The spider reeled backwards as the potent magic overtook her, then flopped over onto her back. One of her limbs darted into a pink purse, and withdrew a smartphone in a rhinestone case. She held it over her, and the red recording light came on. “Oh…I’ve been killed. Alas, for I am, like, dead and stuff.”
“Oh, get on with it,” White demanded. “You’re supposed to just die. You don’t get an entire scene.”
“I’m live-streaming to Egoboost right now.” The spider adjusted the angle of her smartphone, then arched her back. “Ack…for I am dead.” Then she went limp.
White suppressed his annoyance and turned back to the rhino. As a twelfth level character he had access to sixth level spells, and one of those spells transmuted materials. White pointed at the rhino, who still spat marbles in his direction. “Lava in speculo!”
The glow of the volcano had given him an idea, and White turned all the marbles in the rhino’s gullet into lava, with predictable results. The rhino clutched at his stomach. “Oh, crap. Acid reflux. Imma go to the nurse’s office.”
The rhino keeled over suddenly, and did not rise. Little streams of smoke rose from his eyes, ears, and butt. White stepped over the body, and continued through the maze.
This time when he finally emerged, it wasn’t into a large room, but rather an empty area with a stairwell leading down toward the volcano itself. He’d finally reached the end of the maze.
White strode boldly down the stairs, and scanned the area within the volcano. A large disembodied eye hovered above, blinking down at him. White smiled up at it. “Ah, the legendary Eye of Soreness. You were a case study in Evil University. One of my favorites. It’s a real pleasure to meet you.”
“I wish I could say the same.” The eye blinked down at him. “You’re not half the dark lord Bert is. Didn’t you lose to a critter?”
White’s fists tightened in rage. Even his idols seemed to prefer the goblin. Well, they did for now anyway. Once he’d thrown the goblin into the volcano, then perhaps they’d treat him with more respect.
“Where is he?” White’s eyes narrowed, and he marched over to the cliff as he looked around for the goblin.
“Bert here.” The goblin stepped out from behind a ledge, and White noted the greenish glow that came from behind his armored foe. A glow that could only emanate from the sky rock. “Bert tired of running. Won’t run any more.”
“Then stand and die.” White gave a magnanimous laugh. “I assume Kit is here somewhere too? Come out and have a last chat. I promise to let the both of you live. I just want the sky rock and this dungeon. You’re free to leave with your lives, so long as you amuse me first, and swear fealty.”
“Bert don’t think you can take sky rock. Rock too powerful.” The goblin stuck his tongue out again, which didn’t bother him. Kit’s scornful laugh, on the other hand, most definitely drew his ire.
“We’ll see about that.” White stalked forward and ignored the goblin. If he killed Bert now he’d regret it later. No, better to enslave him, and keep him alive for decades of torturous amusement.
White walked around the ledge expecting a trap, but there was none. The strange sky rock, which was large enough that it would require both hands to lift, sat on the floor, completely unprotected.
He walked over and rested a hand against the wonderful rock, and shivered as a thrill of power rushed through him.
White blinked as he stared down at the die. The d20. It wasn’t a sky rock, any more than he was the Dark Lord White. His name was Robert, and he could remember the real world.
Right now he was more interested in this one. The die he held gave him the power to reshape the entire imaginary realm as he saw fit. It made him the game master. Whoever possessed it shaped and controlled all of reality.
He craned his head back and laughed.
What kind of template did he want to use? Fantasy was played out. Maybe he could do Shadowsprint or Portals? Those were both modern settings. Hmm. He could probably even do something litRPG-themed. The possibilities were endless.
Whatever he chose, though, it would begin with destroying everything that already existed. Good riddance.
34
The D20
Bert gaped in horror as a triumphant smile creased the dark elf’s face. Bert could still see White’s character sheet, and that awareness revealed something awful.
As White seized the rock his character ceased to be a player character, and became something called a game master. Power swelled and grew, and all Bert knew was that White had somehow overcome the sky rock, exactly as he’d feared.
He no longer possessed a character sheet. Not really. White was a sort of avatar now. That character one of many, and he could simply make another one even if Bert were to somehow overcome him.
“I believe,” the necromancer crowed, “that I might do something cyberpunk-ish. Perhaps some epic space fantasy, ala The Magitech Chronicles. Then I can play an actual god.”
Bert had no idea what White was going on about, but the wave of power surging within the sky rock couldn’t be ignored. White had caused that to happen. White could use the sky rock, and the sky rock controlled everything in Bert’s whole world.
So what could Bert do about it? Was there anyone larger and more capable who might help? Bert glanced around for Kit, but she was still invisible. He looked up at the Eye of Soreness, but the eye had retreated to the top of the volcano, where it appeared to be avoiding notice.
No one was going to deal with this problem. So Bert needed to deal with this problem. But how? Everything he’d tried had failed. Every plan had been foiled. How had he beaten White last time? He’d altered his character sheet, which he had already tried.
But
