Author's Note: Man, the last chapter was quite the battle! I'm sure you all enjoyed those references! There was four in total! Not to mention that ending, she won't be our main character, that spot is for our dear tsundere Louise and her unlucky familiar, Saito.
There are mentions of Version 2.3 content in this chapter, be aware that at the time of writing this that version 2.3 has not yet been released. (current: v2.25)
Now, enjoy the chapter!
Life of a Zero Dragon
Chapter 25: The Leaks
"I… Wasn't expecting this," Rosina voiced her comment, "This is nothing like the Carlisle on the wiki pages, this is really a new world isn't it?"
Cora Rune looked to the Dragon Catcher, "You were basing information… Off-wiki pages?"
"Yeah," Rosina replied. "I didn't expect this world's Carlisle to be a port city… To airships! This island is actually floating!"
"It is quite the wonder," Cora said, "But we have more pressing matters, look closer to the city."
Rosina narrowed her eyes, the high accuracy of a Warcraft Hero's sight allowing her to pick out details more clearly than any normal human. She spotted that the city was apparently in some sort of militaristic lockdown, or they had been recently conquered by some sort of outside force. Rosina spent another minute scouring over Carlisle, taking note that the invaders, or whoever had this place under their control, didn't treat the populace with the dignity normally expected of their fellow man.
"Nobles…" Rosina trailed off.
"Huh?" Cora Rune questioned in confusion.
"From what I learned in the village I stayed in, the nobles of this country are not exactly the kindest of fellows. The commoners are treated like shit simply because they have magic."
"A magocracy?" Cora said, "Well, that's not entirely surprising in a world with magic." the Chosen Dragon stated.
Rosina arched an eyebrow at her fellow player, "Wow, you sure know quite a bit of all this medieval stuff, you some sort of history teacher?"
Cora shook her head, "No, nothing like that! It's just been a hobby of mine to read a lot of fantasy novels. I've also like watching quite a few medieval documents."
"Huh, to each their own I guess," Rosina replied before she started to walk down the road, glancing back towards the blue Chosen Dragon briefly. "You coming?"
"Of course," Cora replied as she followed the Dragon Catcher.
The two Heroes spent the next twenty or so minutes traversing along the road, which they had discovered earlier when leaving the confines of Kayla's misplaced Northern Mountains. After having traveled many kilometers they had come across Carlisle, prompting the conversation that had occurred earlier. As Rosina and Cora walked down the roads, they came across a small band of travelers much like themselves with the exception that the group wore different clothing and had more people.
"Greetings, fellow travelers!" Rosina yelled over to them, getting their attention.
"Afternoon, stranger," a large man replied, his face rough and muscles toned from much work while a two handed war hammer was strapped along his backside. "Are you heading to Carlisle?"
"Indeed," Rosina replied. "My partner and I are heading towards Carlisle for both supplies and information, might we join your group until we have reached the city?" She finished, the speech pattern of the Hero leaking into her manner of speaking.
"Your partner?" The man questioned, glancing behind the Dragon Catcher and spotting the young dragonet. "A dragon knight in training I presume? As long as you keep the dragon to yourself it will be alright.
"My thanks," Rosina said, though she had little to no idea of what the man knew of dragon knights. The only Dragon Knight she knew of was the secret hero of Life of a Dragon and Life of a Dragon Sequel. That Hero could transform into a powerful dragon for a limited time, but it didn't include a dragon companion, that was another Hero altogether.
"Are you part of the Reconquista by any chance?"
Rosina looked up, narrowing her eyes as she had only the smallest tidbits of information concerning that particular group that she received from the kind folk at the village.
"No, we are not part of it. Does that concern you?" Rosina questioned.
The man shook his head, "No, I'm just relieved."
"Why is that?" Rosina asked in confusion, though she had a small idea.
"Those of the Reconquista have been treating the common folk rather poorly. The royalists were much more considerate, but the rebels have been beating them back to the capital." The man answered the seventh player.
"Ah, do not concern yourself, I'm not part of the Reconquista nor will I be. I value the lives of all my fellow man, I'm simply a freelancer along with my dragon, who's been at my side for a long while," Rosina finished. "Let us be off then, daylight will not last forever."
"Agreed, you can follow our group at the back. I can see you have proficiency with a bow, so you can cover our rear."
"Will do," Rosina replied.
The Dragon Catcher and blue Chosen Dragon began to follow the trades group, distancing themselves a bit to be able to converse player to player more privately without much risk of being caught. They still had some distance until they reached Carlisle, but they should arrive before sundown.
Rosina looked to the other player besides her, "See? My speech goes all weird if I'm talking to someone who isn't a player."
"I've noticed," Cora replied. "But we have received some bits of information, it seems the dragon knights of this land might be more akin to dragon riders than the Dragon Knights of Kayla."
"Ah, I was wondering what that reminded me of…" Rosina trailed off in thought.
"Also, there is a civil war between the royalist and a rebel group known as the Reconquista. The latter who seems to be edging into victory."
Rosina nodded, "In Life of a Dragon's old versions when a player had a high enough level they could destroy whole legions of units. Do you believe we could do the same here?"
"Do you think you could take a life?" Cora questioned.
Rosina opened her mouth but then closed it. She could easily kill creeps, but these 'NPCs' were another story entirely.
"I don't know…" She replied.
"I am the same," Cora said. "It also seems like since I'm no longer human, at least in the body, I have a lesser emotional connection to my humanity now… It is concerning…"
"You think you being a dragon will numb you to killing people?"
"Yes…"
"I'm sure it is not like that, just… We'll deal with if only if we are forced too. Unlike the creeps, these people will give up if injured enough, so we only have to disable them if it gets hairy."
Cora nodded, "Right, just because we can don't mean we should."
"Exactly," Rosina said, before looking up and seeing that they were nearing the city. "Besides, we're Heroes, what could go wrong?"
The Great Kayla Desert, an incredibly large environment that could take away the life of any who dared enter it unprepared. In the times where the desert was an in-game location, players didn't have to worry about such needs like hydration and food because such mechanics were non-existent in Warcraft. But now, with the Transition, such worries happened to be in the forefront of their minds. Thankfully, the players had a great deal of fortitude that came with their new bodies, resistant to the natural elements and with high endurance against many forms of physical bothersome concerns.
That did not mean they were immune, just that they had a great deal higher level of tolerance.
The Mercenary, bronze Chosen Dragon, Noble, and the latter's familiar all rested in the safety of the desert's oasis. The area having no respawning creeps and filled with fresh, clean waters and also the restoring Fountain of Life.
At least, they thought it was a Fountain of Life at first, the normally neutral construct would heal a person's wounds should they drink its contents.
However, the fountain was covered a bit differently, a more bright contrast. Alex Storm volunteered to be the guinea pig, since as a Hero he would be less affected should it prove dangerous, and should perish, would revive.
At least, he hoped he would revive, nobody wanted to test out the 'do you revive on death' triggers or altars.
He also passed the safety net of resurrection.
In a normal game in Life of a Dragon Sequel, Chosen Dragon players below or at level 7 could revive endlessly without concern should they die. Above that level, the one-time revival mechanic would kick in, and should they perish they will be resurrected only once… If they die again, it as game over.
Alex was level 8, so he was now on the normal game mechanic should it still function.
The Chosen Dragon took a sip from the Fountain, inwardly worried of the consequences, but instead felt himself be rejuvenated as his exhaustion faded, mana slowly restoring itself as his minor wounds also closed and healed over. He took another drink before looking back to the rest of the group, grinning in victory.
"It's cool, the fountain restores both health and mana so it's like a weaker Healing Hay," Alex Storm said.
"Thank the Maker," Elizabeth said before carefully placing down Tabitha against the rocky archway formation. "I'll get you some, just stay here for a bit."
The Mercenary walked into the shallow waters, towards the Fountain of Rejuvenation. As she casually continued to it, she blinked once.
The distorted, semi-transparent image of large turtles appeared.
She blinked again.
The image disappeared.
"What the hell…" Elizabeth commented.
"Did you see that?" Alex questioned.
The Mercenary looked at him in shock, "You saw it too?"
"Well, yeah! Kinda hard to not see something like it's trying to spawn in," The Chosen Dragon said.
"Be cautious, Chosen Dragon, the realm of Kayla progresses quickly…"
"Oh shit!" Alex yelled in realization as he prepared for combat.
"What is it!?" Elizabeth yelled as she just reached the fountain.
"The map, it's updating!"
Suddenly, four Jaw Turtles, creatures that wouldn't be in any version in Life of a Dragon Sequel until much later, appeared into existence within the confines of the small Oasis. The baby blue scaled creatures were half the size of a grown man, with shells stronger than forged iron with numerous black spikes protruding naturally out the back end of the shell. All the while they had large jaws, no teeth, but they could snap with the power to easily crush bone.
All was quiet for a brief small instance as the creeps were not yet settled into the physical realm, but it soon passed as the Jaw Turtles' aggro kicked in and they charged at the nearest non-creep opponent.
"Cover me! I have an AoE spell!" Elizabeth shouted as her hands glowed with yellow mana, her eyes narrowly as they pinpointed the targeted area of effect she desired to release the ability on. "Monsoon!"
The sky above the Oasis darkened as gray clouds formed through magic, small sprinkles of rain beginning to pour down onto the battlefield before streaks of lightning flashed and struck at each Jaw Turtle, dealing a small portion of damage as the creeps were electrocuted for a tiny moment before they continued to attack without care to their wellbeing.
Such was the nature of Warcraft 3's creeps.
Alex Storm, fully restored by the Fountain of Rejuvenation, activated his Bulky Bulk attribute spell. The bronze Chosen Dragon's form bulked up slightly, increasing his damage, armor, and life regenerating capabilities. He opened his mouth, sparks of electrical energy coursing from within his body to be released in a bolt of lightning as he breathed it out, striking a Jaw Turtle that made its way towards him regardless of being hit multiple times by the Chosen Dragon's normal range attack.
"These things have tough durability!" Elizabeth commented as she continued to channel the Monsoon heir ability, which would continue to send down bright streaks of lightning down on the creeps until she halted the action, was disrupted, or the spell's duration wore out.
A Jaw Turtle approached Elizabeth, and with a quick motion, used its own ability.
Bite, not to be confused with the default attack, it's a basic melee spell that deals a minor portion of damage but also disrupts spell casting.
The Jaw Turtle snapped it's mouth right on Elizabeth's leg.
"Ack, shit!" She yelled as her spell was disrupted and the gray clouds above vanished back into the normal daylight sun and clear skies. The Mercenary slammed a fist downward in reflex to get the creep off of her but soon recoiled as her hand bled from the spikes. "Alex, stun this guy!"
The dragon player turned quickly, his whole body twisting as his wings beat furiously to face the new direction. In a single moment, his whole body lit up with a blue aura before it launched forward, the magic taking the shape of a hammering coursing with electricity that flew in an instant and smashed with a crackling sound against the Jaw Turtle. The creep was sent back as it let go of Elizabeth, it's whole body spazzing from the elemental damage before it recovered.
Alex has used the Storm Bolt ability, a high damage spell that would also stun an opponent for a few seconds. It was his best spell, but the cooldown and mana cost was staggering with the Transition.
He grimaced, he could do one more spell without risk of mana exhaustion.
"Roooar!" The sound of a dragon echoed throughout the Oasis as Tabitha's familiar, Sylphid, tried to claw a nearby Jaw Turtle that had gotten too close to the girl. It worked, causing the Jaw Turtle to be bashed away if only for the moment, but the spikes pierced through the dragon's scales, causing Sylphid's paw to bleed.
"Careful!" Alex shouted, "It seems attacking them with melee always gets you hurt, like a Thorns Aura of sorts!"
Thorns Aura, a default night elf spell in Warcraft 3, it causes a melee attacker to receive a portion of its own damage dealt right back at it.
"Arcane Dust!" Elizabeth shouted another Hero ability, a wave of magical blue dust blasting outward like a wave as three white rings surrounded the sorceress briefly in a display of light, the spell affecting only the creeps, the power behind their attacks weakening to a more manageable level.
Arcane Dust, a debuff spell that causes all nearby units' damage to be lessened by a certain percentage, depending on the level of the spell of course.
"They are too strong for us right now!" Elizabeth yelled, "We should retreat!"
Alex dodged being bit by a Jaw Turtle, "I'm inclined to agree- Huh?"
The Jaw Turtles all vanished in one go as if they were removed from the world in the blink of an eye.
The two players looked to each other.
Tabitha stood up with her staff and asked, "Where they go?"
Alex opened his mouth to speak but didn't.
Elizabeth answered, "No idea, but let's hurry up and drink from the Fountain then get out of here."
An array of multiple colors decorated his vision, blinding his sight from the clear picture that tried to show itself. The hues, light and dark alike, conflicted in a mass of a swirling vortex, twisting and churning repeatedly without end. It was a breathtaking spectacle with that only he could bear witness to, this dreamlike sequence that blanketed his thoughts with only the play it continues to show. His dreams have been like this since the first night, as if there was a primordial power that lay dormant inside, waiting patiently to be unleashed in a vast explosion of godlike proportions. But, when taking in account his current role, such descriptive explanation was not so unbelievable to think.
Once again, his dream ends with a wave of darkness sweeping up the light, leaving only five bright dots in a sea of black flames. These little points the only luminance within the vast unending ocean of ash and shadow.
Chosen Dragons… Chosen Dragons… He is coming… The time draws closer… Chosen Dragons… He returns… The False King.
The voice is of his own, yet he does not speak, nor is he the one who thinks of it.
The dream ends in a flash of light.
He awakens in a bed, in the same white halls and hovering World Editor. The Maker, the Map Maker, a man made God.
But drowsiness clouds him, and a distinct lack of substance despite not needing any gnaws on his mind. The mind and body still remember being mortal, despite its newly acquired status,
He ignores it, turning his attention the World Editor.
Things have changed, quickly he briefly checks over the players. The map itself has been fully updated to version 2.1.
Yet, there were instances where content from future patches leaked into the world. The World Editor was not 2.1, no, he had the Work Map on when he was subjected to the Transition.
The Work Map was what he used to actually work on Life of a Dragon Sequel, the only unprotected file that anyone could edit and change.
Why has he been playing such an old version of the map, version 2.0, when there were three updates since then?
He found it stupid now that he thought of it.
"Wait…" He said to himself, pausing to recheck what he had absently seen while browsing the World Editor.
There were Jaw Turtles, which was a v2.3 creep.
He briefly remembered when he and his testing group had fought against Jaw Turtles, the creeps were tough and dangerous in big groups if you were below level 12, even if you partnered with another player.
Another leak, the Map Editor's content was dripping bits and pieces of other versions into the world, all the while slowly updating to the next version completely. At least it was only leaking pre-placed objects and terrain, only when it fully updated did the triggers change in accordance.
"Still, the players aren't ready for that…" The Map Maker said, glancing over to the battery.
A steady 94%.
He bit his lip, "I can afford this."
He selected all four Jaw Turtles currently in combat, the players were taking hits yet the damage they dealt in return didn't do much against the creeps just yet.
He pressed the delete key, removing all four Jaw Turtles from existence instantly. It made the Players confused but they are now fine, the respawn triggers didn't exist yet for the turtles until v2.3.
He checked the battery.
71%.
That took out a chunk, but he's still in the good zone.
"Wonder where Xaria went…" He trailed off as he got to work on the Map Editor once more, carefully watching the Players status.
Current Status:
Chosen Dragon Player 1: Saito Hiraga - Alive - Dragonet (Agility) Level 11
Chosen Dragon Player 2: Alex Storm - Alive - Bronze Dragonet (Strength) Level 8
Chosen Dragon Player 3: Asuna Godiva - Alive - Nether Dragonet (Strength) Level 10
Chosen Dragon Player 4: Artos Archway - Alive - Green Dragonet (Agility) Level 8
Chosen Dragon Player 5: Cora Rune - Alive - Blue Dragonet (Intelligence) Level 10
Dragon Slayer Player 6: Celdrahil - Alive - Slayer Level 8
Dragon Catcher Player 7: Rosina - Alive - Catcher Level 12
The Human Kingdom Player 8: Aylmer and Abigail - Alive - King Level 3, Princess Level [Error]
The Fel Empire Player 9: Grom - Alive - King of Fel Empire Level 7
Mercenary Player 10: Elizabeth Loyal - Alive - Sorceress Level 7
Observer Map Maker: Map Maker - Alive - The World Editor