Chapter 4. Arsonist’s Flame
Dawn was still a bit away, and I needed to use the darkness to my advantage. Guards roamed the streets in packs holding torches, as did some of the Players and NPCs. Mounted torches and braziers full of embers lined the streets, helping light the path. Instead of moving on the well-lit paths, I skulked into a short alleyway with a vantage point to watch two streets simultaneously and remain in the shadows. Several other players walked through the alleyway without looking at me. Whether they noticed me or not, I couldn’t say, but they paid me no heed. Eventually, two players with names I could see on my HUD walked down the well-lit main road. I stiffened; going out onto the road was too revealing, but I didn’t want to miss my chance to take them out. Like so many other players, they opted to cut through my alleyway and save an extra half block of walking. As they stepped past me, I fell on them with both daggers in hand. The one closest to me dropped after a single stab. The dagger in my off-hand wasn’t instantly lethal, but with two more swings of both daggers he too fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Dual-Wielding Stat Added!
Nature Stat Lost!
+2 Infamy
The dagger in my off-hand suddenly felt much more purposeful as I tightened my grip on the handle. The [Back Stab] and [Murderer] abilities had great synergy, and with my newfound talent for dual-wielding, I should be able to get these final six no problem. There was no feeling of uneasiness after these kills. I had finally gotten that out of my system. Now I felt a purpose pushing me forward.
Rusty Short-Sword x2
Splintered Wood Shield
Tattered Leather Vest
Tattered Leather Boots
Tattered Leather Gloves
Silver x34
I put on the leather armor pieces and placed the rest of the items in my inventory. Having a more complete set felt nice, and having some silver meant I could get more kebabs. After I finish my job I’ll definitely grab some more of those. I moved out of the alleyway leaving the half-naked corpses in the shadows. At the moment, putting as much distance as possible between them and me was my best course of action. Checking my map I found the tavern I had gambled at previously. This time, I stepped through the doorway instead of getting enticed by the outdoor gambling tables.
’Maybe half the money on kebabs and the other on gambling later?’ Hundreds of players occupied the large wooden building, many of whom were dancing and drinking. My eyes darted to a table with several names I recognized from my friends list, sitting and drinking water. They talked to other wretched and unhappy players. If I were to guess, I’d assume they were in Terra Corp as well, just less fresh than the ones I currently hunted. ‘In Platoon Lords, I would call in an artillery strike on their building. What are my options here?’ The four-story building that took up almost a half block in size was made up almost entirely of wood besides the two-foot high base around the building. I could try to just go full rampage and get six kills, but I didn’t like my odds with so many people in the building. There were at least twenty members of Terra Corp in this building alone. If I could take them all out, I could get a nice little bonus to pay my air-tax for the next month or two. An idea sprang to mind as I took in the enormous wooden building.
I waited for the back alley behind the tavern to clear out before grabbing a large brazier full of coals and dragging it towards the tavern’s back entrance. I burned my hands trying to grab it at first, but used the cloth shirt I got from one of the players to make a haphazard sling that I needed to set down every five or so feet. It was harder than I imagined, and more than once, an NPC or player walked by me before I could finish, each giving me a quizzical stare, but none stopped me. I began dragging brazier after brazier over to the wooden tavern, leaving them in a haphazard circle around the building. Only when a group of guards passed did I stop what I was doing and hide. Plenty of players did odd things that broke the immersion of the game for some, and I was hoping that was what everyone who saw me thought. I wasn’t going to take my chances with the guards, who might have more insight into my intentions than other AI or players.
The guards passed and I continued my plan. I grabbed every hung torch within a block of the tavern, ‘Parts of the building have one-story thatch overhangs and second-story balconies.’ Now I had the full attention of a few players who were actively using those torches to gamble at the outside tables. I tossed ten silver onto the table where both women gambling stood up, ready to confront me.
“Sorry!” It was now or never, what I was doing had started disrupting others, and it wouldn’t take them too long to figure out I was up to no good. I took the large flaming bundle back to the alley, tossing several onto the balconies that hung over the dark alley, and a few more onto the thatch roof overhanging the back exit. I slammed my foot on the nearest brazier of coals and shot myself forward to avoid the embers flung onto the wall. I made my way to the second wall, this one also not exposed to the main street. I slammed my foot on each of the ember-filled braziers I had placed and threw more torches. I continued sprinting around to the front entrance, where two players with names I recognized from having them on my friends list moved through the doorway, unaware of my blades as I ripped through them, de-summoning them as quickly as I summoned them.
+1 Infamy
+1 Infamy
I dropped the remaining torches doing that maneuver, and when I slammed my foot on a brazier, this time, I received some damage from the embers I couldn’t avoid. ‘Don’t get sloppy.’ I didn’t look back but I heard some screaming, either from the fire that was now visible on two sides or from the two bodies blocking the front entrance. I pushed over the last few braziers of embers on the fourth and final wall, but without torches it was going to take longer to engulf.
+1 Infamy
+1 Infamy
+1 Infamy
+1 Infamy
The first to make it out the relatively safe window was met with two quick dagger strikes, this wasn’t a Terra Corp member, but I didn’t want to miss my opportunity to kill them before they realized I set the fire. The man crumpled over the edge, halfway slumped between in and out.
+1 Infamy
An elderly NPC dove out the window onto their stomach, earning two stabs to the back before their screams were quieted. This side was the last to start catching fire, and some people were figuring that out. The strategy was too effective, and the fire on the other three sides had taken hold almost instantly. Groups of people attempted to wedge their way past each other to get through this. A large part of the second floor fell into the building.
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+14 Infamy
Temporary Ability [Back-Stab] Lost!
Temporary Ability [Ignite] Gained!
Temporary Ability [Murderer] has morphed into Temporary Ability [Serial Killer]
I was still in the non-immersive mode and saw that I had two pseudo-skills in my hotbar now. These were still abilities that would determine how my class functioned but they came with innate skills that I could use. Without reading more than the title I cast [ Ignite ] at the still not fully engulfed window that had dozens of people pressed trying to get through. The window was set ablaze and had become a more dire exit than any in the building. NPCs screamed much louder than players, I realized at that moment. I could tell who was who based on how much pain they felt.
+12 Infamy
Temporary Ability [Ignite] has morphed into [Arsonist’s Flame]
Fire Magic Stat Gained!
Fire Resistance Stat Gained!
+1 Infamy
+1 Infamy
I could feel the ‘momentum’ that was talked about by so many ‘pro’ players. Without further hesitation, I cast [Serial Killer] and then my now off cooldown for [Arsonist’s Flame]. My vision changed, and I could sense the Players and NPCs in the building, I could no longer see them through the flames but somehow knew where they were, like a sixth sense. I pointed my hand to the window I had used [Ignite] on and cast [Arsonist’s Flame] instead of the spot I looked at just catching fire like [Ignite] did; this time, I cast a spout of flames like a dragon’s breath from my hand. My [Serial Killer] allowed me to sense that the huge wedge of players was now all dead.
+54 Infamy
+22 Infamy
+2 Infamy
+2 Infamy
Although technically, I hadn’t confirmed the last four kills, I don’t think the client will deny that plenty more than ten Terra Group members were killed in this fire. The whole building was now fully engulfed, and I could see no one had made it out of the other three sides.
+36 Infamy
I took a moment to read the effects of my two new abilities
[Serial Killer] (Passive) (Activated)
Greatly increased Damage to Players
Greatly Increased Damage to NPCs
Greatly Decreased Damage to Monsters and Creatures
Activated: For one hour, the user’s attack speed and movement speed are doubled.
All stats increase +1 with each Player or NPC killed for the duration.
Infamy gained is doubled in this mode. Gives the user the ability to sense life within 500 feet.
----
[Arsonist’s Flame] (Passive) (Activated)
+50 Fire-Magic
+50 Fire resistance
Activated: Shoots a cone of flames that does medium damage
This damage is increased by the Fire-Magic stat
The cooldown is lowered by the Infamy Stat
‘No wonder my infamy is going up so much, I guess I'm earning double.’ The cooldown for Arsonist’s flame was already up. The ability that usually took five minutes to get back, came back in one minute and thirty seconds. I dropped my ability screen as [Serial Killer] told me people were heading my way. I ran down the alley where I started this plan and kept making zigzag turns to avoid the signs of life my new sense showed me. This allowed me to stay away and out of sight. ‘The people who saw me setting up the brazier definitely know it was me, but will they be able to arrest me if I wasn’t caught in the act?’
+16 Infamy
+2 Infamy
+2 Infamy
+2 Infamy
+2 Infamy
+2…..
People were still dying inside the building. Every death increased my stats by +1, normally not a big deal, but in this tutorial instance of the game where you couldn’t normally increase your stats, I was moving like a god. Dexterity being increased by every kill and then doubled while in [Serial Killer]. I came to a dead end in an alleyway but didn’t stop my dash. I jumped onto the one-story building using [Arsonist’s Flame] to boost me as I leapt.
Class has been changed from Potbelly Ambusher (Unique) to Dastardly Arsonist (Unique)
I made my way to the Northern gate that led into the Yagoo forest; having a map of a relatively safe path into the forest would be helpful. I heard the ringing of a large bell, and then another, and another. The city guard was getting their act together. I ran along the rooftops, jumping onto and over buildings until I was forced to get down or waste time climbing onto the more elevated ones. I felt guards all around me, moving in different directions. Shouting could be heard by captains telling their men where to go. The beating of metal shoes on cobblestone rang out. I slipped by all of them until I was faced with overcoming the distance between the final buildings and the city wall. Two hundred or so feet stood between at least thirty guards and me. I chewed on the tips of my fingers while crouched near a building, a nervous habit I did when stressed out. ‘Can’t spend the rest of this tutorial in jail, can’t lose my momentum.’ I felt a sharp pain in my chest.
You have taken critical damage!
Two arrows stuck out of my back, their heads poked just barely through my chest. If it weren’t for my beefed-up constitution, that would have been a lethal blow, my health bar was only three-fourths gone, but my stamina bar was now half grayed out due to my pierced lung. I looked back to see the Terra Group trainer holding a longbow, standing next to her understudy- Gary Citrinal. ‘Fuck, they figured me out.’ I moved towards them just enough to dash behind a different building and take cover, two more arrows flew towards me, but this time missed. The guards, as far as I could tell. Made no move toward me even though I was a bit exposed to them. From their angle, they could definitely see the Terra Corp members flinging arrows into an alleyway. The Terra Corp members were further away and in the wrong direction, but if I ran toward the guards, I’d receive several arrows in my back for my troubles. My stats were juiced up, I might be able to rush the Terra Corp players and get away. I pulled up my stats to double-check them; they were temporarily very high. ‘Deception?’ I stepped out in between the Terra Group members and the guards.
“There she is! The one who started the fire!” I pointed at Bella, making a show of the arrows sticking through my chest. “Get her! Quick, she’s the one who killed those people!” Bella looked confused, while Citrine looked amused at my antics. The guards ran toward me menacingly, drawing their swords. ‘Ah shit, it was worth a shot.’ I sprang back into the cover of the buildings to avoid the arrows I knew were coming and give the guards a disadvantaged bottleneck to attack me at. I summoned my daggers and crouched into my now familiar stance. Two of the guards split off from the group while the other twenty-eight or so continued charging towards Terra Group.
“We can take you to a doctor, citizen. Allow us to help you.” The guard offered me a hand from my crouching position.
‘It worked!’ I stood up with a shit-eating grin and wiped my chest, trying to look like I was dusting myself off. Instead, I accidentally brushed the arrows, causing a bit of pain but nothing nearly as bad as it would feel in real life.
“Ah,” I winced. “I’ll be fine. I have some, ugh, business to attend to.” I wasn’t actually good at lying. If I didn’t have a chance to pre-plan what I would say I would have never come up with something plausible, and I hadn’t thought up a follow-up lie. “There is a guy waiting for me at the gate, you see, well good day, please give your wife my regards.” The guard gave me a confused stare while the other barked a quick laugh at the part about his wife. ‘I hope he doesn’t take that as-’ his face turned to a scowl. I full-out sprinted towards the large wooden gate into Yagoo Forest not wanting to talk with the insulted guard further. With no guards stopping me this time, I ran straight into the gatehouse, up to the top of the wall, and then off the side. The watchmen on top of the wall all yelled for me to stop, but I was already mid-air in the home stretch. I regretfully didn’t get a chance to see what happened to the Terra Group members who shot at me, but I hoped they died as confused as that guard was. I took some hefty damage from falling almost three stories off the wall, but I landed in a roll and made my way to Yagoo Forest, basking in the early morning sun.