A wave of ice exploded out from me in 360 degrees. It smashed into the ankles of the two rogues and the two guards, freezing them in place. Over each of their heads, a status indicator floated:
Rooted (15 seconds)!
(Damage has a chance to break this effect)
The skill I had just used was called [Freezing Wave]. The description read:
Freezing Wave (Rank: 5)
Cost: 25 (+5 per rank) Mana Points
Required Level: 5
Required Intelligence: 15
Cooldown: 60 seconds
A wave of ice flashes out in a radius of [Intelligence / 25 + 0.5 meters per skill rank] meters. Current radius: 6.5 meters. This wave of ice will root all surrounding enemies for [3 * skill rank] seconds. Current root time: 15 seconds. Damage has a chance to break this effect.
Osgoth’s eyes were wide in surprise. He and Ysillith struggled to break their feet from the clutching ice, and nearly fell over for their efforts.
“What the hell?” Osgoth muttered.
“You stupid damsel! I’m camping your corpse for the rest of the fuckin’ night!” Ysillith shouted.
I was stunned motionless - not by Osgoth’s skill - but by my own surprise. A part of me hadn’t expected that to work. I had imagined they would resist the skill, or have some way to break the effect immediately. When they didn’t, I realized that I only have a handful of seconds to get away.
I started for the door. There was a path around the guards' swords, but it would take me near Osgoth. Still, I thought the guards would be easier to block, and I didn’t want Osgoth to hobble or stun me again. So I moved to pass in between them, staying out of Osgoth’s reach.
But as I started to flee, he aimed his pistol at me again, ignoring the ice pinning him in place. In a snap decision, I pointed my poleaxe and ran at him like one of those charging Civil War soldiers with their bayonets. I may have even shouted in desperate fear as I did so.
The flesh of his abdomen parted easily, and the lack of resistance as my weapon punched through his guts and out his back nearly knocked me off balance. I was face-to-face with him now, my poleaxe completely pushed through to my hands. A shocked grunt burst from his lips, and his eyes were wide in surprise. The health bar above his head flashed to red, then zeroed out. His body collapsed backwards, his feet still locked in place. The weight nearly dragged me down, but I was able to use my strength to pull my weapon from him with a wet squelch.
A series of notifications flashed in the corner of my vision, then automatically minimized into my notification icon. A pile of gold and a severed hand zipped into my inventory, but I didn’t bother to check the amount.
I turned to bolt out of the shop, when a spike of pain stabbed into my shoulder blade. I staggered forward, thrown off balance by the attack.
(Ysillith - Rogue)
You have been poisoned by [Poisoned Blade of Shadow]!
Effect partially resisted (35%).
-13 Health Points/sec (Duration: 20 seconds).
I looked over my shoulder and saw a small dagger embedded in my upper back. Ysillith must have thrown it. I looked at the rogue behind me. He was reaching for another dagger, poised to throw again. Over his head, the rooted status only had 4 seconds left. I thought about turning back and killing him like I had Osgoth, but if I did that, the guards would be free from their root, and I wasn’t confident in my ability to take them. What if the fighting summoned even more of the guards? They would overwhelm me until the two rogues could respawn - and they wouldn’t take me so lightly on the second try.
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So, I turned and ran.
A dagger pinged over my already wounded shoulder, missing and bouncing off the wall harmlessly.
“You little motherfucker!” Ysillith shouted at my back.
I flipped him my middle finger over my shoulder as I raced past the guards. As I burst out of the shop, I noticed a few players within my own faction watching me with surprise on their faces. I ignored them and kept running, because there were others not from my faction watching the scene. And, to top it all off, the guards that had been milling about turned to me as one, and began marching towards me. They were moving at a jog, so I would be able to outpace them, but if Osgoth or Ysillith managed to hobble me again, I would be a sitting duck.
I sprinted out of the town, making for the jungle. I didn’t dare slow to look behind me as I broke through the treeline. After a few moments, my nameplate stopped flashing, and I realized I was officially out of combat and not being chased by the guards.
Just the players, I assumed.
An after combat report appeared in my vision, but I waved it away. My skill level in axes and pole-based weapons had gone up significantly from my brief glance at the report. I would have plenty of time to look at the details later…if I survived.
Once I was a few meters into the jungle, I cut an angle, running parallel to the treeline to throw off any pursuers, and to observe the town. I was about 15 meters from where I had initially entered the jungle, and I crouched down to observe the exit I had just ran from.
I was certain that my nameplate wouldn’t give me away at this distance, though I wasn’t entirely sure if Osgoth or Ysillith had any tracking skills. But the thought of running blindly in the jungle with two stealthed rogues at my back scared me to death. Never knowing if they were watching, if they were close or far. I think I’d rather fight than deal with that anxiety.
I watched the town for a couple minutes, and when neither of the rogues appeared, my anxiety peaked regardless. I had assumed that Ysillith would come charging after me, confident in his ability to take me out despite my one skill. But perhaps he was more cautious than I had thought. I suppose he didn’t know if I had other skills to fall back on. That would decidedly change the prospects of taking me out.
After another minute, both rogues broke from their stealth at the entrance of the town. Ysillith must have waited for Osgoth to run back from the graveyard and respawn. They started talking to each other, and their voices carried over the clearing between the town and the jungle.
“Man, I gotta go. The school charges extra if I’m late,” Osgoth was explaining.
Ysillith stomped his foot in anger, like a child. “Dammit, Os’. I can’t believe you’re gonna let this damsel run off with your gold and a goddamned trophy!”
Osgoth shrugged. “I still don’t understand how the hell a damsel is running around at all! With armor and weapons…and skills, for fuck’s sake. I’m gonna file a ticket with Customer Service when I get back. Maybe they’ll replace the gold I lost.”
“That’s a waste of time,” Ysillith said with a dismissive wave. He turned now, his eyes seeming to scan the tree line. He cupped his hands to his mouth, amplifying his shout. “Au revoir, Shoshana!”
A shiver traced up my spine. Were they saying this for my benefit? I wouldn’t be surprised if the plan was to get my guard down, then sneak through the jungle until they found me.
But after a moment, they fist bumped, and Osgoth took on the distinctive shimmer of a player logging out. When he had fully disappeared, Ysillith took one last longing look at the jungle, before turning around and heading back into town.
A minute later, I saw him flying overheard, heading away from town on the flight master’s mount. He had actually decided to leave.
The relief hit me like a punch, and I sagged against the tree I had been hiding behind.
That had been way too close. Even closer than my brush with the lagoon creatures, and that had felt like it had taken years off my life. I wondered if this life, this second chance, was worth it? What was the point of living if I was constantly on my guard, constantly on the verge of a panic attack, constantly fighting for my life?
But then a sudden anger appeared out of nowhere, bubbling to the surface. I deserved to live. They may not have realized that killing me would be permanent, but they had still got some sick pleasure from tormenting me. Realizing that I was an actor - a real person, and not some lifeless NPC - had only enhanced their pleasure.
I could give up, beg Al to let me live the rest of my days in Null Space, safe and cozy, with all of life’s pleasures at my fingertips. But the thought of glutting myself on snacks and video games for the rest of my life, hiding from this world, was eerily reminiscent of my previous life. What was the point of a second chance if I just ran it back, tried the same damn thing that made me unhappy in my first life?
No, this time would be different, I resolved. The only way to make this second chance count was to try something different. Stop being the victim.
And to do that, I needed to get stronger. Much stronger. Strong enough that no one ever fucked with me again.