Chapter 8: Declaration Of Sovereignty

The red warning sign was floating in the air like a bloody scar, beating with the aching pain in the burnt arms of Alex.

\[PLAYER "ALEX" MARKED.

It was a ragged whisper, Steve said, Alex. "What does that mean? Marked?"

Alex didn't answer immediately. He couldn't. He was gazing at his Health Bar.

HP: 5/100

STATUS: SEvere burns / MANA exhaustion.

The adrenaline crash struck him as a physical blow. His knees buckled and he attempted to hold on to the generator housing but his hands were raw meat. He slipped down the glass partition, leaving a smear of red and burnt flesh.

"Alex!" Sarah screamed and dropped her phone.

The Quicksilver Sentinel--the S-Rank nightmare he had just given birth to--floated nearer. It sensed its master's weakness. Its body was a liquid metal that trembled with anxiety, and made sharp spikes and then flattened them. It did not know whether to defend him or to eat him.

Stay back, said Alex to the creature, wheezing. His voice was feeble, a croak.

Steve ran forward, but halted five feet short, in terror of the floating chrome creature. "He's dying! Look at his arms!"

I need... healing, Alex gasped. The room was whirling. Potions... did we find potions?

Sarah cried, fumbling with a plastic bottle, "We have water," she said. "We have aspirin!"

Useless, Alex shut his eyes. The blackness was beckoning. He would never wake up, should he now pass out, with a Global Beacon on his head. Somebody would come down here and kill him and take the Core.

"Pray," Mrs. Adesina said suddenly.

She passed Steve. She wasn't looking at the mercury monster. She was examining the wounds of Alex. She wore a mask of grim, maternal determination on her face. She dropped on her knees next to him, disregarding the ozone odor of the failing generator.

This is no time to go to church, Mrs. Adesina! Steve screamed, and his voice was high-pitched with panic.

Shut up, Steven, she said. She put her hands on the burnt forearms of Alex. Her hands were hot, and trembling.

Oh Lord, she said, her eyes closed. I know not about Systems. I know not about Mana. But I know mercy. He spared us. Spare him.

She wasn't speaking to the System. She was speaking to her God.

But the System heard.

LlA pale, tender light was shining under her palms. It was not the neon blue of the server lights. It was hot, as the sunshine in a window.

\[SYSTEM ALERT: EXT. EXTERNAL HEAL DETected\].

\[ENTITY: ADESINA (PRIESTESS)\]

\[SKILL UNLOCKED: PRAYER of MENDING (LVL 1)\]

The aching in the arms of Alex was replaced by a burning itch. He snorted, and his eyes opened. He saw the furious red blisters on his skin knitting. The charred flesh flaked off, leaving pink and raw, but healthy skin underneath.

I'mHP: 35/100

It was not a full cure but it brought him out of the brink of the grave.

Alex stared at Mrs. Adesina. She sank back, tired and perspiring on her forehead.

You... Alex said and stretched his fingers. "You unlocked your class."

Mrs. Adesina awoke. She stared at her hands, and then at Alex. I simply did not want you to die.

Alex caught her by the shoulder. It was a feeble hold, yet strong. "Thank you."

He drew him up on the wall. He was still trembling, but his head was clear. He cast his eyes on the Quicksilver Sentinel.

"Sentinel," Alex commanded. "Defense mode."

The liquid metal beast hummed. It had lost its human shape, and was streaming round Alex like a living puddle, and then solidified into a floating halo of chrome shields round his body.

"We have to move," Alex said checking the Admin Console in his mind. That announcement did not just consist of words. Look at the map."

He indicated the hologram projector over the terminal.

A world map was now overlaid on the 3D map of the facility. There was a huge red column of light shining down upon them.

"It's a loot beacon," Alex said grimly. In all games, when a player receives a Legendary item, the game informs all the other players about it so they can come and attempt to steal it. The System just doxed us.

"Who will come?" Picking up her phone again, Sarah asked. "The army?"

"Everyone," Alex said. "Other players. Monsters. But the first ones..."

DING.

The silence of the server farm was interrupted by the sound of the elevator.

Everyone froze.

They all turned to look at the huge steel doors of the freight elevator at the far end of the walkway. The floor light was on.

\-3

"The elevator," Steve whispered. I thought you locked it.

I did, said Alex and his eyes narrowed. "But I gave the Root Key to the System to take possession of the Core." The lock reset."

The doors were opened.

It wasn't a monster.

It was Jason Briggs.

And behind him, the twenty-five lobby survivors.

Jason got out on the metal grating. He was not the same as he was an hour ago. He had the \[Riot Shotgun\] on his back like a trophy. His suit was ripped and covered with fresh black blood. His eyes were big, feverish.

His jaw dropped a little as he looked around the huge underground city. Then his gaze fell on Alex.

Or, more precisely, on the red marker that was floating above the head of Alex and could be seen only by other players.

\[PLAYER: ALEX\]

\[HOLDING: S-RANK UNIT\]

Jason smiled. It was no smiling. It was the grin of a starving man at a feast.

Well, well, said Jason, and his voice echoed in the cave. "You held out on us, Scout."

He began to walk down the middle aisle, his army behind him with frightened eyes. They gazed at the tall server racks with trepidation, yet they trailed Jason since he was holding the gun.

Steve, who was attempting to defuse, came forward, and said, "Jason." "Thank god! We had a leak in the generator room, but Alex was able to fix it. We're safe."

"Safe?" Jason laughed. It was a sharp, barking sound. "Steve, look at the map! The whole world knows he's down here! There are things clawing at the lobby doors right now, things way bigger than Minotaurs, trying to get to him.

Jason had halted ten feet away, on the main platform. He raised a flaming gauntled finger towards Alex.

You put the entire group at risk, Alex," Jason shook his head in mock disappointment. You have caused a Raid Event. we can no longer protect the lobby. The monsters are mad.

Thou hast come down to conceal? Your voice, Alex inquired, in a calm voice. He found himself leaning on the terminal and his hand was almost touching the keyboard.

We have come to assume the lead, said Jason. He threw off the shotgun. He didn't aim it at Alex, but he had it ready. This location... this is a fortress. It has power. Lights. You have S-Rank weapon.

Jason approached a step nearer. Give it to me, Alex, you are a support class. You are a Tamer. You can not take the heat. I'll take the Unit and get us out of it. I am the Hero, you know?

There was a murmur of approval in the crowd behind Jason. They were scared. They would have the strong man holding the strong weapon. It was mere common sense.

Alex gazed at Jason. He recognized the insecurity of the bluster. Jason was Level 3. He was afraid to be deprived of the power which he had sampled.

It is my monster you want? Alex asked softly.

I am taking it away so that it will be safe to the group, Jason corrected. And authority over such a facility. You are merely an IT guy, Alex. Leave Wi-Fi repair to you.

Alex sighed. He gazed at Steve, Sarah and Mrs. Adesina. They were staring at him, and waiting to watch him fold.

"Steve," Alex said. "Step aside."

Steve hesitated, and withdrew Mrs. Adesina and Sarah behind the heavy console.

Alex was standing by himself on the platform. He looked frail. His clothes were burnt, his face smeared with soot. He was an easy mark.

"Jason," Alex said. You are correct, I am an IT guy.

Tapping a key on the terminal at the back of him.

\[SYSTEM COMMAND: DEFense Protocol Alpha.

"And do you know what the first rule of IT security is?"

There was a hissing noise in the floor below Jason.

Jason looked down. The grating on which he was standing was shaking.

Always remember to give the user Admin privileges, Alex said to himself.

"Sentinel," Alex commanded. "Kill mode."

The air shone round Alex. The chrome ring which circled him melted and leaped forward.

It was as quick as a blink of Jason.

Jason was holding the shotgun one second. The following second saw a tentacle of molten silver flashing round the barrel of the gun and pulling.

"Hey!" Jason screamed, and fell on.

The shotgun dropped out of his hands, banging its way across the floor to the feet of Alex.

The Quicksilver Sentinel didn't stop there. It rebirth in the presence of Jason--a chrome demon, a faceless demon floating in eye level. It hissed its metal head in a snake. Sparks flew out of its body.

ZZZ-CRACK.

Jason scrambled down, like a crab. "What... what is that?!"

That the S-Rank Unit you wanted," Alex said, taking up shotgun. He dusted the room. Loaded. Would you like to keep it? it is comprised of electrified mercury. it burns at 400 degrees when it’s in a temper.

The mob behind Jason uttered a gasp and recoiled. Lightning they saw. They observed the flowing movement. They immediately knew that their "Hero" had been outclassed.

Alex went to the end of the platform. He didn't point the shotgun at Jason. He directed it towards the ceiling.

BOOM.

He shot at the black. It was like thunder in the small area.

"Listen to me!" The voice of Alex bellowed, and the acoustics of the server farm enhanced it.

This is not a democracy, this is not a survival camp, but a Kingdom.

He pointed to the serried servers.

I made it. I owned it. And only I can keep the air scrubbers on the scam. I am the only one who can keep the blast doors shut.

He stared down at Jason, who was gazing up with huge appalled eyes.

You would like to remain here? You would like to live the night? Alex asked.

Jason nodded dumbly.

Then you are my worker, Alex, said coldly. You are stripped of the copper wire of Sector 4 by Steve, now your foreman. You will scavenge metal to the fabricators. And should you ever again attempt to intimidate me in my own house, you will hear this:

The Sentinel was pointed out at by Alex. The monster hissed, it was a hissing gas leak.

...I will use you up to bits.

Alex turned his back to them. It was the supreme exercise of power. He sat down again at the terminal.

Steve, said Alex, his voice had fallen back to a weary mumble. Get them to work, we want 500 metal in the morn.

Steve pulled in his tie. He stared at Jason, who lay on the floor. Steve did not appear a frightened middle-manager as he had never done before. He appeared to be the Lieutenant of a Warlord.

I heard him, Steve barked and pointed his baton at Jason. Wake up, Briggs. Quotas to be filled.

As the survivors marched away to obey, terror and awe fighting in their eyes, Alex sank over the keyboard.

\[TERRITORY SECURED.\]

\[FIDELITY founded on Fear.

\[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 200\]

Leaning over the console, Sarah whispered, "Alex, " "Are you okay? You were... scary."

I had to be, Alex whispered back, his hands so much that he would have to conceal them in his lap. Since they would have shredded me into pieces had they known that I only had 3 Mana left.

He consulted the map. The red beacon was still there.

The human beings were appeased. But the map revealed something other than this approaching them. Somehing burrowing in the ground out of the tunnels below the subway.

\[Caution: Below Ground intrusion detected.

\[TYPE: INSECTOID HIVE.\]

The humans were the simple bit, Alex thought, and shut his eyes to rest a moment. The Swarm now comes.