There, straight ahead, covered in ice himself. Sixteen feet tall, seated on a massive, black iron throne. The Victorious Vampires entered the room huddled together, none of them coming close to his chest. Blue skin bulging with muscles, in sleeveless black armor. A magnificent white beard framed his chin under his helm, his left eye patched over, his right burning with orange light beneath his frosty prison. There was a rumbling, the room shaking.

“Uh, I think we triggered the fight!” Jamie squeaked. The ice cracked and Bleakheart burst forth, roaring and flexing. His eye glared at them, drawing his sword. As they watched, it grew longer and wider, responding to the chill. His health bar filled, and filled, and Jamie had to look away from it or he’d be sick.

“Here he comes! Remember the plan! Scatter!” Alex shouted, his team springing into action. Jamie went left, casting Flamejet to wear him down, or at least get the ball rolling. Lina was covering Mayhew, even her SPD was better than his. Alex, meanwhile…

“Have at you! Hyah!” The vampire cried and charged forward, zigging and zagging, barely touching the ground. He flipped, skidding on his hand. If he didn’t have experience in actual flight, it would have been the end. Bleakheart slammed his crystalline blade down, but Alex had too much momentum. He slid underneath the legs of the giant, grinning as the opportune moment came for a stab. “Hah!”

Bleakheart howled as the damaged part registered. Everyone in the area winced.

“Oooh. A Double Critical!” Jamie said as a big -43 appeared above Bleakheart. His burning orange eye set on Alex, narrowing as he growled. His burning eye set on Alex, narrowing as he grunted.

“Yes, yes, focus on me. That’s the vay-yipe!” The boss monster took his sword and stabbed, too far away, or so Alex thought. The ice blade froze and grew in an instant, lancing out unexpectedly. Alex twisted to the side, the tip barely slicing him, piercing through his black coat. “Uh-oh.”

Bleakheart roared and swung his sword over his head, the terrified vampire stuck on the point, screaming as he came around, rocketing at Lina.

“Alex!” The Knight stomped the ground, laying her indestructible sword on her shoulder, bracing for impact. She felt what seemed like five tons slam down on her, driving her feet into the ground for -97. She grunted with effort, but didn’t break.

“Flamejet!” Jamie turned his staff on the blade like a blowtorch, melting right through to let Alex down, hitting the ice and scrambling away. Bleakheart growled, picking the sword up and snapping the blade into a more reasonable length with two fingers, frosting over into the proper shape.

“Ve may be outmatched!” Alex cried.

“No *bleep* Sherlock!” Lina shouted, grunting as she pulled her foot loose. She made to pull the other from the ground, but as she tugged even with her STR she couldn’t pull free. “Crap!”

“S-Someone help her! I can’t let up!” Jamie said, firing Flamejets and Magbolts at Bleakheart, trying to keep him at bay. But the boss’s eye narrowed at Lina and he grinned, his A.I. calculating her as helpless.

“I’m coming!” Alex said, leaping across the ice. Bleakheart raised his sword. He wouldn’t make it in time.

The sword fell.

“Divine Barrier!” Father Mayhew threw himself in front of her, the translucent shield shimmering as the ice blade bounced off. “C’mon, get free! I’ve only got ten seconds on this spell!” he said, yanking at her. Alex dove at them, tackling them to the ground and pulling Lina free. They slid along the floor as Mayhew’s Divine Barrier shattered, Bleakhe4art turning to the next target: Jamie. The Magus gulped audibly as he stared down the monster alone.

“S-Stay back! P-Pillar of Flame!” With a swish, he pointed his staff at the boss, a column of fire erupting from his feet, where he was before he stepped forward, his hitbox free. “Gaaahh!” Jamie tried to run, but his nervous feet slipped out from under him on the ice. “N-N-Nooo!” His SPD was useless and his magic underpowered, compared to what he needed to beat this thing! Bleakheart lumbered forward, reaching out a hand to pick him up, the ice blade gleaming under the torches.

“Hitcrease! Resolvenforcement!” Lina’s STR and TGH increased, glowing softly. With a cry she charged, Mayhew and Alex launching her forward, skidding across the ice like a hockey puck, her gigantic blade raised and pointed at Bleakheart like a missile.

The boss saw it coming well in time though, and moved out of the way. Lina couldn’t stop, and crashed into the wall tip-first and sticking there. “Rrgh!” Bleakheart resumed menacing Jamie. His side was peppered with explosions as Alex slid in front of his student.

“You vill lay not vun finger upon him!” Alex said, throwing another bolt. The damage was weak, but annoying, so Bleakheart turned to him with rumbling displeasure. Only to get a Magbolt in the eye, -3. Jamie watched in wonder as Alex leapt forward, sword in hand, lit by the explosions, ascending like a god. Bleakheart reared back, the A.I. blinded momentarily before recovering. The orange eye scanned the field, but there was only Mayhew hustling Jamie away. Alex had disappeared.

“Grrgh?” The program looked side to side, but couldn’t see his target anywhere. The other three were around, so where…-18.

Alex peered from above Bleakheart’s shoulder, stabbing a knife into the base of his skull.

“Your armor does you no good on the joints.” he said cheekily, rapidly stabbing his neck over and over. The boss roared and tried to pluck him off, but Allocrax’s frame was too small and Alex too crafty, crawling on Bleakheart’s back like a spider. “It von’t be that easy, big man! I’m not just some bug you can sqvash!” The A.I. calculated its’ options, then ran backwards, trying to crush him on the icy wall at top SPD. Lina’s eyes went wide, desperately pulling Hellcrusher out of the ice and diving away. Alex waited until the last second, then hopped off his shoulder. Bleakheart slammed into the wall. It would be at least 1.8 seconds before he would be on his feet again. “Hit him!”

“Pillar of Flame!” -60 MP from Jamie as he connected with his strongest spell, the icy enemy howling with pain form the heat, a continual -123 for five seconds.

“Haaaah!” Lina spun all the way around, hammering Hellcrusher into the boss with all her might, -88.

“Take this!” Alex cried, throwing two knives and shooting Magbolts, chaining his attacks so rapidly it was one single stream of pain. -4, -4, - 2, -2, -2, -2. He frowned, eyebrow twitching, as his finisher didn’t even do 20 damage. “That’s just not fair.” he complained.

“Heads up! Coming through! Look out! Divine Smite!” Father Mayhew shouted, charging as quickly as he could over the slippery surface, his mace held aloft, glowing with overwhelming holy power. Alex could feel the energy emitting from it as he passed and felt like shrinking back, back into the darkness lest he be destroyed. Mayhew ran, screaming his lungs out, bringing the weapon of justice down like the hammer of God himself.

Unfortunately, he was slow enough that Bleakheart casually got up and moved out of the way, pushing him further into his overbalanced attack.

CRNCH!

The room vibrated as Mayhew’s attack missed, the energy dissipating as it hit the ice wall. Bleakheart guffawed, then turned to the Vampires, idly swinging his sword. He towered over them devilishly, a sick grin on his face.

“Great. What’s next?” Lina said.

“Remember the plan! Ve’ll vin if ve stick to it!” Alex said. Bleakheart jumped, impaling his sword into the middle of the group as they scattered. Jamie screamed as he fell, bowled over by the force of the impact.

“C-Can we change the plan to run for our lives!?” Jaime shrieked. Alex cuffed him upside the head for -3. “Ow!”

“There is no running! Not here, not now! Ve are here, ve von’t back down!” He hauled Jamie up by his cloak to stare into his eyes. “It doesn’t even matter if you’re a cowvard now. If you vanna die, then die! But if you vant to live, fight to the last! Giving up only means defeat is final, nothing else!” He let go and hopped off, staying in the air as much as possible to avoid the ice. Bleakheart swung his sword like a hockey stick, repeating Lina’s performance of a puck.

“H-He’s right.” Jamie mumbled, grasping his staff and getting to his feet, full of resolve.

“GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!” Bleakheart bellowed, grabbing a fallen hunk of ice and slamming it down, pelting Alex with shards and kicking him while he was distracted. The vampire sailed through the air again, once more not under his own power.

“Meep!” Jamie crouched down, hood pulled over his head. No way! No way could he stand up to that thing! He’d be crushed! He checked his HP bar, only 153 of 317 left. One solid hit and it was over. There was no way he could go in and fight that thing, he couldn’t-

“Ve must find a vay.” Alex’s words came to him, and he remembered. He smacked his forehead. Doy! He was a Magus! He wasn’t supposed to fight head-to-head! But, his spells weren’t going to cut it either. They simply couldn’t do enough damage, not at his level.

He looked up to see Alex Activating Quickspell, to rapidly raise Stalagspikes and hop from them, avoiding the ice and Bleakheart’s vicious blows. The vampire raised one, then launched himself horizontally, sliding across the ice to skid between his legs again, trying to kick his knees out from behind this time. However, his STR wasn’t enough to bend the joint. He growled in frustration, then rolled as the boss cracked the ground with a stomp, leaving a footprint. Alex kicked off his leg, using the ice to get away and roll into a crouch, ready to move.

“Mmm, look at him go. Wish I could do that…” Jamie muttered to himself. Bleakheart could barely touch him, he was simply too fast, reading his opponent like a book and using the environment to the fullest. It was Bleakheart’s chamber, but the way Alex acted it was HIS room. Jamie found himself staring at the print in the cracked ice. Something was bubbling in his brain.

His team had trouble moving, because of the ice. He checked his MP. Plenty. So…

Lina blocked an errant swing, vibrations running through her arm. They may have been virtual muscles, but they ached just the same. And she didn’t have time to try any of Alex’s fancy Matrix crap. He could bend and move like a slippery eel, but even that couldn’t save him when Bleakheart connected. She growled in frustration; they were just spinning their wheels here! No matter how much they hit him, he had HP to spare, and health regen rate the same as theirs! They needed more people, more firepower, more-

“Flamejet! Flamejet!” Jamie chanted, shooting fire onto the floor, a reverse vacuum of heat.

“What are you doing, Jamie!?” she cried, slamming her blade into the boss. -48. He still had 715, 274 of 718,576. She felt like crying. It had only been seven minutes, and she had only a little more than half her HP left. Jamie was blasting the floor enthusiastically with everything he had. “Are you crazy!?”

“M-Maybe!” he hollered back, trying to coat the floor with as much fire as possible. He ran, casting Flamejet after Flamejet, his MP dangerously low.

“Look Jamie, we need you to focus here!” She splashed forward angrily at him. “You can’t play around at a time-” Splash?

She looked down, her boots wet. The walls were still coated in ice, but the floor was melting, covered only in a couple inches of water now. She looked up at him, surprised.

“I figure, if w-we’re having trouble m-moving on ice, then we can do a lot better if it’s not there! R-Right?” he asked hopefully. Lina dug her foot into the marble floor, sure and strong. With this, she would be able to move more and brace more efficiently.

“Y-Yeah, right!” she said excitedly. Alex rolled between them.

“Guh. Good vork, Jamie. Lina, vould you mind taking over vhile the Priest vorks?” he pleaded, HP in the red.

“C’mon!” she bellowed, charging into the fray. Jamie moved to join her while Father Mayhew placed a hand on Alex, chanting healing spells.

“Vait.” Alex said, holding the Magus back. “Do you have much magic left? You’ve done good, and have given me an idea. Can ve increase the vater’s temperature?” Jamie considered for a moment, but shook his head.

“Don’t have enough MP, not for that.”

“A little-help here!” Lina shrieked as Bleakheart punted her, the Knight sailing in an arc.

“I think I should get going. Targetshoot!” Reticles appeared in Jamie’s eyes as he ran off, throwing Magbolts as distractions while Lina re-engaged.

“Blast.” Alex glanced at Mayhew. “You vouldn’t happen to have anything that could boil this vater, vould you?”

“I had enough Firestorm spell crystals make this a cakewalk-until I lost them. But the Priest class doesn’t have much elemental magic, only holy spells. Nothing that’ll boil water.” he said, digging in his inventory. Alex saw the display. Some health and mana potions, rope, a small buckler, a barrel, and his remainder assorted spell crystals. “Let’s see…” he muttered as Alex’s bar dinged full. Mayhew had six Groundquakes, five Weaponstretches, a Stalagspike, two Circles of Protection, and the coveted Lightning Strike. “That’s all I got, lost too much in the fall. Nothing with fire, and these won’t be enough to…” He glanced at the screen again. Then at the water, then at the screen. He turned to Alex, sharing his grin. You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“If it involves that lightning crystal.” Alex replied, going over the rest. There was a way he could use these, he just knew it.

“Yup. Electricity beats water. Let’s Pikachu this *bleep*!” Mayhew crowed, then realized how it sounded, looking down in embarrassment.

“Indeed.” Alex said as Mayhew coughed and got the crystal. He stopped him form closing the screen, pulling out the Groundquakes. “How does vun use these?”

“Just like casting a spell, you say the name and it activates.”

“Hmm. Can they be activated from a distance?” he asked.

“Like a bomb? Yeah. That’s why the Alchemist class has so few other bonuses, and learns fewer spells. They rely on items like this.” Mayhew said.

“Perfect. Stalagspike!” He raised up a stone point. Use this to avoid the shot. I must avay for my plan. Let us, shall ve say, Pikachu this *bleep*.” With that he ran off, arms full of crystals.

“What? Okay…” Mayhew said uncertainly, glancing around. He climbed the spire, making sure not to have any contact with the water. “Hey guys! Get over here!” he called to the Vampires.

“Little busy!” Jamie shouted, pelting Bleakheart with Magbolts while Lina dueled with him.

“Where’s that little runt? He could be helping!” Lina cried, dodging the blue finger pointing, the ring flashing to encase her in ice.

“This will!” Mayhew held up the crystal. Jamie saw the screen and cheered. Lina blocked the ice blade, and dashed backwards. Bleakheart growled, his A.I. calculating the best strategy, following cautiously. Lina took a flying leap, trusting her STR to make her jump incredible, soaring over and grabbing the stalagmite.

“Lightning Strike!” Mayhew thundered, pointing the sphere forward. The sapphire gem crackled with static, and burst into brilliant blue arcs of light, shocking Bleakheart with a million volts.

“Bgwaaauuh!” The raid boss howled in pain, his HP bar depleting rapidly. White numbers flickered in the air around him, all counting down, but the light blinded the party. The lightning danced and flowed, streaming from the gem through the target and beyond. It wasn’t one single bolt, that wasn’t impressive enough for this videogame. It was chained shots pouring outward, one of the pinnacle of Magus spells, as if Thor himself pointed his hammer and went to town. Sparks flew and the Vampires squeezed their eyes shut; it was at least five seconds of pure electricity.

At last, the spell ended and there was quiet, the players’ ears ringing. But even they could hear the hissing of steam, see the smoke coming from the boss. Bleakheart shook his head, moving his digital body to walk it off. Jamie glanced at the HP bar.

“You gotta be *bleep* *bleep* *bleep*ing me!” Lina cried. 628,351 hit points left. The spell had done damage, more than the lions’ share; but with his toughness, even that was absorbed easily. They’d barely taken away an eighth of his health. Bleakheart growled and strode forward, the steam making him look like an emissary form Hell. “What’s it god*bleep* take!?”

“More’n that, he’s a raid boss. He’s designed to take on full parties, up to six at a time. We’re supposed to be throwing those Lightning Strikes out like candy, he can handle it! We probably confused his A/I. a bit by coming at him with such low force, but he’ll steamroll us if we can’t put him down!” Mayhew said, gritting his teeth and wiping his face. The condensation poured off of him like sweat. He smiled grimly; at least most of the water had evaporated. The lightning had been enough to boil it away, securing their footing. They could move now, and they’d have to. They scattered as Bleakheart brought his sword down, smashing the stalagmite to pieces.

“Be careful! I saw him start to-no!” Jamie gasped in horror as Bleakheart raised his arms. The wind howled form the hall to the entrance, the temperature suddenly dropping. “He-He’s gonna use Realm of Cold!”

“Circle of Resistance!” Mayhew cried, activating one of the spell crystals in a desperate attempt to fortify them. Lina wrapped her coat tighter around herself and cast Resolvenforcement, knowing it wouldn’t be enough. They huddled together, trembling as the AOE built up.

“Where’s Alex!?” Lina cried. Even if they survived, Mayhew couldn’t heal them all fast enough before Bleakheart felled them.

“Here!” Alex dropped down from the ceiling, examining Jamie’s MP. “Good, you have that circle thing. Jamie, cast Pillar of Flame.

“W-What? B-But that won’t stop him!” the Magus cried. The wind grew colder as the attack started up, snow and ice glistening in the air.

“On us! Qvick!”

“WHAT!?”

“Now!”

“P-Pillar of Flame! Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!” He screamed, they all screamed as the fire sprouted from the ground, bathing them all in red-hot flame, the multi-hit attack burning through everything as the Realm of Cold raged on.

At last the fire died down, along with the ice. They collapsed to the marble floor, Bleakheart frowning even though he got healed to 700, 228 HP. The ice had been melted, and the water evaporated, meaning the floor couldn’t be frozen over again. He hefted his ice blade, his A.I. calculating. No matter.

Alex smiled as he got to a knee, smoldering, his HP in the low yellow.

“Heh heh. I vas right. Bingo, my fine fellows.” he chuckled.

“What are you talking about?” Lina groaned, low health as well, her TGH not nearly enough to offset the spell.

“The temperatures cancelled each other out. The fire kept us varm, and the damage from Jamie’s attack vas less than the attack form him.” Speaking of which, Bleakheart was gaining speed, raising his sword to crush them. “Here he comes!”

“Yaaah!” They dove out of the way as the blade crashed down, breaking the floor and taking them into the red from the shrapnel. Alex was on him in an instant, climbing up his black armor like a monkey to slash at his unprotected neck.

“Casting Pillar of Flame on us to stop a cold element attack? He’s crazy! Or a genius!” Mayhew said, holding up his mace. “Aura of Rejuvenation!” He burned his remaining MP on the spell, emanating a healing green light that began to refill their HP bars. It wasn’t as quick as a regular healing spell, but it could fill them up to max.

“Well, our HP is okay, but our MP is zilch. I’m out.” Lina said.

“D’you have any of those mana potions left?” Jamie asked. Mayhew dug in his inventory and tossed him a small bottle.

“Take a Light potion. Only 25%, but it’ll do for now.” Mayhew said, one eye always on Alex. He was keeping the boss busy, HP regenerating, but there was no significant damage. Bleakheart was just too high level. It was a miracle they’d lasted this long, but it was simply a matter of time until they died. He mentally reviewed his spells and options, not much. He was out of MP, and restorative potions unless he wanted to use the only big one. He eyed Alex again. “Dunno how we can pull it off at this rate.”

“W-We h-have to. I-It’s why w-were here. R-Right?” Jamie asked nervously.

“Right!” Lina brandished her sword and charged. She swung and made the boss double over, kicking his knee out and trying to chop his head off. It didn’t work of course and Lina growled, redoubling her assault, Alex spinning his blade to slice away hit points one at a time. Bleakheart grumbled and grabbed Lina straight through her attack, lifting her up and tossing her at the wall. Alex leapt to catch her, sending them both flying into the ice.

CRNCH!

“That did not feel good.” Alex muttered, rolling her off of him. “Aim for the veak spot!” He sprang back up and charged, cursing internally. This fight was exhausting. He flipped into a kick, distracting Bleakheart from Mayhew and Jamie. “Come on! Fight! Jamie, vith me! Mayhew, help Lina!”

“Right!” Mayhew bolted as fast as his SPD would allow, Jamie taking position behind Bleakheart to flank. The boss growled and smirked, his A.I. calculating their stats and attacks. He raised his sword.

“Move!” They lunged out of the way as he brought it down, shattering it and sending razor-sharp ice shards everywhere, to which he was conveniently immune. Jamie began slinging spells and Alex swung his sword as Bleakheart raised his sword defensively, the blade reforming form the cold air and his MP bar.

“Raaaagh! Magbolt Magbolt Magbolt!” Jamie threw as many as he could, machinegunning them all down the back of his armor. Bleakheart didn’t even notice, swinging the blade around his head to meet Alex’s edge first, making the vampire wince internally. He had to remind himself it was a videogame, that physics and the rules of swordsmanship were…mutable.

“Hitcrease! Have at you!” Alex’s sword glowed and he whipped it like a feather, scoring shallow hits that nevertheless drove Bleakheart’s hit points down. He was officially less than 690,000 HP, but not nearly enough health remained on Alex’s side of the equation to take advantage. The vampire dueled bravely, dodging, parrying, stinging a riposte into every vulnerable crack in the armor. But in the end, he just didn’t have enough power.

Bleakheart used his sword, hammering down blow after blow upon his opponent, uncaring of Jamie’s cover fire. Alex was so focused on not letting that blade touch him, he didn’t see the lazy arc Bleakheart’s leg made to slam into him, sending him rolling and sprawling, collapsed on the marble floor. He couldn’t get up, the simulated pain making his entire body freeze.

“Alex!” Jamie was at his side in an instant. He gulped as he saw Alex’s health in the red…17 HP.

“Heh. Guess I still have yet to completely master the svord, huh?” he chuckled, wincing. Bleakheart loomed over them, snorting and murderous. His leg rose and fell, Alex forcing his own legs to push Jamie away, using the recoil to roll back and avoid the blow. “Kghuh. I, I’m tired.” he muttered, starting to cough. His entire virtual body burned with a dull throb. He grinned, relishing the sensation. It had been far too long. He shakily raised his sword arm, pointing the quivering blade at the boss. Focus, focus. He had to focus.

“Gangway!” Lina came in to slam the giant with a tackle, following up with a flying knee to bend him over, trying to push him back as much as she could. And despite Bleakheart’s immense STR, TGH, and sheer size and weight, Lina was forcing him back. Bleakheart growled and dug in his heels, leaning over to leverage his body into a counter-push, grabbing her hands. “Grnaugh!” Her face contorted in pain as her virtual spine was bending backwards, and she had to give or be snapped in half. Bleakheart smiled, guffawing a hearty laugh.

“Lina!” Alex, Mayhew, and Jamie cried. She could only stare helplessly at his blue, bearded face, laughing at her humiliation. It was just like the pigs at her office. It was just like real life. No matter how hard she pushed, she would always be beaten down by those on top. It was always the same. Was it really true? Was she always just soft, helpless little Lina, doomed to fail whenever she tried? No, no. She’d never be able to break free. From the game. From her destiny.

The others watched in horror as white numbers ticked her HP away, Bleakheart folding her in half. Alex sprang forward, Mayhew following behind, both too tired and far away to catch up, Jamie desperately combing through spells.

Maybe, maybe it would be better for Alex to take over, Lina considered. He was the super-strong ancient vampire, after all. He was the big, strong man who could do no wrong. She sighed in defeat, her grip lessening. She…she just wasn’t strong enough.

“Lina!” Alex shouted.

That was the problem, Lina mused. She was just plain old Lina. No matter what, she couldn’t succeed. Her hands were so puny in Bleakheart’s grip. She was so small. She…she blinked. Alex was smaller than her. Or rather, Allocrax was. And he was the fiercest fighter she’d ever seen. She looked at her hands, or rather, Riezelkhrad’s hands. Maybe, Lina wasn’t strong enough to push back. Maybe. But for Rizelkhrad, she’d dumped every point into STR. She’d always loved going on adventures, beating down anything that got in her way. Rizelkhrad was bold and free, more than enough to handle whatever the game threw at her. She could live how she wanted. Lina loved her. And, in her head, there wasn’t any way Rizelkhrad would give up now.

Lina grit her teeth, exhaling and tensing her virtual muscles. Bleakheart raised an eyebrow, unable to press down any further.

Rizelkhrad could beat anything. She was a she-devil with a giant sword, and while others surpassed her in many ways, none could match her in pure strength.

Lina’s back protested, but she forced the blue hands back enough she could get her legs under her. Both she and the boss grunted, locked in a contest so intense one slip-up meant certain doom.

Rizelkhrad, Lina realized, was what Lina wanted to be. She might have talked a big game, but now it was time to put the money where her mouth was. And right now, the success of Rizelkhrad depended on Lina’s will. There was no way Lina could let her down.

Bleakheart dug in harder, leaning all his digital weight into it. The A.I. was confused, as he was being pushed backwards, his feet leaving grooves in the marble.

“…rrrrrrrRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!” Lina roared as she pushed, stomping so hard her feet left craters in the ground, plucking them out to place them in again effortlessly. Bleakheart was being overwhelmed.

“Little to the left, Lina.” Alex said, stabbing the boss in the back of the knee.

“Fooooooore!” Mayhew swung his mace into Bleakheart’s other knee. He crumpled, losing his footing.

“YAHH!” Lina rocketed forward, picking the boss up and slamming him into the ice-encrusted wall, hard enough to leave an indent.

“Groundqvake!” Alex cried. Suddenly, the wall began to quiver and shake violently, the A.I. barely processing the green orbs stuck in the ice around him. All six at once went off, shattering the ice on the wall and leaving Bleakheart unable to respond. “Finish him!”

“Hitcrease!” Lina’s sword glowed, as she pulled out a spell crystal Alex had slipped her when he’d caught her. “Weaponstretch!”

She raised Hellcrusher and thrust, straight through the boss’s virtual chest. The pudding-like consistency of flesh easily let the sturdy blade through. Despite her STR and mighty attack, his TGH was simply too much, especially with his absurd HP. She barely made a dent in it, a mere -106, which he could recover instantly, and now she was wide open as she drove herself forward.

The wall behind him was another story.

C-Crrrrmmmble!

The marble, much abused by previous attacks and blades thrown into it, could not withstand Lina’s thrust, not with six Groundquakes going off simultaneously, weakening the structure even more. Her brute force broke through, her momentum throwing them both out of the hole in the extremely tall cathedral. Bleakheart howled as he fell, disappearing into the void of the mountain range below. Lina felt herself falling to that same fate…until a hand grabbed her arm, giving her a view of the valley below before swinging back into the rock.

“Ha ha! Good show, Lina! Very vell done! Very vell done indeed!” Alex cheered, grinning and hanging on for dear unlife. “A little help!”

“Oh jeez, oh boy, oh jeez…” Jamie said nervously, he and Mayhew grabbing the pair and helping haul them back. They all collapsed onto the cold floor, panting and exhausted, as the light of the new day rising up spilled into the room. Alex shoved a fist in the air.

“Yes! Our first vin! All hail victory, all hail us, the Victorious Vampires!” he cawed with delight.

“Speaking of which, where’s our prize?” Lina said tiredly. She was completely drained. All the adrenaline keeping her going washed away, leaving only sore muscles and a great need to nap.

“We’re…we’re pretty high up. He fell into the valley, so at the max rate of speed we programmed falling, he should-” Mayhew started, but was interrupted by a shower of sparks and a large ‘CONGRADULATIONS!’ screen in the air, from which poured out a veritable river of gold coins and items. The Vampires were nearly buried in cash, and they joyously scrambled up, their fatigue forgotten.

“Woo-hoo! We hit the motherload!” Lina cried, pumping her fist.

“Holy cow! Lookit all this cash! I feel like Scrooge McDuck!” Jamie said, taking off a boot to dump coins out.

“Four people…beating a raid boss…heh…this wasn’t supposed to be divvied up so little. I’ll have you know we made game history today.” Mayhew said. Allocrax, meanwhile, was digging through the dropped coins, potions, and spell crystals.

“Vhere is it, vhere is it…aha! At last!” He shook the coins out and held up a much more valuable reasonably-sized breastplate, a set of gauntlets and greaves below it, the helm rolling off a small mound of gold. Jamie gasped.

“That’s…that’s the Shadowheart Armor! It’s one of the best items you can get in RFO!” he said, pulling up the stats. +80 STR, +300 TGH, +30 SPC, and -15 SPD with the Durable quality and Ice Resistance. Alex looked it over.

“Vell that +300 TGH certainly sounds good, but other than that I’m not sure about it.” he said, frowning at the -15 SPD.

“That’s because you don’t wear armor, really.” Lina said, unable to take her eyes off the +300. “How much SPD did it drop again?”

“Fifteen?” the vampire said. She inhaled slowly, a breath of satisfaction.

“Mmm, say that again.”

“F-Fifteen?” he repeated, a little leery.

“Oh yeah. That’s the stuff. Come to momma.” she said, plucking it out of his hands and admiring it. “Oooh baby.”

“Remember, you gotta wear the full set if you want the effects.” Mayhew reminded her, scouring through the treasure for healing potions, dividing them up and popping a small one. That fight was hard.

“I know.” She started hugging and caressing the breastplate, rubbing her cheek against it lovingly. “Who’s one of the strongest items in the game? You are, yes you are!” she cooed.

“Riiiiight.” Jamie muttered, backing up.

“At least it’s black. A proper color.” ALex sniffed. He turned to the mound of riches. “So. Ve have qvite a lot here.”

“Yeah! We’re rich! In-game, at least.” Jamie pulled up his stat screen, grinning. “And not only that, we got major XP! I’m level 32 now!”

“36 for me.” Lina siad absently, polishing the breastplate.

“42!” Mayhew said. Alex checked his own screen and raised an eyebrow. Well, what did you know.

“Level 29. That doesn’t qvite seem like a lot, especially after vhat ve vent through.” he said.

“Levelling up was intentionally made difficult, getting less gains the further you go. After level 50, you only get three points to put in your stats as opposed to five. It’s really hard to achieve anything outrageous like what armor-girl here’s got without extreme weaknesses in other areas, also like armor-girl. She’s got *bleep* TGH, SPD, and SPC, only strong one way. It’s supposed to help encourage customization, either a well-rounded character with few strengths or minmax and have vulnerabilities that other players can capitalize on. We’re starting to get up there, levelling’s gonna be harder and harder. To go up four levels at once past level twenty’s actually a pretty big deal.” Mayhew explained.

“Then how come I’ve seen people running around past level sixty withing the first month of the game?” Jamie deadpanned.

“Those people have no lives, and grind over eighteen hours a say. They also go on quests. We went on, what? Three? Even if they’re higher level, monsters don’t drop that much more XP. It’s an MMO, you’re supposed to have to grind for power!” he said.

“Speaking of, I got new spells! Two of ‘em, and one after level 30! Sweet!” Jamie gushed, hopping up and down with excitement after checking his screen.

“It seems I have anew spell as vell.” the vampire siad, looking over his options: Teledash, Shadowgrab, Whipout, or Guardian Wisp.

“All good choices, too bad you only get one. Whipout’s the worst option unless you plan a build around it, but you can make it work. It’s decent enough.” Jamie said.

“I see. I shall select it later then.” he said, putting the menu away. “The more pressing qvestion is, how are ve going to carry all this out down the mountain?”

They all stared at the enormous amount of gold and goods, and at each of the grand total four of them. The treasure was meant to be carried by a raid party. There was awkward silence.

“We’re not leaving any of it.” Lina said firmly.

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

Up high on the final floor of the last level, the A.I.’s data lay in wait, patient for a player to trigger the true final boss, glorious and daunting for even the most seasoned player, which even the strongest hadn’t reached yet.

There was a buzzing. There was a shaking.

Then the floor was silent. Empty.