As I approached the town, I slowed down. There were several people staring at me, and I didn't want to draw any more attention than I already had.

When we passed through the gates a wave of fatigue swept through my body. I had to resist sitting down in the middle of the street. My legs were especially sore. Sprinting as a shambler, even for short distances didn't help my abilities. We were more of a long-haul kind of traveler.

Before I could topple over from exhaustion I found a building with some shade and leaned against it.

Molly solidified in front of me, her hand on my shoulder. “What did you do back there?

“What do you mean?” I asked.

She pushed me, and despite her size, it made my body rock. “Whatever you did, made me want to touch you.”

My eyes slowly drifted to her hand and she tentatively pulled away.

I said, “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Don't lie!” she challenged.

As I recovered she stared at me. She could feel it when I used my power and I didn’t know what to tell her. “Why would you want to touch me?”

“You had to have done something,” she said. Her hands went to her hips and a pout formed on her mouth.

There was no way I would tell her anything. “Don't know what to tell you.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and descended to the ground.

The streets of Chardance were busier than I’d ever seen them. Enlightened and Hexed were everywhere. When I looked closer, most had little to no armor. They were new to the realm.

Unsurprisingly, I didn't see any shamblers. Seeing one outside the gates had given me hope that we weren't completely doomed.

I pushed off the wall and ignored Molly as I headed down the street.

Many of the newbies stared at me. Although I was covered from head to toe, my figure was still feminine. I wasn't sure about the male-to-female ratio since I only ventured into the city when I needed to sell extra equipment. Today it was overwhelmingly skewed in the masculine favor though.

“There really are a lot more people today, aren't there?” Molly said.

Her voice surprised me but she was too busy people-watching to notice.

We made our way to the shopping district. The architecture of the buildings was what you might expect to see in a medieval fantasy. Everything was made of stone, with thatch roofs and small glassless windows. Instead of there being alleys between the buildings they were walled off. It made sense since we were in the mall at the center of our real-life city.

Some but not all of the stores worked as a seller in both worlds. Most places were automated but since Dark Offerings was a mixed reality experience they needed someone on the premises or in VR to help customers.

There was something I was curious about so I stopped. “Molly?”

“Yeah?” She looped an arm around my leg swinging her body so she was in view. The way she casually held on made me wonder how effective my skill might be toward other Hexed races.

I kneeled so that I was face-to-face with her. “How do you hunt?”

“In a party or solo?” The most wicked grin I'd ever seen spread across her face.

“Both?” I said.

She pushed away from my leg and walked a short distance before turning. “In a party, I act as a controller. I force people to fight mirror images of themselves to keep them distracted while the skeletons move in for a kill.”

“So you’re an illusionist?”

She put her head down. “Kind of. The mirror image is attached to a…” The last part of her sentence fell off into the unhearable range.

“What?” I asked.

Her eyes flicked up at me and then away again. “Shambler.”

A part of me felt betrayed.

“Look, I know what you’re thinking, but my zombie friends actually enjoy it. They even practice evasion so they can dodge and make themselves harder to hit,” she said.

The reason I didn’t join parties was that they were always so closed-minded about us and didn’t think about the bigger picture. “So you’re a what?”

“A Banshee,” She said.

“That’s what it says?” I lowered my voice. “On your info page?”

She nodded.

All this time, I’d been working to unlock a class other than shambler but it felt like it would never change. It would be easier if we had claws or super strength. Instead, we were stuck with normal fingernails and forced to use our fists.

“What about when you fight solo?” I asked.

She lifted her face and she made eye contact with me again. That evil grin returned too. “It's harder alone, but I use illusions and my scream to stun them. Then I can easily use this to kill them.” She pulled a curved dagger with a wicked-looking edge out of a sheath on her belt. It was translucent like her.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

“Is that a normal dagger?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No, it's an unholy relic.”

That would explain why it became transparent like her. Relics weren't like normal or magical items. They were extremely rare.

“Where'd you get it?” I asked.

“I got it in a cave by—” Her head quickly turned to her weapon, and she stopped her explanation. She stood there for a moment staring at it, and then put it away. “It was just a cave.”

“Okay…” I said. “What can it do?”

Her smile returned. “Stab things.”

“Yeah, but does it do anything magical?”

She shook her head and glanced at it again.

I wasn’t convinced, but it didn’t seem like I would get anything else from her, so I stopped the questions. Then, I had an idea.

“I found this recently,” I said as I held out the new glowing sword the woman dropped earlier.

Molly moved closer, inspecting it. “That looks familiar. Where'd you get it?”

“A warrior I killed dropped it,” I said.

“Wait, did it happen to be a girl in plate armor with a dwarf as a friend?” she asked.

How she knew that, I had no idea. “Yeah…”

“Put it away!”

I did as she asked.

“We need to get that thing looked at right now.” Without another word, she grabbed my hand and pulled.

I stood, and she yanked my arm until I started moving down the street in the direction of the identifier's hut.

Coincidentally, that was where I was already going. Almost every piece of loot that dropped would need to be appraised before I could sell it. The appraiser was also the identifier which made things much easier.

If there weren't walls, the hut would probably be considered a tent. It was small enough to be one. The front of the building was open-faced, and we walked directly to the counter.

A large Orc adorned with a green outfit welcomed us. Its clothing looked like something from a 1950's series my parents would watch. Dark red skin poked out of his sleeves, showcasing his giant hands. When it took him longer than expected to help us, he turned and said, “Be wit’ you lot in a minute.” His voice came out with a lisp due to the large protruding fangs embedded in his lower jaw.

Waiting wasn't much of an issue. There was still plenty of time to slip a few more hunts in. As long as I got this done quickly.

“Sorry bout the ‘old up,” The appraiser said while eyeing me.

Molly's face lit up. “Hey, Victor.”

The man turned and grinned. “Litl’ Molly, ain't seen you around in a bit. Ow’s the family?”

“Good! I'll make sure to tell my Gran to give you a call,” she said.

Victor put a hand on his stomach and then looked at me. “Make a new friend?” He leaned in close. “Is it someone I know? Can never tell wit’ dem blasted disguises.”

“This is Inith— Inath—”

“Inethiel,” I said.

Suddenly, the whole hut shook as Victor slammed a hand onto the counter. “You finally went and found another undeaddie!”

I stepped back and checked my surroundings. No one was around to overhear the conversation, so I relaxed.

“I have other undead friends!” Molly said.

“Dey always be quitting on ya, don't dey?”

Molly deflated, lowering herself, so only her eyes showed above the counter. “Yeah.”

“Not to worry, wit’ the patch ‘ere's been lots more around. You dedicated to the undead?” The big man directed his question at me.

I curled my lips into a smirk. My mask mimicked my expressions. “More than dedicated.”

A ruddy brown eyebrow raised on the orc. “You got a good one ‘ere Molly.”

“I hope so,” she said as her eyes locked on mine.

“So ‘ow can I ‘elp you two today?”

Molly's demeanor changed instantly. “Can you show him?” She looked at me.

The sword appeared in my hands, and as I set it on the counter, the weapon wouldn't stay. It was like it was stuck to my hand.

“Is ‘at— it is! Ole Kumo ‘as taken another victim it seems,” Victor said.

Molly floated backward and spun in a circle. Her dress flared and then slowly drifted back down. “I knew it!”

“Why can't I drop it?” I asked.

“Lass, I'd like to introduce you to Kumo’s Fang. It's cursed, you see,” he said.

It danced around as I attempted to shake it loose. I’d heard about cursed weapons before but never encountered one.

“‘Old still a moment,” the Orc said.

There wasn't much else I could do so I stopped.

Victor took out a scroll with green runes spread across the page, he muttered a few words, and they disappeared. He then hovered his hands a few inches above the sword. “You been busy, Kumo.”

This time he pulled out a scroll with purple runes but compared the two before using the scroll.

“What's wrong?” I asked. Though I never talked to Victor before, I knew what was happening. He was trying to find the appropriate powered spell to identify it.

He rolled the paper back up and pulled out a book this time. There was a small pink tag sticking out of the pages, and he flipped to it. Glowing gold runes made me squint and shade my eyes because they were so bright.

“Normally,” Victor eyed me and then swapped to Molly, “the price for a spell like ‘is one would be quite lofty. But being ‘at your Molly's friend, it'll cost you double!”

“What!” Molly yelled.

My mouth dropped.

Victor pointed at me. “The look on your face!” A roar of laughter erupted from him. It sounded animalistic.

It surely wasn't as funny as he thought it was. I put on my best haggling face.

“I know ‘at look! You been ‘ere a lot. Never say a word, I figured you was mute,” he said.

Instead of responding I lifted the sword. It was a lot lighter than what the thick blade made it look.

“‘It a nerve did I?” When I didn't respond he turned to Molly. “Careful of ‘er. ‘Er temperaments a bit strong.”

Molly glanced at me and giggled. “I will be!”

Victor mumbled something under his breath and the runes in his book became even brighter. Every nook and cranny inside the hut was suddenly visible. After a moment passed everything darkened. The lettering slowly dimmed until it only looked like ink on the page.

“Whoa,” I said. Spellbooks with spells that strong were exceedingly rare since they were re-useable.

Victor’s lips spread with a smile, but it was soon gone as he hovered his hands over Kumo's Fang.

The web on the guard of the weapon glowed gold as a dozen pinpricks of light was added to the cross sections between the strands. Each small beam faded and turned into a small person. There was one in the middle that looked remarkably like a shambler.

“Every person ‘ere was cursed by ‘is blade.” He tapped a finger on a few people. “And you are—”

Suddenly the spider scurried across the top of the guard and stopped over the shambler. Its little head clamped down, and I felt a burning sensation spread throughout my body.

From the shocked expressions on Molly and Victor's faces, neither expected the sword to fall from their sight.

I barely noticed I was staring up at them as the world faded away.

***