The projectile from the Web Splitter mounted on Shaw’s right forearm hit the goblin in midair. Before the goblin even knew what happened, the web caught onto the tiny green thing and pinned it against the ground.
And that wasn’t the end. The Web Spitter was looted off of the Shadow Spider. Its projectile was acidic enough to melt a hole through a brick wall. As soon as the web hit the goblin, it started cutting into its skin and flesh alike and melting everything it touched. The goblin screeched and struggled, but it was useless. The web had already dug into and became one with its body.
On the other side, Shaw stood by and watched the goblin suffer with a cold smirk. This goblin, unlike its comrades, was in fact a level 5 NPC. In a sense, it was at the same level as the Shadow Spider. Of course, the goblin was more of an assassin while the Shadow Spider was a tank. When it came to armor and survivability, the goblin was so much weaker than the spider.
Still, the goblin didn't post any less of a threat to Shaw than the spider. Its relatively advanced intelligence allowed it to use deception in battle. It knew if it showed itself early on, its chances of killing Shaw wasn't as high as it would've liked. So instead, it watched as Shaw slaughtered all of its kind just so it could catch her off guard and use her confidence to end her with one swift strike. And it almost worked. The goblin was already quite fast, and Shaw suspected it used some sort of mobility-enhancing ability when it tried to take her by surprise.
Unfortunately for the goblin, Shaw had learned since a long time ago to always keep a last resort ready. Plus, no matter how weak the enemies were, it was always a bad idea to underestimate them. Shaw had seen the lack of caution kill many, but she had yet to see one instance where caution cost someone their life.
The goblin was still struggling, but it was pretty much done for already. Shaw slowly approached it and checked its profile.
Goblin
Level 5
Experience Provided: 1,100
Strength: 18
Reflex: 38
Regeneration: 12
Psychic: 0
Another interesting thing to note was that part of the reason this almost worked was because there were too many goblins and too little time for Shaw to check their individual status. All she could do was check the stats of a handful of the goblins before she had to focus on not being swarmed by them.
The goblin had some impressive stats, not that they mattered anymore. The goblin could be the fastest entity in the world, and there was still nothing it could do at this point.
As she picked up the silver loot box and returned to her trip, Shaw checked her own profile as well.
Amy Shaw
Level 5 (2330 / 3200)
Strength: 29
Reflex: 33
Regeneration: 18
Psychic: 0
Disposable Attribute Point: 9
Career: Warrior
Sub-Class: None
Abilities: Charge. Fortify. Resilience.
“Not bad.” Shaw whispered before turning and going back to the road.
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Emily sat in a seat beside the table and watched as the argument unfolded before her. The more she heard, the more she wanted to wrap her arms around her head and scream.
After leaving Shaw behind to hold off that terrifying spider, Emily and the other survivors circled around and tried to find another way back to the safety of the precinct. It wasn’t an easy task, and despite Emily’s best attempts to keep everyone in one piece, casualties started appearing almost immediately.
When Shaw was present, she took care of most of the level 2 and level 3 NPCs that attacked the survivors, leaving the level 1s to be easily defeated by the other players. That was why the small group of survivors lasted this far. But the moment she was no longer there, the players had to face the entirety of the NPCs, and things went wrong very quickly.
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The first pair of victims was a couple who were devoured by a swarm of rats. Another man was pulled into the bushes on the side of the road. Aside from a chilling scream, he didn't leave a trace left in the world. A fourth man turned and fled, only to be shot in the back by a squad of skeleton archers.
The players did try to fight back, but they were just civilians half an hour ago. They had neither the experience nor the will to truly stand their ground in a brutal battle. A Sorcerer was dissected alive by a group of skeletons. Another Soldier turned and ran, and he paid the price for giving his back to the enemies on the battlefield. He died with several blades in his back. He didn't even get to use his ability.
Many of these players were still mocking the level 0 survivors moments ago. Now, they were killed almost as easily as the common survivors they were laughing at.
When killing all the enemies no longer became an option, the survivors tried to retreat, but retreating in the middle of battle usually required a rearguard to stay behind and prevent the enemies from pursuing, and when no one volunteered to stay and buy time, the retreat quickly turned into a route.
In the end, a lot of people died in the chaos. Emily saw the old religious woman who had been calling everyone agents of the Devil be chased down by some sort of ancient knight. She could hear her terrified screams and prayers, neither of which helped her. Like Shaw said, no Angel descended from the Heavens and saved her.
Emily tried to save the others. She really did. At one point, she had to put down the girl she was carrying, draw her sword, and try to hold the enemies back. Perhaps a part of her believed if Shaw could do it, then so could she. Unfortunately for her, that didn't really work. Shaw was a level 4 Warrior who could fight for hours and take a thousand wounds and stay standing. Emily? She was a determined warrior, but she had never been in a situation like this.
In a few minutes, Emily watched as countless atrocities unfolded all around her. She saw one of the two male officers try to stand his ground and get cut in half by a knight. The same knight that killed the old woman. She saw the other officer turn and flee, barely making it a few steps before being struck down by his merciless pursuers. She even saw the little girl she carried all the way here be tackled by a group of goblins. The little girl reached out a hand to her, begging for help from the young woman who had helped her and kept her alive this entire time.
She didn't get any.
Emily remembered herself screaming in utter fury and trying to cut down every single NPC in her way, but there were just too many of them. Many of the NPCs were level 2 while she was only at level 2, and with every survivor that fell, more and more NPCs turned their attention to her. It didn't take long before she was almost entirely covered in the blood of both herself and her enemies. With every injury she sustained, a part of her remaining strength left her.
She would’ve died then and there if not for one of the players who grabbed onto her and pulled her out of the fray. It was the Warrior that was in suit and tie. He had reached level 3 in the midst of all this, and due to his help and a lot of luck, Emily somehow survived the slaughter.
Emily remembered the Warrior's name to be Peter. Of course, Peter didn't save her because he was feeling compassionate. He saved her because she was the only one who knew the path back to the precinct. If any of the other officers survived, he would’ve left her to die.
At the end of everything, only 14 people were alive aside from Emily and Peter, and 8 of them were players. Thankfully, the smaller size of the group allowed the survivors to move more quietly and a lot quicker. Even so, two more people still died before the remaining survivors finally reached the precinct.
On her way back, Emily had been completely silent aside from pointing out which way to go. Even as she left the battlefield behind, she could still hear the screams of all the people that have died. The old woman. The two officers. The Soldier. The Sorcerer. The...the little girl. And despite everything she tried to tell herself, a part of her knew this slaughter was her fault.
When Shaw was protecting the survivors, only three people died. Yes, Shaw was as uncaring as a person could be, and she didn't give a damn about how tired or injured the survivors were. But...only three people died under her watch.
When she tried to protect the survivors, well...she lost over half of the group. She tried to do the right thing and help people, but...but in the end, who did she really help? Not the survivor who got skewered by arrows. Not the Soldier who got stabbed in the back. And certainly not the little girl she carried the entire way and sacrificed everything for, only to meet a brutal death.
It was at this point that Emily finally understood what Shaw meant by the importance of power. The importance of strength. Both times she ran into the spider, she turned and fled because she was weak. If she was stronger, she could’ve stood her ground and maybe even killed the spider. If she was stronger, she could’ve saved everyone. Her colleagues. The little girl. But because of her weakness, they died right before her eyes and there was nothing she could do about it.
A lesser person would’ve been broken. A lesser person would’ve turned to drugs and alcohol to run from the guilt, but not the Valkyrie.
Emily didn't break. She didn't dodge her guilt or give up on her duty. Instead, she remembered what Shaw told her before they departed. She closed her eyes and carved all the screams and atrocities into her brain. She would remember this guilt until the end of time and let it serve as a reminder of the cost of not being able to make the difficult choices. The cost of not being able to make the necessary sacrifices for the greater good.
The cost...of weakness.