Fallen to the ground, I heard a ringing sound between my ears. As I blinked to open my dreary eyes, I saw the sight of my wife struggling. Another blink, and I saw my daughter crying. 'I must... do something...'
As I regained consciousness and the ringing stopped, my vision was clouded with the blood of my head, but I could see clearly what was happening. 3 men dressed in black tunics and leather; the northerners. Dismounted off their horses and with their weapons no longer in their hands, they were... they were raping my wife.
Her clothes torn, I could hear her cries. Dazed and angry, I tried to get up off the floor with the support of my hands. "THAT'S MY WIFE!!" Stumbling my way to one of the men, I stuck my fingers in his eyes and bit through his neck. He screamed, "AHHHH! GET... GET HIM OFF OF ME!!"
I took delight in the blood that splattered from his eyes as they lubricated my fingers. With my teeth, I could feel his pulse slowly fade away. Alerting the other men to take action, they moved away from my wife, trying to surround me. I moved back, dropping the lifeless body.
I saw my wife behind the two men, with tears in her eyes, trying to hide herself from these heathens.
As I picked my sword off the floor, a man came charging, screaming, "GRAAAAH!" I stabbed him through the gut and twisted my sword. But as I turned to eye the other, it was too late; hidden by the man who rushed towards me, he had managed to grab the same spiked club that had previously rendered me unconscious.
I saw the club before impact, but there was nothing I could do. As I fell to the ground, my neck twisted towards the wall. I saw my daughter pinned to the wall, with a sword impaling her ribs; her white dress stained with blood. She was frowning... Why was she frowning? Mentally, I was fading from normalcy. Anger being my last thought, all I could think about was revenge. Fading away as I died, I knew what had to be done.
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[Failure]
[The 7th Cycle Commences.]
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I walked up to the chief, asking, "Do you trust me, chief?"
Surprised with the question, Chief Umbra responded, "Of course I do."
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"I need your sword."
A moment later, equipped with the black sword of Chief Umbra in my right hand, a short sword sheathed and my wooden shield, I marched alone into the rumbling army of the North. Victory was no longer my goal, nor was getting my family out alive. My bloodlust as it was, was unsatiated.
Seeing my feeble presence, the army retorted with an arrow to my thigh. I shifted from walking to running. The pain brought no emotion to my saddened existence. Throwing my shield at the left cavalryman, I slit the leg of the horse to my right. The man on the left fell off his horse as the shield hit him. The horse on the right, fell a few feet away, tumbling with the cavalryman. Now, with only Chief Umbra's sword, I impaled the fallen soldier and unsheathed his scimitar with my left.
Just as I had begun hacking off the horses, the spear of a skilled warrior passed effortlessly through my body. A man robed differently from the others. With the customary black tunic and the black dyed leather that covered his feet, shoulders and waist, he had a red cloth wrapped around his head, leaving only room for his eyes. Something about this man seemed different.
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[Failure]
[The 8th Cycle Commences.]
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I followed the same moves and the same things. What I sought now was absolution; either I win against them, or they win and I die. Instead of unsheathing the enemy's scimitar, this time, I picked up the wooden shield off the floor. Knowing the exact location of where the spear was to hit, I shielded myself and attempted to cut the red-clothed soldier's horse. In an instant, his spear swerved and shifted the motion of my sword upwards. Defenseless, a single swift cut to my neck, lead to my death.
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[Failure]
[The 9th Cycle Commences.]
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Though my anger had not yet subsided, I began to admire the sense of battle. I began to think more and more of how I could beat him. Instead of targeting him from the front, I tried to fight him head on. Then, I tried to fight him with a long-ranged bow, but even that was easily deflected. Several times, I was defeated not by the red cloth, but by the other cavalrymen around him. I tried time and time again, with different weapons, techniques, angles, that the number in my head meant nothing to me.
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[Failure]
[The 123rd Cycle Commences.]
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How long has it been? It feels like days have passed, but I don't feel sleepy. This time, I think I'll rest it out. Though I make it back alive physically well, every single time, I think I'm... tired. Taking the burden of my shield off of my back and stripping down to my basic clothes, I felt a sense of momentary comfort. I lied down wherever I could find grass, dulled the noise in my head, and slept until I died.
Tomorrow, I think I'll see the faces of my family again.
It makes me wonder, if I make it to tomorrow, will this cycle continue?
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[Failure]
[The 124th Cycle Commences.]
[Warrior Class Unlocked.]
[Class: Warrior]
[Rank: E]
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