=== [PLAYER/ KILLER] ===

In the depths of the forest of Barna, south of the city of Rathcroghan, a figure was said to appear.

One whose face was shrouded in mystery, whose voice has yet to be heard.  

One that exists deep in the depths of the forest, sitting atop the trees.

One that appears under the light of the full moon.

[The Hound of the Forest], the one said to rule over the wolves of the forest.

[The Off-bound Killer], a hunter of the night that preys on the curious fools that stray too far.

To those dare go beyond the boundary, take caution, lest you become its next prey.

=== [PLAYER/ KILLER] ===

== [Barna Forest] ==

She could hear the sound of branches and leaves cracking as she pushed her way through the never ending wall of branches. Her armour would likely already have a thousand scratches had it not been made of higher class materials.

Her advance was slow and draining. It was night time and the trees blocked essentially all the light of the full moon. On top of that, she had to pay careful attention to her footing or she’d definitely trip from the large roots of the closely bundled trees.

She wondered if forests in the real world were this annoying. She couldn’t even imagine having to fight mobs in this area, let alone having a [Duel] with an infamous [Killer].

If not for the item [Guidance of the Fireflies] that produced illuminated a set range around her, she wouldn’t even be able to see anything.

“My [Stamina] isn’t gonna to last long in this place… The durability on my Armour looks like it had taken a small hit, but this is definitely gonna cost me, not to mention I’m running low on fireflies.”

She looked at the translucent screen that floated in mid-air. Her status screen was displayed and

she noted that her [Stamina Bar] had already been reduced by two levels; with the [Durability] of most of her equipment down to 30 from 40.

She had expected it but certainly not to this extent. The [Stamina Penalty] placed on players when they went beyond the intended boundaries of the map were far more severe that she had thought.

“Well I can’t exactly turn back now… it’s the only real lead I have on The Hound.”

The Hound of the Forest. The Off-bound Killer. A [Player Killer] that rose into prominence two months ago in real time. The moment the very first rumour of a mysterious [Killer] operating beyond the boundaries of the map, her curiosity had been sparked.

Those in her friend list would describe it as a sort of ‘obsession’ more than a healthy curiosity but she never heeded the words of boring people that neither had a sense of adventure nor bear any appreciation for a good mystery.

“Okay, Scout said that the Hound should appear near this area since there were few places where the light of the moon actually shines through.”

Truth be told, she had gone on this self-assigned quest with very little preparation. Despite the infamy of her target, accurate information was scarce, and it was only the ever trustworthy information provided by [Scout] that even gave her a chance.

On one hand, glorious battle between a [Knight] and a [Killer] under the gaze of the full moon tingled her sense of adventure. It was a picture perfect scene for a fantasy story and that was the stuff of her dreams.

On the other hand, said glorious battle would take place in her target’s territory, which happens to be so prohibitive in movement that she even doubted she could actually swing her sword without it getting caught in some tree branch.

“Damn it! Okay, that’s it… I’m beating the hell out of these stupid trees and their branches!”

At most times, she would praise the sheer level of dedication that the developers had put into programming the interaction between the player and the objects within the environment.

They had truly succeeded in bringing about an MMO that fully took advantage of Virtual Reality.

Right now though, she just wished there was an option to turn the damned thing off.

She let out a sigh as she pushed away yet another set of branches with the small buckler that was attached to her gauntlet.

“Just a bit more Saoirse, have patience. Though If I don’t find anything in the next 20 minutes, I’ll just transport back…”

Proceeding to literally kick and punch her way through the forest, she finally found a more spacious area that had slightly better visibility.

“…!?”

Without warning, she felt something fly by her head and hit the three.

Immediately bringing up her shield in front of her face, her free hand moved to open her equipment menu. Her fingers moved with practiced ease and the next moment, wisps of light covered her head, forming a helmet.

She had opted not to [Toggle it off] due to the visibility penalties but an exposed [Vital] against an opponent with throwing weapons was asking for trouble.

When she was fully equipped, she dropped her arm slightly to allow her to see. Her free hand drawing her weapon, a crimson [Arming Sword].

“… A warning shot huh?”

She couldn’t help but grin in excitement as she raised her head, looking at the general direction where the throwing weapon had come from.

There, true to the information provided to her by [Scout], a figure obscured by black smoke was standing on top of the branches.

“Guess I owe scout big time…”

[???: What are you here for?]

A translucent screen popped up at the edge of her vision. It was a [Whisper] from her target.

Hesitating for a moment, she raised the screen to the side of her face to read the message, all the while never taking her sight away from her target.

“What else? I’m hunting a hound!”

The figure didn’t move but glowing yellow eyes met hers.

The black smoke prevented her from determining anything. She could barely make out what looked like ears on top of her opponent’s head, giving her the impression of a wolf.

That little detail was more than enough. It was beyond doubt that this was what she was searching for.

This was the [Hound of the Forest]. The infamous [Off-bound Killer].

 [???:  Go. You can’t win here.]

“How polite, but I spent too much resources just trying to find you and I’m not going home empty!”

Silence reigned for a few moments. Her eyes never wavering from her target’s form.

She knew for a fact that she was in a severe disadvantage.

Not only does the black smoke prevent her from determining the [Hound’s] equipment, making it impossible to know what kind of attack would come, she was sure that the [Hound] had significantly more experience fighting in the dense forest.

When she considered the fact that her own equipment was in clear view, that said equipment was also unsuitable for battle in the current environment, and the fact that she had zero experience fighting in said environment… she knew that this was a losing battle.

Not to mention the timer on [Guidance of the Fireflies] that was ticking down by the second.

[???: Suit yourself.]

The moment she saw the smoke shift, she immediately took a defensive stance, guarding her neck and face.

Unlike other games, equipment wasn’t something that raised stats like HP, defence or vitality. Equipment protected [Vital Points] that when hit, would cause either death or at least severe disability to the player.

Hence, players lived and died by the coverage of their equipment and it’s [Durability].

Such mechanics made for a realistic fighting experience.

“Hng…!”

*SHATTER* – her body shook as she felt several heavy hits on her buckler. She couldn’t tell what the weapon exactly was as it exploded into metal shards upon contact.

She prepared for another volley but when nothing came, she lowered her shield slightly, only to see that the [Hound] had disappeared.

“Damn….!”

Instead of taking covers in the thick of the forest, she opted to run towards the more spacious areas to give her some space. Though hiding behind the trees would provide better cover, her equipment was good enough that throwing weapons wouldn’t be able to actually take her down unless all their [Durability] was consumed.

For as long as she turtled up, she didn’t need to worry. She simply needed to be patient and wait things out. After all, the [Hound] wanted to take her out, he needed to come close and actually attack her. When that moment comes, it would be her time to make a move.

Otherwise, she could just keep stalling. The [Day Cycle] was a few hours off but if it comes down to it, she would stall until it came.

“Come on, come on, you’ll have to get close eventually!”

[???: Behind you.]

Another message popped up. Instead of turning around, she leaped to the side without changing her point of view, managing to dodge the throwing weapons that flew by just in time.

She glanced at the weapons that had been embedded on the trees.

[Throwing Knives]. A rather rare sight in the game.

Despite the attack, she opted not to turn towards the direction of the attack. Considering the speed at which the [Hound] had moved from the tree, it was likely that her opponent could just as easily change the point of their attack.

Silence reigned in the forest. She stood completely still, waiting for the next assault.

[Notice: Guidance of the Fireflies has expired].

She let out a sigh at the system voice notice. Thankfully there was a lull in the battle.

{Skill – Adrenaline Rush: Perception}

Finding the opportunity, she channelled and activated one of her skills.

The next moment, the surroundings became clearer. Unlike before, she could clearly see the outline of the trees and shrubs that surrounded her.

The skill was one of her personal favourites as it not only essentially let her fight in pitch darkness, it also gave her the ability to sense movement around her at a certain range.

If not for the [Stamina Penalty] that it places upon the user when activated, she would have abused the skill before she event went into the depths of the forest.

“…There!”

Sensing her opponent finally make a move, she spun clockwise to face the direction of the source, just in time to see her opponent going for an attack.

{Skill – Shield Charge}

With her shield up, she charged at her opponent at an increased speed, almost instantly closing the gap between them.

The [Hound] was already attempting to disengage from her the moment she closed in, however she had no intention of giving her opponent a chance to go back into hiding.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

{Skill Chain 1 – Leaping Strike}

Before the entire animation of [Shield Charge] could finish, she cancelled into [Leaping Strike], launching herself into the air with her sword overhead, prepared to deliver a devastating a finishing blow.

However, despite the perfect timing on her skill transition, she could see the black smoke that obscured the features of her opponent to shift to the side as her sword pass through harmlessly, cutting through the air until it hit the ground with enough force to kick up a large cloud of dust.

“Guh..!”

Stuck on the recovery animation from [Leaping Strike] and the dust cloud obscuring her view, she felt movement but was unable to determine what her opponent had done.

When the dust cleared, she could see the outline of the [Hound] standing a distance away from her, not doing anything.

“Not attacking in that situation… are you mocking me?”

Feeling frustration, she moved to close the distance again…

“Guah!!”

… only to fall flat to the ground, her weapon slipping from her hand.

Scrambling to get up, she realized that some kind of rope was tied tightly around her left foot.

“A [Snare Trap]?!”

She spoke in confusion. [Snare Traps] were often used for specific mobs by solo players. They had several practical applications in PvE but they were almost never used in PvP due to the fact that setting up the trap and catching anyone with it was difficult to pull off.

The fact that she was caught also meant one thing: This was planned well in advance. The [Hound] had likely aimed to manipulate her position while trying to find a point of attack.

[???: I did warn you.]

Another message popped up while she was trying to get up and reach for her weapon but her opponent had stepped on her back, pressing her down to the ground, effectively making her immobile.

[???: I apologize for this…]

Her opponent turned her body so she would face up towards the sky while making sure she couldn’t retaliate.

“Heh, [Scout] did tell me that you fought like a [Hunter]. Didn’t really expect you to fight me like some kind of mob though.”

She let out a sigh, resigned to her end. She tried to make out the [Hound]’s equipment but the only thing she could make out was the large and strangely shaped knife that looked like a serrated combat knife being pointed towards her neck.

“Okay, I know you’re not obligated to answer me or anything… but could you at least tell me if you’ll appear again here? I need to at least gain something from this!”

With her skill having already ended, she couldn’t really see anything clearly with the black smoke obscuring most of her vision. However, she was sure that the [Hound] was shaking his head in exasperation.

She of course, took the chance to take as many screen shots as she could.

[???: I would appreciate if you didn’t return.]

She grinned at the implied confirmation before the knife came down.

Before it even came into contact with her neck, her body had broken down into countless blocks of light, dissipating into the air.

=== [PLAYER/ KILLER] ===

== [Rathcroghan – Southern Island Bar] ==

I could barely suppress the urge to just stand up and leave for parts unknown as Saoirse was doing a dramatic retelling of her encounter with the [Hound of the Forest].

Saoirse, a well-known Solo-Player, had wavy blonde hair that went down to her shoulders and blood red eyes. She wore her full armour, composed of an armet, cuirass, shoulder pauldrons, gauntlets, and greaves. They were all crimson, with custom engravings of wings on several areas of her armour. Apparently, it was a design inspired by a character from a light novel she liked.

Her loud and dramatic retelling captured the attention of every player in the bar.

“Then, when I looked up, that’s where I saw the Hound! He had a cloak of black smoke that prevented me from telling what kind of equipment he has. So then he sent me a whisper and I made sure to keep my shield up…”

I let out a sigh as I saw her re-enact the battle, complete with sound effects.

Her captive audience reacted accordingly, shouting and laughing as she even went as far as to accurately portray her fall to the ground as her foot was ensnared by a trap.

The level of accuracy of her performance was actually so accurate that it was uncanny.

“Ahaha, gotta hand it to Saoirse, she knows how to tell a story!”

Sitting right beside me on the wooden round table was Sleya. The man that looked like a young college student with tall and slender build was wearing a complete set of silver plate armour, sans the helmet. He had black hair and had a buzz cut, so he looked somewhat like a soldier.

In contrast to his appearance however, he was the kind of guy that almost always smiled and was generally an agreeable person.

“She did exceptionally well this time too. We now have proper documented confirmation on the [Off-bound Killer]. Having such an infamous Killer near the city is rather worrying though, so we might need to do something about it soon.”

Beside Sleya was a woman who was wearing even a thicker set of armour than him. Sciath had short black hair, styled in what was apparently called a pixie cut.

She was arguably the calmest person I’ve ever met, a personality that complimented her skills as a frontline tank. Together with Sleya, they were part of the guild [Grand Arsenal], symbolized by a simplified Brigid’s Cross embossed on their armour.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to make any move right now though. From Saoirse’s story, the Hound looks like he has no intention of actively hunting outside of his territory. There’s also the fact that we can’t afford to waste resource when the [Raid Event] is so soon.”

I felt a strong sense of dread at Sciath’s words. If she actually decided to put forth that suggestion in their guild, there was no doubt in my mind that a Killer hunting party would be formed and set out in no time.

“Hmmm… yes, that is indeed a good point. The [Raid Event] will likely require every resource we can spare. Fios, could you keep track of developments regarding the [Hound]? I’d rather not be blindsided if that one decides to make a move during the event itself.”

“A-ah, well, I mean, information on the [Hound] is pretty hard to come by. I’m not exactly sure I can keep track of that guy easi–”

“Nonsense Scout!”

Before I could finish my sentence, Saoirse had tackled me from the side and put me into a headlock.

I was thankful that pain wasn’t something virtual reality could register since this would be seriously uncomfortable with Saoirse wearing her full armor, the pointy edges of her gauntlets being pushed into my face.

“Saoirse, like I said, my username is Fios. Scout isn’t even a proper class, it’s just what Sleya likes to call me!”

Trying to break free from the headlock but wonderfully failing, Saoirse just let out a boisterous laugh as she removed her helmet, letting her hair flow freely.

“Refused! You’re info hasn’t failed me yet. In fact, it was your information that led me to the [Hound] in the first place. If people don’t officially recognize your class, then I’ll personally rage on the forums until they do!”

Classes worked differently in [Age of Eire]. Instead of having a definite class system that restricted players to a select skill tree to utilize, classes were instead based on the roles defined by the player base itself.

This is due to the system on learning skills for the game. Skills are learned through the use of equipment or through certain actions.

Using a [Spear] for example, would lead to skills that focused on the spear. [Heavy Armours] would ordinarily greatly reduce mobility and increase stamina consumption but when used enough times, a player would learn skills that would either mitigate or outright negate the penalties.

Due to this system, players could make very varied builds, for as long they were willing to put the time in. However, for the sake of efficiency, it was usually recommended to plan the builds well in advance.

Players with a skill build that catered to a specific role were said to be using a [Class].

The act of becoming [official] was simply the formal recognition of the player base of the class and its defined role. Which lead to the creation of a [Title] that would add benefits for it.

“S-stop, Stop shaking me!!”

During her monologue, she started shaking my head from side to side and I struggled.

“Heh, Sao, if you go through with that, I’ll rally the guys in the [Grand Arsenal]. We’ll have your back! We’ll make Fios over her the first official [Scout]!”

“W-wait, both of you, calm the heck down! I don’t want any weird attention on me, especially not another forum war! Don’t you remember the whole flame war on what skill build would actually be for the [Warrior] as a class?!”

That particular incident was brutal. Like any other forum debate, people took things way too seriously and walls of text that were dedicated to logical arguments turned into flame wars.

Bans and suspensions were handed out and eventually, people just decided not to use more specific terms to describe official classes.

Considering the fact that I had absolutely zero intention having any sort of attention on me, I have to make sure to stop this before it gains any sort of traction!

“Though I’m not a fan of inciting yet another pointless war on semantics, these two do pose a good point Fios. Your information had led Saoirse to find the [Hound] and this isn’t even the first time that your information gathering skills had helped us immensely. The game is young and we’re in dire need of proper support classes so being able to develop a proper skill build for an information specialist would be immensely helpful.”

“Ugh… I’ll… I’ll think about it…”

Faced with the “Goddess of the Arsenal”, I couldn’t exactly make any complaints lest I get mobbed by the worshippers.

There was also the fact that she had a valid point. The game had been barely half a year old and though the system in place gives an insane amount of freedom for the players, the lack of a predefined structure also meant that people were still busy exploring the most effective builds for even the basic combat classes.

Since combat skills were easier to find and had immediate benefits, they were given far more priority. Compared to requirements for the skills used by support classes which were difficult to determine.

For current support classes, Blacksmith skills were discovered fairly early and the merchant skills soon followed. Combat support skills like Healing and Buffs were only discovered 2 months ago after books were found providing some information during an event.

Due to the focus given on learning the more important and basic aspects of the game, it was only natural that information gathering, stealth, exploration, and other utility skills weren’t given any real priority.

“Hey, wait! Though I would want Scout here properly recognized for his class, I don’t necessarily agree that he should have to share his entire skill build. As a fellow Solo-Player, I’m not going to let Scout just give away all his hard earned information!”

“The ability to gather information isn’t something to scoff at and would greatly improve our efficiency in large scale events and greatly advance our speed of exploration. Fios’ contribution would truly help the community as a whole so—“

“Baaaaah!! Screw the community! If they want to learn how to get the skills, then they better put in the work needed to find them! Don’t you remember the whole issue with the Adrenaline Skill series?! That was–”

Well, there they go again. The Solo-Player versus the guild vice commander. One side was focused on maximizing individual enjoyment and having people solely benefit from their efforts while the other was completely focused on making sure that the community benefit as a whole from the efforts of each individual.

This was pretty common. The two usually tended to get into arguments since they perfectly represented two opposite ends of the spectrum.

Thankfully it never devolved into physical altercations, though I have heard that they’ve done at least one duel that ended in a stalemate.

I personally lean more on the solo-player side of things but since I have the intellect of an average human being and the common sense not to step on landmines, I made sure to keep out of the arguments.

“You know Scia won’t really force if you don’t want to right?”

Sleya, who was casually watching the argument with amusement, gave me a tap on the shoulder.

“Yeah, though I’m pretty sure she’ll keep subtly convincing me until I do.”

“Well… yeah, she definitely will. Ahaha, so what are your plans in the next few weeks? The Grand Arsenal will be mass farming for reinforcing materials in preparation for the raid event. You’re welcome to join us, maybe even sign up for the guild while you’re at it~”

Instead of responding, I just responded with a blank face and a glare.

“Hey, hey, vice commander’s directive to get you into the guild! You know how she gets.”

“I’m pretty sure a good part of it involves her guilt over the fact that she once berated me over not taking proper combat skills.”

“Definitely not denying that, she’s always been a bit stubborn and hard headed, yeah?”

Scia and Sleya played the game from the first day of launch, as is most of the members of the [Grand Arsenal]. I joined the game a month later, after the continuous and persistent convincing of my siblings and friends.

“I feel like agreeing to that statement is some kind of death flag. On that note, I feel like staying here any longer means I’ll get involved somehow and that’s a sure death flag, so if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go do Scout stuff.”

“Sure, sure, I’ll hold the fort. Maybe facilitate the gambling pools if a [Duel] breaks out between the two! Keep what I said in mind!”

Sending a thumbs up while weaving through the crowd that were fanning the flames between the Scia and Saoirse, I made sure to keep silent while weaving through the tables.

In the crowd, I could see a one or two players that had emitted a grey outline on their avatar.

I made it a point to avoid those in particular.

“Hello there, you’re the scout that Miss Solo Red over there was talking about right?”

Before managing to get out the door, I stopped for a moment, glancing to a girl that was resting on the doorframe, a knowing smile on her face. She had short grey hair and had a short stature, almost a head smaller than me.

She was wearing a plain one piece black dress so her equipment was likely toggled off.

“Ah, yes… yes, I am.”

Answering simply, I smiled in exasperation, giving my best ‘I would really rather not talk about that’ look. With the magic of virtual reality, facial expressions were very accurately rendered and this particular look that made considerate people stop inquiring!

“I’m Nathair, nice to meet you! Looks like you have places to go so I hope see you around. Make sure to visit again okay?”

Apparently satisfied, she gave me a wink and smile and proceeded to walk towards the crowd, presumably to fan the flames of war between the two women currently enacting the classic Eire forum argument.

Like a few of the people inside of the bar, I could see a soft grey outline on her avatar as well.

“Nope. Not getting involved.”

Like every other moment I noticed that particular grey outline, I ignored it and got out of the bar.

=== [PLAYER/ KILLER] ===

== [Barna Forest] ==

The Age of Eire was a rather unique game. It was the unanimously considered to be the first ‘true’ VRMMO in existence due to a system and mechanics that were built to take advantage of the technology.

There were many MMO games before but most of those games retained the same mechanics that could be found in games you could play in consoles and computers.

“Right, it’ll be a few minutes before the night cycle. I guess it’s best to get in position…”

I made my way into [Barna Forest], the same area that Saoirse had been talking about in her story. This area was south of the capital city, Rathcroghan, and one of the four forest areas that surrounded the city.

I made sure to avoid the mobs in the areas, quickly making my way into the sections of the area that few players traversed.

After a few minutes, the path I followed lead to a clearing. It was a dead end and really had nothing in it. I approached the defined boundaries of the area and opened an enlarged map window.

{Skill – Area Reconnaissance}

Activating the skill, I hovered my hand on top of the map screen. Touching the point on the map where I was located, a circular wave expanded from the point of contact, like water ripples.

It was a useful skill but was rather limited. It helped me determine if there was any activity or another player at a small range from the specified point.

“Coast is clear…”

When I found that there were no other players nearby, I stepped beyond the boundary defined in the map.

In every other game, there would be an impassable wall that prevented players from going beyond what was defined by the map.

In this game however, players were given the ability to go [Off-bounds].

Accessing [Off-bound] areas gave heavy penalties. For one, stamina consumption and deterioration were twice as bad. Another is the fact that the normal maps didn’t provide any details of the area, which meant you were essentially going in blind.

Thankfully, like everything else in the game, if you spend enough time doing something, you’ll likely gain Skills and Titles that are related to it.

The passive skills that I have, particularly the [Orienteering] series I learned during my time doing things in these areas, helped mitigate and even sometimes gave me more advantages compared to being [In-bound].

“Okay, I should be deep enough. Time to switch.”

I opened two menus, one was my status screen and the other my equipment screen.

On the equipment screen, I toggled my equipment and a blanket of light covered my entire character, forming a black cloak.

It was a rather peculiar piece of equipment. Unlike most pieces of equipment, the cloak offered absolutely no protection of any kind. Instead, it had a Skill called [Obscuring Mist].

I took the hood of the cloak and draped it over my head, activating the skill.

Looking at my equipment screen, my character was now completely covered in black smoke that hid my equipment and identity.

Looking away from the equipment screen, I turned my focus to the status screen.

At the bottom there was an option that only a certain players had.

[Player Killer Outline – OFF/ON]

It was a special function available to those that chose the [Killer] faction upon the creation of their character.

Turning it on, I looked back on my equipment screen and confirmed the grey outline on my avatar.

Just like the one on the girl named Nathair back in the bar.

“As much as I would rather explore, I guess I don’t have much of a choice at the moment.”

It was unfortunately a full moon again for this [Night Cycle].

Considering how interested the people in the bar seemed to be when Saoirse was telling the story, it was likely someone was going to attempt to go [Off-bounds] either to confirm her story or out of pure curiosity.

Unfortunately, once again, I needed to be the [Off-bound Killer].

=== [PLAYER/ KILLER] ===

==[Chapter End]==