Wedding Games

Friday Night Killing Spree

Three hours later, I’m nestled into my gaming chair wearing a comfy pair of leggings and a baggy sweater, in the thick of another one of my regular Friday night killing sprees. For the past year, I’ve consistently ranked amongst the global top five ShadowStrike Legends solo players, beating out elite pro-gamers and neckbeard basement-dwelling shut-ins all over the world. 

In that time I’ve built up a reputation for myself as the mysterious Storm Elf weather mage ‘ValiantThunder,’ who drops into the game for a few hours every night, kills everyone in sight, then logs off until it’s time for more virtual bloodshed. 

Lots of players choose to join teams and squads, but I prefer playing solo. I don’t want to be held back by a group of arguing gamer-boys, although admittedly being on a team gives you a definite edge over solo players. 

On-screen, I flatten my avatar’s body against the outer wall of a dark stone tower as a party of Infernal Death Knights comes into view. Death Knights are a plate-wearing melee and tank class, tricky to kill but fun to fight. This particular team is a powerful, notorious squad - number six on the group rankings. 

If I kill even one of them I’ll have enough gold to buy that new diamond-handled longsword I’ve been eyeing in the merch store. And if I kill their whole squad, I’m guaranteed to level up and improve my solo ranking.

And they’ve made a deadly, stupid, absolutely noob-level mistake. 

Most experienced team players with their wits about them set up their own private Discord server, keeping their secret strategy conversations amongst themselves. But these idiots are logged into the public in-game chat, typing instructions to each other for all to see. All I have to do is take a quick glance at the chat overlay at the bottom of my screen to know their next move. Because we’re in close proximity to each other, their conversation is showing right up at the top of the chat for me - so their inane chatter is quick and easy for me to track without distracting me from the action.

AngelOfD00m: She's on the east flank, North Tower. Cast an 29+ Black Veil shield on my command, Swishy.

SwishyMcJackass: Nah. I need the mana to maintain my Blood Torrent armour. No way am I fighting that psycho b***h without protection. I’ve seen her stats. Get Z to do it.

ZTheZealot: f**k off Swishy. Cast the shield you f*****g p***y. That’s your job. Do it.

SwishyMcJackass: f**k you guys.

BloodWurm9: f**k you too, jackass. Now cast the shield.

AngelOfD00m: Now, Swishy.

SwishyMcJackass: Fine.

As he types the words, the group of four Death Knights is enveloped in a shadowy veil of protection, like a semi-opaque dome of darkness. I can easily get through it with my new Arcane Lightning arrows, but I doubt they realise that.

The lightning arrows are a super rare item, and I only got them last week after killing a particularly tricky level seventy four paladin. I’m not sure yet how far the news has spread, but I can assume this reckless group of idiots doesn’t know.

How they hell are they number six in the group rankings? The competition must be pretty sub-par right now.

The chat-window continues lighting up at the bottom of my screen, and I glance at their ongoing conversation.

AngelOfD00m: I’m casting Death Shroud in ten. Z, line up Obliteration. Wurm and Swish, I’m sending you each two dexterity and one strength boost. Go in with Unholy Scythes, but don’t get caught in the cross-fire. Got it?

SwishyMcJackass: Yes boss.

ZTheZealot: Affirmative.

BloodWurm9: Let’s pwn some wannabe gamer girl ass.

The best defence against an Obliteration attack from a level sixty two Death Knight is an offensive - so I stack up a Deadly Frost Storm, followed by an Inferno Fire Blast. 

I cloak myself with Ancient Mist, and cast Cloud Drift, stealthily floating up to the tower’s parapet, shielded from view by a flying buttress. Once I’m in position, I await their attack.

AngelOfD00m: ...3...2...1… NOW!

Right on cue, the leader casts his Death Shroud spell, and any damage they deal to opponents for the next thirty seconds will be tripled. Unlucky for them, there’s no way I’ll let a single one of their attacks land and deal me even one point of damage. 

They run as a group to the foot of the tower, and are momentarily confused not to find me in the position they assumed they’d cornered me into. They don’t even think to look up.

Towers like this are impossible to climb unless you’re Assassin or Thief class - and they didn’t bet on me having a Cloud Drift spell, another rarity in the game. 

They come right up to the tower walls. Just a few feet more and they’ll be in range…

Gotcha. 

I unleash a torrent of simultaneous attacks on the group from my vantage point high above them. The Deadly Frost Storm swoops in on tendrils of deadly ice, temporarily paralyzing the Death Knights while the Inferno Fire Blast hits in wave after wave, rapidly depleting the life force of all four opponents.

SwishyMcJackass: s**t! What the f**k! I’m frozen!

AngelOfD00m: We’re ok. She can’t take us below twenty percent life if we stay behind the Black Veil. Z, unfreeze us. I’m sending you mana to cast Death’s Release. 

ZTheZealot: Ok. Get ready.

My paralyzing spell is broken as the counter spell comes into play, and my opponents regain the ability to move and wield offensive magic.

I’m ready for them, though. Before even one of them can cast or draw a sword, I’ve notched a series of Arcane Lightning arrows in my bow, letting them fly in quick succession. They hit all four of their marks with ease, and each of my opponents is now below ten percent life - ripe for the harvest.

I could pick them off one-by-one from up here, but I’d rather go down there and finish them off in hand-to-hand combat. It’s only fair.

Drawing my silver dagger, I leap from the top of the tower, casting Feather Fall at the last moment to break my landing.

No sooner have I touched down than I’m already springing into action, plunging my dagger into the leader’s neck where his Shadow Armour is weakest. For a split second I imagine it’s my cheating ex-boyfriend Wyatt’s neck I’m plunging the dagger into, and I get the usual rush of satisfaction and contentment from that. AngelOfD00m’s avatar flashes red then crumbles into virtual silver dust. 

The chat window flashes at the bottom of the screen, and I risk a quick glance at it.

AngelOfD00m: f**k. I’M DEAD BOYS.

I take the opportunity, while his teammates are distracted and reading his message, to take out two more from his squad in a frenzied whirlwind of steel, muttering “f**k you, Wyatt,” each time as I deal the deathblow.

I can see the gold stacking up on the left side of my screen, along with the delicious sound effect of metallic coins clinking together. 

The final Death Knight standing - the one with the charming moniker ‘SwishyMcJackass’ - lunges clumsily at me with his scythe, swinging it in a low arc. I dodge it with ease, springing up into the air and landing behind him. My dagger is buried down to its shiny golden hilt in his throat before he even realises what’s happening. 

He crumbles to silver dust before me, and I sigh with contentment watching as the gold coins stack up on my screen and my level switches up from sixty seven to sixty eight. My defeated opponents, however, each go all the way back to level one. They’re still griping and arguing in the chat window, probably totally unaware that I’m reading every word.

BloodWurm9: Christ Almighty. I can see why they call her the Lady of Death. That was brutal.

ZTheZealot: It’s gonna take me weeks to get back up to level fifty one. Thanks a lot, Angel. Nice leadership back there.

AngelOfD00m: Don’t blame me. You should’ve been smarter with your attacks. 

SwishyMcJackass: Quit bickering boys. Just watch. I’m sending her a little present.

Although I have my chat settings on ‘view only’ - making me technically invisible and impossible to directly address on the public chat - I can’t stop other players sending me DMs. 

One of these pops up on my screen, from the lovely SwishyMcJackass, with the subject line:  ‘Open me,’ and a gift emoji.

As if. I wasn’t born yesterday.

That’s a malicious virus or a snippet of some nasty malware - just like every other DM sent to me by other players in this game.

I delete it, then summon a Storm Steed, a majestic winged stallion the dark blueish-grey colour of a dappled thundercloud, brilliant streaks of silver lightning sparking from his hooves as he cuts through the air. I jump on his back and we fly over the Woods of Drizzlewind towards the arena - my usual hunting grounds. As I enter the area, I see people warning each other of my arrival over the in-game chat overlay. 

HarmlessCupcake93: Watch out. ValiantThunder just dropped in.

SammyG: Lame. She’s killed me every night this week. I’m out.

PurpleHaze: Me too. Wanna go hunt goblins in the Northern Swamps?

Born2Kill: You guys are crazy. She’s level sixty eight. Think how much gold we’d get. I’m taking her out.

SammyG: Yeah, that’s what everyone thinks. Just hang back and watch. You’ll see. 

The moment I touch down to earth and jump from the back of my Storm Steed, players are already charging at me. Given my super high level and my notoriety as one of the ‘Top Five’, it’s as if I’m walking around with a target on my back.

Which suits me just fine.

I love it.

I don’t even need to come to them - they practically throw themselves onto my dagger, lambs to the s*******r. 

With each effortless kill I picture Wyatt, or at times, Lucas Bateman - my boss (or ex-boss, since the events of this afternoon) who stole my entire game concept after I presented it to him earlier this year.

“Die, Lucas, you pathetic scumbag motherf…” I mutter the obscenities under my breath as I obliterate an Undead Cleric with a lightning strike.

I guess that’s the real reason I enjoy gaming. Sure, the fantasy aspects appeal to my nerdy geek side - but I enjoy a lot of non-fantasy games too, like World War II first person shooters, sniper games, futuristic battle games and the like.

I revel in any game that’s super violent. Games where I can let loose that side of my personality that I keep tightly buttoned up in my normal day-to-day life.

My aggressive, assertive, confident inner badass. The real me - the girl behind the mask. She only comes out online. Never in the real world.

Being naturally shy and reserved in real life, I hate how easily I slip into what I think of as my nice ‘people pleasing’ act - always smiling and oh so nice, so polite, apologising even when it’s not my fault… acting like a doormat, basically, because I’m afraid of being rejected. 

That’s probably why Lucas thought he could just steal my game with no consequences. He assumed I’d be too meek - too spineless and submissive - do actually do anything about it. 

I had to really fight back my innate shyness to stand up for myself in my meeting with HR earlier today, and look where that got me. Now I don’t have my game, and I don’t have a job, either. 

And I’ll need money if I’m going to hire a lawyer and take WhiteStar Gaming Studios to court over the whole affair.

Money I don’t have.

I could always start up a Twitch channel, have people pay to watch me play. With my online reputation, I could make decent coin streaming my gaming. But I’m not sure that I’m willing to give up my privacy just yet.

There’s got to be another way. I’ll figure it out.

Until then, I’ll satisfy myself with taking out my bottled-up anger on elvish warlocks and barbarian orcs in this stupid make-believe fantasy land.

That’s good enough for now.

It’s got to be.