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  Sylvar glanced over at me but said nothing. He and the others left the storage room then headed back up the stairs to the deck of the ship.

  I resisted the urge to look down the hatch. Topside, Captain Riggardo stood near the rope ladder leading to the wooden pier. I walked over and stopped behind the others.

  “Once we find out who’s helping the goblins, we’ll string them up,” Rizzo said. “No mercy.”

  “That’s if you find them,” Captain Riggardo said.

  He climbed over the rail and headed down the ladder.

  Rizzo turned to the rest of us, displeasure painted all over his face.

  “What’s going on?” he snapped.

  Everyone turned their attention to me.

  “What?” I asked then shrugged.

  Everyone thinking you were stupid had its benefits at times. Rizzo shook his head then climbed over the rail. As the others followed, I glanced around, hoping Monky and the goblins were okay. Going against Magi Inyontoo felt somehow liberating.

  “Hurry up!” Sylvar shouted from the pier below. “We’re leaving.”

  I glanced back at the stairs leading down then grabbed onto the wooden railing around the ship. After climbing down the rope ladder, I caught up with the others.

  6

  No Remorse, No Regret

  Josh

  After the goblin incident, I fell into a routine. They cut back on my leveling and kept me working on the finishing touches of the Temple of Magictology. Basically, I had become their slave labor, but I didn’t mind. All the physical labor gave me time to think.

  I checked my penalty timer as I laid in bed one afternoon. Only two months had passed since I spawned back into the game as a barbarian. Could I make it another ten months without Eric and Sarah?

  Magi Inyontoo had lied about someone meeting me, or he hadn’t known about the penalty. Either way, I continued to lose respect for him.

  As I stared at the white ceiling, with my hands resting behind my head, I marveled at the fact that I had been in the game two entire months. The people Magi Inyontoo had sent to help me seemed unable to help themselves—except for Monky.

  Thero stumbled into the room, obviously drunk. Once Captain Riggardo had left as suddenly as he had appeared, everything had gone back to normal.

  “We go kill them,” Thero said, stumbling over the simple words.

  I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the cot.

  “Kill who?” I asked, no longer as intimidated by him.

  Thero mumbled something incomprehensible then stumbled out of the room. I stood, intent on finding Monky. She had become my rock in a sea of uncertainties. The more I got to know her through her actions, the more I enjoyed spending time with her.

  I found her downstairs in the main room on the first floor. She stood near the door with Harvey, Rizzo, and Sylvar. I walked over, sword strapped to my back as always.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Bloody war,” Thero shouted from the stairs.

  I turned and saw him trip then fall all the way down. He sat up at the bottom, laughing despite his dented plate mail. I shook my head then turned to Rizzo.

  “This might be a bloody war,” Harvey said. “I’m not sure if we’re strong enough.”

  “Maybe we should stick with the bearbugs,” Sylvar said, not surprising me.

  His cowardice was as big as his mouth.

  “Attacking a human village doesn’t feel right,” Monky said.

  “They refuse to acknowledge Magictology,” Rizzo said. “They’re fair game.”

  “Besides,” Harvey added. “We need the experience points.”

  “And looting is always fun,” Thero added from behind us.

  I turned and saw him struggling to stand up straight.

  “Anyone else need a buff?” Harvey asked.

  “I do,” I said.

  He walked over and prayed.

  You feel Blessed.

  +10% to hit | +5 damage

  “How long does it last?” I asked.

  “Long enough,” Harvey replied. “There’s only one person in the whole village we need to worry about—Morgan the local hero.”

  “I don’t think this is the right decision,” Monky said. “He’s possibly another player.”

  “Then it’s a good thing we didn’t ask you,” Sylvar snapped. “I’m tired of your insolence.”

  Ever since the goblin incident, she had been speaking out more against the group. While I admired her for it, I hadn’t become too involved. Her insolence kept them occupied enough to leave me alone for the most part.

  “Is everyone ready?” Rizzo asked. “I’ve only got one charge left on the Wand of Teleport.”

  “Ready as we’ll ever be,” Harvey said, his blood-stained mace in his right hand.

  Rizzo waved the wand, teleporting us twelve miles east of Esterhollow. We appeared behind a copse of trees half-a-mile outside the growing hamlet.

  “This will be too easy,” Monky said. “Why attack other humans?”

  “You know why,” Rizzo said. “They’ve been helping the escaped goblins.”

  “We don’t have proof of it,” I said, finding it hard not to defend Monky.

  “The game’s working hard to penalize mod farm grinding,” Rizzo said. “We need other options.”

  “Can’t we find some giants or dragons or something?” I asked.

  Monky smiled while the others laughed at my idea.

  “Everything on this level is almost all undead now,” Sylvar said. “And we need them.”

  “Yeah,” Harvey added. “You ask too many questions.”

  “Killing human villagers just doesn’t seem right,” I said.

  “They’re just NPCs in a stupid game,” Sylvar said.

  “Except for the town hero,” Monky said. “He’s a player who we want to kill, but he’s told us before he won’t fight.”

  “Then he’ll die,” Thero said. “Simple.”

  “He’ll fight us,” Rizzo said. “Let’s go.”

  We followed as our feckless leader walked out of the trees. A woman gathering berries nearby screamed and ran back toward a collection of thatched-roof houses.

  Thero laughed maniacally as he ran ahead, sword raised high. I held back with Monk.

  “We can’t even get experience points from them,” she said. “It’s pointless.”

  “Just blowing off a bit of steam,” Sylvar said over his shoulder.

  At the edge of the hamlet, our group stopped. Thero yelled and lunged at one or two men holding pitchforks, sending them scurrying into and behind houses.

  “We’re here for Morgan,” Rizzo said.

  “Morgan the Coward,” Sylvar added.

  I shook my head. How old was he?

  A man wearing bits and pieces of chain mail strung together stepped into the middle of the street ahead of us. Everyone turned to him.

  I noticed two swords at his side. Why hadn’t he drawn either of them?

  He lifted his hands, palms out, and tilted his head back.

  “We don’t want any trouble,” he said, staring us down.

  Two women in simple white dresses peeked around the corner of a nearby building.

  “You can’t build a settlement here,” Sylvar said. “Magi Inyontoo’s orders.”

  “I don’t follow that man,” Morgan said, lowering his hands to his sides.

  “Everyone will follow him eventually,” Thero said. “You might as well do it now.”

  “Not us,” Morgan said. “Not ever.”

  I admired him being willing to stand against Magi Inyontoo.

  Was I playing for the wrong team?

  “Then you shall suffer the consequences,” Rizzo said then lifted a wand.

  He shot a Flaming Disc of Lava at a nearby cottage. The frail building instantly went up in flames. Several people, including children, screamed and ran out.

  Morgan drew two glowing longswords at the same time.

  “Leave u
s alone,” he said. “Go now.”

  “Or what?” Sylvar asked.

  Rizzo shot another lava disc, igniting yet another structure.

  “Burn, baby, burn!” Thero shouted.

  “Now!” Morgan said in a commanding voice.

  A few dozen men carrying pitchforks, shovels, and a few swords stepped out to surround us. I glanced to the left then right as I pulled my own sword.

  Monky chanted, causing an energy field to form around us. Everything outside the translucent blue field looked hazy, even more unreal somehow.

  “We’ve got you outnumbered,” Morgan said. “Leave now.”

  Harvey laughed hysterically then shook his head.

  “Kill ‘em all!” Thero shouted. “No remorse and no regrets!”

  The heavy warrior ran through the forcefield protecting us. He plowed into a group of farmers with pitchforks in their shaky hands, sending them flying.

  “Get Morgan!” Rizzo shouted.

  As everyone ran in different directions, I wondered how their group ever accomplished anything. Maybe I should ditch them sooner rather than later, I thought as I looked around.

  “Get in the game!” Sylvar screamed as he shot his bow.

  I looked up as a young man ran toward me. He impaled himself on my outstretched sword. As he fell to the ground, bleeding from his gut, a sick feeling spread through my own stomach.

  While I had seen monsters killed in the game before, this was different. Most of them were controlled by the AI running the game, but what about Morgan? Should we kill him? Another player? What about Eric and Sarah?

  Morgan charged at Harvey the healer, striking him with both blades. I held back as Thero rushed across the street, wildly swinging his sword.

  The dual-blade fighter dodged, parried, then attacked, bringing the heavy tank to a halt. Rizzo stepped forward and cast an offensive spell.

  Several golden bolts of energy fired out of his hands, hitting Morgan in the chest. He screamed but continued running toward poor Harvey.

  “Help me!” the healer screamed as he scrambled backwards.

  I sighed then ran toward them at full speed. When I reached the fight, I swung my two-handed sword with all my might. The blow landed a direct hit on Morgan.

  Your slash INJURES [PC] Morgan for 14 damage.

  The fighter turned his attention to me as Harvey rushed over to heal Thero. I stared at the other player, the death screams around us getting louder.

  Heavy, thick smoke filled the air from the numerous fires that were burning out of control. My eyes stung, but I kept them open, sword raised high.

  [PC] Morgan’s slash INJURES you for 14 damage.

  [PC] Morgan’s slash WOUNDS you for 17 damage.

  You have [42/73] health remaining.

  “A little help!” I shouted then attacked again.

  Morgan deftly dodged to the right before striking again.

  [PC] Morgan’s slash HITS you for 9 damage.

  [PC] Morgan’s slash INJURES you for 12 damage.

  You have [21/73] health remaining.

  I felt my strength sapped from me as I struggled to keep my sword up. Thero yelled then slammed his body into Morgan, knocking them both to the ground.

  While they wrestled around, I stumbled backward a few steps. Monky came up behind me and put her hand on my shoulder. A cool sensation spread through me.

  You feel better!

  You have [73/73] health remaining.

  “Thanks,” I said then turned, surveying the damage we had caused.

  Almost all the buildings had caught fire. Dozens of bodies littered the ground. Children cried in the distance. I saw a few women wailing in agony.

  What kind of twisted game is this?

  “Incoming!” Monky yelled.

  Three arrows buried themselves in my right bicep.

  An arrow HITS you for 9 damage.

  An arrow GRAZES you for 6 damage.

  An arrow HITS you for 8 damage.

  You have [50/73] health remaining.

  Rizzo, standing nearby, turned toward the source of the arrows. He raised his hands and cast a spell. A burst of flaming lava discs screamed through the air.

  They hit an overturned cart, which caught fire. As a few archers ran out from behind it, Sylvar shot two of them dead with his arrows. The third got away.

  I turned my attention back to Morgan. Both Harvey and Thero were still battling him. The rest of the action had died down around the village.

  “You guys will pay for this!” Morgan screamed.

  Thero stuck his sword through the fighter’s neck then laughed as the man fell to the dusty ground. I frowned as a game notification popped up.

  Combat is Over!

  You get 9,000 xp divided by six party members.

  You get 1,500 xp.

  You have 7,000 xp.

  Level Up!

  Welcome to level 4 barbarian!

  You need 3,000 xp for level 5 barbarian.

  You have slaughtered an entire village of innocents.

  This is an evil act.

  You lose 40 alignment points.

  Your alignment is -35. (Breaking Bad)

  I lowered my sword, not feeling victorious for picking on a single player and simple villagers. Monky walked over and stood beside me.

  “That’s the way we do it,” Sylvar shouted, grinning.

  “Not hard to kill a single person,” I muttered.

  The elven ranger stormed over.

  “We killed a lot of others, too,” he said.

  “A lot of helpless villagers,” Monky pointed out.

  “Bah,” Sylvar said then wandered away.

  I glanced down at Monky. “Thanks for backing me up,” I said.

  She nodded. “Maybe we should leave the others.”

  I grinned, liking the sound of her idea.

  “Maybe,” I said. “Soon.”

  Rizzo walked over.

  “Why aren’t you two celebrating?” he asked. “We’re going to party here for the night before walking back to Esterhollow tomorrow.”

  “Some of us believe a balanced neutral alignment is the best,” Monky said. “This...today...what happened here...It was an evil act.”

  “Your point?” Harvey asked as he walked up to us.

  “Bunch of pansies,” Sylvar snorted from a safe distance.

  “Morgan didn’t even have decent equipment for us to loot,” Thero said.

  What had these other players done in the real world? The thought frightened me a bit because they were still more powerful than me in the game.

  “Everyone, back to the trees,” Rizzo said. “We’ll have one helluva campfire tonight.”

  I followed the others back out of the hamlet. We set up a makeshift camp as the buildings continued burning, sending ash and sparks into the air.

  Monky took a seat on a log next to me. I wanted to put my arm around her for comfort, but she was a man to the others in our group, and they would see this as a sign of weakness, so I didn’t.

  “Great battle tonight, boys,” Rizzo said. He lifted an open bottle of wine and exclaimed, “To being powerful in a world gone mad…”

  After his toast, he took a long swig from the bottle.

  Like Monky, I abstained from the happy juice. While I knew the short-term benefits of getting drunk, I had also learned the negative side effects of drinking too much.

  “Have a drink,” Sylvar said, holding out a bottle.

  I shook my head. “Not tonight.”

  After slaughtering dozens of innocent people, I felt the desire for a drink, which is why I passed it up. That and I didn’t trust the others if I passed out.

  “We’re the boring ones,” Monky said.

  I nodded while keeping my eyes on the others.

  The fires burned out as the night passed.

  “You should get some sleep,” Monky said. “I’ll take the first watch.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  She nodded.

 
“Thanks,” I said. “This is weighing on me, and I’m not sure why.”

  “While it’s simulated violence, the Tower of Gates is showing you that mass slaughter is rarely the best solution for a problem,” she said. “Don’t let it bother you too much.”

  I found a smooth spot on the ground and lay down on my back. As I stared at the stars overhead, I emptied my mind of all thoughts except for Sarah. Was she okay?

  The question haunted me more than the destruction I had just witnessed.

  7

  Controlling My Emotions

  Josh

  The next morning, I woke with a headache. I sat up and saw the others standing in a circle and talking away from the camp. After standing and stretching, I walked over to them.

  As I approached, I noticed they had cast another spell to make sure I didn’t hear them. They kept talking, ignoring me, as I shouted. Maybe they can’t hear me either?

  Hands at my sides, I stared straight ahead and mentally counted to control my rage. Everything inside me wanted to go nuts, but I continued taking deep breaths.

  Rizzo waved his hand, stopping the bubble of silence around them.

  “Look,” Sylvar said, pointing. “The barbarian’s about to rage.”

  “I’ll put him down if he does,” Thero said then burped.

  “Knock it off,” Rizzo said. “We need to get back to Esterhollow.”

  The others laughed then walked back to the campsite. Monky stayed behind, frowning.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, hoping she would give it to me straight.

  “You should leave,” she said.

  “Why?” I asked.

  Her frown deepened. “It’s complicated,” she said.

  “But I’m in their group. Won’t they be able to find me?”

  She nodded and said, “Eventually, but it will buy you some time.”

  “Will you come with me?” I asked.

  She turned away, looking back at the others.

  “I shouldn’t,” she said. “There are things you don’t know about me.”