Avilien: Tutorial islands

Demon child

Crammed inside a small bedroom above the alchemy labs filled with dusty tomes, even dustier phials, and equipment, Luke, Split, Cissy, and Nagori slept on the hardwood floor. The single bed in the room was broken and covered in an assortment of boxes. Most of them labeled Alianna's paperwork. It looked to important to move and no one wanted to fight over who got the broken bed.

For the size of the alchemy labs, the bedroom was tiny. With only a single closet, one bed, a table, and a chair. It had a solitary window looking out over the crescent plaza. Due to another bout of Terror training coupled with some teamwork, Split and Luke hit level five. Nagori and Cissy scraped to level six and with the lads help they sorted out their styles of play. Luke also helped Split with his. He happened to be right with his stats, but his abilities needed to change as they didn't suit his style of play and mimicked Lukes old playstyle. A style Split would never master.

For all of its dangers Terror mode brought excellent exp and loot. With the rains came different challenges and they offered up better loot than the Gruntusks. All said and done the group made back what they had lost in items and gear. Each having an average of thirty silver.

Four hours of rough sleep and with a wooden cuckoo clock popping out of its hole and singing it was time for dinner awoke the group of four to the smell of cooked meat. It also awoke them to the startling realisation that Alianna had plonked herself in the middle of the floor with her legs crossed. She looked at both of the girls and smiled.

"Both of you sleep talk, you say the most interesting things." Alianna watched Cissy and Nagori squirm. Neither could recall what they dreamt of.

"And you!" Alianna's face lit like thunder as she turned to Split who was yawning. "I have never heard someone snore like a beast and trying to romance me whilst undressed in your sleep! You're lucky I don't delete you." Split scratched his head and then looked down. He'd gotten undressed at some point in the night.

Plates passed around the room, everyone ate their fill until bellies were full. For how little they slept they all had high spirits.

"Luke, you will be duelling me today, all day. The rest of you should practise your new abilities and get adjusted. Tomorrow you will be walking into a warzone. Damocles has hundreds of low-level red players under his rule and a few higher ones. Before you can even get to him you have to go through all of that. Now come, I made arrangements with the AI scholars." Alianna stood and opened the door to the room. A wave of her hand instructed them all to leave.

One by one, Luke and company left and followed Alianna down the winding stone stairs decorated in canvas paintings. Below a wide area had been cleared of all equipment. More like a giant fighting pit from Roman times now. Scholars continued their studies elsewhere and paid no mind to Alianna and the others as they came off the stairs.

"So where is the actual alchemy master?" asked Split as he pulled his t-shirt over his head. Cissy giving him stern instructions to get dressed. It was a rather good question since Alianna couldn't have been disguised for years.

"Locked in a box in the dungeon. I'll release him afterwards. These Tutorial Islands do not serve much purpose to players other than to learn the basics of the game. Hmmm. Nevermind. I'm sure you will all find out in the end." Alianna clapped her hands together and then walked to the centre of the room drawing her slender rapier.

Xeno flying into the wooden rafters flapped his majestic wings as he shrunk in size. Luke didn't know, but Alianna had done as Trix suggested and removed her gear. With another tap on her holo watch, she sent Luke an invite to a duel. Not knowing why, her arm hairs stood on end, as did the ones on the back of her neck. Luke moved across the room as the rest stood clear.

"Good luck!" shouted Split as he pulled up his ability page and his shorts.

"He's going to need it," replied Alianna. Making Split tilt his head.

"Oh no. Not his majesty. The luck is for you miss," said Split as Alianna scrunched up her face.

As a developer, avid gamer, and a level twenty she was feeling as though these teens were looking down on her. A scary green-eyed glare made Luke nervous as he hit accept. He could tell from her stance and facial aggression that Split had hit a nerve. She would no doubt go all out.

Ten-second timer counting down to zero, Alianna wasted no time as Luke predicted.

"Transformation, transfiguration, assault rifle," she screamed startling the entire room.

Before all eyes, Alianna's gleaming rapier turned into a sleek black assault rifle covered in dragon horns. Luke looking at it hurtled forward. He wished he hadn't left such a wide opening and distance between them. More space benefitted a weapon like that and played to her advantage.

Bullets flying with deadly precision, Luke was lucky enough that he had stated speed. Without it, he would be turned into mince as he now raced circles around Alianna. He waited for the moment she ran out of ammo and when it came he rushed her.

"Transformation, transfiguration, brutal cleaver!" shouted Alianna as the gun warped into a giant sword combined with a butcher cleaver.

Luke now leapt back as the cleaver missed him by a whisker and smashed into the solid marble rupturing the floor. As fast as he was she was the same and had way more raw power.

"You're not impressing me, Awesome Biscuit. Heavens Descent!" the ceiling turned to thunder clouds and rain poured down into the room from Alianna's conjured ability.

Wet through, Luke had no time to admire what was happening as Alianna switched weapon stances back to her assault rifle. Luke had to dodge bullets once more and now lightning bolts as they collided with the floor exploding and being so loud they hurt everyone's ears. It was beginning to feel like nowhere was safe. Somehow, Luke needed more speed. Hoping it would work, Luke charged the Thunder Bounce ability into the soles of his feet. If he was correct he'd get a huge burst of speed for a brief moment.

Alianna seeing Luke's cast bar smirked. "Great impact!" she said as he weapon charged a colossal sized beam of red light at the tip of the barrel. She then fired it at Luke.

Cast time finishing, Luke proved himself correct as he did gain enough speed. The beam so large left no space on the ground. The marble was left smouldering as Luke looked down at it from the rafters above the ability made clouds of thunder.

"Well... that's certainly something," Alianna looked at Luke as her clouds of thunder began to dissipate.

To avoid the attack Luke predicted the lightning strikes and shot to the ceiling. He drove his sword into the wooden rafter beam and now looked down at Alianna. He held his cast bar for another Thunder Bounce as Alianna shot another Great Impact beam skyward.

Dropping to the floor Luke timed the cast release the moment his boots hit the ground. Soaring at blinking speeds, Luke avoided Alianna again and now got within range to strike. Alianna looked startled as Luke slashed her to ribbons. He chopped three thousand health away in seconds before she leapt backwards. Wanting to use potions or her healing ability, Alianna decided against it. No longer did she look down on Luke as if he were a noob. Now she understood why Trix feared him.

"You're the embodiment of a demon. Not Awesome Biscuit. Grey Demon should be your name.no one should be able to adapt this fast to the game," mumbled Alianna as Lukedove in for another assault.