“And then what happened?” McKenna asked, walking up next to Nox as she joined him in observing the creature.
They stood in the tunnels a few minute’s walk outside of GrimHold. Old and damaged, some outright destroyed, emplacements laid around them. Rielle stood off to the side, bow in hand but no arrow drawn as Larry stood near their new guest as it chewed on an old wood palisade.
The Chimeric Fire Wyvern was a creature that looked ready to devastate a village in the middle of nowhere. It looked much like a standard monster of its kind with a dragon head, a pair of opposable wings where its forearms should be, a standard pair of hind legs, and a stinger on the end of a tail that was overlong. But this Wyvern had been blended with a Fell Devourer’s Fire Element using Colin’s Chimerology Skill. Embers flew out of its burning eyes, heat shimmered from its membranous wings, and the inside of its chest cavity glowed with internal heat.
And that did not mention its more flavourful changes, like its much larger and toothier maw and portions of its hide that looked made of burning coal.
“I was ready to fight it again,” Colin started, gesturing to the creature with both arms. “But then it whimpered and exposed its belly, and it just became so sad, and I couldn’t kill it. But then I got another prompt. Asking me if I wish to tame the monster.”
“How did you get the option to tame it?” McKenna sighed. “And why do you get all the cool shit?”
“Because I am pure of heart and strong of spirit,” Colin said straight-faced.
“Ha, the Demon Lord Candidate being pure of heart!” Larry howled. “That’s funny, right?” he asked Rielle.
She nodded, “it does sound rather contradictory, Walker.”
“That is the point,” Colin told them and sighed. “Okay, it was one of the skills in the book I got for the Miniaturize Ritual. I wasn’t trying to get the Skill, but I suppose I managed to achieve the prerequisites,” he shrugged.
“What Skill exactly?” McKenna asked, now more curious than annoyed.
“Monster Taming,” Colin informed her. “Here, let me show you the skill.”
Monster Taming Level 1 - You understand that monsters are not just mindless beasts that kill kill kill; they have wants and needs as well. They can be befriended and soothed enough to be tamed for various uses. With this Skill, you can bend monsters to your service using various means—bribery, treats, domination, mind control, emotional control, or just capturing and training them. Use whatever means at your disposal to make monsters obey; know that the chances of each method increase or decrease depending on your skill level and Charisma against their level and whatever mental attribute is higher.
You also gain a viewable status sheet of any monster you tame.
“That is both descriptive and non-descriptive at the same time,” McKenna thought out loud.
Colin nodded emphatically, “that is what I thought, but the book said this,” Colin said, conjuring the Aartrin’s Manual for Monster Collection. He opened the book to the Miniaturize Ritual and pointed to a passage marked synergies at the end of its section.
‘Miniaturized Monsters seem to have their minds affected by the same magic that reshapes their body of storage and safekeeping. Making them more docile towards the Ritual caster specifically, making Taming and other similar effects stronger.’
“Okay,” McKenna asked, looking back at the beast. “What are you going to do with it?”
“I’m not sure; I honestly had not thought about it too hard yet. Felt like I should talk to you about it before I did anything,” said Colin.
“What about its status sheet? Have you looked at it yet?” she asked.
He nodded, “Yes, but I can show you if you like. This monster is kind of interesting,” Colin confirmed. And as soon as she nodded, he pulled up its status sheet and showed her.
Name: Tamed Chimeric Fire Wyvern(Changeable).
Species: Chimeric Wyvern(Lesser Dragon).
Age: 4 years old(Pre-chimerization).
Traits: Lesser Dragon, Fire Element, Poison stinger(mix fire/poison), Weak Dragon Hide, Dark Vision, Improved sense(Smell), Poison Resistance, Fire Resistance, Feral Intellect.
Level 1 Chimeric Fire Wyvern
A monster blended with a monster of Fell Fire to create a more vicious creature. It is loyal to the being that defeated and tamed it, but never forget that a mistreated dog will bite back, and a Lesser Dragon will do more than bite.
“Okay, this is pretty cool. But what about-” McKenna started before Colin pulled up the descriptions of the traits.
Trait: Lesser Dragon - A dragon is a creature of great magic, intellect, and physical might. This creature merely imitates its shape and powers. Lesser Dragons have improved senses, paralysis resistance, compulsion resistance, Omni-drain Resistance, and Deafening Resistance.
Trait: Fire Element - This creature has access to the primordial element of flame. This monster can learn fire magic and fire special attacks, and many of its natural abilities are now enhanced by this element.
Trait: Poison Stinger(Mix fire/poison) - This creature has a poison stinger at the tip of its tail, allowing it to use this appendage to strike at creatures to deal direct damage with the stinger and indirect damage with the poison. The Fire Element has enhanced this poison, adding fire damage to the poison damage.
Trait: Weak Dragon Hide - A draconic hide can turn away blows that softer-skinned enemies cannot compare to. Even steel armor is inferior to this skin. Weak Dragon hide is weaker but still sturdy.
Trait: Dark Vision - A monster with this can see in the dark pretty well compared to other creatures, but it does have a weakness to sudden bright lights.
Trait: Improved Sense(Smell) - This creature’s sense of smell is several times stronger.
Trait: Poison Resistance 1 - Poisons have a harder time taking hold of this creature; even if they do, they have reduced potency.
Trait: Fire Resistance 1 - Fire deals less damage to this creature.
Trait: Feral Intellect - This creature has an intellect that is above animalistic and primal, giving this monster a better tactical understanding of the world around it. It has better problem-solving intelligence.
McKenna’s mouth turned upwards in a grin that told Colin everything. He walked up to her instead of across from her and asked, “So, what do we want to do with this guy?”
“Oh, I have a few ideas,” McKenna told him seriously.
They talked about it briefly, with everyone else interjecting their ideas. The only one who seemed indifferent was the Wyvern itself.
“Okay,” Colin said, clapping his hands and concluding this debate. “I think we have this figured out. “But first, My beautiful killer queen,” Colin started, gathering her attention. “Would you like to name it?”
She smiled at Colin and told him, “How does Aldinfrey sound?”
“A little ostentatious, but it works for me,” Colin said, changing its name.
“It is not ostentatious; it is very regal and dragon-like. I mean, every dragon in video games has a very busy-sounding name,” she explained. “And I feel that this guy will be fantastic and regal.”
“So, now what?” Rielle asked.
“Now, I give it its first real command and see what happens,” Colin told them. “Aldinfrey, come here!” he called. The Wyvern looked at him, a small plume of flame exiting its nostrils as it huffed. It approached him slowly, and with trepidation, the tip of its nose pointed down as it got close.
“Good,” Colin nodded to himself. “I have a task for you,” he told it, confirming that he had its attention. Aldinfrey looked up at him and waited, huffing once as if ascent. “Your life is not about survival anymore, Aldinfrey. I want you to grow stronger, so, for the moment, I want you to go and fight other monsters. Clear out these tunnels of everything but things that look like him,” he pointed at Nox.
“Do you understand?” Colin asked the monster, feeling a little foolish, treating it as a truly intelligent creature.
The Wyvern blinked and nodded its head once. It backed away from Colin the same way it approached, head tilted down and eyes darting to the floor and him as it backed away. At around fifteen meters, it turned away and scurried off into the tunnels, a roar echoing in its wake.
“Good call adding that no Goblin hunting clause,” Nox said, speaking for the first time since joining them here. “The Legions are busy enough without worrying about a rogue and special monster roaming the tunnels around GrimHold.”
“Well, what can I say, Nox? I do think one should not bite the hands that feed you. The goblins have been good to me so far. I would hate to jeopardize that already,” said Colin. “Well, I will not play with that Skill again for a few days now. Best to find out what happens with this guy before I make more.”
Nodding along, Nox said, “Wise.”
“What about you, Nox?” Rielle asked, walking up to them. “What have you been up to?”
“Oh, you know, spending time with the goddess. Catching up on recent events and reliving old times,” Nox told them, smiling wistfully. “Apparently, the Limbocyte problem is worse than they let on.”
“I’ll bet,” Larry said, grinning.
“Quiet, Demon,” Nox snarled, turning to Larry. “Goblins do not have Demon Lords and ArchDemons to fight the forces of Limbo. They have done well considering what they have had to deal with and fight against.”
“And what is that exactly?” Colin asked.
“Limbo is a Plane of Chaotic life and perpetual change. Physical laws are there, but they change every waking moment, which is why that Limbocyte I fought was constantly changing. According to the goddess, the area around the portal where the Limbo Monsters emerge has become alive and acts like them. A chaotic and shifting cave,” Nox explained. “It converts the tunnels around it slowly, only going faster when the Limbocytes conquer sections of the cave.”
“So, what, are they advancing on the Goblins to convert more of the tunnels?” McKenna confirmed.
“Indeed, but-”
“It is worse than that,” Larry interrupted. “If enough of the tunnel gets converted into a Limboformed space, they could spawn in this world. You know, instead of spawning in Limbo only. If that happened, it would not be the worst thing, but it would mark the beginning of the end for the underground.”
The Goblin glared at the Demon, “while you are quite correct. Do not interrupt me again,” he said, tone threatening violence. Then Nox coughed into his fist and continued, “Basically, if the Limbo Portal gets closed soon enough, the growth will halt. No matter how many Limbo monsters are still in the tunnels.”
“Then, why don’t we, or they just do that?” Rielle asked. “You have a goddess on your side and a lot of Goblins with special powers; why not?”
“That has to do with what is already down there,” Nox looked at Colin. “Have you ever heard of an Unbidden Knight?”
Colin shrugged, “no, I haven’t.”
Nox looked around for anyone to answer, and Larry was the one to answer. “Yeah, Unbidden Knights are special undead, an obscure upgrade for the Death Knight. Never seen one, but supposedly, one can go toe to toe with a standard-sized Grendel contingent. Why?” Larry asked.
“One last parting gift from the Gnomes. They left one of these near the portal. Normally, it would not be a problem if you get a big enough force or a good team, and they will go down. But the Limbo-formed tunnel changed it; now it is the beast that blocks the gate, literally.” Nox said, then looked at Colin. “I do not think I can do this alone, Walker.”
“Why not? You are the highest level… anything I have seen so far,” Colin told him emphatically.
“Because it’s not about levels, Bossman,” Larry told him. “The more important detail is that Nox here is a Crafter/ Caster character who doesn’t have what it takes. Literally, he does not have the ingredients to do anything fantastic against the Limbocytes.”
“And admittedly,” Nox continued for Larry, though he gave Larry an annoyed side-eye. “Even if I did have all the ingredients in the world, I don’t think it would be enough without my Conqueror of Shadows Ability. My spells and crafts won’t have the power to fight through their inherent power and defenses.”
“So, what does that mean?” Rielle asked. “Are the Goblins just doomed, then?”
“Of course not,” Nox rebuffed. “But I am saying that we will need something to turn the tide against them, and soon at that. At the rate that GrimHold is losing ground, they have a few weeks, maybe a few months, before the Limbocytes create a proper terrain for them to spawn here.”
“So, what do you want from us? We are nowhere near a high enough level to help in this sort of thing,” Rielle told him. “One hit from that Limbocyte that you fought, and I would have died,” she swallowed as that dread sunk in.
“True enough,” Nox admitted. “But that is where this comes in,” Nox told them, pulling out a five-sided badge with Hel’s half-living and half-dead face printed upon it. It was made of clean steel, and Nox handed them to everyone there except Larry. Colin noted that the edges were carved with enchanting runes to prevent fraudulent use.
Nox gave them a few seconds to look over the badge before continuing, “It took some convincing, but I convinced the goddess and the city’s upper echelon to allow me to give you these. These passes are normally only given to Goblins that do their tour of duty and are allowed access to special requisitions, information, and many other permissions. So, I cheated to let you get things that will help. For example, we have teleporters that can connect to the above-ground networks. You know, for the quest the goddess gave you.”
“You mean the quest we have no lead on and the Goblin heroes have tried and failed to do?” Colin snorted. “Great, we will get right on that.”
“Oh, DevilWalker. May I offer you a suggestion?” Nox asked, tone gentle but firm.
Shrugging, Colin said, “Sure, why not. Because I can keep doing what I am doing, but I assume you have a better idea.”
Grinning, Nox said, “Could you remind me what your main class’s name is?”
“Antagonist,” Colin told him, unsure where this was going.
“In other words, the villain, right?” Nox continued. “Then why are you holding back?”
Colin furrowed his brows at the question, but Nox continued before he could answer. “Given what I have seen of you, DevilWalker, you can hit above your level due to your cunning, skills, and ruthlessness. I remember your battle against ALAN, which you should not have won for many more levels with your party size.”
“And you think I am holding back?” Colin questioned. “What gives you that idea?”
“The fact that you are avoiding bringing the world down upon you,” Nox told him simply. “You told me that when the One God Above All told you how you could go back to your world, the simplest way he said was to play your role. How are you doing that by being passive?”
That was something that took Colin a moment to think through. He certainly did not feel like he was being passive, always working and growing his skills and level. But that did not mean he thought Nox was wrong. He certainly hadn’t done things that would make him gain the enmity of others simply because it was convenient not to gain infamy. What new options would he open if he removed that thought from his processes?
Smiling, Colin looked at the Goblin with a new light. “Firstly, Nox, I would like to say that I wasn’t being passive; I was being careful. I don’t think I can handle it if all the Outworlders were to come after me at once.”
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
Nox nodded, “fair point, and?”
“And I think there are ways around that, don’t you?” Colin’s smile turned vicious as he looked over the badge he was given. “Any chance I can requisition books, preferably ones with duplicates.”
Nox released a cuffing laugh, “Any particular books?”
“Yes, enchanting books. I don’t know how to do what I need, and I guess I have some reading to do,” Colin told him.
“I’m lost,” said Larry. “What’s going on?”
“I think Walker is about to do something interesting and mean to someone,” Rielle guessed. “But I have no idea how without people finding out it was him and coming back later.”
McKenna said excitedly, “Oh, are we about to go black-ops?”
“Oh yeah, we are,” Colin confirmed. “But we will have to take some time to figure this out. Won’t do to be interrupted by people who know I or we killed them.”
“How are you going to do that?” Rielle asked. “There are rare abilities that let you hide your status and name, but I haven’t heard of items that do that.”
“Well, let me see if I can change that,” Colin confirmed. He grabbed McKenna’s hand and held it as he turned to walk back to GrimHold. “But first, let’s get a wardrobe change! It won’t do for the world to see the Antagonist of Pride’s first public introduction and not be dressed for the occasion, right?!”
<><><><><>
The Fields of Elantra is a set of elemental plains that border the Elven Kingdom and the Blasted Lands. It is a unique area in Rosengard that is about twenty miles square and is built to be variable in a game where the monsters don’t vary in specific areas. A pack lives in a forest, and they don’t change much unless an event alters them.
The Fields of Elantar change throughout the year; the monsters change, the field challenges change, and the bosses alter and grow. The Earth Field gains bonuses in autumn, the Water/Ice Field gains bonuses in Winter, The Air Field in Spring, and the Fire Field gets theirs in summer. This place is where players can get many rare experiences, resources, and unique drops.
With it being the beginning of summer, the Fire Field is just starting to become more dangerous than usual. Like all of the other fields, it was a planned area around ten miles in diameter and looked like a field. The Fire Field was filled with grass that released embers constantly, sporadic tree glowed as if it was burning inside their bark, and the small river running through it burned and sparked.
Most people avoided these areas when they were empowered; the monsters acted more aggressively, making it harder for players to take a breath.
And for most players, they avoided it on principle unless they needed something from that field during that time. Unless they are battle junkies or want the challenge.
And currently walking through the Fire Field was a trio of mid-leveled Players. Jaya Juste, a Witch Raven, wore dark leather and a cloak covered with raven feathers. Holly, the Survivor, wore a simple button-down blouse with rolled sleeves, loose slacks, and light boots. Then there was Milo, the Armored Brute, who wore a thick metal plate on his arms and chest as clothes and armor, which did little to cover his massive muscles.
Milo walked ahead of his two companions and kept his barely sharpened greatsword shouldered and ready. When they encountered an enemy, like a horde of Burning Rats, he took the lead and drew in the enemy. Jaya would swoop in and strike at the enemy while focusing on maintaining her momentum and her sickle’s movement. All the while, Holly ran up and punched any enemy in reach, rats included.
“Come on,” Milo groaned, pulling a pair of rat teeth from his shoulder. “We need to go deeper to find the good stuff. Burning Rat Teeth sell alright, but they aren’t Field Fire Elemental Cores. Am I Right?”
“Yes, you are!” Cheered Jaya, raising one of her bloody sickles into the air, the blood igniting with the movement. She exclaimed in happiness at the flaming blood and twisted the weapon in her hands, staring at the twisting flames.
“Then, let’s go-”
“That way!” Holly proclaimed simultaneously as Milo, but pointing in a different direction.”
Milo looked at her with a raised eyebrow, “that way? Why that way?”
Holly shrugged, “why not? It looks the same as that way.”
“But I see a roaming monster over there,” Milo said, pointing at a black thing in a patch of tall ember grass. When the thing stopped and turned to look at them, he looked at his companions and smiled, “See, it even wants us to murder it and take its stuff.”
Both women looked at the black spot he was gesturing to, and Holly perked up excitedly, “Wait! I don’t recognize that thing. Is it a new field monster?”
“I doubt it,” Milo shrugged. “They don’t update this area much, especially after the season starts. It might be a solo player, but something is off. What do you think, Jaya?”
“I think we should get moving; either way, we are wasting time here. I have work in a few hours, so I want to get some actual progress done,” she groaned, shoulders slumping. “Come on, let’s kill it.”
“Hell yeah,” Milo exclaimed, pumped as they approached the monster.
As they got closer, the monster started coming for them, its humanoid head appearing over the grass. As they got closer, they found the thing was a huge half-serpent creature. From the waist up, it had the body of a bronze-skinned beauty with growing black hair and a torso covered in a gemstone-laden blouse and sari. And from the waist down, she was a massive snake, black scale with orange diamonds covering its back.
The monster approached, emerging from the tall grass, drawing a pair of curved swords from its back, and hissing in a challenge, its sharp teeth peeling away from its gums.
Holly immediately took charge and sprinted ahead of Milo, much to his displeasure. She leaped into the air, fist pulled back and ready to hammer at the monster. But was forced to change tactics as soon as the Naga swung its twin swords; it was incredibly fast. She intercepted the cuts with her fists, charging them with mana to keep them from being cut, failing immediately. The blades cut into her fist, the Survivor only mitigating the damage instead of stopping them.
Milo analyzed the monster using one of his Berserker Abilities, Wild Insight.
Naga Coal Dancer, Challenge Rating Lv. 59.
Special Attack: Burning Earth.
Strong Against: Fire Damage, Slashing Damage, Poison Damage, and Paralysis Effects.
Weak Against: Cold Damage, Serpent Bane, and Charm Effects.
“Level fifty-nine Challenge Rating!” he announced. “Weak to Cold, Serpent Bane, and charm effects!”
“Great! That only makes sense since we are in a fucking Fire Field!” she shouted, running in and activating her Sickles. They burst out with an aura of extreme cold, white mist wafting off it and a film of ice coming off it.
Milo huffed an annoyed breath and hurried over to join the battle, his sword swinging wide and strong. Their tactics were simple and reasonably effective. They were all primary melee fighters, so Milo and Jaya attacked in turns when they fought one monster while Holly focused on taking the hits.
The Survivor Specialized Class had massive boosts to passive healing and regeneration and was generally more resilient to different damage types. This was the main reason Milo wasn’t tanking the Naga’s attacks. Instead, she was doing it. Her tactic was to use her mana-imbued fists to block damage and take only what she had to, but that was not doing so well against this Naga. Its damage output was higher than it looked.
But still, they did their best; this monster being a good twelve levels above their own, made this a challenge. But the higher the level, the harder it became to level and to do so at a reasonable pace, which is why they fought monsters obviously above their weight class. The battle raged for several minutes before the Naga released its Special Attack.
It let out a hiss and tilted its face to the sky in the challenge as the ground around it began to burn and crack. Soil burned and popped, grass and foliage disintegrated, and the already oppressive air in the Fire Field around them worsened. The earth around them looked like a cooling lava flow for five meters surrounding the Naga, and all three started receiving passive fire damage.
“Well, honestly, it’s not what I expected,” Milo said casually. “I expected something like explosions that leave a scorched earth effect, not literally Burning Earth.”
“Come on. We need to get back….” Holly said, looking around for Jaya. She turned around and spun in place while the Naga moved slowly towards them, a condition of the Burning Earth Special Attack, they supposed. “Where did Jaya go?”
They looked around momentarily before both combatants looked back at each other and nodded. The Naga and the reward for killing it would come first; Jaya would have done the same thing in their place. Holly leaped into combat. First, the flames engulfed her but did not deal much damage to her due to her resistance.
Milo’s phone attached to his belt vibrated, and he considered not even sparing it a thought. Not many people would message him at this time of day, and he would willingly ignore most of them. But the timing felt very suspicious. So he looked at it and found Jaya’s name on the Caller ID.
“Jaya, did the thing kill you? We didn’t see a bod-”
No!” she yelled; anger tinted her voice, making it a bit disturbing. “I was PK’ed!” she told him. “They are still there! No idea who they are! The Player Killer announcement prompt only listed them as ‘Unknown.’”
“Shit,” Milo said, looking around. “I gotta go.”
“Kill that son of a bi!” she screamed at him as he hung up on her.
He looked around for any sign that someone else was there but found nothing. All around them, all Milo found was the tall fire grass and Holly fighting the Naga within its Burning Earth. She was holding out for now, but it looked like it was starting to wear her down. The cuts all along her skin were healing slower, and the burn wounds appeared to worsen.
“Could use some help here!” Holly yelled, leaping over the Naga and drop-kicking it. The Naga defended itself with a pair of crossed swords and pulled them apart across her skin, dealing eleven more damage.
Milo wrestled with what to do for a moment. There were options here, but they could have been better, given what he knew. But after a moment, he yelled, “Jaya was Pk’ed! Watch out!”
“They’re onto us! Mortias, you handle the Naga for as long as you can! Fey and Honey, you handle the Survivor. I’ll take on the Brute!” shouted a man from the tall grass as four people sprinted out from the Tall Fire Grass.
They all wore the same type of armor, whatever it was, just tailored for each individual. It was a mix of plate and leather pieces covered by a cloak of dark fabric; the helmet itself was a bucket helm with only a slit for the wearer to see through. The metal was pitted, the leather worn, and even the cloak looked tattering along the edges. All that and the antagonistic air these four held made them look sinister.
All three moved in to charge at their designated targets. One taller than the rest sprinted towards the Naga, leaping into the air and stomping into the ground with a proclamation of an ability, “HellRime Wave!”
A blast of red-tinted ice blew out from the point of impact, rippling outwards and brushing against the Naga and Holly. Both were blasted back, almost immediately to their feet and fighting their new targets. But the Naga looked outmatched. A layer of that same ice covered the armor, and neither its fire nor swords seemed able to penetrate it. A fact that the man in the ice-covered armor laughed at and punched the Naga in the gut.
Holly was ready when a pair of women attacked her. One carried an odd polearm with a spike on one end and a heavy-duty hook on the other, and the other was wielding a bow. The Survivor was immediately put on the defensive when green-gold flames erupted around her and made her scream. “What is this? Blight? I don’t have a resistance to this!” She worked to contend with the polearm woman, but this woman knew her weapon. She moved it in confusing movements that made predicting its next move harder.
With a thrust from the spike or a swipe from the hook, Holly seemed to be having difficulty contending with an actual person. And those devastating flames were dealing damage to a Survivor.
As for the last one, he stood before Milo with a wooden sheath in one hand and a thin guardless sword in the other. The two parts of the sword cane were glowing with many enchanted sigils that added malevolence to the look. He had other weapons strapped to his belt: a dagger with a knuckle duster guard and a shortsword that gave Milo the heebee geebees.
“So, which one of you killed Jaya?” Milo asked, flexing and readying himself to take care of this one. Though he wore armor, Milo had skills and abilities that could tear through them like tissue paper.
“Who knows?” he said with a cocky lilt. “All I know is that you will join her in respawn next.”
“You sonuvabitch!” Milo yelled. He dropped into a stance, holding his slab of a sword in both hands and off to the side, announcing a slew of ability names that boosted his combat performance. “Brute Force! Armor Shearing! Bear Totem! Light as a Feather! Water Crushes Rock! Berserk!” The Armored Brute announced the buffs overtaking his body. The mysterious assailant only watched passively as they took hold.
“Interesting,” he said as soon as Milo finished. “Shall we see how you do?”
And so Milo charged, the sword swinging widely in a diagonal slice that would fall a tree. Water Crushes Rock Ability increased his movement speed and reflexes by a moderate degree, Light As A Feather decreased how much his equipment affected his movements, and his Berserk Skill increased his physical attributes by a large margin for as long as his stamina kept up. The effect of his attack was impressive, his movements making him a cutting blur.
But the man in front of him didn’t dodge for an impressive second; he instead spoke a spell that Milo didn’t hear and blanketed the area with a shadowy mist. The man must have dodged after Milo couldn’t see him because he did not feel the sword connect with him.
You have been stabbed by *Unknown* and have taken 57 points of damage.
You have been stabbed by *Unknown* and have taken 71 points of damage.
And he stabbed him twice while dealing with the follow-through from the swing. Then while he was winding up for his next attack, aiming directly underneath him, the man announced, “Stunning Slap!”
Wisdom Check Failed! You have been Stunned by *Unknown* for six seconds.
All his muscles stopped obeying his commands for six long seconds. He had been Paralyzed in the past but never stunned, and this was frustrating.
The man quickly stabbed him several times, dealing mediocre damage with each attack. His Damage Reduction Ability did its job to reduce all damage he took, but even as it did its job passively, and he lost Health with every stab.
Six seconds passed, and he hurriedly rushed out of the cloud of shadow that kept him from seeing the attacks coming. But as he backed away, Milo was stabbed again; this attack did not slide in and back out like his sword thrusts; this one remained impaled inside him as he left the shadow cloud.
You have been impaled by *Unknown* and have taken 49 points of damage.
You have been inflicted with the ‘Hellish Degeneration’ by an Enchanted Weapon. You take 5 health a second until the weapon is removed.
Milo immediately tried to pull the weapon from his stomach, only to find that the weapon resisted his efforts. Every time he pulled on it and moved it more out of his flesh, it tore another chuck out.
“Good luck with that,” the stranger said smugly. “It’s a barbed and enchanted spike.”
“You dick,” Milo spat, hand still holding the spike. “I am going to kill you,” he growled.
“I doubt it,” he told him. “Your level is higher than mine, but that does not mean you have any real skill worth noting. You chose to be a Berserker, a hack-and-slash character with no finesse whatsoever. You should find a place to practice fighting people. We tend to be rather devious,” the Unknown man told him.
Growling, Milo gripped the rod in his gut that was steadily destroying his insides and glared daggers at this opponent. Then, without breaking eye contact, he pulled the entire shaft out in one massive pull.
You have pulled a heavily barbed spike out of your body and taken 215 points of damage.
Hellish Degeneration Status Effect has worn off.
And with a Berserker buffed strength, he threw the spike at his stranger like a giant dart.
And He ducked away from the projectile and announced the Skill, “Kinetic Vigor!” His body vibrated, making his body blur with the optical distortion. Then he ran at Milo, the speed boost he gained was nothing compared to the multiple bonuses he had gotten, but it was still an improvement. Then he announced another ability he recognized from Paladin or Blackguard Characters. “Aligned Strike!”
He thrust his Cane Sword at Milo and intercepted the thrust on the flat of his massive sword. But, much to his dismay, the man reactivated the Skill, spun around with his back to the sword, and thrust into Milo again.
You have been stabbed by *Unknown* and have taken 110 points of damage.
Your Health has been corrupted by Evil. Your maximum Health has been reduced by two points.
Be warned, your Health is low.
“Shit,” Milo grumbled. He looked back at his other party member, hoping that she was being an ass and waiting for him to cry out for help. His eyes widened as he saw her kneeling and watching this battle with weapons aimed at her head. She was healing slowly, but now, she could do nothing. Even the Naga they were fighting before this all started was hobbled and dying from that last person, whoever they were.
“So, tell me, Milo,” the stranger asked. “Do you feel like this is a game now?”
“What?” he asked in a grumble. “This is a game, you know, the thing that allows you to be an absolute dick to people.”
“Oh, thank you,” the Unknown man said, thrusting his sword again at the Armored Brute.
Milo attempted to defend himself, but his sword was not optimum for deafening himself against faster weapons. He was stabbed multiple times in rapid succession, his Health going from around twenty percent to zero in a few seconds.
You have been killed by *Unknown Player*. Due to the killer’s Ability, you lose a percentage of your accumulated Experience.
Milo died, staring at his killer with red in his vision. He felt helpless, useless, and angry. Whoever these people were, they targeted them and had a plan in place for them. They seemed perfectly capable of killing them all, despite his opponent saying he had a lower level.
<><><><><>
You have killed The Player, Milo, and your Ability Player Killer 1 has triggered. You gain 312,501 EXP out of his held experience points to the next level. You now have 317,971/627,232 until level 26
Colin turned away from the Armored Brute, looking at the ground where his body had fallen. Smiling under the helmet, Colin picked up a small uncut gem that was clear with swirls of red mixed inside it.
Aspect of Violence(normal) Weight: 1 gram. Durability: 20/20. Item Quality: 8. Item Type: Magical Crafting.
An average Aspect of Violence in size, power, and usefulness. Used to power many tools of the Infernal Armies, this item can also be used to fuel certain Demons for several days in place of sustenance.
Colin shrugged, pocketed the gem, and left the rest of the Player’s gear alone. Killing him would piss him off enough; better not to add more fuel to the fire unless he had a use for the items in question.
Turning to Holly, the Survivor, Colin looked at his wife and said, “No problems with this, right?”
She shrugged, “Not really. She’s a player; she’ll come back in a few hours. Go for it.”
“Outworlders come back to life, so I don’t have a problem with it,” Rielle told him seriously. “Besides, you need the goodies.”
Nodding to both of them, Colin thrust his sword up through the bottom of her jaw and into her head, trying to kill her quickly before she could protest.
You have killed The Player, Holly, and your Ability Player Killer 1 has triggered. You gain 37,203 EXP out of his held experience points to the next level. You now have 355,174/627,232 until level 26
Your Hubris Ability has activated, and you have gained a Specialized Class skill or Ability from the Player, Holly. The Ability, ‘Advanced Acclimation’ has been added to your Hubris Menu.
“Awesome,” Colin said, removing his helmet since all the players were dead. He was about to tell them the good news when Rielle took off and dropped her helmet, looking at Colin with glee.
“Walker, did you know that we get some of the Experience from you killing Outworlders?! Nobody gets Experience points from killing them! This is incredible! I am close to leveling up again!” Rielle told him happily.
“Great!” Colin told her, looking at McKenna. “You got Experience, too, right?”
“Yeah, but not from that first kill that I did,” she said. “We should have had you kill that Jaya girl; we could have gotten much more experience.”
“Well,” Colin said, sighing. “Lesson learned.” He leaned down to find another Aspect of Violence on the ground near Holly’s body. Two down, as many more as he could get to go.
Larry returned a minute later, a halter top made of golden thread held in his hands. He had beaten the monster and was looking over the spoils. They had won this battle, and Colin enjoyed the thought of power leveling his other Party members up a few times so they could all reap the benefits.