Reputation with the Sinjharian Imperium +500. Reputation with the Imperial Army +500.

  Two hundred conscripts marched out toward the enemy town of York, about one third players, the rest NPCs, along with fifty NPC soldiers of the Sinjharian Imperial Army.

  They were to be led by an army captain named Cynthia—a level 8 Martial Warrior player focused on the Shield Warrior tree (which meant she could take a lot of damage and fight well with shields) and as Ajax soon learned, a humorless woman with a chip on her shoulder.

  “Pretty boy.” She pointed a pale finger at Ajax, her mouth twisted into a vicious snarl. “You will be my personal aide.”

  Ajax gulped. “Me?”

  “It’s you I’m pointing at, isn’t it?”

  “Ummm.”

  She lowered her finger. “You will bring me my meals, you will set up my tent, dig my cesspit and wash my hair when I bathe. After supper, I like to have my shoulders and feet rubbed, my corns and calluses oiled and my underwear cleaned for when I wake up.” She glared at him. “Got me?”

  Her demands left Ajax speechless.

  Lillus elbowed him in the ribs. “I think you should do what she says. She’s scary.”

  Cynthia gave the Demon Mage a cold glare. “You will help him.”

  Now it was Lillus’s turn to be left speechless.

  A quest notification appeared in Ajax’s mind’s eye.

  Quest

  Objective: Tend to Captain Cynthia’s personal hygiene and other needs. No time limited stipulated.

  Rewards: 250xp. The undying gratitude of Captain Cynthia who will undoubtedly show her appreciation for your services every moment she can. Is any other reward better than the gratitude of an officer in the Imperial armed forces?

  Hint: The answer is clearly no.

  Warning: Refusal to accept this quest will see you face summary execution for disobeying the direct orders of an officer of the Imperial Army. Such is the way of things in the Imperial armed forces. Have a nice day.

  “Great,” he muttered under his breath, and accepted the quest. Who knew how long the torment would drag on for. I’ll be nothing but an indentured servant, something better fitting an NPC. The captain was probably a nobody in the real world, and now that she had been given power, she loved to shove it in the faces of anyone under her, and yet would suck up to those above her. He had seen her type before. Back when he had worked at Floormart, packing shelves, sweeping floors and unblocking toilets.

  Suddenly, thinking of that dead-end brainless job kinda made him glad the machines had risen up and frozen the world. At least in Visaria he had a chance at becoming someone.

  Lillus accepted her quest too. Cynthia spat at their feet, then turned and strode to the front of the column, shouting for her soldiers to begin the march.

  “Well, at least we have each other.” Lillus flicked her hair over her shoulder, the tops of her pointy ears a bright pink. “But I swear, if she spits on me, I’m going to set her on fire.”

  As much as Ajax didn’t like hearing the Demon Mage speak like that about an officer of the Imperial Army, he had to agree with the sentiment. “We better stick close to her,” he said, hurrying after Captain Cynthia.

  This was going to be a long journey.

  IT TOOK THEM TEN LONG, tedious and demeaning days to reach the heavily wooded hills overlooking York, giant snow-capped mountains looming behind them. Cynthia had put both Ajax and Lillus through all levels of torment. Each night before bed, the captain had Lillus massage her shoulders while Ajax rubbed oil into her calluses and corns and picked the dirt out from under her toenails. Both had to help her bathe, dig her cesspit, clean her clothes and have a fresh pair of panties ready for her when she woke up one hour before sunrise. About the only thing they didn’t have to do was wipe her butt after she went to the toilet. Thank the One God.

  By the time the journey ended on a wooded hilltop overlooking the city, Ajax and Lillus both were ready to slit the captain’s throat in her sleep and be done with it. But he was glad he refrained from committing any violence against the captain, as it would not only end any chance of him joining the army when he reached level 6, but it would make him an outlaw and he would be hunted down and exterminated.

  When he respawened on his last life, he would have to do so in the Independent City-States, as even the Republic of Dern (a hive of scum and villainy) would not want a player who murdered an officer in cold blood, even if that player had forgotten the sins of their previous incarnation. It would set a bad precedent for their own soldiers.

  Luckily, Lillus refrained from doing anything untoward either, and contented herself at glaring at the captain’s back every time Cynthia looked away or spitting into her dinner when the captain wasn’t looking.

  Both lay prone beside Cynthia as she lay flat on a boulder and observed the city below through a pair of binoculars. “I see at least fifty soldiers on their walls,” the captain said, so Ajax could make a note of it on the paper he was writing down her observations on. “And a dozen more in the tower near the center of town.”

  She lowered the binoculars and stared into the distance. “Assuming they have half as many again for the night watch, this leaves me to conclude that our intelligence was wrong. There are more defenders here than we expected.”

  Ajax cleared his throat. “So what do we do?”

  She snorted. “We proceed with our orders, of course.”

  “Attack a well-defended town with
our ragtag band of conscripts?” Ajax was incredulous, but he kept his voice as emotionless as he could.

  “Of course.” Cynthia frowned at him.

  “Why don’t we wait until the early hours of the morning,” Lillus suggested. “I can get us through the gate with barely any noise.”

  The captain turned her frown on the Demon Mage. “How?”

  Lillus grinned. “I’m an alchemist. I know more than enough about mixing chemicals and concoctions to create all sorts of trouble. Leave it to me.”

  Cynthia drummed her armored fingers on the rock, staring down at the village with the same frown she had just used on Ajax and Lillus. “Fine. We do it your way.” She glanced back at Lillus. “But if you fail, know that I will take off your head and mount it on a wall.”

  “I won’t fail.” Lillus winked at Ajax. “My head’s too pretty to hang off a wall.”

  Ajax rolled his eyes and slid off the rock and prepared to head back to camp. He had a sudden bad feeling about this mission. What were they going to be walking into?

  I guess I’ll find out soon enough.

  BEFORE THEIR EYES, the wooden gate began to smolder, like logs burning in a fire. Lillus’s potion had done its job. Cynthia hid in the deep shadows beside Ajax as they watched the Demon Mage race back over to them. Hiding in the moonlit tree line some three hundred feet back was the rest of the Sinjharian force.

  So far, the guards on the wall hadn’t been alerted to their presence—but that would not last much longer as the gate had begun to smoke. Lillus refused to divulge what she had put in the potion, but whatever it was, it worked quickly. Maybe too quickly...

  Lillus had only just gotten to them when the gate fell apart with a loud crash. “Done,” the Demon Mage said proudly.

  Alarms sounded from the wall, and moments later bells rang from within the city. Cynthia lit her torch to give the signal to the rest of her command to attack.

  The hoard of conscripts burst from cover, the tank-spec’d Shield Martial Warriors at the front, the damage dealing classes consisting of a handful of Brutal-spec’d Martial Warriors, Rogues, Poachers (with their pets), Templar-spec’d Spiritual Warriors, followed by the Elemental Mages. Then came the two Spiritual Warrior Paladin healers who, like Ajax, had decided playing a support class was the way to go. The army was ever in short supply of healers, after all...

  Cynthia had instructed Ajax to remain at the back of the lines with the squishie DPS and the other two Paladins, but she had not made it into a formal quest, giving him room to maneuver. No way am I going to miss out on all the action. I want to fight too!

  Battles were a good source of XP, and the more of that he acquired, the sooner he could level up high enough to join the army properly. And not be treated like a lowly servant by my superior officers!

  As the lines of soldiers and conscripts ran past them, they started up a great war cry that echoed off the nearby pine-tree-covered hills. No doubt everyone in the city would hear that cry and quake in fear. More than a few players were going to lose their lives this night. Maybe their first, or maybe their last.

  Lillus grinned. “Time to start some fires.” She started toward the city, casting her magic at the defenders on the wall. Cynthia ran just ahead of them, screaming orders to her soldiers to breach the gate before the enemy could mount a proper defense and hold it.

  Ajax arrived at the clot of soldiers forcing their way through the gate and went to stand next to Lillus. The enemy must have gotten some defenders into position at the entrance, as the clash of swords and cries of the wounded began filling the air.

  Arrows began shooting down from the walls. Ajax raised his shield and tried to protect himself and Lillus as best he could, thankful his new shield had +5 added protection against missiles. The life bars of the allied conscripts filled his mind’s eye, and he readied himself to begin casting his healing spells. He had several buffs granted to him by other people in his group, but even still, he needed to watch his mana. Lillus had given him three mana potions, but he would burn through them fast when the real fighting began.

  Ajax Stoneheart

  HP: 194 (BASE: 185 +9 BLS)

  MP: 140 (BASE: 130 +10 from equipment)

  AP: 126 (BASE: 115 +5 from weapon +6 BF)

  DEF: 80 (BASE: 20 +55 from equipment +5 from BR)

  XP: 1150/2500

  Blessings and Auras currently active

  Blessing of the Lost Sun (BLS): +5% HP

  Aura of Sunlight (AOS): Regen health by 5hp every minute (on top of auto regen)

  Battle Fury (BF): Increases magical and physical damage by 5%

  Battle Resolve (BR): Increases defense by 10%

  Aura of Curse Protection (ACP): Increases curse and disease resistance by 15%

  Resist the Elements (RE): Magic and poison damage taken reduced by 15%

  One of the front ranks of Shield-spec’d Martial Warriors (judging by the high-level hit points) started taking some serious HP loss, so Ajax and one of the other healing Paladins quickly healed him up. Others began to suffer damage, some of it magical AOE (area of effect) and curse damage, and it wasn’t long before Ajax was forced to drink his first mana pot. He was about to take a mouthful when an arrow lodged into his shield, making him stagger back a step and almost drop the vial. Damn it.

  He swallowed the bitter-tasting liquid, and instantly his mana bar restored to full. Casting some more spells, he started gaining small increments of XP as the enemy began to die.

  +20xp

  +20xp

  +30xp

  +20xp

  Not bad, but obviously only enemy NPCs dying so far. Depending on their level, a player character would no doubt net far more XP than a trickle like this.

  The mob of fighters had forced their way through the gate, and already Sinjharians were appearing on the walls to pick off the archers (mostly enemy Poachers by the look of them, plus a few Steampunks).

  +20xp

  +20xp

  +20xp

  This was proceeding far quicker and easier than Ajax had expected. Perhaps they had taken the town completely off guard. It was isolated and far from the hot zones where most of the fighting between the Imperium and the Republic had taken place. But even still...

  Suddenly, he heard the unmistakable sound of horses. Glancing left, his heart leapt into his throat. Charging toward him and the rear ranks of the Sinjarians were several dozen fighters. At a quick glance at their name plates in his mind’s eye, Ajax found that at least half of them were players. They would slam into him within the next minute. I wanted to fight in the melee, I never said I wanted to face down a cavalry charge!

  “Uh oh, we’re in trouble,” Lillus said, tossing aside an empty mana pot. Turning toward the gates, she took Ajax’s arm and dragged him toward it. Most of the attackers were already inside the town, but the rest were still trying to squeeze through the narrow gap. “Why don’t they go in three at a time!” Lillus shook her head, glancing back at the charging mass of horses. “We don’t have time for this stupidity.” She pulled out an orange-colored jar, the sound of hooves near deafening.

  “What is that?” Ajax asked, suddenly afraid of her intentions.

  She grinned at him. “You better cover us both with your shield.”

  He was about to ask her why when she hurled the potion toward the approaching cavalry. Instinct took hold of him, and he lifted his shield and pulled her to him.

  A moment later came the shockwave.

  CHAPTER 6

  WHEN THINGS GO BOOM

  After the heat had washed over him came the screams. Ajax lowered his shield and stood stunned at what he saw. Bodies of both horses and characters had been tossed around like toys. One Rogue class player had lost an arm, while another player had lost both of his legs. Pools of blood, body parts, armor and weapons were strewn about.

  But some of the enemy had survived, and already they were dismounting their startled horses and gathering to attack. Some were wounded, and they seemed to lack
Spirit Mage healers to deal with their injuries. Lillus started casting her Infernal Bolts at the nearest enemy. As the man started screaming, purple-black flames licking his body, Ajax started to move.

  “Charge them before they regroup,” he roared. “Charge!”

  Lillus cried for him to wait, but he raced toward the closest enemy, a player Poacher who had just managed to stand. The female player looked unarmed, and there was no sign of her pet, but Ajax would show her no mercy. The Dernese deserved none. She opened her mouth to scream as he took her head off with his sword.

  Enemy taken by surprise

  Critical Hit

  Instakill

  +150xp

  Blood sprayed into his face, and he wiped it away and went for his next target. A gravely wounded Steampunk, probably low level considering the rags he was wearing. The man cowered before Ajax, begging for his life, begging for his companions to save him. But a red rage had taken hold of Ajax. And right then, he had no mercy. He wanted battle, to feel the digital adrenaline pumping through his digital veins. It mattered not if the lives he took were the enemy players’ last, for the Republic of Dern and all those loyal to it needed to be swept from Visaria.

  The Dernese too would kill without mercy, for why did anything matter when one never truly died? Already, their bodies in the real world were centuries old, kept in a frozen stasis, far outliving anyone who had come before.

  Ajax tore open the man’s belly, spilling his guts over his feet. The man looked down at them, seemingly uncomprehending. Then he toppled forward and died with a last pitiful moan.

  Inflicted 25 damage

  Enemy player has died

  +130xp

  Ajax searched for his next target and found three players racing toward him. Two looked like Martial Warriors, the other a Rogue, but he had no time to study them further, as they were on him. He held up his shield, blocking their attacks, muscles tense, brain screaming at him to turn tail and run. On the defensive, with no way to counter their attacks, he realized his mistake.