Unusual Day

A vibration ran through the rocky walls of the Artox Labyrinth. This crude maze of tunnels was the brand-new high-level dungeon added in the latest update to the popular virtual reality role-playing game Fantasy Frontiers.

Mere hours after the Labyrinth was added and the servers reopened, members of the game’s most competitive guilds descended on the area. While doing so, they exterminated the creatures that had made their home in the dark, damp corridors of the dungeon. Aside from the small fry, serious groups focused on the most powerful and difficult monsters. The goal was to acquire rewards and other unique items. Said objects allowed these groups to solidify the position of their respective guilds within the gaming community, facilitating the recruitment of new players.

Deep within the tunnels of the labyrinth, a group of two dozen seasoned adventurers were fighting in a cave. At the center of this grotto, littered with obstacles on the ground, lay a huge metallic snake nearly twenty meters long. At first glance, it was covered in scales that appeared to be made of bronze, tarnished by a light patina of verdigris. The monster’s head was topped with two sapphires, the size of fists, serving as malevolent eyes.

While two warriors kept the snake occupied, skillfully avoiding its attacks, four mages, accompanied by a fighter, prepared their attack spells. They were positioned on one side, and Soren, the paladin responsible for protecting the group of mages, grew impatient:

“So, are your spells coming up? Those two won’t be able to keep up this pace,” he said, staring at the macabre dance unfolding before him.

“Casting a spell isn’t as simple as mindlessly swinging a sword. A powerful spell requires achieving a delicate balance of magical energy flow; otherwise it could fail, or worse, blow up in our faces,” replied a man named Magnus, frowning in concentration.

Soren glared at the mage for a moment.

“Watch out!”

The paladin, armed with his shield, stepped between the four mages and the monster in less than a second. His two warrior companions had just narrowly avoided a vicious blow from the snake’s tail. Unfortunately for him, Soren had to take the full brunt of the blow in order to protect his colleagues in robes. The force of the impact was so great that he was lifted off the ground and thrown against the cavern wall, several meters behind the group. He lost more than half his health points in the process.

The mage cursed for a moment, then turned his attention back to the enemy.

“Fireballs now!” he shouted to the three other spellcasters.

Four balls of fire suddenly appeared in the magicians’ hands and shot toward the serpent at full speed. They struck it head-on before exploding. The flames momentarily engulfed the beast before disappearing without leaving any visible wounds on it.

“Damn it! It’s immune to fire spells,” Magnus remarked incredulously.

He turned to the rest of the group before adding:

“There’s no point in holding this position if our fire spells are useless. Let’s get out of here and regroup with the other teams. Maybe Tanis will be able to come up with a new plan.”

At the other end of the cave, out of reach of the monster and crouching in the shadow of a ledge, stood Tanis. He was armed with a longbow and hooded under a long gray cloak, like the surrounding stone. With a quick glance, he observed the fighters baiting the snake, but also noted Magnus’s group’s hasty retreat. His gaze then turned to the other individuals present in the battle, including magicians, healers, and several archers. All seemed to be having difficulty wounding their opponent, but also avoiding its counterattacks.

“This creature is not only fast, it also seems impervious to our magical and physical attacks. To complicate matters, I don’t see any real weak points to exploit at the moment,” he muttered, perplexed.

After a few minutes of thought, he was joined by Magnus, Soren, and the other magicians.

“This one is much tougher than the others,” Soren said, addressing Tanis.

“Indeed. At first, I thought of simple solutions, like dropping the ceiling on its head, or even making it fall into a pit filled with lava. Except that…”

“Except that there’s no trace of lava in this place, and it seems to be immune to physical attacks,” Magnus finished.

“We could always aim for the inside of his mouth. I doubt he’s immune at the organ level,” suggested the paladin.

“How do you plan to do that? Let yourself be devoured and then slash him from the inside? And let’s not even talk about your remaining health points,” replied the mage mockingly.

He then turned to Tanis before continuing:

“And why not coordinate an attack with all the mages and melt this metal snake in a storm of magical fire?”

“There’s no guarantee that our opponent will succumb and liquefy before our eyes, assuming it is indeed made of bronze. In any case, even if the combination of all your magic could hypothetically reach the melting point of the material, the surrounding air would quickly become unbreathable for all of us and...”

Tanis suddenly realized the implication of what he had just said in response to his companion’s suggestion, then formulated a plan in his mind.

“Magnus, you’re a genius,” Tanis exclaimed.

“Um, thanks... But didn’t you just say that the fire storm might not kill the monster?”

Tanis began to walk toward the two warriors fighting the beast before answering:

“Not the way you suggested, no. Gather all our forces at the entrance to the cave. The spellcasters will be on the front line, facing the monster, with the healers immediately behind them. The melee fighters will cover our backs in the tunnels.”

“And what are you going to do?”

Turning around for a moment, Tanis looked at the wizard with a mischievous grin before continuing:

“I’m just going to tell our two friends to take cover. Then we’re going to execute a crazy variation on your idea and win this battle in a totally unique way.”

As all the groups surrounding the monster began their retreat to the location designated by Tanis, he struggled to quietly approach Valnaya and her warrior teammate. Despite their role as bait, they never failed to impress Tanis with their extraordinary agility and defensive skills. Valnaya was the guild leader, and her character was the very embodiment of a valkyrie with her elegance and grace. Ultimately, they weren’t among the best warriors on the entire server for no reason.

The last few meters before reaching his goal were the most perilous, and the ranger had to practically crawl to cover them. Indeed, the snake’s attacks were dangerous in themselves, but nothing compared to the speed of the rock fragments projected when the stalagmites in the path of its tail swipes were pulverized. It was akin to fragmentation grenades exploding randomly around the beast.

After finding refuge behind a rock formation, Tanis tried to get his ally’s attention:

“Valnaya, can you hear me?”

She replied while keeping her eyes on the scaly monster.

“Yes, but what are you doing here?”

“Change of strategy. You both need to evacuate the area and run as fast as you can toward the cavern entrance.”

“I’d like to, but who’s going to keep this beast busy while we retreat? I hope it’s not you. One hit and you will be dead.”

“True, I don’t have your defensive skills, but my ranger class gives me a combination of agility and speed that are unmatched among the guild members,” Tanis replied before continuing:

“In any case, I need you to relay specific instructions to Magnus once you’re safe with him. The success of the plan depends on it.”

“Yeah, I’m in. However, if you get killed like last time trying to be a hero, I’ll forbid you from getting your hands on any loot for the rest of the game session.”

“The episode with the black dragon was partly your fault, I might add,” Tanis grumbled with an exaggerated sigh.

A silence fell between them before Valnaya spoke again:

“What instructions should I give Magnus?”

“Ah, yes... Four mages will need to prepare magical barriers. It is imperative that these be placed in such a way as to completely seal off access to the cave. As for the other wizards, a combination of fireballs and flame jets will do the trick. They must wait until I reach the rest of the guild members before activating their spells.”

A shiver suddenly ran down Valnaya’s spine when she realized exactly what the expected outcome of her subordinate’s plan was.

“All right. I’ll grant you that. It’s a bold strategy, but you’ll need a hell of a lot of luck to survive alone against the snake,” she replied.

“As soon as I have its attention, you two need to get out of there immediately. I’ll try to hold out as long as possible, but as soon as you’re halfway there, I’ll take off like a rabbit.”

Once everyone agreed, Tanis took his position, prepared his longbow, and nocked an arrow. He aimed at one of the monster’s eyes, then fired the projectile. It took a fraction of a second to travel the distance before striking the serpent’s left eye. The sapphire that made up the eyeball was only scratched by the impact. Nevertheless, this was enough to enrage the beast, which, with a swift movement of its head, tried to bite Tanis. He avoided the vicious attack at the last moment by shifting to the right.

“Now,” he shouted to Valnaya and her teammate.

While the other two players ran at full speed, Tanis dodged the snake’s attacks as well as he could, using his dexterity and the various rocky obstacles in the cave. The attacks varied between violent tail swipes and attempts to bite when, suddenly, the monster changed its posture. It reared up, like a huge cobra, and its normally blue eyes began to glow with an intense light, giving them an almost-white hue.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Tanis muttered.

Once he had found refuge behind a large stalagmite, he dared to glance at the snake. At the same moment, the monster opened its mouth in his direction, and his entire field of vision briefly turned white, then completely black.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was, in fact, only a few seconds, Tanis opened his eyes to see the ceiling of the cave. In addition, a strong smell of ozone tickled his nostrils. When he moved, a sharp pain shot through his entire body. At that moment, he realized that he had lost most of his health points and was lying on his back after momentarily losing consciousness. Regaining his senses, the ranger sat up, looking for a visual reference point. His gaze first fell on Valnaya, who was fortunately halfway to her destination, then on what remained of the stalagmite that had served as his shield. The latter had been pulverized, and small glass beads could be seen on the ground. This was the result of an attack that had generated extreme heat, enough to melt the ground and the surrounding dust.

“Luckily, I was partially covered; otherwise that attack would probably have turned me into grilled chicken,” Tanis muttered to himself.

The beast didn’t waste a second when it realized its prey was still moving and charged. It covered the distance between them at supernatural speed.

“Well... No way am I tempting fate a second time. It’s time to say goodbye,” he added before fleeing.

Tanis ran at full speed, but that didn’t stop the snake from pestering him with a barrage of attacks while pursuing him relentlessly. The air quickly became saturated with stone debris of various sizes. They were flying in all directions and could injure the player at any moment. Once he had covered two thirds of the distance, he heard the monster hiss loudly behind him. Tanis turned around for a split second and saw the snake once again strike its cobra pose with glowing eyes.

“Not this time, you bastard!”

As the monster revealed its throat, the ranger leaped to his left. A moment later, a bright white light illuminated the cavern, followed by a purple flash that violently struck the position he had just left. It lifted a myriad of debris and particles of molten sand. A fist-sized piece of rock struck Tanis in the lower back, causing searing pain and taking his breath away. He didn’t bother to catch his breath and forced himself, despite the pain, to continue his frantic run. With his health points at a critical level and no room for maneuver, the next few seconds would seal the outcome of the fight.

As soon as Tanis crossed the entrance to the cave, Valnaya stepped in with her shield in the space he had just passed through and commanded the rest of the adventurers to carry out the rest of the plan.

“Everyone, block that entrance and make sure that creature doesn’t get through!”

A few long seconds passed before the magical barriers appeared and confined the metal snake to its cave. It crashed into the magical wall with such strength that the walls of the grotto and the surrounding galleries shook.

After swallowing nervously, the warrior turned to Magnus before continuing:

“Perfect. Let’s launch the second phase, but make sure you keep the fire storm going as long as possible, even if it means exhausting the magical energy of all our spellcasters.”

In the cave, their opponent was preparing to launch another lightning bolt, but Magnus beat him to it.

“Fire! Now,” he ordered.

A brief silence fell after the attack order. It was followed by a jolt in the cave, caused by the vacuum created when the ambient air was sucked in by the storm of flames that had just appeared there. The storm engulfed the snake at the same time. The adventurers’ magical effort soon turned into a huge vortex of fire. It easily reached the ceiling of the cave, several dozen meters high. The light produced and the reflections on the monster’s metallic scales gave it an almost demonic appearance, especially with its current posture. Its lightning bolt, capable of vitrifying the point of impact, had no effect either. Surprised, the creature immediately changed tactics and tried in vain to strike the magical barriers with all its might using its tail, hissing with anger. At the same time, Valnaya turned to make sure the ranger was unharmed, then helped him to his feet by offering him one of her shoulders as support.

“Once again, Tanis, you came within a hair’s breadth of losing your life. We’ve been playing together since Fantasy Frontiers launched, but I’m still surprised by your tactics, which are unorthodox, to say the least.”

The man in question didn’t even bother to respond to the guild leader. Instead, he wore a small, satisfied smile as he feasted his eyes on the hellish display unfolding inside the cave.

“You may still be moving, but it won’t be long now,” he muttered to the reptile.

After several long minutes during which the grotto and surrounding tunnels were violently shaken by the serpent trying desperately to escape its prison, a strange calm descended. Apart from the heavy breathing of the mages who had exhausted all their magical energy, the impacts on the magical barriers had ceased and a thin layer of dust now covered all the players in the corridor. When the spells blocking the entrance to the cave disappeared, a powerful suction effect from the cavern destabilized most who fell to the ground. While the guild members were struggling to recover from the aftermath of the battle, Tanis was already on his feet. Apprehensive, he staggered as well as he could toward the interior of the cave, closely followed by Magnus the wizard.

On the partially vitrified floor, in the center of the room, lay the metal serpent, lifeless. The sapphires that served as its eyes had lost their color and luster and were now a very pale blue, almost white. The beast’s body, normally bronze with metallic highlights, was blackened and scared by the flames. In addition, the overheated metal gave off a distinctive aroma that filled the room, combined with a very strong smell of sulfur, due to the stone walls having been exposed to the fire.

“What a stench! The air is practically unbreathable,” exclaimed the mage, pinching his nose.

He turned to Tanis with a questioning look before asking:

“Are you sure he’s really dead?”

The man cautiously approached the corpse. He then took an arrow from his quiver and touched one of the monster’s eyes with the tip. When there was no reaction, he sheathed his arrow and instead pressed firmly on the eye with his left boot. A sharp pain shot through his leg.

“Ouch! I haven’t bothered to heal myself and recover my health points yet... Still, it seems to be dead for sure.”

Soren and several other players from the guild approached the corpse and their companions at the scene. The paladin spoke up and asked the question that was on everyone’s lips:

“Can someone explain to me how we defeated this thing when all our previous attacks had no effect?”

“The basic idea was pretty simple, though risky in its execution,” Tanis replied.

“Indeed,” added Valnaya, who approached. She faced the other adventurers before continuing:

“What are the typical approaches used in games to take down an opponent who is impossible to physically harm?”

There was a murmuring among the assembly as the various members of the guide discussed the best solutions to the question posed.

It took a few minutes before concrete answers were obtained.

“Drowning,” suggested an archer.

“We could also bury it under rubble or use a spell to temporarily liquefy the ground,” added a healer.

Satisfied with her teammates’ answers, the warrior guided the group’s thinking with another question:

“Can you now identify what these multiple methods have in common as their main killing mechanism?”

“Deprivation of air,” exclaimed the paladin.

“Which means that the purpose of the flames was never to burn the snake, but rather to burn the oxygen in the air in order to suffocate it,” Magnus added, looking perplexed.

The wizard carefully observed the structure and shape of the cavern, as well as that of the entrance. Then he looked at Tanis and added:

“Unless I am mistaken, there were two variables that could affect the success of the operation. First, we had to properly seal the entrance to the room with our barriers. Second, we needed sufficient magical reserves to maintain the fire vortex for as long as possible in order to compensate for the size of the room.”

“That sums up the plan in great detail, as well as its execution,” said Tanis.

“However, I still have one question on the subject,” added Soren. “Why not simply bury the monster by destroying the cave ceiling?”

“The result would probably have been the same, but it’s always better to have access to the beast’s treasures than just a pile of rocks in front of your eyes,” replied the ranger with a wink.

Echoing Tanis’ comment about the treasures, Valnaya hastened to suggest what to do next, while making sure to lighten up the mood a little more.

“Well... How about we distribute the loot now? It’s getting late, and some of us will be zombies at work tomorrow.”

The remark was met with laughter from many of the players. Subsequently, the beast’s drops were distributed among the various players present, taking into consideration their character classes, of course. The process took nearly half an hour, including the festivities to celebrate the guild’s triumphant victory over their opponent. One by one, each of the adventurers logged out of Fantasy Frontiers, leaving Tanis alone. He sighed before finally logging out of the game as well.

Haruto, the player embodying the character of Tanis, returned to reality and recognized the familiar interior of his virtual reality helmet. Despite the mental exhaustion caused by this long session, he sat up on his bed without too much difficulty and took a few moments to remove his gaming equipment, including a pair of haptic gloves.

Haruto then grabbed his cell phone from the nightstand as he ran a hand through his tousled hair.

“Damn! It’s almost midnight and I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow,” he grumbled.

Cursing his lack of professional discipline and his obsession with gaming, Haruto took out his shoulder bag. He packed the documents he needed for the meeting with the project manager and the other team members. He also made sure to include his latest acquisition in his bag, an encyclopedia on medieval weapons and armor. With his sense of guilt slightly appeased, he hurried to bed and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

With a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering obtained less than a year ago from a local university, Haruto Akimitsu quickly found a job as an entry-level engineer at a consulting firm. This position allowed him to explore various aspects of the field, particularly industrial manufacturing processes and metallurgy. Eager to shine within the company and climb the ladder to secure his future, the young man worked long hours, often at the expense of his personal life. As a result, he lived alone in a small apartment in the city. Online virtual reality games, such as Fantasy Frontiers and other such worlds, served as an outlet for him. His interest in this kind of world also extended to numerous works of fiction and history, which allowed him to satisfy his curiosity during his breaks and meal times. All of this enabled him to discover ancient manufacturing techniques that are now obsolete.

As dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight pierced the curtains of his apartment, Haruto was awakened by the shrill alarm on his cell phone. Still half asleep and grumpy from his short night’s sleep, he dragged himself to the bathroom. He took a quick, cold shower, which finally revived his senses. This allowed him to continue the rest of his morning routine without a hitch.

After getting dressed in pants and a long-sleeved shirt, Haruto didn’t bother combing his dark brown hair and instead headed to the kitchen. In lieu of a proper meal, he grabbed something simple that he could eat during the first part of his commute to work. He then put on his shoes and threw on a jacket. Ready to go, he slung his bag over his shoulder and set off.

Of average height and without any distinctive physical features, the young man nevertheless considered it important to maintain a minimum level of physical activity every day. To this end, he would walk the distance of nearly a kilometer between his apartment building and the train station every day. He would then take a train to the company’s offices, located in the city center.

Haruto arrived at the station a few minutes ahead of the train’s normal schedule. Satisfied, he stepped forward and entered the station. He was immediately struck by a sharp pain in his head, like a needle piercing his skull. The pain lasted only a fraction of a second, but it was intense enough to make him stagger for a moment. After regaining his balance, Haruto continued on his way to the platform. However, he wondered if this brief migraine might be a consequence of his lack of sleep over the past few weeks.

As soon as he boarded the train, the young engineer stopped thinking about it. He then tried unsuccessfully to find a free seat to sit down. During rush hour, the cars were packed, making any attempt futile. Resigned to standing, Haruto sighed and glanced outside instead, waiting for the train to start moving. The sun continued its quiet ascent in the sky, far behind the station and other buildings in the city.

Among the sea of people waiting for the next departure, one specific person caught his eye. It was a young woman with long hair that reached down to her waist. The color of her long hairs was a supernatural platinum white with subtle blue highlights. Aside from her unusual hairstyle, she also stood out for her clothes, which seemed to come straight out of a fantasy world. The ensemble gave her an aura of nobility that was difficult to explain.

“Cosplay, perhaps? I don’t recall seeing any advertisements for such an event recently,” Haruto wondered.

When his gray eyes met the azure gaze of the person in question, the young man was overcome by another migraine. This time it was even more severe than the last, and the pain showed no signs of going away. Worse still, the violence of it was such that his knees gave way. Holding his head in his hands, Haruto looked frantically at the other passengers on the train, seeking any form of assistance. As some of them approached him, a shrill sound assaulted his ears. He was now unable to understand anything.

“Damn it! What’s happening to me?”