Headless Horseman

Level 3

Experience Provided: 250

Strength: 30

Reflex: 32

Regeneration: 0

Psychic: 0

The indication arrows ultimately led the three players into the gym. The open space that was once filled with running students had been completely transformed into a slaughterhouse. Dozens of bodies formed a pile in the middle of the gym. And the culprit? A headless horseman that stood tall mere steps away from the pile.

“Uhhh…” Ian turned to the side and did his best to suppress the urge to throw up. The headless horseman was far from a pleasant sight. First of all...it was missing its head. Ian could distinctly see the worms crawling in and out of its fracture on the neck. The rest of its body smelled of rot and decay, just like its undead mount. Ian could feel his hands shaking in fear. The thought of taking on such an opponent shook him to the core.

“How...how are we going to fight that thing?” The Mutant, his name was John, found himself hesitating as well. Goblins? Orcs? Fine. Those were scary, but they were still living beings! But...but this horseman? It was literally undead! He turned to his friend. “This...this is an optional mission, right? We can choose to not do it?”

Shaw glanced at the two players and scoffed a little. It wasn’t really their fault. Even the most talented players needed time and experience to become true fighters. Ian and John just got started. They had neither time nor experience. She, on the other hand, had both.

She slowly drew her sword and stepped into the gym. It seemed like no other player received and accepted this optional mission, which meant she might be alone in this fight, not that she minded it too much.

Statistically, the headless horseman was much tougher than her. At the same time, Shaw knew the numbers weren’t everything. The horseman had a few weaknesses that she could potentially exploit. For one thing, his regeneration was 0, meaning that every bit of damage done to him would be permanent. At the very least, she could fight a war of attrition.

The headless horseman saw Shaw, and the undead immediately did what it was programmed to do. Go in for the kill. Without requiring as much as a command from its owner, the rotting mount started picking up speed and charging at Shaw. The horsemen slowly raised his lance, pointing it at a slope in the direction of his young target.

For a second, Shaw stood there and did nothing. Her eyes were trained on the incoming rider. Suddenly, just as the rider’s lance was getting too close to comfort, the young woman used all the strength she had and threw her to the other side of the undead horse. The undefended side. She moved just in time. One second quicker and the rider would have enough time to move his lance. One second slower, and the horse would crash into her.

Thanks to her expertise in combat, Shaw got the timing just right. She was able to get an opportunity to take a shot at the undefended side of the horsemen, and she took it.

Charge!

In a fraction of a second, Shaw rammed into the undefended side of the horseman. The impact was enough to knock the undead beast over. As the horse went down, so did the horseman, but the monster was quicker and stronger than Shaw. Before his mount could pin him to the ground and put him in a disadvantage, he took a small leap and landed a few steps away in safety.

With a risky gamble, Shaw was able to dismount the horseman and rid him of his greatest advantage as a rider. That being said, it was clear the horseman wasn’t concerned in the slightest. After all, he was still a low-level NPC, and he was incapable of fear. All the undead did was drop his lance and draw his sword. A smart call. A long lance would be effective in a charge, but when both parties were on foot, the length of the lance became a potentially fatal disadvantage.

“Ok...attrition it is.” Shaw quietly whispered to herself before charging forward once again with her sword ready. The horseman met her blade. The two weapons clashed in the air a few times before Shaw realized that her opponent was indeed way stronger and faster than she was. It barely took a few seconds before his blade started carving bloody wounds across her body. Thankfully, she was able to push through the pain of these injuries with her willpower and hold her ground.

It wasn’t really Shaw’s fault. She was already so much more ahead of every other player at this stage. In reality, this optional mission was designed for a team of multiple players to take on. A team that included tanks, controllers, and dedicated damage dealers. This was never supposed to be a duel between two swordsmen.

As the two blades clashed once again, Shaw stole a glance at the side. She could see Ian and John standing there, doing their best to overcome their fear and disgust and throw themselves into battle. If they managed to join the fight, perhaps they could tip the battle in her favor a little. Still, Shaw had been in enough fights before to know that trusting your life in other players was a quick path to defeat and death. Two things she didn't quite want just yet.

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So instead, like the numerous times before, she continued the fight alone.

As the blades parted ways, Shaw suddenly changed up her tactic. She had already learned enough about the horseman’s combat tactics. His strikes were straightforward, and his weapon always went for her neck. Fair enough, considering who she was fighting. This gave Shaw an opportunity...to trade blows with the undead.

When the undead’s weapon came for Shaw’s neck once again, she didn't try to deflect it. Instead, she simply lowered her head, felt the blade go over her head, and shoved her Silver Sword into the undead. Unfortunately, the horseman’s armor took most of the hit, and the strike only left a decent-sized injury. Enough to maim a human, but against an undead already missing a head? Well…

The undead swung his sword again, and Shaw dodged out of the way, once again barely in time. The sword did manage to cut across her shoulder and leave a bloody opening, but it was irrelevant for Shaw. She was still in the fight.

The fighting continued for a full minute as both combatants left severe wounds on each other. Shaw’s Silver Sword had already been stained black by the horseman’s blood, and the horseman’s blade was reddened by hers. Half of Shaw’s body was covered in blood, both her own and the horseman’s, but she kept on fighting with the same ferocity as before.

In front of her, the horseman wasn’t doing too well. Yes, he was undead, but the dark magic that raised him from the grave didn't make him impervious to damage or give him rapid regeneration. One of his legs was limping, and his dominant right arm had been rendered essentially useless by a hard and precise strike.

At this point, if Shaw was facing a fellow player, that player might be looking for a way out already.

On the side, Ian and John finally gathered enough courage to join the fight against the undead terror. To be honest, both of them were struck by awe with what they just witnessed. The brutal exchange between the two combatants was just too much for two students to handle. The determination and ferocity from Shaw and the cold strikes of the horseman. Both were things neither student had ever seen before. Still, in the end, they joined the fight, and that was all that mattered.

John, the Mutant, finally had a chance to activate his Frenzy ability. It took a while, but as his eyes turned red and his body tensed up, the enhanced Mutant threw himself into action and charged right into the fray.

“Die!” And, much to Shaw’s frustration, the Mutant let out a battle cry as he attacked.

Statistically speaking, even frenzied, John wasn’t nearly at the same level as Shaw and the horseman. And considering his lack of awareness while frenzied, all the horseman had to do was raise his sword and John might run right into it. Thankfully for him, the horseman was distracted elsewhere by Shaw, and it opened up the opportunity for the Mutant to ram right into his side and knock him into a wall.

Shaw quickly followed up with another Charge of her own. Before the horseman could even get back up, she had rammed into him once again and pinned him against the same wall he just smashed into. This combo was enough to do some serious damage to the horseman. As the opponent was down, Shaw used the opportunity to slash it a few more times, gradually cutting away at its armor.

Finally, in one final strike, Shaw shoved the Silver Sword into the belly of the horseman. The monster screeched in agony, but it didn't stop Shaw from pulling the sword to the side and gutting the undead where he laid.

Even for a headless knight, it was too much damage to remain in the fight.

As the life was drained from the undead NPC, as paradoxical as that sounded, Shaw didn't immediately perform the finishing kill. Instead, she turned and waved at Ian, who never had an opportunity to take a hit at the horseman.

The Soldier slowly walked over and looked at Shaw in confusion.

“Listen up, Mr. Dyson.” Shaw said quietly. “The optional mission rewards disposable attribute points to the top three contributors of the kill, and there are three of us. Since it will be a loss to waste one piece of the reward...I am going to let you take a small jab at this piece of meat here. Even the tiniest hit should qualify you for the reward.”

Ian looked quite surprised by Shaw's offer, and just before he could say anything, Shaw took a step forward and said something else. This time, it was a cold, chilling threat.

“Make no mistake, Mr. Dyson. I am being generous. Do not mistake it for weakness. I contributed the most to this kill, and the reward for the final kill will be mine. Don’t do anything stupid. If you want to take your chances…” She scoffed and looked down at the blood all over her body. “Yes, I am injured and I am in a lot of pain, but I can still kill both of you in less than a minute. Are we clear?”

She stared at Ian, and there was a look in her eyes that told the Soldier she meant business. Unlike the two of them, she wouldn’t let her kill be stolen so easily. They couldn’t punish her for the theft, but she could easily make them pay. Unless Ian was a suicidal idiot, which he wasn’t, he would do no such thing.

Of course, ideally, Shaw shouldn't be taking the risk. Helping Ian would be a meaningless waste of time that offered no return for her. Still, Shaw decided it was worth it. Ian, for all his naive words, was still a player. Seeing how early he joined the fight, he had great potentials. Perhaps her tiny investment today might lead to great returns in the future.

Even John didn't say anything else. He had already exited the Frenzy state, and every part of his body was hurting like hell. It would take him a while before he could fight effectively.

Ian nodded. He tossed Shaw a look of gratitude before walking up to the body.

Slowly, Ian’s spear left a tiny injury on the horseman’s side. He made sure it wouldn't do any fatal damage. As soon as that was done, Shaw wasted no time and dissected the undead with her sword, sealing the kill.

As the NPC perished, a message popped up in front of all three players.

Congratulations, player! You have completed the Optional Mission! Delivering the rewards now...