Chapter 0

I twisted the blade free and watched the severed head of the Gorgon tumble off her bare shoulders. It landed with a splat, the dark maroon blood pooling amid broken shards of glass outside the executive highrise suite.

All at once her wings ceased their fury. Her deadly talons scraped impotently on the cold, hard balcony floor; it took a bit longer for the writhing venomous serpents sprouting from her decapitated skull to still.

[Task Successfully Completed: Remove {unknown} Gorgon from Zenith Towers]

The monster was dead. And so were many of my friends.

I watched as my partner, frozen in stone, a look of horror forever fixed on their features, began to crumble and dissolve into digital nothingness. 

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

My gauntlets and blade dripped with the deadly poison blood. I dropped the weapon and removed the gauntlets one by one, letting them fall where I stood.

How close had I come to death? Whatever death meant in a place like this. I wearily checked my menu.

[Essence: 10 remaining]

That was close.

The sound of a vibrating electric thrum drew my attention back to the monster’s corpse. The body quivered as motes of bright goldenrod light drew up, weaving together in the air. A glowing crystalline card formed, hovering above the dead Gorgon.

[Legendary Data Card obtained - Euryale (Helm / Skill)]

I held my breath. 

I had never seen a Legendary Data Card before, and it was all mine. That, and a substantial payday waiting for me when I turned in this bounty.

A spotlight from a Polizei drone buzzing overhead enveloped me, but I ignored it.

I reached with my bare hand for the glowing, spinning card, the neon cityscape below oblivious to all that had transpired.