Two friends crying, two men dead, one fiancé’s head full of bullet holes.
*Gasp*
Her eyes open wide. Veins pops, teeth grinds, glare as she looks around.
“Where…”
Rocks wall, cold hard stone she slept on. It’s dark, and the only source of light comes from the metal door which function both as the entry and exit.
One good eye of hers narrowed down to a sudden realization.
‘The hell is this?’
She is not in heaven.
Stood as she grabs her hair, ‘I died. I shot that piece of shit, but I died!’
‘Rakuri… Kurira…’
‘I’m sorry… I’m sorry.”
As tears taking form, her mind snapped, ‘I clearly died. I can feel that moment of peace, but what is this?’
She gently touches her face, gaze upon her own hands, her delicate fingertips as she rubs them thumb together.
Water dripping from the rocks in the wall, she can see the reflection of her face. Slightly different than what she used to.
“Freckles?”
“This old face.”
‘It’s been 4 years.’
Seeing the ceiling and then the surrounding.
‘This is…’
‘Tutorial Zone.’
“Ekolia.”
She quickly raised her hand and concentrated on her will; a blue menu shows up.
{Siola Mithra – Level 1}
{HP: Rank F | MP: Rank E | SP: Rank F}
{Class: Priest | Ability: None}
{STR: Rank E | DEX: Rank D | FTH: Rank S | INT: Rank S}
‘L-Log out. Log out!’
“Where… Where is it?”
‘The marketplace, the forum, the main menu. Where are they?!’
‘Wh-What’s going on?’
It is only that single menu that shows up. No matter where she looks, no matter what she tried.
“No, no, no. NO!”
She started hyperventilating. Resting her back against the wall.
Her panicked expression instantly turned into rage.
‘What the hell is happening? All the menus are gone, and I’m back to level one. My Inventory tab is missing, and I’m back to my old self.’
‘I just wanna go back to see them. Tell them that I’m alive.’
Fuming, she stood.
“I need to get out of here.”
‘What do I remember here in Tutorial Zone? It’s been a while.’
“Door is locked. But, shouldn’t it be lively here? Someone was supposed to open it for me, I think.”
She then notices something wedged between gaps in the wall, it’s a key.
“No way, right?”
*Clack *Clack
It opens.
The floor is damped.
“Where is everyone?”
Prison Realm, an enormously spacious world and it host prisoners from different realms. There are 4 different gates that leads to a portal that can teleport one who passed through it to the surface world that is Ekolia. The North gate, the East, West, and the South. One of them is destroyed, one is closed, one is guarded. Which leaves only the North.
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‘Empty, even here by the gate.’
But then, magical circles drawn on the floors, undead skeletons crawling out of them. It takes time for them to stand and wield their weapons, so Siola has already passed through.
‘It feels so weird to walk alone in this wide-open space.’
After walking past the enormous gate, she now has options to choose from 8 different mini gates and without hesitation, she just walks straight ahead.
Upon entering, she heard something.
“Hm?”
It was faint. Not a laughter, not her footsteps. The place is dark and the gate behind her has gone. Suddenly, fog appears. Mist started to gather and it lit the path forward, but only after she has taken a few steps, a few undead skeletons slowly ascend from the mist.
Its eyes shining red but suddenly, a foot in its sight, crashes into its head. Staggering it to its knees. And not a moment after, two hands grasp its head and twisted it.
*Cracked*
{+50 Exp}
“Guess I have to do this, huh.”
The other two undead coming at her slowly. She hurried on to the left and smash its knee, staggering it before twisting its head too.
{+50 Exp}
Leaving her back open, the other skeleton swing its arm, smashing her with its bony hand.
“Guhk, ouch. That hurt.”
‘Wait, huh? Why did it hurt?’
She snapped back and kicked its chest before smashing its knee and twist its head.
{+50 Exp}
Her back itchy, “Damn.”
‘Undead really is my nemesis.’
‘Had it been any living creature, they would get stunned by what I did. Or maybe I should start paying more attention. I don’t have infinite health like I used to.’
‘But why did it hurt so bad?’
She marches on. More and more skeletons come her way, and she breeze through them by doing the same strategy, that is until swordman and archers appear.
“Hmm…”
Dashing onward, keeping distance from the swordman skeleton and head towards one of the archers. Her eyes locked onto their fingers, until they both shoots in synchrony, she quickly prone to the ground and when the arrow passed through, she dashes and deliver a kick. Staggering the archer. Grabbing onto the bow, she kicked the forearm of the skeleton, detaching it.
An arrow from the quiver of the staggered skeleton, she aimed to the other, “Got you.”
It hit its head and she has enough time to finish the archer in the melee proximity. She has acquired the bow and quickly shots her shot repeatedly to the archer skeleton and the swordman before the bow and arrow turns into ashes alongside the body of the skeleton.
{+80}
She doesn’t have enough time to finish the swordman with the bow and arrow, but with the several arrows on its body, it’s but one twist away for it to die.
{+150}
! {Level UP}
! {HP, MP, SP has been improved}
Sweating profusely, “Huff… Okay. Okay…”
“Hm?”
The swordman left her a parting gift.
{Rusted Iron Greatsword / Common / Rank F}
“Hnngh, oh boy, it’s heavy.”
‘Why doesn’t it have a sheathe like it used to?’
“Guess I’ll just bring it like this.”
“…”
There it is again, a faint sound. It’s mild, crackling noise. She didn’t in fact imagine it. Her eyes narrowed down to suspicion, but it was never heard again.
She marches onward, fighting armed skeletons. Gathering Experience Points as each corpse fueled her strength. However, she notices something odd. And it is made apparent when a skinned skeleton appears, a Draugr.
“The hell?”
‘I should have gotten to the other end by now. No, I should’ve already reached the portal.’
‘There shouldn’t be an endless gate, or is there?’
‘The mist moves with me.’
There’s only darkness behind her.
“Well, all right, come on then.”
The Draugr is empty handed, and it only took a stab to the eye to neutralize it. More and more follows, Draugr with bows and arrows, Draugr with swords, axes, maces.
*Pant *Pant
“Huff…”
She holds onto a rusted mace and the shield she obtained. Exhausted by the fight she has gone through, she lost count on how many she has slayed.
{Siola Mithra – Level 8}
{HP: Rank F | MP: Rank E | SP: Rank E}
‘Why hasn’t my HP increases at all? So much for improvement.’
‘No wait, I’m still a Priest Class. Even if it mention it being improved, it wouldn’t rank up.’
‘Still, I’m already Level 8. This is getting suspicious, or is it generally has always been like this? I can’t remember. And why do I keep running out of breath like this?’
Once her heart stabilizes, she marches onward yet again, and there appears to be yet another monster. They walk in group. Skeletons not, Draugrs not. No. Humanoid, yet not human at the same time. Thin arms, thin legs, skinny yet has fangs in place of teeth. Eyes so small, they have a hard time seeing, yet it matters not for they are mindless creatures that attacks anything in its path.
‘Ghouls.’
However, not only that they are in a group. There’s a sight of another creature among them. Pale skin, walking like a human, looks like a human if not for its pointy ears, and fangs.
A drop of nervous sweat when she gazes upon… a red eyed vampire.
“A lost lamb… in my domain?” Mild laughter.
“And a paladin no less… hmm… or is it a priest? Matters not, for you are MINE!”
He lunges at her, mouth wide open, baring his fangs. She lowered her shield out of its sight, he saw the opportunity and takes it! Only to be met with a mace bludgeoning its eye. The momentum of its lunge allows Siola to grab onto him as he falls to the ground. When he came to his senses, he found himself on a chokehold with a rusted blade grinding against his neck.
“N-No, NO!”
The ghouls heard its voice and they ran towards him.
“KILL HER, YOU FOOLS! KILL HER!”
Siola, grimaced, grinding the blade back and forth. Deeper and deeper.
“Hngaaaaaaaargh—honnmph?!”
A knife straight into its mouth, confusing the Ghouls now that their master’s voice has gone quieter. But they can still know where it comes from. Siola grinding her teeth, she pulls as hard as she can and twist, pulling one more time and stab the vampire’s eye until… it cracks.
{+12000 Exp}
! {Level UP}
! {Level UP}
She quickly grabs the vampire by the chest and hide beneath its body. Once the ghouls came to its rescue, it was already too late. Little by little, she squeezes down to his feet, passing the ghouls that are standing besides its master.
*Huff *Huff
‘Wh-Why’s my hands sore?’
She looks back to see the eight Ghouls behind her. Her fists clenched in rage. Instead of leaving now that she is in a safe distance, she turns back to finish them all.
{Siola Mithra – Level 11}
{HP: Rank F | MP: Rank E | SP: Rank D}
{Class: Priest | Ability: None}
Covered in her own blood, coughing up putrid gasses. It was the first fight where she didn’t come out unscathed.
‘It huuuuurts… why…’
Tears formed.
‘It can’t be, please… it can’t be…’
She can then hear it again. The faint sound. It is not a crackling sound of a skull, nor was it her imagination. No, it is the rustling sound of an armor.
Siola has exhausted herself enough. Unable to do anything as the sound approaches closer. Amidst the cloud of mist, a silhouette of a tall humanoid. Its blade unsheathed.
*STAB*