When finished, Melia surveyed us critically before nodding her approval. "Excellent! You all look quite dashing." One clawed finger tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Let's give you basic packs to start.”

  More drones trundled over carrying an eclectic assortment of gear. Ally received a compact crossbow, a belt of quarrels, and a knife almost long enough to be considered a sword. Tyler liberally strapped on throwing knives, hatchets, and a wickedly-curved scimitar. Meanwhile, I ended up with a plain but well-made sword sheathed at one hip and a Gandalf-like staff in my other hand. The props felt strange after getting used to energy weapons. But the balance and grip seemed solid when I drew the blade to test it.

  "These weapons act just like the real thing in-game," Melia explained proudly. "Cut, bash or pierce anyone not on your team and it will cost them health and other penalties. But don’t worry. You can’t hurt anyone unless they chose to increase their pain modifiers in exchange for higher point ratios.”

  “I want to do that!” Tyler said. “How do I up my mods?”

  “Are you certain?” Melia asked. “It is usually better to acclimate to the Arena before⁠—“

  “I don’t have time to acclimate. Hit me with your best shot.”

  “As you wish. There are five levels of⁠—“

  “Level five, all the way!”

  “Tee, I know you’re excited,” Lantz said. “But I don’t think that’s a good⁠—“

  “Level five,” he repeated. “I can take it.” He turned to Melia. “If a contestant has a weapon of their own, hypothetically speaking, like, say, a rocket powered fist, is it okay to use it?”

  “The Arena disallows all outside weapons. If you have one, you must turn it in now or leave the Arena.”

  “Oh, no, like I said, hypothetically. Also hypothetically, what if someone is really strong and wants to use their fists as a weapon?”

  Ally sighed and rolled her eyes, growing impatient with him.

  “What? If your kill shot works with melee weapons, you’re going to clean this whole place up.”

  “I’m not going to use it for a game,” she said.

  “Using personal appendages for offense or defense is permitted,” Melia said.

  “Sweet,” Tyler replied.

  “Best of luck in there."

  "Thank you so much for all your help.” I took care to mind my manners despite Tyler’s eager impatience to get started. Our guide merely flicked an amused tail in response. Once she’d moved on, I reached into my pocket to ensure the robe wasn’t suffocating Archie. Dipping my finger in, he tapped it lightly, signaling he was just fine. “I’m going to pretend to be fighting,” I whispered softly to the Aleal. “I’m not in trouble, so don’t eat anyone.”

  It tapped my finger twice more to confirm its understanding, and I withdrew my hand.

  Lantz appeared beside us, practically swimming in an oversized breastplate engraved with arcane symbols. He clutched an enormous two-handed hammer taller than Ally in his gauntlet-covered hands.

  "We're in Tier 3,” he announced. “That gives us a nice chance at prizes if we survive more than five minutes.”

  Tyler's eyes gleamed. "Hell yeah! We've totally got this." Cocking his head, he peered down at the engineer curiously. "Uh, you gonna be able to last long wielding that monster hammer?"

  "I may not look it, but I can swing the Doom Hammer here well enough with strength augments.” Lantz hefted the huge weapon easily in demonstration before leaning it back against his armored shoulder. “Those enhancements only work inside the Arena though. Don’t ask me to help move any furniture."

  His joking response drew shared laughter. My mirth quickly died as another attendant drone floated over and began securing a metallic torc around my neck. Ally made a tiny sound of discomfort when hers tightened more than expected..

  “What’s going on?” I asked, icy tendrils of fear stretching down my spine.

  “Relax,” Lantz said. “It’s part of the game kit.”

  "Those bands carry haptic feedback nodes relaying simulated damage," Melia explained, sensing our anxiety. Her gentle tone remained soothingly calm. "They also initialize terrain and environmental shielding when activated to prevent injury if you fall off a building or ledge, or would accidentally impale yourself on a decorative feature. The system automates everything so players can focus on having fun. I’ll also be monitoring gameplay from the control room, ready to pull you out if needed. But I'm sure you'll do great!” Her bright smile bolstered my flagging confidence. I managed a weak grin in return. "Here's hoping!”

  “Three minutes to initiation,” announced an imperious electronic voice. “All Tier 3 participants report to the marked assembly zone immediately.”

  "That's our cue!" Smiling broadly, Lantz swept up his Doom Hammer and charged toward the marked area with Tyler close on his heels. Ally and I hurried after them, jostling through the crowds of other players as we followed the glowing footprints on the floor. My heart pounded faster with each step. This was really happening!

  A honeycomb of numbered staging areas filtered participants into groups of fifty, and it took some effort for me to squeeze into Lantz and Tyler’s group with Ally ahead of another group of players. They didn’t seem to mind, redirecting like water to the next free space.

  Taking position, adrenaline and excitement left my mouth dry as dust. I looked around at the others in the staging area with us. Were they friend or foe? I had no way to guess who might ally with us when the action started. Hopefully, the non-humanoids here proved friendly. One towering rock-skinned fellow easily topped seven feet, rippling muscle evident beneath his minimal armor. He bashed massive fists together, clearly eager for battle. Gulping, I edged further away. Tyler seemed unfazed, continuing to bounce excitedly on his feet like a boxer eager for his fight to start.

  A bass roar echoed through the vaulted chamber. As one, the waiting crowd rose to their feet. My heart rose to my throat. There had to be fifty-thousand ILFs surrounding the field, maybe more. They cheered and hollered, excited to see the match.

  Reality wavered and shifted around us with a disorienting flicker as beams of light split the air before converging on the center of the Arena and spreading outward from there, building up the simulated landscape behind them. Before I could get my mind around the technology producing the illusion, I found myself and our group standing at the crest of a grassy hill overlooking a breathtaking alien landscape. It all looked and felt so real that if someone had told me they had teleported me there, I would have believed them.

  Shouts of surprise echoed from the other groups surrounding us. Tyler let out an excited whoop. Standing beside him, wide-eyed with disbelief, I could only stare in stunned amazement.

  The emerald grass beneath our feet practically glowed, the air heavy with unfamiliar but pleasant scents that hadn’t been there five seconds ago. An open valley spread below our vantage point, bisected by a winding river. Purple trees with blue leaves created a riot of color amidst other vibrant foliage. Everything seemed larger than life and hyper-saturated, the setting more ideal for a picnic than a war game.

  Warm sunlight spilled across armor and skin as I turned, gaping at the view behind us. A mighty fortress topped the cliffs, pennants snapping over battlements, the whole thing a rip-off of medieval Earth. Soldiers in dark livery shouted warnings from the heights, aiming deadly siege weaponry into the valley.

  As I struggled to absorb the feast for my senses, another flare of light drew all eyes skyward. With a deafening thunderclap and flash of light, an enormous airship winked into being overhead. Emblazoned symbols matched the flags of the castle and banners hanging from poles within the honeycomb pens. I could only assume the airship was friendly. Which lucky group had managed to score that assignment?

  Lantz hefted his Doom Hammer, turning my way and grinning from ear to ear. "Brace yourselves my friends! Things are about to get interesting."

  “Commence simulation!” a loud voice boomed from the sky.

  The Warden’s voice. Wonderful.

  CHAPTER 37

  A chill ran through me, and glances at Tee and Ally showed they had also recognized the Warden’s voice. Reality glitched around us again before we could give it any more thought. When it settled, two vast armies now occupied the valley below, separated from us by the river. Only now, dozens of bridges lined the banks, inviting players on both sides to try to seize them.

  Arena drones had dressed the opposing team in green and gold, but otherwise, the invading army seemed to match our outfits and equipment, sword for sword and staff for staff. And, of course, an opposing airship had also blinked onto the battlefield, already angling toward its counterpart.

  “Why are we still up here, while all the action is down here?” Tyler asked, the Warden’s voice quickly dismissed as either a pre-recorded message or an AI fake.

  “We’re Tier 3,” Lantz replied. “We don’t get into the main battle until after the first two tiers have gone in. I’m just an engineer, I couldn’t afford tickets for the higher placement.”

  I waited for Tyler to comment how much quark Lantz had just earned from us, but the action below had already distracted him from his immediate lack of participation in it. The two sides had already started running toward one another, the bulk of the massive armies funneling toward the bridges. Only the hulking rock-men, like the fellow beside me, charged straight for the water, likely believing themselves large enough to wade through. The other side had a definite advantage there, with nearly three times the number of rockers than we had, at least in the first tier.

  The catapults on the battlements started launching flaming boulders in a high arc over the river toward the incoming enemy. Before they could land, protective fields appeared over the other team’s heads, magical tendrils tracing back to spellcasters amidst the fighters. I surveyed my garb, realizing I had been given a similar role but had no idea how to play it.

  “Don’t worry,” Lantz said, noticing my concern. “The system will walk you through it when you get on the field.”

  The next few minutes passed quickly as the battle below intensified around the bridges. Whenever Green would reach the far side, they were quickly swarmed by our side and pushed back or killed until finally, they began developing tactics to breach deeper into our number. Flashes of light on both sides obscured reinforcements entering from the outer fringe of the Arena, where we continued to wait.

  Scanning the chaotic battlefield, I glimpsed our hulking rock-men, bashing skulls with mighty blows as they strove to stem the tide. Other allies cast fireballs and lightning bolts, striking down foes by the score. But still the enemy host pressed forward like a tide, their wizards creating similar havoc among our troops.

  “It hardly seems fair to be a newbie running around with a sword when those wizards are at least Level Five,” Tyler commented.

  “You’ll earn points faster as a fighter,” Lantz answered. “The algorithms are weighted for fairness based on capabilities. And anyone killed by an area effect respawns once at the back of the line.”

  “Nice,” Tyler answered, more than satisfied. He glanced over at me. “I’m going to wipe the floor with you, Katzuo.”

  “We’re on the same side,” I reminded him.

  “Points are points, man. And I aim to score the most.” He looked at Ally. “You hear that, Red?”

  “It’s on, T-Bone,” she replied, laughing.

  Blaring sirens echoed suddenly. The banner in the middle of our pen snapped straight out and started flashing.

  “We’re up in thirty seconds,” Lantz explained. “Get ready.”

  I could hear the pens opening around us, the players whooping and offering battle cries as they streamed from their holding areas toward the fray. Tyler whooped with them, smacking his metal-clad fist into the open palm of his other hand. The rock creature bashed stony knuckles together, stoney face childlike in its excitement. Ally remained calm and collected, crossbow in hand, ready to go. Lantz lifted his hammer and peered intently below.

  A buzz from the center of our holding area alerted us to the gates sliding wide open. Shouts of playful fury erupted as we charged out of the pen, rushing down the hill toward the battle below. Even though I was subconsciously sure we had been or still were on flat ground inside the Arena, my mind no longer believed it. The sight, sounds, smells, and my senses convinced me I was on the alien planet, defending a castle from an oncoming horde.

  An augmented reality screen appeared before me as I sprinted behind Lantz and Tyler, their weapons already raised to inflict powerful blows on the first enemy they found. It was a list of spells successfully translated or written in English. Like Dungeons and Dragons, they were sorted into levels, with pretty self-explanatory titles—Magic Blast at Level One, Bolts of Lightning and Balls of Flame at Level Three, and one Level Four spell simply titled Summon. Summon what?

  I nearly triggered that one at first, but the sudden arrival of a group of enemies interrupted that idea as they forged deep into our lines. Instead, I cried out, “Great balls of flame!” and waved my staff, diving into the role-playing side of it all. Fireballs spewed from the sky over my head, angling into the oncoming crush and incinerating nearly two dozen foes in one shot.

  “Nice!” Tyler exclaimed just before disappearing into the melee.

  “Good shot,” my new rock-man friend rumbled as he grabbed a smaller enemy by the throat and tossed him a good twenty feet.

  A snarl to my right drew my attention to a nasty-looking scimitar sweeping toward my head. It would have connected if a crossbow bolt hadn’t pierced my opponent’s eye, killing him instantly. I stepped aside as he collapsed, a red X appearing on his back to mark him as dead. He would have to lay there until the game ended.

  “Thanks, Red,” I said, glancing over at Ally while she nocked another bolt in her crossbow.

  “Just keep them off me,” she replied, mouthing kill shot as she released a second arrow. It zipped past Tyler’s ear, missing him by no more than a hair, sinking into the eye of the enemy just in front of him.

  “Hey!” he complained, head whipping back over his shoulder. “That was mine!”

  Ally pointed to his flank, warning him about another attacker. He ducked beneath the guy’s awkward axe swing and lifted him up and over, stabbing him in the chest once he hit the dirt.

  I raised the staff again. “Magic Blast!” I cried, sending a dozen energy bolts launching from the staff. They veered around the friendlies and sizzled into the opposition, disrupting most and dropping one.

  My chest constricted when Tyler cried out in agony. I whirled in his direction, finding him on a knee, clutching his arm while Lantz finished off the enemy who had hit him. “Why the hell did you guys let me do Level Five?” he cried.

  Another bolt shot past him, another kill shot dropping another player. Ally was no doubt racking up points with the Warden’s boon, which I distinctly remembered her saying she wouldn’t use. I couldn’t blame her. I didn’t think I would be able to resist that temptation either.

  Apparently, neither could Tee. Still on his knees, he’d dropped his sword. But when an opponent rushed him from the flank, he put his hand out toward the player. “Rocket punch!” he cried. His metal fist slammed the guy in the chest and knocked him down, leaving him with a red X on his chest as the fist snapped back. Tee noticed I had seen it, and he shrugged. “It’s legal, man. It’s literally my hand.”

  I smiled back at him, aware of the whistling of a blade headed for my back. Letting years of martial arts training and gameplay experience take over, I swung the staff behind my back, catching the blade before it connected. Pivoting, I offered my attacker a nice roundhouse kick to the face, knocking him off-balance. Slashing the blade in my other hand across his chest, I grinned in satisfaction as a red X appeared. He lingered upright for a moment before his eyes crossed, and he clutched at the torc around his throat before dropping to the ground. I swallowed hard at the sight. The system had shocked him until he effectively played dead.

  Turning back, I cringed, finding that the other side had made substantial gains, the players around us not faring nearly as well. We were quickly being outnumbered, our defensive lines collapsing under the assault. I cried out, “Bolts of Lightning!” and sent a dozen sharp flashes into a dozen enemies, sending them all back to start. I used it a second time, thinning the crowd a little more. But I already knew it wouldn’t be enough.

  My thoughts turned back to Summon. It was my highest-level spell, and I only had one. Better to use it now than possibly die without ever seeing what it could do. I raised my staff, pointing toward a spot on the ground just before me. “Summon!” I shouted.

  The end of the staff flashed brightly, the bolt cracking so hard it deafened me.

  When my senses cleared, the result left me dumbfounded.

  CHAPTER 38

  “Hello, kiddos!” the Warden said.

  The simulated battlefield had disappeared, along with the Arena and all of the players except for Alyssa, Tyler, and me. Somehow, we’d been transported somewhere else. A dim, stark, small room with metal walls and no doors. The Warden rested in the middle of the room on a high stack of cushions, dressed in a duster like Tee’s and pants like mine. He sipped on a blue drink that matched the one Ally had sampled earlier.

  He looked amused.

  Very amused.

  “Kill shot,” I heard Ally say before I even had a chance to respond to him. She still had her crossbow in hand, the bolt she released zipping toward the Warden’s head, only to vanish before it connected.

  She dropped the weapon when the Warden looked at her, though his grin had only grown. “Oh, you. Will you ever tire of shooting me, I wonder?”

  “Doubtful,” she muttered.

  “What do you want now?” Tyler asked.

  “What do you mean, what do I want?” The Warden asked, placing his free hand to his chest and feigning innocence. He motioned toward me with his drink. “Why don’t you ask Noah, he summoned me. Or rather, he summoned you to me.”