Enoch earned a 20% buff on Stamina recovery from his night at the town hall, duration 12 hours. Added a +20 max Stamina and +20 max Mana from the amazing breakfast, duration 2 hours. Steal oats, an orange, bacons and eggs in a huge bowl, downed with a cold beer.

His duffel bag clanked behind him, full of expensive supplies. The cargo perfect for him, light and compact. It would also make a great introduction to the army. They would appreciate the new supplies.

Short grass here, grazed, carpet bombed with boulders of varied sized, some as big as a house, others perfectly sized to poke him under his boot.

Fresh air fell from the mountain complimented by dried bovine dung. The music matched his quick pace. Great beat. It got him into the zone. He zigzagged between the biggest stones or jumped over them just for the heck of it.

The clear calls of Sail horses echoed around Enoch. Made him smile. The champions of speed had acknowledged him, a fellow runner of the plain. They flanked him for a few fleeting seconds, three horses at full gallop, one pastel blue, one bright yellow and one white with purple stripes. Their shoulder blade extended upward, five or six feet into the air, flickering in the wind.

Great mounts for those so inclined. A great prays for his build. An easy fight worth tons of XP and valuable crafting components. The challenge was to catch them. He had no chance at his level, so he laughed and waved them forward. Go on, you glorious bastards.

Enoch dashed to keep up with them. The striped one shouted. The trio bolted. They were a decent way up to the horizon when the comments caught on.

“Fast horse is fast.”

“He should have killed them. Such a noob.”

“Aren’t they pretty?” Tag | Mom

Enoch continued on his merry way. The slope picked up as the mountains loomed closer. Dead summits by the look of them. Dark volcanic rocks. Layers of ash. Not a hint of vegetation.

A pebble hit the back of his head. He turned, alert. An animated twig poked him on his blind side.

“Damn hit, Choo, save your Mana.”

The jolly core spun upward, dropped the dried twig on the scout’s helmet. It rang with a hollow clank. Enoch laughed, deadpan. “Very funny, stay on your guard, we never know what’s coming.”

“No need to worry, the plain is empty,” said Choo Choo.

Enoch began to explain tactical thinking to his artifact, but the words died on his lips. He had spotted a rider in the distance. A black horse with an axe wielding redhead on top. The damn fools had bought horses just to catch him. Nah, they had most likely raided a ranch or something. All in with their Greedy Aura. NPCs probably attacked them on sigh at this point. They didn’t care.

He used Dash, then increased his cruise speed. The glass bottles clanked behind him, liquids slushing. The chain mail rattled. Hopefully the cargo could take a rough ride.

With Mobility 3 and Strength 2, he was about the speed of a normal horse but with better Stamina. He could –

Another horseman came rushing from the front, coming down the slope. These two angles could only mean one thing, he turned to the inevitable third direction. A rider at full speed from the forest of boulders. Trapped. No idea how they had managed it, did the mage picked up a Scry spell? That would cripple their builds even further. Hard-headed fools. How to lose a Continental Final for a pointless grudge.

“Cover me up little guy.”

“Yes, master.”

On the bright side, he was keeping his distance with the redhead. On the downside, the two others came at him twice as fast. They were what, level two? Maybe three? The archer wouldn’t be able to shoot from a horse at this level. Enoch dashed again, turned left toward a distant cliff. He was probably the only one here with Climb 3. They couldn’t follow. The ledge would provide a good cover from arrows and magical bolts.

“Run son, it looks like an early end.” Tag | Dad

“The narrator was right, stupidest possible way to win the game. A Solo Runner, what a joke.”

“Run. You can’t lose like that. You haven’t even found a Taunting Pebble. | Tip 10$

Good chat support overall. He didn’t feel like dying alone in a low level plain, cut down by bad sports.

He dashed again. His Stamina started to hurt [107/160 Stamina]. The music increased its tempo, notes stringing on his stress.

The archer passed behind a giant stone, only his horse came out. Bad sign. Enoch spotted him again, pulling himself on top of the stone. The archer rose and drew his bow. A triangular drone hovered over his left shoulder, one lone eye in the center, red. Enoch had seen it once in Safe Haven, a Bonded Artifact. Probably some kind of aim bot. Frag.

Thunk. One arrow in Choo’s shield. The scattered rocks provided weak cover, except for a few big ones. Enoch tried to use them. Swung. An arrow hit the ground beside him. The other riders were catching up.

Swoosh. An explosion threw him forward. [-9 Health]. He tumbled, recovered. Explosive Arrow, why did archers always picked that spell?

The cliff was right there. The mage hugged it to the right, riding fast toward Enoch. The fighter came in from the left, at an angle. [-6 Health]. An arrow in the back.

Enoch had decent gears. Better than them. They were having a hard time getting through his Damage Resistance. Good. Maybe he could make it.

He prepared for a jump. Magical notes and translucid vines enveloped him, traced in neon green particle effects. Root. The bane of his existence. He couldn’t move for, he looked at his interface, 4 seconds. The mage had him.

“Choo, cover me.”

Enoch twisted backward, rag legged, feet glued to the plain. He braced his Steel Spear, ready for a charge. The mad axe wielder ignored the threat. Rammed him with her horse, shouting a long, hateful, “die.”

Enoch’s spear flew from his hand, the tip deep into the mount. The rider barrelled forward with a wild swing. [-33 Health]. An arrow hit Enoch in the thigh. [-4 Health]. The tumbling axewoman face planted in the cliff wall. The wounded horse piled into her. Root ended, the first hit had broken it.

Enoch stepped forward. His right leg fell sideway to the ground, his stump wiggled, cut clean under the knee. [Heavy Bleeding | -5 Health/second]. The random swing from the axe had gotten him. Wicked sharp.

His innards seized as the reality sunk in. The run was over. A Mobility build without a leg. Dead on the second day of his first final. He wasn’t good enough for that game, too much competition. Millions of players and he thought he could win a Continental Final. Poor, deluded fool.

He rolled to the cliff, bleeding pixels. Punched the grass in frustration. The last few months in the Master League had driven a lesson into his skull. Never give up. Anyone could float from one game to the other, following builds and strategies seen on the pros’ streams. To move up the rank, the fights were at the hedges. Hang on a tad more. Gain one last rank before death. Tiny victories compounded to decent gains and sometime, rarely, he survived against all odds.

His right hand grasped a ridge. He pulled himself upward. One awkward one-legged jump and his left hand found a hold. [-5 Health]. An arrow in his good leg. It had to be a joke.

He climbed on. Glanced down. The redhead pushed her panicked, broken horse to the side. Too late for her unless she could throw her axe. The mage channelled Mana at the tip of her staff. Frag. Frag. Frag.

He activated Dash. Jumped up. Not totally sure what happened but he ended up higher on the rock wall. A Magical Bolt broke where he should’ve been. “Slippery rascal”, shouted the caster.

A second boom rocked Enoch. Shards of shield showered his lower half. Choo had deflected an explosive arrow. The poor little guy slammed into the stone and rebounded out of sight. Enoch crawled up, jumped again, grabbed the cliff’s edge, pulled hard and rolled over it. The angle gave him hard cover. He doubted they could climb. They couldn’t do everything at level 2.

The seconds flew by quickly, bleeding his life away. Only four seconds left. He foraged in his bag, smelled it first, then saw the stain. One gin bottle had shattered under an arrow. The things he would do to that archer if he survived. Enoch picked up the Major Health Potion, popped it open, spit the cork over the edge, guzzled it. [+100 Health]. The bleeding stopped. One long sight. He stared at his stump. Game over.

“Master Enoch, you left your leg behind.”

“Great observation, sir core.”

“Watch this,” said Choo. Enoch peeked down.

Choo casted Telekenis. The bleeding leg flew straight in the mage’s face.

Enoch gave up a strangled laugh. “Alright, that was funny. Thanks for the save earlier.”

“Pleasure, Enoch.”

“Can’t believe I have to watch this game. It’s so violent.” Tag | Mom

“You’re done for this time. And not one decent mob train.”

He nodded. “Say Choo, do you think you could bring me my spear?”

The artifact dove. Swears and shouts rose from the gang down below. A horrible sound of metal on stone rang, then the sound effects from his favorite spell, Animate Object. The spear’s butt appeared, an arrow passed by, then the rest of it, the golem core stuck to it like a purple tumor.

Enoch grabbed the spear, gave Choo Choo two gratitude pats, used it the shaft as a crutch and moved on.