Chapter 14 The Beginning Of The Uhyre Horde

Jack was leaning against a wall in an alley, his eyes darting to either end. He looked panicked. Suddenly, a figure jumped down from the rooftops and landed right next to him.

“Hi!” Jasmine said.

Jack jumped, clutching his chest just as Axel did before. “By god Jasmine, you need to stop doing that.”

“Sorry. That was really fun.”

“Yeah, you were fast. They had no chance at catching you,” Jack said. “Did you spot Axel?”

She shook her head. “No. There’s mobs running around for him. They’ll quit soon since the event is starting.”

“I didn’t realise that many people hated him. I knew people did, but not that much. You see that worldwide message for him?”

Jasmine reluctantly nodded. “I hope he’s going to be alright. Axel seems kinda loose- his morals anyway. I don’t want him to do something stupid.”

“I’m with you there,” Jack agreed. “But Axel’s different in that way. He likes a challenge, always has done. But yeah, I don’t him to spiral into complete insanity.”

“I don’t want to pry,” Jasmine said, “but you two were like best friends before he left?”

Jack nodded. “I thought I liked to collect and grind and stuff, but Axel wanted everything. He was nice too when we were younger. He would try his absolute hardest to not piss off people, now he’s the opposite. It’s kinda sad the world twisted him into the way he is now.”

Jasmine looked down to the floor as she processed the information. She liked Axel. Yes, he was rude, but there was always that hint of respect in his tone. She wanted to join his ‘villain’ army, but felt that he needed her more than she did him.

“Hey guys,” Axel said, casually.

The two stopped talking instantly and turned to face him.

“You two alright?” Axel asked, cocking his head. “You didn’t get caught did you?”

“No? Not me. I’m fine. How are you?”

“We’re good,” Jack joined in. “Absolutely fine . . . By the way, you are still fucked.”

“Tell me about it,” Axel groaned. “Surely, you’d think it be a nice compliment, and not a way to fuck me over, right?”

“I think the most important thing is that your face doesn’t get recognised. Your race too will be a big indication.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Axel admitted. “Anyway, let’s go to the event, I wanna try some new skills. What have you got, Jack?”

The trio started walking down the main street towards the wall. They were accompanied by hundreds of other players.

“I have a physical buff,” Jack answered. “I can throw shit further and punch harder. I also have an armour skill and a few passive ones that makes me tankier the longer I fight.”

“So you’re a tank?” Axel asked. “You’d never play a tank.”

“I thought I might as well give it a go,” Jack offered. “As I said, I wanted to be something different. We only really played as hybrids so we could get more done with just the two of us.”

Axel nodded his understanding. “And what about you, Jasmine?” he asked her.

“Hmmm-” She brought up her stat menu. “I have flat speed increases for every level I get. My jump is also twice is high. I can also throw things which is cool.”

“Like throwing daggers?” Axel asked.

Jasmine nodded. “I can control them mid air. I can make it work with jewellery too in case someone catches me. Then I just throw it under a stall.”

“No stealth skills?” Axel questioned.

“All the rest of my skills are stealth; I have Quiet Steps, Shadow Walk, Enhanced Eyesight and Dark Seer.”

“Oh, I got Dark Seer,” Axel chimed.

“It’s pretty good, isn’t it?”

Axel nodded.

“So,” Jack said. “My race is Grey Orc, what’s yours Jasmine?”

“Mine’s Shadow Goblin,” she replied.

“Fuck,” Axel spat. “Mine sounds so shit compared to both of yours.”

“Aww Axel sweety, don’t be jealous,” Jack teased.

“Shut up Jack. I’ll still be richer than all of you.” Axel noticed his gold constantly going up from selling all the mana potions. It was nice and easy since he didn’t need to go back to collect the coin from his sold items. He was already up a 1,000 gold, with an expected 1,300 more to come.

“Can you show us your spells?” Jack asked. “They sound pretty cool. Definitely Unorthodox magic?”

Axel nodded. “I’ve been so busy I haven’t even thought about it . . . There’s no guards around, right?”

Jasmine and Jack both scoured their surroundings. There was only excited players about.

“I think you’re good,” Jasmine said.

“Alright,” Axel said, preparing himself. He aimed his palm towards the sky and shouted, “Rain Gold!”

A golden rune appeared in the front of his palms, and not split second later, 20 gold coins were fired into the sky. “Holy shit,” Axel said, “that’s cool.”

“Golden runes, that’s pretty neat,” Jack remarked.

“Yeah, it is,” Axel said while watching his mana going back up.

“Can we have the armour?” Jack asked.

Axel groaned. “Guys, I don’t want to lower the durability on them; they’ll sell for lower.”

“Stop being a killjoy,” Jasmine told him. “Me and you are still in starter gear and Jack looks like a noob’s first time playing.”

“Hey!” Jack complained. “I’ll have you know, I farmed a mini-boss for this.”

“It does look kinda shit,” Axel joked, chuckling.

“Fuck you guys,” cursed Jack.

Axel and Jasmine both laughed.

“What about the Gluttonous Gold Bomb?” Jack asked.

“Yeah,” Axel said, bringing up the description. “So I have three charges of it. With the buff, I get unlimited for an hour. For every target that I hit, I’ll get one gold.”

“That’s insane,” Jack remarked. “We should do a dungeon run. An endless spawning one- and Jasmine loops them and you can place like 20 in a secluded location. Boom! Then it will be raining gold.”

“I did think about that,” Axel said. “It would be good, but not for right now. The closest dungeon is an hour away I’ve heard. We’d need a full day to farm it and then come back. It would be good in the future. I’ll to test it first; see just how good it is.”

They neared the wall, and found thousands upon thousands of players surrounding it. The walls themselves were looking full, with people still climbing the stairs. The watchtowers were practically overflowing; people were even on the top.

There were soldiers lining the wall too, along with the usual guards trying to sort everyone out. Axel pinged Lenny shouting to the players; trying to implement order into the chaos, but failing.

Torches were lit all along the wall, with catapults on small landings behind the wall. Axel was impressed. It looked like a tower defence game. The detail to the wall and defences were spot on.

“This is cool,” Jasmine commented.

The three had stopped to soak in the sight.

Axel noticed the giant gate was still open. Panicked NPCs were still rushing inside; trying to escape the devastating horde. Soldiers were running in and out.

“I’m going to go outside and place the bombs,” Axel said.

“Alright. We’ll wait here.”

“No, go find a good place, preferably near the wall or something. I’m already cooking something up.”

“Good luck,” Jasmine said.

Axel gave them a nod and headed towards the gate. He heard generals shouting and the sounds of metal armour clanking. As he moved past the gate, he noticed tens of thousands of troops in formations.

“Holy fuck,” Axel said. It was an amazing sight. He felt like he was in a movie.

Among the solders in formation, there were brave players in small clumps. Behind them, there were archers; players playing as archers and the army’s archers. There were mages too, but most of them were on the wall. It was a sight to behold.

“Oi!” a NPC shouted to him, dressed in metal armour. “Get in formation or head up onto the wall. This place is for no ordinary travellers. Unless, you wish to help us?”

{You have received a quest from General Rogan}

{Quest: Join the formation and fight the hordes of the Uhyre beneath the walls. Unless commanded to, you are not allowed to leave the formation(that includes retreating)}

{Automatic rewards on completion}

{Rewards}

5 Gold

23,500 Experience

Badge Of Honour From Tresluna (Allows access to Military Barracks)

{If you wish to accept, then please say so}

“I’m fine thanks,” Axel said. “I’m here to set some bombs for when the monsters run over. I’m a mage anyway.”

“That is fine. Do what you must and head up back to the wall, this is not a place for a weak mage.”

‘Fuck you’ Axel thought. But he gave General Rogan a smile and said, “Of course, someone as manly as you should obviously die for a city that doesn’t care for your well being. And for that, I thank you on behalf of all travellers.”

General Rogan just looked at him funny. “Whatever traveller, just do what you must.”

Axel skipped off towards the soon-to-be battlefield. The lushous fields of green had turned almost grey and started to wither. The weather was overcast; the three moons were nowhere in sight. He carried on walking out while debating on the best places to put them. Axel knew that he should put them close. For one, he wanted to see them. And two, he wanted the most amount of targets possible.

Once he found the place 100 metres away from the soldiers, he said, “Gluttonous Gold Bomb.”

A golden rune appeared beneath his feet. It glowed brightly and then expanded out around him. It pulsated for a total of 15 seconds.

{Gluttonous Gold Bomb set. Trigger upon proximity or by command?}

“Command.”

It flashed once more and then disappeared. He repeated it with the others. Now there was three invisible traps. Axel could see them, but others could not. Happy with the himself, he walked back towards the gate. He noticed Lenny on top, still trying to shout orders to the excited players. Once inside the city, he found a set of stairs and went up to speak to him.

“Hey Lenny,” Axel said, casually.

“Oh, hello Ho-”

Axel put a finger to his mouth. “Call me Axel, that names getting a bit . . . Dangerous.”

“Is that your real name?” Lenny asked.

“Maybe,” Axel said with a grin.

“Anyway come.” Lenny led him to the edge of the wall so they could both look out.

“The Uhyre Horde then,” Axel murmured.

Lenny nodded. “I am not so sure of this one. It seems the the Seed of Chaos is getting stronger.”

“You think the city will fall?” Axel asked.

Lenny hesitated to respond. “I am not quite sure, Axel. It will be the doom of this world if the great Tresluna falls. If this city cannot defend a Uhyre Horde, then the other cities on Triumterra will fall easily.”

“Shit,” Axel said. It would be bad if the city fell. He didn’t think it could, but then he was constantly surprised by the game. It tried to focus on realism the most and was definitely succeeding at it.

“Are there any other gates?” Axel asked.

“This is the largest. The only other gates are for the ones for the residents to escape. The city is built mainly for this. Wars are usually dismissed, as the threat of monsters is constantly increasing.”

“Eh,” Axel grunted. “Make sure you live.”

“Don’t worry about me, Axel. I will be fine. I’ve survived over a dozen of these.”

“How often do they come then?” Axel asked.

“They picked up in the last year. This is the third one in two months. I suspect there will be more unless the Seed of Chaos has its influence reduced.”

“Right right,” Axel mumbled. “What can you tell me about that General?” He nodded over to the NPC barking orders.

“General Rogan. He’s a real warrior. He’ll always stand. His man idolise him like a god.”

“Do you think he’d be trouble?” Axel asked.

“For your schemes?”

Axel nodded.

“Maybe. He doesn’t like crooks if that’s what you mean.”

“Eh, who doesn’t. Anyway Lenny, thank you for the information. I think we’ll be a bit further down the wall. We’ll look out for you.”

“We?” Lenny asked.

“I have found some colleagues.” Axel discreetly handed him a gold piece, causing Lenny to almost choke.

“Axel, I cannot accept this,” Lenny whispered, hastily.

“There might be some things you don’t want to see,” Axel proposed. “And when the time comes, play along.”

Lenny cleared his throat. Axel could see from his eyes that he looked nervous. However, there was some determination in them. And that’s exactly what he wanted. He wanted to try and push Lenny to a more higher position. He would do it with others, but trying to barter with a leader who is all righteous is far harder. He needed to gradually mould Lenny into the ‘perfect guard’, all while being under his thumb. Axel knew the most important aspect of his plan was keeping control of the guards. Obviously, he couldn’t control players. They were always chaotic and acted upon impulse. Their view or attitude could flip like a switch.

The plan that Axel had been brewing, was devious and cruel in nature. The plan: to kill the rest of the guards; in turn, making Lenny the sole survivor and the only one to take lead. However, killing an NPC was new to him. Especially a good one. He didn’t know if he’d get a red flag on his player tag, or be ousted right away. It was going to have to be a covert plan. A plan that doesn’t blame him for their deaths.