Pieces of Sonder

“Orcs! I thought they were gone from Vansyl!”

“Well, they’re not roaming around; they’re just in the dungeon.”

“Still,” Freya said, frowning. 

Infamous Biscuit and Freya stood outside the dungeon, waiting for Heilong and her brother. Early morning sunshine shone through the trees, highlighting the dungeon entrance. Heilong suggested this major dungeon, and Infamous Biscuit researched more about it on the game forums.

“The dungeon boss at the end is an orc lord. We’ll be fighting his minions first to get to him.”

Worry etched Freya’s face, “If we fail, would the orcs escape out of the dungeon?”

“No, I don’t think so. It’s possible in story and event dungeons for monsters to target NPCs, but I don’t think monsters can escape from minor and major dungeons,” Infamous Biscuit said.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Growing up, she heard stories about ancient orc tribes wiping out entire civilizations. But according to wizard historians, orcs were eradicated 2,000 years ago.

“Minor and major dungeons are the ones always underground or in a cave, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I don’t think dungeons are natural. They’re probably only designed for game players to enter- ah, they’re here!”

Two figures blinked into existence. Heilong waved at them. Gesturing towards the larger person next to her, she said, “Hey guys, this is my brother Strawberry Knight.”

Freya had never seen so much pink in her life. The man was entirely pink: his armor, his shield, his hair. A pink ruby was embedded in his sword hilt. Even his skin seemed pale pink, or maybe that was just a reflection from his armor.

Looking above his head, she half expected his text box also to be pink, but it was the usual green color of players and read:

[Strawberry Knight]

[Lvl 17 Knight]

Freya would never have guessed they were related. On closer inspection, their faces looked similar, but their taste differed significantly. Freya admired Heilong’s modest look with her long black natural hair and red high-collared shirt. Her brother could not be more different.

“Hello,” Strawberry Knight said. His voice was quieter and more mature than Freya expected. “It’s nice to meet all of you. Let’s have a good dungeon raid!” 

“Let’s party up then,” Infamous Biscuit said.

After some screen clicks, Freya could sense the locations of the other three. It was still odd to her what the game system could do.

“Before we start, let me ask what your guy’s skills are and how often you can use them,” Strawberry Knight said, leaning his shield against a rock.

Infamous Biscuit went first, “Besides my innate skills I have Tangling Vines, Watermelon Bombs, Energy Boost, and I can summon a Vine-Pine and Healing Sage. The vine-pine can fight enemies on its own by attacking it with vines, but I can only summon it once an hour.”

Freya tried to remember the names of her skills, “Um, the skills I have that are relevant for battle and aren’t innate are Shockwave and Hit Redirect.”

“Ah yes, Shockwave. The skill that got my sister interested in you,” Strawberry Knight said, rubbing his chin. “How does that skill work? What does it do?”

Freya scratched her head, “Well, I think it damages the meridian lines of my target, meaning it causes them some physical pain and kind of stuns them for a bit.”

“How long is its cool down?”

“I leveled it up yesterday while I was in a practice field, so the cooldown is 20 seconds.”

“Does it use MP?”

“Um, I think it does. It seems like if I use it around two times I lose an MP point.”

“Hm, well at least you do have high MP for a martial artist,” he said, looking above her head.

“I think her MP came from her previous shaman status,” Heilong said.

Heilong asked Freya beforehand about telling her brother, but Freya still felt a little self-conscious about it.

“That makes sense,” he said. “Well then my skills are Rallying Surge, which can momentarily raise everyone’s stats, and Blinding Light which can blind enemies. It can also blind players, so I’ll make sure to announce it. Just cover your eyes for a second.”

Heilong stepped forward, “So far, my only battle-related extra skill is Marked Down. Once I hit a target with this skill, any damage made by teammates is amplified.”

“Good, good. Now that all the formalities are done, is everyone ready?” Strawberry Knight asked.

Everyone agreed. Strawberry Knight led the way into the dungeon. Like the handful of other dungeons Freya had seen, this one was also nondescript. Gnarled tree roots surrounded the entrance. The slim opening looked like a natural small alcove.

As she passed through the entrance, she heard the familiar, Beep!

[Orcs of Blackearth]

[Major Dungeon] [Suggested Team Lvl: 16]

Freya looked around the dungeon’s first room. It didn’t look that different from the last major dungeon. Enchanted lights lit the earthen walls and at the opposite end of the room from them was a small entryway to the next area.

Suddenly an arrow shot out of the entryway.

Strawberry Knight deflected it with his shield.

The group tensed, but nothing followed.

“Must be a scout,” Infamous Biscuit said. “There will probably be an ambush in the next room.”

Strawberry Knight hefted his shield, “I’ll go first, Freya follow behind me. I’m going to use my blinding skill to disorientate them for a second. If you see archers, try to take them out first.”

Freya nodded.

They approached the entryway from the sides. Freya’s heartbeat echoed in her head. Clenching her fists, she stuck close to the wall. Strawberry Knight rushed in, shielding his head.

Immediately two orcs pounced on him. An arrow bounced off his shield.

“Close your eyes, Blinding Light!”

Despite covering her eyes, she could still see the flash of light. She couldn’t imagine how strong it would be if she hadn’t shut her eyes.

The second she opened them, she ran into the room. At the far corner of the room on top of some rocks were two human-like figures with bows. Freya noticed a few more flanking the door as she continued inside. Dull green skin, scraggly black hair–the orcs appeared just like the horror stories described.

However, they looked much less intimidating. Hunched over and grabbing at their eyes, all the orcs were now easy targets.

[Lesser Orc Bowman]

[Lvl 9] [100/100]

Bounding towards the orcs in the back, Freya jumped and slammed into one bowman with her shockwave skill. The orc fell off the rock pile.

It struggled to get up, stunned and unsure of Freya’s location. She looked down at the orc and saw its wolfish face for the first time. The orc’s nose and mouth extended further out than a human’s, and its enlarged eyes were pitch black. Leaping down, she didn’t hesitate to pummel the orc.

Punch! Punch!

The orc turned into a plume of smoke.

Freya turned around just in time to see another smoke cloud, and three arrows clatter to the ground.

Strawberry Knight knocked a sword out of one of the orc’s arms at the front of the room. Vines bound another.

She ran to help but slowed when they turned to smoke. 

“Nice, good work everyone,” Strawberry Knight said. “This dungeon should be a piece of cake!”

Heilong glared at her brother, “Don’t jinx it.”

---

~Info Corner~
Character Card:

*Strawberry Knight*

Class: Knight

Age: 22

Nationality: American

Ethnicity: Korean

Lives In: New York City, New York

In-Game Skills: Taunting Sound (innate), Shroud of Protection (innate), Judgment Strike (innate), Rally Surge, Blinding Light

Likes: Anything pink, American football, deserts with fruit in them

Dislikes: Oatmeal