Rise of the Grandmaster Read online

  OakGut crouched behind his shield and sprinted forward to intercept the BrewMaster’s paddle before it could plow into the rest of the group. A clang echoed across the cavern as the dwarf absorbed the blow on his shield.

  “OW, BITCH!” The dwarf screamed in rage, shrugging off another attack before lashing out with his axe.

  Every graduate in the auditorium heard the whoosh as the dwarf’s steel sliced toward the goblin’s unprotected leg. Tim braced himself, waiting for blood to pour from the gruesome wound, but the blade just bounced harmlessly off the BrewMaster’s leg.

  The BrewMaster poured himself another drink from the keg on his back, then tilted his head back and laughed before he drank it. He inspected his leg. “Not even a scratch. You should be embarrassed.”

  The BrewMaster swung his paddle, hitting the dwarf solidly.

  OakGut flew through the air and slammed into the cavern wall. The surly dwarf tried to climb back to his feet, but his health bar dropped steadily.

  Golden light streaked across the cavern and hit OakGut in the chest. A moment later, his armor glowed with the same golden radiance. A gentle mist rained down from above him, and his health bar started to climb.

  The BrewMaster cackled, turning his gaze on the healer. “Would you like to sample my brew?”

  Tim blinked when a soft, feminine voice spoke over the battle cries. “Special ability Do you want to party? activated.”

  The BrewMaster pointed his nozzle at the healer and blasted her with a stream of golden ale. Tim couldn’t help but laugh as the woman was thrown from her feet and left soaking in a puddle of beer on the cavern floor.

  If the possibility of a night with Sierra hadn’t been on the line, Tim would have asked Xander how the game developers knew what his average Friday night looked like.

  Glenn grabbed Tim’s shoulder in excitement as the fight continued to play out.

  Tim could almost feel the tension in the crowd. It was like everyone instinctively knew this was the moment the battle would be decided. He bit his lip as the BrewMaster stomped toward the healer.

  OakGut bellowed a string of curses as his armor bathed the room in a golden glow, and the tank charged back into the fray. His axe flashed red before slashing the back of the BrewMaster’s leg.

  Maybe it was some kind of taunt skill.

  Brixon launched a fireball at the goblin, and the crowd gasped in awe at their first glimpse of real magic in the game. The flames washed over the BrewMaster, but the magical fire seemed to have the same effect as OakGut’s axe. Brixon scratched his head for a moment, then grinned. Deciding on another spell, Brixon started to chant.

  The first of Jack’s arrows bounced harmlessly away, and the second one left a small scratch. As far as Tim could tell, it was the first damage any of them had done to the boss. A quick look at the boss’s health bar confirmed it. It might as well have been full.

  The next few arrows had no effect, just like the dwarf’s axe. All Brixton’s spellwork seemed to do was damage the BrewMaster’s clothes.

  There had to be something the group was missing. Maybe they needed to break the keg on his back. Tim didn’t know nearly as much about The Etheric Coast as he should, but he knew one thing.

  Bosses always had a weakness.

  Glenn might have ruined Tim’s chances for a date when he cheered as LadyCat appeared on the screen again. The leather-clad vixen slid in behind the boss, twin daggers in hand.

  She screamed in triumph as blades slashed into the BrewMaster’s Achilles tendon and blood erupted from the wound. Tim wondered if she’d activated some kind of backstab bonus to land the critical hit.

  A sigh rose from the crowd; they could all see what was about to happen. Cringing as though he could feel the blow, Tim watched as LadyCat dodged the first strike of the BrewMaster’s paddle.

  Her second attempt wasn’t so successful.

  The paddle hit LadyCat dead center, sending her flying across the room. Her limp body didn’t move after it slammed into the barrels, shattering them.

  LadyCat was now the second person on the team to end up drenched in goblin ale. The real question was, had she been impaled by one of the giant splinters?

  Sierra pointed over Tim’s shoulder at the BrewMaster’s health bar. Something interesting was happening—the color of the bar changed from red to purple. Jack’s next arrow sank into the BrewMaster’s chest up to the fletching.

  Breaking the barrels must have been what made him vulnerable. Nothing else had changed. If The Etheric Coast put unique puzzles into every boss fight, the game was going to be epic.

  “Attack!” OakGut bellowed, axe flashing red again as he charged at the BrewMaster. This time his axe found purchase when it hit. Each strike carved chunks of flesh from the goblin’s unprotected legs.

  Two more arrows found their way into the goblin’s chest, and a third lodged in the boss’s throat.

  A small tear in reality appeared above the goblin, flames poured from the opening like a waterfall of liquid fire. The BrewMaster fell to his knees, screaming as his steaming skin started to puddle around him.

  The goblin wasn’t the only one to collapse.

  Brixon was on his hands and knees, looking as if he were about to throw up. Tim scanned the screen, searching for the reason, and noticed that his mana bar was depleted.

  Not the smartest thing to do in a battle. Ending up on your knees like that at the wrong time would get you killed.

  The BrewMaster tried to crawl away, but LadyCat popped out of thin air to put a stop to it. She planted a well-placed foot on the goblin’s charred and steaming back, forcing him to stay down. The move elicited a squeal of pain from the burned boss beneath her.

  She dropped to her knees, pinning his shoulders in place, then placed her daggers against the goblin’s throat.

  LadyCat stood in one fluid motion, pulling hard with both daggers to make sure they cut through the BrewMaster’s leathery hide.

  Blood sprayed from the Boss’s throat, coating the cavern floor. LadyCat jumped off the boss’s body as his hit points rapidly plummeted toward zero. The BrewMaster’s health bar flashed from purple to red.

  Tim wondered what the change in the health bar’s color meant. It was probably some kind of function to let the players know the BrewMaster’s invincibility was down. That, or this was a burn phase and they had to kill the boss before all hell broke loose.

  If the boss’s invincibility returned, Tim wondered if they could break the barrels themselves or if the team would have to trick the boss into doing it again? There were so many ways this could go he was excited to see how things turned out.

  The more Tim watched the fight, the more he wanted to play the game.

  The dwarf made sure they didn’t get a chance to see what happened if the party didn’t finish the fight in time. OakGut’s axe was bathed in purple flames as he repeatedly hacked the back of the Goblin’s neck.

  The boss’s health bar hit zero, and the party started to cheer.

  Slowly, the BrewMaster’s body disappeared. It was replaced by a giant golden chest.

  The screen faded to black as the dwarf reached for the lid.

  Tim read the white letters that flashed across the screen aloud. “Join NPC Corp today. Your adventure awaits.”

  “Adventure waits for no man.” Tim chuckled. Wouldn’t it be great if he could play videogames for money instead of having to get a real job?

  “Or woman,” Sierra countered.

  Tim turned to look at her. “Are you into gaming?” he asked, wondering why he didn’t already know that about her.

  “Just a bit,” Sierra replied casually. The look on her face dared anyone sitting around them to question her gamer cred.

  Before one of Tim’s idiot friends could say something to ruin the moment, the president of the university walked onto the stage, with a gaggle of professors and administrators behind him.

  Tim turned back around.

  One by one, the president called out th
e names of the graduating students, who marched past him and collected their diplomas as if on an assembly line.

  Tim wanted to be excited, but all he could think about was that college was over. It was time to step into the real world. Being an adult came with pesky responsibilities like paying off his student loans…and rent.

  His parents could also use the financial assistance, but he knew they’d never pressure him for it.

  Maybe he was just grouchy because he had wanted them here for his graduation.

  Tim understood that flying across the country when they were strapped for cash didn’t make any financial sense. Raising three kids wasn’t cheap, and it didn’t get any cheaper when the first one went off to college.

  If he could just find the right job, things would get easier for everyone.

  Tim’s brow compressed into a frown. I have an interview this afternoon. Maybe I’ll get lucky and have a chance to figure out the rest later. He looked around the room. There was a solution to every problem, and if there was one thing he was good at, it was fixing problems.

  Thinking about the old neighborhood didn’t do him any good. All he wanted to do was help his family get out of there. “With your brain or a gun,” he whispered.

  Looking down at his diploma, Tim was happy with his choice.

  “Snap out of it, big guy.” Xander bumped Tim’s shoulder to get his attention and pointed across the auditorium at Sierra’s diminishing form. “Better do something quick.”

  Tim jumped on top of his seat and bellowed like the warrior had in the video. Everyone turned to look at him, and his cheeks burned with embarrassment at the attention.

  He focused on Sierra. “I believe the lady owes me a date.”

  Sierra laughed lightly as she glanced at the growing crowd. “Since when did ‘I’ll show up at your party,’ turn into a confirmed date?”

  “Snap!” someone shouted.

  The rest of the crowd oohed.

  Tim’s heart felt like it might beat out of his chest and sweat dripped from his forehead, but he couldn’t chicken out now. When it came to love, you were either all in, or you were on the sidelines.

  This was his moment, and all he had to do was claim it. Licking his lips did nothing to ease the dryness in his mouth. Tim knew he was running out of time.

  He wouldn’t freeze. Not this time.

  Tim’s smile started to grow as the words to his favorite Proclaimers song poured from his mouth.

  Sierra was running toward him before he made it to the second verse. With a graceful leap, she landed on a chair in the row in front of Tim, then leaned across the gap and gave Tim a quick kiss. “I’ll be there,” she whispered.

  Then, as fast as LadyCat had disappeared in the video, Sierra was gone.

  The auditorium broke out in wild applause.

  “YES!” Tim’s fist rose above his head, just like his favorite character from the Breakfast Club.

  Maybe today wasn’t going to be such a bad day after all.

  Chapter Two

  Tim’s first job interview had gone well enough. The company called back an hour later with an offer. It was the amount of the offer that was the problem.

  Seventy-five thousand dollars a year to work in the most expensive city on the planet? It just didn’t make sense.

  Tim was all about the numbers. Sure, after rent and basic living expenses, he would be fine.

  Add in a student loan payment, and sending money home to his parents? He wouldn’t even be able to afford his favorite streaming service.

  What was the point of working your ass off if you couldn’t even afford to spend a quiet night at home?

  Biting his lip, Tim wondered how things turned desperate so quickly. Just two weeks ago, he’d passed his finals and been ready to leave college behind him for good. He was ready to grab the world by the short and curlies and make it his bitch.

  That was until one by one, all of his applications came back with the same simple response.

  “We’ve decided to go in another direction.”

  With only one option on the table, it felt like the decision was already made. There was no way in hell Tim was going to put everything his parents had worked for at risk by not taking the job.

  Unless he found a better option in the next couple of days, he’d do what he had to.

  Maybe he should have been a banker. You had to give them credit. Whether the market was up or down, they always made money. But sitting in an office and talking home loans with people seemed duller than watching grass grow.

  The market was where finance really felt alive. There was money to be made, both in long-term investments and in margins. Good traders knew how to work both ends of the system, and how to protect themselves from a sudden downturn.

  Tim smiled as he started pulling off his smelly workout clothes. At least Sierra was still coming over. Didn’t someone say the love of a good woman erases all wrongs?

  That kiss! Oh, man, that fucking kiss.

  Tim hadn’t expected the song to work. His voice had sounded like a cat getting strangled by Gollum. But it had.

  Not only had it worked, but she had kissed him!

  Tim stepped into the shower and let the hot water wash over him. Oh, shit maybe it was time to switch to cold water. “I look like an old man who popped one too many blue pills,” he muttered.

  Laughing and cringing as the freezing cold water did its work, Tim finally felt like himself.

  Things weren’t so bad. So what if he couldn’t afford much for the first few years? Eventually, he’d get a raise or move to another position. His prospects weren’t nearly as bleak as he was making them out to be.

  If he was really lucky, he might even get laid.

  Stepping out of the shower, he swiped on some deodorant, then added a quick splash of cologne. He wanted to smell nice, not like one of those idiots who didn’t know when to call it quits with the body spray.

  We all knew that guy. Don’t ever be that guy.

  Sweaty palms, check.

  Racing heart, check.

  Tim looked in the mirror on the back of his door one last time to psych himself up for the party. “Looking good.” He flashed himself the double guns before jumping from foot to foot like the BrewMaster had in the game. “Time waits for no man. You’ve got this.”

  The door handle felt cool against his sweaty palm. With a single motion, he twisted the knob and jerked the door open, then bounded down the stairs to join the party.

  The music in the house was loud enough that Tim couldn’t talk without shouting. Xander had three kegs in the corner, and Glenn was manning the bar on the opposite side of the room. The dance floor was full of people grinding.

  It was one hell of a graduation party.

  Ignoring all the inquiring looks he received, Tim scanned the crowd for Sierra. He didn’t see her anywhere.

  Someone bumped into his shoulder, and he looked down to see a red Solo cup full of beer. Tim took the drink without bothering to find out who had handed it to him and gratefully gulped down half of it, hoping it would calm his jangling nerves.

  “Thirsty, huh?”

  Tim spluttered as his eyes fell on Sierra’s amused smile. “Thank you,” he choked out eventually.

  Sierra was rocking a low-cut tank top with jean shorts. Her eyes sparkled. “Careful, a girl’s going to think you’re a lightweight.”

  “Well, if you’re that girl, you’d be right.” Tim looked down at the floor with chagrin. “I’ve never been much of a drinker.”

  “Devoting all your time to something more sinister, huh?” Sierra teased.

  “Between school and my part-time job in the cafeteria, there isn’t a lot of time left to work on my keg stands.” Tim pointed at the kegs and laughed at Glenn holding Xander up by the ankles for what seemed like an eternity.

  “Well, no one spends as much time perfecting their craft as Xander does.” Sierra laughed as Xander toppled over, then motioned for Glenn to lift him up again. “I bet
Xander spent more hours drinking this semester than he did in class.”

  Sierra squealed when Tim shot beer out of his nose, splashing her.

  Tim’s mind raced in desperation as he tried to come up with a single word to say. He used his shirt to wipe his face and hide the flush creeping up his cheeks.

  What the fuck do I do?

  Well, discretion was the better part of valor.

  Smiling sheepishly at Sierra, he continued like he hadn’t just blown beer through his nose like an open fire hydrant. “Some people crave attention, but not this guy. In fact, if one person in particular could completely forget about the last thirty seconds, I’d be forever grateful.”

  Sierra looked up into Tim’s eyes. “Hey, when did you get here?”

  Just like that, she hit the reset button on their night.

  Tim grinned. “I just came downstairs. Sometimes I like hanging out in my room with a good game or an even better book.”

  Sierra nodded as if she couldn’t agree more. “Less of a chance of snotty beer projectiles hitting you that way.”

  They both cracked up.

  There was something about Sierra that made Tim feel less awkward in his skin. It was like she saw who he really was and understood. No, it was more than that. It was like she not only understood who he was but embraced it.

  “Can I get you a towel or something?” Tim asked lamely. He looked around for something to wipe her arm off with.

  Sierra took the clean side of Tim’s shirt and used it to clean off her arm. “I’ve dealt with worse.” She let go of his shirt. “Let’s just say my three brothers are a handful and leave it at that.”

  Reaching up, she turned Tim’s head so he was looking at her. “So, what did you think about the NPC Corp video at graduation?”

  “It sounds too good to be true. How do you get paid a salary to play a videogame?” Tim smiled wistfully, wishing solving his problems was that easy? “I mean, it has to be some kind of scam, right?”

  Right now, it kind of felt like he was channeling his mom’s voice instead of telling Sierra how he really felt. The woman was a gamer, so she’d understand. It wasn’t like he didn’t know you could make money in the game. He’d sold a few high-level items in NPC Corp’s last game to buy his mountain bike.