Cyrus gripped the handle to his sword, raising his guard while checking his surroundings. He couldn't pin what the feeling of danger was, but he didn’t want to just write it off either.
Just as he was about to speak up, everyone was alerted to the sound of footsteps from the entrance the party came in. Sure enough, Serence and Billo were walking toward them with a small group in tow. A quick scan indicated that most of them were level 25 and higher. Was this the uneasy feeling that he was getting? Hopeful to be proven wrong, Cyrus made his way back to the rest of his party with the rapier drawn.
Many of the other party members looked confused as well, considering the two leaders of their party were walking in with another set of hands. Much stronger hands then them at least. One of the elves in their party, his name was Rilep, was clearly disgruntled at the new parties appearance and walked up to them upset.
“Serence! What the hell is going on? You come in with one party and then bring another to fight right after? You better not be two timing us.” The elf expresses, not even trying to hide his anger.
“I would never dream of it, after all, the only party I belong to is the one behind me. I don’t see any other party here.” Serence remarks with a twisted smile. Just as the elf gets close to him, all Cyrus sees is a flash of silver before hearing a throaty gurgle from the elf in his party.
Looking at the elf in question, his eyes are wide, and his hands move up to his throat. This did not stop the large spurt of blood that sprays from his neck. His body trembles and he dropped to the rocky floor, clearly dead or about to be when he stops moving. The rest of us in the party can hardly hide our initial shock, seeing the part leader murder a teammate has everyone stunned.
“You c-can’t do this Serence! The guard will have your head if you kill us in the dungeon!” A demoness in our party calls out.
“I’m not doing anything dear; we just stumbled upon your party after you had been slaughtered by the ants. At least, that’s the story that we’re going to tell. There are no laws in the dungeon, only the killers and the dead.” Serence’s twisted smile turns cruel, clearly taking enjoyment from the fear in her eyes and the fresh kill.
“Kill them. Then take their shit.” Billo ordered the crew behind him.
Cyrus breaks away from his initial shock and turned tail, all of their levels were higher than his by a large margin. They were clearly experienced at killing others because many of them had no hesitation for giving chase. Was this kind of thing common in this world? People just killed each for fun and levels because they could?
He was angry but there was nothing he could do about it. They were stronger and his sword aura likely meant nothing in the face of that. For the first time since coming here, true fear gripped his heart. Creeping along his back, telling him that any second he would be cut down just like the elf was in cold blood. This world was messed up, like it was hell bent on seeing his fail for whatever reason.
His heels dug into the ground, and he charged up the anthill as fast as he could. Turning his head, he could see one of the party members choosing him as their target. They gave chase towards the anthill, while he had a decent head start, there was little doubt that his stats were higher and would allow him to catch up. While he was outmatched on his own, Cyrus knew of at least one way he might be able to get away. The anthill.
On his own he would be nothing special, but if he could force a confrontation with more ant warriors then he might stand a chance of getting away. Getting to the top of the anthill rewarded him just what he desired in this scenario. Several more anthills were just ahead and crawling with both worker and warrior ants alike. This cavern was clearly an infestation; hundreds of ants were visible to the eye alone. He darted forward towards the closest warrior ant while his attacker was fresh on his heels behind him. The warrior noticed him and turned towards the intruders.
Just as Cyrus had hoped for, the warrior began charging up an aura ball like the one before had. The attacker was closing in behind him just as Cyrus reached the warrior. He spun out of the warriors vision, making sure the ant had been staring straight ahead so its gaze was now directed at the other attacker. Rather than turning towards Cyrus again who was already farther past the warrior and clearly not a threat, it released the ball at the new threat.
The attacker cried out in surprise as the aura ball hit him right in the chest, causing him to fly back a couple feet. This was all the preparation Cyrus needed before he turned around to face the man. The warrior was already charging the position where he hit the ground and made to impale him the same way the last one tried to do to Cyrus. Unfortunately for the man, he did not have a support and was entirely alone. The warrior stabbed its mandible into his left leg, causing the man to cry out in pain. He was not fazed for long though as he slammed his mace down onto the head of the warrior, effectively crushing it.
Cyrus had not been still during the whole encounter, coming in from the side just as the man swung his mace and bring his own sword down on the man’s neck. Weather it was due to the pain of his injury or having just swung the mace, the man had little time to react and failed to bring the mace up in time. His rapier cut cleanly through the downed man’s neck, killing him instantly.
*Human – Level 27 killed. Experience awarded*
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*Level up to 18! – Free points awarded*
*Level up to 19! – Free points awarded*
*Title: Slayer – Slayed an enemy at least 10 levels higher. +5 strength, +3 constitution*
Cyrus wasted little time dumping the free points he earned into dexterity, wanting as much speed as possible when he began running again. As much as he would’ve liked to loot the corpse and his comic pouch, he heard angry shouts from the top of one of the anthills. One of the other attackers spotted him standing over their teammate’s body and pointed him out for everyone else. Wanting no part in another fight and doubting the trick would work a second time; he started running deeper into the anthill maze.
Cyrus had lost track of where he was after 5 minutes of running, his dexterity proving to make his stamina much higher. The shouts had long since died out, he wasn’t even sure if they were chasing him anymore. If he stopped and they were still looking, he knew he’d be dead within seconds of an actual head-to-head fight. Reaffirming his resolve, Cyrus just ran and ran until he couldn’t anymore. Not because he was tired or anything, but eventually he came to an abyss. It was a straight down drop with a circumference several hundred feet around. He had run for so long there were no longer any anthills in sight, all he had been able to think about was getting away.
“Creator’s light you’re fast man.” Cyrus jumped at the sound of the voice and turned to find Serence not far away. He was panting a bit, his smile still twisted while looking at his next prey.
“Tell you what, how about I give you my stuff and then you let me live?” Cyrus barters, knowing that his options were limited.
“I can’t afford to have any witnesses to what we did. Besides, you were never supposed to survive to begin with. A Void mage is a highly paid kill you know.”
Cyrus’s mind goes blank for a moment. They KNEW he was a Void mage even though he had never told anyone. Actually, that was wrong; one place knew he was a Void mage. It was the guild. Had they betrayed him and tossed out his information? Or was there a skill that allowed someone to see what kind of mage someone was?
“Listen, I can see your mind working out the problem, so I’ll sate your curiosity before I kill you. The Guild head didn’t like the idea of a Void mage running loose. So I’m here to arrange a little accident and then get my reward. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.” Serence laughs, seeing the hope die out from Cyrus and true despair take over.
Cyrus had little way out of this situation, if this guy had been hired to kill him even with a lower level, the guild must be confident enough in his skills to send him out here to take care of it. The rapier in his hand became much heavier than before, no matter how strong his strike was he felt there was no way he could win. This is what it felt like to mass hatred, to be betrayed again and again.
Entity destroyed his life. The guild promised that his information would be confidential and was having him killed. The first party he linked up with actually baited him here just to end his life. People were truly a bunch of fakes. This new world might have been beautiful if the beings in it weren’t so disgusting. Serence clearly had enough waiting and drew dual blades from his sides.
“As fun as it’s been watching you despair, I intend to get paid. So I’m going to need you to die now, pretty please.” With a laugh befitting a manic, Serence charged forward at lightning speed.
“You BASTARD! ALL OF YOU!” Cyrus shouted and raised his rapier just in time to swiftly block the first strike. He grunted at the strength behind it and his arms wobbled from the pain of just resisting the blades force. He activated [Void Aura] to increase his strength even a little bit, feeling some tension release. Cyrus stepped to the side in an attempt to dodge the flurry swipes of both blades but to little avail. Cuts bled from his torso in multiple places, several deeper ones littered his arms. While none of the cuts were deep, the wounds kill him sooner rather than later.
“You’re not long for this world, maybe if you didn’t go to the guild, you might still be alive. I’m glad you did though, your corpse is worth good money.”
Serence brought his blades black for a final strike. Cyrus couldn’t even lift his arms at this point, the weight of the situation finally taking its toll on him. Maybe he had given up, or it could’ve been the blood loss, but he really didn’t care anymore. If he died, he might be able to just go home and this nightmare would finally be over.
The strike never came; instead he heard a loud clang as if the blades struck a solid surface. His eyes shot open to see a familiar golden barrier stopped the blades just short of his neck and face. Just a few paces behind him was the beast woman, covered in gashes and bruises from what was clearly a bad flee. She must have been invisible or there was no way she could have gotten there. Even with her save and his luck at her appearance, the two of them were still backed up against the wall. Except this wall was an actual pit.
Before he could express his gratitude towards her, Billo came around the corner with multiples friends. There were tired from however much they fought and ran, but still in better shape than Peluna and him. This was it now, the barrier had only delayed the inevitable and he backed up to where she stood.
“Thanks for the save Peluna, but we’re kind of dead anyways. How did you even get behind me?”
“I have an invisibility spell, but it goes away if I’m touched or cast another spell.”
“If you two are done talking, I promise to end your lives quickly and painlessly if you come forward now. There’s no chance you get out of this alive” Billo says smugly, parading his victory.
“You said you needed my corpse right Serence? Then you get paid?” Cyrus inquires.
“Yes, that’s how bounties always go, so I’ll need you on your knees now.”
“You want to go down the pit with me Peluna?” Cyrus whispers to her on the side, low enough so Serence and his gang can’t hear.
“I can’t believe I’m even agreeing with you, but on the off chance we don’t go splat at the bottom, sure.” Peluna replies with a resigned tone, the hope just as gone from her as well.
Cyrus and Peluna slowly back away from their attackers until they’re at the edge of the pit, half a step away from the cliff. Cyrus stops for a moment before looking at Serence with the best shit eating grin he could muster. Knowing he would likely die in 30 seconds really sapped away most of that anger from before.
“I’ve got one last thing to say to you Serence.”
Serence’s eyes widen when he realizes what the pair are doing, rushing forward with a burst of speed to reach them. “STOP, don’t go any further.”
“Fuck your money.” Cyrus gives Serence the middle finger before falling backwards. Peluna does the same and they plummet down into the abyss together. The darkness surrounds them, swallowing them whole. Cyrus doesn’t know how long he fell, falling unconscious long before hitting any ground.