Zectas Volume III: Malediction of Veneficatl Valley (4 page)

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The next day came and they were patiently waiting for the Centaur's scheduled attack. Vijaya, Ichaival, and Laernea were on the watch towers spread throughout Condortl village.
Smoke made Adder and Espion guard the tower on the ground while he stood on top of it. A loud rumbling sound was heard which signalled the Centaurs' arrival.
From the western side eight foot Centaurs came out, but they didn't look like normal Centaurs. Their upper halves which were suppose to look like a human had been transfigured into a hairy monster.
The mad Centaurs looked more like the other picture inside the labyrinth, the monster called Tikbalang. The mad Centaurs had claws instead of hands and their faces were elongated like a horse. These creatures, even had fangs coming out of their mouths.
Smoke was sure that these Centaurs were cursed when he saw the their appearance, but the question was if they still had a chance of reversing the curse.
The mad Centaurs galloped towards Condortl village with purpose. They were a pack driven mad and programmed to capture Condortl's children.
The eight Centaurs in the lead charged straight towards the village's main gates. Suddenly, the monsters fell down when they galloped over Smoke's trap. The remaining Centaurs managed to slow down and came to a full stop before the pit.
The mad monsters looked down below their fellow Centaurs and saw them trying to leap out of the pit, but none of them could escape the deep trap.
The crazed monsters looked around Condortl and realized that the entire village was surrounded by the hidden trench. All of the Centaurs backed away.
"NNnnnnneeeeeeeeiiiigggggghhhhhhh!"
A mad Centaur cried out as it galloped on its top speed and leapt across the trench. The monster landed safely inside Condortl's main gate. At that point, the hidden Condortlian Warriors behind the blanketed crates leapt out and pushed the Centaur into the pit.
"NNeeeeeeeiiiiiiinnnnnnnnn!"
Bwaaak!
The mad Centaur fell down into the pit hard. The other captured monsters tried to help out their fallen comrade.
Forty Condortlian Warriors readied themselves and blocked the landing ground of the other Centaurs. However, the Condortlians were surprised when the Centaurs jumped for the for the tall earth walls instead of the entrance.
The height of the monsters' jump was increased by their long running start. The mad Centaurs galloped on the side of the walls for a few seconds before they grabbed hold on to the top of the wall.
With their monstrous strength, the eleven remaining Centaurs lifted themselves up over the wall and zoomed straight towards the tower.
Adder and Espion were prepared to face them. Ichaival, Vijaya, and Laernea head their bows and fire arrows aimed on the charging monsters.
The mad Centaurs revealed their maximum life bars at 250,000 HP. Smoke didn't want to issue the command, but the eleven maddened monsters were very dangerous.
"Everyone! Shoot to kill!"
Vijaya sent her six falcons to attack the Centaurs. The birds of prey paired up and ganged up on attacking a Centaur. Ichaival's falcon was sent to distract his target and stop its movement, while Laernea attacked the Centaurs that was nearest her watch tower.
Smoke leapt off his Earth tower and glided towards the end of the Centaur's pack with his Hooded Cloak of Cologus. When he landed down, he stunned the three Centaurs at the back.
Swiftly, he equipped his most deadly weapon in his arsenal, the weighted chain and sickle of Dasende. He threw the weighted iron ball over the three Centaurs and entangled them in his chains.
With the three Centaurs immobilized, he quickly swirled the sickle over his head and began attacking the Centaurs back in a tornado like motion.
+ Attack hit maddened Centaur: Fetzig.   +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 12,912.
+ Attack hit maddened Centaur: Bekloppt. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 12,912.
+ Attack hit maddened Centaur: Spinnert. +FIRE DMG. CRITICAL HIT. BACK ATTACK. Damage 12,912.
Smoke's tornado attacks damaged all the captured Centaurs simultaneously. The Condortlian Warriors were instructed to stay away from the DarkElf when he was fighting with his chain and sickle. So, they went to where Adder and Espion were instead.
Together with the forty Condortlian Warriors, Ichaival, Vijaya, and Laernea engaged against five Centaurs at once. This left Adder and Espion to face off against three. Adder stood alone in front of the stampeding Centaurs.
Adder leapt upwards at the last moment before the Centaurs' claws could hit him. With only one hand he hung on to the rope he prepared before. When the Centaurs looked up, Espion immediately jumped on the back of one of the monsters.
The young Spy slashed the Centaur's back as he rode the maddened beast. The Centaur tried to reach behind itself to catch Espion but the young Spy was out of his reach.
The mad Centaur kept on jumping around and attempted to buck off Espion. The young Spy looked like a bonafide Cowboy as he kept on riding the Centaur's back.
The two Centaurs tried to help their companion, but Adder finally came down from his jump and brought the deadly force of his Blitzsturm with him.
Adder's thick double bladed sword plunged deep into one of the Centaur's back. The one armed Condortlian wrapped his legs around the Centaurs to avoid from being thrown off.
The last free Centaur was confused on who to help first. Suddenly, a rope was lassoed over him. The monster reflexively turned around and saw a young boy.
It was Tracas, the nine year old boy that Smoke bonded with. This instantly made the Centaur yell out.
"HHHHhhhiiiiiiiieeeeeeeerrrrrrrrr!"
In a blur, Tracas was captured by the Centaur. The monster made a mad dash for the village's exit. Espion leapt and tried to ride on to the monster's back, but the Centaur he was on caught his legs and slammed him hard on the ground.
The three Centaurs retreated with their captive. The one-armed Adder had to unequip his Blitzsturm and tried his best to hang on to the mad Centaur as it kept on galloping out.
As Smoke was looting the item drops of the three Centaurs he had finished off, he saw another group of Centaurs that were trying to escape the village. He thought that the monsters were only retreating until he heard Adder yell.
"Help! They caught a kid!"
Ichaival, Vijaya, and Laernea couldn't attack the Centaurs without hitting the child and Adder. Smoke stopped looting and ran immediately towards them.
Smoke launched himself into the air with his Lunar Gravity Boots. He glided towards three Centaurs, but the monsters increased their speed.
Igniz kept on blasting his fireballs at the monsters as he hovered on Smoke's right side. He tried to use his Earth Manipulation ability to create holes and obstacles, but because of the monsters' Agility, they dodged all of his attacks.
The three Centaurs were nearing a cave in Mount Aeriloc. Smoke knew that the monsters would be out of his reach if he didn't do something. So, he equipped his Digger's wand and created a wide trench in front of them.
This forced the Centaurs to jump high into the air to cross the trench. Smoke then grabbed one of the Centaurs and held on tight.
The three Centaurs had Smoke and Adder on their backs, while Igniz flew near the DarkElf's back. The mad monsters entered the cave. Igniz's fire lit up the cave as they went on deeper.
Further inside the cave, the maddened monsters kept on with their bucking. Even as they reached a part of the cave that had a steep ravine on the left side and jagged rocks on the right.
The Centaurs found the protruding rocks on the side of the wall to be useful. The maddened monsters bucked towards the rocks and smashed their unwanted riders against them.
Smoke and Adder were stunned, and were bucked off their Centaurs. The two of them fell down the ravine inside the cave. Igniz reflexively flew down after them.
After Smoke regained his consciousness, he instinctively checked his surroundings. Igniz directed his attention to his companion.
Smoke found an unconscious Adder sprawled over a glowing green boulder. The Condortlian was covered in blood, but what caught the his attention was the green virile arm that was growing out of Adder's amputated limb.
 

Sherry cranked open her game pod and stepped out. She stretched out her slender arms and legs to loosen up her muscles. She took out her brown yoga mat and turned on her favorite jazz artist, John Coltrane.
With her long red hair tied into a braided bun, she started her exercise. She took up yoga to prevent herself from getting muscle atrophy. With her life now revolved around Zectas, Sherry wanted to stay healthy and ensure more hours of game time.
She loved how Zectas made her unleash her inner child that was always being repressed deep inside her. She knew she acted immature and selfish at times, but she wanted to discover her true self.
Her self imposed strictness and forced maturity alienated her from pleasures of getting into trouble. The virtual reality world of Zectas had taught her what it was like to have real friends even if they were Zectians.
It had been two years since Zectas was released and there was an alarming rate of players who did not follow the Zectas' guidelines and have gotten muscle atrophy.
Before they were allowed to create a character, the players were given an explicit warning which stated that playing straight for over forty-eight hours could lead to various health risks.
Even the Zectas game pod installers said the same thing to the persons who were in charge of the gateway device. They also made them sign an 'Assumption of Risk Agreement' document that would protect Zectas from any form of lawsuit.
There were still many players who tried to sue the company, despite of these warnings and documents. In the end none of the complainants won.
However, due to this incident a Zectas patch was uploaded and enforced an hourly health check on the players. If the player's health deteriorated, a system notification would pop out and the player would be logged out for twenty-four hours.
Of course, the patch was coded to notice the special-abled players who were paralytic or otherwise. Each player's health parameter was catered to fit them individually.
This move by the Zectas Company was accepted well by the world in general, but there were players who rallied against it. They didn't care if they became paralyzed just as long as they could stay longer inside Zectas.
After Sherry finished her yoga exercise, she grabbed a towel and dried herself up. She opened the Zectas forums while she waited for fifteen minutes before she took a shower.
She scanned for any updates about Smoke creating a guild. Thankfully, there was none. The Sonstwelters in Verbrannt were true to their word and kept their guild creation from the public.
After she searched for Smoke's potential guild, she decided to read the longest running thread in Zectas. The thread entitled, 'Tristan vs. Amahan vs. Smoke'.

Sherry's curiosity made her click on Amahan's video feed that was only uploaded five minutes ago.
Amahan and his entire Decane guild stood in front of an ice temple embedded on the side of a blue mountain. The back of a female Aero Magus lead the way as she kept on a wind shield that protected the Decane from the icy wind.
The female Aero Magus looked very familiar to Sherry. It was Magikera. The friend she had made near Centeo city, before she got her werebear curse.
Sherry remembered Magikera mention that she belonged to a famous guild, but she never thought that it would be the Decane guild. Magikera was the one who taught her about stat inflation, when it reached over 600 points.
She resumed watching the video. Magikera was followed closely by two burly men named Baskog and Ligon. Decane's heavy tanks. A great crystal statue was revealed after all ten members crossed the ice temple's entrance.
It was five meter tall and made out of ice crystal. The statue of the legendary Djinn, Gahoul Comataz. The Djinn had a black feathery humanoid body, with the head of a black falcon and a silver beak.
Comataz had long talons for fingernails and storm colored wings that was twice the length of his entire body. His ice armor glistened as it covered his black feathery body.
Amahan went near the statue and a notification popped up.

The Exorcist raised his first Comataz piece into the air, as his guild cheered him on. Not only were they nearing the tomb of King Aquilo, but they were most likely going to have Comataz join their ranks if they could find the missing three pieces.
Sherry felt proud as she watched her good friend Magikera frolic around with her guildmates. She thought that Nash was the only famous person she knew in Zectas.
She made a mental note to call her when she could get some free time inside Zectas. At the moment, her mind was focused on improving Verbrannt village.
'What was that Djinn? I've never seen or heard about Djinns in Zectas.'
Sherry couldn't help but wonder what kind of abilities did Gahoul Comataz possess and to what extent Amahan could use them.
However, she pushed out her theories about the Djinns. She had more pressing matters to research on. Aside from an impregnable defense, Verbrannt also needed to be self sustainable.
She analyzed what she had to do for her village, in order to better itself. She was sure that Nash would keep his end of their bargain, which was why she needed to be two steps ahead of him.
 

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The moment Sierra logged back in, she immediately called Gandiva, the tigress Lioumerean.
"Did you get goods?" asked Sierra.
Gandiva quickly nodded. "Yeah, of course I did. I've got the fifty quails, twenty ducks, ten pigs, and I even got the Guildium right here beside me."
Sierra shook her head. "No, no, I'm not talking about that. I meant the special ability."
Gandiva's eyes lit up as she understood. "Oh, that... I don't know how you met that old Priestess, Nenek, but she sure is well connected in Centeo. Thanks to her I managed to acquire the ability."
Sierra grinned. Her hours of scouring the net paid off. She was glad that she kept in touched with her old Mentor.
"Good job! How long til you get here?"
"Umm... About an hour?"
"Alright, I'll see you then."
Sierra then called over Sharur and Thyrsus. She wanted to see the progress that the two of them had done.
Thyrsus was placed in charge of the residential area, agricultural land, and the business district, whereas Sharur and Jinggu took command of redirecting the river and training the militia.
Presently, Jinggu was out with his battalion. It was their turn to train inside their private dungeon, the secret exit of the labyrinth.
As they stepped outside of the castle, she instantly noticed that the castle ground was now free from tents and small shanties.
"I see that the Dernier family finally moved to a new home?"
Thyrsus smiled and nodded.
"They were the hardest one to persuade but setting them up as the main fish vendor eventually convinced them."
Thyrsus patted Sharur's back. "Sharur, Jinggu and the Maneators did a great job on channeling some of the river to flow into our village."
The almost two-meter tall OrkElf gave a small bow, as he acknowledged the Hunter's compliment. "Thanks, but it was Smoke who dug most of the trenches with his wand. We just made sure that the river flowed through it."
The handsome OrkElf proceeded to say. "But all in all it was Sierra's suggestion of making use of the river to serve as a natural moat and a source of food that made all of this possible."
"Nah, I'm sure Smoke or anyone else would have came up with the same idea. I just happened to have raised it first." Sierra said modestly.
The red werebear admired the newly finished stone road as they headed into the residential area. The gray stones were neatly flattened and created a smooth road to travel on.
The three of them kept on walking through the quiet residential area and into the busy business district. The Zectian refugees from different villages became a united front. There were minor disagreements here and there, but nothing that the platoon leaders of the militia couldn't handle.
"What about the Sonstwelters? Are there any problems with them?" asked Sierra.
"None, both sides are adjusting nicely." replied Thyrsus.
As their conversation went on, an eight year old girl carried a basket of fresh fish for the Lady of Verbrannt who walked along the man-made river, which passed through the business district.
Sierra called the blond Hunter's attention. "Thyrsus, we've equally distributed the different businesses, right? We have someone practicing all the basic trades..." she paused as she saw a young girl walk towards her. "Oh, what do we have here?"
The shy girl raised her basket and meekly said. "My father just caught these fish from the Sierra River."
Sierra looked at Sharur and Thyrsus.
Sharur walked closer to Sierra and whispered in her ear. "The residents have named the man-made river circling around Verbrannt as Sierra River, in honor of you."
The little girl handed her basket of fishes to the red werebear.
"How did you know that I love fish? Tell your dad thanks for me." said Sierra with a big smile. Despite her werebear appearance, the girl looked unafraid and smiled back.
Sierra then gave her a pat on the head. The smiling girl ran towards her father immediately after. The red werebear waved at the girl's father as he watched them from the fishing pier.
Sharur took the basket from Sierra's hands and carried it for her and said. "By the way, Jinggu took my battalion to the labyrinth. Weise, Rasant, and Stark are also there with him. So, you don't have to worry about the militia. They're scheduled to arrive at any minute now."
Sierra gave Sharur's shoulders a tight squeeze as she stood beside him. This sudden gesture jolted the OrkElf as it took him by surprise.
"Everything seems to be in order. Sharur, Thyrsus, when Jinggu arrives assemble the entire battalion over to the training grounds, and make sure that only the militia members are there." said Seirra.
Sharur and Thyrsus bowed their heads as they left to follow her instructions.
An hour and thirty minutes passed before the entire militia units were gathered. Thyrsus placed scouts to keep a lookout for outsiders. Sierra stood in front of her militia and addressed them. "The past few days of continuous hunting in the mausoleum had been a great success. Sharanga, if you please?"
The WoodElf Huntress brought out the gathered loot. In the past five days they amassed a total of six-hundred-fifty composite bows, one-hundred wooden rods, and twenty skull helms.
Aside from the weapons and equipment, their militia's level also greatly increased. The lowest member of their militia was now at level 72.
With everything prepared, Sierra proceeded.
"I know what you're all thinking. What are those items for? Well, the skull helms are equippable to melee based fighters. That's why I've decided to give each platoon leader a special helm as a symbol of leadership."
Then, she signalled Gandiva to stand in front of the composite bows.
"Now, let me turn your attention over to commander Gandiva."
It was a rare sight for the tigress Lioumerean to be serious, but there she was with a stern straight face. She was accompanied by four Fishermen from her militia battalion.
"I've trained these four brave men just minutes ago, and I'd like to show all of you the results of their newly gained ability."
Gandiva gave them a nod, and the four Fishermen picked their throwing spears and aimed at the targets that were twenty meters away from them. All of them released their fishing spears and hit their targets dead center.
"For most of you, this is your maximum distance. It is impressive, but we could get more shots in if we could fire at a longer range."
The Lioumerean then pointed to a new set of targets that had a distance of forty meters. This time, the Fishermen went over to the pile of composite bows that Sharanga had prepared.
They switched out their fishing spears for the composite bows. They went back to the target site and aimed at the new targets.
All four of the Fishermen released their arrows and hit their marks that was twice the distance as before.
"I was sent over to Centeo city to gain this ability called, Bowfishing. With this it will guarantee our increase in offensive power."
Sierra found this special ability online. There was a post about two Zectian friends who were a Fishermen and a Hunter who polished this hidden ability together.
She was glad that Gandiva was able to learn the ability and was now able to teach it to the Fishermen in their militia. The tigress Lioumerean went on with her demonstration.
"The five of us will teach four persons at a time. I estimate that by the next three days, all the Fishermen will be able to use our gathered composite bows."
Their militia cheered as Gandiva finished her demonstration.
Sharur whispered over to Sierra and asked.
"Gandiva also got the Guildium, right? So, why aren't we making a guild yet?"
"I'm still thinking of a name and I want to hear Smoke's opinion. After all he will be the guild leader, even if its just in name."