Chapter 24

  Kaelis Unleashed

  Kaelis ran his fingers gently over the five shallow cuts that crossed his bare chest.

  Shallow cuts.

  He shook his head in disbelief.

  A mere week ago, that blow would have ripped bloody trenches in his flesh and shattered his ribcage. Now, it had resulted in little more than a flesh wound.

  He looked up at the bear standing before him. A calculating intelligence burned in the creature’s eyes, and it clearly did not like what the numbers were telling it. It backed away slowly, staring fixedly at the ‘wounds’ it had inflicted on Kaelis – or rather, the lack of them.

  The creature looked scared.

  Of him.

  His Grandmaster’s training methods were truly incredible. Who would have guessed that the best way to become tougher was to endure excruciating pain.

  Over and over again.

  His sense of disbelief was quickly replaced by a burning anticipation as his thoughts drifted to what was to come.

  The trolls.

  Nightmares had plagued his every sleep since the incident. Each one was a bitter reminder of what had happened, of the powerlessness he had felt.

  Lying helpless on the floor.

  Weapons raining down on his broken, defenceless body.

  Death closing in.

  Kaelis shook his head again, but this time it was in a futile attempt to force the memories from his mind - to forget them.

  It did not work.

  Only one thing would bring him peace.

  Revenge.

  Brutal and savage.

  There was a fire inside him, burning with all the intensity of one of his Grandmaster’s fireballs. Every time his thoughts lingered on what had happened, every time another nightmare tore him from sleep, a little more fuel was added to the flames.

  Now, it raged as a blazing inferno.

  “Kaelis!” bellowed a voice from behind him.

  Kaelis spun on the spot, raising his fists defensively. He relaxed when he saw it was Master Pete and Grandmaster Rel jogging towards him, both looking rather concerned.

  “Have we missed it?” asked Pete as he came to a stop, running his eyes over Kaelis’s body as if checking for injuries.

  “Missed what, Master?” asked Kaelis.

  Pete raised an eyebrow, as if the question was ridiculous.

  “Your epic quest for revenge, of course!” he replied.

  “No, Master. I wanted to undergo one final training session before I made my attempt,” said Kaelis, before glancing down at the insignificant wounds on his chest. “But I think I am ready. I shall head there very soon.”

  “Fuck, yes!” roared Pete, hopping excitedly on the spot. He turned to Rel. “We made it in time!”

  Kaelis smiled at Pete’s enthusiasm. He was a little touched by how eager they seemed to accompany him and witness his triumph. But the feeling was tarred by a sense of trepidation. What if he was once again unable to defeat the trolls on his own? His Grandmaster and Master had already rescued him on two separate occasions – once in the troll kingdom, and again in the tavern the previous evening.

  He was not sure he could live with the shame of them having to save him a third time.

  The thoughts were quickly pushed aside. This was his chance to show them just how much he had grown under their guidance.

  He would make them proud.

  “Kaelis,” said Rel, “Where’s your axe and your armour?”

  “I do not intend to use them for this, Grandmaster,” replied Kaelis. “This is… personal. I want to feel their bones break as my fists crash against them. I want to see their despair when their weapons fail them.”

  Rel stared at Kaelis for a few moments.

  “This is one of the proudest moments of my life,” he said quietly.

  * * *

  “What I’d like to know,” Pete said as they stepped onto Floor Two, “is how this place works. Rel and I killed the troll king the last time we were here, so what happened after that? Did they bring him back to life? Did they recruit a new one?”

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  “Magic,” Rel said simply, with the kind of tone that made the word sound equal parts wise and profound.

  Pete raised an eyebrow.

  “Magic, you say?” he said. “Oh, great and noble archmage—please explain how this ‘magic’ works. In detail, if you wouldn’t mind.”

  Rel remained silent, tapping a claw thoughtfully against his chin. His eyes darted around the cave, as though he might find the answer carved onto one of the walls.

  He cleared his throat.

  “Well, I could explain,” he said, “but I think it’d be best if Kaelis answered the question. As my disciple, it’s important that I guide and mentor him in areas other than combat.”

  Pete snorted.

  “How very noble of you,” he said. “Kaelis?”

  “Well, Master. As I’ve mentioned before, my interests have always leaned toward the path of the warrior. As a result, my knowledge of magic is somewhat limited,” Kaelis said. “However, I grew up watching Galaxy Showdown, and I did a great deal of research when I decided to enter the Trials, so I do have an elementary understanding of how it works. As we’ve discussed previously, each Floor of the tower exists within its own dimension. Galactic Entertainment Corporation employs some of the galaxy’s finest chronomancers to maintain a temporal loop. When we next leave the Tower, time will revert, and each Floor - and its occupants - will return to their original states.”

  Pete whistled appreciatively.

  “Okay, I’ll admit it,” he said. “Magic is fucking cool.”

  “I’m glad you’re beginning to appreciate the majesty of the arcane,” said Rel, before turning to Kaelis and shaking his head derisively. “Galactic Entertainment Corporation? What a stupid name.”

  Kaelis stopped dead, some of the colour draining from his face.

  “Grandmaster!” he whispered. “You mustn’t speak about GEC in that way. They monitor Trialists and their activities!”

  As if to prove his point, his eyes darted around nervously.

  “Don’t shit yourself, Kaelis,” said Pete. “What are they going to do? Send another obnoxious asshole robot to electrocute us?”

  Kaelis took a deep breath, trying to steady the sudden trembling in his hands.

  “Listen,” said Rel. “I’m not trying to offend anyone. I’m just saying – if they need help coming up with a name that isn’t so utterly shit, Pete and I will gladly offer our services. We have a well-deserved reputation for being excellent at naming things.”

  Normally, Kaelis would never question the wisdom of his Master and Grandmaster, but in this matter, they were being incredibly foolish. GEC protected their reputation fiercely, and in the past had been known to make life… difficult for Trialists or Contestants who stepped out of line.

  To his great relief, the conversation was cut short by the sudden arrival of a troll. It lumbered out from one of the smaller tunnels connected to the one they travelled down.

  * * *

  I’m not trying to be mean, but the troll that emerged from the tunnel was an ugly bastard. It had the slightly glazed-over expression of someone who had taken too many blows to the head and never fully recovered. Its nose was in a sorry state, looking as if it had been broken and set so many times that it was a bit of a stretch to still refer to it as a ‘nose’ - it was more of a lump of mangled, misshapen scar tissue and cartilage.

  The troll's leather armour had definitely seen better days. The colour was faded and deep dents and gashes marred its surface. Its exposed arms were no better, the pale green skin a map of vicious scars.

  As I studied the creature, I could think of three different possibilities that might explain its appearance.

  It might have been a complete badass, the state of its body the evidence of dozens of hard-fought battles from which it had emerged victorious.

  It could be fucking useless in a fight, and every battle it had ever been involved in had resulted in it getting the ever-living shit kicked out of it.

  Or it could be into some real kinky stuff.

  I really hoped it was the first or second one.

  I try not to judge, but there are some thoughts I’d rather never, ever let enter my mind. It’s already fucked up enough as it is.

  Regardless, I was looking forward to witnessing Kaelis slap the motherfucker about.

  When it finally registered our presence, its mouth fell open slightly as it tried to process the unexpected encounter. Now, I don’t know if you’re familiar with dial-up internet. If you are, the sound will undoubtedly be scarred onto your memory.

  I imagined the troll’s brain sounded a little something like that as it tried to figure out what the fuck was going on.

  When the reality of the situation finally sunk in, its eyes narrowed.

  It no longer looked gormless.

  It looked like an evil, vicious bastard.

  I guess the first possibility was the correct one, then.

  “You not troll!” it roared, banging the butt of its spear on the ground. “Bogrek goin’ to skewer you with spear and roast on fire!”

  Rel frowned and glanced around the cave.

  “I don’t understand,” he said. “Is there another troll called Bogrek, or is this dumbass speaking in the third person?”

  “Well,” I said, eyeing the troll. “It definitely looks like a Bogrek, so I think it’s safe to assume it’s the second option.”

  Bogrek seemed to take great offence that its threat had not inspired the desired effect. I’m assuming it was expecting us to piss ourselves and beg for mercy. It stomped one massive foot like a toddler on the brink of an epic tantrum and charged.

  Kaelis stepped forward to meet it.

  When the troll was less than fifteen metres away, it launched itself through the air, hurtling towards Kaelis like a very angry, very ugly missile. It levelled its spear mid-flight, the rusty head driving straight for Kaelis’s gut.

  Kaelis didn’t attempt to deflect, dodge or block.

  The spear struck with a dull thud. Kaelis winced slightly but then let loose a roar of triumphant laughter when he looked down and saw the effect of the attack.

  The spear had barely broken the skin.

  Bogrek grunted in surprise, shaking its head as if it couldn’t quite comprehend what had just happened. From the distant look in its eyes, I could only assume it was applying scientific reasoning to determine why Kaelis had not been skewered as intended.

  Force equal big smash multiplied by fast run. Fast run correct. Smash correct. Result should be hole. No hole.

  Calculation wrong…?

  Kaelis grinned savagely and reached out, gripping the haft of the spear in both hands. With a mighty heave, he dragged the troll closer. Bogrek – clutching the weapon like it was his first love – stumbled helplessly into range.

  Kaelis’s hands shot up, clamping onto either side of the troll’s head.

  Bogrek thrashed wildly, dropping the spear in its panic. Its fists were unleashed in a barrage of desperate, frantic punches, slamming into Kaelis’s torso.

  Kaelis didn’t let go.

  In fact, his laughter grew as the troll’s fists bounced ineffectually off his body.

  And then he started to apply pressure.

  Even over the howls of agony tearing free from Bogrek’s throat, the sound of cracking bone was unmistakable.

  The troll’s struggles grew even more desperate. It abandoned its assault, clawing frantically at Kaelis’s arms, attempting to prise loose his iron grip.

  It was futile.

  Bogrek’s skull surrendered to the inexorable pressure being applied.

  And exploded.

  Kaelis turned to face us, panting heavily, his blue skin hidden beneath a layer of gore. He flashed a smile, the whites of his teeth in stark contrast to the crimson mask he wore.

  “Grandmaster Rel,” he said softly, madness still burning in his eyes. “Thank you for everything.”

  “My disciple,” said Rel, every bit as intense as Kaelis. “This is only the beginning.”

  Rel gestured at the blood trickling from the small wound on Kaelis’s stomach.

  “Soon, such pathetic attacks will feel like little more than a gentle poke from an arthritic grandmother,” Rel continued. “Once this is over, we shall devise phase two of your training regime.”

  I stared at the pair of them, my eyes wide.

  They were both fucking insane.

  Still, I had to admit - the results of Rel’s training were undeniable. Kaelis was now only a little bit of a pussy, as opposed to the massive one he’d been when we first met.

  What really worried me was how much Rel was enjoying the role of Grandmaster.

  How long before one disciple stopped being enough?

  Dreadspire: The Weakest Druid

  Dreadspire was a single-player game designed to break the unbreakable.

  Eryndor Leafshade, he found himself trapped in the body of a druid, the weakest playable race in Dreadspire.

  Dreadspire proves that no one was ever meant to win.

  Only the strongest may ascend

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