Use Rage? Yes/No?

  (A Rage attack will use two energy per rage level to allow a critical strike equivalent to two times attack times modifier of unblockable damage to your opponent. You may not act on your next turn.)

  Flor glanced at her rage level, which was already fairly low from all her time with Ametz, then at her energy, which was still surprisingly high. Flor selected Yes. She saw her arms pulse through a rainbow of colors. As if out of her control, Flor flowed forward, landing punch after punch on the guard, still preparing his taunt. The third punch took him to the ground. Flor observed this event as if she wasn’t connected to her avatar yet continued punching. His helmet rolled off. She was certain there would have been a pool under his head if this had been a bloody game.

  Flor was sucked back into her avatar, and the interface overtook her again. The guard didn’t seem as if he could move, though Flor was appalled by the brutality that had just occurred. She thought she understood why Maelstrom would puke and pass out. The combat turn rolled over. Still, the guard didn’t move, although since there wasn’t the usual skull over him, he didn’t seem dead. From the background, the lady looked annoyed and impatient.

  Flor wanted to trade out with Alastair and have him finish this up. She looked down at his silly little cartoon and realized she missed him. Oh, goodness. Flor looked over and saw that the rage button was no longer pulsing, so that wasn’t an option. But worst case, she’d die for the day, Alastair would take over and also die, then this lady would stop Sparks, then an incapacitated Maelstrom. Then they would repeat this tomorrow, with better preparations and the ability to fight against such shenanigans. Perhaps Galoots would even survive and be around to help them out.

  She looked through her combat gem board again, eager to find something. The board was unusually filled with healing green gems, which Flor had to avoid. Then she saw the skull and crossbones. Flor wondered how much it would disable her since the critical always took a turn to line up. The skull critical caused a delay before an attack, and the rage critical occurred after the attack. The lady didn’t appear to have a magic attack queued up, so Flor checked if she could swap the target. She could. She switched targets and then selected the skull and crossbones.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  The lady looked surprised, then critical, and another purple glow formed in her hands.

  Flor struck out brutally, fists flying and crashing into the face of the woman in front of her. She had been detached during the brutal attack on the guard, but she experienced and felt every blow land. The lady folded to a knee in the gut, and then Flor felt a crack as she landed an uppercut to the chin. The lady flew back a meter and landed askew. Similar to the guard, the lady didn’t move.

  Combat complete! +4 to Combat!

  Complete combat again? Yes/No?

  Alastair said, “So, will you tell me about the rainbow glowing thing? But seriously. That was awesome!”

  “Do you want to check on Sparks or Maelstrom?”

  “I’ll check on Sparks.”

  “Sure. Hey, Alastair?”

  He turned and Flor grabbed his robe, pulled him in close, and kissed him thoroughly. She was sure he was shocked, but then sunk into it.

  After a moment, she relented. “I’m pretty sure I’m ready to be back with you, and I’m really excited to get out of this game.”

  Alastair seemed tongue-tied, but he nodded.

  Flor walked over to Maelstrom, who seemed less green and breathing consistently. Flor asked, “What caused you to pass out after that?”

  Maelstrom didn’t answer so Flor walked to the table where Sparks was stuck in the interface. She seemed to be concentrating hard.

  Alastair reached over and took her hand. She squeezed it. Then he said, “How fast are we going to exit this game?”

  “Now that I know how to direct my rage, I might be willing to stay a few extra days, especially if we are going to get a few thousand dollars out of it.”

  He squeezed her hand back. “Okay. You say the word, and we’ll exit, though.”

  Sparks blinked and came out of the interface.

  Congratulations! You have beat the Keep!

  Congratulations! You have leveled up! You can select a class.

  Congratulations! You have beat the alpha test of PuzzleLocked!