*Helen POV*
“What’s your favorite color?”
“...Red.”
“Which season do you prefer?”
“Winter.”
“Would you rather live one life for 1000 years or live 10 lives for 100 years each?”
“Hmm… I’d live 10 lives. Um, could you remind me why you’re asking these questions?” Zeilan asked as he followed Carro around the town of Clorg.
“I just want to learn a bit more about my newest guard.” Carro smiled. “Besides, doing this fits well with my plans.”
“Plans?” Zeilan raised an eyebrow as he gave Carro an inquisitive look.
Carro nodded as she began to explain. “Right now my subordinates are slowly pulling back their sales. To my rivals, this is a very suspicious move that doesn’t seem to have a lot of explanation. You’re following me around to provide a reason for my subordinates behavior.”
“Why? Because I’m just that expensive?” Zeilan let out a slight grin on his face, intimidating a few of the passerby's.
“Exactly. Not only does it give a reason for this strange behavior, but it also boosts your value in their eyes, making them think that you’re strong and are worth the amount of profit that I’m losing. It’s a win-win situation.”
“Alright, I’ll accept that.” Zeilan folded his arms. “But then explain why we’re just randomly walking around. Couldn’t you be doing your work somewhere in public or whatever and just have me stand in the back?”
“Tsk tsk,” Carro wiggled her finger at Zeilan. “Don’t you know that by walking around more people will notice us? And besides,” Carro let out her bright smile, “I want to get to know you better.”
Huh? Why would she want to get to know me better? Zeilan was confused as to what reason she could have. We’re business partners now and I suppose you'd want to know more about the person you're working with… but for some reason her questions are far more personal. He put his hand on his chin and scrunched his eyebrows as he began to wonder why she’d want to get to know him. Seeing the look on his face, Carro began to chuckle softly as she continued walking.
“Why are you laughing?” Zeilan asked with a puzzled look on his face.
“*Pfft* ...It’s because your expressions are so clear. I’m used to seeing people hiding their true intentions underneath their faces, but you don’t hide any of your emotion. It’s quite refreshing to see someone with such an honest face nowadays.”
“Is that so?” Zeilan looked at his reflection in a nearby window to see if he was making any weird faces. Hmm… I don’t think my expression looks strange…
Carro giggled as she watched Zeilan stare into the window, intimidating the people on the other side. After a few moments Carro called Zeilan and they continued to walk. Carro stopped asking questions but she began to make gestures in the air. She’s probably messaging other players right now. Zeilan thought. They walked on in silence for about 5 minutes, until Zeilan asked a question.
“Oh yeah, I didn’t get the chance to ask you, but why am I your guard? We’re inside a town. It’s not like your rivals can attack you in this place.”
“While that is true, It’s not like I can stay in this town forever you know? Sometimes I get a quest and have to leave the town, and other times I have to go to other towns to make deals with merchants over there. Besides, in the future I’ll need to leave to faraway lands to grab new materials and do business. Even though it seems harmless, being a merchant is an incredibly dangerous occupation, especially in a world like this.”
“I see… Well besides escorting you, is there anything else I should be doing?”
“Well, there is something.” Carro smiled as she noticed a few figures begin to surround them. “How about taking care of these thugs for me?” She smiled and stepped behind Zeilan, letting him deal with the people coming towards them.
There were a total of 7 people that Zeilan saw, though he noticed two figures standing behind different walls, watching what would happen. Zeilan became more alert as he put himself between Carro and the other people. Four of them were dressed in similar clothing, wearing dirty rags and each holding a knife. The other three looked more well dressed, wearing polished armor and shiny weapons. From behind him he could hear Carro say something about the people in front of him.
“I recognize three of them. The big muscly guy and the two shifty fellows are players that Glaide hired. The rest are probably NPCs.”
“Okay. Well, it's not like I really care who they are. The only question for me right now is whether or not I'm allowed to beat them up.” Zeilan cracked his knuckles as he watched the people approach.
“Hehe, straight to the point aren't you? If the NPCs attack you first, you're allowed to fight them, the players you'll have to fight in a duel or else the guards will arrest you.”
“That's really weird. It's fine to NPCs but when you attack players there are repercussions?”
Carro shrugged her shoulders at Zeilan’s question. “Hey, I'm not the one who made this world. Ask the admins if you want a good reason. Anyway, it seems they're just about ready to fight. Are you ready?”
“Always.” Zeilan brought out his giant hammer and held it in his hands.
“Hey Carro! Glaide sends his regards!” The muscly man in the center shouted out as the NPCs dashed out towards Zeilan. With a quick look at their levels, Zeilan knew he was going to be in for a tough fight.
[Gutter Thug] - Level 10
The first thing that Zeilan did was swing his hammer out in a wide arc, keeping the thugs from approaching him. He took a step back and regained his balance just as the first of the thugs came up to him.
Using the hammer’s handle he blocked an attack by the thugs knife, then pushed him away. The other thugs moved to surround Zeilan and engaged him one by one. Each time a thug would approach, Zeilan would block their attacks and then push them away. Using their numbers and speed they kept Zeilan on his toes as they continually pressured him.
Eventually one of them got a clean hit on Zeilan, dropping his health a little. “Hah, is this the capability of your new guard Carro? He's pathetic.” The big man laughed mockingly. Zeilan ignored him though as he continued to block the thugs attacks as best he could.
Carro was beginning to worry about Zeilan, as he hadn't made an offensive move since his first hammer swing. She watched anxiously as Zeilan’s health dropped down to 75%, and just as she was about to yell at him to do something Zeilan grinned.
“Alright, everyone's hit me once now right? Now it's my turn.” Zeilan's entire demeanor seemed to change as he blocked the next attack coming towards him. This time he kicked the thug after blocking, dealing substantial damage and knocking him to the ground. Everyone watching was shocked as they saw a single kick from Zeilan brought the thug’s health down to two thirds, but Zeilan wasn't done yet.
Zeilan raised his hammer high above his head and yelled out, “[Crushing Blow]!” He brought the hammer down with incredible force, instantly killing the thug and causing the ground to shake a little. While everyone stared dumbly at the thugs corpse, Zeilan had already rushed over to another thug and swung his hammer sideways, sending the thug flying into another one. This simple move took out almost half of their health, and they struggled to get back up.
The remaining thug looked at Zeilan with fear, and prepared to run. Just before Zeilan could chase him he was distracted by messages that appeared in front of him.
[Horke’s party has challenged you to a duel to the death.]
At first Zeilan ignored the message but the players kept sending the request over and over again, annoying Zeilan with the dings that accompanied each message.
Noticing Zeilan's irritated expression, Carro quickly spoke out. “Zeilan, if they're challenging you to a duel don't accept it. Each of them is at least level 15, and they're beyond what you can handle right now.”
“Are they a level 22 turtle?”
“I… what? No. What are you talking about?” Carro had a confused expression as she tried to make sense of his question.
“If they're not as strong as that stupid turtle, then they aren't a match for me.” Zeilan grinned and accepted the duel. “[Harden Scales], [Earth Armor].” He activated his skills and prepared himself to fight 6 people.
“Zeilan, you… ugh. Don't tell me I hired another muscle brain…” Carro muttered as she watched them fight.
With the addition of the three players, the battle got far more difficult for Zeilan as he had to deal with them and the remaining thugs. While Zeilan began to assess the situation, the big man gave out orders to the others. “Cyne, Lyne, go stealth and stab him. You thugs, keep harassing him.” The man (who Zeilan assumed was Horke) pulled out a great sword and went forward to engage him.
While the two shifty fellows disappeared into the shadows, Horke slashed straight at Zeilan with his large sword. Seeing the amount of force put into the slash, Zeilan decided to dodge the sword instead of blocking it. As he dodged though, he was suddenly attacked from the side! Just barely twisting his body in time, Zeilan managed to avoid the dagger from one of the shifty guys, but the other one appeared and stabbed him in the back, dealing enough damage to break his [Earth Armor].
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Zeilan narrowed his eyes as he quickly swung his hammer at the guy behind him. This hit brought his health down to almost half, and the shifty guy went flying. The other shifty guy yelled out, “Cyne!” but then got punched in the face by Zeilan as he was distracted. At this moment the Gutter Thugs began to harass Zeilan by throwing rocks at him, while Horke continually tried to slash at Zeilan.
“Lyne, get that hammer away from him!” Horke yelled as activated a skill of his own. His body began to glow red and he became much quicker than before.
“Careful Zeilan! He used a berserk ability!” Carro cried out with a worried voice.
Berserk huh? Well it’s not like he’s that much faster… Zeilan dodged one of the overhead slashes and tried tackling Horke to the ground. Zeilan was able to do some damage, but was unable to push him down, which gave Horke the opportunity to slash at Zeilan, bringing his health down to half. Zeilan was then quickly surrounded by all the people he was fighting, and began taking massive damage.
As soon as his health dropped down to a quarter, Zeilan gritted his teeth and a savage look appeared in his eyes. “[Dragon’s Aura]!” Suddenly the image of a dragon appeared behind Zeilan and then sunk into his hammer, giving it an ominous glow. The thugs and players hesitated for a moment, but surged forward together as Zeilan’s health was very low! Seeing this, Zeilan tensed his body and put his hammer behind him and yelled out, “[Rock Breaker]!”
He swung his hammer out with immense force, hitting all of the thugs and one of the shifty guys. This attack killed all of them on impact, leaving only one of the shifty guys and Horke alive. Zeilan temporarily lost his balance after this attack though, which left him wide open! The remaining shifty guy immediately aimed for Zeilan’s arms which were still holding onto the hammer. This forced Zeilan to let go of his weapon as he faced his remaining opponents.
“HAH! Not bad, but now you don’t have your weapon. You don’t stand a chance!” Horke smirked as he used another skill to finish off Zeilan.
“Heh. I don’t need a weapon.” Zeilan muttered quietly as he faced the oncoming blade. “I AM A WEAPON!” He yelled out as he firmly caught the falling blade in-between his hands! Holy crap that actually worked! Zeilan did a little celebration dance in his mind, but quickly refocused on the battle.
“Wha-!?” Horke was startled as his attack was suddenly stopped.
Zeilan quickly wrenched the blade out of Horke’s hands, and then used it to attack the shifty guy who rapidly approached him! With a few slashes he went down, leaving only Horke left to deal with. Zeilan let go of the sword at the same time that Horke regained his composure. Horke’s health was still full as he was barely hit at all the entire battle, but Zeilan swiftly remedied that problem.
“[Precision Strikes], [Strong Punch], [Strong Kick]!” Zeilan used a combo of rapid punches and kicks all aimed right at the center of Horke’s chest. The damage quickly began to build up, as Zeilan made short work of Horke. Halfway through his beat-down, Zeilan used [Earth Armor] just in case Horke might suddenly attack him, but in the end he didn’t have to worry about that since Horke was completely overwhelmed. Zeilan then finished his string of attacks with a roundhouse kick which knocked Horke onto his back.
Zeilan approached the downed Horke who was now at critical health. He looked at him right in the eye as he said, “Tell Glaide, Carro sends her regards. [Earth Dragon Breath].” Zeilan breathed out a jet of earth magic, completely covering Horke and killing him on the spot.
[You Win!]
[Level Up!] x 2
[Stats Gained]
[Skill Proficiency Gained]
[Spell Proficiency Gained]
[Items Received]
“Huh. I got items from that?” Zeilan began looking through his inventory while Carro approached him.
“Zeilan, that… when did… how did you get so good at fighting?” Carro was completely astonished at the fighting prowess that Zeilan showed. Unfortunately, Zeilan ignored her questions as he looked over at the items he got. A few of them were worn daggers or rags from the Gutter Thugs, but there were 3 items which were presumably from the players.
[Ring of Agility (Ring, Uncommon)] Durability (9/10) A ring which increases its wearer’s agility. Agility +5
[Normal Boots (Legs, Common)] Durability (10/10) A normal pair of boots which were crafted particularly well. Defense +4, Vitality +1
[Steel Sword of Minor Strength (Weapon, Uncommon)] Durability (24/30) A sturdy sword enchanted with a strength increasing effect. Strength +5
“Hm, sorry. Were you saying something?” Zeilan finished looking over his items so he paid attention to Carro again.
“Muuuu…” Carro’s cheeks were puffed out as she was angry at Zeilan for ignoring her. “What I said, was how did you learn to fight like that?”
“Eh, I didn’t really learn how to fight. Most of the time I just watch videos of people fighting and just tried to copy their moves.” Zeilan said while shrugging his shoulders. Well, I guess the videos Simon sent me really paid off huh?
Carro just shook her head in disbelief. “Seriously… I can’t believe you accepted their duel in such a situation. I mean, there wasn’t any risk of you dying but…”
“What do you mean? They sent me a duel to the death. Of course there’s a risk to me dying.”
“You accepted a duel to the death!? How could you-!” Carro seemed ready to explode, but then suddenly regained her composure. “Oh, why even bother. The important thing is that you’re safe and managed to strike quite a blow at Glaide’s forces.”
“So there are normal duels huh? Well anyway, what do you mean I struck a blow at Glaide’s forces?”
Carro helplessly shook her head as she began to explain. “Duels to the death are different from normal duels, where either side can die, and if they do they’re subjected to both the normal death penalty and lose one random item they have equipped to the other player.”
“Oh, you mean these things?” Zeilan showed the items he received. “You can sell the boots and sword, but I’m keeping this ring. I haven’t gotten a single accessory as of yet.”
Carro nodded as she received the items. “You still haven’t gotten a single accessory? Really? How long have you been playing T.W.O?”
“I just started today.” Zeilan stated, which caused Carro’s eyebrows to shoot up.
“Wow… I can’t believe that you just started today. I sure am lucky to have you as my guard huh?”
“I suppose.” Zeilan smiled until he suddenly got a notification. “Oh, but can you excuse me from guard duties for a day or two in-game?”
“I don’t really mind, but why? Did something come up in real life?”
“Yeah. I have a visitor I need to meet.” Zeilan let out his biggest smile yet as he logged out of the game.
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A/N: HNGGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH
I don't know. Anyway, hello again everyone! This chapter came along a lot quicker than I thought it would. So, Zeilan's doing his guard duties, and the siblings are set up to meet in real life. What will happen when they meet? Only the next few chapters will tell! Regarding Helen's character, I fully feel that rather than exploring her inner thoughts, it's better to see how she acts around people to get a better understanding of her character. Well, I guess that applies with every character but... mweh.
Oh, but here's a bit of an announcement. Lately my schedule's been getting busier and I'll be focusing more on assignments and studying. That means I won't be able to post a chapter as often. Worry not though, as I do plan on releasing a chapter every Saturday at the very least. If I get swamped with a lot of work it might be every-other Saturday but let's hope it doesn't come to that.
Second announcement, though it's more like a teaser: The next chapter will feature our little tsundere mouse (because god knows I need to get a lot of character development going. Though then again you guys are saying my characters are good...)
Thanks for reading everyone! Also, thanks to sbag, Allstarall and Tason for writing a review! (I forgot to mention this a long time ago so now I feel like a douche, but hey, better late than never right?) Also thanks yet again to Albreo for the amazing Q fanart (which can be found in chapter 22's comments section).
Fun-fact: The sharp spikes on the stem of a rose bush are usually called "thorns" but these are technically prickles.