Author's Note: Here's that 2nd chapter I promised! A 3rd chapter may or may not come out in a few days!
An easy guide to the story (tells you what it means if I put things in bolded brackets, and stuff like that).
Spoiler :
EASY GUIDE TO THE STORY
(* *) means author's note (which I generally use to make comments as inside the story chapters).
[ ] refers to a skill or ability that is used. Right now there are no different markers for passive and active skills
'things in italics' Things in italics with the little apostrophe marks are someone's actual thoughts
***** If the asterisks form a small line and the next sentences start a line or 2 below it, it means either:
A) A change of viewpoint
OR
B) A time-skip
(which basically means stuff happened in-between 2 events, but I'm skipping over it to get
to whatever is happening in the present)
------------------------ Dashed lines in bold refer to where the chapter starts and/or stops
I'll add more if I do more things.
An easy guide to the different measurements (for people that are familiar with the metric system, and vice versa)
Spoiler :
GUIDE TO THE DIFFERENT MEASUREMENTS
10 feet is around 3 meters
1 mile is a little more than 1.5 kilometers
I'll add more if I find out more
Characters:
Spoiler :
Zhang: Arrogant, greedy, manipulative and smart, with a surprisingly protective side when it comes to Misa. Likes to play the warrior/tank role, but is actually an unspecified (no class), which means he is a jack-of-all trades. Thinks that Wahshi (although he calls him "Washy") is an NPC which will lead him to a great quest. Still, he won't hesitate to use him for his original intended purpose (to be a meat-shield) if things get too rough. Currently suspected of being over level 200
Misa: Bloodthirsty, sadistic and uncaring, except for when it comes to the people she likes (which currently includes only Zhang). Has the overpowered hidden class Sun Mage which is supposed to focus on peace and pursuit of knowledge. She uses it to do whatever she wants, which usually ends up getting her in trouble with the Sun Spirit, whom all Sun Mages are contracted with. A mysterious event involving at least herself and one other person seems to have shaped who she has become. Her Sun Mage powers are currently sealed, due to her misuse of them during the fight with the living trees. Currently suspected of being over level 200
Alexa: Cautious but with a good heart. A mysterious event seems to have caused Zhang and Misa to hate her deeply, but she still sees them as her 2 best friends who have been there for her for a long time. She struggles to try and make up for whatever happened in the past, causing her to more than once overlook Zhang and Misa's hatred and wrongdoings, even if it hurts herself in the process. Rogue-type player (actual class not mentioned yet). Currently suspected of being over level 200.
Wahshi: The Main Character. Real name Raes Bastion, framed for a crime he didn't commit and separated from his daughter while he was sent to prison for 20 years. What he wants to do now is earn enough money through the Virtual Reality game so that he can start searching for the daughter he lost, and maybe a little revenge on the way there against the people that framed him. Recently survived a trip through the Mist of Souls, which gave him abilities no other player has. He suspects that its not normal for a player to have started out that way. Currently an unspecified (no class). Currently level 1.
CURRENTLY:
Spoiler :
Managed to survive a battle with opponents that were over 60 levels above Zhang and his crew in the 2nd layer of the Boundary Forest. They have now somehow ended up in front of a Dragon the size of a mountain, which the MC's ability confirms, "It is either a Dragon, or a REALLY, REALLY big lizard with wings."
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No matter what my ability said, it was OBVIOUSLY a dragon.
This is what I get, I suppose, when I don’t switch my ability to Active.
Unsurprisingly, we were in another clearing. I was starting to get the idea that this forest wanted all of our major encounters to be in a clearing.
The only difference between the ones we were in before and the ones that we were in now, was the size.
The dragon itself was beyond huge. If you could see it from far away, you might mistake it for a mountain. THAT’S how big it is.
Its scales were a pattern of light and dark green; you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the tree canopy and its body if you saw it from above. Most likely you wouldn’t ever get a chance to see it from above though, since I doubt that there were people that could fly higher than a Dragon.
Obviously since the dragon was as big as a mountain, the clearing had to be bigger to surround it. It looked like miles and miles of an open environment, with nothing but grass and the sky.
There was nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide.
I didn’t need my ability to tell me that there was no way we could fight THAT and walk out alive.
Which was when I heard Zhang say,
“Alright, everybody back up as slowly and as quietly as you can.”
*********************
My armor suddenly seemed to weigh down on me ten times more as I looked up at the mountain that was a dragon. I’d already made up my mind about what to do. This time, I didn’t even need my [Observe] skill to tell me that there we would all get absolutely destroyed if we even tried to fight it.
Right now, the dragon’s head was near the ground, and its colossal eyes were closed.
‘God I hope that thing stays asleep.’
As if to warn me to stay away from the huge monstrosity, a blue box was floating right beside it.
NAME: &@$&*#----
Not even mentioning the fact that the name was hidden, the thing had freaking SKULLS for levels!
I am ZHANG!! It shouldn’t have to be like this! My face burned with shame as I felt my lips form the next words that were going to come from my mouth.
“Alright, everybody back up as slowly and as quietly as you can.”
Almost immediately after, the head which had been lying down on its forelegs facing us, suddenly let out a snort…
In a split second with a ROAR like thunder, emerald flames came out of its nose and flew just above our heads.
I slowly turned my head to look behind us….
And there was nothing.
We must have covered 4-5 miles walking in the forest between the last clearing, and this one now.
With a single snort, the Dragon had burned down a path through the forest behind us that looked like half the distance we’d covered, in less than a second.
I turned my head to look back at the colossal head, and immediately regretted it.
There was a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as I looked at the Dragon. And that was because it was looking back at me.
THE DRAGON WAS AWAKE.
***********
Sweat ran down the inside of my muddied robe as I stared at the Dragon. Anyone would’ve had the same reaction. I didn’t even have to turn around to know that everything behind us was probably burned so badly that not even ash was left.
If I had any chance of making out of this alive, I’d need to find out everything I could about this Dragon.
With that in mind, I mentally switched [Part the Mists] from Passive to Active.
Strangely enough, my Health and Mana gauge hadn’t disappeared yet like it was supposed to when someone enters a battle. So with a growing headache, I was able to see my Mana gauge drop from being 90% full (because 10% was needed for Passive) to 80% (because 20% was needed for Active).
When my health gauge dropped 5% for the rest of the requirements to use the Active effects of [Part the Mists], for some reason I felt like someone had just slapped me in the face. I guess you do feel the effects if your Health or Mana drops. I must not have felt it during the last battle because of all the adrenaline rushing through me at the time.
With all of that done, I finally took a good look at the Dragon, and more importantly, the floating notification window next to it. Now that I’d switched my ability to Active, there was no way that it would be able to hide any “falsehoods” from me, as my ability claimed.
Unknowingly, I held my breath as I took a look at the notification window.
IT’S DEFINITELY A DRAGON. NOT A BIG LIZARD WITH WINGS. JUST A REALLY, REALLY BIG-ASS DRAGON THAT JUST SNEEZED OUT GREEN FIRE THAT PROBABLY DESTROYED EVERYTHING BEHIND YOU.
DO NOT PISS IT OFF!!
I spat out the breath that I’d been holding.
‘Sh*t!! What the hell is wrong with this freaking ability?!’
I couldn’t accept it. The ability that I’d put so much effort into creating was useless?! NO!! I wouldn’t accept it!!
This time I switched my gaze over to Zhang.
ZHANGLEVEL: SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 200-250CLASS: NONE, BUT HAS DIFFERENT INVENTIONS AND ARMORS THAT LET HIM PLAY DIFFERENT ROLES. CURRENTLY KNOWN ROLES: SPEEDSTER (CAN DASH FORWARD AT EXTREME SPEEDS WITH A LARGE WEAPON), TOWER (A DEFENDER THAT CAN SOMEHOW USE ELECTRICITY TO MAKE HIS ARMOR SPLIT UP AND FLY IN A DOME-SHAPE TO PROTECT THOSE WITHIN)PERSONALITY: ARROGANT, GREEDY, INTELLIGENT, MANIPULATIVE AND PROTECTIVE OF MISA, ALSO HATES ALEXACURRENTLY: BELIEVES THAT THEY SHOULD DEFINITELY RUN FROM THE DRAGON AND IS THINKING OF A WAY TO DO SO. ALSO BELIEVES THAT WAHSHI IS AN NPC THAT WILL LEAD HIM TO A QUEST WITH GREAT REWARDS
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‘Holy cr*p!!’
Alright, obviously there wasn’t anything wrong with my ability. (Other than the fact that it might just be too over-powered!)
The problem was obviously with me, not with the ability. It was like giving a cave-man a rifle. He’d only see it as a stick to bash things with. After all, the description even said that it would gather information that I’d already known and remove any “falsehoods” from that. Clearly it would be useless if I didn’t already know something about what I was observing.
It took less than 4 seconds after the Dragon had shot his flames over our heads for me to have gone through all of this in my head.
I blame it on all the quick thinking I had to do in prison.
There were a lot of things that I’d found out just from looking at the screen about Zhang. If my ability was to be believed, then all of the information that made it onto the screen was 100% true.
‘If Zhang still thinks I’m an NPC, then that’s good. I can still trust them.’
It was right then that the Dragon chose to speak.
“IF YOU MOVE ONE STEP, I WILL BURN YOU SLOWLY WITH MY FLAMES. IF YOU CHOOSE TO FIGHT, I WILL THOROUGHLY CRUSH EACH BONE IN YOUR BODY UNTIL ONLY DUST REMAINS.”
The voice was like thunder crashing down on all of us.
Needless to say, none of moved. None of us said anything either. Except for Zhang, of course.
“Elder Dragon,” he called out. Immediately the dragon’s attention was focused onto him. He staggered under the weight of that stare. It was normal, because it was almost literally as if a mountain had come alive and focused on you.
I saw him clasp his right handed fist with his left hand and shook it, in what seemed to be some kind of greeting which conveyed respect.
Well, he looked Chinese, so it might have been for all I know. Funny enough, I knew more about an entirely different world than I did about a country on Earth.
He bowed from the waist up.
“We meant you no disrespect Elder Dragon. We apologize for any misconduct on our part. We were clearly in the wrong. However, I humbly ask for Elder Dragon’s forgiveness towards us, as we were merely lost on our way out of this forest.”
I didn’t even have to look at him to tell that being this respectful and humble was not easy for him. He was naturally an arrogant person after all, something which my ability had picked up on. Clearly he knew how to be respectful if he had to though.
The Dragon let out a snort. This time, only a small wisp of smoke came out of it though. Was his fire-breathing ability on a cooldown or something?
Suspicions should count as knowledge known or forgotten right? In that case, my ability should show whether or not his on the floating screen next to the Dragon.
MOUNTAIN-LIKE, GREEN-SCALED DRAGON. ONE WRONG MOVE, AND IT WILL KILL YOU. CURRENTLY KNOWN: HAS THE ABILITY TO BREATHE EMERALD FIRE.
ITS ATTENTION ISN’T ON YOU. IF YOU JUST “HAPPEN” TO TURN INTO THIN AIR AND DISAPPEAR, IT WON’T CARE ENOUGH TO HUNT YOU DOWN, AS LONG AS THERE ARE OTHER “THINGS” (ZHANG AND HIS PARTY) TO DISTRACT IT.
‘Hahaha! I can’t believe even my ability is saying that I should run and leave these people to be roasted alive like marshmallows for the Dragon. Since it says that the Dragon can still breathe fire, I’ll believe it too; but I won’t leave these people behind. I was wrong about them dragging me out here to kill me, since they still don’t know I’m a Player. Even though I don’t know what’s going on with their group to have them have what looks like some kind of internal strife, and they definitely have more than one personality problem, I think they’re good people.’
‘They wouldn’t just leave me here to die from a Dragon, so I won’t do it to them.’
My mind was made up. I wouldn’t leave them. If I had to die, it wouldn’t be so bad to die together with friends like these. (At least while I can revive anyway).
The Dragon’s voice thundered out again.
“BRAT!! YOU AMUSE ME WITH YOUR PATHETIC ATTEMPT TO HONOR ME WITH YOUR WORDS. AM I SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE THAT YOU WERE TRYING TO LEAVE THE FOREST, BUT SOMEHOW ENDED UP GOING CLOSER TO THE CENTER?”
There was a crashing sound like a rock slide that kept repeating itself.
Then I realized what it was.
THAT WAS THE SOUND OF THE DRAGON “SILENTLY” LAUGHING!
That was a good sign, right?
“VERY WELL. YOUR PATHETIC ATTEMPT AT BEGGING FOR YOUR LIVES HAS SUCCEEDED. YOU MAY LEAVE.”
Zhang was still bent from the waist in a bow to the Dragon, and at this he straightened up and started bowing again.
“Many thanks Elder Dragon! A thousand blessings on you and your family from the spirits above! We will take our leave now.”
Zhang turned around to face all of us. He gestured slightly with his head to start walking back the way we came from. I got the feeling that what he was silently trying to tell us all was, “Turn around and let’s get the hell out of here before that da*n thing changes its mind!!”
We all turned around slowly.
At the sight of what was behind us, or rather what was no longer there, my mind was sent reeling.
THERE WAS A CLEAR-CUT PATH BURNED THROUGH THE FOREST DIRECTLY BEHIND US WHICH WAS MILES LONG!!
It was more than obvious that it was the dragon’s flaming emerald snort that did this. Everything was quiet, and the only sounds came from us walking to the forest which was next to the black, molten path pointing out of the forest.
Why didn’t we just walk down that clear-cut path? Aside from the fact that the dragon would’ve seen us and could easily change his mind on letting us go, there was also the fact that the ground was still so hot that parts of it were still red and bubbling.
When the ground starts bubbling because of the heat, it’s a good idea not to step on it.
We didn’t even manage to set foot in the forest next to the path when suddenly…
“WAIT.”
The command exploded out like a bomb. We all froze, not even willing to turn around again just in case he considered that as going against his will.
“I WAS NOT FINISHED SPEAKING BEFORE. IF YOU WISH TO LEAVE, THEN ONE OF YOU MUST STAY BEHIND AS A TRIBUTE FOR YOUR MISCONDUCT IN DISTURBING MY REST.”
I could feel the gazes of everyone else burning into me.
‘No… they wouldn’t… would they?’
Suddenly, I was grabbed from behind by Zhang. He spun me around to face the dragon and kicked me in the back and sent me sprawling towards the emerald-scaled mountain with jaws that looked like it could swallow a small village.
“Elder Dragon! Please allow us to offer this man up as tribute! He was a person that claims to have fallen from the sky, from a strange and unique land! I am sure that he will not disappoint you in whatever way that you wish to use him. This, I, Zhang, can guarantee!!”
With that, the rest of the people I’d thought of as “friends that wouldn’t betray me” only a few moments ago, ran for the forest as fast as they could.
None of them had even thought twice about sacrificing me to save their lives.
Worse still, none of them had even bothered to give a glance back…
There was a smile on my face. But inside, I was cold, calm, and DARK. Because not even Alexa, the person that reminded me so much of my wife… No, EX- wife, had bothered to look back.
There was a burning sensation in my eyes, but I wasn’t crying. There were no tears, and no sign of sadness at all. There was only one thought left in my head.
‘Sarah. You betrayed me AGAIN!!’
At that thought, one of them turned around to look at me. Funny enough, it wasn’t Zhang or Alexa.
It was Misa, who even now my ability was telling me was a bloodthirsty, sadistic woman that had a frozen heart that only Zhang could shake.
Well, it might be because I’d switched [Part the Mists] back to Passive, but it looks like even my ability could be wrong. Zhang wasn’t the only one that could shake that icy heart of hers.
How do I know?
Because when she looked back at me, I saw her shiver and shake. So I know that I had shaken her heart.
WITH FEAR!!!
The last thing I saw was her fear-stricken face, before darkness swallowed me whole.
I didn’t even bother with [Mist Form]. I wanted to make sure that she got a good look at the person that died and would haunt their every step from this moment on!
**************
My mage robes were thin, but since they were enchanted with Solar Energy, I knew I couldn’t have been shivering from the cold.
It’s because I’d been looking back at the man we’d just sent to his doom.
It wasn’t because I saw him die as the man was crushed by a single talon from the dragon’s foreleg.
IT’S BECAUSE HIS EYES HAD BEEN TURNING BLACK WHILE THEY WERE BURNING HIS GAZE INTO US!
I had a bad feeling about all of this…
Zhang yelled through the [Party Chat].
“Misa, stop staring at where the f**king sheep died and run!!”
I tore my eyes away and followed Zhang back into the woods.
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Author's Note: Well, we're finally done with the MC following Zhang and his party around like a 3rd wheel. THAT'S RIGHT!! NOW HE GETS TO HUNT THEM DOWN!!!!
RATE/REVIEW/COMMENT, and let me know if you see any mistakes anywhere!!
Also, if you want to see what the Dragon's level looks like, here it is. It's 3 giant red skulls.
Dragon's Level:
http%3a%2f%2fep.yimg.com%2fay%2fstylinonline%2fpunis...ecal-7.jpg [http://ep.yimg.com/ay/stylinonline/punisher-small-skull-red-decal-7.jpg]http%3a%2f%2fep.yimg.com%2fay%2fstylinonline%2fpunis...ecal-7.jpg [http://ep.yimg.com/ay/stylinonline/punisher-small-skull-red-decal-7.jpg]http%3a%2f%2fep.yimg.com%2fay%2fstylinonline%2fpunis...ecal-7.jpg [http://ep.yimg.com/ay/stylinonline/punisher-small-skull-red-decal-7.jpg]