The portal opened in a small clearing surrounded by hellhounds on all sides. Jessica and Kevin could feel how many there were even before they arrived. The sensation of feeling the enemies’ presences was weird but they quickly adapted. There were fourteen hounds in total which was child's play to them and honestly didn’t feel worth their time. They were more intrigued by the fifteenth hostile they sensed further up the mountain. Unlike the dogs it felt like a mage, probably the boss.
“So you can take out the dogs and I’ll go see who is up there watching us.” Kevin said as they stepped through the portal.
“No way. I have already fought two of those freaky six eyed dogs!” Jessica shaking her head and throwing up her hands. “I will go see the wizard up there. You take out the muts. There's a few of them so I am sure it will be fun… maybe.”
“You already have twice the experience fighting them so you should take the lead and I will get the mage.” Kevin said as he pointed up in the direction of the unknown foe.
“And how are you going to capture him?” Jessica asked as she crossed her arms.
“I’ll just cut off his legs or something.” Kevin responded as he pulled out one of his swords and pointed at the blade. He then looked at Jessica’s smug face knowing she would be the best at capturing someone. “Oh… fine, okay. I’ll kill the dogs.”
“Thanks, love you baby.” Jessica said happily as she kissed him on the cheek.
Jessica turned and walked back into the portal which vanished shortly after. Kevin looked at the pack of hellhounds who all were well aware of his presence. He pulled out one of his swords which thanks to the [Conceal Level] skill he had active looked like a rather unimpressive, at least to Kevin, medieval broadsword. He pulled a second from his inventory dual wielding the blades.
In the game when a player wanted to attack or defend all they would have to do is think about the action and the avatar would act. The avatar they played as would use the appropriate movements and leverage of the weapons with the appropriate skill and force. This made it possible for anyone of any skill to essentially be a master of their class's weapon even if the player didn’t know how to use the weapon in real life. Most SMMORPG’s used a similar system to make the game accessible to as wide an audience as possible.
Kevin didn’t know how that would translate into an actual battle. In real life didn’t know how to use a sword but at the same time he could feel the memories of Harahel guide his movements and actions anytime he held the weapon. The swords and shield are right at home in his hand as if he practiced with it his whole life. He could feel the techniques in his muscles and visualize the stances of each kata. He visualized his short encounters with the hellhound earlier and how his body and instincts moved on their own and drove his actions without thought but at the same time were deliberate.
As the hellhounds began encircling him Kevin closed his eyes and made a mental note of all of his surroundings and the locations of all the hounds. He could visualize each stroke of his sword, each motion of his body as he breathlessly danced through the unsuspecting dogs. It would be easy to end them which disappointed him. His angelic blood writhed at the idea of a challenging fight not the slaughter that was moments from taking place. He let out a loud and audible sigh as he tightened his grip on his swords.
In the game Harahel was the fastest avatar ever created. His speed took advantage of several systems physics and natural angel skills. Those skills could be further boosted by a specific combination of spells a demon battle sorcerer could cast. Jessica and Kevin found out about this combination through hours of experimentation and research on various forums. The unnatural speed in which the character could move and attack caused many people to believe they were cheaters. The Deicide game devs even investigated their accounts but found that everything they were doing was well within the scope of the game system. As such Harahel became the only avatar that could theoretically outpace time slowing powers like the [Temporal Rider] skill used by Hyperion.
The speed came with the disadvantage of decreasing all of his attack power nearly eighty percent when at full speed. Kevin reasoned that the same restriction would not apply if this is a real world. A sword slash at mach seventy would hit harder not decrease damage dealt. The thought of seeing just how fast he could go put a smile on his face.
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In less than a single moment in time all of the hellhounds converged on Kevin. Kevin opened his eyes and with speed faster than a lightning strike he moved through a world frozen in time. He didn’t use any of his skills to achieve this speed as he ran his blade cleanly through the necks of every hellhound in the clearing. The motion and air pressure caused by him moving so quickly extended outward like an explosion rocking the forest and shaking the mountain.
Everything was over in less than a second and he stood alone surrounded by the headless corpse of the strange beasts. The explosive force behind his movement blasted the trees around him as branches and tree trunks showered the forest all around in debris and splintered wood. As the dust settled he looked at the bodies then up at the ridge were Jessica and the mage were.
The portal opened silently in the small outcropping beside the mountain shack. Jessica stepped through and saw an older man looking down at the town from a rather precarious looking perch. The man was dressed in all black and couldn’t scream I am an evil wizard even more loudly if he tried. She then looked down at her own dark robes and sighed.
“Well atleast I can pull off the dark mage look. I am a demon after all.” She said silently to herself.
She walked over to the cabin and cracked the door open to look inside. A staff flew out of the domicile, curved in the air then into the hand of the mage who was mumbling to himself. The small cabin was practically empty with only a few chairs, a table, a bedroll and a travelers bag already packed. She then closed the door and looked back at the man.
“Kill him!” The mage yelled as his magic surged.
He looked panicked and surprisingly hadn’t noticed her yet. She leaned against the door as she thought about which skill she could use to incapacitate him so he wouldn’t be able to run or teleport away.
“Ha ha, rip him to shreds, don't leave anything for anyone to find.” The man exclaimed in an overly exaggerated manner. “Now for that mage, where did she go?”
Jessica could not help but snicker at the man’s outburst. He seemed like he was so certain those weak monsters would stand a chance in a fight against them. She watched in amusement as he looked around the forest for her with his little telescope. An explosion of air pressure rocked the mountain and blew the man off his feet rather violently. He hit the ground and let out a pained grunt for a moment before rolling over to his side and standing up. Jessica saw a field of magic, presumably a protective dome materialize around him. Then returned to his perch and looked back down at the mountain clearing mouth agape.
The man screamed in a moment of sudden realization and turned around looking directly at Jessica. She still had not decided what skill to use when the man gathered mana with a spell which shot three ice spears her way. She didn’t bother even reacting knowing full well that if those hellhounds were his trump card he couldn’t be much of a threat. Her resistances against attacks made from players over one hundred levels lower than her ment he would most likely not be able to scratch her.
To her surprise one of her rings, [God Craft] Ring of the Tyrant, activated on its own. The ring added retaliatory damage to anyone that successfully attacked her. When the ice javelins hit her the rings power destroyed them shooting shards of magicly infused ice like a shotgun back towards the dark mage. Had it not been for his shield it most likely would have killed him instantly. Jessica decided she needed to end this before he tried to attack her again and got himself killed. If any of her other accessories activated their wouldn’t even be enough of him to revive.
“Wow,” Jessica said with genuine surprise in her voice. “You are like the stereotypical bad guy then? I have some questions for you so no running, okay? I am going to incapacitate you now.”
“What are you? How did you do that?” The man screamed indignantly as his magic flowed around him. “Do you have any idea what you and your partner have done? Did you save the town? Decades of research gone!”
Jessica summoned her polearm pointing the end of it at the man she decided on which spell would end this the fastest. She would use the ability she gained from another of her rings called [God Craft] Insatiable (Cursed). The ring grants the use of the ability [Suffer] which can be used to immobilize a target for a one minute. In Deicide the effect was no different from a paralyzing skill but with the drawback that if the target resisted it’s effect it would backfire on the caster. The spell activation would require her to deactivate [Concea Level] and Conceal Race which reverted her to Lilitu’s demonic form.
“Suffer.” Jessica said in a voice that chilled the air.
The man instantly collapsed to the ground with his magical shield instantly shattering into the air. The man appeared to be having a seizure which caused Jessica to panic as she didn’t want to kill the man. She quickly ran over to the man as he convulsed on the ground blood streaming from his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. The spell looked far more horrifying than it ever did in the game.