Sean let Stymnmaker circle around him until he was trapped between the two men.

Perfect. Sean thought. Both enemies were now isolated from each other. A rookie mistake.

Then he struck first, launching himself full force at Stymnmaker. By attacking first, he turned the one versus two disadvantages in his favor by utilizing the element of surprise. Sean needed to reduce the numbers as soon as possible.

His assumptions had been on the money.

Stymnmaker swung his shovel to meet the charging skeleton. But the attack never connected, for Sean had seen through the man’s move. He had never planned to attack head-on but waited to bait out the swing.

He predicted Stymnmaker would be caught off guard by the unexpected attack, thus forcing the man to raise his weapon. Sean knew it was human instinct to use whatever was in their hands to defend themselves. But this had been Stymnmaker’s downfall, for the wide swing had completely exposed him.

Gotcha.

He stepped into Stymnmaker’s dropped guard and threw out a deadly right hook, connecting with the man’s jaw. Stymnmaker cried out, dropping his weapon and reeling away in pain. But Sean didn’t let up. He followed through with a powerful roundhouse kick to the man’s kidneys, drawing a pain-filled gasp from the human.

Though the Envision Module prevented the player from feeling intense pain, there was still a sickening sensation associated with the damage. The function was put in place so that Inside Online would feel more realistic.

Damn, this is easier than I thought. My kicks and punches feel so smooth! Sean thought. He closed the gap between them, making sure he stuck close to the fleeing man.

Sean noticed a health bar had also popped up above Stymnmaker’s head, but he couldn’t see any values. The only thing that told him the human had taken damage was that the green bar wasn’t full anymore.

“Crag, help me!” Stymnmaker shouted, throwing up his hands in a feeble attempt to ward off Sean’s blows. “This guy is insanely strong! He’s not a rookie!”

What do you mean I’m not a rookie? You guys just suck. Sean thought as he continued his assault on the human.

Stymnmaker threw out a wild haymaker, catching Sean by surprise. The punch connected with his right shoulder, jarring his entire frame. His screen flashed red, but there was no pain. Was this a benefit of being a skeleton?

[HP: 35/50]

Looks like the punch hurt him more than me. Sean observed as Stymnmaker howled in pain and clutched his bruised hand.

But Sean knew that just because he didn’t feel pain, it didn’t mean he wasn’t taking any damage. He could still die from sustained injuries if his health hit zero, and he was not in the mood to find out the consequences.

Sean advanced once more, this time making sure to sidestep the man’s fist. Taking advantage of Stymnmaker’s forward momentum, he stepped in close and countered with a straight right, moving his entire body to maximize the force of the punch. There was a satisfying crunch as his bony fist met soft cartilage tissue. The man’s health bar dropped below half.

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Stymnmaker screamed as he clutched at his broken nose. Hot blood profusely poured down, staining the dirt a muddy red.

Damn, these graphics are intense. That blood looks so realistic. Sean thought as he bent over to pick up the fallen shovel. Then he proceeded to whale on his opponent with the weapon, beating the life out of him.

Sean felt powerful. This skeletal body of his was intensely durable as if it had been composed of the hardest substance in the world. His swings were effortless as he clobbered Stymnmaker to death, each hit taking another tick of the man’s health bar.

Even though I’m a skeleton, this body feels so nimble and strong. My fighting power is way better than these humans, they don’t stand a chance.

Finally, Stymnmaker stopped moving, a final dying moan escaping his lips. The man’s green health bar had completely vanished. Then a flash of light enveloped the body and dissolved it into sparkling shards. Sean watched as the fragments flew away, presumably to respawn the player at the starting zone.

A loot bag and a gravestone appeared on the ground, followed by a barrage of notifications that filled his screen.

[Opponent Stymnmaker has been slain.

Items will now be distributed.

+5 Glory Points.

Open the PvP tab to check your rank]

[You have unlocked a special Path due to your first kill being a player. Please open the Path tab to check.]

[Skill Masteries have increased. Open the Status tab to check.]

But before Sean could check anything out, he was interrupted by a guttural scream behind him. He turned around to deal with the remaining threat, but he had been one step too late. Crag was already here. The smaller man had been smart and had discarded his heavy shovel in favor of a steel dagger.

“Die you shitty skeleton!” Crag screamed as he plunged the dagger into Sean’s gut. Sean doubled over, clutching at the hilt protruding from his body.

Shit! I was careless! My first death can’t be this pitiful. Sean thought as he gazed down at his health bar. But to his surprise, it hadn’t moved a single tick.

[HP: 38/50]

Wait . . .

Sean grinned as he realized why he hadn’t lost health. Luckily, Crag couldn’t see his face from his position. Being a skeleton had its perks after all.

“I d-did it! I did it!” stuttered Crag as he backed away from the skeleton. “Serves you right for trying to fuck with us!”

But the man’s enthusiasm was short-lived, for Sean was completely fine. He stood back up and watched in amusement as the human’s eyes turned from delight to fear.

“Good thing I’m a skeleton,” laughed Sean as he twirled the dagger that he had dislodged from his body. Or rather, it was more appropriate to say from his ribcage. “Otherwise, this dagger really would have done me in.”

The dagger had slipped right between his ribs. Something that would have been impossible had Sean been a regular human or any other race with a fleshly body.

It seemed Crag had also realized for he suddenly turned to run. But it was too late, for Sean was already on top of the man.

“Here, let me return this to you,” snarled Sean as he sank the offending dagger into the man’s belly, gutting the graverobber like a fish. Then he put the man in a headlock, squeezing with everything he had. Crag’s health bar depleted at an alarming rate.

Crag’s mouth turned into the shape of a circle as his body stiffened. His hands clawed at his throat, but Sean was too strong. The skeleton’s strength was overwhelming.

The seconds felt like minutes to Sean as he choked the life out of his enemy. Then he heard a faint whisper. It was coming from Crag.

“Fucking monster. Who are you?” Crag wheezed out as his life faded from him.

Sean opened his mouth, ready to reply with his name. But then he remembered. He wasn’t Sean Fox anymore. If the game made him a monster, then so be it.

He leaned in close to the dying man’s ear, whispering with cold steel in his voice.

“The name’s Spook. Spook the skeleton.”