Michael Wilson
Stories
10
Chapters
3,765
Words
2.5 M
Comments
0
Reading
8 d, 12 h
-
The following tests were similar in many ways to the first. Each one tested a Keeper’s ability to judge what needed to be done. For instance, in the second test, what threatened the world was an ice age. This test was actually fairly simple, as there was a God of Fire listed as one of the assets. I simply instructed the god to guide people to shelters while offering them a blessing of warmth to help them survive. Other tests included things like droughts, famines, or even plagues. In some cases, I was…-
68 •
-
-
From my brief glance over the two buildings where our game was hosted this time, I knew the rough layout of the area. Unless one of the others had spawned on either the rooftops or the connecting stretch of road, this gave me a slight advantage. I knew the scope of the playing field. At the same time, though, that advantage was miniscule at best. With the sheer number of ‘NPCs’ walking about, it was near impossible to tell which ones were the players. Every now and then, I would get suspicious of…
-
68 •
-
-
As I watched Bihena play through her rounds, I began to get more of an appreciation for her talent in strategizing. I could tell that she hadn’t learned some of the secrets of the game yet, like how you could unlock special types of items by finding different resources. Even I hadn’t been aware of that until another Keeper told me. Yet, even without that she was always a step ahead of her enemy. In every game, I saw a pattern from her. She would sacrifice a single troop at the start as a scout to…
-
68 •
-
-
Bihena was calm as she watched a battle unfolding on the stage before her. As the Goddess of Battle herself, she had seen this scene too many times to count. People praying to her for victory on both sides of the field. Yet, she could offer support to neither, for doing so would always leave the other side with nothing. In every match so far, she had chosen the same race, the pure and simple humans that she had watched grow for thousands of years. They were her children, in every way that mattered to…
-
68 •
-
-
I didn’t bother to stick around to watch the final round between MeanGreen and MissTery. At this point, there wasn’t a lot for me to gain from watching fight anymore. I had already experienced firsthand the level of power that a first rank Keeper was expected to have, and then some. I’d have to ask Grimor, but those two were likely at a significantly higher rank than that, and just participating in this tournament for fun. Instead, I went back out into the hall. It was hard to tell whether the…
-
68 •
-
-
Even though I could guarantee myself a prize at this point, I couldn’t slack off. If I managed to get second place, or even the championship, my prize would increase drastically. However, at this point there were no new Keepers left. And even among the loser’s bracket, I could see the veterans showing their explosive strength. Battles were not lasting as long now, everyone pulling out all that they had to end their matches with a single decisive strike. They all knew that one more loss meant that…
-
68 •
-
-
For my second fight, I was rather surprised to see that I had been paired up with another of the new Keepers. Things had become a bit more random now, as some of the other new ones that remained were being paired with veterans. Though, more importantly, the new Keeper I was paired up with was the same one that had used the world busting strategy in the previous fight. He did not appear to spend much time adjusting his character, which likely meant that he intended to use the same strategy a second time.…
-
68 •
-
-
Once I saw the card magic system as an option listed in this game, I couldn’t help but somewhat give up on my ideas of winning. Not because it made me less confident in my chances, but because I felt the urge to experience what the card magic would be like once it reached a level usable in the games. More to the point, I felt like Udona’s testing may not have been completely accurate. The idea of the values that she explained to me originally made sense at first, until I began to think about it more…
-
68 •
-
-
This time, I knew more of what I was doing than the first time that I had been to one of these meetings. As the Keepers began to file into the gaming area, I took a closer look at the names on each door. With the knowledge of the games that can be bought on the market, I knew a bit more about how they were able to keep things fair, so I wasn’t as concerned. Of course, that didn’t mean I was assured of my victory in any game I played. Rather, I just was more confident that I wouldn’t be a punching…
-
68 •
-
-
For the last two days that I was waiting for the meeting, I spent most of them hanging out with the others. As I had suspected, the girls were just avoiding me to keep who was going with me as a surprise, and let me prepare in the meantime… Once Bihena revealed herself as the person accompanying me to the meeting, I began to see more of them around. As for Tubrock and Tryval… I’m not quite sure Tubrock ever left his forge in the first place, and Tryval seems to have been with his daughter the…
-
68 •
-
- Previous 1 … 102 103 104 … 377 Next
