Mathias had only visited the Grand Canyon once, before the Conquest.
A dream of Dad had always been to do a road trip across the United States, through Route 66. While uninterested, his mother had eventually agreed to the idea under the condition that she could work from afar; she had ended up spending half the car trips programming stuff instead of sightseeing.
Unlike Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon hadnt left Mathias with much of an impression, to the point he could scarcely rember how it looked years afterward.
The current Grand Canyon was very different from what it was ten years ago. After the Conquest, Concordia had taken over the area, apparently for research purposes. They had built labs and military installations there, including one of the Weather Control machines they used to alter the global climate. Many Players on the forums had doubted this was the entire story, and the unusual imperial resistance had convinced them.
New, imported alien vegetation had started to grow in the area; purple and red flowers the size of cars grew from the stone, releasing strange pollen into the winds; vines whose size rivaled those of bridge steel cables infested the cliffs. Shroud even noticed winged, insectoid beasts making their nest in isolated areas, watching Players with curiosity.
If they ever kicked Concordia off Earth, Shroud figured that it still wouldnt return to the way it was. The ecosystem would remain radically changed, as would the weather. The technology the Empire imported would remain after them.
The group eventually arrived at the Players ho-base, a large camp under a crimson cliff. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people had set up tents in the area, while sorcerers had created stone fortifications to protect the entrance. The sorcerer sensed the magical protections around him, probably variants of the Ward spell; he felt an invisible pressure surrounding him, soones gaze on him.
Shroud was surprised by what he saw. First of all, the camp was much larger than what he had expected; no way everyone there was a Player. Roughly a third of the people present werent humans, but hobs, bulln, or rare other species he didnt recognize. Shroud guessed so of the more impressive specins, such as the greenish, snake-haired gorgons, were creatures summoned by the Call spell.
Everyone was ard with earthling or alien weaponry, and they even had a primitive garage where a Player cast Orange spells to enhance guns. They had even had three pre-Conquest helicopters, customized with more advanced weaponry.
How many of there are you? Shroud asked the leader of the initiative, the forr SEAL Washington. The man wore a heavy, bulky power-armor, seemingly made of scavenged Gearsn parts.
Here, or in the entire Zone? I would say between ten and fifteen thousand in the entire Zone, with two thousand gathered here. Of these two thousand, eighty-seven of them are Players from seven guilds, without including yours or the person powering the Zone. The rest are NPCs, as we call them. Our summoners can bolster that number by eight hundred as needed.
Which made ninety-three players deployed on this front. Considering Magik currently had less than two thousand of them worldwide, that was a huge concentration, the second behind Neo York.
Since a single sorcerer was worth more than a battalion, and that their abilities shed well in groups, maybe they had a chance to take the area.
What about the non-sorcerers? Solomon asked, noticing quite a few people wearing similar armor as Washingtons. Shroud noticed many of them glanced at him as the group walked through the camp; it appeared he had a reputation here on Earth. Even if ard, they are no match for Gearsn without support.
Thats what I wanted to talk about in private, Washington replied, stopping before a tent larger than the rest. Sol, Shroud, you can co inside. The rest of you, make yourself at ho.
Shroud glanced at Ulysses. Well talk later, his best friend said. Saving our hides cos first. The sorcerer nodded and walked into the tent, noticing Ulysses leading the other Dragonslayers around, much to Maggies discomfort.
The war tent reminded Shroud of movie depictions of the White Houses situation room, to the point he wondered if Washington had emulated it on purpose. The tent welcod screen devices monitoring areas of the Grand Canyon and even had an ergency radio. At the center, a Native Arican woman waited for them, sitting around a table covered with maps. She must have been Atalanta, Ulysses Moderator.
I am Solomon Nicholae, and this is Shroud, Sol introduced himself to the woman by warmly shaking her hand and saying his true na, having nothing to hide.
Hi, Im Atalanta, the woman replied with a smile, before focusing on Shroud, the Players sitting next to her. Youre Odysseus friend? He talked a lot about you.
In a good way, I hope, Shroud deadpanned, removing his helt and allowing himself to breathe. He sohow felt vulnerable without it on, as if he had lost the skin over his face.
Sotis, Atalanta smiled back, although she seed reserved. You two have a complicated history. He didnt give all the details, but what happened at Evermarsh still has consequences to this day.
I gotta say, you killing that dragon? That inspired many. Washington praised him. I always thought a good dragon was a dead one.
While Shroud kept his composure, Sol visibly flinched. We found out that not all dragons support Concordia, the priest pointed out, wary of what Washingtons thinking may lead.
Does it really matter? Washington replied contemptuously.If they dont fight against their governnt, then theyre still supporting it by inaction.
You could say the sa for most of our species, Atalanta pointed out.
Im just saying, you got to pick a side, Washington replied, before brushing it off. Anyway, pal, maybe the Administrator that kickstarted the revolution, but youre the one who made it sound credible.
That was what Shroud had intended when he fought Smokefang, and the number of people who took up arms did warm his heart. The more victories they claid, the more montum they could build.
Atalanta pointed at a map representing the Grand Canyon. This, she pointed at two spots in close proximity, is the main Concordian facility, and this is our camp.
Is it wise to make camp so close to them? Sol asked.
We have protective spells and Locks, and the Zone warns us ahead of ti when they try to hit us with orbital lasers. In fact, the closer we are to their main base, the safer we are. I dont know what they keep in that facility, but they are in no hurry to bomb it.
They have been using chemical and incendiary weapons on the area ever since they noticed the Zones effects, Washington explained. Our scouts say they have seen more Gearsn co out than in.
Either they have teleporters, or this is a weapon factory, Shroud guessed. He had seen the information Players shared on the Gearsn and the source of their organic matter.
Yeah, Washington nodded. If we can take that place, we eliminate the biggest local Concordian army, and this frees our forces to take Las Vegas next.
We have two advantages, Atalanta said. Our Locks, and Hacks. Especially your Mad World. Concordia hasnt yet managed to negate that spell. They accelerate the speed of their Gearsns reboots, but cannot prevent them.
So in response, they have begun to field armored, flesh and blood soldiers and sorcerers, Washington explained. Without including the Gearsn, they have roughly four tis our numbers protecting the main facility.
Not good.
Thankfully, we noticed a weakness to exploit, Washington said. Naly, reliance on a single color. Unlike our multicolored Guilds, Concordia fields sorcerers in battalions sharing the sa color. They got specialized firepower, weve got versatility.
What colors? Sol asked.
Were facing groups of Red, White, and Yellow. The first as artillery, the second as support, the third is trying to exorcise the Zone. The Reds pack a punch, but the Whites disrupt our Players more. Well target the latter first.
You scavenged so of Concordias technology, Shroud noted. Can it help?
We have, and the Guild in Neo York smuggled us tech from other worlds, Washington confird. But it pales in comparison to what the Empire can field. Most still have pre-Conquest weapons we recovered from hidden army depots. We enhanced them with spells like Reinforce, enough that it can hurt Gearsn, but they arent lasers.
Your Network can be the decisive factor, Atalanta said. Granting a spell to every able-bodied fighter can make or break the attack.
The Administrator inford that I have a limited amount of allocated Flux per color to draw upon, Shroud replied. Hence why he had a hard limit on the number of Doppelgangers he could deploy. I can roughly allow ninety-nine spells of each color, Black exempted. My Lock simply does not recognize them.
A few heads perked up as he ntioned the color, Washington pouncing on the opportunity. About Black, anything that can help our group effort?
My Black Spells are optimized for direct combat, not for tactics or strategy, Shroud replied. One spell, Ruin Mode, does increase my other capabilities, but also starts affecting my Lock negatively.
How negatively? Washington prodded as if trying to gauge whether they would make up for the power boost.
I stopped the experint before I could fully examine the consequences, Shroud admitted. As it may endanger everyone I Networked. And as I said, much like Hack, I cannot grant them to other people.
Which useful spells can you allocate? Atalanta asked.
Ninety-nine Premium Thoughts or Doppelgangers, ninety-nine Accel, and either ninety-nine Powersurge or Heal. My other spells are Hacks, and I lack the Spellcoins to purchase more. Finally, my Doppelgangers carry all the enhancents of the original. If you have Powersurge and Premium Thoughts on, your clones will stay super-strong and smart; magical equipnt is not duplicated, however.
We also created a stockpile of magical pills and grenades by encoding spells, Sol said. We can distribute the arsenal.
Our Green Sorcerer also experinted with breeding and enhancing monsters, Shroud pointed out. So we can bolster the army significantly.
Washington considered the resources at his disposal, before assigning tasks. For our Sorcerers, Shroud, you should give Doppelganger to direct combat specialists so we can increase our number of heavy hitters, and Accel to everyone else. Twenty-five NPCs get Heal to act as ergency dics, the rest get Powersurge. Doppelganger is more valuable than Premium Thoughts to distribute since its kind of a spell tax already.
I would like to keep a certain number of Doppelgangers for myself, Shroud said. They help control the battlefield, and they distract attackers trying to target personally.
Yeah, your Lock is too precious to risk you in direct combat, Washington said. You will stay in the camp and you coordinate us from afar.
Shroud shrugged. Once he would have jumped on the opportunity to get his hands dirty, and he had the feeling he might should things turn ugly, but he had co to accept his powers served better to support groups. The more people I Network, the better they coordinate, he said.Even if I do not grant them spells.
Youre pretty overpowered, arent you? Washington said. Glad youre on our side.
When are you planning to attack?
Tomorrow evening, when the Zones influence will reach the facility. That will give us an edge.
Shroud better Network everyone beforehand then.
As he said he would, Shroud spent the day touching people and assigning spells as per Washingtons strategy. He probably hadnt Networked everyone in the camp, but he might as well have.
As night fell, the sorcerer found himself with more Network feeds than he ever had before. He couldnt keep track of all of them even with Premium Thoughts, although he rembered everyone whom he assigned spells to.
With the attack planned for tomorrow, and ntally weary, Shroud flew around the camp looking for his friends. The fighters were dining around campfires, and he found Ulysses and Maggie among one.
--Thats ridiculous, he heard Maggie tell Ulysses, as he landed next to them. If modern people cant stop a zombie invasion, how can a Roman Legion win?
Superior tactics, and trenches, Ulysses replied. And fire. Lots of fire.
Sohow, this conversation sounded familiar. Do the legions have prep-ti? the Blue Sorcerer asked. Mind if I join the debate?
Of course not, Matt, my friend, Ulysses said, cooking marshmallows around the fire while Maggie rested on her back, rolling her eyes. The Romans get two hours of prep-ti. Caesar is the commander.
Then the Roman legions win, Shroud replied. Superior tactics like choke points will prevail over overwhelming numbers if they arent taken by surprise.
Pff, nerds, Maggie snorted.
However, Shroud trailed off before Ulysses could gloat, If the zombies have been raised by a necromancer, then I must assu they will show coordination that offset the Roman technological and tactical advantage.
Zombie hordes arent raised by necromancers, Ulysses replied.Theyre a virus.
The undead I t would beg to differ, Shroud replied.
Yeah, we got one in the team, Maggie said. Hes not right in the head, but hes smart.
Undead or undeads? Ulysses asked. I can never tell.
And there is a Yellow spell allowing us to raise an army of the dead, Shroud pointed out, completely ignoring Ulysses question.
Now youre just nitpicking, Ulysses replied, offering marshmallows to his friends; Maggie declined, while Shroud happily accepted. I missed these conversations though.
Yeah, its been too long, Shroud sat with them. How long has it been since we last camped together?
I think it was last year when Mom took us to the glades, Ulysses replied. I cant believe we were crushing the resistance on an MMORPG back then. How far we have gone since.
What can I say, Divinity made interstellar empires much cooler than our own. That faction had the best costu.
Good lord, its like youre drawing the inner nerdness of the other in a feedback loop, Maggie said, although she had a smirk at the edge of her lip.
Says the girl who played the worst FPS in her spare ti. Maggie glared at Ulysses. Oh? That was an educated guess, but it landed right!
Shut up, it was shooting training, Maggie pouted, crossing her arms. Why did we date again?
Cause youre an edgelord and you thought I was one too.
Nah, I think I just had terrible tastes.
You said it, not .
Amused, Shroud watched them bicker while eating his marshmallow. He found joy that in spite of everything that happened, they could fall back into their old habits; it was as if they never had an interruption.
He thought back on his reasons for rebelling against Concordia. Once, it had been for revenge, for both his mother and Earth. Now
Now the more Shroud thought about it, the more he realized he fought for these monts. The brief instants when he wouldnt have to fear death, or arrest, or watch over his back for an attack. He fought for better days he hadnt experienced since the Conquest.
There was still a lot of work to be done, but they could-
Warning: Abnormal code change detected.
Lock upgrade ongoing (2/7)...
Shroud frowned, sending a ssage to the Administrator at once.
SHROUD: Whats happening? I didnt fulfill a side-quest, and yet I received a Lock upgrade notification.
ADMINISTRATOR: I did nothing. Let check Have you edited the source code?
He didnt, and couldnt. The Sponsors didnt trust him with anything that sensitive. It may have been Black Sorcerys influence, but he hadnt used it since the Midnight Market. No, the timing didnt fit.
The fact that it happened right after he networked so many people at once though it couldnt be a coincidence.
ADMINISTRATOR: It isnt a hacking attempt by lusine, but just as worrying. Shroud, your Lock is evolving on its own without my input. It is editing your profiles code by itself.
SHROUD: Like when it created the Save feature?
ADMINISTRATOR: Yes, but this ti it didnt make use of a Dis artifact, which confuses . Either your Lock is undergoing its Overlock stage ahead of ti, or sothing else is afoot. In any case, your mass networking kickstarted a process of so kind.
SHROUD: Can you block it? It could be a hidden program left behind by Manus or lusine, with all the dangers it entails.
ADMINISTRATOR: True. I will reject the edits at once.
Shroud instantly received another ssage. Warning: Iron God Protocol interrupted by: Administrator.
Registering request.
Request rejected.
Administrator blocking attempt overruled by: Lazarus.
Iron God Protocol uninterrupted.
Players' Stats
Account
Dragonslayers Guild Black Beta Tester
NaShroudNetworkProgressHolderMathias MartelBroadcastUnlockedLevel3 (Magister)Grant SpellUnlockedAffinityBlueSynergizeUnlockedLockNetworkLocked Feature(2/7)Spellcoins0Overlock(0/1)Stored Saves5Save?Load?Spell CompendiumNaDotAffinityPremium Thoughts1BlueBabel1BluePurge1GreenAccel1WhiteRuin Mode1BlackBeastmaster2BlueMindshield2BlueDoppelganger2BlueHeal2GreenPowersurge2GreenLightbringer2Red/OrangeMad World2Blue/GreenGlass Field2Blue/OrangeWinterfold2BlackMaster Mirror3Blue/Orange/VioletRecursion3BlackAccountDragonslayers GuildNaYoshikageOversoulProgressHolderKari MatsumotoRemberUnlockedLevel3 (Magister)Channel SoulUnlockedAffinityYellowLocked Feature(1/3)LockOversoulLocked Feature(0/7)Spellcoins21Overlock(0/1)Spell CompendiumNaDotAffinityBabel1BlueWallcraw1GreenPeak1GreenNeedless1GreenWard1YellowDoom Sense1YellowSpiritsight1YellowDeathgem1YellowDreamwalker2YellowPowersurge2GreenHands of Slaughter3Yellow/Violet/RedSpaceslash3VioletTulpa3YellowAccountDragonslayers GuildNaThe Mur!AdamantProgressHolderMurmur the ImpHarderUnlockedLevel3 (Magister)FasterUnlockedAffinityOrangeLocked Feature(0/3)LockAdamantLocked Feature(0/7)Spellcoins29Overlock(0/1)Spell CompendiumNaDotAffinityReinforce1OrangeDiceweight1OrangePitborn2Green/RedFormless2OrangeHomunculus2OrangeIntegrator2OrangeReload2VioletTiloop3VioletCarbonskin3OrangeAccountDragonslayers GuildNaDocInseminateProgressHolderNathaniel StitchSpawnUnlockedLevel3 (Magister)IncubateUnlockedAffinityGreenLocked Feature(0/3)LockInseminateLocked Feature(0/7)Spellcoins18Overlock(0/1)Spell CompendiumNaDotAffinityPremium Thoughts1BlueIntuimotion1BluePsychotry1BlueDeathgem1YellowDoom Sense1YellowSpiritsight1YellowTisense1VioletPathfinder1VioletAlchemic Grasp1OrangeFlux Sight1WhiteAccel1White
AccountDragonslayers GuildNaSharpshootSpellgunProgressHolderMaggie Jesse PowellsCrimson BulletUnlockedLevel3 (Magister)Homing BulletUnlockedAffinityRedLocked Feature(0/3)LockSpellgunLocked Feature(0/7)Spellcoins32Overlock(0/1)Spell CompendiumNaDotAffinityStockmight1RedBabel1BlueAccel1WhiteThunderling2Green/RedBullseye2Violet/BlueSoundwave2RedLightningrod2RedAccountDragonslayers Guild ModeratorNaSolAegisProgressHolderSolomon NicholaeSpell MartyrUnlockedLevel3 (Magister)Accel AllyUnlockedAffinityWhiteLocked Feature(0/3)LockAegisLocked Feature(0/7)Spellcoins51Overlock(0/1)Spell CompendiumNaDotAffinityPeak1GreenNeedless1GreenBabel1BlueBlue World1BlueQuasar1RedBiosurge1RedReinforce1OrangeEncode1WhiteSpell Syphon1WhiteAccel1WhiteForcefield3Red
Spell of the Day
Barrier
Affinity: White
Dot: 3
Price: 9-15
Activation: Passive, Thought.
Create a powerful flux armor around the users body, resisting both impacts and lower Dot spells targetting the user. The Barrier has a finite reservoir of power and will vanish after sufficient damage is applied. Pierce effect will always bypass the barrier.
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