Hi guys. Sorry my upload times are just crazy. I literally have almost no time, except on Saturdays and I only have my phone. I was able to get to an isolated place and I went to work on this chapter. So I hope you enjoy it! I liked the part with the bug. It was part of the idea my father gave to me, a computer science major. I knew how it works to update it, but 'I' was 'updating the AI security parameters'. No one knows why this system is mutating, but maybe it's not. Maybe this is all on purpose?
The AI will only be hostile towards players on the... What floor was this again? Floor thirteen. Yup. Like Friday the Thirteenth.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and be sure to leave a good review for me and subscribe for more. Of course, I might not be able to post because of my next week. I have tests and projects due, plus I do have friends. I haven't been able to talk to them much.
(*EDIT: TESTS ARE NOW!*)
Well, read on and enjoy!
The blade split and splintered the high-quality wood and barely missed Zeke's face by millimeters. It took a second to realize what was going on.
"Get him!" Rush had already drawn his secondary weapon, a knife. With a quick swipe, the NPC's eyes were blinded. The tender jumped back without a scream or a yell. A blurred pixelated line appeared where the slash had hit. All around were the rising NPCs, all grabbing random objects near them. One grabbed his own sandwich.
"Uh, what's going on?" KatGirl started to grab Zeke's are, but she also already had her Claws equipped. The foot long double blades on each hand made it hard to touch people. Zeke pulled his full blade off of his back, the Dragon's Fang pointed at the NPCs.
"How do we kill an NPC? They have no health bars, so they can't die. What's a strategy?" Zeke, even though he was one of the leaders.
"We might want to wake Kain up, first. Give me your drink, Zeke." [Dark_Hand] drew her black shortsword and grabbed Zeke's strawberry wine. With a splash, she poured the contents onto Kain's dazed face. He imeadiatly started gasping and his hair was plastered over his face. "C'mon, loser. No sleeping now."
"What the-" Kain struggled to gasp for air. The first NPC with a plate attacked and swung at Celene, only to catch a bullet from Silver in the face. The NPC flew back several meters. "What's going on?"
"Jeez. You're so weak. Get up and fight back. We're under attack, dumb ass. Draw your weapon and help." [Dark_Hand] didn't offer a hand, but instead started to slash at the surrounding NPCs. Zeke took a swing at a NPC and bisected one. The red blade gleamed grimly. Though they looked human, Zeke had killed before. Once. It was out of Self defense, but Zeke still felt horrible for it and his dreams were sometimes haunting.
"Watch out, Zeke!" A clang sounded as two blades met, one a dull golden and the other a black. One a knife, the other a shortsword.
"Thanks, [Dark_Hand]. You saved me. Again."
"Just keep your head straight. Don't die like a moron. Or else I'll kill you." Zeke glimpsed her pretty face in the darkness, only to see a menacing stare.
With a nod, Zeke spread out his stance for a wide range. Defensive Stance was activated and his defense stats were up to 125 percent. These NPCs might have been weak, but with so many, they could be over run three to one. The skill was only to hold the horde of them back while they retreated. Zeke glanced at his friends, seeing them fighting the immortal NPCs. They were struggling to keep ground, so there was no chance of gaining any. They only had one exit as well. Exit.
"Retreat and regroup outside. I have a plan." The group looked at him weirdly. The reason they were fighting was to win, not run. Still, they wanted to obey him, or else he might use the hat. Meter by meter, they backed up to the door. Opening it, they all ran out, grouping into a phalanx line. The NPCs, trying to get to the human players, ran like zombies of the edge of the small bridged platform and fell into the fog. Each fell and not a scream escaped them when the thumps of flesh on dirt sounded. Some of the team turned away at the sight and walked back inside. The Weapons were all quickly sheathed, though everyone was on edge about the attack. How could an NPC attack a person? Surely the game managers would fix this, right? Or was this just another way to kill us all?
Adjusting his goggles, Zeke sat down at the broken booth only to notice his food was missing. "Did someone steal my food or was it just knocked away by the fight?" He looked at all the people crowded around the large table. They all laughed at him because they all had food, though Rush had a considerable amount more than everyone else. "Hand over the steak, Rush. You know that it mine."
"Dammit! How'd you know? I tried to conceal it by eating quickly!" He complained as he tossed the steak onto a plate to keep the durability up on it and slid it over to him.
"I've got mad skills, bro. You should consider your perception skills. They could come in handy. And when you enchant items," Zeke said with a grin, pointing at his goggles. "You can even see weak points and hidden details on enemies." Zeke smirked, then took a huge bite from his MooMoo Steak.
"Lucky little bastard," Rush muttered while those near him laughed.
"What was that? Come on and say it again. I dare you!" Kain was almost standing on the table while Celeste and her sister held him back. Their small bodies were relatively strong compared to their thin arms. "Let go of me! I'll teach him!"
"Calm down, Kain. Just what did he say?" Zeke pulled his goggles down and unhooked the chain on his sword.
"He called you a 'bastard'," Kain growled and sat down. His headband sagged slightly, giving him a darker look.
"Well, then," Zeke said, standing up. A nerve in his forehead twitched and pulsed. "You know what, Rush? I'm kinda tired of your crap. Let's go, right now." The chain fell free and the red blade was pulled up from behind.
"Well, I'm done with you too. Let's go, you and me, on floor seven's battlegrounds. Come on and pull out a crystal and we'll go." Rush pulled out his red and orange Katana and pulled out his menu.
Pulling out his menu, Zeke withdrew a Large teleport crystal and set the location to the seventh floor's main capital. "Let's go, Rush. Everyone? Kain is in charge until I get back from beating this worthless piece of trash." The blue and white light of teleporting engulfed them and Rush desperately tried to make a bold retort but his voice was canceled due to the teleport.
Kain watched as his co-leader and friend grabbed Rush and thrust outwards a crystal. The crystal shattered and the two disappeared, leaving him in charge. Zeke had always been a bit on the weaker leader side, but he was stronger than Kain in terms of stats and academics. Now left officially in charge of the small group, he turned to the group.
"Uh... So in the mean time, what should we do? Any suggestions?" He impishly asked his fellow teammates. They all looked back at him.
"We could kick Zeke for being a dumb ass," [Dark_Hand] suggested. "He does deserve at least some form of punishment."
"I think we should wait until he gets back. In the mean time, though." Kain looked around at them. "Any other suggestions?"
"We could check out the entirety of the town. We should make sure it's safe before other people get permission to teleport to us." Celeste stepped forward with Elainia, staves in hand. For young children, they were quite clever.
"You, Celeste, are a genius. And probably too kind. Were you older, I'd marry you." Kain started off across the bridges of the treetop city, the rest in tow.
Zeke and Rush appeared side by side on the center pedestal used for free teleports.
"Okay. You want to do this, let's go. You're picking the spot." Rush brushed a spot of dust off of his shoulder and held his sword up. Zeke pushed his goggles to adjust them on the bridge of his nose. The Dragon's Fang blade gleamed with the usual red hue. The grey linen wrap around the handle was tight and Zeke was ready to slash at the Kid who had tried to leech from him. And the feeling of fighting was alive in his heart, making him feel lighter and faster. He was ready.
"Okay. Follow me and accept the challenge. I will win." Rush walked to the small nearby arena used for friendly duels. As the walked Zeke noticed the NPCs were acting normally. None of them even showed a sign of aggression.
So, he though. It's just on the thirteenth floor. Is there some kind of sign I'm missing? It is simply a mistake in the coding of the floor? What was the reason for the hostile people?
Soon, Zeke and Rush were followed by other players. They all recognized the two from one of the top guilds and tried to simply talk to the two. To focus on the upcoming battle, Rush was organizing his inventory and Zeke was simply not in the mood to talk to weak people. He had known too many weak players and had seen a few die. They weren't worth it.
"Okay. I'm ready." Rush and Zeke had arrived at the building of the arena, a two floor stone construct that was capable of holding half of the remaining eight thousand people still in the game. It was sad that almost half of the players had died, but each floor, less and less players were lost. In the last boss battle, they had only lost one.
Zeke pulled on his gauntlets and guards, having removed them and walked to his side of the arena. Half way, Rush sent the challenge. Zeke immediately accepted and the countdown appeared over the center, telling the two how much time they had. By the time Zeke and Rush were in position, the counter had lost half it's time, reading :30.
Prepared before the counter reached zero, Zeke assessed the stats of his opponent. Being in the same guild didn't allow them to kill each other, but they could still hurt each other. Rush's left arm would never be able to block due to the blade being two handed, but his body would be generally weak. His speed and attack were nothing too serious, but his defense on a whole were relatively high. Still, his own stats were much better than Rush's based on being a higher level.
As soon as the counter reached zero, Zeke activated his Offensive Defense skill and slowly advanced while Rush rushed forward. As soon as Rush was close, Zeke sidestepped and slashed at Rush's side. As if he expected it, Rush deflected it with the tip of his blade. Zeke back stepped with a quick jump. Rush's next strike fell short, missing Zeke's shoulder by a half meter. The short blade was easily pulled up and swung upwards. Zeke nearly didn't move his leg in time.
The crowds around, while small, were growing since rumors were spreading. Hey, two guys fighting was call for a crowd enough. When they are powerful or popular, it was sure to draw many more than a simple bar's worth. It was sure to be broadcasted to every person who cared. Within minutes, they would be pouring in. Zeke had to finish this quick.
He swung at Rush's leg, but fainted halfway through and swung at his chest. The Fang hit Rush's arm as he failed block the blood red blade. A bright stream of pixilated blood came from the wound. The guild bond restricted him from severing the limb, but Rush's health still dropped by at least a sixth or more.
With a damaged arm, Rush was unable to really strike for a full second. He didn't want to risk a lowered attack strength, but it was an option to use one hand, but the damage would be halved. This was probably his only chance. With a single handed stab, the red and grey Katana was stabbed through Zeke's coat and stomach. The in-game blood leaked from the wound.
When stabbed, Zeke hadn't expected a two handed sword user to be able to strike with only a single hand. Still, he expected the blade to do more damage. Though dripping down slowly, his health rested at seven eighths. Looking at Rush, who had a smirk on his face, it gave him an idea. The Katana was stuck inside of his stomach. Why not use it against him?
Rush, who wouldn't give up his weapon, had already done so. Zeke swung the Fang at his arms with one hand while his other kept the Katana in his stomach. Too late, Rush realized what was happening. His forearms were easily cut in the close proximity they had to each other. With the feeling of being pricked badly, Rush pulled back. With a hand on the blade, Rush's Katana was pulled from his hand.
Now with an advantage, Zeke advanced towards a weaponless Rush, who was looking through his menu. Suddenly, Rush had a giant two handed Bone Blade. The blade was easily swung down and Zeke pulled his blade up just in time.
"You didn't know I had this, did you? It's not my main weapon, but I still have skills from my time before." Rush had a confident face still, though his health was down to two thirds.
"One thing, Rush," Zeke said, struggling against the weight. "You talk too much during battle." He allowed the Blade to slam down, stepping out of harm. Jumping onto the sharpened blade edge, though it did injure him, he used his weight to pull it out of Rush's hands. Zeke took the final swing at Rush's neck and felt it connect with it's target.
And that should be all for now, folks!
So, I thought this Friday the Thirteen bug stuff was a good idea. I started this on Friday the Thirteenth, after all. Leave me a review and message me if you want me to add something, add you, add a name. Whatever you want. I am open to any ideas and anything because I'm doing this for you and I enjoy doing it for you. Even though I don't have time, I try.
I hope you enjoyed and I hope you will stay tuned for more. Sorry for any time I'm late posting, because I know I will be late. I have test coming and past. I hate it and so do you, I'm sure...
So, since it's been a while, I figured to tell you what I've accomplished in the past month. So far, I've been publishing for the magazine and I've got the ending of the Blades of Alliance story plot complete. Mostly, I've just had school to deal with and I wish my computer was here so I could write for you wonderful people more. So, I am, again, sorry. Ugh, I hate apologizing so much.
LowePlays, signing out. Until next time! ... Which may be a while. I've been super busy.