Stabbing creatures was excruciating with one arm barely functional. I tried to use the trick Shazam had taught me to get an arm back into the socket. The failure cost me health each time. Try number three popped up a message as game mechanics resulted in success.

Rearming yourself the wrong way?

Total Health Remaining: 30%

“Nngh,” I grunted while flexing fingers slowly. [Morrigu’s Echo] would be easier to wield now. Shoving a blade into [Charge]’s eyeball with the limb out of joint had hurt intensely.

My monster ending spree didn’t stop with the boss. There were other [Heavenly Body Clone]s that were even now falling down. Some piled up together. Luckily [Undying] was subject to the whims of [Gravity]. Their bodies cast of a small amount of illumination, but most of it came from the now dead [Charge]. [Dipped in Starlight] allowed me to finish more off.

“Well,” Viper said dryly after a glance in my direction. “That’ss that. Now we have to esscape.”

“If you’re full of loot, we need to survive and get back topside,” I said with an exhausted sigh.

There were items, but none of them looked interesting at this point. Continue Online didn’t really operate by a magic scroll dropping system so I couldn’t just dig through endless bodies and come up with a ring of stupidity plus seven. Viper seemed to have some system so I settled for re-deading these undead creatures.

“Hurry up,” I said after making sure two more [Heavenly Body Clone]s stopped moving. They were falling down and creating an ever heightening pile.

Briefly, my eyes trailed a path upwards. Could we just let them stack up and then walk back off the ledge? No, that would take thousands of monsters, plus risk our loot. The idea was proof of my exhaustion.

One hand waved at the system menu to pull up a clock. Nearly four AM, sunlight wouldn’t happen this early anyway. Four days in-game was twenty-four hours of awareness. I needed sleep, food, and sunlight.

“Almosst. All thiss is good for uss.” Viper said while gathering up loot. “Pluss, now I know ssecretss to thiss dungeon.”

“Reckless disregard for personal safety?” I quipped before feeling flushed. Well rested Grant would never say such a thing.

“Yess. And moving fasst. I’m ssure other convictss would pay me a hundred pointss at leasst.” He shrugged then moved to the giant pile of bodies that kept increasing.

Selling information about a dungeon wasn’t my style. My life was more about moving from one destination to the next. If Xin’s jailbreak didn’t happen, I could easily do boss runs instead. Maybe. This one would have been impossible to solo. We were lucky Dusk’s pest control served well as a third member.

Pinging the area showed Android Seven far above. Big-O’s group was nowhere near us. There were marks on the wall where the larger creature had clawed. Even this entire pit we sat in looked like it had been widened out at the base.

My foot tapped the ground. This flooring felt far sturdier than the dirt and rock walls. Was there a paneling here or something housed down below? Had [Charge] really liked to dig so much he hit a zone boundary for Continue Online?

[Morrigu’s Gift] stabbed at the hard surface a few times but the floor didn’t even scratch. This might be a mystery for another person with the luxury of time. I turned to Viper and said, “We need to go quickly before other players can respawn and get in our way.”

“I’m full on loot, forty-six cores, the essence stone is getting heavy too. Any more and movement will be difficult.” Viper nodded. I glanced over and saw him holding a little crystal near the dead bodies. Sparks of energy jumped between the deceased and his small item. I really didn’t live the life of a normal adventurer, so cores, essence stones, dungeon crawling loot was beyond me.

I shook my head. There were boxes waiting for my attention telling me about our boss fight results. Based on battle contribution and the fact that we were both still alive, I had gained about two hundred points. The box got waved away.

Dusk crawled down a wall carefully. He snuck over to a crevice nearby. His face poked through and let out a happy murmur of noise before vanishing.

“Watch for Android Seven,” I said to Viper while pressing a hand to my head. [Dipped in Starlight]’s status message flickered while my body felt heated.

Dusk turned and squawked. I faded out briefly while staring at Viper. The man managed to look up while barely tilting his head. Eyes bugged out a little and Viper’s body bowed. Then he shook and returned to a normal posture.

I pretended not to have been staring, in hopes that [Act: Straight Face] might keep me from looking disturbed. The crevice pass way led to a steep ramp upwards. My ball of fire showed fairly solid walls, but our path was narrow. Dusk was small and wiggly enough to not be thwarted.

One arm felt distorted and kept getting stuck. Viper grumbled a bit. I tried to use [Blink] to get further up the walkway. The system happily told me no.

Warning!

Self-preservation has disallowed this action. Further attempts to meld your arm with a wall will result in damage.

“So, what are you in prison for?” I asked Viper as we crept our way upwards. Each step ached and my fingers were barely responsive.

“Bodyguard. A player bribed me with two hundred gold to let him in for a ssecret meeting. Then killed a persson. Who knew letting NPCss die had conssequencess?” Viper said from behind me. He moved slower than I. “Ended up with a thousand pointss to work off.”

That explained why he seemed fairly calm working with me. Bodyguards probably had all sorts of quests to interact with questionable people. It would only be a matter of doing the job and getting paid.

Our path kept going upwards. My ankles hurt. Knees buckled and my damaged arm failed to prevent a spill. Viper got caught in the slip as we dropped a dozen steps. He hissed at me but said nothing.

“Lucky.” I dusted off while trying to ignore the glowing white to my skin. [Dipped in Starlight] still flashed. Barks from half broken [Heavenly Body Clone]s were echoing far below us.

We traveled another twenty feet before Viper asked, “How many criminal pointss did you get sstuck with?”

“Seven thousand.” We were almost level with [Charge]'s floor. Our path tilted up unceasingly. I lifted the fireball and winced as my weight shifted. Light bounded up the hallway.

Viper hissed a low tone. He settled on saying, “That will take ssome time.”

“Maybe,” I said.

“Ah. It’ss time for my flight. The car iss here.” The man said.

My upward climb halted. Turning to look at Viper didn’t reveal much in the way of expression. He never seemed to have much positive or negative tone. Everything felt almost passively ‘obsserved’. Even now he looked barely annoyed at the idea of leaving his character behind.

“I should take a break too. Have a safe flight.” I tried to sound professional and polite but couldn’t feel much of anything.

Continue Online’s reality as I logged out from the ARC. Dizziness hit as I stood. Lingering sensations from Hermes made walking hard. I inched towards the kitchen while clutching the wall. Everything in my two room home felt too open. Still, I might have claustrophobia by later today. Four mental days in a cave system couldn’t be helpful.

Food went down without thought about taste. Two glasses of water were gulped as I tried to focus. It was too early for coffee. Middle age ruined my ability to pull all night sessions.

Only one goal mattered right now, escaping with Viper and our points. An hour, maybe more of awareness would get me through. Afterward, I could give into the exhaustion threatening to drown my mind in unconsciousness.

I logged back in and felt immediately depressed. Our characters were standing in front of a dead end. My eyes closed briefly and time seemed to skip. It was too late for such nonsense. Another message sat off to the side flashing for attention.

[Convict Brand: Docile Binding] activated!

This function of the [Convict Brand] will slowly reduce Traveler abilities and stats. Complete restriction of abilities will occur in twelve hours. Docile Binding can only be initiated through an approved user of the [Brand Anchor].

“Oh no.” I groaned. We had under two hours to make it to the surface. Would my abilities shut off as well? This was not neat at all! “Dusk? Can you be unsummoned or something?”

The little guy, who I still thought of as tiny despite his larger size, chirped a few times then did a circle. There was no message box above his head that might help.

Walls rattled. Dirt fell from above and crumbs got into my hair. Something could be heard digging at the wall nearby. My small [Messenger’s Pet] hissed in unison with Viper. Both were upset. Their echo made me turn around to stare at them.

I looked around then quickly pinged the area with [Sight of Mercari]. Players weren’t near us, so that left [Heavenly Body Clone]s trying to dig tunnels to us.

Dusk had fireballs. I had [Blink] and sharpness of shape shifting objects. Too bad I was exhausted. The disorientation of [Blink] and [Awareness Heightening] would probably make me pass out if used excessively. Sure they were overpowered, but only if I was rested in real life. Running this character now was like a high powered car in a drunk’s hands.

I took a breath and looked upwards. The ceiling was a mixed sort of dirt. The walls kept flaking off and scraping could be heard. Muffled barks of noise could be heard both in the walls and behind us. If monsters could dig through to me, maybe we could mine a path out.

Both eyes closed as I pinged again. Wyl was close. Other players were too, probably brought back to base by the [Convict Brand]. At least six people had respawned recently, but the names didn’t line up.

“Dusk, can we, get back to Wyl from here?” Dusk knew who Wyl was. We had spent hours talking to the man during the William Carver era.

Dusk stared up at me with his head tilted. Tiny claws started tearing away at the wall. Dirt gathered behind us rapidly. I reformed [Morrigu’s Gift] and [Morrigu’s Echo] into pickaxes and swung them in both hands. There was no finesse to my efforts. My actions might have been the flailing of a confused child. Still, [Brawn] and [Coordination] kept me moving forward through earthen walls.

“Why didn’t we do this before?” I asked.

The wall tore apart in chunks under our combined effort. Dusk squawked as larger pieces hit me, then he hissed with annoyance. I didn’t have the brainpower to do much besides keep swinging. Rocks echoed with noise.

My head felt heavy and breathing was a struggle. Maybe dizziness hit me from a lack of virtual oxygen. Our steep climb took a toll, such that even Viper seemed to lack color. Or it was his autopilot being literally dull. I hammered away and tried not to grumble or huff. I couldn’t tell how much progress we were making without a ball of fire.

Walls below us started to crumble. Hands from [Heavenly Body Clone]s could barely be seen wiggling through the dirt. Viper stabbed some of them. There were other noises in the distance. Sounds like power lines overcharging. A flash of blue poured into the monster’s freshly made hole, illuminating the darkness. Android Seven and his weird blue laser beams were completely insane. His dot sat at least three floors down. Fighting him again might be neat, from an objective standpoint, but deadly. The challenge of fighting another player didn’t outweigh survival.

Dusk and I needed to get Viper and his stock of loot to freedom. More chunks fell away while I grew dizzier. Exhaustion messages came up. Breathing came slower. Air felt heavy.

I swung again and prayed that we were getting closer. [Convict Brand: Docile Binding] drained me slowly. Physical abilities being constrained made it harder to swing. Dusk started making more progress than I.

Monsters behind us had started to arrive in droves by tearing apart the wall and wading through our dirty leavings. Viper fought a few off. There would be no fighting them in my condition, not anymore.

Lifting chest muscles burned. [Morrigu’s Echo] went under my belt. Both hands gripped [Morrigu’s Gift] and swung. We lasted another four minutes while burying a pile of [Heavenly Body Clone]s behind us.

My vision blurred. Every swing required three rapid breaths. I felt sharp nails dig at my heel. Dusk chirped in urgency at his tunnel. I tried to bend down and look but ended up falling instead. Pain radiated up a captured leg.

There was a clear line of sight through to freedom. The narrow hole couldn’t be much larger than Dusk was. He had broken through, though, three feet of dirt between us and the initial stairwell out.

“Shit.” I huffed and tried to understand while Viper’s autopilot hissed. “Viper, put your hand through! I’ll pull!” [Blink] went off and I appeared in the barely visible pathway. My head swam and heartbeat stuttered.

Hugged the wall wrong

Total Health Remaining: 25%

I got back down on my knees and saw fingers poking through the hole. Dusk was on the open side trying to dig our small escape way out. Starlight dripped from the walls in large quantities, bleeding around the hole my [Messenger’s Pet] made. I briefly wondered why we hadn’t dug through veins of liquid on the other side, but there was no time to figure out these mechanics. The [Abyss of Light] clearly had secrets.

[Brawn] was below half but that was more than enough. I got a firm grip on Viper’s arm then pulled. Dirt ground along smoothed features and the man’s health bar dropped. Shoulders looked disjointed but somehow he contorted into a thin shape. His face never looked more like a snake's.

His autopilot hissed on the way through then stood up and started running uphill. The face of a [Heavenly Body Clone] came through just behind him. I stabbed the monster with [Morrigu’s Gift], silencing its barks. [Dipped in Starlight] flashed again.

Viper shuffled ahead with one possibly broken leg. Dusk tossed a few balls of fire at the dirt, doing more harm to the dirt than my latest victim. I pinged the area again with [Sight of Mercari].

Big-O and his trio were up with Wyl. Android Seven behind us but getting closer. He had to be near the entry path. The Traveler would be in for a surprise upon seeing all these [Heavenly Body Clone]s. Electrical hums echoed down the hall.

Legs refused to run and my head dragged. Exhaustion pulled at me. I gave a halfhearted toss of [Morrigu’s Echo] into the latest creature chasing after us. It pierced through and distracted a train of monsters for a moment. I [Recall]ed then tossed my spear formed weapon again, and again. Five throws and [Morrigu’s Echo] no longer had enough durability to risk another [Recall].

We were so close to freedom. Liquid starlight started to fade in favor of actual sun. The dull scent of dirt and undead monsters mixed with flowers. I remembered that smell. Alyssum, tiny little flowers with a sweet fragrance. I got them for Xin all the time. That thought was delirium.

I stepped out of the dungeon and was blinded by the fresh light. An abrupt pressure on my hands resulted in both arms being locked together in a restraining grasp. My body fell forward and Dusk made an odd noise. Both eyes closed and I almost dropped into unconsciousness.

Continue Online felt distant. The ARC connection dimmed as my consciousness shut down. There were no boxes telling me we were in a safe zone for convicts, though.

“What?” I mumbled.

“Two more. They don’t look like our man.” An unknown voice said. Strong arms lifted me from the ground. Viper had been cuffed and Dusk ran around anxiously. “One’s got a pet, tamer maybe.”

We came into the square where our caravan first set down. Four weird ox giraffes were dead. The guards who sat up top with arrows were no longer at their posts. A man nearby screamed and it felt like an alarm clock going off. I tried to wake up enough to give everything a good look.

[Arcadia] seemed to tilt sideways as I tried to reconcile everything. This was not neat. There were three players still alive. The guards who carried crossbows were dead and lying on the ground. People that didn’t belong to our convict caravan had Wyl and Knight Middleton hostage.

“Who’s this?” A huge man stepped forward. Scars rippled across the figure’s body. “Another prisoner? Kill him and continue to wait for Android Seven.”

“Bounty can’t be worth all this, what, seven players, fifteen stupid NPCs?” One of the figures whispered.

I felt too Voices damned tired to deal with this. Virtual statistics couldn’t cure my physical exhaustion in reality. My mouth opened in a wide yawn. This jailbreak wasn’t even for me, based on the few lines of conversation so far.

“Android Seven is down below. If I lead you to him, can you let us go?” I said after a deep breath of fresh air. My own worlds came out as a slur. Nearly four game days and being awake for over thirty hours straight counted against me.

“He said something about finding our bounty.” The man holding me said.

“No need. These convict train gangs always work the same way. He’s bound to this place.” A large ogre of a man stepped over a dead body in our direction. “We can farm the whole lot of them for easy experience, take the loot, anything else of value. Kill him, kill the remaining guards, and Android Seven will come out eventually.”

Wyl looked upset. The Traveler holding Wyl had long pink hair. He swept to the side and brought up a glowing hand. I had to try and help but the world swam. My eyes settled on the broken pillar of light that both guards had once stood in. Solid chunks sat on the ground. I tried to understand how light could turn solid, but maybe I had been mistaken the whole time.

Eyes closed once then opened slowly. [Blink] failed the three times in rapid succession. Boxes appeared. Neck muscles jerked while I tried to shake awareness into my head.

This just wasn’t my week. Luckily I could hear the solution coming in behind us. A body flashed into being as one of the other convicts resurrected. The timing worked out perfectly.

“Dusk!” I shouted. “Help Wyl!”

Dusk launched a ball of fire straight into the pink haired Traveler's back. Health dropped and his hair caught on fire. The former guard captain looked surprised but fell forward with a skilled tumble. In the span of three seconds, Wyl had broken loose, stolen another Traveler's sword, and proceeded to stab someone in the back.

“Kill them all!” The giant Traveler said. Viper’s autopilot slipped an arm loose. I managed to initialize [Blink] on the fourth try and tumbled.

Others moved and I could barely keep tabs on anyone. My normal skills at group dances plus Shazam’s training would have helped predict people’s movements, but sleepiness won. For now, I only need to get away from the dungeon doorway. Barks could clearly be heard.

Viper and I both were magnets for monsters from the dungeon. I managed to get my two handed version of [Morrigu’s Gift] out and swung at one of the Travelers. Big-O was attacking someone while another random convict died. This madness would only get worse once the undead breeched.

“Wyl! Run!” The guard's head snapped up with awareness I couldn’t manage. “Follow Dusk!”

Wyl looked troubled and stared briefly towards another body. I followed his gaze while staggering under a heavy blow from the larger Traveler. Knight Middleton lay upon the ground, his health bar empty.

Heavy hammering hit my giant sword again. I grunted, then twisted my foot against the ground. The toga rippled and flexed. Metal clunked together rapidly then a helmet slammed with a clink. [Power Armor] was in place. The next blow dented my side but was too late for a gutting blow.

Barks came forth from the [Abyss of Light]’s doorway. Everyone’s heads turned in unison to look at the monsters pouring out. A small wave of legless [Heavenly Body Clone]s came first. One player stood his ground and started hacking away.

Then the [Undying] versions started arriving. Small spiders scuttled along the doorway followed by undead [Coo-Coo Rill]s. I could hear the [Messenger’s Pet] happy chirp which made me shout orders.

“Viper! Dump the bodies or we’re all dead! Dusk, no cupcakes if you get distracted!” I yelled. Speaking through exhaustion made me feel barky myself. All those monsters pouring out had parts of my mind reacting but awareness itself seemed distant. Being slammed by a blade while in a tin suit didn’t help.

“Oh don’t worry!” Another voice yelled from the crowd of emerging bodies. “I don’t take kindly to people hunting me down! You can all just die! And I’ll be taking those bodies too!”

Android Seven stood in the doorway with an army of undead flowing around him. His arm held up charging another bolt of blue. It was aimed in my direction. For a moment, I stared at the blue light and contemplated checking out completely from Continue for the night.

Gutted stats, sleepiness, low health. I couldn’t sit around here and deal with brawling nonsense. My teammate's autopilot started pouring bodies out into a pile adding to the chaos. Another respawning Traveler appeared with a flash of light and promptly started screaming like a girl seeing two rotting ponies humping each other.

[Blink] failed again and I was left stumbling to the right. Blue energy flashed across then slammed into the brute who had been hammering on my two handed [Morrigu’s Gift]. A woman stood on top of the wooden barricade that a crossbowman had been standing on. She looked to be reading a scroll while facing Wyl.

I ran towards her. [Morrigu’s Echo] didn’t have enough durability for a [Recall]. [Blink] triggered on the third attempt and a full blown headache started. My body tumbled into the female. Messages flashed across and I waved them away while readying my blade.

Armor clinked as I rolled to my feet. My character’s stats were almost back to day one level, but I could still right myself. Each step forward must have been terrifying to her. This [Power Armor] should be littered with glowing blood from [Heavenly Body Clone]s. My two handed sword sat comfortably in one hand, betrayed [Brawn] I didn’t have right now. All the gear was nearly black as night.

“Not me! Don’t kill me!” The woman shouted while throwing up both hands. “I was just paid to break the pillar!”

“You tried to kill my friend,” I mumbled at her. Wyl was an NPC, they didn’t grow on trees or respawn instantly. They weren’t like monsters from some vague dungeon. When it came down to player versus digital comrade, one of them would survive a deathblow.

Barks overpowered the area. I kept stomping forward. Wood creaked beneath my feet. People nearby screamed as convicts and free Travelers alike were overrun.

“It’s just a job! They haven’t even paid me my share of the money yet!” She kicked away from me. Her weapon fell over the edge.

“Don’t think of this as me killing you, think of it as me speeding up your trip back to town,” I said while bringing down [Morrigu’s Gift].

Her eyes went lifeless as the blade slid through her chest. I felt sickened. Breath shortened to heaving gasps while I tried to remember she had been part of the group intent upon killing us. I really didn’t enjoy being around other players anymore. They made me do things like murder them.

Viper was shuffling after Wyl. Both of them looked to be worse off than I was, which was impressive. I heaved another breath to steady myself against sickening exhaustion. [Blink] went off and this time I managed to stay on my feet.

Viper’s autopilot halted in front of me. I tried to talk but was drowned out. Noises were overpowering the yells of players. Sizzles, blue beams, and earth rumbling filled in the silence between barks.

“Viper, you’re a bodyguard, and I’ll pay you all the gold I have to get Wyl back to Haven Valley,” I repeated myself a few times.

“I don’t trusst you to pay.” He uttered the same line.

“I saved your life, you saved mine. Trust me. I’ll pay for my friend's.” My unprofessional glare was covered by the [Power Armor] helmet. Shaking my head was tough and movements were restricted by the metal.

“What?”

“I can promise you the answer to one question, your choice, anything in the game.” To be accurate, James would tell me and I would pass it on. “But I won’t tell you if Wyl dies.”

“I do like ssecretss.” Viper’s autopilot hissed. “Deal, for now, Hermess.”

I nodded, then turned towards the oncoming horde of monsters. This [Dipped in Starlight] had to go. Without the dead bodies and me as a lure, those monsters would eventually crawl back below. Hopefully.

“Carver!” Wyl yelled behind me. “Is that you?!”

“Not exactly,” I said, feeling slightly more energetic. There were far worse people to be called. “But I learned from the best!”

Wyl’s expression couldn’t be seen. Dusk was chirping in the distance. Those damned [Heavenly Body Clone]s were barking in an unending flood. Some were held up by the pile of dead bodies Viper dropped off. The rest were locked in one me, a man stupid enough to hang around while being [Dipped in Starlight].

The sword came up. WWCD? William Carver would happily go down swinging, and so would I. Still, after this week, I almost welcomed the release that dying might give me. Not literally, but the game took a toll on me. Why then, did charging those monsters in a reckless kamikaze of sleepiness feel so good?