MM - Chapter 22 - The Insuperable Rhino

As Raine spun sideways after bouncing off the Great Eagle, he caught a flash of sunlight reflecting in his peripheral vision. His eyesight was still blurry, but the pinprick of light, and the fact he hadn't seen Froust in several seconds, caused alarm bells to ring in his skull. He threw himself to the side the instant one of his feet hit the ground.

Froust adjusted the angle of his stab, unerringly tracking Raine, though unable to keep up with his speed. The great sword's tip skidded across his superior scaled breastplate, doing minimal damage but throwing Raine off balance. [-18]

He crashed to the ground with a tucked shoulder, rolling once before throwing his arm out to impact the dirt. He slid another meter, coming to a stop while looking at the sky.

There were few clouds, the air pure and clean—pristine in a way that Earth would likely never be again. Two eagles were mid-dive, neither aimed at him. Their alpha was happily chirping as it tore a screaming woman in half. Froust coughed weakly, the sound coming from somewhere to his right and at an elevation that made it obvious the man had also fallen.

Raine's heart hammered away, the sound louder in his ears than the frantic crashing of combat. Giddy laughter bubbled from his core as every aspect of his being thrummed with pure adrenalin-fueled joy. This was it. This was what he enjoyed more than anything else in life. A good fight. Pushing his abilities. Dancing on a blade’s edge with everything on the line. There was nothing else like it. Eyes alight, body aching in protest, he rose to his feet, sword grasped firmly in hand.

Froust rose as well, shaking his head to clear his vision. Raine charged, his first two steps unsteady as Great Eagles fell like mortar shells around him. He reached Froust and two swords flashed, a clanging metal screech echoing between their bodies. Raine angled his following Slash upwards, the movement too quick for the great sword. 

Froust leaped back, but he was too slow. Raine's knee slammed into his gut hard enough for blood to shoot from his mouth. The difference in Potency sent the larger man flying away to roll across the grass. Froust recovered in time to see Raine unveil another stealthed player, throwing him right into the waiting beak of an eagle that happily swallowed the man whole in two gulps.

“You'll pay for this!” Froust spat blood, rising to his feet once more.

Raine stopped in his tracks, head tilted and eyes wide, “Hey. That's a great idea! If you pay me fifteen gold, I'll help the rest of your people escape.”

Froust snarled through bloodstained teeth and charged with a roar.

Raine shrugged, brandishing his sword, “Oh well. It was worth a try. Maybe next time, eh?”

They clashed again, swords weaving and striking as they bent and twisted their bodies in an effort to land a solid blow. Raine's attributes were clearly superior, yet Froust clearly had years of experience with his weapon of choice, while Raine's experience with a short sword could be counted in weeks.

However, his knowledge of analyzing attacks, adjusting his body in advance, and responding while taking into account the overall flow of a melee far exceeded his opponent. Raine carefully observed every deflection, counter, and footstep, absorbing it all. With every slash, the short sword felt more comfortable in his hands, and Froust was pushed more and more off balance.

Seeing the perfect opening coming, Raine briefly thought about drawing out their duel, but the alpha was nearly done with the small fry and another of its ilk was aiming right for him and Froust.

A subtle shift of his lead foot clipped Froust’s boot right as he needed to sidestep. His eyes widened as he tilted off balance directly into Raine's Slash. The attack took him right into the neck, biting deep and hitting bone. [Critical hit! -287] A spurt of blood splashed on Raine's chest as the large man’s health drained away to nothing.

Raine jumped back and Froust slid off his blade, his eyes turning glassy as he collapsed into a burst of light particles. Two items dropped, but he didn't get a chance to grab them before the eagle crashed into the ground where he was standing a moment ago.

There was no point fighting the pesky beast. Without a way to pin it down, it would fly away before he could kill it. Instead, he used fifteen of his last twenty Discipline to run down the final three members of Righteous. He caught one in the back, killing him instantly. The next was kicked into an eagle's path, and the last threw himself to the ground before Raine. 

He unequipped several pieces of gear and dropped them, his hands together in prayer, “Wait! Wait, please! I can go, right? I don't want to die again. I can't take it. Please!”

Raine shook his head sadly, “I said three pieces each. Looks like your friends only dropped one.” Raine killed him before he had a chance to retrieve his dropped loot, “thanks, friend.”

Saving the last of his Discipline for dodging, he sped around the battlefield collecting the drops while avoiding the dive-bombing birds. At one point, he rolled forward, scooped a rock from the ground, and chucked it at a random bush.

A resounding thud was followed by a shimmer of light that revealed a stealthed player, “Ow! What d'cha do that for?” He was a more than respectable level six, with short and lanky close cropped dark brown hair that matched his piercing gaze. It wasn’t the color that was memorable, it was the razor sharp intelligence that shone through them.

What’s he doing here already? They must have caught him in the past and killed him back to zero multiple times. He was just making a name for himself in Silverlight when I started playing. Something had to hold him back for those two months, and he had a bigger grudge against Righteous than anyone.

One eye to the sky, Raine approached the familiar teenager, “You have something that belongs to me.”

He laughed awkwardly, scuttling out of the shrub on his butt, “You noticed?”

Raine rolled his eyes. As if I'd be sloppy enough not to count every item that dropped in such a small skirmish. “I can tell you're not with Righteous, so I don't have a grudge with you. Yet.”

“Sorry, sorry. Here,” the teenager tossed a pair of armored pants on the ground, swallowing nervously, “I only wanted something for my efforts, yah know? Bastards chased me all the way here from Mirror Lake.”

“So that's why,” Raine nodded, picking up the pants and turning to leave.

“What, didn't think they were here for you, did yah?” The boy laughed again, this time slightly more at ease.

Raine waved over his shoulder, “Doesn't matter. We were going to clash no matter what. This was as good a place as any. See you around, Rhino.”

The boy leaped to his feet and expertly dove out of an eagle’s path, calling out to Raine, “Wait. Do I know you from somewhere? Did you play Death's Door before this? Is that how you know those Righteous Knobs?”

Raine didn't respond, walking into Vile Peak Town with a satisfied smirk.

Just enough to build some interest. He’s a squirrely guy. Without the bartering chip of settling his grudge against Righteous, I’ll have to recruit him the hard way. No way I’m going to miss out on one of the best dragoons in the entire Tri-glades.

Melani Feleday

Mel glanced at one of the old-school VR displays in the gaming corner of her cafe. She checked the time blinking steadily at the top of the screen, instantly growing annoyed that she’d done it again. She worked a few odd jobs before inheriting her father’s legacy, and the thing she disliked the most was constantly watching the time for when she would finally be free.

The cafe belonged to her now, and she could come and go as she wished. There was no reason to constantly check the time, no reason at all. Her fingers dug into the counter, a non-smile stretching her lips tight.

He’s not coming! Ugh. Why am I still here? I should have gone home an hour ago. No! Stop it. Just stop. You can do it, Melbell. If you’re going to be a psychic, you’ve got to learn some self control!

She was well aware, as was everyone, that psychics, and especially telepaths, were rounded up and trained by the government. All too often, they were never heard from again. Sure, their posterchilds were paraded around on the news, giving the illusion that everything happening at PsyCore was on the up-and-up. 

If there's one thing you can trust about the news, it’s that the news always lies. No matter what, I can’t get caught, and that means controlling my thoughts!

“Man, what are we even doing here? I’d rather live at the office until I can afford a thetadrive. I’ll stay, but I’m not paying!”

“You know why we’re here, so keep it down.”

Mel held in a sigh at the innocent boys’ antics. They came in every day, ogling her enough that she would have to be brain dead not to know why they kept coming back. She fixed her smile and stood up straight, not at all above looking pretty to keep her father’s dream alive. Their actual words registered, and she hummed to herself, picking up a rag and scrubbing at the already clean counter.

Hasn’t been fifteen minutes since the last person mentioned ZionLine. It just came out today! How is it so popular already? Is it because most can’t afford the headset to play? The heart wants what the heart can’t-No!

Her hand slammed on the counter, hard. She winced, every pair of eyes not sucked into a game turning to look at her. She resumed her previous chain of thought, this time being more careful not to think about the tall, mysterious, and very dangerous man.

I could fit at least seven full-size berth tubes if I replaced all the consoles on that wall. If I charged fifty credits an hour, that would be around eight thousand a day. Not to mention food, drinks and healthcare. So, ten thousand. The headsets are only fifteen thousand, and the berths are around twenty. I would recoup the costs in less than a month. Still, it's a risk. If the game doesn’t maintain its popularity…

What am I thinking? All business is a risk! And the higher the risk, the higher the reward. I’ve already got the Hypernet relay, which is the biggest upfront cost. I’m going to do it. But first, I should buy one and check the game out for myself.

The front door opened, playing a jingle from an old popular game. Mel jumped upon seeing Phenalie finally show up. She quickly went through the motions of preparing the girl’s usual drink. By the time she sat down at the counter and unstrapped from her headset, Mel slid her triple-dose of caffeine across the smooth wood, “Hey beautiful, how’s life?”

Phenalie smiled sweetly, shy as always by the honest compliments, “Um, really great actually. I got a huge tip earlier. Didn’t even do anything for it.” She sat at a nearby table so they could easily continue the conversation.

“I told you!” Mel exclaimed. She removed her apron and circled the counter to sit across from the girl, “You just gotta keep a smile on your face and do a decent job. Eventually someone takes notice.”

Phenalie tried to hide behind her cup, failing miserably, “No, I mean it. I really didn’t do anything. I have no idea why he did it. Such a weird guy.”

Mel nodded emphatically, “Ran into one of those myself recently. He’s actually staying at the motel. Tall guy, really big. He looks scary, but he’s nice.”

“Wait, that’s the guy who tipped me! He checked out today and gave me the rest of the week’s rent as tip.”

“What?!” Mel’s jaw dropped, her mind completely failing to wrap around the reality that he vanished before she worked up the courage to ask for his Ncode.