Battle Avatars Read online

  “Hot damn, those sky islands are cool.”

  Lisa giggles. “I like to call them atmosphoids.”

  I laugh with her before we fall into a brief silence.

  “Is there a toggle for pain?”

  “Yes, the game is full immersion.”

  Well damn, sadists do play in Lenscape. Shaking my head, I catch something behind us in my peripheral vision, blocked by Lisa’s shoulder. My head bent forward under hers, I struggle to turn with some discomfort and see it—a swarm is emerging from a hole in the sky and speeding low over the canopy behind us, just as Lisa cries out and we fall.

  Chapter Four

  Brushing leaves and jungle clutter from my clothing, I clear mud and dirt from my eyes. Lisa stands beside me, staring. I turn and see a similar red glow as the auras around us. A red wall of light cuts through the jungle, the plants untouched by it.

  I groan as my shoulders sag. “That’s not good.”

  “It’s like those battle royale games. The instance area grows smaller with time, as a barrier shrinks around the arena. It’s a larger sort of dungeon experience. Usually PvP.”

  “Yeah, I see the mobile ads all the time.” I point at the wall of light. “And that’s the barrier.” I pause. “But it’s not moving.”

  We stare at the barrier.

  “No. But we’re still in for a fight.” Lisa raises a fist. “A rival mercenary company might be making a play.”

  “Did you see how many there are?” I point up.

  “As we fell. Two or three dozen, maybe.”

  With a sudden punch of air, Jonesy and the group shoot forward out of nowhere like a fleet of starships from hyperspace. Each group member immediately study their arms, hands, and each other. Jonesy’s the first to speak.

  “Why are we lit up with AoE strobes?” He looks at the jungle surrounding us. “And where the hell are we? This ain’t the Bank.”

  Knew they used the labyrinth as a bank. “I don’t know what’s going on, but why are you here?”

  Jonesy bobs his head, taking in the thick trunks and hanging vines. “Forums are blowing up talking about a huge red dome out in the Wilds.” His hand shoots up. “Why are you out here in the jungle?”

  Lisa raises her arms. “Everyone, we don’t have time for confusion. Another group is trying to poach our claims. I think they’re cheating with a battle royale challenge.”

  Granger plants his two-foot diameter hammer into the soft ground, leaning forward on the four foot handle. “You sure this ain’t just a raid? I’m up for some PvP. There’s been plenty of changes to the ‘Scape, why would this be cheatin’? Battle royale is popular as all hell.”

  Lisa shakes her head, her hand raised. “I don’t think it’s a raid. Something’s wrong.”

  Various murmurs and disgruntled answers follow. Granger strokes his hipster beard, sweat already running down the sides of his head. “It’s always too damned hot in this place. We doin’ this?”

  Lisa draws her double bladed Ouroboros from behind her. “Well, we can’t leave. If this is battle royale rules, we’re in it to win it or the barrier collapses on us.”

  I stifle a nervous giggle. “There can be only one.”

  ***

  The world explodes around us. Crescents of red energy slice through the jungle canopy, slamming into the ground with thunderous impact. Debris, whole trees, split timber, boulders and mud erupt from the impact craters. The group, scattered, fall or likewise sail through the air, taking grievous losses to their hit points.

  I fall face first in the dirt. My body aches, even without the pain settings at “normal”. Mud and debris all but bury me. Pushing my way up, I look around, and see status bars at seventy and fifty percent. My legs tremble and my arms are heavy. My own HP is down to one percent, but at 10 HP, it wasn’t much to begin with. Thank goodness for Trovain Endurance and Energy Defense, what little I have—they act as modifiers against damage at below 1 HP.

  Above me, Jonesy, Lisa and the fliers from the group fight against what, at the distance above me, look like men in Leygun armors similar to Jonesy’s, but jet black.

  Attacking from the cover of the canopy, Granger strikes a solid blow to one of the black armored attackers, but the attacker returns the hit with its extended, plasma-wielding scythe arm, and Granger explodes in a flash of plasma.

  Vi-King has died.

  “Oh damn!” I stumble through the ejecta around the rim of the nearest crater, and find another grounded group member, Kona, one of the Rogues, her avatar a Setec—shapeshifters of various yellow skin hues.

  Character

  Name: Kon’ac.

  Species: Setec.

  Level: 5

  Class: Rogue.

  Subclass: Thief.

  Affinity: ?

  HP: 10/30

  MP: 200/200

  Attributes

  Strength: 30

  Dexterity: 100

  Movement/Speed: 10

  Combat Rate: 3

  Constitution/Endurance: 60

  Physical Defense: 6

  Energy Defense: 12

  Body: 30

  Stun: 60

  Recovery: 18

  Intelligence: 30

  Mental strength: 30

  Senses: +3

  Presence/Charisma: Variable.

  Abilities/Skills

  Deception. Perception. Shapeshifting. Stealth.

  Weapons

  Dagger +2. Throwing stars.

  While most of Jonesy’s group live all over the world, IRL Kona is Hawaiian, and a jovial lady by all accounts. Unlike the rest, there’s pictures of her around Jonesy’s house from his culinary schooling, and besides being hot, she is laughing in every one of them. Right now, she seems overwhelmed and pissed off.

  “David, this is against the rules. That’s Jonesy’s old gamer group. Somehow they’ve gone OP. They’re jumping our claim. This is a bunch of crap!”

  My hands raised, I shake my head in awkward discomfort. “Okay, so what do we do? Log a complaint with the Conglomerate about his stalker leygun posse?”

  Kona narrows her orange Setec eyes. “I doubt the devs are going to do anything.”

  “Aren’t you guys some sort of beta group? That’s the point of such a group, we’re supposed to be reporting things like this.”

  She laughs. “No! We haven’t entered the beta program yet. When we do, all of us are going to remort and start over. When you finally buy the game and create your own avatar, we’ll level up together.”

  The sounds of chaos above intensifies. “Uh, Granger hasn’t respawned.” I nod upwards as I point.

  “Pff. If this is battle royale like Lisa thinks, then he’ll be cooling his heels back at Haven until these OP bastards clean our clocks.”

  “I’ve been staring at the scythe guys and nothing is displayed. No classes, rankings, or HP.”

  “Yeah, well.” She tosses her two-fingered Setec hand around. “I can’t see their stats, they gotta be hacking the system.”

  “Aren’t you going to fight?”

  Kona turns her pointy chin toward me, and lowers her bald head, the two fleshy protrusions swept to the rear from the sides of her skull almost made her look demonic. “No. This is BS.” With that, she plops her muscled ass down on a severed tree branch the size of our torsos and huffs and mumbles to herself.

  Staring at one of the attackers my HUD pops up again with nothing new to tell.

  Character

  Unknown.

  Attributes

  Unknown.

  Abilities/Skills

  Unknown.

  Weapons

  Unknown.

  The Scythe Warriors, as I decide to call them, wear armor resembling Jonesy’s leygun, with a more sinister bent. I do see their resemblance and the possibility that they are Jonesy’s old group holding a grudge. The most significant difference to their armor is their elongated right arms, ending in a black scythe with glowing red edges. The upper bodies are thick, built for power. Wid
e shoulders continue directly from their armored deltoids to the tops of their helmets, with segmentation hidden, yet evident as they turned their angled heads. It reminds me of a no-necked cartoon bull without horns.

  Lisa blasts the Scythe Warriors with little to no effect, and Jonesy and two other group members, Malcolm and Paul, are down to five hit points of their total forty.

  Shadow Fox HP: 5/40.

  Mal HP: 5/40.

  Sir Paul HP: 5/40.

  With a thunderous punch of air, a second Trovain Warrior arrives, dressed in similar clothes as my borrowed avatar. Six feet tall, with a mane of black-tipped, golden flames blazing around his shoulders and head, his eyes ringed by the dark tattoos of the Trovain people, he holds a heavy Thunder Lance. Unlike my avatar, his skin is polished crystal, smooth as glass, with a topaz color. I glance at Kona, who is just as surprised by the arrival, but unlike myself, knows what he is.

  Wide-eyed, she mouths the words, “Battle Avatar.”

  Wondering whether the man can fly, and so engage the Scythe Warriors above, my HUD flashes.

  Character

  Name: Ro’kai.

  Species: Human.

  Level: N/A

  Class: Battle Avatar.

  Subclass: Trovain Thunder Lord.

  Affinity: Lenscape.

  HP: Unknown.

  MP: Unknown.

  Attributes

  Unknown.

  Abilities/Skills

  Energy blast. Shields. Ley Bending.

  Weapons

  Thunder Lance. Soul Vortice.

  Before I can think about what “unknown” means with all these new arrivals and whether the Battle Avatar can engage with the Scythe Warriors, I have my answer. My fellow Trovain sinks one end of his lance into the rubble-strewn ground, and unleashes the true power of a Thunder Lance.

  Numerous Scythe Warriors fall from the sky, smoke trailing from their scorched corpses. Finally, someone is kicking some ass. Chain lightning fills the sky as the Battle Avatar fires for a second time. The voluminous blast of sound alone splits the air and downs trees around us, as Kona and I cling to the ground.

  Kon’ac HP: 2/30

  Five Scythe Warriors break away from the battle above, swinging their scythe arms with devastating effect. Crescents of crimson energy slash into the pockmarked earth, deflected by the defenses of the Battle Avatar’s aura. The electromagnetic shield effect shimmers into view with each strike.

  You died.

  That was inevitable, I’m way outclassed, as are all the members of Jonesy’s group. These Scythe Warrior bastards are OP pricks, ruining the fun intended by fair competition. Looking down at my fallen avatar, Kona takes the last of her HP and explodes in a crimson burst beside my body.

  Kon’ac has died.

  A double of her shudders out and away from her avatar, convulsing as a nimbus of rainbow strands envelopes and pulls away the ghost form of her Polynesian body. Off to the Haven she goes, and I suspect, happy to do so. In all likelihood, taking the option to respawn or even to log out.

  Thunder rocks the Wilds as the Battle Avatar draws mana, ley energy, through his lance, forming an expanding sphere of power. The Scythe Warriors see it coming, but move too late as the collected energy releases, flattening the forest for miles around. The ravaged and smoking bodies of the Scythe Warriors lie amongst the ruination, as the Battle Avatar charges west, or at least where the sun has begun its decline.

  The battle moves toward us, even as the Battle Avatar sprints to meet it, and I almost expect to see a trail of lightning follow him. I’m disappointed.

  Lisa’s tag has disappeared from the swarm, but Jonesy is still in the battle, as are Malcolm and Paul. Malcolm plays as a Rogue Setec assassin. I’m not sure how he’s flying, but the Setec are shapeshifters, so that explains itself, I guess. Paul is a Sennar Knight, another of the Warrior class and without Lisa, their primary healer, the three have no chance against the Scythe Warriors. Paul has no time to cast healing spells to restore HP.

  Choosing to be the voice of reason, I search my UI for the party chat to the group.

  “Guys, there’s a Battle Avatar here, don’t you think we should leave this to him?”

  Jonesy laughs, but Malcolm sees sense. “Noob is right, Shadow Fox. We can log a complaint and hold our stake.”

  “Don’t know if any of you noticed,” Jonesy says, “but we can’t log out. Unless you want to give these fools the satisfaction of killing us.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t agree, Jonesy. Who cares if they’ve killed us illegally? I saw Kona leave the instance, so either we break away to watch the Battle Avatar smack them down or die and respawn.”

  “Spectate? We ain’t streamers, David, we’re here to play!”

  This crap.

  This is why, as adults, Jonesy and I hung out less and less—I suffered enough bullheaded stubbornness from people at my job. I didn’t need it at home.

  Malcolm lands beside me, shaking his bald head at my ghost. “What a day for you to join us, huh, Dave? Not gonna respawn? You like to watch?”

  It’s clear why Malcolm and Jonesy are friends. Looking down, I see my blue, translucent body. No naughty details, more of a bland Barbie form, aglow with a sky blue light, but naked all the same—like an astral form.

  Three Scythe Warriors descend and hover twelve feet over us. Malcolm turns to me. “See you back at Haven.”

  Two of the Scythe Warriors explode, spattering their cohort with gore and fragments of burning armor. The third, covered in his fellows, returns the attack against a new Battle Avatar, a blood red Warrior of the Balance with the same glass-like, polished finish and translucency as the Trovain Battle Avatar.

  Character

  Name: Stalem.

  Species: Human.

  Level: N/A

  Class: Battle Avatar.

  Subclass: Warrior of the Balance.

  Affinity: Lenscape.

  HP: Unknown.

  MP: Unknown.

  Attributes

  Unknown.

  Abilities/Skills

  Energy blast. Shields. Ley Bending. Vortice casting.

  Weapons

  Ouroboros blade.

  Like Kona before him, Malcolm is stunned by the presence of the second Battle Avatar. “The hell is going on? Two Battle Avatars here in the Wilds?”

  As the plasma of the Scythe Warrior’s attack bleeds away, it reveals the crimson-armored Battle Avatar, wielding a conical weapon similar to Lisa’s—an Ouroboros blade. With debris and molten rock falling around him, the Battle Avatar raises the double-handed weapon as the Scythe Warrior moves to dodge a blast that never comes. Instead, the ebony attacker twists in on himself, imploding. The Battle Avatar swings the blade over his shoulder where it disappears before Stalem launches into the air toward the remaining swarm of Scythe Warriors.

  Stalem—scary name for a scary guy.

  “The hell just happened? Are the Battle Avatars like cops?”

  Malcolm laughs. “Sort of, yeah. If you break Lenscape rules you have your ass handed to you. Lose your avatar and have your account revoked.”

  Brutal.

  “Right up my alley. Consequences.”

  An explosion draws my attention above. My heart pounds as I stare at the battle. No tags remain of Jonesy or Paul, just twelve Scythe Warriors hovering around a heavier armored Boss, facing off against Stalem.

  Character

  Unknown.

  Attributes

  Unknown.

  Abilities/Skills

  Unknown.

  Weapons

  Unknown.

  The Boss is larger, with an enormous right arm ending in a blade the length of his body. His left arm ends in mechanical talons. His upper body is wider, with a large hump on his back. Like the blue of Jonesy’s leygun armor, the Boss Scythe’s armor glows red at segmented edges across his shoulders, chest, forearms, thighs, and calves. This OP bastard looked part cartoon bull and part crab—an armored nightmare.

>   The butterfly tingle of anticipation stirs in me, even in my out-of-body ghost. Ahead of Malcolm and I, on the cratered ground, the Trovain Battle Avatar stands among the smoking remains of Scythe Warriors.

  An enormous blast vaporizes the jungle, wiping the ground clean to the bedrock.

  The AoE attack of the Scythe Boss—the Reaper. If this is a battle royale, he just created his own private arena.

  The blast consumes both the Trovain Battle Avatar, Malcolm, and my ghost, scouring the earth, carving away the bedrock.

  Mal has died.

  Malcolm’s ghost-form shudders from his avatar—a Setec double that shimmers and is gone.

  My view begins to widen and my ghost rises above the ruined battlefield. As the edge of the blast clears the clouds from the sky, the largest sky islands take the brunt of the blow, while others tilt and topple into the burning jungles beyond the battlefield, their impacts lost in the thick black smoke beginning to rise. Calving slabs of rock careen into the flames, the devastation spreading.

  Like an in-game cinematic, the battle fills my vision, third person, stream-like. This must be what thousands are doing, watching Lenscape like the best possible reality television—better than anything Galacom puts out.

  I am so into this. Maybe, if you don’t choose to respawn or log out, you can watch the game where you died, like a full-on out-of-body experience. I understand the allure, the excitement to be gained from watching players, unscripted, as it happens. Granted, you won’t see this level of power very often, I’d suppose you pay premium to see gameplay at this level, but I’m hooked!

  The Scythe Boss fires on Stalem, the cutting beam of crimson plasma striking the Battle Avatar as he dodges too late, struck twice in the back and head, and plummets toward the earth. As Stalem impacts, his body casting ejecta out of his newborn crater, the Scythe Warriors add their blasts. As the assault ends, the first verbal sound from the Scythe Boss is eerie, metallic laughter.