"First blood is mine!" the Rogue hooted as he sprinted at Colin. The man ducked low, holding a large dagger with a distinctive recurve in the blade that Colin recognized as a kukri in one hand with a normal dagger, much like Colin's own in the other.
Colin smiled.
This kind of close infighting was something he was more intimately familiar with, and this guy's foolhardy nature would lead to his downfall. The man moved to swing and stab at Colin, but each swing was either dodged, deflected, or just stopped entirely. Hands hurting from the impacts that were blocked, Colin gave them a quick shake to get the feeling back before his turn.
His first combo ended with Colin a little worried. The man lacked in training that would have added the structure to his skill, but he was fast, strong, and definitely sturdier than expected. Was this the difference that the attribute points made?
Deciding that thinking would only slow him down, Colin took one step closer into the Rogue's attack range and focused on only making small tilts and twists with his body to avoid this opponent's attacks. At the fourth attack, he found the opening that he'd been looking for, A stab that moved just a little too far past him after the strike, and took another step forward.
With both Daggers, Colin thrust upwards into each of the man's sides and grunted as he pushed and twisted. The Rogue growled with the widened wound, and Colin only hoped that he'd die quickly. On Earth, anybody would be dead rather soon with an injury this vicious but in a game… This could be another minute.
"Get down!" Monty shouted, and the Rogue fell backward onto the ground before Colin could react. Then the full force of Monty's weight behind his round shield slammed into his side.
You have been hit by MonterayRevial's Shield Charge and have taken 20 points of damage and are both knocked back and stunned for three seconds. You now have 100 out of 120 health remaining.
After tumbling in a heap on the ground several feet away from Monty, Colin coughed as he tried to do anything more than breathe. The pain in his body was fading to the now-familiar dull ache that the game gave after the initial shock. The reminder that he wasn't in optimal condition.
Cursing in his head, Colin struggled to take in breath for a few seconds since that shield charge had viciously knocked the wind out of him. Once the stun time ended, Colin's breathing normalized, and his situational awareness became sharper as he remembered that he was being attacked.
Reacting quickly, Colin rolled to his right in time to avoid the downward stroke from the woman's two-handed sword. Scrambling to his feet, Colin slid his left-hand dagger back in its sheath before taking out one of the throwing knives and assessing the situation again.
The woman was a few feet away and pulling her sword out of the soft dirt with Monty running past her. The Rogue was trying to move towards Colin with an insane glint in his eye with the Aeromage trying to give him a small red vial. He was ignoring both his wounds and the Aeromage trying to help him while he hobbled towards Colin.
At least that meant only two were going after him for a few seconds. That was something he could deal with.
Running towards Monty, Colin threw the throwing knife with a sharp flick as he moved. As he predicted, Monty raised his shield up to protect himself from the attack, and Colin seized the opportunity and changed his run into a sprint towards the stationary and defensive Monty.
A moment later, Colin dove so that his hands landed onto the top rim of the shield, and from there, he pushed off and vaulted over Monty and landed behind him. His landing was awkward and hurt from his ankles all the way up through his hips, but he was now in an optimal position. Taking the one dagger that he still held, Colin jammed it into Monty's right shoulder. Specifically, the one holding up his shield. He hoped that the attack would hobble the arm that held up the shield and was happy when he discovered that the game followed human physiology.
Groaning in pain, Monty fought to hold up his shield, which suddenly felt infinitely more massive than it had mere seconds ago. Colin took several steps backward with the glistening red dagger in his hand before Monty could retaliate, and he was right to do so. Monty suddenly bellowed angrily as he swung his shield arm around using his whole body to move the incapacitated arm. Now gone was the polite and well intention Monty who wanted Colin to join his guild. All Colin could see in his face was the desire to kill him, nothing else seemed to matter to Monty.
Words that sounded like they could have come from any of Lovecraft's works flowed into the air, and Colin looked at the woman warrior. Her glare was aimed at him as she spoke words that didn't sound like a human was supposed to have the ability to express them. The short chant only lasted a handful of seconds, and it was then that Colin remembered what she said her subclass was. Cleric.
With one final word, she looked down at her feet as she finished her spell, and Colin mildly panicked for a second. The body of the Druid, which was lying at her feet, suddenly started to emit a miasma of sickly green and grey smoke. It quickly shrunk in on the body and changed into a membrane of slime on the Druid's body. Then with a sudden and violent jerk, the head turned to look at Colin with its now blank face.
"I am going to try and take him out in a single shot. Monty! Get away from him!" she barked as the gray-green covered body suddenly, and robotically started to stand.
Withdrawing another throwing knife, Colin threw it at the enspelled and covered corpse in a single fluid movement that served no purpose. The thing's head jerked back as the knife sunk halfway into its eye socket only to return to its original position, very nonplussed about the steel in its eye.
So undead then, Colin assumed. He suddenly wished he had spent more time watching zombie movies with McKenna because he had no idea what he could do against this thing if a headshot didn't kill it.
Whatever the case, Colin didn't have time to think. The woman sent the thing after Colin with a kill order, and his anxiety over the creature only got worse. The silent corpse merely hesitated for a split second before it broke immediately into a sprint with enough that it surprised Colin. Its movements were still mechanical but didn't seem to hinder the creature in the least.
Colin readied himself for the charge and held his dagger out and towards it, hoping to catch it in the chest with its momentum to increase the damage. And it was, inevitably, then that the woman barked a second command that made Colin's heart sink.
"Detonate upon impact with the enemy," she said as she watched.
It was too late. She'd timed that order well, and even if Colin moved or did anything, he could still be in the blast radius of the creature. He just didn't know. So with the scant amount of seconds Colin had before the thing made contact with him, Colin did the one thing he could think of. He took out one of the last remaining throwing knives he had, aimed for its left ankle, and threw.
The speed it was moving threw off the dagger's aim, and it instead had sunk into its meaty calf. The creature faltered in its movements for only a step before it caught itself quickly and finished its sprint. Colin caught it in its chest with his outstretched dagger, but the attempt was futile. He felt the creature sink onto the weapon to the hilt for a second that seemed to stretch out for way too long. Long enough that Colin thought for one joyous moment that maybe he'd clipped the correct wire on this rigged explosive.
Then the second ended, and all Colin knew way blinding light and pain that was somehow hot and cold at the exact same time. He could feel his body being flung backward at least a few feet and stop when his back slammed into what seemed like a tree.
You have taken 65 points of eldritch damage from detonated parasite infested corpse and have been thrown due to the blast. You now have 35 out of 120 health remaining.
You have been slammed into something with sufficient force to take 5 points of damage. You now have 30 out of 120 health remaining.
"Ow. Ow. Ow. Oh jeez, this hurts," Colin said as he tried to stand up and somehow found that he could still move even though he was sure that he should have a messed up spine from the blow. He took in one deep breath and scrambled to his feet shakily and was annoyed to find the dagger that he'd stabbed the corpse with missing. Growling, Colin drew the second dagger from his belt and tried to get to his feet only to find that he couldn't get up from the spot he was currently leaning.
Looking down at himself, Colin went wide-eyed at the sight of a band of air that was encircling his stomach and locking him in place to the tree. He struggled against it for a moment only to discover that he couldn't break the translucent binding that held him in place.
Shifting his gaze upward, Colin glared at the group that was approaching him with both caution and arrogance in their stride. The haughty expressions on their faces said the one thing they all knew for a fact. They'd won this fight.
"You know," Monty said with an annoying grind in his tone. "For someone who's classless and hasn't even been here for a full game day, you are a pain in the ass already."
"Well, I do aim to please," Colin responded with a chuckle.
"Come on! Let me kill this upstart asshole," the Rogue snarled. "I'd like to pay you back for the pain you've given me," he said, gesturing to his ribcage.
"I think you either need to get faster or more skilled. I was able to exploit that opening way too easily." Colin jeered with a wicked smile.
The Rogue snarled and delivered a swift kick into Colin's side.
You have been kicked by Morenstad for 10 points of damage. You now have 20 out of 120 health remaining.
Morenstad, huh? At least now Colin knew the name of the guy he disliked most in this group. Before he'd been pinned to the tree, Colin would have understood if he'd been killed because he was being obstinate over a game item. Now that he was being denied the means to fight back fairly and had even been attacked in his vulnerable state, he wasn't quite so understanding. Anger was the only thing that was keeping him from letting his breath escape violently and make him lose his focus.
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Monty rounded on Morenstad and glared at him angrily, "you stay away from him. We still need to get the weapon enhancement from him. If we can't… I am pretty sure the guild will forgive us, but it is a lot easier if we don't have to go through the bullshit of it." Then Monty turned to face Colin, his hard stare made Colin want to chuckle a little bemusedly. "Now. Are you going to behave and give me the crystal, or are we gonna have to try our luck with your corpse?"
"I'd rather not die-" Colin said with an amused smile as he looked into Monty's eyes. For a moment, Monty looked happily surprised at these turn of events. Then Colin continued, "but to give you four something just to make your life easier will only encourage such asshole behavior. That really goes against my nature. You can all can just go to hell knowing that this whole thing could have been so much easier."
Growling, Monty bent over and grabbed Colin by the hair and slammed his head into the tree.
Your head has been slammed into a solid object by MonterayRevial and have taken 15 points of damage. You now have 5 out of 120 health remaining and are now at critical health. It is recommended that you escape and live to fight another day.
No shit, game. Colin muttered through the haze that the blow had given him. Colin would have thought that the strike could have concussed him if he wasn't reasonably sure that the game would have told him that.
"You know what. You're right. We will see you in hell," he said with a wicked smile that promised nothing pleasant. "Morenstad! Kill him painfully but remember the game's rules against torture and just make it quick. Ekaterina, loot the boss's body while Volkiere does the same to the animals. Come on, let's make this quick," Monty ordered as he walked away from Colin. Suddenly dismissive of the man who'd caused him this kind of trouble.
As Monty left, Morenstad scurried up and withdrew his kukri blade from his belt and looked over Colin with a hungry look in his eye. "Now how should I do this?" he asked as he looked over my body as if he were looking over an exceptionally intricate piece of meat to slice up. "Shall I just run this up through the bottom of your jaw up into your brain?" he said while putting the tip of the blade in the optimal position to do so. "Shall drive it into your kidneys for maximum pain? Monty didn't leave me much of your health to play with, so I need to choose carefully."
Colin was about to suggest something he could do with that blade when the man suddenly made up his mind.
With a shrug, a broad smile, and a change of grip, Morenstad drove the blade downward through the hollow in Colin's neck and down into his heart.
You have been stabbed to your heart and have taken 160 points of damage from being helpless. You now have -155 out of 120 health.
There was a brief moment where he felt the blade slide into him and into his center. The torment for that handful of seconds was something that made Colin's gut sink and his body quiver in the feeling. It was mind-numbing, and the agony only made Colin wish for death for those few seconds just to end the pain.
Well, fuck that.
Colin's eyes suddenly focused on Morenstad, and rage flooded his veins as the message window for his death appeared. He ignored it for a second to look at the man who was sticking a blade into him and found strength beyond what he'd had seconds early. A deep part of his mind found it strange that he was dying and had such strength left.
His surface mind, however, was focusing on Morenstad, who was enjoying the moment of Colin's death.
The air magic broke around Colin broke with a hissing CRACK and he grabbed the man by his throat. Morenstad broke into an immediate panic as he tried to break away from Colin's grip forcefully while he gasped and tried to take in a breath.
Fortunately, choking wasn't Colin's goal.
With a strength that was fading quickly, he pulled the panicking man close to him long enough to whisper something to his face. "I will be coming for you all. Trust me when I tell you that nothing in this world will stop me from getting to you. I hope you prepare for that day so that you struggle in vain," he croaked at the end. He was going to give one last line before whatever power that was allowing him to perform even those feats of strength failed. But this was not to be as his remaining strength waned, and his consciousness fell into absolute darkness.
---
Morenstad's chest was heaving frantically from both the one-handed choke and the sudden panic that DevilWalker's movement had caused. There was no way that was possible. One moment, he was pushing his kukri into his chest and was enjoying the show and the next… that should not have been possible without a high-level ability, and he was only level three. He should not have been able to do anything with zero health remaining.
"Holy shit," Akatarina said as she walked over from the Druid's corpse. "That was freaky."
Morenstad could only nod at his party member. It was more than a little freaky, and what he'd told him was more than a little menacing as well. He'd seen a lot of horror movies back in real life, and it was never a good thing when someone delivers a threat like that. Either before or after their death.
"Moren?" Monty asked. "What's up? You okay?"
He must not have seen what happened, Morenstad concluded quickly.
"That prick, DevilWalker, suddenly broke through that air binding and got me by my fucking neck," he said, pointing to his reddened neck.
"Impossible at level three," Volkiere said definitively. "The spell guaranteed that it would take a thirty strength minimum to break through that spell."
"Well, he fucking did it," Morenstad said. "What made it worse was that he did all this while at zero health."
"No way," Monty said immediately. "I call bullshit. That's impossible at his level."
"I know, but that's what happened. It was freaky as shit," Morenstad said frantically.
"Well, at least it'ss over and done with," Monty said, shrugging. "Just loot his body and see what we can come up with. We were already planning on mugging him anyway, so lets get a move on. Hopefully, we get that crystal."
Nodding at Monty, Morenstad touched the area just above where the DevilWalker's heart would have been and read the prompt that appeared.
Would you like to loot the body of DevilWalker? Yes/ No - Note: When looting a player, you will only get one item that they did not have equipt at the time of their death.
Selecting yes, Morenstad grumbled when the item listed wasn't what they were hoping for but was mildly placated when he saw what it actually was.
You have looted an EXP Booster Pill from the player DevilWalker
"Hey Monty, this is a bad news, good news sort of situation," Morenstad said, looking at their party leader. "Bad news, we did not get that weapon augmentation crystal. Good news though, we got an EXP Booster Pill. Any chance that would help placate the On-Duty Sergeant?"
Monty reached over and grabbed the small pill bottle that had appeared in Morenstad's hand. He read the prompt window that appeared and nodded. "They'll still be pissed, but this will keep us off gold grinding duty. In fact, this might just let us off scot-free. These are rare, you know," he said, not taking his eyes off the small pill container.
"Well, at least we can tell the Guild Leader that we encountered this secret boss," Akatarina said with a shrug. "That might earn us a reward on top of this," she said, gesturing to the bottle.
"Alright, then. Did we finish looting everything?" Monty asked as he looked at each of his people.
All of them nodded, and he clapped his hands once to capture their attention to his words. "Good work, everyone. Killing this guy may have been annoying but at least we got some decent loot. So let's head back and report to the guild."
With smile on his face and a relaxed step in his walk, Monty led the group out of the clearing the same way they entered.
Morenstad was the only one that looked back at the corpse of the player they killed. The words he'd spoken in those bone-chilling seconds he'd remained after death loomed in his mind. Something about those rage-filled eyes made Morenstad freeze in his steps and stare at the body. Would he really come after them when he respawned?
It was unlikely. Even if DevilWalker wanted to come after them, the party's average level was twelve, and Monty's was 15. There was no way he'd be able to beat them in a fight without serious help.
"Everything alright?" Ekaterina asked as she looked back to see what he was staring at. "Why are you so fixated on this guy? We've done this before, and you've never acted this spooked. Was it because of that weird thing with him moving after death? If it bothers you, just report it to a GM. It might be a glitch," she suggested.
"I probably will do that." He said with a nod. "But that wasn't it. When he lingered after death and grabbed my neck, he said something. It was…" he paused to find the right word. "Unnerving."
"Wow. It must have been to get you like this. What did he say?" Ekaterina asked.
"That he'd kill us all and that nothing would stop him," Morenstad said, looking away from the body to look at Ekaterina.
"That's all? He got a chance to actually say his last words and he threatens you? Wow, that's cliche." she said, brushing him off. "Come on. Let's not keep our fearless leader waiting. I'll buy you a shot of that vodka you like," she said, enticing him on, attempting to force him to forget what he'd witnessed with her nonchalant personality.
"Oh, come on. Just because my family's from Russia doesn't mean I always drink vodka. That's stereotyping, and I resent it," he said, allowing her to entice his mind away from the incident.