She'd never said that before, as far as Killum could recall. Also, the drinks in virtual reality might make your character stagger, but they had no effect on the player's real sobriety.
The rest of them followed her to the other tunnel. Everyone drank anti-venom potions, health restorative potions, and ate healing herbs. Killum immediately started feeling better, and his health, strength, endurance, and stamina began ticking up. It was still too soon to take another mana restoring potion, and he'd used up a little more than half of his mana already.
"I always thought Indians weren't allowed to drink," Rand said.
"Some aren't," Asha said. "And actually, I'm not supposed to, but you know. I do."
Killum envisioned the beautiful Indian sipping wine in some fashionable Manhattan sidewalk café. Then he remembered she always ordered beer with a vodka chaser at the pub.
"Are you really from India?" Tiana asked.
Asha paused, giving the thief an almost embarrassed look. She hesitated, shrugged.
"Well, actually I was born in India, but my family immigrated to the UK when I was a child," she said. "In real life I have an amazing English accent."
"Why aren't you speaking with an accent now?" Fergus asked.
"I am, but the Game changes it to American English for some reason," she said. Asha winked at him. "Hate the Game, not the player." She looked everyone over. "Who has the most health?"
"Why?" Killum asked.
"We need a tank to lead the way," she said. "Are you volunteering, fearless leader?"
Everyone looked at him. Killum sighed and nodded. "I'm not your meat shield, but I'll lead the way. Follow me."
Chapter 4
The battle-mage entered the next tunnel, which was a little bigger and a lot longer. It twisted and turned, going up and down, but with a mostly downward direction. There were just enough torches to dimly light it. Killum spoke a spell, and a gemstone in the middle of his breastplate threw out a beam of light like a flashlight. The tunnel was clear until he rounded the first turn.
Goblin Warrior (Lvl 7).
And there were four of them. "Yee-hai!"
Killum charged in, swinging left and right, spinning and kicking. He took the arm off one goblin, and then cleaved the head of another in two. Rand slipped by him to engage the third, while Asha hit the fourth goblin with a fireball, at the same time Fergus feathered him with three arrows. At that moment Rand smashed the last living goblin's short sword aside, and was about to deliver the killing blow, when Tiana appeared behind the mob and slit his throat.
"You stole my kill!" Rand bellowed. "Foul! Foul!"
"Since I killed him, it was my kill," Tiana said. "You lag, you lose, little man."
"Burn," Asha teased, and gave Tiana a high-five.
Killum paused to console Rand, promising there would more goblins to kill, while Asha took the lead. Rand grumbled, but followed Tiana and Fergus.
"I thought I was your tank, Asha," Killum called.
She was already out of sight around the next bend, as was Tiana. Fergus was taking his time following to the point where Rand was trying to push past him.
"She's a glory monger," Fergus said, stopping to let Rand pass. "Let her be the tank for a while."
The sound of clashing steel and booming fireballs filled the tunnel. Killum and the ranger looked at each other, and then took off to join the fight. You didn't level up by letting others do all of the fighting.
He stopped in his tracks when he rounded the corner. Asha had a goblin in a headlock, while keeping two others at bay with her kicking feet. Tiana was riding another's back, while stabbing him over and over again. Rand was surrounded by five of the little monsters, all of them bleeding from numerous wounds.
Asha released the goblin, just to grab his head between her hands. She spoke a short spell, and – Ka-boom! His head exploded, splattering her with bone fragments, blood, and brains. Then she pulled her elven sword and tore into the other two goblins.
Fergus started shooting arrows into the goblins around Rand, so Killum charged into the fray with his sword flashing red death. Well, purple death since it was goblins. In nothing flat they slaughtered the ugly little mobs.
"I told you it would be fun," Killum said, and took off down the tunnel before Asha could take the lead again. "The glory is all mine!"
"Like hell it is," she said, following on his heels. "I just need a few more points to level up."
They ran into another chamber, well lit by torches. A dozen lich warriors stood in line before them, with a gorgeous blonde vampire priestess behind. She wore a clingy, silky black gown under a hooded cloak. Her full red lips curled into a cruel smile, long white fangs peeking out.
"Ah, dinner has arrived," the vampire priestess purred. "I'm famished."
Killum paused to gawk. His first character in Realm of Battle was caught by a vampire. That redheaded beauty bit him, and thus turned his character into her minion. He spent a week trying to escape her, but finally gave up and abandoned that character.
"Don't let the vamp bite you," Rand shouted.
"Ah, my appetizer," the vampire beauty said. "Dwarf blood is like wine on my lips."
"Bite this," Asha snarled, and held out her sword horizontal to the floor. She spoke the spell, and the blade spun out of her hand. "Die!"
The other players charged toward the lich warriors. Killum aimed for a spot between two of them. He watched the vampire dodge Asha's spinning sword, and tried to smash through the liches' line to get at the priestess. The two liches closed ranks with each other, foiling his plan. So Killum kicked out with his right foot, passed through the empty air where the lich's belly should be, and connected with its spine.
To his surprise, the spine snapped in two. The lich died immediately, falling into a pile of bones and weapons. The other lich backhanded the battle-mage when he paused for self-congratulations. The sword flew from his fingers as the Killum stumbled back. The lich and two others came at him with naked steel and shields.
"Got you!" the vampire priestess cried, leaping over the stalking liches.
Killum rolled to the side, scrambling away as the vampire turned towards him. She smiled with insane delight and followed fast on his heels. The liches all veered to the side to cut him off, so Killum dove between the legs of two of them.
He rolled right into the pile of bones.
"A-ha!" the battle-mage cried, leaping to his feet with a thigh bone in one hand and the round shield in the other. "Come and get me, Vampi."
The vampire cut right, moving with amazing speed despite the tall heels on her feet. One of the liches threatening him burst into flames. The vampire laughed.
"Missed again, elfmaid!" the vampire priestess taunted. "I'm going to eat you next, right after this delicious looking battle-mage. And then you'll both join the ranks of my lich guard!"