The blood of warriors never lies

Oege stood amongst a disaster unfolding in Matrice. Afar, stood Mandy, enraged in her Deathmetal Suit. She clenched her fist ready to fight Oege but then saw another figure. It was another Guildless player but one that she’d never seen or heard of. The character was gowned in deep black armor, with a band of feathers. “Stand Aside!” Oege yelled to Mandy. “Plea-”.

Mandy was confused. Her immediate thought was to attack Oege but this other player gave it less proof. As she stood still feathers fell from the sky. They were pitch black weightless until they touched another object. It sunk into itself as if the weight of the feather was greater than it. “But how could that be?” Mandy thought.

“Where is Madder?” the person said. The person began to walk slowly towards Oege.

Suddenly a feather fell onto Mandy. In a blink of an eye, the player came to Mandy. She could finally see the player fully. His eyes were pitch black, and due to his equipment, she knew this was a Godless player. She never knew they existed. He swung his sword in the centre of Mandy, but something was wrong. Her body suddenly felt so heavy and she didn't understand why. She then read the status notification on her. “Overencumbered but how?” She thought. She quickly looked into her inventory but it was empty she realized the feather must have applied this status to her. Her inability to move and this player in front of her swinging. A combo she would appreciate but also fear. From the side of his blade, another came clashing with the blade with sublime precision. It was Oege, parrying the attack and slashing at the player. He quickly evaded the attack. As he jumped back Oege placed her blade back into its hilt and turned to Mandy. “Long time, old friend.”

“Where have you been? Who is that player?” Mandy questioned.

The question would soon be answered but after Mandy began charging up. “I need you to stand back. This is personal. You have become strong but this player is stronger than you can imagine.”

Mandy quickly inspected Oege. Oege along with all of the old accolades was now of a swordsman class.

Oege then turned to face Mandy. “There’s a lot I didn’t tell you back then. I had to keep it a secret. But I can’t let them take Matrice.” In an instant, the player was behind Oege with his sword slashing at her back. “PBE: Skill Mercy!” The presumption from his attack was that he hit something, and caused it to reach an HP of 1. Seemingly, the object he hit should’ve been a player but it was a blade. Even still Mercy would cause the blade to lose all of its durability. Oege had once again parried the sword, and the player jumped back. “Ghost of Borealis. Blackfeather we meet again.” He swung again, but she parried once again and her sword broke. “I liked that one. Fine.”There was a strange resolution to voice.” She recognized that Blackfeather wasn’t trying to defeat her but even still because he induced his Mercy Skill. She looked back at Mandy. “Mandy stands back. He’s trying to get you!” In her blind spot, Blackfeather would appear swinging his sword upon Mandy. Mandy attempted to jump back but the sword once again would seem to connect with Mandy. Mandy placed her arms up to block the attack. This time Blackfeather wouldn’t call his Mercy Skill and the attack would decimate anything it attacked.

“Unveil.” a voice said. Oege entered a short stance, unsheathing her katana, swinging it in front of her but suddenly appearing to parry Blackfeather's strike, with her black striking upwards towards Blackfeather. “Shogunshido: Rising Sun.” Blackfeather sword felt something that it hadn’t in a while. Pressure. The pressure that Oege’s attack gave him was resistance. He hadn’t felt a blade that could come close to even defending against him and yet, Oege had. “What have you been doing all this time Oege?” She swung once again, and Oege parried while a succession of attacks would come to Oege as she defended each attack. Suddenly her blade would break and Blackfeather clenched his blade with two hands, striking from above. “Dark Lightning Feather Strike!” He yelled. As the strike would come down, a bolt of dark lightning came from the sky placing a feather onto his blade as it swung towards Oege. One would think this was Oege defeat but Oege closed her eyes. “Swordsmith, Reforge.” A blade manifested into her hands and she parried the attack, while quickly evading to the side, “Swordsmith Reforge.” Her first blade entered her hand and she swung at Blackfeather striking him for damage. As his attack crashed the first, he noticed that it was an afterimage. “A clone?” he questioned. “Is this the PBE skill he gave you?” Blackfeather placed his sword behind his back. “Fine, then. No Mercy it is.” He quickly ran towards Oege with each stride leaving an afterimage of himself in his dash position. He then swung his sword inwards striking her centre, and she went to parry it but then turned his body, revolving around her ascending his sword from low towards the sky. After with his other hand, he grabbed Oege’s blouse so she couldn’t evade and went to strike her in an uppercut at close range. “Got you!”

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But something was off. As his blade came to connect with Oege, He suddenly felt off balance. Causing his attack to miss its target.

“PBE Skill: Reborn.”

Suddenly Oege’s character model shifted into a much smaller character. It was of a Blood Gnome. Her equipment was still the same. “Bushido, Perilous Blade.” She then swung her sword into his centre, hitting him back into a nearby structure.

“What is this?” Blackfeather thought. “Did she just..?”

When Mandy looked at Oege, she seemed to be a much smaller character and an entirely different character. It was almost as if she had gone back to the menu and recreated her character with a character voucher. It then hit Mandy. “No wonder you’re a cosmetic.”

While other players came to her to do their customizations with cosmetic items, Oege herself had received an ability from Seismic that allowed her to do something similar but on a much grander level. We see a salon with a player in a chair getting his hair washed. The character is dropped back and then raised. Finally, a player turns him to face a mirror. “Oege you seem to love customizing characters, is this something you pursue in real life? You must be a hairdresser.”

Oege would smile but soon frown. “When I was young I always dreamed of being a Designer but my parents would never approve. That's why when I play games, I can create characters out of my imagination. From all races and backgrounds. But it doesn't stop from just their clothing, but this hairstyle, and then their builds. Everything.” Seismic placed his head back looking up towards Oege. Then I know which skill to give you.”

In Asper Online there were once many playable races. Humans were not the only race as there were Factions of Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, and even Orcs. Although most races in fantasy worlds were present in Asper Online. As in other games each race gave different stat bonuses and even special innate abilities. Players though generally sought to play the Human race due to the roleplaying being easier to settle into as roleplaying for the other races was different. Because Asper Online was player-run, subcultures were made from players against the races, so the Developers thought to unify the game and save it from racism by taking out the other races from the game. Then how was Oege turning into an Elf?

Blackfeather rose to his feet, dusting the dust from his armour. “Finally I can go all out.” Suddenly his armor began to rumble, and from his back black wings came through. His wings began to flap. He then lunged towards Oege, but instead of parrying the attack, she transformed once again. “PBE Skill: Reborn.” She then turned into an Orc, grabbing Blackfeather wholly, and tossing him to the side of a building. Her blade was then stabbed into the building. “Shogunshido: Return to Dust.” She then appeared at her blade. And pulled it through the building striking at Blackfeather. He evaded, flying straight through and entering the sky fluttering his wings. He held onto his sword, ready to attack. It was then that a weight would come upon Oege’s shoulders. It was two feathers. Each weighed enough to plant a normal Human character but Orcs had the innate ability to not be over-encumbered for a duration after being over-encumbered. Blackfeather flew towards Oege, not knowing this and swung his blade at her neck.

As soon as Blackfeather reached her, she swung the katana downwards but he evaded in a spiral slashing her in her stomach. The attack without mercy did millions of damage and would’ve killed a normal player but then Oege whispered. “PBE: Skill Reborn.”

Blackfeather would feel life being siphoned from him. He turned back to see that Oege had transformed into a Vampire and was tethering life from him to heal from the blow. “Oh no, you don't!” he yelled. As blackfeather neared, she called upon a skill. “Deepwater Blade.” Water then manifested from her sheath, creating a sphere of water enclosing her and Blackfeather. “PBE Skill: Reborn”. Oege was now a mermaid swimming towards Blackfeather with a sure strike. As her attack hit him he was sent flying, tumbling over and over on the ground through buildings. He rose to his feet once again. He couldn’t sense Oege. He rose and looked around. “Come on then, Finish me off?” He looked but there was only silence. “You coward!” Just then a player would emerge in front of him. It was Oege, but this time in the form of a Deity Race. “Ugh,” Blackfeather grunted. The light she emitted blinded him. “I will never surrender.” He said, rising to his feet. “Until I find Madd-” he then swung his sword at Oege, and she parried it. As he thought with No Mercy her blade should be at 0 Durability so he struck again and she parried with the same blade. He continued and she parried once again. “How are you doing this!” he yelled. He continued but she parried without any hesitation. Blackfeather would then go into overdrive, attacking over and over, and Oege would parry each attack flawlessly. Finally, Blackfeather switched his attack and lunged, creating an afterimage of a character slashing, one jumping and one evading but even Still Oege could sense which was the real Blackfeather, and instead of parrying him, disarmed his blade. It would go flying into the distance until falling onto the floor. He was now defenceless. She raised her katana close to his neck. “Surrender.”

“Only a coward would surrender!” Blackfeather yelled. He rose to grab her blade and pulled it towards him, but he for the first time felt resistance. “What is this.”

Oege arm bulged as her body began transforming into an ogre. The transformation flowed through the body, reaming with power as it progressed until finally, she had completely transformed. “Shogunshido: Punch!” She let go of her blade and punched Blackfeather in his face, and remained headless. Before Oege could request, Blackfeather spurted out blood and a voice yelled. “Never! PBE Skill: Mercy,” and he stabbed her blade into his chest. The blade sunk into his heart. Oege jumped back as Blackfeather rose with dark energy spurring from his body.

Suddenly his neck began to extend into the form of a dragon.

“Mandy…” Oege yelled.

She was back in the distance. Peering upon the battle of the elite players. She was amazed. But Blackfeather had also transformed. In the moment he was to lose a veil he used his PBE: Skill which was normally used on other players onto himself. He was now left at 1 HP for as long as the sword remained in his chest, but not only that. He had transformed into his final form. “Naysong.”

Blackfeather emerged as a large armoured dragon.