Onslaught- Chpt. 1

This article was written by TrentHelsing on 2011-12-18 under Novels & Stories.

((This is the first chapter of a Gameprep (a newly invented title for fiction where games are reality, as it greatly differs from Cyberprep) and Cyberpunk hybrid. The first chapter has the Gameprep setting, showcasing a protagonist named after myself...SPOILER.

He will become a Psion later down the road. Mostly in empathy and Technokinesis(or whatever you call the control of technology.) Drew, the Cyberpunk protagonist, is revealed in chapter two...But I'm not posting that here.))

 

Gameprep

Level: 25

Exp: 999.9/1,000.0

Race: Elf

Class: Mercenary

Weapon/Armor: Arkzara’s Bane (Sword, +100 all stats)

Zaranara’s  Body Armor (full body suit, +30% all stats, +20% HP & MP)

 

  “Helsing, man, you leveled UP!” Bane crouched next to Helsing, the Bow of Destruction strung and pointed at an Orc a few hundred feet below. They’d been training for days to match the previously too-strong monsters, and had finally managed to break the level 20 mark. Bane was straggling at level 21, while the rest of the group was barely above that. Blade, Dracula, and Shadow were perched along other parts of the ravine wall, all of them archers and rangers, while Question, Hint, and Answer were hiding behind boulders surrounding the Orc encampment.

  “Yeah, well, I did  defeat an entire family of Spire Pyres. Not to mention all the farming I had to do to find Arkzara’s Bane. And, geese, Zaranara  made me go clear over to Hullivan Village to gather the ingredients for a copy of his armor…I had to sacrifice most of my old rare armors to make it as strong as it is, too. But that’s the cool thing about these items; if I get some really good weapons and stuff, I can merge them with these to make them stronger!”

 Bane’s mouth hung open for a moment, awe obvious on his face. He shook himself then, as the war horns were being blow from the Orc camp. A green, muscular Orc stared directly at them. Bane spat into the dirt, then loosed his first arrow. It pierced the Orc through the heart, causing him to falter. At the same time, Question and Answer began their slashing, piling up the Orc bodies as they went. Hint was already sifting through the tents, stocking up on important items and potions for the boss fight. Bane loosed a few more arrows, and then threw a yellow sphere into the air. As it fell, it turned into a platform, and began to hover. With a nod to Helsing, Bane leaped forward, riding it down closer to the fight.

 Helsing cracked his knuckles, and then yanked Arkzara’s Bane from its sheath. Without hesitation, he leaped, flames erupting from his a pack wrapped around his back. It was a holiday rare that was, essentially, a jetpack. A few seconds later, he shut it off, freefalling towards an Orc Mage. As he neared the monster’s head, he swung Arkzara’s Bane, sinking the red blade down to the Orc’s chest. He then pulled the sword out, falling to the ground and sprinting to the next Orc.

 

*******************

“Holy crap…Trent’s about to break the record for Orc kills…”

“Oh. My. God. Did Chris just kill SIX Orcs!? No. Freaking. Way.”

“Chelsea, please stop using one word sentences…”

“Puh-leaze.”

Trent, Chris, Robert, Jack, John, Alex, Brandon, and Cody sat in separate blue circles, helmets covering their entire head, excuse to the nose and down. On the large screen in front of them, and on smaller screens all over the pavilion, the invasion of the Orc Encampment was playing. Blue fluorescent lights ran all along the pavilion, along with white lights. The floor was seemingly translucent, showing a perfectly realistic forest, complete with a mountainous rise, river, and waterfall. Couples sat and enjoyed the view, if not the battle playing out on screen, while teenagers cheered and jeered at “The Crew.” On the other side of the large screen, the lights were red, the platforms were red, and the players who had chosen to be the nomadic Orcs sat in their chairs.

 The Orcs were losing badly.

 

*******************

 Helsing was about to break the kill streak on the Nomadic Orc group. He grinned as Arkzara’s Bane busted the Orc Leader’s armor, and Bane loosed an arrow that stunned the idiot. Question used his Continental Shift skill to move the ground from under the Orc Leader, causing him to fall on his butt. Hint appeared, using his Thief skills to take a good portion of gold from the Orc Leader, and some of his weaker items. Dracula and Blade drained out a good portion of his health (being Vampires.) Finally, Helsing pointed Arkzara’s Bane at the Orc and said, “This is for all the innocent players you’ve stolen from…Especially Shadow! We’ve been looking long and hard for a replacement hammer, but he’s been stuck with the  Villager’s First Weapon for the last two weeks now…We’ll be taking it back, right after this!”

 “Look man…I just play this game to win. Think about all the stuff that just got stolen from us! You’ve got all of our best scrolls and potions now…Isn’t it enough? Just let me go and we can tie on this battle!”

 “Why should I? You deserve to start back from rank thirty five, you and your group alike.”

 “Fine…Just…leave me my spell book, please? It took me three months to get Nightstalker to drop that…”

 Helsing gripped Arkzara’s Bane, swinging it in a wide half circle. With a splatter of realistic blood, the Orc Leader’s head fell, and his body sank into the ground. Trumpets sounded, and the enthusiastic ref’s voice shouted, “The Crew wins! The Crew has gone from Rank 35 to Rank 26! The Ninja Orcs have moved back to Rank 35!” The Ref went on to list the experience, gold, and items gained. After a long five minutes, the world that was Onslaught vanished, and the helmets retracted from ‘The Crew’s’ head.

 

*******************

 Trent grinned, pointing at the crowds below. Robert and Cody were showboating, while Chris stood with his arms folded over his chest. Jack, John, and Alex yawned and nodded like the feat had been nothing, and Brandon stared at the food counters, deciding which would be best to hit up first. A few seconds past, then reporters from “Gamer’s Magazine” appeared, asking questions rapidly. They started with Trent.

 “Helsing- or, erm…Trent…We’ll just say Helsing…What was it like finishing off the Ninja Orcs?”

 Trent blinked, and then shrugged. “Like taking down any old monster. Fun, but not very challenging.” The sentence fit with the personality his Onslaught counterpart had developed and made for him; cocky. He and Helsing could never find themselves scared or shocked, because they were the best of the best…No, he  was the best. Helsing was him, and he was Helsing…Why did he always say ‘they?’

 The cameras panned over to Robert, and Trent took the chance to escape into the crowds. Brandon was already ordering from the food counters- hopefully for all of them. Trent managed to melt into the crowd, evading most of the cheering gamers and making it to the rear of the crowd. With a nod to a group of Goths staring at the floor below (which had changed from a forest to the night sky, causing the blue lights in the room to darken), then continued on towards the very back of the Game Room, taking a seat at an eight person table. After a moment, Brandon made his way over, still wearing their lookalike midnight blue jackets. He sat, passing Trent a burger and some fries (alongside a large Mt. Dew) and began to eat.

 

 Eventually, the rest of the group caught up, each of them grinning. They’d managed to beat a group of Orcs- which was the strongest race in Onslaught, in terms of warfare- that were nearly ten ranks above them. That was a feat almost unheard of, even by the tenth ranking team of Dragonkind. They’d done the unheard of, and risen up to Rank 26. That was just 25 ranks from the Rank 1, and 26 from Rank 0, the literally unachievable level. The Rank 1 group hadn’t yet beaten the secret Rank 0’s…And they were all nearing or at level 100.

 Cody coughed, drawing the other seven players’ attention. With a sigh, he said, “Well…We did the impossible, guys…But we have to beat the Rank 25 group before we can start working towards Rank 15. All of them are close to level 40, and their leader is level 45. They all have rare armor and weapons; some of them have better equipment then you do, Trent…And they have a full set. Weapon, armor, over shield, helmet…All of that.”

 Everyone was silent, the cold, hard truth settling over them. They’d spent two hard weeks scouring the Carolinas for the cards they’d needed to unlock their new attacks and locations, and another week scouring Arcadia for the in-game weapons and experience they’d needed. It would take at least two months just to reach level forty, let alone kill all the enemies and boost all their items to a level high enough to take on Rank 25.

 “So,” Trent said, taking over for Cody, “everyone get home and start studying these Rank 25 guys. Ask around here and the Red Zone tomorrow, since they need some time to cool off. When we learn their races and classes, we can start finding what elements are strong against them and start training. We meet up in Damien Castle every other day for practice battles, since there’s an experience boost there this month. Any questions?”

 Of course, there weren’t any. The Crew broke, each of them heading in different directions. Trent pulled his coat on a bit tighter, putting the black hood on and slipping his Dataglass on. The object hooked around his ear, with a large shield to receive and send data. Spanning out was a blue screen, from which he could see the digital side of the world. Names and ages floated over everyone’s head, a good chunk of information about them following it. A map hovered in the upper left corner of the screen, showing Trent his location, his friends and family’s location, where places were, and so on.

 Essentially, the Dataglass had become the everyday tool of modern Earth. It received and sent calls, had apps, could take videos, connected to the internet, and much, much more. Every Earthling was required to have one, lest they be left in the stone ages. And, considering the stone ages were worse than being homeless, it was better to spend a small amount of credits and get a Dataglass.

 After a fair amount of walking, Trent arrived at the Bullet Train, swiping the bracelet on his wrist past a small screen and transferring six credits from his account to the meter. Two glass thin doors parted, and he entered, taking a seat not far from the exit. Other gamers sat around him, but mostly, he was surrounded by engineers and office workers. They all seemed busy fidgeting with some chunk of digitalwork, leaving their signature along lines. Cyborgs, Robots, Androids, and even a few real people walked along the train serving chips and sodas to any whom paid a few credits.

 Trent sipped his Mt. Dew from the Food Stop, relaxing and mauling over the day’s battle. Thirty minutes, and he’d arrive at home in Charleston. Then, if he was lucky, he’d be able to evade his sister’s recount of “Cyber Pony Six: Race to Rainbow.” He shivered, remembering when she’d first started playing racing games…It was sickening, especially when she lost…

 

{{Note: This takes place in a not-so-distant-future Earth. I thought it was in this chapter I mentioned the year, but it must have been the next. I did mention the Carolinas.}}

Register or Login to comment!

11 Comments:

MyTK Shoutbox:

Hello Newbie. If you want to enjoy the full MyTK experience, sign up!