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Eternyte

Part 12: PvP

copyright comidacomida 2022

Will had never enjoyed player versus player games. The entirety of his computer game career had been focused on making friends not enemies, and his lack of competitive spirit meant that fighting against other players brought him no sense of enjoyment. Even so, Eternyte had a strong following for its player-versus-player content, also known as "PvP". Will never really got into the PvP elements of Eternyte, preferring to challenge himself against the AI adventures; he was into the Player vs Environment, or "PvE" portion of the game.

Like with many MMORPGs, Eternyte had a collection of PvPers who were 'professionals', facing off against other PvPers with abandon in predesignated zones designed for the most "insert applicable marketing term to attract PvP attention" action possible. The professional PvPers usually treated their gaming like going to war; they had friends with whom they regularly partied up to defeat others and kept careful track of their successes and failures, always with the goal of improving their style and skill.

Also, like many MMORPGs, Eternyte had a large quantity of PvPers who derived great joy from goading other players into unequal fights, often by tricking them into player versus player fights or being so incredibly annoying that other players would give in and fight them just to get them to leave. These toxic players gained a certain degree of infamy among the community as a whole, and earned many nicknames from those who hated them the most-- 'troll', 'griefer' and 'Chazards' (the final moniker being a portmanteau of the words 'chad' and 'hazards'-- so named after some damage-over-time effects dropped during the fight with first end-game raid boss, Chadriam the Flayer, and referenced due to their equally annoying nature).

Will had no idea what to expect as he ran for the entrance to the Eternal Halls, hoping beyond hope that there was some kind of misunderstanding. Despite his trepidation, he was somewhat excited at the prospect of not being the only player stuck in the predicament of somehow being brought into the Mytholm World. Perhaps whomever was attacking his Holding was doing so to get his attention and strike up a conversation. They might have more understanding than he when it came to the situation and could provide him some insight. He attempted to remain optimistic, still knowing deep in his heart that the chances of that were slim.

Arriving somehow without even thinking about it at the correct one of the several exits to the Eternal Halls, Will saw that Proudmane was already there, armed and ready. The Savanite gestured with his shield to the faint fog which had gathered around the landscape; the scene sent a shiver up Will's spine-- not because of the hazy darkness, but because it reminded him far too accurately of the strange, indistinct mist that surrounded Holdings when they were under attack. Granted, Will couldn't recall if the Eternal Halls had ever been attacked by another player (he always had his PvP option set to NONE), but it was distinct nevertheless.

Will's Marshall's tail flicked in agitation. "They shall not step one foot inside these hallowed halls while I yet live-- that, I swear to you, my Lord."

Despite Will's concern about a possible imminent attack, he couldn't ignore the comment. A response came unbidden to his lips, not even requiring a moment to consider it as he channeled his inner Etherborn. "I thought we agreed that you weren't going to die until you had a chance to make up for the gold your last death cost me."

The Savenite chuckled, his sword making a smooth metal-on-metal hum as it was freed from its scabbard. "Then I shall strive to honor both vows... Will."

The adoration and committed tone in the single syllable that was his name, spoken from the muzzle of his Warden sent a giddy thrill through the Human. Aside from his NPC 'friends' in Eternyte, Will had never felt a connection to anyone outside his immediate family and, in recent years, they had even begun to overpower that. In many ways he'd begun to feel that his computer game had more meaning and truth to it than the 'real world'.

For just a split second he began to wonder if he'd gone insane. Did he have a psychotic break? If that were the case, was the 'incoming player attack' just another facet of that, or was there even more going on than he presumed? He didn't have any more time to consider that as Proudmane's stance changed into one of a guardian expecting violence; it was the exact transition from the game's animations when enemies engaged Will's character in combat. The Lion even shouted out a challenge. "You've entered the Eternal Halls, sacred Holdings of William Etherborn. Show yourselves, Trespassers!"

The response that called through the mist was a deep, gravely voice, full of sardonicism and contempt. "Wow... nice macro, Bro."

The figure who emerged was easily seven foot tall, and, despite being a Human, was built nearly as titanic as Minotaurus. He strode forward confidently with a two-handed axe in either hand; Will recognized them both immediately. One of the axes was Sunderheart, Frozen Half-Moon of Icecrest Peak and the other was Havok, Herald of the Final Battle. Both of the weapons were end-tier raid items and considered some of the most powerful in the game but, at the same time, they each had a red glow to them. If the world in which he found himself stayed true to Mytholm from the computer game, then neither of the weapons were TRUE versions-- they were PvP rewards, and that meant nothing good for Will.

Behind the newcomer approached what Will could only describe as an impossibly cookie-cutter high level Human berserker NPC', but what caused him to squirm more than even how spectacularly generic the NPV looked was that the young man somehow knew the berserker's name-- it was Sixty-Nine. Even worse was when Proudmane addressed the other player. "That is close enough, Bwung Czerocke... if you do not come in peace you are not welcome here."

While any general lack of insight would reveal 'Bwung Czerocke' to seem like a perfectly reasonable fantasy style name, there was something about it that Will's video-game-oriented mind latched onto unbidden: B-one-G C-zero-k. The other player's name was B1G C0CK. He named himself 'Big Cock'. Silently cursing the situation, Will only hoped that his newfound 'guest' would be reasonable. "I... uh... hope this is just a ploy to try and get some attention... you're not actually looking to attack... right?"

The imposing Berserker just laughed, his deep, grating voice sending an uncomfortable, creepy tingle down Will's spine. "Dude.. this is way too cool to pass up something like this. Don't be a pussy and fight me, you noob care bear."

Will's worst fears were realized: he was facing Chadzard. Fortunately he wasn't one who usually fell for their kind of goading, and he never entered the console command in his account to enable PvP (known as 'flagging')-- although he wasn't in the computer game, he was plenty confident that he wasn't about to accidentally flag. "No thanks. Like you said, I'm a care bear. I'm not into PvP. Come on, Proudmane... let's go back inside."

The aggressor was silent for several seconds as Will about-faced and headed for the entrance to the Eternal Halls; with any luck the troll would just get tired of no response and leave him be so he could get back to summoning his followers. Instead, Bwung Czerocke doubled down. "Oh Em Eff Gee.... you're a fucking role player! GHAAAAAAAAAY!"

Despite not wanting to let the troll get to him, Will was stressed out enough by the presence of another real person who was obviously not interested in helping that he couldn't not say something. "Grow up. What are you, twelve?"

Bwung responded with a 'heh', followed by the statement "69, kill the Savenite." he then looked right at Will. I'll handle you myself, Care Bear."

Will rolled his eyes. "I'm not flagged PvP. It's not like you can just--"

The words never made it out of his mouth as the other player's NPC Berserker let out a wordless war cry and hurled his double-axe right at Proudmane. The Warden got his shield up to block and the enormous weapon bounced off, right into the waiting hand of the aggressor and the two clashed in earnest. Had the other player just instigated player versus player without both parties being flagged? That was entirely against Eternyte's coding!

Will was so surprised at what he was experiencing that he was completely unprepared for Bwung's attack, which was instigated using the two-weapon Berserker skill 'Double Chop' even as the Chazard shouted out a crass war cry "I will shit on you!"

Bwung could have used any of a number of openers, but the 'Double Chop' was an excellent choice for any traditionally 'soft' target and Adepts certainly qualified. Despite not being a PvPer, Will still knew all of the basics and one of the most prominent tactics was to do as much damage as quickly as possible. A max level Berserker could, in some cases, finish off a caster with a single opener from 'Double Chop', but Will wasn't JUST an Adept; even though he was caught by surprise his Monk level still allowed him to evade the attack and, like that, he was engaged in combat.

Backing away quickly while Bwung was still surprised by the lack of effect on his attack, Will quickly objected "I'm not flagged. I don't want to PvP! What the hell are you doing? How do you even know this is still the game? Do you have any idea what'll happen if--"

The Berserker was on him in an instant. "Don't be such a pussy! Either fight or stand there so I can kill you!"

Will had just enough time to use one of the abilities he took from the Enchanter class and he blurred himself. Even though it was a fairly week spell at only increasing an opponent's chance to miss it was an instant cast spell, and any skilled PvPer would thoroughly destroy any caster trying to use a spell with a long casting time. Fortunately, luck was on his side as Bwung's next attack, 'Roaring Leap' was a stun and, like his opener, it was a single blow which landed on the side of Blur's effect, missing Will entirely.

Continuing to backpedal, most of Will's actions at that point were by reflex, throwing defensive spell after defensive spell up in the hopes of stacking suitable protection. Such a tactic could work in the short term in dungeons or raids when other players could come to his aid, but the only player there at the moment was trying to kill him. He was so focused with the PvPer that he couldn't even get a gauge of what was going on with Proudmane, and that worried him; PvPers usually had high damage output NPC companions. "Proudmane, are you--?"

His question was cut short as Bwung launched forward with a 'Whirlwind' Attack, which was the exact opposite of his prior abilities. A dual-wielding Berserker's 'Whirlwind' skill allowed them to make two attacks with each weapon, resulting in four blows against Will; three of them landed and it was a noticeable result. He'd never considered what being struck by an enormous blade would feel like but the end result was far less spectacular than what had been portrayed in his imagination-- perhaps just a side effect of what he was experiencing in the strange transition into the world that was so much like Mytholm, or maybe he WAS going crazy.

Either way, the two massive wounds applied, one to his shoulder and one to his abdomen, felt more like being hit by a broom handle than a lethal axe. He definitely felt it, but it was hardly debilitating-- but it was a strange sensation, especially since he knew that he'd lost over a third of his health.

He didn't have much time to give it any consideration since his opponent was pressing the advantage, a deadly glint of blood lust in his eye. The next attack was 'Mantis Strike', another attack similar to 'Double Chop'; it had a half-second cast time and a longer recharge but it dealt double damage. Or, rather, it would have if Will didn't have 'Discordant Call', a Bard ability that interrupted casting. Bwung's attack was not only interrupted, but it resulted in the cool down triggering, meaning he couldn't use the ability again for thirty seconds. The berserker was obviously not happy about it. "Oh my god, you fuckin' suck!"

Bwung remained on the offensive and Will was forced to move cautiously, falling back repeatedly as his opponent pressed the advantage, hitting him again and again and again; every time Will made a mistake or didn't respond fast enough he paid the price. Nowhere near as familiar at the PvP portion of Eternyte as he was the PvE part, he was at a distinct disadvantage and, even if Bwung wasn't some kind of 'PvP God', Will would have been hard pressed to hold his own. Realizing his health was dropping faster than he could replenish it with instant cast spells, the young man realized there was a very good chance that he'd find out if he was as immortal in whatever experience he was having as he was in the computer game.

The experience was made all the worse with Bwung's constant barbs and verbal jabs, accentuating the next series of standard attacks (while waiting for his skill cooldowns) timed with the constant statement of "Trash." Two attacks and another two attacks and another two attacks, all the while stating "Trash. Trash. Trash. Trash. Trash. Trash."

Still, Will couldn't find it within himself to be more worried about his own situation than his companion's. "Proudmane?"

Will's Monk evasion triggered from one of Bwung's melee strikes, at which point the Berserker came at him again, both axes held high as he used 'Double Chop'. There was no way that an injured Adept (or even an Adept/Monk/Priest) would be able to surive such a strike but it was parried by a shield which intercepted it, wielded by a golden-furred guardian. Facing down Bwung, Proudmane finall responded to Will's call. "I am here, Lord Etherborn. We will finish this knave together."

Taking the opportunity to assess the situation, Will realized that his Warden was at critical health but, surprisingly, 69 lay on the steps of the Eternal Hall, reduced to 0 health points and completely out of commission. Not willing to give up the opportunity to recover, Will quickly used a short cast time Enchanter ability which would not only restore his own health, but also create a heal-over-time effect for both himself and Proudmane. The effect was not lost on Bwung, who growled out his objection "Bro, you're garbage! Pussy alert!"

Despite Proudmane's knack for defense, the Savenite was not the best at dealing damage... nor was Will. Still, the best way to stay alive with solid defense, healing, and some utility was to outlast one's opponent-- at least, that's what worked for PvE. Will was a level 1 Priest, but one thing he remembered about his singular Priest heal spell was that it function at his character level, not his class level. Lesser Heal from a Level 1 Priest could restore 20 hp on the high end, and that was not a drop in the bucket for a high level character, but Will was sure it could do far better when he used it. "Heals incoming, Proudmane!"

Lesser Heal was useful at high levels because of the quick casting time, and, even though Will was only a Level 1 Priest the effect was noticeable when the divine light burst forth from Proudmane; the Warden had regained nearly a third of his HP! Bwung didn't miss the effect either. "What the fuck? That's not an Adept spell! HAX!"

Quite literally fighting for his life, Will didn't have any time to counter his opponent's objection, choosing instead to cast again, targeting himself. His opponent attempted to bypass Proudmane to interrupt the spell but the Savenite, being a Warden, was able to pull him back into melee, protecting his Lord until the spell went off. Wounds soothed, and facing off against one foe instead of two, Will was finally beginning to gain a little bit of confidence. "Keep it up, Proudmane... we can do this."

The Warden flashed him a grin even as he used one of his own abilities 'Shield Wall', which reduced all damage he took by half. "I would have it no other way, my Lord."

Bwung did not take the intervention in good form. "Is that all you can fucking do, you pussy? Hiding behind your little kitty? You fucking suck, bro. I'm better than you and you know it! Just lay down and die already!"

Will was starting to regain his composure, carefully treating the situation as if he were facing off against an elite mob in a traditional 'tank and spank' situation: sit back and let the armored character take the hits while they were returned to the opponent methodically and consistently. "Maybe you should just leave?"

The Berseker just let out a sigh, using 'Kick', a Berserker ability on Proudmane before pulling out a spiraled shell. "Fucking making me waste soooo much gold, you whiny fuck. So Gay... I'm gonna rape your fucking Holding, you pussy."

A veritable expert at all knowledge related to Eternyte, Will knew exactly what it was Bwung had pulled out: The Vortex of Darnellum, an item that Will himself received but had never used-- nor intended to ever use. Only usable when a player had an NPC, the Vortex allowed him or her to sacrifice their NPC by destroying their pact, effectively deleting the character to do an astronomical amount of damage to any non-boss mob.

The total activation time was one full second, and the stun he'd used on Proudmane was one and a half seconds. Will also didn't have any stuns available, but he took solace in the knowledge that the Vortex of Darnellum wouldn't work on a PC... at lest, that's what he hoped since the world in which he found himself didn't follow ALL of the rules of Eternyte's world of Mytholm. Despite being ready with another Evasion, Will was absolutely NOT ready for what came next when Bwung did indeed activate his item.

69, who was all but dead on the steps of the Eternal Hall twisted and convulsed, crying out, and shrieking in pain as his body looked as though it was flayed inside-out. The agonizing cry reached a crescendo before he exploded in a spray of red, leaving nothing but a faint, grizzly outline of a Human body. Reviled by what he saw, Will was astounded when he heard Bwung laugh, followed by a flippant, casual statement of "Oh man... that fuckin' ruled!"

Disgusted by what he saw, Will nevertheless refused to lose sight of what significance the Vortex of Darnellum played in the encounter: Bwung Czerocke could do twice the health total of his NPC in a single attack to a target of his choice-- presumably an NPC. Quickly putting two-and-two together, Will shouted out his warning. "Proudmane! Shell up!"

As one of the premier tanks, Wardens had the enviable ability to completely ignore damage for a very short time. 'Shell' was a high level ability Player Wardens got in the mid 50s, but it wasn't added to NPC Wardens until the fourth expansion, Golden Tide. As with any powerful NPC abilities, they were never used automatically by NPCS and, instead, had to be triggered by their controlling PC. Hoping that the ability translated across from the game into whatever world he inhabited, Will watched in slow motion as Bwung's attack landed. Letting out a breath as if he'd been punched in the stomach, Will felt immediate relief (plus a little nausea) as the effect of the Vortex did nothing to the Savenite.

Believing the worst to be behind them, Will readied to double-down. "Okay, Proudmane... keep him there while--"

Everything came to a halt when Bwung struck again and, instead of dealing standard damage, the Vortex of Darnellum's effect pulsed, sending Proudmane off his feet and flying across the steps of the Eternal Hall to land some ten yards back, body crumpled and broken. Will barely held it together, eyes threatening to tear up and blurry his vision as he realized that Proudmane was dead. The Berserker facing him down just laughed. "Oh god, man... you should see the look on your face! It's like you've never fuckin' used a Vortex before! Oh my god... don't you KNOW that they ALWAYS work? Get on my level, bro! You really DO suck!"

No longer able to keep back the tears, something broke inside Will, and the Chazard finally got to him. "FUCK YOU!"

Long casting times in PvP were a death sentence. Never use long casting times in PvP. No good came of spells that took time to cast when facing another player. There were dozens of ways to say it but the general consensus was that, no matter how powerful a spell, sitting there waving your hands in a PvP situation was never a good thing. At that moment, however, logical mind given over to pure fury and indignation, Will used one of his rarely accessed attack spells. The casting time was four seconds, but it could stun a target for up to five, and give Will plenty of time to use another damaging one. It was, however, interrupted.

Berserkers had four interrupts they could use, and Bwung chose to activate 'Roaring Leap', one of the two interrupts which also caused a stun. Will had always found it frustrating when he lost control of his character for any amount of time, but the sensation was far different when it was HIM and not his character so affected. He felt dizzy and discombobulated, and snapped out of it only once he realized that he was struck by Bwung's two axes. Growling, Will ignored it, and began casting another spell with a long casting time.

As anticipated, Bwung interrupted that one too, laughing all the while. "Oh fuck... you really ARE trash!"

Throwing caution to the wind, Will cast yet another spell with a long casting time. Each time a spell was interrupted, he couldn't use it again for twice as long as the already long cool down. What he realized, and what Bwung probably didn't, was that he had a greater selection of powerful spells than the Berserker was able to interrupt. By the time the Berserker had exhausted all of his cool downs, Will was ready with his fifth spell: 'Wrack'.

It had a two and a half second casting time, dealt 10% of the target's maximum health in damage, and the spell description explained that it hurt more than a Trendian Scorpion's sting. A lot of game lore talked about how feared the Trendian Scorpion was due to its poison and, in that moment, all Will could think about was how much he wanted that player to hurt.

Only as Will stood there, completely dumb by the impact of a fresh 'Roaring Leap', did he realize that PvP builds often had reduction on their cool downs. Bwung, however, only laughed. "Learn how to play."

The Berserker followed up with a 'Mantis Strike'. PvP, Will knew, was a game of split seconds and, even with the time Bwung took to gloat, the stun effect would not end before the attack finished him. Laughing, his opponent announced "Such a fucking loser... Even with hacks you're not even a challenge!"

Somewhere from the pathway leading out into the raid mist surrounding the Eternal Hall a small, yapping voice let loose its battle cry "CRAGGLEBALL!"

The small vanity item came speeding out of the mist and hit Bwung right in the face, completely interrupting his attack. By the time the Berserker realized what had happened, the stun affecting Will had come to an end. He had a split second to make a decision and, with no good one available, he once again sided with spite: he wouldn't give Bwung Czerocke the satisfaction of defeating him. He ran for the cliff face, shouting out to the Kobold who had valliantly come to his aid. "Pip! Get out of here!"

Behind him, he heard Bwung give chase. "Yeah? Sure! Run you pussy! Ru--"

The taunting turned into a howl of indignant rage when Will used 'Discordant Pulse', a Bard ability that slowed enemies around him for five seconds. Knowing he had nowhere else to go, he hit the edge of the land, and leapt. Spinning around in the air, he had only a split second to see first confusion then outright rage on the face of the Berserker as Will spiraled out over the long drop, having just enough time to offer up the middle finger to his foe. It was a Pyrrhic win at best in getting a rise from the Chazard, but it was a win nevertheless. With that thought on his mind, Will was enveloped by the mists and everything turned to blackness.

* * * * *

He awoke in the kind of pain he had never before imagined possible; every part of him hurt. Groaning, he opened one eye just a crack and searing agony shot through his head as the faintest sliver of light broke through the blackness; he immediately thought back to the 'Wrack' spell, and wondered if he was experiencing Trendian Scorpion poison. Quickly shutting his eye again, Will was surprised and alarmed when he heard movement nearby, but that changed the moment he heard a familiar, fatherly tone. "Will? Are you awake?"

The voice was unmistakable. "Durmel?"

A second voice spoke from further away; it was a female one. The patronly speaker responded to the second individual. "I... I'm not sure. I think it's from a computer game." and then back to Will. "It's me, Will... it's your dad."

The constant shifting in events and changes to his understanding of the world left him grasping for answers. "Dad? What are YOU doing in Mytholm?"

The confusion was bad enough that Will fought again to open his eyes. The pain was still horrible but he forced his way through the almost unbearable sensory input until he was able to crack his eyelids just enough to make out the shapes around him. His dad was indeed there, and a woman behind him in light blue. As he focused on her his vision cleared up just enough to see that she was a nurse. It was a silly thought, of course, since there weren't any nurses in Mytholm. As if countering his internal monologue, his dad reached out and took hold of his hand. "Will... do you know where you are? You're in Westside Hospital."

The haze that filled his mind after that single statement created as much of a stunning effect as any of the abilities Bwung Czerocke had used; Will laid in the hospital bed listening to his father talk about discovering him in front of his computer and something about a lightning strike. His dad was crying, hugging him and all Will could do was pat him on the back, all the while thinking about what he'd experienced and how real it felt. He couldn't manage to parse what he thought was real from what he knew wasn't real and yet still felt like it was. He considered his experience in what could have been Mytholm but assuredly and beyond doubt couldn't have been.

He remained unable to say more than a few words of reassurance to his father, and mumble out some platitudes about him going home to rest-- a few days at the hospital probably hadn't done him any good. Will was further surprised at that time to discover that there was no 'few days' about it; Will hadn't even been there twelve hours. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he'd been in Mytholm for days, but had that just been more of the inner workings of a lightning-damaged brain? In the end he had no answers for himself, and dared not ask the question aloud.

Ultimately his dad was shown out so Will could get some rest. The nurse promised that someone would be by to see him and that the doctor would show around noon to do some follow up tests; apparently since Will had regained consciousness the severity of his condition could be down graded and, if all of the diagnostics came back good he could be released in the afternoon. It was really no small comfort to the young man, especially as he fought valiantly in an attempt to come to grips on what he was experiencing and what he thought he'd experience.

It wasn't until the nurse left him alone that he realized he was gripping more than his experience of Mytholm: in his hand he had a USB drive-- the one Vynek Tzram had sent him and told him to keep with him at all times. His brain finally kicked into gear.