Altogether, it seemed that eight small health potions, two full mana potions, and an assortment of spell crystals, mostly stuff like Groundquake and Weaponstretch. There was one Lighting Strike, but now it was a precious commodity. Mayhew wept as he scattered the remaining trash to the wind, digitizing away.

“Oh vell. Ve’re down to only vun griffin, I believe it vill not be able to carry us all.” Alex said, eying the beast with a time limit.

“What gave you that clue.” Lina muttered.” And besides, what the *bleep* was that back there?”

“Vhat do you mean?”

“Don’t give me that! I was flying us closer and then you jumped! You idiot, you could’ve been killed!” she scolded, jabbing a finger into Allocrax’s chest.

“But I vasn’t. And if I’d been later, their beast might have failed sooner than it did, and lost them both. The father is our best chance to get out, and Jamie is now my student. I vill allow no harm to come to him.” he said matter-of-factly. It was a simple thing for him, but Jamie felt a pang in his chest, hard and sharp, but also good. When…when was the last time someone had said they cared about him? Wiping his eyes, he went over to the vampire.

“T-T-Thanks. For everything, but especially back there.” he mumbled.

“It is no problem.” Alex dismissed with a wave.

“I, I’ve been meaning to ask. How were you not, not scared during all that? I was t-terrified.” Jamie said, red-faced. Alex snorted and grinned.

“Who said I vasn’t?”

“Huh?”

“I am unsure about you, but leaping form a great height vithout the ability to fly and aiming for a specific spot still hundreds of feet in the air, then having to battle monstrous creatures and fall of to drag on the ground, it all sounds qvite frightening to me.” he said, chuckling. Jamie gaped at him.

“But, but then-how did you…” he said, lost.

“Vell, it’s never exactly vhat you vould call easy. But, mmm, I guess you can say…I’m used to it.” Jamie’s eyes went wide.

“What? But then, how did you get-I mean, you don’t practice stuff like that, do you?” he asked, bewildered. Alex tilted his hand.

“Not really, no, although I keep myself in shape. It’s just, vhen you live long enough, you see enough of vhat life has in store for you, you simply begin to shrug it off. Eventually, it becomes old hat, and you know vhat to do simply from experience. Mark my vords, you have trouble now simply because you’re still new to the vorld. Vhen you reach-vell, not my age,” he said, glancing over at Father Mayhew, trying to figure out where they were on a map. “But vhen you look back at how naïve and dumb you vere for vorrying over simple things, you vill vant to smack yourself. It happened vhen I vas still alive, and I’ve only felt it more since then.” Alex finished, smiling at Jamie’s confusion. Of course he wouldn’t get it yet-despite what he’d gone through, he was still a pampered lad. People these days, they let their children lead such unhurried lives.

“Does that mean you’re still scared when you go into a fight? I, I start to shake. It’s easier in other games, where you just press a button. Here, it’s so real. I have a hard time not seeing…my dad.” his pupil said, the wind picking up on the winding mountain trail they’d landed on, their cloaks flapping in the breeze. Alex took a deep breath in. Now it was becoming clear why Jamie had issues in RFO combat.

“I am. However, I’ve been fighting so long, against so many, that combat holds little mystery. I’ve fought many opponents for many reasons; big, tall, small, armored, sometimes human…sometimes not.”

“When did you start?” Lina asked curiously. She couldn’t help listening in while Mayhew was bitching about the map.

“I killed my first man vhen I vas tvelve years old.” he said with reminiscing pride, and they were both taken aback. “Vhy are you surprised? Life back then vas rougher. Much rougher. He vas a thief, come to steal my family’s chickens. I had gotten up early, and discovered him. The loss of those chickens could mean a death sentence in vinter. I shouted and startled him, and he attacked me. We scuffled, and I used my knife, ve all had knives, to cut his throat. I’d gotten banged-up as vell, but had kept the chickens safe. My sisters vere horrified, but my father congratulated me on a job vell done. Ve alerted the lord and he got a burial, and I couldn’t get over how qvick and easy it all vas. Just slice! And done. It vasn’t hard getting there either. A couple years later I joined the army, and that vas that.” he finished with a smile, thinking back to his early days. God, they were terrible. Old Jan was a nightmare. But he’d endured, and now he could look back with pride and contentment. He noticed their nervous glances his party was giving him.

“I never said I vas a nice person, or even good. Having to be able to fight, to kill, it’s just easier for some. I suppose I’m a natural. But it can be taught, the skill, the sense of handling violence, I vouldn’t be here if it vasn’t. You shall learn this too, Jamie. Doesn’t matter if you fight or not. Being able to deal vith a crazed man coming at you vith a knife is excellent preparation for many, many things in this vorld.”

“Y-You mean in RFO?” he squeaked. What had he gotten himself into?

“No.” Alex said pleasantly. “Vhen ve are done vith this mission, I vill be coming after you vith a knife. It’s qvite efficient vhen ve are in virtual reality. I can strike true.” Jamie turned pale and Lina had to laugh, when Father Mayhew came over.

“Well, I found where we are, and I’ve got a route to Mt. Skyshear. Shouldn’t take more than four hours. Also, there’s some kind of cave not too far from here. I didn’t work on this part of the game, so I don’t remember this region so much.” he said, tinged with a blush.

“Gah. You’re one of the programmers, but you haven’t been very useful so far.” Lina said.

“H-Hey! If we were at the Sawblade Coast, I’d be able to hijack you a pirate ship and conquer the Southern Plains! The northern mountains were done by Christine’s team!” he protested.

“Do you think the cave might be another entrance? Like a secret tunnel?” Jamie asked. Even he’d never heard of any cave near Mt. Skyshear. Mayhew tilted his head, then shrugged.

“It’s possible. I know there’s more than one entrance, including an underground path, but I think that leads to a civilization of savage lizard-people.” he said.

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I want to fight my way through that.” Lina said.

“Mt. Skyshear’s a raid dungeon, with the highest-level enemies in the game until the expansion. Every part has a boss at least level 70, encounters going up as you ascend. I know there’s the Crystal Dragon, the Sorcery genius Akamemnar, Bleakheart, the King of the Frozen Winds, and…*bleep* it, who was at the top? I know we’re not beating that one, Devan helped design that himself and he’s totally unfair. He wanted a challenge, to truly test the players. Um, I know it has a 30-hit attack that autotargets everyone on the field, and that’s his basic standard.” Mayhew said in disgust. Jamie’s jaw hit the floor.

“30 hits? That’s nuts!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah. He’s a challenge, something to do with light…” he trailed off, then shook his head. “But if you’re looking for special equipment for her, then Bleakheart’s your best bet. His armor’s some of the strongest in the game, think all his stuff’s got the Indestructible quality.”

“You know what he has, but not how to get to him.” Lina deadpanned.

“We swapped stories and ideas about making bosses all the time. I’d be more surprised if the programmers didn’t know about the stats and items. We cursed out the art team more’n once because the designs they gave us were so complicated.” he said, frowning.

“Vell, I suppose that vould be the qvickest vay to the mountain, considering our current location. Ve should see if there’s a vay in from there, I suppose. It’s not out of the vay.” Alex said, stroking Allocrax’s chin.

“I guess.” Lina said.

“Worth a shot.” Mayhew agreed.

“Sounds good to me.” Jamie finished, and Alex grinned.

“Alright then! Vampires, forvard march!” He broke off into a brisk jog, leaving his party to scramble behind him, desperately trying to keep up. He glanced behind and chuckled, watching them wheeze.

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There was no path, but with Mayhew’s map and Alex’s experience foraging and exploring, not to mention Jamie’s memory of the region, they traversed the wilderness well enough. They made it to the cavern around seven o’clock, dodging the fearsome manticores roaming the mountain and the roving packs of bouldermaws. There were several meadows and shallow caves with wild mushrooms, but Mayhew urged them away from them.

“Those’re Madcap Mushrooms, only in the hardest regions of the game. They’re a trap; if you eat them or inhale their spores your sensory interface’ll go screwy and you’ll be paralyzed, and they’ll send out a signal to any monsters in the area to eat you. They’re supposed to grow from dead bodies, lore wise. Players’ve tried to use ‘em against mobs, but they’re immune.” he had explained.

Lina ignited a torch, and peered into the cave’s inky darkness. It was incredible how large the cave was, and it was surprisingly warm. She sniffed the air, the barest hint of soot wafting form deeper in.

“Hey, how deep does this go? I think I can smell something kinda burning deeper ahead, sorta.” she said.

“Well, it can’t be volcanic, and I don’t think we put any gas pockets in the game. This whole region’s fuzzy, sorry.” Mayhew apologized.

“No matter, ve shall see vhat can be seen by exploring. That is vhat a cave is for in videogames, yes?” Alex said, drawing his sword and fearlessly stepped ahead. Then stopped as he began scanning every inch of the path, shuffling forward slowly. He was a brave vampire, not a dull-swift. However, the path ahead seemed to be one long, smooth tunnel, leading deeper and deeper. The party crept along as quietly as they could, only the crunch of boots on dirt and the wind at the entrance the only sounds.

“Are ve going to have enough air?” Alex whispered to Mayhew.

“Don’t worry about that. If there’s open space, there’s air. We tried to make the experience as fun as possible, after all.” the Priest said.

“Such a fine job.” Lina muttered as she inched along, Jamie trembling behind her. He was sweating bullets, but he tried to remember Alex’s advice.

“Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm.” he chanted, clutching his staff protectively, keenly aware he only had 427 hit points. At least his MP bar was full. A hand fell on his shoulder. He jumped, hand covering his mouth to suppress the scream.

“Try and relax. Ve have much to do yet. You’ll only use up your energy. Conserve if you vish to last all day. Focus on that, instead of the dangers in your head.” Alex said, and Jamie nodded. “Good. Try not to think about it. The more you do, the vorse you’ll be. Keep breathing.”

“I’ll…I’ll try.” Jamie said, unsure. Alex shook his head.

“No. You vill.” he said sternly, and Jamie nodded weakly, looking nervous. Alex groaned internally; this was going to be more work than he thought. The boy needed confidence, and the best way to get that was with success. Unfortunately, success often hinged on confidence.

They went further and further down, into the dark tunnel. The entrance was a pinhole at this point, the only reason they could see it was because it faced west and the setting sun. At least the tunnel was large, and didn’t have any twists or turns. It was simply one big tube in the earth. Alex blinked in the torchlight, glancing around. The going wasn’t as rough as he would have expected, even accounting for virtual reality. The walls and ceiling looked smooth, as if sanded away. The walls appeared to have a blackened consistency that his questing fingers discovered was soot. So that’s what they’d been smelling, then. But why was it covering the place?

That answer would have to wait though. The ground levelled off, and the tunnel opened up into an enormous cavern, at least two hundred feet tall. Now it looked more like something found underground; stalagmites, rock walls, boulders, gold…gold?

“Holy crap!” Gold, gold, gold. Gold plates, gold coins, gold goblets, rubies, sapphires, diamonds, emeralds, jewel-encrusted weapons, ivory-inlaid chalices, gems in the eyes of silver (no, platinum!) statues, elegant hand-carved furniture and fineries- it was a literal treasure trove.

“Oooh mama.” Lina said, feeling weak-kneed. It was one thing for Mayhew to say he had a large sum of money. It was another to see it, all at once, as far as she could in fact see.

“This…ohmygosh, this…it’s incredible!” Jamie exclaimed, poking at a chest of emeralds. “I’ve never seen so much, I feel like diving into it like Scrooge.” Lina had no such restraint.

“Woo-hoo!” She jumped into a pile, the minor damage from slamming into solid metal a distant thought. “I never knew I wanted to do this until now.” she said, backstroking through the coins.

“This-arg, this’s so familiar, I could’ve sworn Christine said something about a huge pile of treasure…” Mayhew muttered. Alex, while appreciating the ostentatious wealth, had nearly as much in real life and so wasn’t as impressed. He looked around warily, and raised his sword.

“Alex, what’s up?” Jamie asked, gripping his staff tighter.

“Do you not find it suspicious that such a large treasure vas just lying here for the taking?” Alex said, lighting some braziers with the torch. The room began to light up, revealing just how deep the cavern went, and most of it was filled with treasure. He scanned the walls, brown and rocky, for any signs of life or other entrances.

“W-Well yeah, but…” Jamie began, glancing around too.

“I know there were some secret areas filled with rare finds, even some without monsters. But I know this’s special, just what was it!” Mayhew said, grabbing his forehead.

“Maybe it’s just our luck changing?” Lina said hopefully.

“Like that vould ever happen. Besides, this isn’t real money. It’s purely virtual, and has no vorth.” Alex said, rubbing his hand along the wall, searching for traps.

“Yeah, but…” Lina’s mouth fell open. She gaped like a fish, flubbing words. She slapped Jamie’s arm and pointed. Once he saw, the Magus turned pure white.

“Vhat? Vhat is it?” Alex said. They both pointed shaking fingers at him. “Vhat?” He only saw the rock around him, the glitter from the gold. “I don’t get it. Vhat’s there to see?”

An eye as big as his torso opened next to him, and he froze, slowly turning to see the eye blink. The head was raised, the cool, dark scales that he mistook for rock shifting as they uncurled. Coins and gems pressed into the body fell off, the stat screen coming into view as the mighty wings unfurled. The dragon stood up, bellowing and billowing as it flapped, nearly bowling over the Vampires.

“Oh, now I remember. This’s where Devan put Spot.” Mayhew said in a soft voice. Jamie grabbed his arm in an iron grip.

“J-J-J-Just t-to m-m-make s-sure, t-the l-l-level c-cap in R-RFO’s n-ninety-nine, r-r-right?”

“Y-Y-Yeah. F-For p-players and m-m-monsters.”

The entire party stared at the dragon, sneering down at them, letting itself be admired. He was Devon’s pet mascot, after all. His stat screen held both his stats and his titles: the Scourge of the Sky, Bane of Creation, the Undisputed, the Slayer of Dragonslayers, Old Magma-tongue, the Wise King of Teeth, He Who Breaks Mountains, Master of the Four Winds, the Teacher of Humility. Status: Champion Raid Boss, Spot. Level: 99…9.

“That’s just not fair.” Jamie squeaked.

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

The party screamed and ran at breakneck speed up the tunnel, the dragon snorting and spewing flame after them. There was no time to think, no clever tactics or tricks; only pure, undiluted velocity to save their lives.

As slow and cautiously as they crept down the tunnel, now they flew, boots barely on the ground. The dragon roared and chased after, the fourteen-inch teeth nipping at their heels, scraping along the walls and ceiling. So that was why it was so oddly smooth, Alex thought. Then the panic set in again, and they quadruple-timed it to the cave entrance.

Jamie was the first to emerge, followed by Alex. Lina, unencumbered by her armor, flung herself free and rolled to the side, hand on her sword. Mayhew was the last, leaping from the cave to safety…and stopped short as his clothes tugged at him. He turned to see the dragon’s head extending from the entrance, biting down on his loose coat. The gleam in the beast’s burgundy eyes was giddy at the sight of his next meal.

“Hyahh!” Alex swung his blade, slicing through the cloth to send the Priest tumbling away, the smug look on its’ reptilian face replaced by surprise. Alex held his sword out to challenge the overgrown lizard, but it was barely a toothpick. This thing would have proven an overwhelming adversary to his real body, had it been real instead of virtual. Burgundy eyes locked with red. Alex felt a trickle of sweat run down his back. He did not flinch. He did not move, face grim and muscles taught.

He dared not to.

Fortunately, with Mayhew no longer in his clutches, the dragon seemingly lost interest in them and turned back, snorting and snaking his head back into the cave. The party fell over in relief, sighing.

“That was…that was…” Jamie said, panting.

“Horrible, I know. That thing was too big. Why? Just why?” Lina moaned.

“Because my boss wanted a hard, memorable encounter, so we gave him a hard, memorable encounter.” Mayhew groused. “Now it’s coming back to me. Spot was the first monster we designed, before we settled on most of the system elements.”

“But-but it was, its level’s way too high! That’s not fair!” Jamie protested. Mayhew could only shrug.

“We never actually recreated Spot’s code. We just kept re-writing it, it was helpful for the A.I. at first. We originally were making the cap 999, but when put into practice the numbers kept getting screwed up. We went back to basics and kept the stats simpler, but Spot developed a bug that kept him at his original level. No matter what, we couldn’t get rid of it, and Devan thought it was hilarious, so we just made him into a secret raid boss.” he explained meekly. Alex grabbed him, wide-eyed.

“Do you know vhat this means!? Those Radiant Dawn fools have control of the system! That means they have control of that monster!” Realizing this, Jamie and Lina gaped. Mayhew flubbed like a fish.

“Y-Yeah, b-but he’s also behaving according to his programming.” he said, tilting his head quizzically.

“Well, why didn’t they use him yet? I mean, I can only see Lucien fighting that thing.” Jamie put in.

“Vhat does it mean, programmer? Vhy have they not taken the reigns of…’Spot?’” Alex demanded.

“I don’t know, I’m a programmer, not a psychic! He’s a secret boss, maybe they don’t know about him! That’s stupid, why did I say that. Rgh, maybe they’re waiting for it. I know they’re trying to upload the brain programming all at once, maybe they’re gonna pull him out when they’re sure everyone’s gonna get it at once! Or it could be something different altogether! The last six months are a blur thanks to the deadlines, headaches and energy drinks, be glad I’m lucid enough to recognize the color blue!” Mayhew protested, chest heaving. Ugh, all this stress, it would be the death of him yet.

“All right, all right, calm down. The important part is, no matter vhy, they aren’t using him yet.” Alex said, staring back at the cave. He shivered. That had been the largest monster he’d ever had to encounter, real or virtual. Few had inspired the terror he felt.

“They should put a warning sign or something so players don’t stumble into it.” Jamie muttered.

“Kind of defeats the point of a secret boss then, doesn’t it?” Lina pointed out. “Not many people come to a random stretch of land anyway, most would fly to get to Mt. Skyshear, at least at this point.”

“And unfortunately, ve don’t have that anymore. Come, let us resume the march.” Alex said, urging them toward the mountain.