Allan arched backward, his face contorted as he tried to push back @Killyou40times. All of a sudden, his rival came at him with a brute force. Allan staggered and fell to the ground, his collarbone hitting the ground first.
[-260 Damage]
Allan groaned as the virtual pain hit him at full force. His lifebar flashed critically low at 40/600. The man was about to finish him off and send him into a sudden in-game death when James dashed into him. A fight ensued between them - a proper sword duel.
Allan moaned again and stood up, his hold on the shaft of his spear clumsy. Blood trickled down the side of his arm, oozing out without stop. He wiped the warmth away with a swipe of his left hand, the crimson drops marking the ground below.
Huffing for breath, he strode towards the fight where even his friend seemed to be struggling against the man. Raising his spear, Allan gave a war cry and leaped into the fray. James struck first, then him. Turn by turn, they made the enemy retreat. Now, it was their opponent’s turn to be hard-pressed as they maintained the attack with renewed vigor.
Jab.
Stab.
[-20 HP]
Cut.
[-30 HP]
Slash.
[-10 HP]
Parry.
Jab.
And then with a final push, Allan drove the spear right through where his armor had broken asunder, and twisted on withdrawal. Blood trickled out the corner of the man's lips. @Killyou40times groaned and fell to the ground on his knees. The sparkle in his eyes now vanquished.
StabTwist: Difficult
Assisted Kill
[+60 XP]
Achievement Unlocked: Assisted Kill
You have taken down an opponent with the assistance of a guild member. You will each receive full XP allocations when using teamwork to take down a foe. This achievement will help with faster leveling as you help to improve your guild's stats.
Allan kicked the man’s limp avatar and his rival finally met the earth with a loud thud.
Congratulations!
You have defeated a Level 12 Boss Mage and all of his minions. In addition to your gained XP, for your bravery and prowess you will be rewarded with the following:
+5 Strength
+1 Stamina
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
+1 Intelligence
The system alerts came in rapid succession, and then a chime sounded from the sky.
LEVEL UP!
+1 Willpower
He breathed deep and looked into his friend’s eyes. Even he appeared to be utterly exhausted. Up above, the villagers screamed their bellows of victory. The village had been freed and all the monsters had either fled or been killed.
“So I take it all of those creatures were being controlled by that Boss?” Allan asked.
“It would appear so!” James remarked. “When I first arrived in the village, that was my suspicion. Intelligent monsters who could strategize? Unlikely. It would only be possible if they were modified by magic. All this smelled of mages. This one,” he pointed out the corpse, “was our mage. He was controlling these creatures. He was rather adept and much more knowledgeable of this place than either of us.”
Though it only lasted an hour, the raid was intense. It had taken all of their combined skills to beat the Boss, and the NeuReality was so real that Allan could almost smell the blood from their fallen opponent. A prompt suddenly appeared.
Opportunity Alert
Do you wish to loot your opponent's inventory?
***Disclaimer: only unlocked items are available to loot (item locking is a service only available to Premium Members)***
Loot Body | Leave Body
Allan selected Loot Body. A screen displayed showing the content of @Killyou40times’ inventory.
First and foremost, he attempted to take the sword to replace his measly excuse for a weapon, but he received an error.
Error!
This inventory item is locked.
He then attempted to take the armor, but he received the same error.
Lame.
He continued to scroll for any weapon or spell he could find. One of the items housed in the inventory had a question mark instead of an icon like the rest. Confused, he clicked on it. A milky-white colored stone materialized in the palm of his hand. He held it close to his face, studying the ancient runes carved on it with curiosity.
“What you got there?”
“I dunno.” Allan scrunched up his face, “Looks like an ancient artifact of some sort. Do you think it’s worth something?”
“I doubt it.” he scoffed, “I’ve learned that most things in the game that aren’t obviously a weapon are items that have been infused with some freaky dark magic. I’d stay away from it, if I were you.”
But Allan felt drawn to the curious artifact, “Thanks for the advice, but I think I’ll keep it.”
“Suit yourself. It’s your funeral.” he shook his head in disapproval, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Allan ignored him, and tucked the small stone away in his own inventory.
Congratulations!
The Seer Stone you now have in your possession offers unique insight to foresee the outcomes of future scenarios. Do you wish to activate this skill?
Yes | No
Intrigued, he pressed Yes, but nothing happened.
Okay, that was random.
After looting everything they could from the avatar's corpse, they wound their way up the slope. In front of them, smoke rose from inside the village, and its denizens were busy frolicking around with torches that they had acquired out of nowhere. Rotting, burning carcasses of the cross-breeds lay sprawled across the fields. In the eastern sky, the sun began to shower its light, a part of its curve smiling above the horizon. Dawn had come and Allan sat himself on a huge rock.
“I'm glad this fight is finally over.” he sighed as he absently scrolled through his HUD and eyed his friend James’s Level 14 with envy.
How did he achieve that level?!
“Dude!” he couldn’t resist, “How did you Level Up so quickly?”
A wry grin fell across James’s virtual face as he shook the blood off of his sword before sheathing it.
“Seriously, man? How did you do it?”
“Nothing really.” his friend smirked, “It helps I haven’t died, unlike you.”
“Well, this was really fun but I’m exhausted. I really need to log off and get some sleep.” Allan said.
“Same.” James agreed. “Same time tomorrow night?”
“I can’t.” Allan smiled, “I’ve got dinner plans with Lily.”
“Okay, no worries.” he shrugged, “Some other time then.”
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