End Online: Volume 4 (20 page)

The item in my inventory
also has a gold border around it to signify the rarity.

‘D-don’t tell me,
this is a ‘Divine’ rarity item?!! It even has the ability to get stronger!’

Whether there is a link
between religions and divine items in this game, I can’t say for certain. But I
do know that the weapon currently in my hands is unparalleled. The damage of
each blade is slightly less than my previous ‘Fire Imbued Meridium Scramasax’,
but this weapon has yet to level up.

I equip the new weapons
and they automatically appear in my hands. Strangely, they maintain their
darkness and don’t turn into a shade of white like everything else. I tuck them
away in my belt, ready to be drawn at a moments notice.

“Don’t waste any more of
my time. Hurry and go get me that stone tablet.” Grael growls at me.

“Thank you,” I offer my
gratitude while bending my head in front of him. My impression of him has grown
immensely in the past few hours.

“You have a fragment of my
power inside of you. Do not bow your head. I will take my time in this town
until the tournament is over, come find me to give me the stone tablet.” He
snorts and begins to walk off in the other direction.

I wonder if what he is
telling me to do is supposed to be a quest or not. While he is technically and
NPC similar to Fen, I don’t receive a quest notification with his request.
Nonetheless, I will get that stone tablet and bring it to him. Unless it has
some value to people outside the game, it means nothing to me anyway. I may
even receive more items from bringing the tablet to Grael as well.

I raise my head and see
him disappear into the crowd, unnaturally passing through with ease. Before
doing anything else, I log off and return to my locker.

I look around, and find
that Fen is nowhere to be seen in the living area. I stroll over to the bedroom
and open the sliding doors, finding a lump under the bed spread. Pulling back
the sheets, the wolf girl is curled up in a ball, looking up at me wide awake.
Before I get a chance to react, one of her arms shoots out, grabbing mine and
pulling me down.

Due to the unexpectedness,
I lose my center of gravity and topple forward on top of her. It is nothing
picturesque like one would imagine, my head banging into hers and causing me to
go dizzy. She fares no better, rolling up further while clutching her own head
and making a sulking noise.

I stand back up and frown
down at her, allowing her time to recover. As a player’s avatar under certain
restrictions, I do not feel pain, except under the rare circumstances relating
to her; but even then it is still not at a level where it is completely
unbearable and quickly passes. I wonder whether she feels genuine pain,
considering she is an NPC.

“That wasn’t very well
thought out, was it?” I ask the girl.

Fen only stares up at me
teary eyed with a sulking expression. Her mouth moves, but no words come out.

“By the way, I’m back in
Swordbreak already.”

Her expression turns to
one of happiness so fast I begin to doubt whether she was genuinely hurt.

“We should… go then.”

“Yes, we should. Where
about in the city are you?”

“I don’t… know. I will…
come find you.”

“Okay?” I mean it as a
question, but it doesn’t sound like it.

We both log back into End
Online. I return to the middle of some random inner city street while Fen is in
some unknown corner of this massive city.

“Mason, I have great
news. I am back in Swordbreak!” 
I send a
private message to Mason, hoping he is still in the city.

“What? How could that
be possible? You died just earlier today didn’t you?”

“I did. Umm, well,
it’s kind of a long story. Are you still in Swordbreak?”

“No. Everyone shared
their thoughts and decided it was better to leave. Nobody wanted to wait for
you.”

“…Oh, I see…”

An uncomfortable silence
follows the conversation. I don’t know what else to say while Mason maintains
radio silence. After a few minutes, however, Mason sends another message.

“I’m kidding. We are
all here right now because of you. How could we possibly leave without
you?” 
He chuckles at the end of
his message, finding his joke to be amusing.

I sigh in relief, but at
the same time feel an immense desire to hit him.

“I am lost for
words…”

“Well, you are
‘Lost’, after all.”

“That’s really not
funny…”

“It is to me, which
is what counts!” 
The private message
from Mason contains more laughter. 
“By the way, we are at the Honey
Tree Inn. It is in the Northeast sector of the city, about a fifteen minute
walk inwards from the wall.”

“I will be there
soon. I am just waiting for Fen.”

“Oh, she is safe? I’m
glad to hear. I was afraid she shared the same fate as you. I hear companions
that die are dismissed. Hurry over already! We are all curious as to how you
got back so quickly.”

Just as I am about to say
something back, something collides with the back of me. I fortunately manage to
stand my ground and avoid falling over. Turning around in anger, I see Fen,
grinning broadly while staring into my eyes.

“That was quick.” I
remark, only receiving a quick nod of her head.

We set off for the Honey
Tree Inn. After talking to many players in the area and receiving directions
from far fewer, I eventually find the inn. The sun begins to rise over the
eastern horizon as I finally push my way through the dusty, double-door
entrance.

The rest of the party are
sitting off at a table along the edge of the room, eagerly talking to one
another. To my surprise, I even see the obnoxious prince joining in more
actively than I have ever seen him do before.

They notice me the moment
I enter the room, waving me over with curious gazes. The first to speak up,
also to my surprise, is Sir Laurence.

“You fool. You go off on
your own and get yourself killed. I should beat you down and kill you again!”

“I told you not to go be
so selfish!” Verde also says while scowling at me. “What are we all to do if
the leader suddenly up and dies! Think about the rest of us as well, will you!”

Guilt wells up in my
stomach. I did not want to involve the others in my selfish plans, so I had
left them out. As it turns out, this is the main reason for their anger and
frustration at me.

“I’m sorry. Truly.” I bow
my head to them with sincerity.

When I lift my head back
up, I see that they are all smiling at me.

“It’s fine, as long as you
understand,” Mason says, nodding his head to himself. “But include us from now
on. We are all here together. If you forget that, next time we really will
leave.”

It appears that in my
absence, they have all come to an understanding together. I can only feel like
a failure as a party leader as a result.

“Well, I have a sort of
quest to participate in the tournament coming up in… three days, I think. I
will have to check again when I register.”

“A quest? To participate?”
Sir Laurence looks at me strangely, almost as if he doesn’t believe me.

“I need to obtain an
ancient tablet which is currently a part of the prize. There is also ten thousand
gold, but that is unrelated to this.”

“That does sound
interesting!” Mason calls out. “Fortunately, we all became gladiators today, so
we will also participate!”

“What? All of you?”

“You can thank Sir
Laurence here. Collecting ‘Antril Horns’ proved to be too slow and difficult,
so he simply purchased eight hundred of them so we could all become gladiators
of the arena. Of course, we have yet to participate.”

“Thank you, Sir Laurence.”

The man himself harrumphs,
treating the matter as a trivial thing. I know that each horn is quite cheap,
but to purchase eight hundred of them is a considerably large figure.

“About the other matter,”
Verde perks up her eyebrows and stares at me intently. “How exactly did you get
back here so quick?”

“…Grael.”

Just the one word causes
Sir Laurence to show a look of complete shock, while Mason and Matrix are only
puzzled. I glance toward Verde, who is looking at me with a neutral
expression. Her lack of a reaction reconfirms my suspicions of her suffering
from some form of amnesia.

I explain the full
situation to them, from when I respawned in his lair to the moment we arrived
back here in Swordbreak. The entire story was received with much surprise to
the rest of the party, and even a few curious ears nearby.

“Umm, isn’t that
dangerous? Grael being in the city, I mean.” Matrix asks after I describe the
type of entity he is.

“It is possible.” I can’t
help but think back to the town of Leaz which was razed to the ground by him in
a single night. At the same time, I recall him saying that there were a few
people in the castle which are a pain to deal with, so I feel we should be
relatively safe for now.

We finally leave the inn
around midday and go to register at the colosseum for the tournament. It is
difficult getting there as it is quite far away and there are many packed paths
and roads in between, but we finally manage to get there by early afternoon.

The guard pays us no
attention as we pass through and into the massive structure, entering the dim
interior where all the gladiators gather. A few players off to one side of the
room call out to me to get my attention, but I ignore them and travel directly
into the inner bowels of the building.

“You wish to register for
the ‘Royal Summer Tournament’?” The quartermaster asks us in a neutral voice.
His eyes look over all of us, lingering on me for a moment longer than the
rest. “There are six of you total, so that makes three teams of two. Who will
be registering with who?”

“What?! We have to fight
in pairs?!” I shout in shock. “I don’t recall reading anything about this!”

“Yes! FOOL! It is a
competition of pairs!” He shouts back in a voice which completely dwarfs mine.

“Didn’t you know that?”
Mason asks me, a small smirk on his face. “I will be participating with Matrix.
Verde and Sir Laurence will also be together.”

Verde looks toward me and
mouths an apology; it appears everyone else has already decided on the teams.

“Besides, if you’re
worried about Fen being killed,” Mason raises a finger while speaking, “You can
always forfeit in a match if it becomes dangerous.”

“I want… to fight… To
protect you…” Fen gently pulls on my arm, her blue eyes staring desperately at
me.

“Fine,” I say after much
thought. “If things do become dangerous, however, you are to immediately move
away and forfeit. If I can’t win from there, we both fail. You must agree to do
that.”

“…I will.”

“Fen and I will
participate together.” I turn to the quartermaster and state my intentions.

“HAH! GOOD! Consider it
done!” He shouts and bellows out a hearty laugh, causing a long forgotten
headache to return.

-Lost-

I take Fen and the rest of
the party and leave the quartermaster behind. The tournament is in three real
life days, or nine short, eight hour days in the game. Until then, I need to do
my best to train against fighting other players. Additionally, my new weapons
will get stronger as my religious ‘Belief’ grows. To raise my ‘Belief’ stat, I
will have kill other players with my ‘Minor Dire Flame’, which can only be done
without consequence in one place: the Battle Colosseum.

Mysteriously, Fen decides
to leave and do her own preparations as I enter the colosseum to battle other
players, relying on my sole spell to finish most of the battles. I continue
this for nearly two days, until it’s time for the weekly call from my sisters.

I am in the middle of a
battle with what I would call a weak player when the phone rings. Due to safety
regulations, the V-Link only blocks optical signals entering the brain and
outgoing motor signals. This allows me to hear the phone ringing even in
virtual reality.

I immediately use the
emergency logout function to return to reality. I keep one of the cordless
phones on the small bedside table. This is so that if it ever rings, I can
quickly get to it. Pulling the helmet off my head, I maneuver into a sitting
position and answer the phone without checking the caller ID.

“Hello?” I ask politely
with high expectations.

“Hollis! I’ve missed you!”
Shari, my youngest sister, chimes from the other end of the line.

“Hah, it has only been a
week, what are you talking about?” I have also missed my two little sisters,
enough that sometimes it keeps me up at night as I think about them, but I
don’t say this. “How have you been?”

“A week is still a long
time! But I have been good. I am trying really hard at my new school just like
you told me to and made lots of friends.”

“That is really good, I’m
proud of you Shari. Are you the top of your class yet?”

“No, I try so hard but I
am still sixth in my class, and 21st in my year.”

Of course the kids in
school are ranked by their tests and how high their overall marks are. There
are usually four classes to a year level and thirty students in each. While
coming in the 21st rank doesn’t sound that impressive, it is significant when
comparing that to the 120 students in her year level.

“Don’t be down about it,
that is still quite impressive! You are doing fantastic so far, just keep up
the hard work.”

“Yes! I will!”

“How is your life with
Aunt going? Are you being well looked after?”

“I don’t like having to
get up so early, but breakfast and dinner are always incredibly yummy! It is
usually only me and Joelle and Aunt so it does get a little lonely sometimes.
We aren’t allowed to have any of our school friends over, either!”

“Well, I’m sure she has
her reasons.”

“It’s not fair! She had a
friend over a few days ago so why can’t we? I know she had him over, I saw them
outside from the bedroom window.”

“Don’t be like that Shari.
Aunt is an adult, so she can do that. You just need to focus on your school and
leave adult business to the adults.”

“…Okay.”

My conversation with Shari
continues for another twenty minutes, before switching over to talk with
Joelle. Our conversation is similar to when I was speaking with Shari. Joelle has
a much more mature attitude than our youngest sibling. She asks many questions
about my life and hopes I am doing well. She also whispers through the phone
that once she is old enough she is going to move out, and back in with me and
help me.

I am forced to tell her
just to focus on school, and to stick by Shari. Even once she finishes school,
Shari will still be in her final two years and will need her advice just as
much as ever.

Once my weekly
conversation is over, I lie back down and stare up at the ceiling. I long to be
able to walk again. Since the accident, I have come to accept my condition, but
I still want my freedom back. I feel like I am trapped in a cage, unable to
escape no matter how hard I try. It is a depressing thought, but I dispel it with
fantasies of running up to this little shack that is my aunt’s house, picking
up my sisters, and fleeing.

‘No, wait. While I am at
it, why don’t I pick them up in my top-of-the-line sports car?’

I pinch myself to prevent
my imagination from running too wild. I definitely want my sisters back, but I
am more aware than anyone else just how difficult that will be.

Getting up off the bed, I
move over to my computer to look up information on getting my high school
equivalency, also known as a GED. Apparently it is a test that cannot be taken
online, and there are multiple schools in the area which provide the test
during semester breaks.

The prices for the test
vary between $150 and $200 depending on the school, but either is still a
considerable sum to add on top of my usual expenses. Lately, my income has come
from selling a couple of pieces of equipment from ‘End Online’ and usually
earning between one and two months’ worth of expenses each time. While the
money has been good, it isn’t consistent and could stop at any time. My bank
account currently only has enough for me to survive another six months without
any income.

I make up my mind and
decide to take the test if my quicksilver items and the elven bow sell well in
the auctions. Opening up the auction and inspecting the items, I notice that
the price for each of them has doubled since I checked it last. There are only
two days left on the auction, and one and a half days until everyone starts
bidding more seriously.

I strengthen my resolve
and log back onto ‘End Online’. There is only one day left until the tournament
begins, so I jump back into the colosseum.

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

I am not the only one
practicing against another opponent, as I fully come to realize when Sir
Laurence appears as my first competitor in the ring.

The prince stands upright
in his armor that looks like it has been polished for hours to get its
reflective sheen. When he sees me arrive from the blue team, a small smirk
appears on his face.

“I have wanted to face off
against you alone for some time,” he says quietly so that only I can hear.

“Likewise.”

My reply is curt, but I
also have a small grin of anticipation on my face. Since the time that Verde
disappeared and he left the group, he seems to have grown in monumental steps.
So much so that I feel a little nervous facing off against him.

As soon as the match
begins, I dash straight for him. Sir Laurence has been fighting beside me for a
long time, so there will be no surprising him when it comes to my sacred arts
and base abilities. Although, the same applies for my familiarity with him.

I have also grown more
accustomed to fighting in the ring in the past few days. As such, I step my
speed up to a new level, moving so fast it is difficult for the eye to follow.
My main weakness, I have come to learn, is that I need to avoid becoming
entrapped and having my agility stripped away from me. A few players have had
skills that hindered me in such a way.

Sir Laurence’s face
hardens as soon as I start moving, raising his shield to try and form a
defensive wall between him and I. All I need to do is have my daggers land on
his body, and my speed will ensure that any defensive value his armour has
against my attack is heavily diminished.

One of my pure black daggers
grazes against his shield on the way past, creating sparks as the dagger and
shield collide. There is no delay between my attacks as I lower my posture and
rush past him again, attacking his open side. The weapon slides through his
armor, leaving a small red scar behind.

Sir Laurence clicks his
tongue and hastily turns to face me and defend against any further attacks. I
assault him again, both swords raised with the intent of creating a feint. The
moment I am near the prince, I activate ‘Backstab’ and my false body disperses
as it comes into contact with his shield.

He isn’t slow to react
either, going down to one knee and slamming his shield on the ground at the
same time. A vivid blue light bursts from his body and forms large, shield-like
sigils around him at the compass points.

My attack lands on one of
those sigils, and it feels like I am trying to cut through a concrete wall.
Faint cracks appear on the sigil, but my strength proves to be inadequate to
break through. I take a step back from recoil and not only does the ethereal
defense around Sir Laurence vanish, but a sharp glint cuts through my waist,
leaving behind a slight sting in my nerves.

“Still an attack only
player I see.” Sir Laurence says while looking down from his superior height.

“This is just how I
learned to play.” I shrug my shoulders helplessly at him.

“You need to focus on
defense more. You are too vulnerable to attacks. That attack of mine already
took off nearly twenty percent of your health.”

“There isn’t much I can do
about that right now. I just have to use what I have.”

“You should listen to
others more.”

He frowns at me while
seeming deep in thought. I summon a small fireball of ‘Dire Flame’ and throw it
at him to catch him off guard, planning to attack when he dodges. Much to my
surprise, his sword starts glowing with a gold aura and grows almost half a
meter longer. The sword effortlessly glides through the air, dancing this way
and that, before catching the dire flame and redirecting it off to the side.

“How about you tell me
what’s up with Verde?” His expression breaks character and becomes grim. Even
his voice hardens as he asks the question.

“What?”

“Don’t treat me like a
fool. I enjoy this game as much as anyone else, but how could I have not
noticed. The others haven’t known her that long so they haven’t noticed, but I
have known her even longer than you, so I know something is different.”

“Why would you think I
know something?” If I could hear myself from another person’s perspective, I am
sure I would sound overly defensive at the moment.

Our fight practically
comes to a halt, the crowd shouting in discontent at the lack of action while
we stand facing each other and only sharing words.

“As much as I dislike it,
the person she is closest with is you. If she has told anyone her problems, it
will be you.”

“You really like her,
don’t you?”

“Don’t change the subject.
The fact that I like her is obvious. I have made countless attempts to get
closer to her but they have all failed. Now tell me what has had her so
distracted lately, or I will never consider you a friend again.”

A friend? His words
completely shock me, I have always had the feeling that he has some personal
grudge against me and is only with us for Verde and his endless infatuation
with her. I have never even considered this person to be a friend, so the
thought makes me feel nervous and unsure how to respond.

“Believe me when I say she
has not told me anything. I have my suspicions, but that is all they are right
now. If I do find out something, I will be sure to tell you.”

I speak my sincere
feelings to Sir Laurence, starting to feel a familiarity with him.

The man harrumphs, turning
around and stalking off the stage. He effectively forfeits the match and the
crowd erupts in an uproar around us.

‘The arrogance of this
guy! I even thought we could be friends for a minute!’

Not only am I extremely
irritated with his sudden attitude, but I will get no fame or rewards from this
match at all!

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

The remainder of the day
before the tournament passes relatively quickly, nearly all of my fights in the
arena resulting in victories. All the stats that I had lost from my various
losses were easily recovered and more. I also gained a small collection of ores
in my inventory that I can use for training my ‘Smithing’ later.

The ‘Royal Summer
Tournament’ is getting closer so I stop dueling and rest. I stroll out of the
colosseum and into the busy streets of Swordbreak, mindlessly wandering where I
see fit.

The biggest gains from the
past three days of the tournament are the fame I have gained, nearly removing
all of my infamy, the growth of my ‘Belief’ from killing with the ‘Dire Flame’,
and subsequent strengthening of my weapons.