Orc Wars 2 : Lazarus

Chapter 83 - Standing Strong

Jace took off his gaming head gear and ran a hand through his dark damp hair. Although he knew he was physically alright, he couldn't help running a trembling hand down each leg checking to confirm his limbs were whole and unbroken. No, there was no crazy pain. His legs were a little numb from being still for so long but other than that they really o'kay. The Game was too real. He let out a shaky breath.

For a while, Jace sat dumbly on his mattress letting his mind calm down from his latest gaming session. The cold sweat was drying up and his body's reaction to the horrible experience was subsiding. He did not know if he could log in again anytime soon. The orc world was savage, brutal and totally insane. It was beyond comprehension. Even if Simtrixx wanted to create an authentic atmosphere, shouldn't they have limits? Humane limits? Jace shuddered at the memory of his torture. He had to admit to himself, he had wanted to quit. He could have, would have quit there and then if it had not been for Constantine.

Only Constantine's presence had unknowingly stopped him from leaving the Game. He couldn't bring himself to abandon the warlock in captivity like that. Who in his right mind would endure the crazy torture and pain to find an elusive maybe non-existent cure for a NPC? Even if the NPC was Anya, his beloved wolf? It was logically ridiculous. Seriously, it was not worth pursuing. The money Simtrixx was paying him for his gaming hours could not be compared to the mental stress it was putting him through. Only a madman would continue playing right? Right, he answered himself.

Still ... he had to admit, it was exciting. It was beyond his wildest imaginations. It would be awesome if he could explore the exotic place without his health hanging over him. The urgency of his personal quest was preventing him from wholly appreciating the new world. It would also have helped if they had not gotten into trouble so soon after crossing, he thought ruefully.

He pulled his legs up to hug his knees and closed his eyes. He felt conflicted. Jace let his heart and mind fight it out. It was not logical to keep on playing but the lure of the game was too much. The abilities his avatar had, the awesome virtual experience and his friends. The new orc realm, just waiting to be explored. He caught himself longing to go back in.

"I must be going insane."

As the immediate effects of the intense session wore off, Jace snorted at himself, shook his head and started laughing. He must really be going crazy. Of course he was not giving up Orc Wars, especially when he had a clue now. Sharak was working on something when he died, he just had to find out what. Also, he would be more prepared now that he knew what the orc world offered. But seriously, it was going to be much harder to logon now.

Suddenly, loud electric guitar chords wailed into the air, jerking him out from his troubled thoughts. Jace reached for his phone and glanced at the caller's ID.

"Hey Lorenzo."

"Hello! Hello!!" came the excited reply. "Did you see me? I mean, did you see how awesomely stupendous I was in there?"

Jace couldn't help it, the corners of his mouth turned up. "I was there too you know ..."

"I know and by the way you were awesome too but I was ahhh!! How do I say it? I was phenomenal!!" Lorenzo laughed happily, satisfied at his own description. "The way we killed them all!! Let's go do that again!!"

Jace shook his head smiling, Lorenzo was even crazier than him. He wanted to go back in again, so soon? The thrill of annihilating the orcs must have erased his memory of his torture. Didn't he remember being shackled, cut and whipped? Constantine had almost died too.