Nagant Wars: The Pawn's Sacrifice: A LitRPG Novel Page 3

  “Odds?” Smith asked.

  “Even money,” the Sihir bookie said. “Y’all seem well fed and confident. How about placing a couple of thousand gold?” Betting against yourself, obviously, was not allowed, although this rule had to be re-explained every so often to people who didn’t quite understand the concept.

  “I’ll place another thousand,” Dale said.

  “I’ll do five hundred,” Smith said.

  “Sir?” the Sihir asked Sanjay.

  “Are there any exotic wagers available?” he asked. Dale noticed that Sanjay enjoyed being different. It was actually one of the qualities he’d grown to like most about him.

  “Only one, my wise friend. If you defeat your opponents and the wizard remains, it’s five to one.”

  “Shit,” Dale said.

  “What?” Smith asked.

  “It means they’ll be gunning for me first.”

  “Shit. Okay, I’ll place a thousand on us and another five hundred on the exotic bet,” Sanjay told the genie-like bookie.

  “Excellent.” The odds-maker looked at Dale and leaned his head.

  “Okay! Damn. Since I’m going to be a target, I’ll put another five hundred on myself surviving. Smith?” Dale looked to his best friend. “You in too?”

  “Crap…” Smith glared at Dale and grudgingly placed a five hundred gold bar on the exotic wager and then looked at Dale with a scowl. “You’d better not screw around with my money.”

  “What? You think I want to die?” Dale put out his arms and opened his palms. “I’m not a martyr.”

  The Sihir bowed, climbed onto a Persian rug, and flew away. Smith put away his table. Dale thought he heard him mumbling something about “Ikea” to himself.

  “Well, hell,” Dale said.

  “Yeah, we need a strategy,” Sanjay said pointing to the other side of the arena.

  “Too late,” Smith said as the horn blew, announcing the start of the round.

  The Shalatians rushed them in a berserker attack.

  “Fucking gamblers,” Dale muttered.

  The enemies defended themselves against Smith and Sanjay, but spent most of their offensive effort on Dale. Two of them stood side-by-side and tanked against the attacks from Dale’s compatriots, while the third remained at a distance and fired arrows imbued with Ice Magic from a longbow. The magic was low-level, so Dale’s shield stopped them, however, every strike sucked up Light Mana, which the shield required to maintain its enchantment.

  Dale, Smith, and Sanjay lost health points a bit faster than the three attackers.

  In prolonged battle of attrition, Dale knew they’d be sunk. He needed an opportunity to use his store of Dark Mana to build up a Fire Magic Spell, but the constant flurry of arrows kept him in a defensive posture.

  He moved close to Smith and Sanjay. “I need to use you brutes as a big tanking shield,” he said.

  While his friends took the brunt of the blows and arrows, Dale warmed up a Fire Magic Spell, Fire Balls. It was his most basic, but effective, ranged attack. He planned to unleash it on the single warrior who was ranging arrows at them. Getting rid of him would leave the two tanking enemies to slug it out with his two friends.

  Sanjay took one brutal attack after another. With too many things happening at once, he fell. Several Ice Magic arrows from the DPS ranging enemy finished him, while the other tank kept Smith or Dale from providing any aid to their fallen friend. With Sanjay out of their way, the freed Shalatian tank lunged at Dale with a spear.

  Dale deflected the weapon with his shield and blasted the attacker with a fireball that exploded with a bright flash. The beast tripped. Dale brought out his ax and slammed it through the creature’s skull, splitting its head in two.

  As Dale withdrew his weapon from the bloody mess, an arrow struck him in the chest.

  The ranging enemy had not wasted a second.

  Dale survived the attack thanks to the tough dragonling armor covering his body. Wincing, he pulled the arrow out of his chest, while narrowly avoiding a spear jab from the tanking Shalatian, who was dueling Smith. The thrust towards Dale opened up its defenses to Smith, who used his war hammer to pop its skull open with a loud, wet crunch. Blood, brains, and bone fragments blew onto both of their bodies.

  “Blah,” he blabbered boisterously. “Bastard bugger!”

  “He bashes brains, balls, and badasses!” Dale bantered back.

  “Booyah!” Smith brayed.

  Ërin: Boys!

  Dale: You don’t appreciate alliteration?

  Always.

  Awesome!

  Amazing.

  Agreed.

  Alrighty—

  Ahh…

  —get back to work.

  Dale didn’t need to see Smith get hit to know that his friend was in trouble. He heard his scream and turned to see an imbued javelin imbedded deeply into his buddy’s abdomen. He glanced wide-eyed at his dying friend. Smith’s face disturbed him. It appeared accusatory, as if he’d been betrayed and abandoned as he perished.

  His death left Dale and the remaining Shalatian face to face.

  Shit.

  No time for that, pay attention!

  You’re right, Ërin. But it always seems so—

  Duck!

  Dale dropped to the ground and spun.

  He returned to his feet, ran to the edge of the arena, and pulled the battle-axe out of the wall that had been thrown at him earlier.

  Shalatian Warrior Battle Axe

  Level 14, Medium Two-Headed, Balanced For Throwing

  Resilience: Medium-Heavy

  Quality: Masterful

  Magical Attributes: 10/25 Tuned for Fire & Ice Magic

  Durability: 21/30

  He lifted his shield up to deflect an arrow and then dropped to his knees.

  The battle axe had magic capacity, so he imbued the blade with a Fire Magic Spell, draining the last of his Dark Mana before storing it in his inventory.

  He retrieved his bastard sword, Bryndis, and his King Cobra Shield, creating his favorite weapon combination, and ran directly towards the Shalatian warrior.

  The enemy had nocked an imbued arrow and used it to arm a recurve bow.

  With dwindling health and low mana, Dale had the energy for one final assault. He felt physically and mentally exhausted. After this fight, which had become a PvP, there would be a definite victor and a defeated foe.

  The Shalatian fired his arrow.

  Unlike many of the MMOs Dale had grown up playing, aiming a weapon in Nagant Wars was not automatic, and dodging a thrown or launched weapon was an important skill. Dale ducked beneath the flying shaft, which missed his head by centimeters, and gained a valuable skill increase in a vital defensive attribute.

  Dodging Skill Increased: Student Level Achieved.

  As you grow in this skill you’ll find yourself less likely to be pierced, poked, stabbed, bashed, bludgeoned, skewered, and clawed.

  Hint: It’s possible to dodge helpful enchantments, too. Not all shafts mean you harm.

  Dale’s enemy armed itself with a sword and shield.

  The final engagement came down to a classic sword fight.

  One-on-one.

  PC vs NPC.

  Dale approached. He kept his knees slightly bent and circled, slowly, as the enemy took a defensive posture.

  Then they clashed.

  Fresh swordsmen, with armor and shields, might battle for three, or maybe, five minutes or six minutes, all other things being equal. In most duels, however, this was not the case. Quite often, a sword fight would end in mere seconds. The first landed strike gave the upper hand to whichever soldier had wielded it.

  The remainder of such fights were mere formalities. A badly wounded soldier in these duels simply had no chance of recovery unless the leading opponent became reckless and stupid.

  Magic, enchanted weapons and defensive armaments, however, changed these confrontations to something that required more than brute strength, skill with a blade, and endurance. Strategy, cunning, ruthlessness, and the ability to think inventively on your feet could tip a close duel over to an underpowered or out-skilled opponent.

  The crowd roared, stood to their feet (or cloven hooves) and clapped in unison as the conclusion of the day’s main event drew near.

  Dale swung at the Shalatian’s head.

  It ducked and countered.

  Dale blocked and swung again.

  He aimed his next strike for the beast’s legs, but it had been expecting the move, and effectively blocked Dale’s sword with its own.

  It then brought its sword down in a long sweeping arc.

  Instead of blocking, Dale jumped and the beast moved forward, knocking it out of balance.

  Using the advantage, he threw his King Cobra Shield behind the warrior and retrieved a dagger.

  The creature was forced to throw its shape-shifting shield at Dale’s poised cobra. The Shalatian’s shield uncoiled into a purple adder and the two snakes intertwined, effectively removing them both from the fight.

  Dale moved in a flash. Before his opponent could bring its sword up to block a strike, Dale flung his dagger at its face. The blade sliced into the side of its head, and while not a fatal blow, it caused a distraction. Dale retrieved the Fire Magic imbued battle axe he’d acquired just minutes ago and switched it for his bastard sword.

  He used both arms to swing the axe in a downward arc.

  Using all of his remaining strength, Dale swung the ax, an orange-red light that gave off sparks of fire traveled behind the axe like a tail.

  The Shalatian brought up his sword using both hands. Taking a defensive position, he placed the sword horizontally between itself and the downward strike.

  A violent crash of magic and light between the weapons cause
d an explosion that destroyed the Shalatian’s sword. Hot metal fragments blew into its face, and Dale’s ax, carried by its downward momentum, split its head open. The short scream and sudden silence that escaped its mouth indicated when the beast succumbed to failure and death.

  +1700XP

  Killed: Shalatian Warrior

  Dropped: Fire Magic Book

  +5000XP

  Bonus: Last Man Standing

  Two-handed Weapon Skill Increased: Newbie Level Achieved.

  As you become more skilled with two-handed moves you’ll be able to wield heavier and more damaging weapons.

  Hint: Two-handed action has its place off the battlefield as well.

  Sword Skill Increased: Post Graduate Level Achieved.

  As you become more skilled in general sword use, seek out unique swords for facing an unusual enemy.

  Hint: Try combination moves with swords and martial arts for increased damage.

  Dale changed into his humant avatar after retrieving and storing his gear. He walked towards the center of the bloody stage, all the while ignoring the cheers, boos, and screams coming from the crowd. He looked up at the Master of Ceremonies. Venant raised his mug, nodded, and summoned the golden beam of light that transported Dale back to his base camp.

  ** ** **

  Quests in virtual reality games didn’t usually change the real-world lives of players, but it was not a typical quest, nor a typical MMO, in which Dale Brown was a given a mission that would alter the course of his future.

  “Company Aww-Ten-Shun!” Sergeant Dyfrig shouted when Captain Kelvão Aquino entered the meeting room. The commanding officer was followed by four new recruits, two men and two women. Three of them appeared confident and experienced, the fourth, an attractive blonde with light skin and blue eyes seemed out of place, as if she’d exited at the wrong station in a bad neighborhood.

  Sergeant Dyfrig saluted the officer, took a seat with the rest of the platoon, and tapped Dale on the shoulder. “Wow,” he whispered, “Lucky thing I’m immune to gorgeous women.”

  “She’s…” Dale bit his tongue.

  “Stunning,” Rikuto whispered.

  “Dibs,” Sanjay said drawing stares. He blushed, turned his head, and pretended to write notes in his notebook of the meeting that even hadn’t started yet.

  Dyfrig brought his long lizard tail up to the desk, allowed it to rest for a second, then popped the tip up. He slid his hand up and down the scaly surface and winked at Sanjay.

  “Men are pigs,” Galina muttered. “Lizards, too.”

  “Eyes front! You degenerates!” Captain Aquino had a deep bellowing voice that still had the power to shock Dale and make his heart race. “Stop playing with your tail and get it off the desk. We’re fucking professionals in this platoon! Aren’t we Sergeant Brown?”

  “Yes, sir!” Dale never enjoyed drawing the attention of officers, but after his performance that morning in the dungeon, he was feeling pretty confident. “Well, sir, except for…”

  The room went silent, and after a few seconds of awkwardness, Dale realized he wasn’t any good at telling jokes on the fly.

  “Joking skill decreased,” Smith said.

  “Coolness skill in decline,” Sanjay said.

  Tom burst out laughing. “When Sanjay thinks you’re not cool…”

  “Screw you guys,” Dale said.

  “Work on your delivery, son,” Aquino said. “Now, down to business. I’d like to introduce privates” - he opened a file folder - “Vin Silva, Ivan Laykhtman, Lia de Espriella, and Megan Wood. Give the new females some breathing room, boys…” The Captain sat down. “Well, go on, newbies, introduce yourselves. Name, professional race and guilds, likes and dislikes, and you can add where you’re from in the real world if you’d enjoy having Sanjay and Rikuto stalk you.”

  After a moment of blank stares, Captain Aquino laughed. “That was a joke, boys. Don’t take everything so seriously.”

  “You’re as funny as I am, sir,” Dale said, immediately regretting that he opened his mouth.

  “Goddammit!” Aquino stood and stared. “Dale! You think this is a game?”

  Dale gulped. “I’m, um, I’m sorry…sir.”

  The Captain surprised everyone by laughing deeply from his belly. His face lit up with a huge smile and he sat. “Of course it’s a game, damn. You looked like you did the time Beck told you I was going to eat you. Don’t be so serious, Dale. You’ll die early from stress.”

  “But, sir…” Dale was confused again. He tried to compose himself, but the entire platoon, including the new recruits, were staring at him.

  “Look, son,” Aquino said. “Life is a game. You live. You die. If you’re lucky, you have some good times—you know—the kind your two buddies are still dreaming about. Keep it in your pants, boys, the poor girls haven’t even been properly introduced, yet.” He looked at the blue-eyed blonde and said, “Go ahead, Private Wood, introduce yourself.”

  “Hi, I’m Megan,” she said. “I’m level twelve right now…” She looked to the Commanding Officer and just ever so slightly, with a slight head dip, and a tiny flutter of her eye lashes, asked, “How much should I tell?”

  “Sir!” he said.

  “What?” she asked.

  “What, sir!” he shouted.

  Private Wood looked confused and a little scared, so Dale attempted to rescue her. “You need to add the word ‘sir’ to everything you say to an officer.”

  “Oh,” she said. “I’m sorry, sir. Gawd blimey…my old job, well—”

  “Born sexy yesterday,” Rikuto said.

  “The white knight rescues,” Galina said.

  “Tropes cascade like a waterfall of cliches.” Kim added to the observations and then winked at Tom. “You can white knight me any time.”

  “What the hell does ‘born sexy yesterday’ supposed to mean Rikuto?” Sanjay asked.

  “It’s an old science fiction and fantasy trope. It’s when a hot, sexually mature female shows up, but she’s so naive that to the immature and repressed protagonist she seems like Mr. Right.” Rikuto was the platoon movie buff and quote master.

  “So, even you can get laid in a situation like that,” Tom said to Sanjay.

  “Enough!” the Captain shouted from the front of the room. “Carry on, soldier,” he said to Private Wood. “You’ll learn the new program quickly enough, now finish introducing yourself.”

  “I’m from London,” Megan said. “I’m happy to be part of this platoon. It’s an honor. I hope I don’t let anyone down. My professional avatar race is Gavreel, I usually play support roles, healing mostly, but sometimes ranged DPS. I’ve been gaming since I was like five or six years old.” She bit her lip and dipped her head. “Anything else, sir?”

  Dale realized his stare was a bit too obvious, but Rikuto and Sanjay seemed as equally engaged, so maybe nobody noticed him. He looked down at his desk and pretended not to be interested.

  Ërin: She’s a hottie, stud.

  Dale: Stop, I’m in a meeting.

  Well, if the—

  I said stop.

  You didn’t ‘say’ anything, you thought it.

  Same difference.

  God.

  No, I’m Ërin. I thought we went over this.

  A voice besides Ërin spoke the word “Dale?” but he skipped a beat trying to account for it.

  Then a shout sounded out his name, “Dale!”

  He left his thoughts when he realized that Captain Aquino was the source.

  “Yes, sir,” he said. “Sorry, sir, I was…”

  “Stay in the present, son. You can go back to your pod later. I wanted to see your dog.”

  “Sir?”

  “Your dog, son. Are you sure you’re alright?”

  “Yeah, I mean—yes—sir,” he said. “I’m fine, sir. You want to see Gingo?”

  “Did I stutter, boy?” Aquino asked.

  “No. No, sir,” Dale answered. He brought out his loyal best friend and she licked his face. “Good girl.”

  “Come, puppy. Come!” Aquino said.

  She cocked her head and looked into Dale’s eyes.

  “Go on, girl. He won’t eat you,” Dale said. “At least, I don’t think so.”

  The Captain gave Dale a hard stare, then smiled. He petted her head, talked to her, and then brought something out of his pocket. “Bacon okay, son?” he asked.