They found us only a few minutes later.

Cuby and I had decided to act as if we were still searching the various barrels at the edges of the room, hoping to make it seem as if we weren’t there waiting for them.

It was the rogue who first appeared in one of the entrance passages, though we spotted her easily by the light of the glowstones we’d left along each.

Messouri - Level 3

When she saw us see her, she called a charge—and her comrades came out from behind her just a moment later:

Taela - Level 3

Haritien - Level 3

The rogue threw her weapon, the same attack that Cuby had chosen, only it wasn’t at us—instead she threw it at the illusion of a boulder that I’d placed in the center of the room, which it passed through harmlessly.

“There!” she shouted, and her allies gave the boulder a wide berth as they ran toward us, the mage circling it to take a position along the far wall.

If it had been a real game, I might’ve smiled at how easily they’d fallen into our trap. Instead I felt only a grim relief—the explosives weren’t hidden in my illusion. There was a chance we’d live—if we killed these people.

It was Kontor who had made the real “illusion” by transferring most of the powder from the red kegs into some of the larger barrels by the scaffolding. They had a mage, after all: they’d know about the illusion spell, and the sound of the explosion had tipped them off to that as well. Doubtless they thought that by running around the obvious trap, they’d secured their victory.

But Cuby and I had been milling around the real explosives when they entered, and as they charged we made for another exit as if to run. The pilgrim and the mage chased us, eager to secure their kills, while the rogue tried to head us off.

Then Kontor, from where he’d lain on the scaffolding, tossed our torch. It spun in the air, made a whirling line of fire in the dark, then landed in the powder barrel just as the mage and pilgrim came within a few meters of it, both of them trying to keep us in range.

The same thunderous roar filled the cave, along with another expulsion of smoke. Cuby and I were staggered by the blast, but far enough away not to take damage, even if it hurt my ears.

We turned as one and ran back into the smoke and hot air, eager to try and finish one of them off before the rogue caught up to us. I didn’t see them through the smoke until we were close—both of them at around a third health, both drunkenly scrambling to their feet.

The gnome was the only one of them who might have heals—we had to kill the gnome.

Cuby was on him with her knife in a moment, and I began casting a Magic Arrow….

Despite our expectations, the gnome pulled out a healing potion and began to drink it. My heart plummeted—and then Cuby hit him with her blinding strike, the flash of light unmistakable. For a moment I thought she’d secured us the kill—but then I cursed inwardly as the gnome, momentarily interrupted, started drinking the potion again anyway, sight be damned.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

But it wouldn’t matter. Her dagger, combined with my elemental enchantment, did too much damage—the pilgrim was at ten percent even as the bottle reached his lips.

Too close… my Magic Arrow was almost finished…

Then I saw only a flash of light before my vision went totally white, my spell lost.

The other rogue had reached me—and blinded me. I couldn’t see their [who] even as I felt the sharp pain of the rogue’s knife in my side. Then again in my stomach, and again between my ribs. Still able to see my UI, I watched my health drop from 70% to 60%, fast. Their rogue was killing me.

A moment later I blinked the blindness out of my eyes and started to move defensively by instinct—but what I saw made my heart fall. The pilgrim had finished his healing potion. He was alive.

I started casting another Magic Arrow, and Cuby didn’t switch targets to the lower-health mage that the gnome was likely now healing as he cast a spell… but I knew it wouldn’t matter. There were simply too few abilities at our level, and we’d run out of options.

Then I saw a silhouette emerge from the smoke behind us: Kontor. He had a second torch in one arm and another red keg of powder in the other, hoisted up onto his shoulder. It all happened in just a few seconds: he ran between the pilgrim and the mage, grumbled something to Cuby, then dropped the keg and, with no hesitation, pressed the torch into its side.

Cuby used her dodge ability to get back and mitigate some of the damage, but neither the pilgrim nor the mage had been paying enough attention to move at all. I watched the mage’s health bar blacken as it hit zero, then finished my Magic Arrow and watched it strike the pilgrim where he lay on the ground a moment later, eliminating the last of his health and killing him, too.

Beside me, the rogue made a little squeak of sudden despair even as she pulled her knife out of my gut to attack again. Cuby should have been at around 30% from taking damage from the explosion, and I was a little lower from taking a Magic Arrow along with the rogue’s constant attacks—except when I looked, both of us were at full.

Then I saw it:

Congratulations, you’ve leveled up!

You are now a level 2 Mage.

You have gained a new Iconic Spell Augment slot. Open your Ability Selection pane to choose a new Iconic Spell Augment.

Your Hit Points have increased by 30 and your Mana has increased by 70.

Human Adaptability increases each of your Strength, Agility, Focus, and Spirit by 1. You have 1 stat point to distribute.

But there was another message, preceding that one:

Taela has died.

For killing a player in self-defense, you have received 12 Virtue Points.

Haritien has died.

For killing a player in self-defense, you have received 12 Virtue Points.

Congratulations! You’ve reached Pure Virtue Rank 1.

You have been awarded a new ability: Boon of Mercy

And then I turned to the rogue and began casting another Magic Arrow.

I don’t know why I did that.

We were safe, after all. A moment later, when Cuby joined me, the human rogue—Messouri, her name was—started to run. But even before then… I’d seen her face. Like Cuby, whatever alien being was behind this avatar was clearly able to intuit how to show human emotion, because her face had become a kind of confused, hurt despair. There was a naivete to it, like I’d just slapped a child and they didn’t know why.

And I’d started casting another Magic Arrow, all without thinking. The spell connected, dealt damage—I didn’t see how much, wasn’t really paying attention to her health. Cuby blinded her as she tried to run away, and a second Magic Arrow connected….

Messouri has died.

For killing a player in self-defense, you have received 12 Virtue Points.

I had a brief thought when I watched her fall—it’s not like in movies, where I guess the actors know how to fall so they don’t get hurt, even when they’re playing dead. She just… fell. Deadweight. She cracked her skull on the hard-packed earth and stone of the cave floor with a sickening noise.

After that, I just stared at her.