The Lesser One Arc 2 Chapter 24: Fallen Angels

 

Fallen Angels

I return to my apartment and put the memory card in the computer. The computer lights up, telling me to “place the earphones in my ears.” I do so and the world freezes in place. The entire London skyline outside my window changes in form to a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Smoke and fire fill the sky. I look around, and do not see Chris or anyone else.

A beautiful girl wearing a summer dress and a wide-brimmed straw hat appears out of nowhere. She sits down at the table and looks at me. Her facial features are refined, and her dark black hair runs to her waist. She smiles. “Welcome to Fallen Angels, Markus.” She snaps her fingers and a device attaches to my arm that resembles those card holders from that popular card game animated series, YonHiYo. Three cards appear in my right hand. They are full of text and have beautiful artwork.

“Markus. You are looking to revive a young woman who has had her soul split.” Her eyes bore into me. “Your want has been recorded. Your Angel score is now ten. Battle with other Angels in order to gain more points and more cards.” She stands up and walks to the window, where she stares out at the post-apocalyptic world. “Each Angel Point can be exchanged for a sudden burst of magic, making you ten times more powerful than you would be normally. However, if you run out of Angel Points, you will no longer be able to use your spirit.” The girl turns to face me. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions. I will do my best to answer them.” She leans against the side of a lounge chair. “First. There are many other people who play this game. They will appear to you as individuals with information floating above their heads, thus marking them as potential enemies. They may decide to challenge you. You may decide to challenge them. Each time you fight, you wager an Angel Point. Each time you win, you gain a card. Do you want me to explain the card system?”

A floating heads-up display appears in front of me, with two buttons. "Yes” and “No.” I touch “Yes.”

“Your deck can have a maximum of ten cards. Each card has a unique effect that will help you during your battles. You can use them in a variety of different ways. As you collect more cards, you will learn more about them. Do you wish me to tell you about the battle system?”

Another prompt. This time I also click “yes.”

“Each participant will enter the battle with one thousand life points. Don’t worry—any injuries sustained within the battle system will be removed when you exit. A referee program will determine how much life is lost after each hit. Do you understand?”

“I do.”

“Also. Angel points will be awarded to those who complete quests. You will receive them from quest characters, who will be identifiable by the exclamation points over their heads.”

The girl bows, and then dissolves into pixels. The world shimmers. Everything loses its post-apocalyptic veneer and returns to normal.

Above the pocket computer, two buttons float. They read: Challenge and Angel Shop.

I touch the Angel Shop button. Another heads-up display appears in front of me. I scroll through a list of objects and their descriptions. Everything seems to cost Angel points.

Chris looks up at me. “I sense a large amount of psionic particles. What happened?”

“I was …” I pause. “Here. Put these headphones in.”

Chris walks over to the computer and touches it.

Ready player two.

Chris blinks in and out of existence in a split second. When she reappears, she has a totally different expression. “Interesting.”

A floating box above her head, as if in a video game, reads “Chris. Elf level 120. Angel points: 10. Score: 12908. Partner.”

Chris looks above my head, so I assume she sees something similar. “It appears we are partners?”

“I don’t really know what that means.” I wave my hand above my head and feel nothing but air.

“I have heard of such things.” Chris waves her hand above my head, as if grabbing for something. She doesn’t get anything and stares at her empty hand. “Entire alternate worlds that are layered on top of ours.”

“Well …” I pause. “I think we’ll be okay as long as we don’t meet anyone else who plays Fallen Angels.”

“Agreed.”

The time until I’m scheduled to arrive at the lab passes quickly. When it is time to go, I leave the apartment and go to where my conjurers are waiting.

What I see shocks me. One of the conjurers has a text box floating above their head. I instinctively try to cover the top of my head with my hands.

The conjurer, who is named Lincoln Patel, stands up. “Boss.” He motions towards the bathroom.

I follow him in. Lincoln stops, turns around, and then grins. “Welcome to the game world.”

“Are there a lot of people who play Fallen Angels?”

Lincoln nods once, and then whistles. “Your account is an OG. Where did you get it? Also, your level is absurdly high. Only three cards though.”

“Um, OG?”

Lincoln raises an eyebrow. “So you don’t know anything about Fallen Angels.”

“No.”

Lincoln grins. “Then let me tell you something. Go to the Angel shop and use five of your first ten points to buy the card “Skulk.” It will keep high level players from targeting you.”

“Okay. I’ll do that.”

“Which port did you use? The Ybox? Or the SP2?”

“What was it called? Um,” I think for a moment. “A Chronos 2A, I think.”

Lincoln whistles again. “That means your account is from the Alpha days.”

“Alpha …” I frown. “Who built this game?”

“Dunno.” Lincoln turns away. “Don’t worry. I won’t try battling you. You’re my boss, after all.” He puts his hand on my shoulder. “Even though I’m twice your age.” He winks, and then we return to the lab. The rest of the day goes as expected. I am a bit tense to know that I’ve entered a world that I don’t understand, but at the same time I am a bit excited.

When I get back to my apartment I immediately open the Angel Shop and purchase the card “Skulk.” It reads: Players with a score more than a thousand over yours cannot challenge you. You may still challenge them.

I think, and then without any other input my card device appears on my arm. There are two slots marked “global.” I understand that’s the spot I need to put the new card.

When I slide it in, my arm device shimmers, and then flickers. I feel like something is hugging me.

Chris comes in from her bedroom. “Markus. Have you found out anything else about this game?”

“Yes. Go to the Angel Shop and buy the card “skulk.”

“Understood.” She uses the pocket computer and after five minutes, her text box changes. It reads: Skulking.

Good. I have no idea what kind of world I’m entering, but I need to be vigilant if I’m to survive.

I look through the Angel Shop. There are a lot of things there that I really could use. All of them, however, a much too expensive. I am looking specifically for the liver of a tarasque, but I do not find it. I decide to take a walk down the street to see if anyone else has a text box over their head.

Before I can, I get a call from the Blue Dryads. I pick it up. “Yes?”

“Markus. The Blue Dryads, as well as London Dungeon UK, have been tasked with clearing an A-class dungeon. Please report to headquarters in half an hour. Thank you.” The coordinator hangs up.

Well, this may be my chance to see if anyone in the Blue Dryads is part of Fallen Angels. I call Sebastian.

“Sir?”

“Take me to the Blue Dryads’ headquarters. I’ll be down in five minutes.” I turn to Chris. She nods.

We take the elevator down and leave the building, just in time for Sebastian to pull up in the limo. We drive to the Blue Dryads’ headquarters and I get out, along with Chris.

“I forgot.” I look at Chris. “We’re going to have to make an excuse as to why you’re always with me.”

Chris shakes her head. “I can use my magic to make my presence feel normal. No one will ask questions.”

“You can do that?”

“I can do many things.”

When I look at the gathered Blue Dryads, my heart rate increases. There are two other Dryads who have text boxes above their heads.

Brin Dowley. Human level 89. Angel Points: 29. Score: 8091.

Charles Hemworth. Human level 41. Angel Points: 11. Score: 11201. Skulking.

Both of them look at me at once. Charles approaches me.

“You new?” He puts his hands on his hips.

“Uh, yeah.”

He looks up. “You have an OG account. Did you buy it off someone?”

“Yeah. I bought it at an auction.”

“You must be pretty rich for that.”

I shake my head. “It wasn’t …”

At that moment, Carl Stevenson, the commander of the Blue Dryads, calls us all up. He folds his hands across his back. “We’re going to be clearing an A-class today, along with London Dungeon UK. I believe all of us will make it out alive, but it’s not a guarantee. This is what we’ve all signed up for. There’s no backing out now.” He nods once and steps away from the microphone.

We load into busses. Chris sits next to me on the bus—and just like she said, no one appears to notice her. We travel about an hour to a small farm in the countryside. A tall portal has opened in the middle of the cattle shed. It hasn’t prolapsed yet, but blood is pooling outside the building—probably from the cows that were killed during its appearance.

It is sunset, and the sky is pasted with orange and red clouds, giving the world a surreal focus. I am a bit tired, but I am also ready to do whatever is needed.

We rally before the dungeon, meeting with London Dungeon UK. After ten minutes we are ready to enter.

Brin approaches me. He is a regular-looking guy with a short beard and mustache. He is wearing glasses. He pushes them up his nose. “You’re a player.”

“Uh, yeah.” I flinch.

“Charles says he already met you. I would challenge you on the spot, but you have a skulk card in effect.” He turns away. “What a waste.”

We prepare to enter the dungeon. Carl Stevenson stands up on a small stage and addresses us all. “Let’s go get ‘em.” He claps, and then steps down. The leader of London Dungeon UK also give a few words. When everything is ready, we enter.

The dungeon swallows everyone with familiar glee. The inside is hot and humid, a jungle environment. A troupe of monkeys eyes us from the branches.

“Contact!” The scouts come running back towards us. Behind them are a number of velociraptors, as well as a large T-Rex.

I shiver. This is what I signed up for. The adventures and dinosaurs collide. Tank class adventurers hold the monsters back while Damage Per Second adventurers like me fire at them from behind the lines. Bolts of magic fly everywhere, impacting the ground, sometimes hitting their mark and spraying dinosaur guts everywhere.

When the first wave is defeated, the adventurers collect their spirit rings, and we advance deeper into the dungeon. No one has died yet.

I’d like to keep it that way. After a while, we reach the second floor. Brin ends up right next to me on the DPS line. He winks at me.

I shudder and turn back to the fight. I get the feeling something is going to happen, and I don’t know what. All I can do is prepare for the worst.