Chapter Thirty
Alex respawned seconds later at a spot a few hundred yards away from her camp. She'd picked a small hill with a good view of the surrounding area, next to a strange fruit tree. The reddish-yellow oblong fruits had edible skins and a flavor that reminded her of a spicy kiwi.
After punching the ground in frustration at dying to the swarm, Alex grabbed the lone fruit on the tree that must have spawned since she'd checked it last.
You have received: Blood Lemon
New fruits didn't spawn that often, but they had a great flavor and were a nice consolation prize for dying. Her teeth ripped through the tough skin, and the watery fruit exploded into her mouth, excess liquid dripping from her hand.
The hit to her experience bar was unfortunate, but mostly Alex was frustrated by the new challenge. She'd been rolling along, dispensing the herds with relative ease for the last few months, and now this swarm of Homing Terrorbees would slow that progress. It was already late March in the real world, and she only had so much time to get to level 20. Alex assumed the Warped Mother would be a special challenge requiring extra time to devise a solution.
As Alex bit down on the blood lemon, letting the juicy fruit drip over her hands, she spied three shapes descending from the canopy. Her minions had returned home safe.
"Thank Merlin we're safe here from those stupid Homing Terrorbees."
As soon as she said the words, she knew she'd gravely miscalculated.
Homing Terrorbees. Unrelenting Attack.
"Shit," said Alex, dropping the half-eaten blood lemon into the underbrush and sending a mental command to her minions to flee across the chasm to the Warsong Plains, while she took off in a northerly direction away from her camp and spawn point.
Alex made it down the hill, low branches whipping at her arms, high grass tugging at her waist, before she heard the angry buzzing.
"No, no, no," she said, pushing herself for speed.
She had to get as far away from the spawn point as possible. Alex hadn't noticed the debuff when she'd respawned, but now she couldn't unsee it: Unrelenting Attack. The terrorbees had given it to her upon her death, which allowed them to track her across the forest.
The debuff wasn't permanent—it only had a minute left before it was gone—but if she couldn't get away they would kill her again, and when she respawned, they'd keep doing it.
Respawn camping.
The term was usually applied in player versus player games, when one side stood around the respawn point for the other team and killed them when they appeared, over and over, until they quit or logged out.
It wasn't usually an issue in player versus environment games, unless someone placed their respawn point in a dangerous area. Alex hadn't expected to receive a debuff that lasted through death. It wasn't an ability that she'd ever seen in another game, giving new meaning to the terror in the terrorbees.
When she glanced over her shoulder, she realized she wasn't going to be able to outrun them, and since she'd sent away her minions, there'd be no invulnerability or ghosting to temporarily protect her.
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
"Log out," she said.
Log out? [Y/N]
"Yes," she said while swiping the air.
Are you sure? [Y/N]
Log out costs 1,000 XP. The following log out will cost 5,000 XP.
"Yes," she said again, her voice trembling as she kept moving through the undergrowth.
You will log out in 30 seconds...29...28...
The buzzing grew louder as the swarm approached. She felt the vibration in her gut and in her jaw. Her skin itched in anticipation. It was a race to escape the swarm to reach log out.
...22...21...20...
When the first terrorbees descended, flying at her like unerring darts, Alex blasted them with Wind Gust.
But the swarm had learned from their earlier battles, and small groupings came at her from multiple directions. Alex fired every which way, trying to keep them at bay until the countdown was complete.
...15...14...13...
The terrorbees flew down, and around, and through the bushes, coming up like aircraft under the radar. A quivering terror had taken hold, but it didn't slow her spells, and she blasted the terrorbees through her own tears.
...8...7...6...
The first hit came when a trio of terrorbees flew directly down at her, where she hadn't been looking.
A Homing Terrorbee misses you!
You have been stung by a Homing Terrorbee for 22 damage!
You have been stung by a Homing Terrorbee for 18 damage!
Your Wind Gust spell has been interrupted!
The hits snowballed as her failed Wind Gust let another dozen terrorbees reach her. At each sting, a whimper of pain slipped from her lips, but she fought through it.
You have been stung by a Homing Terrorbee for 18 damage!
A Homing Terrorbee misses you!
You have been stung by a Homing Terrorbee for 14 damage!
You have been stung by a Homing Terrorbee for 20 damage!
You have died!
As soon as Alex reappeared at her spawn point, she went through the log out sequence as quickly as possible, but the buzzing was louder than previously.
"Come on, please," she said, escaping in a southward direction, ignoring the way the trees slapped her in the face.
The swarm caught her at fifteen seconds, coming from all directions, killing her quicker than before.
You have died!
The swarm of Homing Terrorbees was on her before she'd even finished the log out sequence.
You have died!
Respawn.
The terrorbees kept stinging her as she fought to log out.
You have died!
On the next respawn, she hit them with a Wind Gust, but the terrorbees were spread out enough that the ones not hit by the spell were able to kill her.
You have died!
She tried running.
You have died!
Used her Screechlion Jerkin, but it only restrained one terrorbee.
You have died!
You have lost a level! You are now level 12!
Respawn.
You have died!
You have died!
You have died!
You have died!
You have died!
You have died!
You have died!
You have died!
You have died!
You have died!
You have died!
You have died!
You have lost a level! You are now level 11!
Somewhere below ten, she stopped fighting. Not because she'd given up, but the cumulative stings had left her unable to move. Her brain had been overloaded with pain, leaving her curled in a ball.
Through the constant agony and regeneration, a horrifying thought consumed her.
What if she was stuck like this forever?
You have died!
You have died!
You have died!
You have lost a level! You are now level 6!
No longer was she thinking about reaching level 20, or that she'd have to leave the Hundred Halls. The only remaining kernel of sanity within the cage of pain was the desperate hope that something would release her from the cycle of death and respawn.
You have lost a level! You are now level 2!
As the last of her levels disappeared, Alex focused her mental energy on the hopes that the game would kick her out when she reached level 1.
You have lost a level! You are now level 1!
The horror of her continued existence brought a chest-heaving sob as the Homing Terrorbees, which covered her in a blanket of death, killed Alex once again.
You have lost a level! You are now level 0!
You are now logged out of Gamemakers Online!
