《Unparalleled: Shadow's Blade》 Chapter 1 Taking off a helmet, a handsome yet unkempt man sighed. Not bad, 8th place this time. Could¡¯ve done better but the gear I found at the start was terrible. Only the soft light of a holographic picture illuminated the dark room. Within the picture, a man and woman holding a child at the beach smiled. The gaunt figure walked toward the window while kicking old trash aside and snapped his fingers, opening the window. Piles of old energy drink cans littered the floor. The sound of sirens and gunshots pervaded the area but the figure was so deep in thought he was oblivious to almost everything. Just like always. Nothing ever changes out here in the real world. He took out a cigarette from an almost empty box and lit it. Then raised his right hand and spoke into a watch. ¡°Sara, how much money do I have in my account?¡± A beam of light shot upwards about a foot then formed into a woman from the watch. ¡°You have $23.51 total in all your accounts.¡± the hologram replied. ¡°Sara, can I get the total amount of all my bills?¡± ¡°$13,671, is overdue Leon. Would you like to make a payment?¡± The man scoffed at the comment. ¡°Sara, sell my rarest weapon skin for my combat knife on Brutal Cry. Also, tell me how much it sells for when it does.¡± While flicking his wrist and snapping his fingers, Sara disappeared back into his watch and the window closed. Might as well get some more cigs. The figure left his apartment and looked up into the sky. Large holographic billboards littered the skyscrapers. Not finding anything interesting, the gaunt figure walked into the cold winter night. ¡°Sara, can you play me some music?¡± The sound of music played inside his head, seemingly cut off from the world. He walked alone for several minutes. Abruptly the music ceased from within the man¡¯s head and the haggard figure looked up. ¡°Leon, the combat knife sold for $131.93.¡± So little...Brutal Cry is dying. I¡¯ll get evicted pretty soon... Suddenly the man¡¯s attention seemed captivated by a certain billboard off in the distance. ¡°Sara, give me the audio of the billboard 90 degrees to my left, second one from the top.¡± ¡°--hat¡¯s right, Unparalleled will be releasing worldwide six months from now. The claims Virtualis made so far are unprecedented: Hyper-realism, free installation of their UPC device, 6 to 1-time dilation, and nourishment that will be supplied for the entire first month.¡± Videos showed in-game footage of scenery, people fighting off monsters, and even players fighting each other. ¡°Sara, is there more information about this game and what is the likelihood of a market developing for it?¡± The man stood in the freezing cold, seemed unfazed as he stared intently at the screen. ¡°Over 4.6 billion people have registered for the game, Leon. The likelihood of a market being developed is over 80%. Would you like to register as well? If so, the device can be delivered by next week. There is no other information about the game except the ones just mentioned on the billboard.¡± ¡°Wait, how much does it cost after the first month?¡± the man asked skeptically. ¡°The monthly subscription will cost the same amount as Brutal Cry.¡± ¡°Sign me up and cancel my subscription for Brutal Cry when the fees for the game arrive to pay for it. Also, sell my Brutal Cry account for as much as possible, it should last me for a year.¡± The man took his last cigarette out of an empty box but still had his eyes glued to the screen. After a while, he looked up into the night¡¯s sky and saw a crescent moon. ¡°Sara, play it again.¡± ¡°Which playlist?¡± ¡°You know which one.¡± The sound of a children''s song came on. He then lit his cigarette and resumed his walk. Several more minutes went by until he stumbled upon a park, where he stopped and gazed. He was staring intently at a swingset, his body frozen into the scenery for a long time. Adjusting to the weird sense of free fall, I waited a moment before my eyes opened. Before me was what seemed to be an endless white room with a large, blurry blue screen smack dab in the middle. As my vision started to clear up a voice echoed from within my head. How would I explain it? It gave the feeling of falling off the bed and endlessly dropping but I knew it wasn¡¯t real. My eyes were sealed shut but I could see the glaring orange color through my eyelids. Quite frankly, I was surprised at the feeling of realism I felt. After a brief moment I opened my eyes to see an endless white room with a blue box. As I looked at the blue box, the voice repeated the same thing as the text within.
Welcome to Unparallelled
Redundant much? I retorted and rubbed my temples. Although I researched how VRMMORPGs are supposed to be, I¡¯m still more used to survival PvP games but I had to try Unparalleled and I needed the money. Virtualis themselves, set up an in-game currency to real life currency market. Untold riches could be made from this game and I am going to be there to make it. The text within the blue screen flickered as it changed and the voice resounded in my head again.
Please input your username
¡°Solus,¡± I said as I waited for the next part. This was my gamertag that I used in another survival pvp game called Brutal Cry. It didn¡¯t have hyper-realism, but it was the best game to make money from, until now.
Proceeding to scan controller
Scan controller? They never did that in the other games I¡¯ve played. Usually, we just get dropped off from the sky and fight each other, last one standing wins. The blue screen changed once more and the voice returned.
Scan has been completed. Please say status to view buying options
A blinding light flashed once more as sense of tingling overcame me Jeez! What the hell is up with all the bright lights!? Did they want to give me a seizure? Shaking my head, the blue screen appeared again and I began to read it. Wait, you can buy stuff? Ugh.. isn¡¯t that too easy? ¡°Status¡± muttering quietly and somewhat disappointed.
General Information Attributes
Name Solus Strength (Str) 9
Level 1 Dexterity (Dex) 14
Race Drakin (Dark) Agility (Agi) 16
Sex Male Endurance (End) 12
Guild N/A Intelligence (Int) 11
Title N/A Will Power (Will) 12
Health 170/170 (+0.12/sec) Experience 0%
Mana 113/113 (+0.12/sec) Gold 0
Looking at the attributes I was slightly confused. Obviously, it pertained to my physical and mental conditions but I¡¯m more used to everyone starting off on the same foot. Wait, what the hell is a Drakin? Ah, crap. I forgot VRMMORPGs had a ton of different races. I just wanted to be human, how come I couldn¡¯t decide that myself!? As I shook my head I looked down at my body, my jaw dropped. Where there once was normal fingers, obsidian scales traveled through my forearm. Touching my face, thankfully, it was still human like, however, my fingers brushed across a hard surface above the ears. They felt like¡­ horns? I desperately sought for more changes. A similar set of scales protected my neck, acting as a secondary set of armor. Well, I guess this isn¡¯t too-wait. What the hell is touching my ass!? I whirled around and saw an abomination. Is that a fucking tail? I tried moving it around and it responded naturally to my actions. This is insane!? Did this happen during the blinding light? Angrily I asked the system ¡°Hey, can I be a human¡­ or something?¡±
The scan has determined that the Drakin is the most compatible race with your capabilities
Ugh, I suppose that¡¯s fine, as long as it gives me an advantage then it doesn¡¯t matter. Not used to my new form, I did a few test exercises to gauge my balance and strength. After I finished inspecting myself, I finally noticed a menu that had probably been sitting there for quite some time.
Proficiency Cost
Axe Mastery 1
Dagger Mastery 1
Illusion Magic 4
Marksmanship 1
Nature Magic 4
Shadow Magic 4
Stealth 1
Swordsmanship 1
Throwing Mastery 1
Tracking 1
You are allocated 10 skill points and 10 equipment points to spend Any leftover points are lost and irredeemable
I looked at my available skills, weighing each option around in my mind for awhile. Hold on, is it taking previous gaming skills into consideration? Most of these are skills that I¡¯ve learned in Brutal Cry. Though I¡¯ve never used magic before¡­Nah, must be a coincidence. I shook my head at the thought. Shooting a bow was good and all but starting out a novice, I probably wouldn¡¯t have enough money to buy ammunition at the start. So I would have to craft them...I don¡¯t like that. I¡¯ll go with a reusable type weapon with a range property instead. After contemplating it for awhile, I decided to go with a casting assassin-type character: grabbing Dagger Mastery, Illusion Magic, Shadow Magic, and Throwing Mastery. That way, I could use daggers in the midst of combat and, if needed, throw them at enemies if they got too far. I really don¡¯t know what illusion and shadow magic do. The system doesn¡¯t elaborate anything on it but I assume a little illusion and shadow magic can strategically cover me and make me more stealthy. Immediately after I confirmed my skills, a surge of information flooded my head. ¡°Ahh! What the hell man!?¡± I screamed. The intense pain subsided after 30 seconds but left a lingering feeling of nausea and a slight headache. Feeling like I had to vomit, I gagged and a bit of stomach bile rose up in my throat but I was able to keep it down. Ugh! I fucking hate that taste! I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and spat on the¡­ ground or whatever the fuck I was standing on. I took a deep breath and shook my head to regain my composure. Talk about realism though, ¡°Virtualis¡± really wasn¡¯t kidding when they said that the game would be as realistic as possible. I mean, they even simulated the need to vomit. Talk about detailed... Two screens appeared side by side.
Skills Cost Description
Shadow Magic 15 Mana The caster calls upon the shadows to materialize and forge a small object that he can readily use for 2 attacks. Edgelord powers activate!
Illusion Magic Sustain=50 mana/hour Quick=8 mana The caster can create an illusion that can simulate the surroundings around the cast while concentrating.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. The caster can create illusions that mimic objects for a brief moment before disappearing as it touches another object. I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s fake, but it¡¯s definitely fake
Dagger Mastery None Ability to use a dagger deftly STAB,STAB, STAB!
Throwing Mastery None Ability to throw a weapon Running Away!? I don¡¯t think so! Pew! Pew!
Hrm, the system is designed with sarcasm? I hope it doesn¡¯t stay that way, it¡¯ll get annoying afterwhile.
Equipment Cost
Longsword 3
Short sword 2
Dagger (2) 1
Longbow 3
Short bow 2
Quiver (20) 1
Great-axe 3
First-aid kit 4
Chainmail 6
Leather Armor 4
Scale mail 7
Backpack Free
Bandages x5 (10 Health) Waterskin x1 Rations x10 days Basic potion x1 (50 health) Free
Common Clothing Spare Free
Sleeping bag x1 Free
Ah crap, I could''ve gotten marksmanship? Those quivers are cheap as hell and I could shoot a bow way better than throwing a knife! My hand slapped against my forehead, a tinge of regret washed over me but I quickly got over it. I¡¯ll just learn it in the game later, I guess. Switching my focus to things that I could do, the topic of armor came up. I need some kind of protection, leather armor suits assassins since they make less noise, so I¡¯ll buy that. Without warning, my body slouched as a suit of armor materialized. Damn... not gonna lie, that was pretty badass. Now, onto weapons. I looked at all the options available. I mean I could buy a short bow and quiver and then train ingame if I have to. Yeah, let¡¯s do that but I¡¯ll get two quivers as well. I felt a familiar tug appear on my shoulders as the short bow formed. While two full quivers manifested on both sides of my waist. I¡¯ll use the rest of my points on daggers. A bandolier wrapped around my chest and contained four sheathed daggers attached to it.
All points have been spent. Estimated time till launch 1:19:37 Feel free to practice your abilities. All damage and durability lost will be restored at start.
A group of training dummies materialized about 20 feet away from me. I thought about training for a bit but as looked down at my clothing a thought occurred to me. ¡°System, can you materialize a full body mirror for me?¡± Without any reply, a mirror was formed about a foot in front. Hell yeah, it worked! Taking a look at myself, my jaw dropped at what I saw. The person in the mirror was devilishly handsome. Is that really me? Moving my hand around, the figure in the mirror copied. Guess it is! Huh, not that bad. ¡°System, can you remove all of my equipment and place it in front of me?¡±. My equipment dematerialized and reappeared in front of me. Suddenly, a breeze brushed against my little brother. Shit! Grabbing my pants, I quickly put them back on. ¡°Can you also turn all my equipment black, system?¡± Gradually, splotches of color appeared on my equipment until all of it was covered in a fine jet black. ¡°System, If I altered my clothing, would it still be repaired when I leave?¡±
Any intentional changes will not be reverted.
Smiling at the reply, I took a dagger out from one of my sheathes then picked up my shirt. I proceeded to cut the bottom part of the fabric into strands. Putting on the makeshift cowl until the shirt hole reached my nose, then tied the armholes behind my head. Taking another look in the mirror. It doesn¡¯t look half bad but at least it will cover my identity. ¡°System, re-equip all my gear please.¡± Once more the familiar weight of all my gear was equipped again. Though this time I wore no shirt under my leather armor, instead my face was covered by the cowl. All the changes took around eight to ten minutes but in my opinion, it was well worth it. Finally, on to training. At the top left of my screen, there was a health and mana bar. I grinned with anticipation. Taking a running start towards the dummies I jumped and tried to kick off of one them. My feet landed squarely on its chest and I used the momentum to launch myself into the air about 10 feet off the ground. As I was falling, I grabbed daggers off my bandolier and spun around in a full circle, throwing 4 daggers at the surrounding targets. Hearing three out of the four daggers impact, I couldn¡¯t but to grin. Damn, not that bad. It feels like I have way more control over my body in here than inside Brutal Cry. Those stats seemed to have boosted my abilities as well. I guess starting on different footings isn¡¯t that bad. How the does magic work? Brutal Cry doesn¡¯t have magic, so the thought it felt foreign. Looking at my hand, I tried to focus for a brief second before a shadow dagger appeared within them. I took the shadow and sliced it against the tip of my finger. The resistance against the scales was quite hard to cut through so I decided to cut myself above my elbow, on my biceps.
-6 Health Jeez, you really are an edgelord
The pain shot through my arm and I yanked back. The notifications seemed to taunt me. Huh, that¡¯s pretty darn useful but what about this illusion magic? Closing my eyes, I started to imagine myself, blending into the white scenery. I felt a pale veil cover me. I could sense that I was camouflaged somewhat with my surroundings. Is this really working though? I sat down for a bit contemplating what I could do with the brief illusion effect. After a while, I got bored and started to toss a dagger back and forth between my hands. Suddenly, another dagger appeared while I was juggling and I tried to catch it but it faded through instead. The hell? Was that an illusion? So I could create fake daggers? I got up and threw a dagger at a dummy and conjured two more illusory daggers targeting different vitals. Three daggers flew out from my hands and landed on the dummy but only one landed squarely on its chest while the others faded away at its head and neck. Walking back around 30 feet, I drew my bow and notched an arrow. Focused completely on my target, I let the arrow fly. Shhhwwaff! The arrow thudded resoundingly on its chest. After a few more shots I realized that I could still shoot as well as I could in Brutal Cry.
Warning: Any death occurring in Unparalleled will be permanent and you will die in the real world
Wait...What!? My face turned into a look of confusion.
5
¡°Hold on, that was a joke right?¡±
4
¡°System, answer me!¡±
3
¡°Sara, get me out the hell out this thing!¡±
2
¡°Sara! I said get me out!¡±
1
¡°Logou--¡± Instantly a blinding light dominated my sight and I covered my eyes. Rubbing my face with my forearm, I could hear the sound of shifting people. As opened my eyes I looked around, I was standing in a field of tall grass. The cloudy, light blue sky seemed to beam down giving warm feeling as the wind blew. Off in the distance a large forest towered, the canopy seemed to block out the sun leaving only strands of light that breached through. But none of that mattered due to the announcement the system made. This is a joke, right? If I died here, I would die in real life? No, way. A moment of panic overcame me, I tried to maintain my composure and took a deep breath, counting backward from 10. I must''ve heard it wrong, maybe it meant that you could only play the game once? Yea, that¡¯s what it said. It doesn¡¯t seem much different from Battle Cry but holy crap does this feel real!? I sniffed the air, the fresh non-artificial breeze stunned me. Taking a moment to enjoy the never felt before sensation. Finally taking notice, there was a huge crowd of people surrounding me. I stepped back instinctively on guard against the other people. Gradually, I lessened my actions, when they didn¡¯t show hostility. What caught my eyes was the variety of different races that stood around me. There were stout figures, some graceful with pointy ears, even some Drakins like me, and there were even humans. The thing all of them had in common besides their clothing and equipment was their faces, which were painted with confusion, anger, and despair. ¡°Hey! I can¡¯t log out! What the hell is this shit?¡± suddenly a voice came out from the crowd. Fuck¡­.it was real. At this time another person yelled, ¡°Ahem. Uh, hello everyone!¡±. I turned my head in the general direction of the voice but wasn¡¯t able to catch sight of the person speaking. Ugh, I need a place to think. Giving up on trying to find the source of the voice, I looked at the forest and found a nice tree with a sturdy branch and started to make my way towards it. As I approached the forest the sounds of twigs crunched under my feet. Moss covered each tree that seemed to bend in unruly manner. The ground was littered with sticks, leaves, and rocks that seemed to be untouched in ages. The smell of damp earth combined with decomposing plants wafted. A natural sense of calming washed over me like a blessing despite the current situation. Standing before the lichen covered trunk, I easily climbed and sat on the robust branch while gazing at the crowd. The crowd seemed worried, as some consistently chattered and argued, while others stood in place while gazing off into the distance or what I assumed to be their status screens. A bit further away now, I felt more comfortable alone and calmed my nerves quite a bit. ¡°... it seems we are not spawning in a safe zone. We should...stick together and work as a team...¡± The same voice as the last time yelled out. Though what he was saying was a tad bit drowned out by the crowd and distance. I looked at the source and saw a tall, decent looking human wearing layered leather armor and various weapons. I looked at the source and saw a tall well built human, he had short brown hair that went slightly over his forehead. Donned with layered leather armor, a longbow, and a sword. Strangely, he had smile despite the situation. One of those leader types huh? I guess we do need someone to prevent mass panic... ¡°This isn¡¯t a game anymore. Didn¡¯t you hear the message at the end?¡± A voice shouted out, responding to the charismatic guy. My heart clutched at the thought of true death and my mind started to calculate how many people died in Brutal Cry. The numbers were huge and only the top few hundreds would stay alive the longest. Gazing into the crowd I started judging each person, none of them looked trained in any survival tactics. More than half would be dead just from dehydration and food within the week. ¡°You¡¯re... As the message said, this isn¡¯t a game anymore... try to stay together and alive, yes?¡± the leader guy once more yelled out as if trying to muster a crowd as they gathered around him. Suddenly a dwarf right under my tree yelled out in a terrible Scottish accent, ¡°Fuck you. You¡¯re just trying to take advantage of us. I¡¯m leaving.¡± A tall guy stepped in front of the dwarf, somewhat blocking his way. This isn¡¯t going to turn out well¡­ ¡°He¡¯s right. We need to stick together. We have safety in numbers.¡± The tall human said to the dwarf, seemingly agreeing with the leader dude. Next thing, the dwarf started moving his hand towards his short sword. Fuck! I may have come from a PvP game but no one truly dies there! What the hell is this kid¡¯s problem? Is he really about to murder someone knowing they could die in real life? My body flew forward in order to stop the dwarf but it was too late. The dwarf had swung his short sword and had already drawn blood, a line of crimson spray clouded the air. ¡°What the fuck, why would you attack me mother fucker!¡± the injured guy wailed. I looked at the victim holding onto his stomach as the warm stench of blood permeated the air. Soon enough, he reached into his bag, grabbed bandages, and attempted to wrap up his wound. Shit, that looks really bad. I wasn¡¯t able to stop the dwarf but I positioned myself for a flying dropkick. My foot slammed into his shoulder and knocked his body to the ground. His sword clattered on the dirt as his posture broke. As I awkwardly landed the crackle of leaves as the soil shifted under my weight. While regaining my balance, I began unsheathing my daggers. Gripping onto the course, leathery handle tightly while staring intently at the dwarf. Soon enough someone came and dragged the injured man away. ¡°Everyone! Let¡¯s calm the hell down,¡± yelled the same guy again. I turned my head to see a man aiming his longbow at me. ¡°No attacking each other. We don¡¯t need to be worrying about other players when we don¡¯t know what or where our enemies are.¡± Really!? This fucking wannabe hero is aiming his weapon at me!? ¡°Why the fuck are you aiming at me for, prick?¡± I snarled back ¡°I stopped the dwarf from cleaving that guy in half!¡± I took a good look around just to see everyone else was also drawing their weapons in my general direction. Fuck, am I gonna get murdered already? I¡¯m taking some of these bitches out if they try! The guy lowered his bow, the crowd following suit. I could feel the sweat beading up on my head...or was that my two horns? Whatever. The clank of metal sounded underneath me and I looked at the dwarf. Pushing me away, he rose and grabbed his weapon. Then walked back into the crowd. Everyone seemed to avoid him. Asshole¡­ I sheathed my daggers, walking toward a different tree with untamed roots twisting about and started climbing it. ¡°For now, let¡¯s heal any injured and get to know each other. My name is Maxim but you can call me Max.¡± Max said to the crowd. I try to pay it no mind and finally place myself on a good branch. The crowd gradually dispersed and flowed into their own little cliques but I stayed in my tree contemplating what to do next. Closing my eyes I tried to listen to the sound of nature to ease the panic that was just built up. The commotion must have scared the insects and birds off as there was no sound of them for about 10 minutes. Finally, the sweet lull of nature put me at ease and I drifted off into a brief nap. Minutes later the sound of nature once again disappeared. I looked around to see if the other players had started another conflict but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. That¡¯s weird¡­ well, I suppose it¡¯s nothing. I tried to close my eyes and fall back to sleep but it was hard without the sounds of the birds and insects singing, I needed some kind of music. A few minutes later, I heard a rustle in the woods. Opening my eyes, I surveyed the surrounding but nothing was there. I squinted my eyes to make sure I wasn¡¯t missing anything but no one was even in that general direction. Curiosity got the best of me and I deftly dropped down from the tree and headed deeper into the forest. The comforting feeling of nature slowly disappeared as a sense of untamed wilderness seem to permeate the area. As I pushed past ferns and wildflowers, trying to get a better view but foliage seemed to block my sight. ¡°Hello?¡± I shouted, ¡°Is anybody out here?¡± But there was no reply. Maybe they went further in? I walked pretty far into the forest at this point and the grassland could hardly be seen anymore but I didn¡¯t pay it any heed. Rustle, Rustle Wait, what was that? Quickly crouching down, I look in the general direction of the sound, seeing if I could hear anything else. I waited patiently for what seemed like an eternity and finally could take no more. I laid prone and started to crawl toward where I heard the rustle previously, trying to make as little noise as possible. Rustle, Rustle Listening intently, I could hear the sound of the lurkers moving to two different locations. I stealthily tried to take a peek and saw two small figures running further into the woods. A window popped up out of nowhere, blocking my view before I really got to see anything more.
Congratulations! You¡¯ve learned the basic skill: Stealth Sneaky sneaky snek
What the fuck? Quickly dismissing the window, I looked over to see nothing there anymore. Screw it. I got up and gave chase. Fuck, this is tiring! Jeez, I thought realism was a cool feature but I¡¯m running out of breath just chasing these things. As I ran by the previous source of the rustling, I looked down to see some funky ass tracks. It appeared to have three huge toes that were somewhat human-like but the overall footprint was small. What in the hell kind of tracks are these? Turning my head back towards the direction the creature ran to, I pursued them. Running for a few minutes, I noticed the shadowy figures split off into two different directions as if avoiding my pursuit.
Congratulations! You¡¯ve learned the basic skill: Tracking What a creep! Stalker!
Move dammit! The screen disappeared into nothing. Which one do I follow? Right! Left is always wrong! Perhaps it was my amazing speed or it¡¯s stubby legs, but I managed to catch up and it was about 20 feet away. It stopped for a moment, raising its face to the surrounding air. I heard a couple sniffs as it seemed to investigate the local area. Shit! It can¡¯t smell me, right? No...I¡¯m too far away...I think? Taking a moment to inspect the creature. What the hell is that? I think I saw something similar called a goblin before. Standing at about three feet tall, it was beastly. It was covered in green leathery skin, often cracked with dryness. The green creature drew a primitive bow and stared off into the opposite direction. Is it a scout? If it is, I need to take my shot now before it warns any others. Drawing my bow as quietly as possible, while still maintaining eye contact with the savage, I began to notch an arrow while taking aim. Okay, you got this. Aim center mass, steady your breathing, release on exhale Twang, Schhwaff! As soon as my arrow released, the creature swiftly dodged left behind a tree. Dammit. It knows! Thwang, Schhwaft, THUNK! Crap! Is it trained? My research said that goblins were stupid!? An arrow landed in the trunk that I was hiding behind. Quickly, moving to behind cover of another tree while crouching, I notched one more arrow. 39 arrows left. Where did it go? I know you¡¯re around here. Swiftly looking left and right, I scanned the area for any unnatural signs of movement but couldn¡¯t see any clues. The thrill of the hunt overtook me, the pace of my heartbeat rose madly. I could barely hear anything else when... Schhhwaff! Shit! Diving into a prone position, an arrow flew past where I was originally. I scrambled to get to a better location, my face stinging from crashing through bushes. Judging from the trajectory of the previous arrow shot at me, I notched my arrow, stood up, and took aim toward that general vicinity. There! That bush moved! THWANG! SCHHHWAFF! Following the flight path, the arrow struck the foliage. No scream¡­ I changed location once more as fast as possible, paying special heed to not reveal myself like I had done previously. Hiding behind a tree with my eyes closed, I listened purposefully for any sounds from the enemy. My lungs burned and my heartbeat¡¯s pace was not helping. RUSTLE, RUSTLE That was close, it¡¯s closing in on me! The sound of scampering came from my left. Arrow still notched, my body pivoted at the now visible savage, green creature. I fired at its ugly ass face. SPLAT! The goblin reeled backward from the impact. Blood splattered everywhere.
Congratulations! You¡¯ve learned the basic skill: Marksmanship Pew! Pew! Pew! The stormtroopers shot.
¡°AaARgHhHH¡± It laid on the ground with an arrow in its neck, gurgling. The hatred in its eyes still intensely gazing at me even in death. My adrenaline turned into excitement as I knew I had finally won. I felt an invigorating breeze brush by that further increased my exhilaration, I took a few steps forward to loot my prey. Chapter 2 SCHHHWAFF! ¡°Aghhhhhhh!¡±
-30 Health Ryuu Ga Waga Teki Wo Kurau!
Letting out a scream, an arrow plunged into my left shoulder. Its point completely penetrated through my leather armor. Piercing into my flesh, the pain overtook my mind and I dropped to the ground, releasing the bow from my grip. Breathing became hard as I tried to deal with the pain. It hurts! Aghh! Why does it hurt so much?! Oh god, this really isn¡¯t a game! If this is what getting hit feels like, I don¡¯t wanna know what it feels like to die! I was the hunter but now I¡¯m the prey. A sense of fear replaced my previous exhilaration by multiple folds as I dawned on the thought. Get up! Get up! You¡¯re going to die if you don¡¯t! Quit being a bitch. GET UP! I mentally screamed at myself, forcing my body to scuttle away for cover based on the goblin¡¯s arrow trajectory. Blood rushed down my arm, I stared at the arrow in disbelief. Pain is just weakness leaving your body! It does not hurt! Aghhh! Yes, it fucking does! I gotta take it out, I gotta take it out! Remembering what they did in old time movies, I knew if I pulled the arrow out I would bleed profusely. Snap it off! Reaching for the arrow with my right hand and pushed downwards in an attempt to break the shaft. ¡°Arghhhhhhhhh!¡± I can¡¯t do it! Tears filled my eyes, as I stared up into the blurry canopy. Taking a deep breath, I pushed downward as hard as I could. SNAP! Grimacing in pain, I looked over my shoulder evaluating the damage done. The other goblin must have turned back and tracked me after I chased the other one. God! Who designs goblins to be so damn smart? THUNK! The tree behind me shook violently. I darted to a nearby bush for cover while drawing a dagger. My left arm was entirely numb and I knew it was completely out of commission.
-2 Health Drip drip drip! That¡¯s not water you know?
I¡¯m still bleeding...I have to think of something...what can I do? Shadow magic? No, useless. Illusion magic? Yea, I can use the concentration one. Diving toward the bush to my left I laid on the ground and imagined myself to blend into the environment. A layer of mist enveloped my body, I crawled backward and moved behind the same tree I was previously at to trick the goblin. Standing as still as possible, my breath froze inside my burning lungs. Please work... After what felt like an eternity, a goblin appears within my sights as he broke through the foliage. It slowly looked around and approached my direction. Kneeling, it touched the ground where my blood fell and sniffed its fingers. Seemingly without notice that I was standing inches away from it.
-2 health Looks like koolaid. YUM!
Now! The grip on my dagger tightened as I pounced forward, aiming for a downward stab at its neck. PING Drawing its stone dagger the goblin slightly deflected my blow, only allowing me to nick it¡¯s forearm. Its ferocious demeanor enhanced it''s already savage like appearance. I wildly swung my dagger as fast as possible, hoping that any one of my strikes would wound my foe. Unfortunately, the goblin dodged most of my flailing attempts to strike true. My training seemed obsolete as panic overtook my actions. Nothing seemed to work. The goblin guffawed at me as if I were a child brandishing a stick. It readied its stone dagger mockingly then pounced like a beast, cutting into my thigh at a speed too fast to dodge.
-17 Health At least the goblin knows how to fight...
¡°Arghh, You ugly son of a bitch!¡± It pulled back as if it were a cat toying with a mouse. My anger raged within me but slowly it turned into a focused fury. My vision honed onto its weapon, while everything else seemed to fade away. The blade swerved in a snake like manner then suddenly plunged towards me. Swinging my dagger as fast as I could in retaliation, the blades met briefly which knocked the goblin¡¯s dagger away in recoil. With the opening created by the parry, my body seemed to move on its own. Reflexively thrusting my dagger into his ribcage, then yanking it back out. As it wailed in pain, I sparta kicked the tiny prick away three feet.
Congratulations! You¡¯ve learned the basic skill: Parry This is the day you will always remember, as the day you almost stabbed Captain Jac...Solus!
Getting up the goblin wiped its face off and spat on the ground in almost a human-like manner. While staring intently at me the goblin threw its stone dagger at my face then turned to flee with its gaze never leaving me. You¡¯re not getting away! Tilting my head to dodge the dagger then flinging my arm outwards, my weapon flew forward. Five more simultaneously split from the original dagger aiming at different vitals. Three were fake but two were shadow manifestations. The goblin attempted to quickly dodge right but instead dove into one of the real blades. ¡°Couldn¡¯t dodge that, could ya!?¡± ¡°ARaAakK¡± it roared Holding onto its eye as red ichor gushed from between its fingers. Taking advantage of the situation, I rushed forward and then sliced open the goblin¡¯s throat. Blood spluttered all over me like rain. My shoulder was killing me. Fresh blood oozed out of my left shoulder. A gory green creature laid before me. At this point, with so much crimson everywhere I couldn¡¯t tell if it was the goblin¡¯s or my own. BA-DUMP-BA-DUMP-BA-DUMP My heart raced as adrenaline coursed through me. I knew once the adrenaline subsided that the pain I felt now would increase by several folds. Why? Why does this hurt so fucking much!? Where the hell are the pain dampeners? Pushing through the pain, I retraced my steps for about a minute until I retrieved my bow. Finding a tree, I attempted to climb it with one arm but it proved more difficult than I imagined. In the top left of my vision, I saw my Health and Mana at 119/170 and 9/113, respectively. Looking at my health bar, noticing every ten seconds or so, I was losing two health. I need to patch this wound up quick but safety comes first.
-2 Health Gonna patch that up yet?
After several painful attempts, I finally managed to pull myself up and was able to sit on a sturdy branch. There was blood all over the tree but I knew that my body wouldn¡¯t make it any further. I focused my attention to applying first aid. I tried to reach as tentatively as possible over my shoulder to remove my backpack but failed miserably because it hurt too much. ¡°Aghh.¡± I grunted softly as possible, the pain striking me intensely. Ignoring the discomfort as much as possible, I reached into my backpack and dug around for my bandages. Taking a deep breath, I pushed my finger into the wound in my shoulder and shoved the broken shaft of an arrow all the way out. ¡°ArARgH¡± After unpacking the bandages, I began wrapping up my injury with much difficulty. Dismissing the blue screen again, I looked up at the canopy trying to see the sky. The world around me seemed much more menacing and dangerous than I could imagine. A sense of unease and sadness overwhelmed me. I closed my eyes and tried to listen to the calming lull of nature again but a dark sense of foreboding haunted me. After a brief moment, my eyes flickered. I need to warn the others about these goblins. These two goblins might be a scouting party, there could be more heading towards the group. ¡°Status.¡±
General Information Attributes
Name Solus Strength (Str) 9
Level 2 Dexterity (Dex) 14
Race Drakin (Dark) Agility (Agi) 16
Sex Male Endurance (End) 12
Guild N/A Intelligence (Int) 11
Title N/A Will Power (Will) 12
Health 125/170 (+0.12/sec) Experience 17%
Mana 16/113 (+0.12/sec) Gold 0
You¡¯ve leveled up! You have 3 attribute points to allocate So...you should put those in intelligence. What idiot goes into the woods alone?
I almost placed my entire allotment into Intelligence just as the AI had suggested, but decided against doing so last minute, . I threw two points into endurance and the last into my strength. I¡¯ll be damned if I listen to your sarcastic ass. Not like you¡¯ve done me any good so far... Breathing in slowly, my body suddenly lost balance and dropped down from my perch. Agonizing pain spasmed throughout my wounds as I crashed into a bush. ¡°Arghh¡­¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
-23 Health Ba-ba-ba-bird bird bird BIRD IS THE WORD Nevermind you can¡¯t fly
The air in my lungs was forcibly expunged from inside, leaving me winded. Coughing, blood flew from my mouth in a gruesome crimson mist. I started wheezing; the injury had reopened with the fall. The previously applied bandages seemed to hold no sway at the deepened wound. The pain was intolerable as my mind flooded with harrowing torment. My eyes rolled back and darkness set in. Am I really gonna die like this? My consciousness finally fading with that last thought. RRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGG~~~~ Ugh¡­ My eyes finally flickered open, as a ringing blared loudly in my head. A sense of grogginess overpowered me as I struggled to understand what was happening. Aches roiled through my shoulder and thigh. Where am I¡­? Looking around, a dark, dank forest filled my vision. Raising my hand up, I pinched the area in between my eyebrows to relieve the headache. A sharp pain made me jerk away. Fully opening my eyes, I could see a clawed hand once more.
-1 Health A dash of ground, a pinch of pain, and nope! You¡¯re not insane
Crap, it wasn¡¯t a dream¡­ Looking up at the top left of my vision to see the health bar, it showed 189/190. Though my body ached horribly, all the previous wounds I had were sealed but scars remained. ¡°Sara, how long was I asleep?¡± I said while instinctively raising my right hand. I was met with the sound of silence. I felt stupid for a moment but then a sense of urgency overtook me. ¡°Crap, the others!¡± I jumped to my feet and ignored the soreness in my muscles. My eyes scanned the area to gain a sense of bearing. I was completely lost, the battle disorientating my sense of direction. It¡¯s okay, you got this. Reassuring myself, after a few moments, I was able to find my tracks and retrace my steps. The process was slow at first but after awhile, I knew where I was and I started to sprint back towards the group. While running through the woods, branches whipped across causing slight pains but it was nothing compared to injuries that occurred during the fight. My body felt like it was breaking down but I increased my stride anyways. My lungs burned with each intake of fresh breath. Each swallow was dry and went down my throat like sandpaper I have to warn the others. Things are not as it seems. These goblins were too intelligent and if the others underestimated these enemies, the danger would be catastrophic. What I had realized, after my fight with the goblins, was that the fear of dying created an all-consuming panic that even trained men would succumb to. In the other virtual reality games, pain was only simulated up to 20%. Faced with real pain and the possibility of death, they would freeze in battle, and that in itself was a death sentence. The realistic pain strikes fear into your heart and if you¡¯re not fully prepared or lucky, then only death awaits. I didn¡¯t want anymore deaths weighing on my consciousness, one was enough. I didn¡¯t know if my tracks would be traced by other goblins so I took another route. Weaving in-between trees while rapidly closing in on the group, I was approached at a different angle than I had entered into the forest from.I could see the group in the distance and they were okay. A sense of relief washed over me as I stopped and greedily gasped for air. I made it in time. My hands tingled as I held onto my knees, sweat soaking my clothes and skin. I felt completely drained as I hastily jogged outside the treeline but I didn¡¯t let my guard down. Cautiously, I surveyed the surroundings, worried that there might be unseen dangers lurking in the shadows. Right when I approached the woodline, I spotted a large amount of movement in the foliage where I previously saw the scouts. None of the players even noticed what was happening. Hurriedly, I tried to warn them so they wouldn¡¯t be caught off guard. ¡°Watch out! We¡¯re under attack!¡± My lungs blazed in detest as a guttural cry of distress escaped my mouth. My warning seemed to had initiated the goblin¡¯s assault. An arrow emerged from the woodline, firing into the crowd. Caught unprepared, the group panicked as they failed to respond properly. I shook my head knowing that most of of them had never been in a fight and many would die soon. I have to do something. ¡°Enemies! Ready yourselves!¡± a familiar voice yelled. Sprinting further into the woods in an attempt to flank the enemies, I weaved once more in-between the trees. Suddenly, a large ball of light flashed past and illuminated the forest, showing an army of goblins. I slowed my charge and stealthily approached the enemy. The goblins then zoomed forward in a line-like formation; War cries filling the air as they brandished their weapons. The archers stayed back, letting out a volley of arrows into my allies. How can they be so well trained!? Aren¡¯t they supposed to be just goblins? The players were disorganized but eventually managed to collectively bum rush their enemy to repel the attack. A giant sphere of fire appeared out of nowhere and smashed into the goblin hoard, flinging a few into the air like rag dolls. It was not long before the sky was inundated with arrows and deadly magic, as both groups tried to pick each off from afar. Hellish cries of pain and torment resounded throughout the area. The stench of burnt flesh and blood filled the air so much so, I could almost taste it. Stopping, I hid near the goblin hoard in a bush. I could only wait until the second goblin vanguard charged forward, which would leave their archers exposed. My heart ached as I watched innocent people fight for their lives against these savages. I¡¯m only one person, I can only do so much. The feeling of selfishness and guilt washed over me, but I had just moments ago experienced the painful and near-fatal consequences of blindly diving into battle. Only the dead and the very stupid repeat their follies, of which, I hoped I was neither. Finally the second wave emerged from the woods, this time a spear goblin riding a wolf led the charge. Finally! Immediately, I took notice of two goblin archers that were somewhat left unguarded about 20 feet from me. Drawing my shortbow, I nocked an arrow, and took aim. Instead of immediately firing, I took time to steady my breathing. Aim for center mass then fire after exhaling. THHWANG, SHHHAWAFF Releasing the string as the last bit of air left my lungs, the arrow flew toward my unsuspecting victim. My strike landed with a sickening thud in its chest, eliciting a hoarse scream. Putting the bow away as fast as I could, my hands quickly grabbed onto two daggers as I sprinted toward them. The second goblin turned to look at me, drew a stone dagger, and charged at me as well. Rapidly approaching each other, the goblin slobbered like a bulldog as it let out a warcry. Taking note of the goblin¡¯s weapon as well as the weapon¡¯s reach, I opted for a kick , raising my right leg. My foot smashed into its face, forcing its head to slam into the ground. After regaining balance, my body pivoted towards my foe. Faster, I have to be faster! The goblin rolled on the ground clutching its head. Not wanting to take the risk of being wounded again, my hands flashed and two daggers pierced into its leg and back. Reaching into my quivers and grabbing arrows, my hands repeatedly flung them like darts at the goblin. Looking like a porcupine, the goblin laid in a unmoving pool of blood. Die! You ugly son of a bitch! DIE!! The first goblin I previously attacked finally reached me, with the arrow still in its chest. Grabbing onto my last two daggers, I threw my arms out to my sides and let out a bloodthirsty roar. ¡°ROARRRRR!!!¡± The goblin reeled back as I lunged forward. Attempting to dodge, the savage flinched in pain due to its injury. Two daggers came whistling down onto its chest with a disgusting squelch. Withdrawing them, I then plunged my weapons into its body repeatedly, until its chest ceased to move. DIE! All of you need to die!! ¡°Aghhhhh!!!¡± All my pent up emotions exploded once and I let out an unceasing cry of both pain and relief. A calm rage took hold of me and an unrelenting anger flowed through my veins. Maybe it was the fact that everything felt so real. Maybe it was the fact I was thrown into this with no choice. I don¡¯t know but I don¡¯t care anymore! A large source of light fired off to my far right and disappeared into the grasslands. The source of the illumination was a staff goblin who was mounting a wolf, beside him stood two archers and two spear wielders. A sudden volley of arrows and magic from my allies rained upon the enemy group leaving one goblin archer dead. A magic using goblin!? He has to die before he casts another spell. RUSTLE, RUSTLE Another ambush!? From the foliage, an injured human and a fellow drakin emerged and stared at me with wide eyes. Realizing that they were allies, I was safe to retrieve my daggers that, for the most part, had been crudely implanted into the dead goblin cadavers. ¡°Are you o--¡± ¡°No time for talking, there¡¯s a magic caster attacking the others! Follow me!¡± Giving them no time to even reply, I ran towards the magic casting goblin while pulling out my bow. The sound of footsteps followed close behind, giving me a small sense of safety. After getting into range of the caster, I nocked an arrow and took aim at it. ¡°Aim for the one riding the wolf!¡± With no reply, I could see them raise their bows and take aim within my peripheral vision. ¡°Hold! Aim carefully!¡± Once more I steady my breathing and let go at the last of my breath. ¡°Fire!¡± THHWAANG!!! The sound of three bows resounded and flew true at the caster but it turned towards us and screamed out ¡°Tech ghaan dhuul mar!¡± A milky, translucent shield surrounded the goblin causing the arrows to deflect away. What the fuck kind of power is that?! That shit is broken! What in the hell is wrong with the game designers? Are they sick in the head??? The other goblins turned to face us readying their charge but another two players broke past the enemy vanguard and intercepted them. One of them being the PK dwarf that attacked the man earlier today. The caster raised its hand into the air and started to chant ¡°Dhegaan rhor ach ghec okaalken!¡± A large sphere of fire grew from its hands, growing at a rapid pace. The heat caused the surrounding air to burn up and crackle. The canopy of the forest lit on fire and a blazing fireball came hurtling toward the archers and me. We attempted to jump out the way but the radius was too big to avoid and it landed directly on the drakin 5 feet to my left.
-52 Health ~Let it burn, Let it burn~ ~Gotta let it burn~
The impact lifted me off of my feet, tossing me backwards into a tree like a rag doll and subsequently caused me to come crashing to the ground.
-13 Health George, George, George of the jungle! Watch out for that tree!
-3 Health Gravity beats idiot!
-4 Health BURN BABY BURN!!
¡°ARrrRGHHH!!!¡± The drakin screamed out in misery ashe human attempted to put out the flames but it was no use. Sadly, the poor guy stopped moving after a few moments. The wolf, taking advantage of the situation rushed, towards us. Standing quickly, I drew my daggers to defend but I wasn¡¯t the target. Pouncing onto the human, the wolf tore into his throat causing blood to fly everywhere. SHHWAAFF An arrow came spiraling down embedding itself into the wolf as it let out a yelp. A bow wielding elf stood over the two spear goblins with the dwarf nowhere to be found. The caster was knocked off his mount. He rolled to a stop and then stood back up. ¡°Hurry! Get up and kill that thing! I¡¯m out of arrows!¡± the elf shouted while drawing a short sword and running at the caster. Looking up at my health bar, I had 131/190 left over. Forcing my body to comply, I stood and readied to throw my daggers, while the elf moved forward to finish it off. SHHWAAFF!!
-22 Health Pretty sure you¡¯re not a Jedi, sorry bud.
¡°Ahhck¡± As I looked down at my chest an arrow pierced all the way to the feathers under my right armpit. I could feel it rubbing against my one of my ribs. I coughed and blood flew out from my mouth, spraying onto the grass.
-12 Health ~Can¡¯t live, can¡¯t breathe with no air~
-15 Health ~That¡¯s how I feel whenever you ain¡¯t there~
Collapsing on the floor, I couldn¡¯t breathe. My health bar was at 81/190 and it was decreasing fast.
-13 Health ~There¡¯s no air, no air~ Oh and you¡¯re bleeding too!
The elf ran towards me and he quickly rolled me over on my uninjured side, then removed his backpack and pulled out a small vial. His face contorted grimly as he gazed upon my wounds. ¡°Look! This is going to hurt but trust me, alright!?¡± Idiot...that archer is still out there¡­I¡¯m going to die...just leave me. ¡°R..un¡­¡± Moving my arms to my side, he grabbed onto the arrow and yanked as hard as he could.
-23 health Ready to die? ~Because you¡¯re about to!~
ARGHHHHHHHHHH I wanted to scream but there was no air in my lungs to do so. My vision darkened and the sound around me started to drown out. The only thing I could see was that damnable blue screen taunting me as my life drained away.
-11 Health ~Do you wanna die today!?~
My vision blacked out completely at this point. I¡¯ll see you soon, Luna¡­ At this point, I thought I could feel a liquid being poured down my throat but I didn¡¯t know if that was just more blood coming out.
+17 Health ~It doesn¡¯t have to be today~
+14 Health ~Go away, arrow~
+15 Health ~Okay¡­.fine¡­~
Even with all the noise drowning out, I could still hear the system clear as day singing in disappointment. Soon I was able to draw air into my lungs, like a fish out of water. I heaved haggardly yet felt someone digging into my backpack. Then once again I felt more liquid being poured down my throat. With my vision slowly returning, I could barely see that my health stabilized at 127/190. ¡°Thank...you.¡± Somehow I felt completely restored, I sat up and looked at the elf with gratitude. Behind him was a goblin archer riding atop a wolf that was rapidly charging at us. I pushed the elf away and scrambled for cover. Seconds later, the mounted wolf pounced at our previous position. SHHAWAFF The sound of an arrow whizzed through the air and landed close by but it was out of sight. Wait, I haven¡¯t used my mana yet? I¡¯m so used to games without magic that I keep forgetting! Standing up, I grabbed all four of my physical daggers off my bandolier and placed them between the gaps of my fingers. I focused on manifesting four shadow daggers, filling in the rest of the gaps. Raising my left hand to my right shoulder and vice versa, I flung out all the daggers towards the archer. I imagined as many daggers as I could splitting off from those to trick the enemy. Some flew off into the distance and some pierched into the enemy but at the same time an arrow came whizzing by again and landed perfectly into the back of the goblin. Please be dead! Panting heavily, I looked at the wolf who was unharmed. Seemingly afraid of what I just did, the wolf took off leaving as the rider to slump off its back. Only having 5 mana left, I could feel a strain on my mind. I could see the goblins retreating back into the woods, but no one chased. I picked up the goblin archer¡¯s bow from the ground so I could take shots at the fleeing savages but my vision blurred. ¡°Hey, are you alright?¡± the elf asked with a worried tone. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine¡­but we need to finish the rest of them off.¡± We don¡¯t know if there were more goblins out there and if these stragglers were left alive then they could come back with more. They need to be finished off and the group needs to move to higher grounds. A few others, the elf, and I started to give chase but a voice yelled out to us. ¡°Leave them. We need treat our wounded and get to safety!¡± The hell? We need to get rid of them now! We don¡¯t need everyone to stay behind. Everyone turned around at this point and started to head back to the others. Sighing at the sight, I wasn''t going to risk my life and go back into the forest alone so I stopped my pursuit.