[ZERO SPACE]

“Your one final mission is this one final mission,” said the village chief. “You must slay the Goblin King and then win!”

Shae, Dalli, Bander and Lanzer humored the village chief, waiting for his rambling to end.

“With that the Goblin King defeated, you will restore peace to us all of the villagers,” said the village chief. “You must triumph or you will surely fail!”

This was the final goblin mission. The goblin/villager war would continue despite the outcome, but if the Feather Birds were successful, at least it would be someone else’s problem.

“Now go and go,” said the villager chief. “Bring us a victory so we don’t have to the go for there king do it for us.”

The village chief froze in place. Shae’s crew made sure he was done talking, then departed --

The village chief’s head suddenly whipped towards Shae. His goofy demeanor soured as dark circles formed beneath his eyes, aging him by a hundred years.

“Shae,” the village chief whispered. “Beware the Goblin King. His evil transcends Zero Space itself. May the gods help you all.”

Shae froze in terror.

The village chief then reverted to his silly old self. An impossibly wide smile expanded past the boundaries of his cheeks, forcing his teeth to clip through his nostrils. Convulsing violently, he took off like a rocket, slingshotting into the atmosphere.

Shae was shaking. Even goofy NPCs like the village chief had the capacity for sentience; he mentioned Zero Space by name. Shae’s allies didn’t see it; they were already halfway to the treeline.

That was a bad omen - the last type of omen Shae needed right now.

* * *

Sunlight Forest was living up to its namesake. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, trees were rustling, and the calming screech of dying villagers echoed in the distance.

Bander walked behind Lanzer, his eyes narrowed.

“I don’t buy it,” said Bander. “What kind of Dev gets banned for cheating?”

“A QA Tester,” Lanzer said. “That was my job. I’ve played every mission hundreds of times. I know this game better than anyone!”

“Your story seems fishy,” said Bander.

“I get that a lot,” Lanzer grinned, patting his back fin.

“No, idiot,” said Bander. “I mean, a developer wouldn’t ruin a quest just to punish another developer.”

“A good developer wouldn’t do that,” said Lanzer. “Not all developers are good!”

Shae took up the rear, pondering the village chief’s message - evil that transcends Zero Space. What could that possibly mean?

“So you have a ricochet power now?” asked Dalli, pulling Shae back to the present.

“Yeah,” said Shae. “I have a poison ability now too. A DoT.”

“A, dot?” repeated Dalli in confusion.

“Yeah, a DoT ability,” said Shae. “You know, Damage Over Time.”

Dalli stared at him blankly.

Shae sighed. “An ability that does a set amount of damage over a set amount of time.”

Dalli just shrugged.

“How do you not know this?” asked Shae. “Aren’t you like, ancient or something?”

“I’m not up to date with your hip kid lingo,” snarled Dalli. “That doesn’t mean I’m not better than you.”

“Hey hey hey,” said Lanzer from up ahead. “We’re here!”

A dome of purple energy towered before them. This was the Goblin King instance, a special area reserved for Shae’s team. It was the largest instance-bubble that Shae had ever seen.

“Dalli, Lanzer, you go in first,” said Bander. “I need to talk with Shae alone.”

Dalli didn’t object to having extra time away from Shae. He followed Lanzer into the bubble’s interior.

Bander approached Shae with his usual scowl.

“Is this about the premium account thing?” asked Shae.

“No, idiot,” said Bander. “That can wait.”

Bander made sure Dalli and Lanzer were out of sight.

“I read up on this mission,” said Bander. “It’s impossible without a whole team of Level 2 users. Dalli isn’t enough.”

“You got me alone, just to tell me that?” asked Shae.

“Let me finish, idiot,” said Bander. “We can survive, but we’re going to have to cheat.”

Bander pulled out a vial of fluorescent green liquid.

“This is called Green Juice,” said Bander. “It will save our asses.”

Shae froze. Green Juice was the stuff Anton had mentioned. Was this a thing in Zero Space too?

“When you drink this,” Bander continued. “It will restore your Health and SP.”

That sounded nifty. Shae snatched at the vial, but Bander pulled it back.

“Don’t use this recklessly, dimwit,” warned Bander. “You have no idea how hard it is to make. This little vial almost burnt down my unit.”

“What’s it made of?” asked Shae, hoping to get more information out of Bander.

“Code, just like everything else, moron,” said Bander. “It’s a hacker thing. Zero Space hates this stuff. It tries to fry your rig when you make it. I… I don’t want to get into it.”

“Sounds like you’re withholding information from your leader,” said Shae.

“You’re not my leader yet, idiot,” said Bander. “Not formally at least. And if you don’t use that smartly, you won’t be past today!”

* * *

Shae and Bander entered the bubble to find Lanzer and Dalli staring forward in horror.

“Glad you didn’t run off without us --” Shae began to say.

Shae froze too. Just ahead:

Player corpses. Hundreds of them, scattered across a misty marshland. These corpses had been here a while. Some were impaled on branches and spears. Others were crushed under stones or flayed across tree trunks. This wasn’t just a slaughter; it was a panorama of carnage, arranged in an unwelcoming display.

“What, what is this?” asked Dalli. “Never in all my years have I seen --”

A corpse wiggled; this one was still alive. Shae approached it, looking into his eyes. This player was a pteranoid, his spine hooked around a sturdy branch. His uprooted ribs reached outwards like a grasping spider. Shallow punctures dotted his naked flesh - his fur was removed by hand. Two cold dead eyes stared forward, begging for release. Shae’s hand reached towards him --

The pteranoid’s flesh erupted into white worms. Shae screeched as the pale squirming mass flooded the forest floor.

“These corpses...” said Bander. “They shouldn’t be here. Not after eight hours.”

“Yeah, it’s kinda a unique Goblin King feature,” said Lanzer. “If he kills you, a copy of your corpse remains here for everyone else to see. It’s a pretty neat system actually!”

Shae saw nothing neat about this. Torture was ineffective in Zero Space; experienced players just went AFK for it. However, many players valued their characters as much as their own real-life bodies; some even more so. Seeing yourself mangled and put on display was a fate worse than death. Or at least a Zero Space death.

“I already hate this place,” said Dalli.

“Don’t worry, it gets worse,” said Lanzer.

The smell here was overwhelming. Shae masked his face with his purple jacket. Foul odors were toned down in Zero Space, but they still existed. Enough of them at once could emulate reality to a fault.

Thick mist shrouded the way forward. Outlines of willow trees broke the visual monotony. Each footstep conjured up an explosion of chunky mud. A few meters of walking had rendered Shae’s fancy purple shoes a shade of brown. Wet dirt trickled into his socks, soaking his soles with scratchy slime. Three minutes in and this was already Shae’s least favorite mission.

“Get down!” said Lanzer.

Everyone flung themselves into the mud; everyone but Shae. Shae couldn’t fathom exposing his outfit to this filth. He had to look his best for the mission replay. When the Goblin King fell, Shae wanted his purple cloak to be flowing, lens-flare from his sunglasses, and his pants --

-- Dalli’s arm shot out of the tall grass, yanking Shae down.

Just in time too. Several goblins wandered by, scouting for non-goblin life.

Shae swiped muck from his ruined outfit. Why bother wearing nice clothes if they were going to get destroyed each mission? Fancy armor could be cleaned off. But fancy fabric? That would stain.

Another goblin group passed by, wielding axes and slings. The mist concealed these goblins; they were impossible to see until it was too late. Maybe a stealth-specialist like Asira could navigate this? Shae cursed at himself for leaving her behind.

“Any ideas, leader?” asked Bander.

Shae didn’t comment - Bander already knew the answer.

“Don’t worry, this part’s easy,” said Lanzer. “There used to be six goblin patrols here, but the devs removed one of them. I guess it was too hard or something? Anyway, we just need to find the gap.”

Lanzer peeked out of the grass.

“A group of goblins just passed by, right?” asked Lanzer. “In another twelve seconds, we’ll see another.”

Twelve seconds later, Lanzer’s prediction came true. A goblin group emerged from the mist.

“What the hell?” asked Dalli.

“Count again,” said Lanzer. “Twelve seconds!”

Right on time - more goblins.

“Again!” said Lanzer.

Another twelve seconds - but this time, no goblins.

“You were wrong,” snarled Dalli.

“Was I?” asked Lanzer with a grin. “Wait for it.”

Another twelve seconds passed: twenty four seconds in total. Then --

-- A goblin group emerged.

“See see see?” asked Lanzer. “It took twice as long for the next group. We just saw the patrol gap.”

Lanzer’s head dipped back into the high grass.

“Now we just wait for five goblin groups to pass,” said Lanzer. “Then the gap will come around again. You follow me?”

Shae and Bander nodded. Dalli pretended to understand.

“Now wait for it…”

Sixty seconds passed. In that time, five goblin groups passed.

“There is no sixth group,” said Lanzer. “Which means the gap is next. Go go go!”

No one hesitated. They dashed through the opposing marshlands, thick mud gripping at their feet. Patrolling shadows dipped in and out of the mist, skirting at the edge of visibility, threatening to break through.

“Keep going!” yelled Lanzer.

They ran for what felt like an eternity. Exhaustion was less severe in Zero Space, but the four of them were starting to feel it now. Each step submerged them to their shins - Bander was submerged to his thighs.

“Okay okay okay,” said Lanzer. “Enough enough enough. We made it.”

The group fell to their hands and knees, choking on humid air with each exhausted gasp.

Lanzer grinned towards Bander.

“You believe me now?” asked Lanzer.

“Any player could have figured that out, jerk,” said Bander, wringing the mud from his robe. “It’s going to take more than that!”

Lanzer flashed his sharp teeth. “Challenge accepted,” he said.

Bander didn’t like the sound of that.

The wet grasslands gave way to a short paved path, leading to --

A goblin fortress. Not a fortress in the literal sense - there was no roof enclosing it. It was just a series of rope bridges, straw huts and dirt tunnels surrounded by a massive wooden wall.

In front of the wall - an army of goblins, each wielding axes and slings. They chanted with a choir of clicks and pops, creating an overwhelming noise. Shae’s crew doubled-back.

“What the --” snarled Dalli. “That’s impossible.”

Shae examined their surroundings - no obvious way by.

“This is stupid,” said Bander. “We’re going to wipe here.”

“Wipe?” asked Dalli.

“It means we all die,” said Shae.

“I haven’t wiped in a long time,” said Dalli.

“I’m going to tell Chief you said that,” said Shae.

“No no no,” said Lanzer. “You can’t fight them. And sneaking by won’t work either. There’s only one thing we can do.”

Lanzer turned towards the goblin horde.

“You have to trust me,” asked Lanzer. “Stay close to me, no matter what happens. Okay okay okay?”

Shae scratched his head with his pistol. What if Asira was right? Lanzer was a banned player; he had a perfect opportunity to do something ban-worthy. Screwing them over would cost the Feather Birds months of goblin mission grinding.

Lanzer removed his metal claws, stepping out into the open.

“What the hell are you doing?” snarled Dalli.

“Follow me, or we’re all going to die!” said Lanzer.

Bander swiped at Lanzer’s fish tail, but missed.

“No, idiot, you’re going to get us killed!” said Bander. “Shae, stop him!”

Shae scratched his head harder. He had sacrificed Asira’s skill for Lanzer’s knowledge - this trade was meaningless if he wasn’t going to use it.

“Follow the clown,” Shae said, depositing his pistols in their holsters.

Dalli and Bander gaped at Shae.

“Don’t be an idiot --” Bander began to say.

“I’m the leader, and you’ll do as I say,” said Shae.

“This is nonsense,” griped Dalli. “Chief will hear about this.”

“She’ll hear about it from me,” said Shae. “Chief chose me. And I chose Lanzer. If I messed up, it’s my ass on the line, not yours. Now come on.”

Dalli and Bander reluctantly followed. It was protocol to trust the raid leader, even if that raid leader was Shae.

The four of them walked towards certain death. Goblins took notice, acknowledging Shae’s crew with angry clicks and pops.

“Weapons down,” said Lanzer. “Stay together.”

Hundreds of goblin eyes watched their every move. These goblins were stunned by the party’s audacity, but they wouldn’t remain stunned for long.

“Almost there,” said Lanzer.

Dalli muttered an incoherent prayer. Bander gripped his staff hard enough to snap it. Shae’s sunglasses hid his wide-eyed terror.

Finally, a goblin made a move, charging forward with an axe held high. The other goblins followed --

-- All goblins suddenly stopped, filing back into their previous positions. Shae’s party was paralyzed, their weapons trembling in their hands.

“Don’t move,” said Lanzer.

His allies were happy to comply.

At the top of the wooden wall, a large goblin stepped forward, wearing a regal blue robe. This goblin approached with a dignified stride, holding a two-handed axe in each hand. Tattoos of player-races coated his visible flesh. There was an armoroid on his shin, a musicoid on his bicep, and a dragonoid on his cheek, among countless others. These player faces were screaming - etchings of defeated opponents, immortalized in their final moments.

A massive red ruby sat on his head, supported by a crown of straw and stone - this was the Level 2 material. Supporting a gemstone of this size spoke volumes about his neck muscles.

“That’s the Goblin King,” said Lanzer.

“Obviously,” said Bander.

“I could probably snipe him from here,” said Shae.

“No no no,” responded Lanzer quickly. “Whatever you do, don’t attack him!”

This Goblin King readied himself for an important announcement:

“*Click* *Pop* *Click* *Cliiiick*”

The Goblin King cleared his throat.

“What I meant to say was, kill them all!” the Goblin King yelled.

Dalli, Bander and Shae readied their weapons.

“Kill all the vill-age-ers!” the Goblin King continued. “They live in our trees. They take our land. They eat our food. They kill our kin. We must fight them back. We were here first!”

The surrounding goblins cheered, ignoring Shae’s crew.

“We must tear down their homes,” the Goblin King continued. “Rip, and bite, and maim those who hunt us! Those bad guys won’t drive us out!”

More goblin cheering - almost deafening.

“Now go my kin,” said the Goblin King. “Slay them all and bring peace back to our land of trees!”

A roar of approval resonated from the goblin horde. They raised their weapons high, then stampeded from the forest. Shae’s company held still as goblins flowed past them like rapid water bending around a rock.

At last, the goblins were dispersed. All that stood before Shae’s team was an empty field of bent grass and powdered stones.

Shae glanced at the Goblin King - the Goblin King was staring right at him with a cruel, knowing expression. This wasn’t a scripted stare; it was a sentient one. Dalli and Bander were too distracted to see it. They encircled Lanzer, interrogating him.

“What did you do?” asked Dalli.

“It’s what we did!” said Lanzer. “We entered a trigger.”

Dalli was lost.

“Erm, a trigger is an invisible space,” Lanzer explained. “When you enter it, it activates something. This one activated a story scene. We all had to be inside to make it work.”

“Why didn’t you just say that, idiot?” asked Bander.

“We were running out of time,” said Lanzer. “And I couldn’t remember if that trigger was still there. The devs keep moving it!”

Shae froze. If Lanzer had been wrong, they all would have perished.

“Most players don’t know about that trigger,” said Lanzer. “If you fight the goblins, the trigger gets disabled. Most runs end right here!”

Lanzer grinned at Bander, poking him several times in the side.

“You believe me now?” Lanzer asked. “Huh huh huh?”

Bander chose not to bite Lanzer; he was afraid of Lanzer biting back.

Shae glanced back up towards the wall - the Goblin King was gone. All that remained was a long vertical fissure, leading into the encampment. He pondered the village chief’s words: What kind of evil could transcend Zero Space?

Shae feared he was going to find out.