Aidan was considering his next move when the abrupt atmospheric change that pressed down on him cause him to halt. The slimes were far enough behind him that he could spare a moment. The sensation of your ears popping in the game wasn’t exactly the same, but was jarring enough to get your attention. The unmistakable feeling of cold air suddenly invading the warm afternoon and early evening air.

“What is that?” Aidan pushed the hood back from his forehead a bit so he could squint upward. The sky seemed to be ripping. Being a huge aficionado of literature and reading a lot of fancy words written by the fiction and science fiction dreamers over the years had prepared him for something of the strangeness that could occur in the full dive genre. Not to mention the fact that he had been forced to face the reality that death in the game was the end of everything for quite some time.

Needless to say he had seen a lot of things, heard of even more, and for the longest moment none of that mattered because the way the air seemed to be hissing and spitting back and forth like it couldn’t decide if it were a gas or a liquid left him completely baffled. Was the water in the air superheating? Was the air escaping somewhere else? Was this a weird cyclic weather pattern? It wasn’t a spell he immediately recognized, meaning that it was some sort of specialization.

In AA his class, the Order of the White, afforded him access to all the schools of magic. All proficiencies and bonuses that were available to any mage were available to him. That being said, there were plenty of ways to upgrade individual spells through continued use and specific upgrading. HIs lightning spell, for instance, was up to what the game called its ‘final’ form from repeated use and as a result of the way he used it. The game was acknowledging that, for that spell, his comprehension level for was at a very high level, if not the ‘final’ form. The introduction of a concept like ‘profound’ magic made him question whether that was really the final form of his lightning spell or not.

While his mind was digressing about the reason why this could possibly be a spell even if he didn’t recognize it, the color seemed to be bleeding out near the center of the phenomenon. All these thoughts passed through his head at a high speed. The thing in the sky had only been there for a few moments when it seemed to solidify.

“Spatial distortion?” Aidan began laughing despite himself. Was this what the game thought space being distorted looked like? He’d always read different descriptions in the books and seen different ideas of what it looked like in animes and popular movies but--

His delight and curiosity faded abruptly as something ejected itself. Three somethings. Volley. This was a high level spatial distorting volley spell. The three objects moved so fast that they turned from some sort of round object into spiked cones. The center of the mass seemingly contained more inertia than the outer part, causing it to move slightly outward -- creating the spikey points that were pointed directly at him.

“Balls.” He muttered even as he jumped backward. The shapes slammed into the ground. He winced even as he realized from the little Pyoh noises behind him that his jump backward had put him closer to the slimes that were following him. He started to move forward again when he noticed that the thing in the sky stopped pointing directly at him and started to point in front of him. A cold chill fled from the base of his spine to the bottom of his skull. The stupid spatial distortion volley thing was predicting where he would be if he continued upon his current movement pattern.

“No problem. I’ll just keep my eyes up toward that thing, move in weird directions away from the slimes, and also try to keep track of the slimes that are multiplying behind me…” Aidan laughed bitterly and briefly considered letting Tenebrim kill him so he would be sent back to the closest Cathedral.

“Not that the Cathedral is necessarily safe…” The notifications had been somewhat unspecific on what areas were off-limits to the Rebel/Imperial conflict.

Aidan ran forward and then jumped to the left, eyes up even as he considered the dilemma. Slowly a smile crept across his face. He’d had… a somewhat interesting idea. The smile on his face started to lose traction as he struggled to keep it. The mind numbing sense of apathy that swamped him sometimes tried to gain a footing. This was just so unimportant.

Focus… don’t lose this moment…

⇿⇿⇿⇿⇿

Tenebrim watched the other mage continue to cast volley and future prediction. Future prediction, Tenebrim decided, must be a further function of mage eye or some similar targeting ability. It seemed somewhat useful for range artillery spells, but at the same time it left the plain looking murder mage horrifyingly bored. Tenebrim watched the street and struggled not to join in the violence that seemed to be spreading to every corner of the city. The buildings in this residential area were one story high for the most part, with the rare shop or building that had a second story attached. This must have been an area created by a beginner architecture guild, a safe place to give much needed shelter without the requirements being too stringent. Truthfully, it was kind of nice. There was something that reminded Tenebrim vaguely of a pleasant New Zealand villa.

“[Sever]!”

“[High-Counter Rapid Reply].”

“[Recovery].”

“[Counter - Recovery]!’

Tenebrim scowled. Yeah, it was a nice little quiet suburb except for the screaming, explosions, and cries of victory and defeat…

“[Volley], [Calculate Future Response], [Volley], [Volley], [Calculate Future Response],” Roger continued to drone on in his monotone voice, calling out skill names with a methodical precision that would have done a robot proud. If not for the excited gleam in his eyes and the half-smile, a sneer really, on his face, Tenebrim would have thought that he was a Resident.

Tenebrim felt his mood falling. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He never should have brought Roger. That Mordred had assured him that Roger would be vital in the subjugation of Aidan. Tenebrim had been skeptical of the use of Roger but had taken him in order to mollify Mordred. It wasn’t like Tenebrim couldn’t just kill Roger if he got too annoying after all, right?

This though, this was just… depressing. Tenebrim felt his shoulders begin to slump as he watched the glorified button pusher hounding the wizard that was probably the closest to the pinnacle that Tenebrim had ever had the pleasure of meeting.

There was only one thing that stayed Tenebrim from just walking over and putting a hand on Roger’s shoulder and melting him into the ground. The slightest hope that Aidan wouldn’t disappoint. This can’t be it, can it? Why does everyone speak of you in such reverent tones? Why do the monsters all agree that they would rather avoid you? This can’t be it, can it? If it is… just… let this peon end your reign.

“Yeah, get him…” Tenebrim deadpanned. “Squash that bug. Get that wizard. Woo. Go team. You’re the best Roger! Women love you, men want to be you. Roger the mighty, he’s very fighty…”

Roger spared him a strange look as Tenebrim continued his dispassionate cheerleading. “You could, uhh, go after him if you wanted? This is taking longer than I thought it would. I thought maybe he’d start trying to outrange us by now but it almost seems like he’s just doing loops with no real goal.”

“I’ll just wait here Roggie,” Tenebrim sighed. He once again turned his attention to the street, surprised to find that there was a mage with a spear trying to fend off a fighter with a maul. Maybe the mage was out of mana? That seemed unlikely since basic wizardry and balance meant that it was very hard to run out of mana unless an ultimate move was used. Had the fighter used some sort of special skill that silenced or made the mage otherwise incapable of fighting him? Tenebrim felt his curiosity starting to turn toward the fight when Roger’s snarl brought him back around.

“W-where?” Roger muttered.

Tenebrim looked back at his map which he was leaving open for Roger, blankly expecting to see the dot had disappeared or something equally boring. If the dot had disappeared then it meant that Aidan had been killed or forcefully logged or something. It was likely that Roger had just managed to kill him with a lucky volley and the suddenness had surprised him.

Tenebrim’s eyes narrowed as he realized that was… absolutely not what happened. The entire map was died in the color of red. Because the interface was covered in a crimson film the dot that denoted the location of the enemy wizard couldn’t be picked out.

He scratched his head and closed the map. He re-opened it and noted that the red over the map overlay persisted.

“I just opened my map, same thing…” Roger said as Tenebrim was turning to him to ask for him to do that very thing.

“Some sort of confusion tactic or ability? A one time item? An effect?” Tenebrim felt his attention beginning to sharpen. This is it… the counter attack. The turn around. Tenebrim noted that his little babies were still following their quarry, so he was still here somewhere.

“[Multiply - Amorphous Shot],” Tenebrim said casually, the brief excitement reminding him to increase the number of slimes. By now there were approximately twenty seven of his little cutieslimes bouncing after Aidan.

“How is he doing it?” Roger muttered.

Tenebrim rolled his eyes. “Why is he doing it? If he was setting up some sort of tactic to kill us it would be better to surprise us with it. Doing it this way is just--”

Roger’s eyes widened as he stared behind Tenebrim. Tenebrim was standing in front of the back wall of the inside of the building, facing the front. The horrified look caused Tenebrim to spin around and see what his companion was so worked up about. The wall was melting inwardly with a horrifying rate.

Ah, we should have relocated… Tenebrim thought sourly. “[Switch Position - Roger]”

“W-wha--” Roger was still stuttering when he found himself in front of the wall that just finished disintegrating. Because he was facing a different direction he was turning around to look when the field that was melting the surrounding structure hit him. He grunted and started to move backward but the field was faster. At the center of the field Aidan stepped through the opening in the wall with a smile and an outstretch of arms.

Tenebrim watched grimly. This was one of the signature spells of the Order of the White, something to do with matter reorgnization. The idea was it took things from the surroundings and forcefully converted it into mana. The reality was that while Aidan couldn’t move very fast, no more than a walk really, he was a walking disintegration field. When he had seen the footage Tenebrim had idly wondered if it would work in a pvp setting. The answer, it seemed, was a resounding ‘oh god, oh god, yes it did’.

“Tenebrim you pri--.” Roger wasn’t moving fast enough, still not having recovered from being forcefully swapped. The displeasure on his face melted, literally -- he just freaking melted into nothing.

Aidan continued toward Tenebrim with a smile, like he wanted to hug him.

There was a small part of Tenebrim that wanted to step forward and embrace him in turn. Really, thank goodness for you Aidan! I couldn’t stand that little toad!

“Tenebrim! Let’s wrap this up, I’ve got places to be! This is the part where you say something weirdo and step out into the street and die horribly!” Aidan laughed. The field was starting to shrink around his body but he continued to step forward toward him.

“Hi! Hello again!” Tenebrim laughed. He started stepping backward. It was useless to speculate whether or not Aidan was playing some sort of mind game or not. He couldn’t switch position with anyone for at least ten minutes, and even then he’d only brought Roger with him. The switch spell would only work with partied members within ten meters. “I’m impressed! There aren’t many spells that can be utilized with such high efficacy!”

“I’m glad you’re amused…” Aidan’s smile lost some of its vibrancy.

With a start, Tenebrim recognized the expression. Boredom. He frowned and looked behind him, casually taking the surroundings in to see if there was any veracity to the claim that he’d be dead the moment he stepped out. Tenebrim only saw his slimes bouncing in from the sides of the street on either end to his right and left.

“I hope your plan wasn’t to mob me with my own slimes?” Tenebrim said, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. “They’re my spell! Even if they do an aoe it doesn’t hurt me at all! So I’d like it if you got that uninterested expression off your face so we can get back to killing each other!”

Aidan just half-smiled at him and raised his staff. “[One].”

Lightning streaked through the open doorway and slammed into the wall behind where Tenebrim had been standing moments before.

“[Splash!],” Tenebrim cried, drenching the doorway with an acid cloud that would expand in all directions Already the gas was seeping into the building. Aidan would have to step through it to get into the street. Which, Tenebrim blinked rapidly with surprise, he did.

Aidan’s field devoured the acid cloud even as it itself shrank and shrank. Aidan stepped into the street just as the effect ended. It had been somewhat outside Tenebrim’s expectation that the field would just freaking eat his spell, but it wasn’t a big deal.

This is what I wanted. Come on! COME ON!

“Goodbye Tenebrim,” Aidan smiled knowingly and simply raised his staff. “[One].”

The lightning flashed out at Tenebrim as he threw himself to the left and out of the way. The lightning was a pain in the butt and would shave his health significantly, but it was the type of spell you used on monsters. Admittedly, Tenebrim grudgingly acknowledged, the disintegration field trick had been a good one but it was a one time use.

“How did you do the map?” Tenebrim asked as he raised his staff. “[Sink].”

The terrain on the street in front of him immediately turned from stone and sand and cobblestone to liquid. Aidan was immediately caught up to his ankles, looking down with a sort of disgusted disinterest. “Job. I’m a Graphics Designer. I just put an image of a red overlay above our heads.”

Tenebrim paused. “What?” The sky was a beautiful bright blue.

“It’s transparent from this side. Like a one-way mirror. If you were above the pane it would look red from above. Since the maps are generated from a bird’s eye view in real time it was easy to mask the map.” Aidan lowered his staff.

“Amazing,” Tenebrim praised. Trully. He eyed the staff at Aidan’s side. “Surrender?” The tone of his voice was suggesting he really hoped that wasn’t the case.

“You’d have to ask someone else.” Aidan smiled and gestured behind Tenebrim.

Tenebrim wasn’t a novice and just laughed. The only thing behind him he could hear were the sounds of Pyoh as his slimes closed in on their position. He could see them approaching from behind Aidan where they were coming in through the demolished wall and from the other side of the street as well. People were pressing forward from behind Aidan, herded forward in a leery attempt to get ahead of the--

Aidan’s smile was still slight on his face even as he watched realization appear on Tenebrim’s face. “Got it now, huh?” He asked quietly.

Tenebrim turned around now and immediately lifted his staff horizontally to block an overhead smash. The maul rang against the handle of his staff with a loud shrill impact noise. Tenebrim grunted and snarled, backing up to cast a spell at the woman that was pressing into him. He hesitated because of all the red. Her name was red, like Aidan’s. She was Imperial. Truthfully, all fifteen people behind the woman that were being pressed toward him because of their fear of his slimes… were all Imperial.

“I like where your head was at, Tenebrim. But this was never just about you and me was it?” Aidan took a step forward, slogging through the calf deep swamp spell he was mired in. He was just moving forward enough to keep out of the range of the slimes. Casually pulling in the group of slimes that were chasing him and forcing every other hostile Transient on the street into their little crowded ally.

“Don’t be a coward Aida--!”

“Everyone! That mage is casting the slime spells!” Aidan pointed at Tenebrim. Pointlessly because everyone had mostly figured out that Tenebrim was the source of the slimes that were slowly herding them forward.

“I AM TENEBRIM! FIGHT ME IF YOU DARE!” Tenebrim howled. He raised his staff

“You backed them into a corner… what did you expect? One on one duels? Didn’t you get the notifications? This is war… and I should think… you’re worth quite a lot of contribution, with how famous you think you are…”

Tenebrim spun around even as the names moved in on him. He was confident he could fight his way out of here even if there were upwards of … twenty? Thirty? Tenebrim looked over and felt a bit of concern. Fine!

Take some of them with you. You can get Aidan later…

Tenebrim raised his hand to cast an acid cloud with a grin. “[Splash].”

I’m well equipped for the bigger groups anyway.

The spell didn’t activate.

Tenebrim frowned and looked at his staff in a comical fashion. He felt foolish the minute he did it. It wasn’t the fault of the weapon. The woman with the maul had afflicted him with some ability he’d not been prepared for.

-----------------------

Spell Fizzle - Ability (2 charges)

When struck with this Mage Killer ability the next two spells of the afflicted will fail with an 80% possibility! May only be used twice a day.

-----------------------

Tenebrim laughed. He was the second of the day for this woman. He supposed he should feel honored… she viewed him with the same importance as some no name mage…

“Why?” Tenebrim shouted.

The press of bodies was intense now as spells and abilities started to slam into him. Everyone was desperate to kill him before the slimes started hurting them.

“Because this is a children’s game…”

Tenebrim could barely hear the reply. Then it didn’t matter because the player took off his dive gear in frustration in the real world, feeling cheated at the words that were left on the black screen a moment later.

[Tenebrim has died].

⇌⇌⇌⇌⇌

Aidan watched as the vultures descended. He’d never had any intention of fighting Tenebrim fairly. It had just been more expedient to kill him rather than worry about the ordinary looking murder mage dogging him every step of his journey with his weirdo artillery strike mage support.

You don’t get it, Tenebrim. I could barely focus on you. You wanted this so bad. To me? This… is just a chore. How could I take you seriously like you wanted me to? My bad man, my bad.