Odds of instakilclass="underline" 6%
Requirements for instakilclass="underline" LUCK > 7
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Skilclass="underline" Explosive Blades
Level Three: Use two knife marbles and one black marble to cause confusion and pain through an additional shrapnel bonus.
Damage: 19% if enemy is less than level 30; 8% if enemy is greater than level 30.
Odds of instakilclass="underline" 3%
Requirements for instakilclass="underline" LUCK > 8
---
Skilclass="underline" Crucify
Level Three: Using two jagged knife marbles, quickly pin an enemy to an object. The object must be at least the length of the target’s outstretched hands. High levels allow for longer pinned times.
Damage: 3% if enemy is less than level 30; 4% if enemy is greater than level 30.
He’s with his two higher-level Shinigami mages who were assigned to him, and they’re doing most of the heavy lifting. He was saving his last five auto-levels for later down the line, but seeing his brother at a higher level really rubbed Kodai the wrong way.
I’ll get there soon, he thinks.
Not that level penalties really prevent him from doing anything. He has a growing list of recruits, and most of whom are at a much higher level than his current mage bodyguards. He can already travel anywhere he wants to via her algomagic, so there really is no need for him to level up aside from sheer vanity.
Her.
The mysterious green-eyed woman behind the magical door. He still doesn’t know why she came to him; he’d only logged in to spy on his brother, but her plan was one of the most powerful, marvelous ideas he’s ever heard. She wasted no time, either – the first part happened so quickly.
Even as he sits there and savors his drink, phase two of her plan is already underway.
He blinks his eyes open and takes in the dim red light of the hostess bar. Sarah the Australian is with a patron across the way, the same soon-to-be broke-ass salary man who was here two days ago. The man speaks to Sarah in loud Japanese, his face flushed with lust and alcohol, his tie askew.
Kodai gets the urge to walk over there and choke him with it, but swallows it down. Today was a good day, an uncomfortable day, he thinks as he looks again at his bandaged hand, but a good day indeed. It’d be best to end the day calmly and semi-peacefully.
Ryuk bought it, hook, line, and sinker, and Tamana was key in making that happen. He closes his eyes and the game feed appears in the lower corner of his iNet feed. He enlarges the live feed, watching as his avatar zips a jagged knife marble into an abominable sandman.
Kodai’s avatar only has three marbles – molten, black, knife – and he’s already experienced distress at the choice of Ballistics Mage as his avatar. It also appears as if his brother has a marble he does not, a clear marble, which would be very useful to a player with a sinister mind such as himself.
But the mysterious woman insisted that I switch, he reminds himself, and she has been right so far.
Ryuk’s weapon was a curious one, a marble gun, and it’s something Kodai had never seen before. He would have taken it from him had he not been so enthralled by the unmitigated look of anguished betrayal on his younger brother’s face.
No one had told Kodai that actual firearms were possible with Ballistics Mages; he’d seen a good variety of slingshots – including a video of someone using an algo variant that allowed for ten marbles to be loaded at once – but nothing as stunning as the weapon his younger brother had. Someone knew where to get them, and Kodai knew that it wouldn’t take him long to find out who had manufactured it.
Even with his victory, however, he still feels deflated from the setback in the apartment. While he may have triumphed in Tritania, Ryuk had clearly prevailed in the real world, at least for today. And how he found out about Kodai dropping out of NYU …
I will beat you in your own game, just as I will beat you here, Kodai thinks, his grip tightening on his glass of whiskey. I will win in both worlds.
The music changes and Sarah stands. All eyes turn to her, the single gaijin in the room. She runs her hand through her hair and sashays over to Kodai.
“Were you watching me too?” she asks as she sits down. She crosses one leg over the other and coyly stares at the brash young crime lord. “Everyone seems to around here.”
“You’re too confident in public,” he reminds her under her breath.
“Are you going to do something about it?” she purrs. “Later, maybe? That’s why you came, isn’t it?”
He raises his chin and looks down at her.
“Relax, Kodai,” she says playfully, but quieter than before. He feels the long heel from her designer footwear dig into his shoe.
“Not here,” he reminds her. “And yes, later.”
An incoming message from Lorem Ipsum sends a surge of excitement through Kodai. He reads it again, double-checking to make sure it says exactly what he thinks it says. “Finally,” he whispers. “Finally.”
“What is it?” Sarah asks.
“My humandroid bodyguard has arrived. She will be delivered tomorrow.”
Sarah looks at him nervously and Kodai can’t help but laugh. I will win in both worlds. With that thought, he finishes his whiskey and blinks his eyes closed once again to check on his avatar’s progress.
The end.
Note: Fantasy Online: Polynya will be released in December 2017. It will pick up where this story left off.
Fantasy Online Hyperborea is currently soaring up the charts. IF you enjoyed this book, please get your review in as soon as possible! Review it, and come back to the rest of the content. You rock, really, and thanks for taking part in the launch of this new series!
-Harmon Cooper
Ryuk Matsuzaki’s character sheet
(*as of the end of Book One)
Ryuk Matsuzaki Level 13 Ballistics Mage
HP: 378/378
ATK: 91
MATK: 120
DEF: 69
MDF: 42
LUCK: 10
---
Skilclass="underline" Tonsil Shot
Level Three: 1 in 9 chance of connecting.
Damage: 28% if enemy is less than level 30; 15% if enemy is greater than level 30.
Odds of instakilclass="underline" 11%
Requirements for instakilclass="underline" LUCK > 9
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Skilclass="underline" A Simple Request
Level Three: 1 in 6.5 chance of a request being granted.
Caveat: Only works with a clear marble.
Requirements: LUCK > 6
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Skilclass="underline" Cherry Poppin’ Daddy
Level One: 1 in 11 chance of connecting. Enemy’s backside must be exposed. Higher levels increase damage and chance for an instakill.
Damage: 35% if enemy is less than level 30; 13% if enemy is greater than level 30.
Requirements for instakilclass="underline" LUCK > 7
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Skilclass="underline" Extreme Focus
Level Two: Can detect approach of camouflaged/concealed/stealthed enemies and objects.
Mage bonus: Higher levels allow sleuthing and increased accuracy. Also increases magic detection range when used in tandem with Magic Eye.
Requirements: LUCK > 9