Spiteful Healer

A few hours earlier…

“Oooh,” Sapphire winced, followed by a loud laugh.

“Shhh.” A priest of Eirene pressed his finger to his lips and threw her a nasty look. Sapphire rolled her eyes at him and bit into a carrot.

She was sitting on a bench in the monastery garden, kicking her legs back and forth. She had a live-stream viewer open in her interface and was using it to watch Aegis’ livestream.

He’d fallen off his gryphon above Hrath’mir, landing on a flaming catapult projectile that was mid-air. He exploded with it, died, and reappeared at the start of the dungeon, with Hae-won breaking into laughter alongside Aegis’ viewers.

As she waited for Aegis to return to the action, she looked at her surroundings briefly. She saw children NPCs running around the garden, playing hide-and-seek. She was tempted to out one of them hiding in a bush, but before she could, her attention was drawn by the clanking of chainmail and metal greaves.

The Great Prophet, several high-level Eirene Priest NPCs, and Josephine came out of the monastery's main hall. They were all adorned in enchanted armor bearing their goddess's symbol and walked through the garden with purpose.

“What’s happening?” Sapphire stood up and walked alongside Josephine.

“Nothing the White Flames of Arallia can’t handle. We’ll be leaving the Monastery for a bit, but it’s safe up here, don’t worry. None of the bandit guilds mess with the priests or the monastery.” Josephine said.

“Hm.” Sapphire nodded. She stopped following them, and within seconds, they were gone. She turned back to the building and looked inside, toward the prayer room's doors. Priestess Clara stood patiently in front of them, but as Sapphire approached, she could swear she was nodding off. “Mind if I check on Aegis?” Sapphire asked.

“Oh, nope, go right ahead.” She smiled with a nod, stepping aside. Sapphire squeaked the wooden prayer room doors open to see Aegis kneeling in front of the statue of Eirene, entirely still and unaware of his surroundings. Sapphire approached Aegis and gave him a poke, but he did not react.

“Is everything okay up at the Monastery?” Quinn messaged her.

“Yup,” Sapphire tapped her interface to reply.

“Ok, good. An army of guilds and soldiers left the city, led by the White Flames. Looks like something is happening.” Quin said.

“The Great Prophet and a bunch of priests left here as well,” Sapphire added.

“Be ready to leave quickly, just in case,” Quinn replied.

“Wait, that means I won’t have time to buy some clothes from Yuki?” Sapphire pouted.

“Probably not.”

“What if I go right now, ultra-fast?”

“Uh…” Quinn took a bit to respond. “Ok, make it quick. You’ve still got a bit until Aegis finishes. That quest he is doing is insane. Did you watch his stream?”

“Yup, glad mine wasn’t that hard,” Sapphire replied. “I’m running as fast as I can!”

She closed out of her interface and left the prayer room.

“I’m heading down the city for a sec. You’ve got stuff handled here?” Sapphire asked Clara, and she nodded reassuringly. “Super!” She gave a thumbs-up before hopping out of the monastery.

Sapphire made it down the mountain and was in Arallia by nightfall. When she reached the town square, the line outside the tailoring shop of the famous tailor, Yuki’s Threads, was much shorter than before, so Sapphire got excited and got in line.

Unfortunately, when she was 5th in line to enter the shop, she watched as Yuki shut the doors and locked them.

“I’m sorry, but I have to close my shop,” Yuki said from behind the glass doors.

Most players made audible groans of disappointment.

“C’mon, Yuki, this is our last chance to get one of your clothing pieces!” One player shouted.

“Don’t say that. You don’t know what will happen.” Yuki replied.

“Oh, c’mon, you think the White Flames will save us?” Another player joined in.

“I think so,” Yuki said.

“Yeah, right. That’s why you’re closing your shop and packing all your items.” A player replied dismissively as the line dispersed. When the other players had gone, Sapphire approached the shop's windows and peered inside. Yuki locked eyes with Sapphire almost immediately.

“You’re a high-level player. Are you not going to help them fight?” Yuki asked.

“I don’t know what’s happening. I’m from Kalmoore.” Sapphire shrugged.

“Oh, you must be the ones who arrived on the Airship,” Yuki said, returning to what she’d been doing. She waved her hands around her shop, causing clothing from the shelves, hangers, and mannequins to vanish into her inventory.

“Yup,” Sapphire replied.

“You might want to consider cutting your business here short and leaving. The Abyss is invading Arallia,” Yuki said casually as Sapphire’s eyes widened.

“Huh? For real?” Sapphire asked.

“Yes. The dark mist overtook the ledges of the island an hour ago, and abyss monsters began swarming in. A few minutes ago, five bosses appeared, climbing up onto the island. I don’t know the details, but the White Flames and the guards warned everyone to pack up their items and prepare for the invasion.” Yuki said.

“Okay, thanks for the information.” Sapphire hopped atop the neighboring building to get a better view of the city while sending a message through her interface.

“It’s the abyss, it’s invading Arallia. That’s what everyone is mobilizing for.” Sapphire messaged Quinn.

“Damn. Okay. Aegis isn’t done with his quest, but everyone else is done with their business. I’ll get the rest of them back to the Airship.” Quinn replied.

“What should I do?”

“Try to find out as much as you can about what's happening and help them if you can. We need to buy a bit more time for Aegis.”.

“You really think I’m going to be able to do anything?”

“Of course.”

“If we die here, there’s a good chance we lose a lot of our gear,” Sapphire complained. “Shouldn’t we just leave?”

“Aegis’ quest is pretty serious. I don’t know if he’ll get another shot at it once he leaves that dungeon. Do what you can. If it gets too bad, come back to the Airship, okay?” Quinn replied.

“Okay, boss.”

She closed her interface and spotted Josephine marching through the adjacent street, soldiers, the Great Prophet, and Eirene priests in tow. Sapphire hopped along the rooftops to follow her until they reached the Arallian Palace gates.

The gate guards opened it for Josephine and her group to pass. Sapphire hopped off the building and attempted to follow, but the guards obstructed her.

“Halt. You are not permitted to enter the Palace.” One said, his loud voice drawing Josephine's attention to turn and see her.

“My guild leader wants me to see if I can help out,” Sapphire said to Josephine, and she nodded to the guard.

“She is with me. Let her through,” Josephine ordered. The guard stepped aside, allowing Sapphire to join Josephine’s group.

They passed through a beautiful, colorful garden filled with statues, fountains, and wild plants, then through a large archway and into a vast hall, ending up in a magnificent throne room with several high-level NPCs and guards.

At the far side of the room was a set of three large sandstone thrones. On the largest throne sat a tall middle-aged human NPC with tan skin and short black hair wearing majestic red and white threads and a golden crown, [King Yusaf(Elite) - Level 100], and beside him on one of the thrones sat a young girl, no older than 8, with long black hair and tan skin and a simple white and red dress on, [Princess Savika(Elite) - Level 5]. The third throne remained empty.

“How bad is it?” The King stood up from his throne and walked towards Josephine.

“We’re not sure. We only have one precedent of such an event, and it went poorly. We must prepare for the worst and take all possible measures to protect the Island Stones.” Josephine replied.

“I Agree with Josephine. Every able-bodied soldier should be mobilized. If we lose the Island Stones, we have no hope, my king.” The Great Prophet said.

“Very well. Royal Guards, you will accompany me to the battlefield. Where is General Galrius?” The King asked.

“He’s with the leader of the White Flames. They’re preparing defenses around the Island Stone on the mountain's north side. We’ve been made aware that only one Island Stone needs to survive this attack to keep Arallia safe, so we are focusing our defenses in one area.” Josephine explained.

“Let us join them at once.” The King nodded as he began marching out of the hall, all the high-level royal guards moving to follow him.

“Wait, Papa, why are you going?” Princess Savika called out to the King as she stood up.

“My duty as the King of Arallia is to protect these lands. Stay in the Palace. You will be safe here.” He said to her commandingly. Sapphire watched her worried expression worsen as the King turned and left the throne room with Josephine and the others. Sapphire tailed them quietly.

They made a few more stops, and by the time they’d left the city, they had an army of soldiers with them, leaving very few behind in Arallia to defend it. They marched around the mountain towards the northern island stone. Everyone was silent, but Sapphire felt a heavy aura of tension when the Island Stone came into view. As it did, a violent quake caused the entire army to lose its footing for a moment.

“Our scouts report that the western Island Stone just got destroyed,” Josephine said, and as she did, another voice chimed in from behind Sapphire, causing her to turn and look.

“We’ve just heard it from the second in command herself, Josephine of the White Flames. One of the five Island Stones of Arallia has been destroyed.” [Jasper - Level 10] was speaking to his audience. He had 1.3 million livestream viewers. The number startled Sapphire when she saw it.

“Josephine, do you have time to answer a few questions? I’m a reporter with the Virtual Gaming Network.” Jasper asked as he pushed his way to the front of the marching soldiers.

“Not right now. We’re busy trying to organize our defenses.” Josephine brushed him off.

“Understandable. As you can see around us,” Jasper panned himself around and motioned at the marching army of soldiers and priests. “The White Flames of Arallia have a good reputation with the NPCs of the land, despite the infamous bandit guilds plaguing this island as of late. Thanks to that reputation, even the King, the Great Prophet, and High Priests have joined them to defend the Island Stones.” He went on talking, and Sapphire couldn’t help but get annoyed at his narration, speaking as if everyone around him was an actor in his show.

“This is a significantly stronger force than we saw defending the Island Stones in the last invasion. Not a lot of information was gathered last time, as no one knew what to expect - but luckily, this time, much more preparation and care are being put into the defense. We can only hope that the efforts of the White Flames will be enough. And I’ll be here on the ground until the very end to ensure the world sees every last bit of action. So if The White Flames fail, we’ll at least be able to learn from their mistakes.” Jasper continued.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, ass,” Josephine muttered under her breath as the marching continued.

When they neared the island stone, an enormous army of players and NPCs was already waiting around it, including the bandit guild that had attacked the Sky Darling. Sapphire was surprised to see them all organized into specific formations and watched as Erikson, the leader of the White Flames, barked orders that everyone followed.

“I would like to ask anyone who is not a part of the strategy or unaware of it to please leave our ranks now. If you’d like to help or… record a live stream, please stay out of our way.” Josephine shouted to the group. Sapphire saw Josephine lock eyes with her as she said this and took the hint.

She held back with a few other players, including Jasper, as Josephine marched forward with her troops and joined the others around the base of the Island Stone.

“It’s interesting that you are not included in their tactics, considering your level. Is there a reason for that?” Jasper said as he suddenly turned his attention to Sapphire. Sapphire looked at him with raised eyebrows.

“I’m not from this island,” Sapphire replied.

“I see. I did recall an airship being at Skyport. I imagine you guys plan on leaving as soon as things turn for the worse?” Jasper asked her.

“If, you mean if, right?” Sapphire motioned to the army in front of them.

“Yes, yes, of course there’s a chance. We don’t know what they’ll be up against, though, do we? Do you have any theories?” Jasper asked.

“Abyss monsters.” Sapphire pulled a carrot out and bit into it as loudly as possible, giving him a deadpan stare. He didn’t take the hint.

“What island do you hail from, young miss?”

“Kalmoore.” Sapphire sighed and backed away from him.

“Oh, interesting, Kalmoore. There’s been a lot of buzz recently about that island. Not many players went there before Winter. And then that Aegis player with the world notification was quite interesting. Have you happened to meet either of those players?”

Sapphire just rolled her eyes without responding, instead scanning the desert for a better vantage point. Jasper continued to talk by answering his own questions. His voice faded from Sapphire’s hearing as she hopped away, spotting a tall rocky outcropping not far from the mountain's base.

From there, she could get a much clearer view of the army to the north of her around the Island Stone and the city of Arallia to the south.

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“How’s it going? We’re all on the ship now, ready to leave.” Quinn messaged.

“They got the king and all the big NPCs to join them. They’re focusing defenses around one Island stone and abandoning the other four.” Sapphire replied.

“Think it’ll work?” Quinn asked

“I dunno. No one else seems to think it will. How’s Aegis doing on his quest?” Sapphire asked.

“He’s getting close, I think. He just said on stream that he knows how to solve it,” Quinn replied.

“Okay. Good, 'cause I’m thinking we’re gonna need to high tail it outta here soon.” Sapphire said. As she did, the ground shook violently from a 10-second-long earthquake that caused a few buildings within Arallia to collapse.

“What was that?”

“That’s bye-bye to another Island Stone,”

“Then we can use the quakes as indicators. You don’t need to stand near the battle to see the outcome. Return to the Airship, so we’re ready to leave when needed.” Quinn said.

“Yes, boss,”

She took one last look at the army around the Island Stone to the north. As she did, though, she noticed that, far off the horizon, several dunes away, she saw a wave of black mist flowing towards them like a wave. The sight of it sent shivers down her spine and made the hairs on her bunny ears stand up—she’d watched the beginning parts of Aegis’ quest live stream and had a good idea of what was in that mist.

“Here they come.” She whispered, turned, and hopped back towards Arallia. When she got there, the looting had already started.

Low-level bandit players were taking advantage of the lack of guards and breaking into shops and houses of NPCs, ignoring their pleas to stop and stealing things from right in front of the NPCs, shoving everything they could into their inventories. Sapphire had half a mind to stop them, but there were too many.

Her path back to the Skyport led her through the city square where most of the chaos and looting was taking place, and it was there that Sapphire spotted Yuki defending her shop from a group of 5 level 30 players.

“Come on, you can’t carry all that stuff with you. Give it to us!” A player shouted at Yuki through her glass doors.

“I don’t need to carry it in my inventory. The White Flames will win the battle, the island will be safe, and you’ll all be jailed for months for your actions.” Yuki shouted back at them angrily.

“Get a grip, Yuki. The White Flames and some bandit guilds don’t stand a chance.” One player shouted.

“Forget this. Just take her stuff. She’s a tailor-class player. She can’t stop us anyway.” One said, and they all chanted in agreement. One player equipped a maul and smashed through her windows; the others rushed into the opening, grabbing all the materials and armor that were still on display that Yuki hadn’t put in her inventory.

“Stop it!” She shouted at them. She pulled out a giant iron needle the size of a longsword.

“Hah, what are you going to do, sew us to death?” A player mocked her. Sapphire had seen enough and snapped her fingers, whipping a ball of holy flame at one of them.

“Cowards.” She growled as they all turned to face her.

“We’re cowards? What's a high-level doing here?” The one she'd hit replied.

“Yeah, you should be defending the island with the other high levels. Who are you calling cowards?” Another shouted.

“I’m not from around here.” She started throwing more holy fire at them. She was dealing a lot of damage, but because the skill wasn’t very high, it wasn’t enough to kill them. Check latest chapters at NoveI(F)ire.net

“Heal me up. She’s just a cleric. C’mon!” The players scrambled to cast heals on one another, grabbing a few more items before running off. Sapphire continued to pelt them with flames until they’d run down the street out of sight.

“Sorry, I’m healing-focused. If Herilon were here, he would have taken ‘em all out.” Sapphire apologized to Yuki as she looked around at the damage done to her shop.

“It’s ok, thanks for helping me.” She smiled at Sapphire. The sound of a door being broken into across the town square drew their attention, and they watched as another shop was looted. Yuki looked around her shop dejectedly. Quite a few items were still on her shelves.

“Your inventory is full?” Sapphire asked.

“Yup.” She shrugged. “This is all I have worked for and built up. Yumily depends on me, so I cannot give up on it so easily.” She said.

“Hmm.” Sapphire stepped inside and looked around the shop. “Maybe you could sell some of this stuff to me?” Sapphire asked. Yuki’s face lit up with joy.

“It’s on sale for anyone who saves my shop!” Yuki cheered, causing Sapphire to rub her hands together eagerly.

She scoured the clothes left on the shelves and mannequins and went overboard picking out things she liked. She repeatedly checked her inventory to calculate how much gold she had left to spend. It wasn’t until she got an angry message from Quinn that she snapped out of her shopping frenzy.

“Sapphire, where the hell are you?” Quinn asked.

“I’m coming, I’m coming! There’s no quake yet, right?” Sapphire replied.

“The battle started. I’m watching the live stream on VGN,” Quinn answered.

Sapphire sighed as she read this, closing out her interface to see that Yuki had started sweeping up the broken glass in her shop.

“I’ll take all of this.” Sapphire plopped down a tall pile of folded clothes on the shop counter, then rummaged through her inventory to pull out all of her gold and handed it to Yuki.

“Thank you very much. I’m sure it will look beautiful on you.” She smiled. As Sapphire piled the clothing into her inventory, a violent earthquake shook the land around them for several seconds. It was the fourth quake since the invasion began, meaning only one Island Stone remained.

After the quaking stopped, several loud bells began to ring throughout the city of Arallia. Yuki and Sapphire looked outside and watched as NPCs flooded out of their homes, screaming in panic.

“What does that mean?” Sapphire turned to see Yuki’s face, water welling in her eyes.

“That’s the warning bell that attackers are coming to the city. All the Arallians are supposed to take refuge within the palace.” Yuki said as the first tear rolled down her cheek.

“It doesn’t mean it’s over yet. It just means the abysslings from the other stones are coming. As long as one stone still stands, Arallia should be okay.” Sapphire tried to reassure her, but it didn’t help. Yuki let out a soft whimper. “If you want, you can take your things aboard our Airship, so you don’t lose your stuff,” Sapphire said.

“It's not the items I'm worried about losing.” Yuki waved at the clothing remaining in her shop behind her. “We started here—me, Yumily, and the others. Half a year ago, it was so different. We were all level one. We have so many memories here. I spent so much time with these NPCs…” Yuki watched as a few more ran through the town square toward the palace. “If the Island falls, they’re all going to be gone.” She cried. Sapphire tried to console her by patting her on the shoulder, though she was incredibly uncomfortable.

“These guys just think of gold and quests. They don’t care.” She motioned to a group of bandit players looting a shop across the square, ignoring the fleeing NPCs. “But to a lot of us, these are our friends. Yumily’s going to be so sad.” Yuki managed to get out as she wiped her tears away. “You should go to your Airship. I’m going to go spend time with my friends.” Yuki said as she pushed Sapphire’s hand away and walked towards the Palace in the same direction the NPCs were fleeing.

“C’mon, Sapphire, hustle. The bandit guilds betrayed the White Flames and are trying to steal items from them before the island falls. It’s over.” Quinn messaged Sapphire,

The message popped up in her peripheral vision as she caught the last glimpses of Yuki among the NPCs. Sapphire let out a disappointed huff before taking off towards the Skyport.

The guards refused to open the south gate for her, forcing her to easily hop over the wall and make the final trek to the Skyport outside the city.

“There ye’ are. We were worried we’d have te’ leave yeh.” Tullan joked from the front of the ship. Sapphire hopped on board to see Herilon, Ren, Quinn, Leonard, Gregory, and Trexon standing behind Tullan.

“We’re just missing the young boy now, right?” Gregory asked as he stood by the step ladder, ready to pull it up at a moment's notice, while Leonard stood at the helm. They were all looking into the dark desert to the south of the Skyport, an ominous wave of darkness approaching in the distance.

“Yes, I have some of our members watching his stream to keep us updated. They say he’s finishing the quest now.” Quinn replied.

“He’s gonna be confused as all hell. You oughta send him messages to let him know he’s gotta get down here quick.” Herilon said.

“The White Flames are still fighting, even though the other guilds are betraying them. They might still have a chance.” Trexon interjected. His eyes were glazed over, indicating he was watching his livestream viewer.

“Prepare for the worst. Sapphire, buff us up. Everyone, get your good gear on.” Quinn ordered them. She sent a raid party invite to everyone on board. “We’ll stay as long as possible, but we’re not risking the Sky Darling or our gear for the kid,” Quinn said. They all accepted her invitation with nods.

After that, it went silent. A light wind whistled through the sails on the Airship, and the loud ringing of the bells of Arallia could be heard in the distance, but it was otherwise a dark, silent night in the desert. Sapphire looked around to observe the scene until she spotted Trexon’s glazed-over eyes and opted to copy him, opening up the VGN broadcast in her livestream viewer.

“This is absolutely tragic!” Jasper shouted. He stood a great distance from the battlefield. In front of his broadcast stood two people inside the Virtual Gaming Network’s studio, but neither was speaking over him. They had a viewership of 4 million watching him.

“As you can see, the priests and soldiers of Arallia have sided with the White Flames. Their main tank and guild leader, Erikson, is heading off what can only be described as an Abyssal Juggernaut leading the charge against the Island Stone.” Jasper motioned to an enormous black-skinned creature. It was humanoid in form, but its left hand was a large black blade. Swarms of reapers could be seen in the skies around it, swooping down to attack both NPC and player at every opportunity.

Arrows and magic of a great variety flew up at the reapers to stop them from reaching the back lines while Erikson and Josephine stood at the front. Erikson used his shield to block the attacks of the Abyssal Juggernaut. At the same time, the King and Great Prophet of Eirene stood back, aided him with magic, and helped defend his flanks from swarms of Ferrawolves and other small abyssal creatures crawling across the desert sands around the Island Stone.

“Only the Juggernaut is powerful enough to destroy the Island Stone. Focus your attacks on him!” Erikson shouted desperately.

Half of the players he’d called to help him were instead trying to attack his guildmates and the NPCs assisting them.

“Get off it, you idiot.” A high-level bandit player shouted at him.

“Dibs on Erikson’s shield!” Another cheered. The bandits scurried about, grabbing any items that fallen White Flames members dropped.

“Why are you guys doing this?!” Josephine screamed at them.

“Do you really have to ask? It’s free loot! Look how much gold the king’s crown is probably worth!” One of them pointed out, and as he did, several high-level players smirked and charged at the king. Thieves, wizards, and rangers attacked him, ignoring the abyssal creatures swarming around them.

“We’re watching the chaos unfold before our very eyes. The treachery of the bandit guilds is being shown to the world now, and I only worry about whichever island these bandit players relocate to once this battle is over.” Jasper commented as he continued to angle himself for the optimal viewership experience.

The Great Prophet and the Eirene priests did their best to protect the king, as did the Royal soldiers. Unfortunately, the aggression built up by the Priest’s healing throughout the battle drew attention from the reapers, and they swooped down to strike at them.

“Stop this, it's insane! Are you guys really this evil?” Josephine shouted in disbelief. She jumped forward in front of the King of Arallia with her shield out.

“Relax, it’s just a game.” Another player mocked her. They didn't hold back from blasting her with magic. After a few consecutive strikes, she lost too much health and was taken out of the game.

“JOSEPHINE!” Erikson shouted as her body faded away. “You greedy bastards…” He growled, glancing between the bandits and the creatures of the abyss.

“ABANDON ATTACKS ON THE ABYSSLINGS, FOCUS ON THE BANDITS!” Erikson gave the order to the remaining NPCs and White Flames members. They were angry enough that they followed his orders. The battle to protect Arallia quickly turned into a free-for-all PvP brawl, of which the abysslings swarmed around them and picked them off.

“Unbelievable, they’re ignoring the elite Juggernaut, and he’s gladly taking advantage of the situation to go after the Island Stone. They’re too busy fighting each other to even notice!” Jasper pointed excitedly at the Island Stone. The large Abyssal Juggernaut stomped through the allied forces toward it.

“No! The King! The King of Arallia has fallen!” Jasper squealed. A high-level battlemaster player finished the king off and quickly rummaged through his things, taking his crown.

“I got it, it's worth 10 million gold!” The battlemaster player exclaimed.

“Quick, log out so you don’t drop it!” One of his guildmates encouraged him.

“Yeah, cover me so I can log out!” He said to his guild as they formed a line around him. The Royal guards went into a rage to try and break through, but it seemed hopeless until Erikson and two White Flame Battlemasters joined in and cut them down, striking out at the Battlemaster bandit who had stolen the crown.

Before they could finish him off, though, there was a vicious earthquake. All eyes turned to the 5th and final Island Stone as it was smashed into hundreds of pieces by the Abyssal Juggernaut, fragments scattering across the desert around them.

The quake this time was much longer than the others, and with it, there was a shift in gravity around the entire island. The dark mist grew upwards and spread around the battlefield very quickly.

“Anger, Fear, Suffering, and…” The Great Prophet of Eirene spoke as he watched the last of the Eirene priests, Royal guards, bandits, and White Flames members get killed by the creatures of the abyss. He hadn't the time to say the last word, as a Battlemaster wearing the tabard of the black lion guild jumped towards him and struck him down, killing him instantly. Jasper caught it on his livestream as the player rummaged through the Great Prophet's items and added some to his inventory, but didn't comment on it.

“That is it. The darkness is spreading. Despite the best efforts of the White Flames, they couldn’t overcome the true nature of the bandit guilds of Arallia." Jasper announced. The battlemaster player was swarmed by reapers while looting the Great Prophet. "I think I’m done for, and so is this island. No other players are left alive here, so back to you guys at the desk. Uh oh!” Jasper spotted a reaper that had singled him out from a distance and soared in his direction. “Oho, oh boy, oh dear!” Jasper yelled excitedly. The camera focused in on the reaper swooping down and killing him.

“Well, there you have it, folks.” The camera swapped to the Virtual Gaming Network studio, where the two casters sat behind a desk. “That was our exclusive live stream coverage of the Defense of Arallia. Many lessons can be learned from what went wrong there. As you all know, one of Virtual Gaming Network's very own members, Yumily the Bard, famously had her start in Arallia at the game's launch. Yumily -” the caster said as he turned around. A screen behind their desk appeared, showing Yumily’s livestream as she accepted the interview. The Viewership was now sitting at 11 million for the VGN broadcast.

“What do you have to say to the people of Arallia during this difficult time?”

“I am disappointed.” Yumily had tears in her eyes. She was sitting in a small room by herself, wearing a plain white shirt and pants, surrounded by various instruments. She was an elf with long, straight black hair and a slender build.

It became uncomfortably apparent that her livestream editor kept manipulating her camera to capture her crying. At the same time, Yumily did her best to avoid being seen by it, turning away from wherever the camera was moved.

“And I’m sad I am so far away. I let everyone down. I am sorry to Yuki, Savika, and everyone in Arallia.” She said. “I don’t want to talk right now if you could please leave me alone.” She waved the cameras off.

“Yes, of course, obviously quite an upsetting event.” One of the casters said as they turned off Yumily’s broadcast. “As the creators of The Shattered World Online have said, they believe that in order for their fantasy world to be truly immersive, the dangers in the world must be real. According to them, the world wouldn’t feel threatening if there were no real threats and urgency. Despite complaints after the first island falling, they refuse to go back on their design choices for the abyssal invasions.”

“Yes, that’s right.” The other caster chimed in. “And now that the second island has fallen, it’s got to have people worried. Just what exactly caused the invasion in Arallia? How safe is Savringard? How safe is Lanusk?” The caster posed the question.

“We have Makaroth standing by to answer exactly that.” He said as a second broadcast appeared behind the casters. Makaroth appeared on the screen with short black hair, broad shoulders, and glinting black eyes, but no armor or weapons equipped. He was sitting in a tavern surrounded by other players wearing tabards that matched his own.

“Do you think the people of Savringard should be worried about an abyssal invasion?” The caster asked him.

“No. The Islands of Savringard and Vorel are under my protection, so there’s nothing to worry about. When the Abyssal Invasion comes, the Sages of Destiny guild and I will be ready for them.” Makaroth replied with a proud smile.

“You’re confident you can overcome the Abyssal Juggernauts, even after what we just witnessed?” A caster asked him.

“Of course. My guild members and I are already studying the footage in detail and watching the enemies' attack patterns. If those things try to invade my islands, we’ll make them look like nothing but another trash mob.” Makaroth crossed his arms.

“That’s reassuring. I’m sure anyone about to lose their homes in Arallia will be happy to know they can relocate to Savringard or Vorel without worrying about such a tragedy befalling them again.” He said before pressing his finger to his right ear. “Hold on. We’re just receiving word now. One player is still streaming on the Island of Arallia. It’s not a member of the VGN, so we don’t have rebroadcasting rights, but we’ll redirect viewers to the player for those interested in watching the island's final moments. Apparently, it’s the same player who recently unlocked intermediate in every crafting class.”

“Wasn’t he from Kalmoore?” The other caster asked.

“Yes, curious what a Kalmoore player was doing in Arallia.” The other caster responded.

“If you guys’ll excuse me, I would like to watch as well, to get as much information on these invasions as possible,” Makaroth said as he closed the interview.

“Let’s do the same. We’ll turn it over to the live stream of the player Aegis and his broadcaster Hae-won over at the Fanta-see Network,” the caster said, and a moment later, the screen showed Aegis as he stood in the Monastery of the Stars main hall, looking around confused and calling out for Clara and Sapphire.

“Unbelievable,” Sapphire groaned as she closed her livestream viewer and sent Aegis an angry message.

“COME ON, IDIOT! CHECK YOUR MESSAGES!”