~‌‌ ‌‌2.15 ‌‌-‌‌ The Peak Of Power On Mea ~‌‌

 

Dustgrove Prison 

4th Spirtday of the Full Moon

Flea got up from the campfire and walked towards the Crystal. Shin was still looking around wide-eyed and beckoned him over.

 

“Hurry the hell up, Flea.”

 

“What’s going on? What killed you, and where the hell is everyone else?”

 

It was at that point Shin stopped looking around and just stared to a point behind Flea. The look of horror on the Bugbears face seemed almost comical to Flea until he quickly realized Bugbears aren’t usually afraid of anything. Flea’s blood chilled, and he began sprinting towards the crystal without looking behind him.

 

Reaching the Crystal, Flea turned around just in time to see a red flash of light as a dome of energy appeared around the Crystal. The dome’s field edged thirty feet out from the Crystal. As soon as the flash dimmed, Flea could see a large-ghostly-white spider-bat creature had run into the reddish dome.

 

“What the hell is that?!” Flea yelled.

 

“I have no clue, never seen anything like it before. It’s like something out of a nightmare,” Shin responded.

 

“Why are we protected at the crystal?”

 

“Retribution Crystals have a safeguard mode when more than a few of its current contracts are killed in a short amount of time. It’s to prevent foreign forces from killing us over and over to get our contracts to break and banning us from The Games.”

 

“Why don’t the normal town Crystals have something like that?”

 

“They just don’t. The town’s Crystal is the first capture point of the territory. The town’s people must defend them.”

 

“How many of those things came into camp and killed people?”

 

“More than half a dozen that I have seen.”

 

“Where are they now?”

 

“No clue, maybe went back into the forest?”

 

“Damnit, Bob’s out there now.”

 

An hour later, two quick consecutive flashes came from the Crystal. The Satyr and Elf who had claimed the left mine materialized.

 

“Who the fuck killed me in my sleep, Shin. You fuckers string that bastard up yet? I want his time extended up to the max!” The Elf shouted.

 

“Hey, Finch, buddy.” the Satyr said as he pulled on his sleeve.

 

“What the hell is wrong with you, Laral?”

 

Having his friend’s attention, Laral the Satyr then pointed to the very silent spider-bat outside the dome around the Crystal. Finch followed his point and stepped back in horror.

 

“What the bloody hell is that?”

 

“That’s what killed you and the entire camp. Take a look at your cabins. They opened them like a damn Fengrin tin can.”

 

Flea looked up at the roof of the cabins and noticed one corner had been peeled back.

 

How the hell did we miss that before? I get the tin can reference tho. Fengrin must be something like our sardines.

 

As Flea was looking over his cabin, the group could hear a low humming from the forest.

 

“What the hell is that? It feels like it’s vibrating the insides of my chest.” Shin said as he was rubbing his sternum.

 

At the sound of the humming, the spider bat immediately darted back towards the wall, leaped over it in one bound, and was gone. 

 

“I’m not moving from this spot till we know that thing is well and truly gone,” said Finch as he dropped to the ground and then scooted closer to the crystal.

 

He looks like he’s about to cry. What happened to the tough guy act from down in the mines.

 

“This is so unfair Finch, I just want to go home,” Laral said, whimpering, then letting out a low barking sound.

 

The noise caught Flea off guard; maybe a hiccup crossed his mind. Turning back towards the wall, Flea waited to see if the spider-bat was coming back. Lost in thought, the Gnome suddenly snapped out of it and whipped his head back around, staring first at Laral, then Finch. Flea had just figured out that this group of three were probably Zan’s people.

 

But how? They respawned. I thought Zan’s people couldn’t respawn. Maybe they aren’t his people then? 

 

“Hey Finch, can you come here a second?” Flea said to the tall Elf as he walked to the edge of the protective dome.

 

“What the hell do you want, Gnome?”

 

“Wanted to ask you something about a dog I saw the other say.”

 

Both Finch and Laral turned to stare at the Gnome. Finch was growing visibly angry and stomped towards Flea.

 

“What dog are you talking about?” Finch hissed under his breath.

 

“I thought so. Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. I’m trying to help out Zan with their problem as soon as I leave here.” Flea said in a whisper.

 

The Elf sniffed, then sniffed again.

 

“You’re not one of us. How is it you know Zan, and our little problem?”

 

“My cat.”

 

“Your cat?” Finch said with a very puzzled look on his face.

 

“Yes, Bob met them in the forest. They helped him level up and raise money to get your group and me out of here. They said, Bob not being a player that can level up, might be able to get into the barons without alerting them.”

 

“Alright, stay away from us while we are in here. Do not communicate with us again, please,” said Finch.

 

“Understood.”

 

A loud noise like something breaking the sound barrier could be heard above them. Looking up, the group could see a bright blue flare hanging in the air. However it didn’t fall, just stayed there, burning bright and silent in the air.

 

“What’s that?” asked Flea.

 

“The Guild is summoning Cobalt ranked or above adventurers within the territory. Whatever those things are, they’re probably attacking the town as we speak.” Shin explained.

 

Stay safe, Bob.

 

***

 

Tenzin was old, ancient in fact. The Elf had been on Mea since the start of the current epoch when his people had joined The Games. At one time, he had ranked in the top #100 of the Mithril. Reaching level 100 the Elf had chosen not to enter The Spire, but instead decided to stay close by and watch over his kin.

 

These days he lived a quiet life on the large hill north of Dustgrove. His clan had lived within the town for generations. Most had moved on to the larger cities closer to The Spire. The old Elf’s favorite though was his many greats granddaughter, Zyla. She was a ball of pure joy to the old Elf. He would go down into town once a week to visit her and give her pointers while practicing with her sword. Zyla and her mother Yulia were the last of his clan, and he would watch over them until they, too, would move on.

 

Sitting out on his house’s balcony way up in his Lorien, he watched over the valley that Dustgrove sat in. Tenzin could also see as far as the sea to the west. This Lorien had been carefully grown centuries earlier and was the largest tree anywhere within the territory and its neighbors. 

 

Being at level 100, he could no longer level and had to stay close to Lorien to continually cultivate and maintain his Energy. The Lorien may have been the only energy source on Mea that could support someone who had made it to the level of Iron Body.

 

Just as the old Elf picked up one of the many books he enjoyed, his amusing reverie was broken by the sound of an alert enchantment going off in the sky. Looking up, he could see the bright blue flare now silently hovering in the distance.

 

The book he had started to read hung in the air for an instant before falling to the floor. It took only that instant for Tenzin to already be long gone from his perch and halfway towards town to kill anything that may harm his Zyla.

 

***

 

“Magus, answer my question, please. What are those things outside the town, and what the hell is a Dragon Eater?” Bob asked in rapid succession.

 

The Elder Goat sighed. He had met his match with someone who could ask as many damn questions as he did in one breath.

 

“I have no idea what those things are. One of the guards called one a Night Snatcher and the name stuck. I would wager they are a species that live very deep underground. I’m assuming their nest was dug into by the Dragon Eater, and they came to the surface to flee from it. Dragon Eaters are one of the rarest, but strongest creatures on Mea. They look like giant slow-moving furry animals. They have incredibly sharp claws that can dig through the hardest of stone. The creatures have a very long snout and a tongue that can be shot out at incredible speed and stretches far beyond its perceived limits. They are normally found deep underground or among large mountains. As the name suggests, they can take down dragons with their tongues and eat them. They are enormous and hard to combat. The only saving grace on why they don’t normally destroy whole towns and cities is they are very slow-moving and very easily distracted.”

 

“So if those Night Snatchers bring it close to town, are we in trouble?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And the flare you had them use?”

 

“The blue flare is to signal that the town is under a Cobalt class threat. It should notify anyone in the territory that could be of help to us. Though, I’m really hoping it gets the attention of a certain someone.”

 

As if on cue, the doors of the Guild Hall practically exploded inward of their hinges. Papers near the door flew everywhere throughout the hall.

 

“It did get his attention,” Elder Magnus said smugly.

 

***

 

“What attacks Dustgrove, Magus,” Tenzin asked.

 

“A Dragon Eater to the east. It seems to have relocated a massive number of creatures we’ve never seen before. The guards at the eastern wall are keeping them at bay. But if more start showing up, the town will be overrun. The Dragon Eater is following these creatures towards the town.”

 

Tenzin was gone in a flash. The papers on the floor flew back up into the air, scattering further in all directions through the hall. With nothing else needing to be said here, the Elf began running towards the eastern wall. Tenzin stopped at his kin’s house to find Zyla and her mother huddled in the basement corner.

 

“Take Zyla to The Guild; they will keep you both safe.”

 

“Grandpa! Are you going to take care of the spiders?”

 

“Yes, Zyla. I will take care of them for you.”

 

Tenzin smiled down at his kin. He knew Dragon Eaters could kill even the strongest of the Mithril ranked. The reason he had made it to such an age was he retired after his ninety-ninth death. Tenzin had one last life left, or he could ascend to the next game. Up till now, the Elf had chosen kin over the prospect of advancement. Regardless, Tenzin would risk his life in order to protect the lives of Zyla and Yulia.

 

***

 

“Who the hell was that?” asked Bob.

 

“Tenzin, the only level 100 on Mea and only Mithril rank anywhere near this territory,” replied Elder Magnus.

 

“So that’s what it looks like to reach level 100?”

 

“That it is. Still boggles my mind.”

 

“So we should be safe now?”

 

“Yes, if he can draw the Dragon Eaters’ attention back towards the mountains to the south-east during his time limit.’

 

“Time limit?”

 

“Once someone unlocks their Iron Body at level 100, their bodies change on a cellular level. They then must tirelessly cultivate energy, like farming high-level cores, or do what Tenzin does and rest within a place of power. He lives inside the massive tree or Lorien to the north. The Lorien is a type of Elven tree they create their homes from. You have probably seen it if you looked north from the town atop the hill. The tree pulls in energy from the air and soil and can sustain Tenzin’s energy levels. However, he can only leave the tree for short periods of time, and once back in the Lorien, he must remain for days to regain the energy he has lost.”

 

“Why would the game choose to confine its players like that?”

 

“It doesn’t. Upon hitting level 99, players are informed to head to the center of Mea and to The Spire. Once there, they ascend to the next game once they reach level 100. Tenzin chooses to stay on Mea and safeguard his family or kin as the Elves say.”

 

“Thank you for your knowledge, Magnus. That reminds me, I’m about to hit level 10. Do you have someplace I can use, so I don’t make a mess?”

 

The Goat laughed.

 

“You won’t undergo such a change as your companion. Your body is created with energy and is already in its purest form. You just need to level and unlock your first gate.”

 

Bob, hearing that sat back on the edge of the counter and pulled up his status screen to level. He placed the 340 Energy into Wisdom to level it to 10 and accepted.