Kazuya leaned on the building roof, protected from the afternoon sun by the chimney. He was in. Yutis royal capital smelled. Less than other places, but the hygiene of these people was awful. Even more so that he crossed the wall near the slums. This low-class side where the river exited the town carried away all the waste and was an open-air sewer. But it was not time to worry about public sanitation. He was near his objective. Rescue the kidnapped girls and deliver justice to the slaver.
He only needed one more big NPC to level up, and he would be able to finish this ridiculous quest chain.
"
The floating window appeared in front of him.
Name: Kazuya Class: Death Assasssin Level: 28 Race: Human (Fallen) Age: 17 Exp: 98.2% Strength: 43 Agility: 127 Dexterity: 90 Stamina: 34 Endurance: 31 Vitality: 37 Intelligence: 24 Wisdom: 27 Charisma: 36 HP: 2,875 / 8,950 MP: 1,757 / 7,200 Stamina: 654 / 4,500 HP Regen: 0.002/s MP Regen: 0.00012/s Stamina Regen: 0.00015/s Attribute Points: LOCKED Skill Points: LOCKED Shop Points: LOCKED
He was weak. Low on resources and it would take months to recover them. His only hope was leveling up. However, the last 10% of every level was a bitch. He would stop getting EXP from minor kills. He had to go for the big game. And save resources. He didn't know what the change in his race meant, but he didn't care.
"
[Shadow Stalker] - level 9 passive.
Grants a correction of 90% to stealth checks in areas of dim light.
[Shadow Travel] - level 5 active.
Cost: 200MP. Allows the user to travel between shadows in line of sight, up to 50 meters away. It takes 3 seconds to move in or out of the shadows, and 1 second of travel time for every 10 meters. Travel is blocked by areas of bright light. You can take one willing or unconscious passenger with you.
[Dark Ripper] - level 3 active.
Cost: 500MP, 200ST - Next attack causes 65% weapon damage if successful. This damage cannot be healed by any means.
[Bleed] - level 4 passive.
Attacks have a 40% chance of causing a bleeding wound, dealing 40% more weapon damage over 5 seconds.
[Twin Slash] - level 6 passive.
Grants a 30% chance on each attack to trigger a second shadow attack.
[Evasion] - level 10 passive.
Increases the chance of evading a physical or magical projectile attack by 20%.
[Assassinate] - level 2 passive.
Attacks on unaware or immobile targets have a 10% chance of causing instant death. Otherwise cause 50% extra damage and have an extra 10% chance of causing a critical.
[Magic Resistance] - level 9 passive.
Grants a 45% resistance to the effects of a spell. For binary effects, grants a 45% chance of resisting the spell.
[Shroud of Shadows] - level 7 toggleable.
200MP + 50/minute - Resists 35% of all physical and 70% of all magic damage (before magic resistance) at the Stamina cost of 15% of the resisted damage.
[Critical Rate UP] - level 10 passive.
Grants +20% to weapon critical rate and +100% to critical damage.
[Poison User] - level 10 passive.
Grants a 100% chance to identify poisons. Grants a 75% resistance to the effects of poisons. User can create, manipulate, and wield poison without a chance of afflicting self. Attacks with a poisoned weapon have a 50% chance of causing their poison status.
[Shadow Clone] - level 10 active. Unique.
1,000MP - Creates a shadow clone with half your maximum stats. Clone can use any skill you know. You can only have one clone active at a time. You do not gain EXP for the clone kills. Clone is destroyed by bright light.
He closed his eyes and allowed himself to sleep under that shadow. Tonight he was going to strike. What Kazuya really wanted was to go back home. Meet Shinji. Never again play medieval VRMMOS. Sue the developers of this shitty game he was trapped in. And eat the food of his homeland.
He woke up and it was already night. He could still hear the bustle of the people going on their nightly business. Drunkards stumbling and harassing others. Pickpockets alleviating people, mostly those drunkards, of unneeded coin. Prostitutes soliciting their wares. Some fight bursting out of a tavern. The nightlife in the Kingdom of Light was very lively, fueled by the rudimentary street lighting. The dark-clad Japanese teenager flew from roof to roof, uttering a mental complaint to the hyper-realism of this simulation.
As he left the seediest parts of town and approached the noble district, the scenery changed. Ladies in teahouses gossiping. People in high school uniforms similar to those seen in some anime. Guards going around, patrolling the streets. Making sure the elite is safe. He considered taking on some of these guards. They might give good EXP. However this was a capital city. The aggro range of these NPC would be huge. He was tired, low on resources. If he dragged a huge fight, he would have to spend his precious little MP to escape.
He needed to level up. He'd die anyway if he didn't level up.
Kazuya waited until the guard patrol of four entered an alley, forcing the men to walk in a single line. He dropped down on the one at the back, his twin black Katana ready.
Critical Hit. Instant Kill. You gained 0.035% Exp
"James!" One of the guards shouted as he felt the body of his coworker hit him. He turned and drew his sword.
Kazuya waited for no one. He lunged forward and stabbed the guard before he could draw his sword.
You dealt 187 damage. Target is Poisoned. -10 HP/s for 1 minute Target is Bleeding. -15 HP/s for 5 seconds. Twin slash triggered. You dealt 174 damage.
"It is the otherworlder!" The guard shouted, and attacked. Kazuya dodged.
"
You dealt 137 damage. Target is Paralyzed for 1 seconds.
The other two guards were already prepared. One of them had a sword and shield, not a good combination for this narrow alley, but the other had a horn.
Kazuya shoved the paralyzed guard aside and to the left, putting the man in the path of the third guard's sword. He ducked, using the shield as cover and attacked the man's shin. His blade stabbed the man's foot through the polains but he retaliated with a shield bash.
You took 56 damage. You are stunned for 5 seconds. You are prone.
The guard used his advantage to swing at Kazuya. Twice. -176 on the first attack, -185 on the second. The stun effect went off. Kazuya rolled back to get some distance and with a somersault sprung back on his feet. This fight was already not worth the damage taken if the other guards would give the same amount of EXP.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Bastard, you'll pay for killing my friend." The guard roared after passing past his poisoned friend and the corpse of the one named James. He came at Kazuya, but the nimble Japanese boy had no difficulty dodging. he had to give some ground, and soon he was out of the alley. Kazuya got one attack with his main weapon, but he failed to either cause poison or bleeding. He had to at least finish the other guard in the alley, the one poisoned and paralyzed. Or the fight would be a total waste of resources.
Kazuya dashed around the guard and aimed a feint at his head with the left to make him raise his shield. When the shield blocked his line of sight, he struck at the unprotected flank under his blind spot. It hit, caused a critical and poison status.
Critical hit. You dealt 504 damage. Target is Poisoned. -10 HP/s for 1 minute Target is stunned for 2 seconds.
And as luck would have it, he also stunned the guard. Probably because the damage he dealt was over a fourth of his health. Not one to waste a gift horse, he circled around and shoved both katanas on the man's kidneys. He felt the rings of the chainmail burst as the blades pierced the armor.
You gained 0.046% Exp
Kazuya paused to think how good was the Exp of killing people, and how skewed was the rules of this game. These three guards would be worth an entire level by themselves if it were not for his EXP penalty. A crossbow bolt hit his thigh and shook him from his musing. Looking around, he found out he had aggroed more guards.
He felt like he was raiding the allies in TempestGale once more.
You took 204 damage. You have a -20% movement speed debuff.
The young man ran back to the alley, finding the horn-tooting guard dragging the wounded one. One minute had already passed, he should be close to dying. He snuck at the man's back and stabbed.
You dealt 289 damage. You gained 0.039% Exp
He was about to attack the fourth guard when he heard a crossbow bolt sing near his head and the shouting of more guards. Not worth it. Kazuya looked around and found some shadows on a roof. He activated shadow step. He was melding in the dark alley and a sword came at his head.
Critical hit. You took 347 damage. WARNING: You are below 25% health.
Kazuya appeared on the roof a few seconds later. He felt blood dripping on his face and he probably had a big cut on his scalp. Below, several guards were shouting and searching for him. He stowed his blades and went for the palace. This fight had cost him over 100 points of stamina, the resource he had the least of.
He was pretty much screwed at this rate anyway. Hitting 0 MP would lock his active skills, hitting 0 Stamina would make him faint. and hitting 0 HP would mean game over. And he was out of potions.
"
Horns were flaring all over town. The entire guard was being noticed of his presence. 'And worse yet, they don't lose the aggro. The guards are swarming the streets, the neutral NPCs are going indoors. Is this one of those 'fuck the player' events?' He thought, blaming the designer of this game.
The castle was near. All he had to do was go over the walls and rescue the hostages. And kill the slaver.
Knighs are more resistant, but give way more EXP than town guards, Kazuya noticed. He fought three so far, and got more than 0.1% EXP from each one. He had 98.6% of the EXP to the next level, all he needed to do was kill fourteen more knights. The problem was doing this without dying. He was under 1,500 HP now. And the knights only hit him twice.
But that was all he could do. It was like he kicked an anthill. He could feel sounds of armored man running around everywhere. Worse yet, mages were lighting up the place like it was Ebisu Gardens in Christmas. Soon he would lose all the advantage of the shadows.
Kazuya followed the knights. It was obvious where they were going, the idiots hadn't yet noticed he learned their language.
"Protect the King and the Princesses. Blockade the corridors."
All he had to do was follow them and find where Pearl was incarcerated. He went from one corridor to another, but a familiar sight caught him. He returned to check, and there he was. Kazuya remembered that man. It was the hunter that charged a debt that got Pearl involved, something about the other princess that was sheltering the slaver.
It all made sense now!
Everything was an elaborate ruse to get this giant man in their inner circle to support the kidnapping of the princess. He was probably following them into the dungeon and that was why he couldn't find Pearl when he returned there after killing all the slavers. All but one, he meant. The ringleader should be somewhere.
"Go inside and stay with her Royal Highness. I'll guard the door. Barricade the windows." The giant man told a female knight. Even their armor design was wrong, Kazuya thought. The breastplate was only slightly more curved, where were the boob-shaped plates?
"Take care, Sir Gurf. Are you sure you don't want to wait for reinforcements?"
"No. Stay inside and protect the princess and her maids."
The giant man, pretending to be a knight drew two hatchets and stood guard at the door. Excellent, Pearl is inside. At least they had the decency of not locking her in a filthy damp dungeon. Kazuya drew a rock from his pouch. All his good items were in the spatial storage and he had no access to them. It would probably unlock once he rescued Pearl.
He waited for the giant to look the other way and threw the rock at a door on the other side of the corridor.
"What?" The giant was distracted and Kazuya ran to attack. His strike was foiled by a backhand swing of the left hatchet. The Japanese man flinched and rolled back.
"You! Do you know how much grief you caused the Princess!" What nonsense was this villain speaking?
"
Kazuya attacked. He had to. Any moment and this place would be swarming with knights. His Katanas were blocked by those hatchets. He had more speed, but Kazuya knew this guy was strong. Experienced. The corners of his mouth broke into a grin.
It was a boss fight. Defeat this guy and get the princess. He checked his resources. 1,500 MP left. He kept attacking, putting pressure on the giant men. However, it was like the giant hunter could read his moves. He blocked every single one.
Gurf blocked a Katana and riposted with his hatchet. The ax hit the tsuba guard but he just shoved forth. Kazuya's arm quivered under the pressure.
You took 45 damage. Sprained left arm debuff. -30% damage with this arm.
Steps on the corridor. Shouting. Kazuya wriggled two fingers in a pouch and pulled a small cloth bag. He tossed it to the ground, and the rocks inside created a spark, igniting the crude gunpowder and causing a smoke screen.
It was now or never. He moved silently to a side and struck with both weapons at once, evoking his skill.
"
A third of his remaining MP and almost half of his Stamina and his blades became the dark void. He struck with Assassinate.
Critical hit. Target takes 513 damage. Target is bleeding. -41 HP/s Target takes 240 damage. Target is paralyzed for 1 minute.
He shoved Gurf away from the door and opened it. Dodging a sword from the female knight, he saw Pearl on the bed, scared. Sounds coming. He had no time to deal with the woman or even the HP to duck it out with her.
"
He dashed for the princess while the clone appeared, with half of his maximum health and mana. Meaning three times as much HP as he had now.
"
He shoved the maids away and stowed his left Katana. Pearl was casting a spell.
"Steam Burst!"
Searing steam burned his face.
You took 116 damage (94 resisted).
Kazuya punched Pearl unconscious. She was obviously brainwashed. He glared at the maids, but none of them tried to attack him. The fight between the shadowclone and the female knight was going on. He had to get out of there.
With the girl on his shoulder, he kicked the cabinet blocking the exit and slashed open the shutters and the door to a balcony. He jumped over the broken glass and there he saw him. The slaver.
"
"
Aidan used a spell.
"Soul Slash!"
You got a permanent debuff. Left hand fingers disabled. -6 DEX (4 resisted).
"
Kazuya dashed up a staircase leading to the ramparts. Another spell coming.
"Soul Shredder!"
You took 220 damage (180 resisted). You got a permanent debuff. Soul damaged. -3 all attributes (2 resisted).
Kazuya looked behind, Aidan was still on the balcony.
----------------------------------------
"Uncle! Uncle!" Lola was crying and pressing his open flank with a cloth, completely red with the blood.
"Healing Light!"
"Healing Light!"
"Minor Heal!"
Dawn was desperately casting spell after spell. No effect whatsoever.
"I can't stop the bleeding! The wound is not closing!" The girl was desperate.
"Dawn. Focus. Control yourself. Check his status. I'm giving him a hematopoietic potion. It should buy us time." Claire shook her sister's body.
"Lifesight"
> Abnormal status: Permanent Dark Ripper wound. Permanent Dark Ripper heavy bleeeding. Severe Anemia. Unconscious. Hematopoietic Potion.
"It says the bleeding is permanent! What the fuck does that is even supposed to mean! Cursed otherworlders!" Dawn screamed.
"Uncle!" Lola was crying over Gurf.
Dawn closed her eyes. Try to remember the spell Astromelicus used. Construct it. "C'mon freaking God-Slayer bloodline. Work!"
She gathered mana. Fire and Earth came as naturally as breathing. Water and Wind trickled in, but she forced it. The incomplete diagram molded in front of her mind.
"Regrowth!"
The spell formed, albeit faulty. No effect.
"No!" Dawn fell and sat on the ground. Gurf's blood was soaking her skirt.
----------------------------------------
Back outside, Aidan was fighting to avoid being swallowed by the despair.
"Skywings."
He took flight and soon was near Kazuya.
"
"
"Soul Shredder!"
You took 180 damage (147 resisted). You got a permanent debuff. Soul damaged. -2 all attributes (2 resisted).
"
Kazuya kept running on the rampart, looking for somewhere he could jump off without much trouble.
"
Your target died of bleeding more than 200 meters away. You earned an achievement. You gained 2% EXP. Congratulations! You are now a level 29 Death Assasssin. HP, MP and Stamina restored. Temporary debuffs removed. You gained 10 AP, 3 SP and 100 Shop Points [LOCKED]
A burst of light and a short fanfarre played around Kazuya. His wounds closed. His speed recovered. Kazuya showed his best finger to Aidan.
""
"
"
As Kazuya dove into his own shadow, Aidan used one last spell.
"Soul Shredder!"
You took 63 damage (317 resisted). You got a permanent debuff. Soul damaged. -1 all attributes (4 resisted).
That night the capital of Yutis was haunted by a heart rending wail, of a young man that failed to protect his best friend.