The night was still young, so he grabbed himself a quick bite to eat and then logged back on. Finding himself back at the last save point, it pained him to think that he had to finish that mission again.
System Alert!
You are in possession of three Spawn Stones targeted to the gates of Samsiel. Do you wish to activate a Spawn Stone?
Yes | No
Allan knew the town where his avatar had died yesterday wasn't far from Samsiel. He shrugged and selected 'Yes'. The stone gleamed an orangish red, and the colorful hue ensconced him. It glowed brighter and brighter, and then in a flash he stumbled as his feet touched new ground. A gleaming gate now stood before him, and the terrain had changed.
Turning around, he trekked back toward the settlement of Grimwell, knowing it would likely take him a few minutes to get there.
----------------------------------------
The earth rumbled under his feet which made him feel uneasy, his spear ready in his hands. His feet took him through an archway and into the silent village, its cobbled streets riddled with bodies of fallen monsters left in the wake of a supposed rampage. Silence filled his surroundings, making him shiver at the eerie habitat. It was a ghost town. No humans. No monsters. Not even those pesky rabbit-like mongrels. He would welcome the sight of them.
Despite its queer silence and the feeling of death all around, he still held his spear tight. He had no intention to die again and waste another stone. He just needed to find his friend. James was hopefully still here.
Something rustled in a nearby bush. Alert, he pointed his spear in its direction and took small steps towards the green foliage and readied himself for a strike. Yet that strike never came. Instead, a scantily-clad female with blond hair emerged from it. He relaxed a bit even though she still looked at him askance.
Her identity marker lit up on his HUD:@SuaveQueen25.
He mouthed his question. “Who are you? And what are you doing here?”
The girl looked at him with a straight face, refusing to answer, choosing instead to stay quiet.
Her silence began to irk him. Grunting, he moved away, getting the hint that she needed to be left alone. Yet, as he began to put some distance between him and the girl, he noticed the girl’s shadow following him. He turned behind to look, and confirmed that the girl was quietly stalking him, her head bowed, her eyes on the ground, her hands uneasily holding the hilt of her rusty sword. He sighed. She couldn’t kill a monster with that weapon.
She'd be lucky to bludgeon her opponents with that piece of garbage!
He shrugged and continued on his way, not caring whether she followed him or not. If she needed protection, he would do what he could, but he found no inclination to speak another word to her considering it would likely be met only with silence. He hated quiet. He disliked everything to do with it.
As if the dreariness of this place wasn’t enough!
He wished @SuaveQueen25 would talk. Something. Even if a small word. How much would a ‘hello’ cost her?
She looked at the buildings that began to hem them onto a narrow pathway with looks that he associated with paranoia. He couldn’t blame her. He too stared at them the same way, though less potent.
Just then, from the side of the road, he heard loud raucous cries that made him want to shut his ears, but he knew he couldn’t.
Threat Detected
A Rabbid horde is approaching. Do you wish to proceed?
Yes | No
Allan didn't even hesitate as he selected 'Yes'. Handling his spear as though he had learned from his previous mistakes, he waved it in front of him. All of a sudden, he seemed to have become a professional in everything to do with his spear. He gripped the steel shaft tightly and pointed its tip at the approaching horde.
The tiny little rabbit-creatures came first with their teeth bared, ready to tear through his flesh.
“Not this time!” he bellowed and slashed at one, drawing first blood.
Slash: Medium
Instant Kill
[+10 XP]
A smile leaped onto his face, but he did not lose focus.
Slash: Medium
Instant Kill
[+10 XP]
Impale: Medium
Instant Kill
[+10 XP]
A chime sounded from the sky and a new alert appeared.
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LEVEL UP!
[+1 Stamina]
Awesome! My character just reached Level 2!
He kept slashing and waving, stabbing and jabbing at whatever came nearby.
Slash: Medium
Instant Kill
[+15 XP]
Stab: Medium
Instant Kill
[+15 XP]
Slash: Easy
Instant Kill
[+10 XP]
None of those tiny little creatures ever came close.
Impale: Easy
Instant Kill
[+10 XP]
LEVEL UP!
[+1 Agility]
Wow! I'm rapidly leveling! Level 3 now!!
Stab: Medium
Instant Kill
[+20 XP]
One by one, the rabbit-like creatures met their end — nasty and well-deserved.
Slash: Medium
Instant Kill
[+20 XP]
He heaved, he jumped, and he showed off his admirable somersaults.
Stab: Difficult
Instant Kill
[+25 XP]
He killed, he maimed, and he drove his spear through gory flesh and torn up sinews.
Impale: Medium
Instant Kill
[+20 XP]
He drew blood, something that had annoyed him in the start. And with each kill, his confidence soared high.
Stab: Easy
Instant Kill
[+15 XP]
LEVEL UP!
[+1 Strength]
Adrenaline rushed inside him as he realized that in the past few minutes he had killed so many creatures that he'd already attained Level 4.
Just wait until I can rub this into James' smug face!
The adrenaline caused a heavy throbbing against the bones of his skull. He struck and waved, his spear slashing through the creatures.
Slash: Medium
Instant Kill
[+25 XP]
Slash: Difficult
Instant Kill
[+30 XP]
This game is SO easy!
Stab: Difficult
Instant Kill
[+30 XP]
So far he had escaped the onslaught without so much as a scratch. His health bar remained full, not once blinking. He felt happy that he was beginning to prove himself a formidable warrior.
To his side, the strange girl fought with everything she could. She had killed some of them with her rusty sword, but somehow in the middle of the onslaught she had lost her weapon. The creatures circled her, snarling and gnashing their teeth. Fear was evident on her face, but grit and determination too. She might be the silent one, but he could give points to her valor. She now held a wooden stick and wielded it like a club, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
It looked like she needed some help. He stepped forward with his spear ready to jab, when he heard a roar echoing through the air. He turned in the direction of the noise and an alert popped up.
Threat Detected: Level 5 FireBoar
HP| 500/500
Strengths: Sharp tusks combined with bursts of speed allow for impaling of players, and fiery breath can incinerate opponents within a 5 foot radius.
Weaknesses: [LOCKED]
The menacing monster had scarlet red eyes and two off-white tusks with sharp ends protruding from its open mouth. Its pink tongue breathed flickers of fiery red flames as though it were a dragon.
Well this looks fun!
He held his spear point towards the boar and hurled it at the approaching animal. The spear narrowly missed, eliciting curses from his mouth. He realized that he had thrown the spear too hard. Now the boar ran towards him with a pace that outmatched any pig he had ever seen. Its feet thumped on the ground so loud that the very earth grumbled under it. He sighed and readied himself for some hand-to-hand combat.
To his side, he heard screams. The Rabbid creatures had finally gotten their pound of flesh. The strange silent girl had been overwhelmed and the little monsters tore through her avatar. She had met her end.
“Aargh!” he yelled and braced himself for the boar’s onslaught.
The boar came at him and tried to impale him on its tusks, but he leaped aside just in time. The boar grunted and came to a screeching halt some distance away before it turned to lunge at him again.
He looked straight into its eyes and in that moment, his confidence turned into fear. Its fire singed the mud on the ground to reddish black.
Taking deep breaths, he leaned against a brick wall.
“Come on, come on,” he mumbled.
He wanted to get it over with. The sooner he could put this beast in its place, the sooner he could find his friend. It seemed that James was no longer in this settlement.
Perhaps he left? Or was driven away?
Whatever the reason for his absence, Allan suddenly felt like he had walked into a trap filled with monsters.
The boar came at him again and this time, and it succeeded in driving its tusks through his flesh with a burst of speed despite trying to evade it.
[-500 Damage]
Pain surged through him as his bar emptied with that single thrust the boar had succeeded in making.
GAME OVER
Cause of Death: Impale
His vision went black with a red tinge at the sides. His avatar’s eyes closed in the game and his screen then changed to the map of Conquest with that familiar progress bar counting down from ten minutes.
A groan escaped his mouth.
“Dang it!” he muttered.
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