The Science Block was a tomb. The only light came from the red emergency strips on the floor and the flickering fires burning on the lawn outside.
[BASE SHIELDS: OFFLINE]
[COOLDOWN: 09:58]
"They're coming in," Elara whispered, gripping her staff. The tip was barely glowing; her mana was low from the previous waves.
"Let them," Bhy Khay stood in the center of the lobby atrium, behind a barricade of overturned tables. He held his [Broodmother's Fang] loosely. "The Tesla Coil is dead. The turrets are offline. We have to do this the old-fashioned way."
"Which is?" Zayn asked from the radio, his voice tight. He was pinned down on the roof, red fireballs whizzing past his head every few seconds.
"Guerrilla warfare," Bhy Khay said. "Tomiwa, is the rug ready?"
"It never sleeps," Tomiwa replied from the shadows of the second-floor balcony. She was sketching furiously on the wall—a door that looked real, but opened into a brick wall.
CRASH.
The main glass doors of the Science Block shattered into a million diamonds.
Viktor stepped through the breach.
He looked monstrous. His green plate armor was scorched but intact. His greatsword dragged along the tiles, sparking. Behind him, twenty Fire Mages poured into the lobby, their hands wreathed in flame.
"Where are you, Rat?" Viktor roared, his voice echoing in the dark hall. " hiding in the dark? I thought you were a King!"
"I am," Bhy Khay's voice projected from everywhere and nowhere. He was using the building's intercom system on the emergency battery. "Kings don't fight peasants in the mud. They wait on the throne."
"BURN IT!" Viktor screamed. "Burn this whole building to ash!"
The Fire Mages raised their hands.
"NOW!" Bhy Khay shouted.
[THE LOBBY TRAP]
The first ten mages stepped onto the beautiful Persian rug Tomiwa had drawn.
SNAP.
The ink dissolved.
"AAAAHH!"
The floor beneath them vanished. Ten mages fell into the basement level—a drop of twenty feet—landing on a pile of broken desks and drawn spikes.
"Ambush!" Viktor yelled, stopping inches from the edge of the pit. He looked down at his screaming men. "Ice! They used a trap!"
"Not ice," Tomiwa whispered from the balcony. "Art."
She threw a handful of paper airplanes down. As they flew, they transformed into [Paper Bats]. They swarmed Viktor's face, cutting his skin with razor-sharp wings.
"Get off me!" Viktor slashed wildly, his sword cleaving through the paper constructs.
[THE SNIPER'S NEST]
On the roof, Zayn saw his opening. The mages were distracted by the bats.
He stood up, ignoring the heat of the fireballs.
TWANG. TWANG.
Two bolts flew down through the skylight.
One hit a mage charging a fireball. The bolt pierced his hand, causing the spell to detonate prematurely.
BOOM.
The mage exploded, taking two of his friends with him.
[THE CONFRONTATION]
"Enough games!" Viktor roared. He activated a skill. [BERSERKER RAGE].
His skin turned red. His muscles swelled. He ignored the bats, the spikes, and the bolts. He jumped over the pit, landing heavily on the other side, right in front of Bhy Khay's barricade.
"Found you," Viktor grinned.
He swung his greatsword. It cleaved through the heavy oak table Bhy Khay was using for cover like it was balsa wood.
Bhy Khay rolled backward, narrowly avoiding the blade.
"You're fast," Viktor laughed, advancing. "But you're weak. You're a support class. I'm a Warrior. In a 1v1, you lose."
He swung again. A horizontal slash that covered the entire hallway.
Bhy Khay couldn't dodge. He raised his [Broodmother's Fang] to parry.
CLANG.
The force was immense. Bhy Khay was thrown backward, skidding across the floor. His HP bar flashed red.
[HP: 45/150]
[STATUS: STUNNED (1s)]
"See?" Viktor walked closer, raising the sword for a killing blow. "No hacks. No tricks. Just steel."
Elara stepped out from the corridor behind Bhy Khay.
"[FROST NOVA]!"
She slammed her staff down. A ring of ice expanded outward, hitting Viktor's legs.
It should have frozen him. Instead, the ice shattered on contact with his glowing red armor.
[RESISTED.]
[BERSERKER RAGE: IMMUNE TO CROWD CONTROL.]
"Cute," Viktor sneered. He backhanded Elara with his armored gauntlet.
SMACK.
Elara flew into the wall, crumbling to the floor.
"ELARA!" Bhy Khay shouted, scrambling to his feet.
Viktor stood over Bhy Khay, the tip of his sword resting on Bhy Khay's chest.
"Game over, Admin," Viktor said. "Transfer the Guild Leadership to me. Now. Or I cut her head off next."
Bhy Khay looked at Elara, unconscious. He looked at the timer on his HUD.
[COOLDOWN: 00:05]
[COOLDOWN: 00:04]
"You want the Guild?" Bhy Khay whispered, blood dripping from his lip. "You have to touch the Core."
"Fine," Viktor grabbed Bhy Khay by the throat and lifted him up. "Take me to it."
He dragged Bhy Khay toward the heavy steel door of the Server Room. The door Bhy Khay had rigged earlier.
"Open it," Viktor commanded, pressing Bhy Khay's face against the keypad.
Bhy Khay didn't struggle. He smiled.
"You're holding the door handle, Viktor," Bhy Khay choked out.
"So?" Viktor gripped the metal handle tighter. "Open it!"
Bhy Khay looked at the timer.
[COOLDOWN: 00:00]
[SYSTEM REBOOT COMPLETE.]
[POWER RESTORED.]
The red emergency lights turned off. The blinding white LEDs flickered on.
And the Tesla Coil rigged to the doorframe woke up.
"So," Bhy Khay whispered. "Checkmate."
ZZZZZ-CRACK!
Ten thousand volts of electricity surged from the generator, through the door, and straight into the conductive metal of Viktor's armor.
"GAAAAAHHHH!"
Viktor's scream was inhuman. His [Berserker Rage] gave him immunity to ice and stun, but it didn't give him immunity to physics.
He was a walking lightning rod.
His armor glowed white-hot. Smoke poured from his helmet. His HP bar plummeted.
[HP: 800... 500... 200... 50...]
The shock threw him backward. He flew across the lobby, crashing into the wall opposite the door. He twitched once, then went still.
[ENEMY DEFEATED: VIKTOR (Leader of Iron Fist)]
[XP GAINED: +500]
The remaining Fire Mages, seeing their invincible leader fried instantly, froze.
"Power is back," Bhy Khay said, his voice amplified by the PA system again. "Turrets online."
From the ceiling, small panels slid open. [Auto-Crossbows], crafted by Zayn and Bhy Khay earlier, dropped down.
CLICK-CLICK-CLICK.
They aimed at the mages.
"Leave," Bhy Khay ordered. "Or join him."
The mages dropped their wands and ran. They scrambled out of the pit, out the broken doors, and into the night.
Bhy Khay didn't chase them. He slid down the wall, clutching his chest.
"Elara," he coughed.
He crawled over to her. She was groaning, rubbing her head.
"Did we win?" she asked, her voice groggy.
Bhy Khay looked at the smoking body of Viktor. Then he looked at the Guild Flag icon on his HUD. It was glowing steady gold.
[WAVE 3 COMPLETE.]
[REGIONAL RAID SURVIVED.]
[RANKING: #1 - GUILD ECLIPSE.]
[REWARD: CAMPUS ARMORY KEY.]
"We didn't just win," Bhy Khay helped her up. "We own the school."
He looked at the loot drop hovering over Viktor's unconscious body. It wasn't a coin. It was a keycard.
[ITEM: VIKTOR'S PRIVATE STASH KEY]
"Zayn, Tomiwa," Bhy Khay called out. "Get down here. Loot distribution."