《Dawn of Gaia Online [Dropped]》


 Prologue: Character Creation

    <table><tbody><tr><td>Scanning¡­scanning¡­scanning.


    Player detected. Loading aesthetical information.


    Gender: Female.


    Age: 16


    Enter name:


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Vivian.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Transferring to character creation screen.


    You have 10 power points. You have 14 clothing points. You have 10 weapon points. You have 5 gadget points.


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Select Category:<ul>


    <li>Superpowers</li>


    <li>Clothing/Armor</li>


    <li>Weapons</li>


    <li>Gadgets


    </li></ul>


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Superpowers.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Superpower selected.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Displaying power categories:<ul>


    <li>Offense</li>


    <li>Defense</li>


    <li>Movement


    </li></ul>


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Defense.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Defense selected.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Choose attribute:<ul>


    <li>Strength</li>


    <li>Constitution</li>


    <li>Agility</li>


    <li>Intelligence</li>


    <li>Charisma</li>


    <li>Willpower</li>


    <li>Perception


    </li></ul>


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Willpower¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Willpower selected.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Select a power:


    Force field chosen.


    5 power points deducted. 5 power points remaining.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Movement category selected.


    Minor teleportation chosen. 5 power points deducted. 0 remaining.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Clothing/Armor category selected.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Choose a category:<ul>


    <li>Head</li>


    <li>Chest</li>


    <li>Waist</li>


    <li>Leg</li>


    <li>Foot</li>


    <li>Arm</li>


    <li>Hand</li>


    <li>Back</li>


    <li>Miscellaneous</td></tr></tbody></table>


    </li></ul>


    ¡°Head.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Head category selected. Choose an item.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Crown chosen. 2 clothing points deducted. 12 points remaining.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Back category selected. Choose an item.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Imperial cloak chosen. 2 clothing points deducted. 10 points remaining.


    Trend noticed. Select the rest of the imperial set for 10 points? (Y/N)</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.<table><tbody><tr><td>Imperial set equipped. 0 clothing points remaining.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Weapon category selected.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Choose a category:<ul>


    <li>Melee</li>


    <li>Ranged</li>


    <li>Miscellaneous</td></tr></tbody></table>


    </li></ul>


    ¡°Melee.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Melee selected.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Choose a subcategory:<ul>


    <li>Swords</li>


    <li>Knives</li>


    <li>Whips</li>


    <li>Axes</li>


    <li>Clubs</li>


    <li>Polearms</li>


    <li>Handheld</td></tr></tbody></table>


    </li></ul>


    ¡°Swords.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Swords selected.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Rapier chosen. 5 weapon points deducted. 5 points remaining</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Ranged category selected.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Choose a subcategory:<ul>


    <li>Rifles</li>


    <li>Pistols</li>


    <li>Machine guns</li>


    <li>High-tech</li>


    <li>Explosive</li>


    <li>Miscellaneous</td></tr></tbody></table>


    </li></ul>


    ¡°Pistols.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Pistols selected.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Z21 barrier pistol chosen. 5 weapon points deducted. 0 points remaining</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Gadget category selected.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Choose a gadget:


    Barrier enhancer chosen. 5 gadget points deducted. 0 points remaining.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Character summary:


    Powers: Force fields and minor teleportation


    Clothing: Imperial Set


    Weapons: Rapier and Z21 barrier pistol


    Gadgets: Barrier Enhancer</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Is this correct? (Y/N)</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Choose alignment:<ul>


    <li>Good</li>


    <li>Evil</li>


    <li>Neutral</td></tr></tbody></table>


    </li></ul>


    ¡°Neutral.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Neutral alignment chosen.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Choose alias:</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Empress.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Character creation complete.


    Welcome to Dawn of Gaia.</td></tr></tbody></table>

 Chapter 1: Empress

    Chapter 1: Empress


    A fireball dashed through the air, slamming into a parked car. The car exploded in a display of fiery chaos.


    Not far away from the burning vehicle stood two individuals, facing each other.


    One stood tall, with muscle-bound arms, fire dancing at his fingertips. Across from him floated a woman, rocks levitated by her side.


    The man sneered, ¡°This time you won¡¯t escape from me, Illutra!¡±


    Illutra snorted in return, ¡°When have I ever run away from you, Flaron? Today I¡¯ll put an end to your crimes!¡±


    ¡°The National Hero Association will fall!¡± Flaron laughed, ¡°Starting with you!¡±


    As he finished his sentence he hurled a ball of fire forward, attempting to catch her off guard. The woman simply laughed, using her telekinesis to propel herself out of the way. She waved her hands forward, causing the rocks by her side to jump forward with startling speed. The man didn¡¯t falter, he immediately spread his hands open and created a wall of flame, disintegrating the rocks before they could reach him.


    Illutra clicked her tongue, prepared to attempt the attack once more.


    However, before she could make her move, the air trembled. With a flash, appeared a woman cloaked in blackness. A crown rested upon her head.


    Illutra and Flaron immediately went pale. A look of horror appeared on their faces.


    ¡°Empress!¡± they exclaimed simultaneously. Thoughts of fighting immediately vanished. The two turned in the same direction and ran as fast as their legs could carry them.


    They didn¡¯t make it far. Almost immediately, invisible barriers appeared in front of them, cutting them off from the rest of the world.


    Empress walked slowly, a disinterested expression rested upon her face. On her hips rested a pistol in a holster and a rapier in a sheath. She exuded an aura of radiance, causing Illutra and Flaron to tremble in fear.


    ¡°Truce?¡± Illutra yelled to Flaron.


    ¡°Deal!


    The two gave up thoughts on running away. With Empress¡¯s powers, there would be no escape.


    They took a deep breath before launching their attacks. Steel pipes flew forward, attempting to impale Empress. Whips of fire followed closely behind.


    Empress¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. Without moving a muscle, she conjured invisible walls in front of her, causing the attacks to collapse upon impact.


    Illutra and Flaron¡¯s expressions turned ugly. They weren¡¯t expecting their attacks to work, but seeing them fail still hurt their pride.


    Flaron cursed aloud, ¡°Why Empress of all people? Even Rai wouldn¡¯t be as bad!¡±


    Illutra sighed in defeat. She knew it was over. No one had managed to escape Empress¡¯s wrath.


    Empress turned her gaze towards the two. Her eyes were cold, causing observers to shudder. She raised her hands high into the air, causing Illutra and Flaron to gulp. Then, with a sudden movement, she brought her arms crashing downwards.


    Walls of energy fell from the sky, instantly flattening the duo. They were crushed upon the ground. Screams of pain rang out as the barriers pressed on top of them. They flailed wildly in futile attempts to escape.


    After minutes of agony, the walls increased their pressure, cracking all of their bones, killing them instantly.


    A screen appeared in front of Empress¡¯s eyes.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>+50 to notoriety for killing Illutra.


    +50 fame for killing Flaron.


    +100 experience points.</td></tr></tbody></table>


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    Empress licked her lips in satisfaction. She disappeared in a flash of light.


    In a dark and gloomy apartment sat a gaming capsule. All of a sudden, the capsule opened with a click, revealing the disorderly youth who laid inside.


    The girl had deep bags under her eyes and unkempt hair. Her clothes were arranged sloppily across her body without a care for aesthetics.


    With a yawn, she pulled herself out from the capsule, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. A light smile was on her face.


    ¡°Today¡¯s hunt went well,¡± she thought while stretching.


    The girl was none other than Empress. She had started playing Dawn of Gaia only a few weeks ago, yet she was already considered one of the most notorious beginners.


    DoG Online set aside a starting area for beginners to hone their skills. Empress was still in that area. After she reached a certain level, she would be kicked out and forced to play against the true titans of the gaming world.


    However, she was currently undefeated in the starting zone. For reasons people were unable to identify, her powers were incredibly potent, easily crushing the other beginners.


    The girl reached over to a nearby table and grabbed her cellphone. She glanced over the dozens of unread messages with a sigh. Almost all of them were addressed to ¡°Vivian¡± from ¡°Mom¡±. She ignored them as usual and turned off her cellphone.


    After climbing out of the capsule, she staggered over to her computer. Her legs almost failed her due to her spending an exaggerated length of time lying down.


    She grabbed her mouse and clicked her way towards Dawn of Gaia¡¯s daily leaderboards. After gazing over the overall section, she went to the beginner rankings. At the top of the list sat the name Empress. She smiled in satisfaction.


    There were many different leaderboards. Some were ranked by notoriety, fame, or kills. Others were ranked by superpower level, crimes committed, and crimes stopped.


    Vivian currently held the top ranks for kills and superpower level. Her force field ability and minor teleportation had already reached level five.


    The rewards for being first on the leaderboards were great. You could win various equipment or even power crystals.


    The reason Vivian was able to crush all the other competitors was due to the snowball effect. The beginner area had opened not long ago, causing all the new players to start on equal grounds. With sheer luck and effort, she managed to come in first place on the leaderboard that day. Her reward for coming in first place was a minor power crystal. The crystal increased the potency of her barriers, making her stronger than the average player. Due to her head start, she was able to win another power crystal the following day, which made her even stronger. This process continued until she was much stronger than all the other players beneath her.


    She knew this wouldn¡¯t last for long though. As soon as she left the starting area, she would be forced to fight against players that had been playing for months.


    She took a swig of water from the bottle next to her computer. She contemplated sleeping, but she knew she couldn¡¯t. If she slept, someone could pass her on the leaderboards and win the power crystal. She couldn¡¯t afford to lose her advantage. She would sleep during the four hours the leaderboards were being examined.


    After warming up and eating a slice of pizza, Vivian returned to her capsule. She climbed inside of it, a predatory grin appeared on her face. She still had work to do.


    The capsule closed with a click.

 Chapter 2: Heist

    Chapter 2: Heist


    Empress stared at the entrance of the Yoro Bank, a look of intense concentration was evident in her eyes. Yoro Bank was the only bank in the beginner area completely run by players. All the members, from the guards to the bankers, were super-powered individuals. Empress was attempting a heist.


    For the past month she had successfully maintained first place on the beginner leaderboards, increasing her overall power by leaps and bounds. However, there was one problem. She was almost level 10, at which point she would be kicked out from the starting area.


    She had been so focused on maintaining first place that she neglected to consider what resources she would need once she left. One important aspect was money.


    The currency in Dawn of Gaia was called credits. Credits were extremely vital in being a successful player. They could be used to buy armor, hideouts, minions, and various other items.


    Empress had neglected to amass a lot of money, which was why she planned to rob the bank. She was examining her options. One option would be to storm the bank by force using her superior powers. The only problem was the leader of the bank, Rai. Rai was ranked number two on the leaderboard. He could have left the starting area a long time ago, but instead decided to run Yoro Bank and collect a fortune. His power was negation.


    If Rai decided to fight her, he could destroy her barriers and cancel her teleportation. She would be forced to resort to using her pistol and rapier. She shook her head. Her greatest advantage was her powers; she couldn¡¯t afford to lose them.


    Empress drummed her fingers on the steel rail that separated the roof she stood on from thin air. She had seen people attempt to rob the bank before. Super villains assisted by invisibility or camouflage were all exposed in front of Rai. Groups of villains became sitting ducks in front of his negation. There was a reason why he was number two, but Empress was going to show him why she was number one.


    She unslung a sniper rifle she had bought earlier. She hoisted it into position over the rooftop¡¯s railing. She inserted a glowing bullet. All the money she had collected up to this point had gone into purchasing this bullet. The bullet was imbued with telekinetic control and a negating effect. It would allow her to steer the bullet as it traveled, in addition to negating any barriers that might exist


    She just needed one chance. As soon as Rai appeared she would shoot him.


    The respawn system would cause players to revive in their base, which in Rai¡¯s case was the bank. However, there was a minute-long time limit before players could come back to life. That would be all she needed.


    She patiently waited atop the roof, staring down the rifle¡¯s scope. Every few days, Rai would transfer money to a base his friends had created outside the starting area. Although the pattern of dispersal was seemingly random, Empress felt she had cracked the code. According to her calculations, he would expose himself at some point today.


    Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. Empress remained motionless, her finger hovered of the trigger the entire time, unmoving.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.Eventually, uncharacteristic movement appeared at the entrance of the bank, signifying Rai¡¯s arrival. Three individuals emerged first. One glanced around with hawk-like eyes, scoping out the area. The other two men held their hands out by their sides, creating barriers. The hawk-eyed man¡¯s gaze passed over Empress¡¯s position.


    She froze temporarily, hoping that her judgement had been correct. After a few moments, the man looked away, unsuspecting.


    Empress let out a breath of relief, glad she chose a rooftop out of range of the man¡¯s sight powers.


    The men gave a signal, indicating that the coast was clear. At their confirmation, a brown-haired man emerged. He had doe-brown eyes and a gentle smile on his face. It was none other than Rai.


    Empress smiled evilly, concentrating once more. She would only have one shot.


    Rai walked forward towards an armored vehicle that was parked nearby. However, before he could get in the car, Empress pulled the trigger.


    The enhanced bullet shot outward, causing the sniper rifle to disintegrate at the power. It flew through the air, cutting through the sky, headed towards Rai.


    Empress immediately took control of it, steering it as it traveled. It dodged out of the way of the hawk-eyed body guard who jumped in front of Rai, smashing into Rai¡¯s forehead.


    Rai¡¯s head exploded with a bang, splattering the sidewalk with blood and gore. Before his body could fall to the ground, Empress was already moving. She employed her teleportation, closing the distance between the roof and the bank in a matter of seconds. She activated the barrier enhancer she had purchased during character creation and waved her hands forward.


    Her barriers slammed into the three bodyguards like a wall, crushing them into a red pulp. She didn¡¯t hesitate, dashing through the entrance of the bank.


    The bank tellers and customers gaped at her in shock. One of the tellers went to press the emergency button under her desk, but before she could press it, an invisible forced crashed into her, killing her.


    Empress teleported into the next room, standing in front of the vault. She would have teleported inside, but she could only teleport to places she could see. She whipped out her barrier pistol.


    Barrier pistols were supposed to be used for defensive purposes. By shooting a bullet, you would deploy a barrier, allowing people to create barriers on the fly.


    However, Empress had a different purpose. She shot the vault door with her pistol, causing the bullets to imbed themselves inside the steel. Then, with a thought, she activated them, causing a barrier to materialize, ripping the vault open.


    Inside of the vault were dozens of bags filled to the brim with thin, crystal like cards.


    Empress didn¡¯t hesitate. She opened her inventory and absorbed all of the credits. In a matter of minutes, she had become one of the richest players in the starting zone. However, now she had to be careful. She had to return and deposit the credits in her base. If she died while carrying them, all would be lost.


    Just as she was about to step outside the vault. A brown-haired man materialized out a thin air. An ugly look was on his face. It was Rai.

 Chapter 3: Danger

    Chapter 3: Danger


    ¡°Empress!¡± Rai spat. His kind and gentle appearance had completely vanished. A look of frustration and rage was on his face.


    ¡°Do you have any idea how many credits I was carrying when you killed me?¡± Rai growled, ¡°Three million!¡±


    Empress whistled. Although three million wouldn¡¯t be considered a fortune anywhere outside of the starting zone, inside, it was a lot of money.


    Even after robbing the entire bank, she only had one million credits.


    ¡°If you hurry up you might be able to pick them back up,¡± Empress advised, wanting to get rid of him.


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m stupid?¡± Rai frowned, ¡°There¡¯s no way someone wouldn¡¯t have picked them up by now. I¡¯ll have to track them down later. For now, I¡¯m going to deal with you.¡±


    Empress immediately pulled out her rapier. Rai¡¯s negation powers were in effect. Unfortunately, it would render her barrier pistol useless.


    ¡°Not going to use a gun?¡± Rai sneered, ¡°I won¡¯t be so kind.¡±


    He pulled a revolver out of his pocket and spun the cylinder. He raised it towards her.


    ¡°Today the undefeated Empress will face her death. Now you¡¯ll get a taste of what it¡¯s like to go to the bottom of the leaderboards!¡± he laughed


    That was the penalty for dying. Upon death a player would not only drop their credits and lose experience, they would also be sent to the bottom of the daily leaderboards.


    ¡°I don¡¯t plan on joining you down there,¡± Empress sneered.


    ¡°Say whatever you want, you won¡¯t be able to escape from me,¡± he pulled the trigger.


    With a boom, the bullet sped forward, colliding into Empress¡¯s shoulder as she attempted to dive out of the way.


    Empress ignored the realistic pain, jumping to her feet. She dashed diagonally left and right, performing the serpentine maneuver.


    Rai fired five more shots. Three of them missed, smacking into the metal wall behind her. The other two struck their mark, embedding themselves into her stomach and thigh.


    Empress smiled evilly, raising her rapier. Rai sneered back. He pulled the trigger. The gun made a click as it attempted to fire an empty chamber.


    Rai¡¯s face froze.


    ¡°That was six shots!¡± Empress laughed loudly.


    With the thrust of her arm, the rapier stabbed forward, impaling itself into Rai¡¯s throat.


    His body flailed and blood leaked from his mouth as he gurgled unintelligibly. With cough, he spat blood and went limp.


    Empress removed her sword from Rai¡¯s corpse with a flourish. Now she had another minute to escape.


    She placed her hand over her wounded stomach, attempting to staunch the flow of blood. Then, she hobbled outside of the bank, encountering a group of heroes and villains locked in fierce combat.


    The heroes had arrived due to a distress call from one of the bank tellers. The villains had arrived shortly afterwards, hoping to profit from the chaos.


    ¡°Is that Empress?¡± one man asked in wonder, noticing Vivian from the corner of his eye.


    At his exclamation, the two groups ceased fighting and turned towards her.


    Empress cursed inwardly. For once she wished she hadn¡¯t chosen the neutral faction. That way she would at least have allies in situations like this. Her health was rapidly draining. She couldn¡¯t allow herself to die here.


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    ¡°Screw off!¡± Empress shouted in rage, causing the heroes and villains to turn pale from fear.


    However, one of the men noticed that she was bleeding.


    ¡°She¡¯s wounded and just come out from inside the bank!¡± he shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid! Whoever kills her will get huge rewards.¡±


    The villains¡¯ eyes went wide with greed as they realized she had just robbed the bank. Likewise, the heroes started drooling when they realized the fame boost they would get for killing the notorious Empress.


    Empress¡¯s face turned unsightly. She waved her hand forward, causing a barrier to materialize in the air. The barrier wrapped around a man flying in the air, then shrunk, crushing him into paste.


    The crowd gasped in horror, realizing that dealing with her would still be troublesome.


    ¡°Everyone attack at once!¡± a man roared.


    At his signal, dozens of different attacks leapt towards her. Men transformed into werewolves and attacked her with claws. Tree roots broke through the cement road and stabbed towards her. Bolts of fire and ice rained towards her head.


    Empress took a deep breath, summoning her barriers once more. All the attacks collided into her barrier, threatening to break it. Her face went pale as she used her energy to resist.


    It was at that moment that a man materialized behind her. It was Rai, again.


    Empress didn¡¯t falter, she immediately spun on her heel, thrusting her rapier through Rai¡¯s eye as he appeared before her.


    He died instantly.


    ¡°That should stop him for a while,¡± Empress muttered. After three consecutive deaths, a person would be teleported to a random safe zone to prevent further deaths.


    However, the damage was already done. Rai¡¯s momentary presence was enough to negate her barrier, causing multiple attacks to crash into her body.


    Empress was blown away, slamming to the bank walls. Blood trickled from her mouth as she gasped in pain.


    ¡°Dangit!¡± Empress howled inwardly, ¡°Am I really going to die here?!¡±


    All of a sudden, an idea sparked in her mind. Summoning the last of her energy. She created the biggest barrier she possibly could. She sent it flying towards the crowd of heroes and villains, making their eyes pop open in horror.


    They attempted to crawl, fly, and run out of the way, but they were too slow. The barrier crashed into them, causing many to explode from the pressure.


    A screen popped in front of Empress¡¯s eyes, making her smile triumphantly. Then, with a flash, she disappeared.


    The heroes and villains gaped in confusion.


    ¡°Where did she go?!¡± they cried, ¡°She was so close to death!¡±


    ¡°Quickly, search for her!¡±


    They immediately scattered, running in multiple directions in an attempt to track her down.


    They wouldn¡¯t be able to find her though. With her last ditch effort, Empress had slain multiple opponents, causing her to level up.


    She was kicked out from the starting zone.

 Chapter 4: Hideout

    Chapter 4: Hideout


    Empress groaned and opened her eyes. A dark ceiling met her gaze, causing her to think she had returned to her own apartment outside of the game.


    After a moment of confusion she realized she still had her gear. She was still in the game.


    ¡°Where am I?¡± she wondered, looking around the small, empty room in puzzlement. It was at that moment that the door to the room opened up.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake! ~¡± a song-like voice rang out. A head of blonde hair fell in front of Vivian¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Empress asked in a panic, bolting upright.


    As she sat upwards, she realized she didn¡¯t feel any pain. She looked at her stomach in surprise. The bullet wound was gone.


    ¡°My name is Crescendo! ~¡± the blonde-haired girl sung angelically.


    Empress winced. The girl had a good voice, but she was going to go crazy if she sung every sentence.


    ¡°Did you heal me?¡± Empress asked politely, determining that the girl wasn¡¯t a threat.


    ¡°Nope! ~¡± Crescendo said.


    ¡°That was my friend, Healer.¡±


    ¡°Your friend¡¯s alias is Healer?¡± Empress crinkled her nose in distaste.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Crescendo admitted, not singing for once, ¡°Pretty straightforward isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Empress nodded her agreement.


    ¡°Where are we?¡± she asked, gazing around.


    ¡°We¡¯re in Northfront City. We¡¯ve been waiting for your arrival for a long time now~¡± Crescendo smiled.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been waiting for me?¡± Empress frowned.


    ¡°Yup, we¡¯ve been watching the leaderboards closely. You¡¯ve done a fantastic job maintaining first place for so long. We want you in our organization.¡±


    ¡°Who is ¡®we¡¯ and what organization are you talking about?¡±


    Crescendo¡¯s smile widened, ¡°¡¯We¡¯ refers to a large portion of neutral players who are sick of the rampant tyranny created by the National Hero Association and the villains. We want to establish control over the four primary cities and regulate them.¡±


    ¡°You want to take control from the NHA?¡± Empress asked in surprise.


    There were four main cities in the world of DoG Online. Northfront, Eastfront, Westfront, and Southfront City.


    The cities were controlled by the National Hero Association in an attempt to staunch the flow of chaos resulting from the large number of superpower crimes.


    ¡°The NHA is only concerned about profit,¡± Crescendo sneered, ¡°They don¡¯t really care about the villain crime as long as they can make money from it. That¡¯s why we want to take control.¡±


    Empress shook her head. The group was ambitious, but Vivian had no desire to change the situation. There was a reason she chose the neutral faction.


    Neutral players could garner both fame and notoriety, two stats that indicated a person¡¯s status level in DoG Online. Villains could only gather notoriety and heroes could only gather fame.


    In addition, there was no penalty for killing heroes or villains if a player was neutral. However, if a hero attacked another hero or a villain attacked another villain, it would give a drop in reputation points.


    This was another reason why Empress was able to be number one on the kill leaderboard. She had more targets!


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to join your group,¡± Empress said calmly.


    Crescendo¡¯s face turned ugly before rearranging itself into a smile.


    ¡°Very well,¡± she said seriously, ¡°Then you have to leave.¡±


    A man entered the room, and waved his hands towards Empress. Before she could react she felt space distort around her. She was being teleported!


    ¡°Remember,¡± Crescendo said, ¡°If you ever change your mind, look for ¡®The Eternal Path¡¯~¡±


    With a blink, Empress found herself in an alleyway. She shivered in fear. She felt she had narrowly escaped a dangerous situation.


    Vivian sighed and checked her inventory, confirming that she still had one million credits. She needed to buy a hideout or else she wouldn¡¯t last long in Northfront City.


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    She had to do some research first. After hunkering deep in the alley, she summoned her menu and pressed the logout button.


    Huddled in her apartment, a clear-eyed Vivian sat at her computer. Now that she wasn¡¯t absorbed with the leaderboards, she allowed herself to get some much needed rest.


    She clicked her way to the beginner forums on DoG¡¯s webpage.


    The forum boards were in an uproar at the events that had occurred today. Numerous threads were created discussing her heist of Yoro Bank.


    ¡°I was there!¡± one comment read, ¡°Empress single-handedly slaughtered hundreds of heroes. She ripped the bank up from the ground using telekinesis and robbed them blind!¡±


    ¡°I saw it too!¡± another comment followed, ¡°The villains didn¡¯t stand a chance. She blocked the simultaneous attacks of a thousand villains and slaughtered them all using chain lightning.¡±


    Many of the comments on the boards were similar, causing Empress to burst out laughing.


    It was fascinating how blown out of proportion the events were. Due to the excessive hype, DoG Online¡¯s creator, Ganda Corp, issued a reward of 1000 notoriety to her, causing her to smile from ear to ear.


    She now had plenty of reputation and money, she would be able to get a good head start in Northfront City.


    She made her way to DoG¡¯s wiki and pulled up a map of Northfront. Thousands of different locations were marked on the map. After using the search function, she found what she was looking for. There were dozens of hideout shops scattered across the map.


    After finding the shops she wanted, she hopped back inside of her gaming capsule and logged back into the game.


    Empress gazed at the empty shop. She had chosen this one carefully. It wasn¡¯t very popular and had a strict confidentiality clause. She wouldn¡¯t have to worry about anyone buying the location of her hideout.


    She swaggered into the shop, casting her gaze upon the man who sat at the counter.


    ¡°Welcome! How can I help you?¡± the man asked jovially.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking to buy a hideout.¡± Empress smiled.


    The man nodded in response, reaching under his counter and pulling out a catalog.


    ¡°Here ya go,¡± he said, handing the catalog to her.


    Empress flipped through it, noticing the many different hideouts that were available. There was everything from rundown buildings to volcanoes. She would have to choose carefully.


    She was determined to choose something cheap and use the rest of her credits to buy power crystals to further improve her strength. However, a particular hideout caught her eye, causing her heart to pound.


    It was a castle. The price tag was for one million credits exactly.


    Empress couldn¡¯t resist the urge. Every queen needed a castle.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take this one!¡± she exclaimed, pointing to the castle.


    The man raised his eyebrow in interest before nodding.


    ¡°Hand over the credits and I¡¯ll transfer you the hideout information.¡±


    Empress nodded, opening a trade window with the man. She inserted the credits and the man inserted a small blue pill.


    Empress inspected it carefully before nodding in satisfaction. After completing the trade, she popped the pill into her mouth.


    Instantly, memories of the hideout flooded into her mind.


    When a person sold a hideout, they were required to condense all of their memories of the hideout into a pill, preventing them from revealing any secrets about it. It was one of the few ways secrecy could be entrusted.


    Empress clapped her hands in excitement. She now had her own castle!

 Chapter 5: Darkreach Castle

    Chapter 5: Darkreach Castle


    Far outside the territory of Northfront City laid a desolate forest. The trees swayed eerily in the breeze. In the midst of the forest lay an abandoned castle. The castle was in deep disrepair. Numerous scorch marks lined the battlements, dozens of marks were scratched upon its surface.


    Empress stared at the castle, her eyes wide in disbelief.


    ¡°I-I-It¡¯s perfect!¡± she stuttered, her eyes gleaming.


    She had always wanted a castle of her own and now she finally had one. She dashed towards the entrance, only for a knight in pitch black armor to get in her way.


    ¡°Who goes there?!¡± the knight shouted, tendrils of darkness swirling around his lance.


    ¡°Empress!¡± Vivian retorted haughtily, ¡°Owner of this castle!¡±


    The knight frowned through his visor, an expression of disbelief on his face.


    ¡°You¡¯re our new liege?¡± the knight asked in surprise, ¡°Tell me the password!¡±


    ¡°*****¡± Empress replied with a smile. The knight¡¯s eyes went wide.


    ¡°Apologies, my lady,¡± he said with a bow.


    Empress¡¯s smiled deepened. The knight was a NPC, or non-playable character, set aside by the game to defend the castle. According to the information she received from the memory pill, the castle included numerous servants as well.


    Every time a hideout was purchased, information regarding the NPC code was included. The code would affect the NPCs¡¯ programming, causing them to swear allegiance to whomever uttered it.


    ¡°Let me inside,¡± Empress commanded. The knight bowed in subservience.


    ¡°Open the drawbridge!¡± he yelled towards the castle, ¡°Our master has come!¡±


    With a loud creak, the drawbridge unwound, making Empress nearly drool in anticipation.


    As soon as the drawbridge touched the ground, she teleported forward, entering the castle. The knight blinked in confusion, before noticing her up ahead. He ran to catch up.


    ¡°Be careful, mistress! The castle is large and confusing. It is easy to get lost. Allow me to show you around.¡±


    Empress hesitated slightly, she wanted to run around and explore the castle to her heart¡¯s content. However, she knew it was important to keep calm in front of her servants. After struggling internally for a minute, she nodded.


    The knight escorted her inside of the castle. As they crossed the threshold one servant greeted them.


    ¡°Where are the rest of the servants?¡± Vivian asked, furrowing her eyebrows in annoyance.


    ¡°They left with the disappearance of our previous master,¡± the knight sighed, ¡°It¡¯s only the three of us in the castle.¡±


    Empress frowned. No wonder the castle was only one million credits. It was rundown and abandoned.


    The distasteful appearance of the castle set her trembling with anticipation. She would restore the castle to its former glory!


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Empress asked the remaining servant.


    ¡°Hilda, milady,¡± the servant said with a curtsy.


    Empress nodded, memorizing her name.


    ¡°Why did you stay?¡± Empress asked in curiosity.


    ¡°It was a request from the previous lord,¡± the woman said quietly, ¡°I owe him a great debt.¡±


    Empress raised an eyebrow, curious but uncaring.


    ¡°Very well, Hilda, you can return to whatever you were doing.¡±


    She turned to the knight, ¡°Show me around.¡±


    The knight bowed and walked ahead, Empress in tow.


    Empress was given a tour on every section of the castle.


    The first place they had visited were the stables. Bits of hay were the only remnants of horses. As Empress saw the abandoned shed, she became even more determined. She would fill it to the brim with thoroughbred horses.


    After the stable they entered the keep of the castle. The great hall stretched widely, causing Empress to whistle in appreciation.


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    They made their way through the keep, stopping at the numerous rooms that decorated the hallways. There was enough space for hundreds of people to live here. Empress was filled with desire to restore the place to its previous liveliness.


    Next was the library. The library laid abandoned. The books were all missing from the shelves. Empress glanced at it dismissively, telling herself to remember to rob a bookstore at some point in time.


    After leaving the library they entered her bedroom. A beautiful, large bed sat against the wall. From her room she had a perfect view over the interior of the castle, allowing her to see all the comings and goings beneath.


    ¡°Are there any secret passageways or torture chambers?¡± Empress asked in curiosity, her eyes glowing.


    The knight blinked before hesitating.


    ¡°Yes, there are a few, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll enjoy finding those yourself.¡±


    Empress nodded in satisfaction, the knight already knew her personality.


    Just as she was about to run off and explore, a boom shook the castle.


    Empress¡¯s eyes went wide in confusion.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± she asked the knight.


    The knight¡¯s face turned ugly, ¡°We¡¯re under attack by a primordial beast!¡±


    Vivian¡¯s ears perked up at the knight¡¯s words. Primordial beasts were the source of power crystals in DoG Online. By killing the beasts, you could extract their crystals and increase your own power.


    ¡°They attack frequently,¡± the knight sighed, ¡°Don¡¯t be alarmed though. I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±


    At the end of his sentence the knight turned into a black fog and seeped through the cracks in the castle wall.


    Empress immediately looked out the window and teleported outside, trying to get a taste of the action.


    Outside of the castle walls stood an enormous wolf. The creature was twenty feet long with green fur. Colossal fangs jutted out from its mouth. It raked its claws along the castle walls, attempting to climb over it.


    The knight appeared in a cascade of darkness. He stabbed his lance forward, causing a swirling trail of darkness to streak through the air.


    His lance struck the primordial beast¡¯s side, causing it to howl in pain. It turned towards the knight, its eyes glowing red in rage.


    At this point Empress made it to the scene. She punched out with her fists, causing force fields to fly forward, smacking into the beast.


    The wolf roared as the barriers struck it. It attempted to jump out of the way but it was too slow, the knight¡¯s lance followed quickly behind, stabbing into the creature¡¯s eye.


    The lance caused the beasts head to explode into a pile of gore, causing a thin crystal to fly through the air.


    Empress teleported and grabbed it. It was a minor power crystal!


    Without a second thought, she absorbed the power inside of it, feeling her barrier¡¯s strength approach level six.


    She had discovered another reason the castle was so cheap. It was under constant attacks by primordial beasts. However, killing the beast was startling easy. She was under the impression that they were harder to defeat.


    ¡°Are all primordial beasts this easy?¡± she asked the knight.


    ¡°No,¡± the knight shook his head, ¡°This one was a minor beast and a baby too.¡±


    Empress whistled. She would need to get stronger if she wanted to properly defend her castle.


    ¡°By the way,¡± the knight spoke, ¡°What would you like to name this castle? It¡¯s tradition for each lord to select a new name.¡±


    Empress paused, musing slightly.


    ¡°From today forth, it shall be known as Darkreach Castle!¡±

 Chapter 6: Bounties

    (Edit: High level vs low level pvp is now limited with the exception of unrestricted zone)


    Chapter 6: Bounties


    Empress was broke once again. After purchasing the castle, her coffers ran empty. She sighed as she looked down upon Northfront City from a rooftop. She needed to find a way to make some cash. With money, she could afford to hire more servants and restore her castle to its rightful shape.


    Robbing a bank may have been viable in the starting zone, but now it wasn¡¯t a good idea.  Normally player versus player combat was limited to level range.  However, banks were set in unrestricted zones, allowing high levels players to pick on the weak.  Luckily, she had some other ideas to make money.


    Empress teleported towards Northfront Plaza, one of the busiest zones in all of DoG Online. As she approached, NPC guards watched her cautiously, emanating incredibly powerful waves of energy, reminding her that they could kill her instantly if she caused trouble.


    As she entered the plaza, hundreds of other players entered her sights. Some flew, some walked, some teleported. Some wore spandex, some wore casual clothing, and some wore full plate armor. They carried various weapons too. They had everything from katanas to assault rifles.


    Empress sighed in admiration. The population of Dawn of Gaia was truly diverse.


    After taking a moment to appreciate the view, she headed towards a crowd that was gathered around a board. The word ¡°Bounty¡± was highlighted in bold upon its surface.


    Right before she approached the board, she opened up her character menu.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Name: Empress


    Level: 10


    Powers: Force field level 5 (86%), Minor teleportation level 5 (72%).


    Notoriety: 2150


    Fame: 1300


    Credits: 0</td></tr></tbody></table>


    She sighed as she looked at the pathetic values. She desperately needed to increase her wealth and strength.


    After gazing at her status for a moment, she turned back towards the bounty board. The bounty board was organized by reputation points and by credit reward. In order to take on a certain mission, you had to have a specific amount of notoriety or fame.


    With 2150 notoriety, Empress was qualified to take on a level 2 mission. Missions increased in level every 1000 reputation points. There were a total of 100 levels, indicating how far behind Empress truly was.


    She cast her eyes over the information on the board. She needed to find a mission that suited her level of expertise. After reading the information for a while, she found a good target.


    Missions that required notoriety had targets who were superheroes, while missions that required fame targeted villains. Since Empress used her notoriety to find a mission, she would be targeting a superhero.


    The target in question was named Rex. He was a level 13 hero whose superpower was supposedly super strength; he had blonde hair and blue eyes.


    Apparently he had arrested a low level villain, resulting in a bounty placed on his head in revenge. The reward for defeating him was 100,000 credits.


    Empress accepted the mission without hesitation. She didn¡¯t believe the target would be difficult to kill.


    Just as she was about to walk away, she felt stares on her back. Numerous eyes fell upon her.


    Vivian felt her skin crawl.


    ¡°Why are they staring at me?¡± she wondered uncomfortably. Although her outfit was pretty eye-catching, it was nothing compared to the other people nearby.


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    It was at that moment she heard a few whispers. The words ¡°Empress¡±, ¡°bounty¡±, and ¡°one million¡± caught her ears.


    She went pale. She looked at the bounty board once more, this time looking at the section organized by credit reward.


    At the one million mark she saw her name and a picture of her face.


    ¡°Rai!¡± She gnashed her teeth. He was the only person she could think of who would put that much money on her head.


    This would make her life much more difficult. She didn¡¯t want to die. Although she had zero credits and was already low on the leaderboard, she didn¡¯t want to fall further than she already was. Death was also surprisingly painful. Most importantly, she didn¡¯t want to give Rai the satisfaction of getting his revenge.


    Luckily, she had one boon. Only people with equal levels of fame or notoriety could accept the bounty. This would at least prevent high level players from getting the reward by killing her.


    The bad news was that one million credits was a ton of money to low level players. It would be hard to say how many people would hunt her down.


    She needed to leave, fast.


    Empress used her teleportation ability, trying to gain as much distance from the plaza as possible. Although she would be safe in the plaza, she couldn¡¯t afford to stay there forever.


    The second she teleported, dozens of players dashed towards her. Greed was evident in their eyes.


    Almost instantly, a beam of multi-colored light headed towards her back. A ray of darkness followed closely.


    She threw up her barriers, barely managing to block the attacks. Her force fields trembled under the impact.


    Empress¡¯s face turned ugly. The players were strong. She needed to lose them as soon as possible.


    The chase continued. Players dashed through the streets of Northfront City. Various abilities were employed in an attempt to stop her movement.


    One player split into dozens of clones, dashing down various streets in an attempt to flank her.


    Another player used a scrying ability, allowing them to always know Empress¡¯s location.


    Empress wasn¡¯t a meek lamb though. Whenever she would get the opportunity, she would hurl a barrier towards the chasing players. Although she had failed to kill anybody, numerous people suffered from broken bones.


    The only reason why Empress was able to escape so far was because of her teleportation ability. However, teleportation was draining, and she wasn¡¯t the only person with a movement power. They were catching up quickly.


    Empress panicked, realizing that she had ran into an unrestricted zone.


    At that moment, a songlike voice echoed through the streets. Causing the victim and her pursuers to freeze in place.


    All of a sudden the voice increased frequency, becoming a high-pitched scream that forced Empress to summon a barrier around her ears to block the noise.


    She was lucky. Shortly afterwards, the heads of her chasers exploded, turning the entire street red.


    Empress¡¯s eyes went wide in horror. That could have been her. A few more seconds and her barriers would have cracked.


    It was at that moment, a woman descended from the sky. It was Crescendo.


    Crescendo waved at Empress with a smile.


    Vivian removed the barriers from her ears warily, ready to put them back up at a moment¡¯s notice.


    ¡°Sorry about that~¡± Crescendo sang, ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re a quick thinker. I would have hated to kill you~¡±


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Empress asked, narrowing her eyebrows.


    ¡°Helping you!¡± Crescendo smiled, ¡°I was in the plaza and saw the situation. I just wanted to provide some assistance.¡±


    ¡°Well, thanks.¡±


    ¡°No problem~¡± Crescendo laughed, ¡°Anyways, I better get going. Cya around~¡±


    Empress watched Crescendo leave, confused.

 Chapter 7: Rex

    (Author''s Note: I edited the previous chapter.  Pvp is now limited to within a certain level range with the exception of "unrestricted" zones.)


    Chapter 7: Rex


    Vivian stared at her laptop, clicking through the player database that existed on DoG Online¡¯s website.


    The online database wasn¡¯t very detailed. It only included basic information such as positions on the leaderboard and character level.


    Normally, a person would go to an information broker and pay for the information about the player. However, Empress didn¡¯t have enough credits to request their services.


    Not for the first time, she wondered if she should have joined Crescendo. Although she gave off the impression of being radical, Empress was sure Crescendo would be able to get the information she needed.


    After finding Rex¡¯s character, she tracked him down on the various leaderboards that he was a part of. The leaderboards could be used to tell a lot about a person. The leaderboard she looked at was for faction points.


    Faction was an important part of DoG Online. By assisting various companies or organizations, a player could earn various rewards and benefits. It just so happened that Rex had a very high faction relationship with the Northfront Police Department.


    Joining the NFPD was a good way for a hero to hear about crimes and to make arrests. It appeared that Rex had become a part of them. Judging by his high faction, it seemed that he made at least one arrest every day.


    After smiling evilly, Vivian hopped into her gaming capsule.


    Not far from where Empress had last seen Crescendo, sat the police headquarters. Numerous policemen and players streamed in and out of the building.


    Empress was in an alleyway nearby, staring at the entrance of the police building. She sat in wait, keeping an eye open for anyone who matched Rex¡¯s description.


    After loitering for a couple of hours, she eventually saw a man with blonde hair and blue eyes escorting a man in handcuffs. The handcuffs were made with special material that negated powers, preventing people from escaping.


    Empress watched carefully as the man went inside the building, waiting for him to return.


    After the man dropped off the prisoner, she stalked him from behind, following him as he made his way around the city.


    Suddenly, the man careened down an alleyway, leaving Empress¡¯s sight.


    Vivian hesitated for a moment before dashing after him.


    As she turned the corner, a fist flew towards her. She hastily threw up a barrier in an attempt to block it.


    The fist crushed through her defenses and plowed into her stomach. The force of the blow tossed her out of the alleyway and made her cough up some blood. A few of her ribs were broken.


    Her mind whirled in confusion until she saw blue eyes staring down at her.


    ¡°Hello, Empress,¡± Rex sneered, ¡°I¡¯ve been expecting you.¡±


    ¡°How did you know I was following you?¡± she asked, wincing in pain.


    ¡°A friend of mine was watching the boards and gave me information on anyone who accepted my bounty,¡± Rex laughed.


    ¡°After that, it was just a matter of being cautious. You¡¯re obviously no professional. I saw you coming from a mile away,¡± Rex smiled triumphantly.


    Empress cursed inwardly. She had been too na?ve.


    Without hesitating, she instantly summoned her barriers and sent them flying towards Rex.


    He snorted in derision. With a few super-powered punches, he tore through the force fields as if they were made from paper.


    Abandoning her strategy, Empress whipped out her rapier, sending it flying towards Rex¡¯s throat.


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    Rex didn¡¯t even move. The tip of the rapier struck his neck and snapped in half.


    Empress¡¯s eyes went wide.


    ¡°I thought you only had super strength?!¡± she exclaimed.


    Rex grinned ferally, ¡°I have super defense too.¡±


    Empress went pale. The situation was taking a turn for the worst. She discarded her broken rapier and pulled out her barrier pistol.


    She fired a full magazine at him, only for the bullets to break upon impact.


    Rex laughed, jumping towards her. With a fearsome punch, he caught her across the arm, turning it into powder.


    Empress gasped in agony, quickly dashing backwards out of range.


    Ideas raced through her mind. After a moment of hesitation, she shot an incredibly tiny barrier towards him.


    Rex raised a mocking eyebrow, ignoring the barrier completely. However, it crashed into him with a thud, sending him flying across the street. He groaned in pain, confused.


    Empress sighed in relief. By compressing her barriers to their smallest size, she was able to reinforce them, increasing their power.


    She fired multiple barriers towards Rex, tossing him around like a ragdoll.


    The barriers weren¡¯t powerful enough to penetrate his defenses, but the blunt trauma caused plenty of damage.


    Rex staggered to his feet, bells of alarm whirling through his head.


    He immediately turned around, attempting to run away.


    Empress summoned a barrier in front of him, cutting him off. Rex punched at it without hesitation, only for his fist to rebound off it of it.


    His eyes went wide in disbelief.


    ¡°Layered barriers,¡± Empress told him haughtily, it was her turn to laugh at him.


    ¡°You might be able to punch through one barrier, but five? I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    Rex¡¯s face turned unsightly.


    ¡°Kill me and you¡¯re finished,¡± he told her, ¡°I¡¯ll make sure every member of the Northfront Police Department kills you on sight!¡±


    ¡°I already have people trying to kill me. A dozen more won¡¯t matter,¡± Empress sneered.


    Condensing her barriers, she fired a bullet, hitting Rex between the eyes. He died instantly.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>+1000 notoriety.


    +1000 experience.


    +100,000 credits.


    Force field mastery has reached level 6!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Level 11 achieved!


    Vivian¡¯s mouth went wide in glee. For every level of her barrier mastery, she could create another force field. Now that she had the idea to compress and layer her barriers, her power would drastically increase every level.


    All of a sudden, Empress was reminded of the pain. Her arm had been destroyed by Rex.


    ¡°I better go to the hospital,¡± she sighed inwardly, ¡°Hopefully the bills won¡¯t be too expensive.¡±


    She traveled to the nearest medical center and requested to see a healer. The doctors onboard whistled in appreciation of the injury, causing Vivian to frown to annoyance.


    Eventually a man wearing a lab coat walked up to her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll heal it for 10,000 credits,¡± he told her bluntly, his face devoid of expression.


    Empress felt her heart clench up in pain, but handed the credits over.


    Under the assistance of a shining white light, her arm was restored to its proper condition.

 Chapter 8: Weapons

    Chapter 8: Weapons


    Feeling her metaphorical pockets filled with credits, Empress decided to go shopping. She needed to replace her rapier. Also, now that she could create her own barrier bullets, she had no need for her Z21 barrier pistol.


    She had already researched weapon shops online. Now it was simply a matter of going to the store in person.


    Empress teleported from rooftop to rooftop, keeping away from the streets. She didn¡¯t want anyone to recognize her and attack her.


    Eventually, the storefront came into sight. Empress discretely entered, avoiding the crowd.


    ¡°Welcome!¡± a green-haired girl greeted, ¡°How can I help you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here to buy some weapons,¡± Empress admitted, glancing around the shop.


    ¡°Feel free to look around,¡± the girl smiled.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Empress looked around the shop, marveling at the dozens of items on display.


    After skipping over the rocket launchers and flamethrowers, her eyes settled on a pair of gauntlets.


    ¡°You sell armor too?¡± Empress asked, pointing towards the metal gloves.


    The girl laughed.


    ¡°Those are catalyst gauntlets.¡±


    ¡°Catalyst gauntlets?¡± Empress asked curiously, ¡°What are those?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re special weapons that take on the properties of the user¡¯s powers.¡±


    ¡°Can you give an example?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± the girl said politely, ¡°A fire user would cause everything the gauntlet touches to burst into flames. A telekinesis user might cause everything they touch to float.¡±


    ¡°It all depends on the user¡¯s abilities,¡± she shrugged.


    ¡°Can I give them a try?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± the girl said, hopping out from behind the counter. She briskly walked over to the gauntlets and handed them over to Empress.


    ¡°There is a training room in the basement, but remember. You break it, you buy it,¡± she told Empress, a serious gleam in her eyes.


    Vivian nodded her understanding, sliding the gauntlets onto her hands as she headed downstairs.


    Her feet touched the metal steps as she descended, an aura of anticipation exuded from her.


    The basement came into view. On one side of the room was a shooting range. On the other side of the room were various draining dummies constructed from wood and metal.


    She stepped in front of one of the dummies and pounded her gauntlets together.


    Her large smile appeared on her face. The gauntlets felt nice. She activated them, feeling intricate barriers surround the gloves.


    She casually swiped at the dummy¡¯s head, the gauntlet¡¯s talons pointed outwards. The nails cut through the dummy¡¯s head like butter, ripping it into shreds.


    Empress¡¯s eyes went wide.


    ¡°Barriers can be used to cut?¡± she marveled inwardly.


    She immediately focused on conjuring some barriers. This time, instead of striking the dummy with the flat part of the barrier, she turned it sideways.


    The barrier flew forward, striking the dummy.


    Empress out a sigh of disappointment. The barrier struck the dummy and instantly collapsed, shattering into pieces.


    She didn¡¯t give up though. She tried layering the barrier and compressing it. However, it was no use. No matter what she did, she couldn¡¯t manage to slice the dummy.


    Empress frowned in thought. It was likely that the barriers were just too weak to begin with. She would have to level up her barrier mastery and experiment again.


    For now though, the gauntlets would serve nicely. Her close quarter strength would increase dramatically. She speculated that if she fought with Rex again, she would be able to tear through his skin like paper.


    After another thought, she punched out with them.  The dummy exploded into pieces of scrap, covering the floor.


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    Ideas raced through Empress''s head.  It seemed punching was just as effective as swiping was.


    Excited to further play with her new toys, Empress skipped upstairs towards the main section of the shop.


    ¡°How much for these gauntlets?¡± Empress asked the shopkeeper.


    ¡°For you? Free,¡± the girl said mysteriously.


    ¡°What? Why?¡± Empress asked warily.


    ¡°Consider it a gift from ¡®The Eternal Path¡¯,¡±


    Empress¡¯s eyes went wide, ¡°This girl is in league with Crescendo?!¡±


    Vivian was unnerved, ¡°Do they really want me just because I was first on the beginner leaderboards?¡±


    She somehow doubted it, but it was apparent that they were keeping a close eye on her.


    ¡°Take them.  Consider it a favor,¡± the green-haired girl smiled.


    Empress frowned, she really didn¡¯t want to owe a favor, but the gauntlets were very tempting.


    ¡°How much would they cost normally?¡± she asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re 5 million credits each,¡± the girl said, raising an eyebrow.


    Empress choked, ¡°10 million credits in total?!¡±


    She felt a little faint, even her castle had only cost one million.


    ¡°Why are they so expensive?!¡± Empress asked bewilderedly.


    ¡°Negation powers don¡¯t affect them,¡± the girl laughed.


    Empress''s eyes went wide.  Now she was even more determined to take them.


    ¡°Crescendo is trying to buy my loyalty and I¡¯m going to let her go ahead and try," Empress smiled evilly.


    Wiping away her hesitation, she slipped on the gauntlets and exited the store. She returned to her castle base, greeting her knight and Hilda


    She then logged out.


    A sleepy-eyed Vivian stared out her window in real life. She was trying to make a tough decision.


    ¡°Do I dare go outside? It¡¯s been so long¡­¡± she struggled internally. Normally she would just order all the necessities of life from online. She couldn¡¯t remember the last time she stepped outside the door.


    However, she had an important reason to go outside. She wanted to learn boxing. Her health had deteriorated over the years and it was starting to affect her in-game performance. She needed to get back in shape. In addition, now that her primary weapons were her fists, she wanted to become proficient with them.  She had one other reason as well.


    She found a beginner¡¯s class online and headed towards the location. The bright sun shone down upon her, causing her to wince. She was tempted to run back inside.


    Instead, she took a deep breath and continued onwards.


    Eventually, she found her way outside of the boxing gym. She entered, immediately seeing an arena as she stepped inside.


    A man walked up to her.


    ¡°Can I help you?¡± he asked in confusion, wondering what someone like Vivian was doing in the gym.


    ¡°I want to take boxing lessons,¡± she admitted.


    The man looked at her, mouth agape. Such a scrawny and pale girl wanted to take boxing lessons?


    ¡°Okay, sure,¡± the man said after a minute of staring, realizing that he was being too judgmental.


    ¡°Sign this,¡± he said, handing her a waiver, ¡°The fee is $100 a month,¡±


    Vivian went pale at the price but nodded her head reluctantly.


    ¡°We can start as soon as you¡¯re ready.¡±


    Vivian took a deep breath after signing the paper.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start now.¡±


    Then her daily hell began.

 Chapter 9: Tournament

    Chapter 9: Tournament


    Empress groaned. She was still sore, even inside of the game. Her boxing sessions hadn¡¯t been going very well. She was simply too weak. She could barely lift her boxing gloves.


    She was thankful to be back inside the game. At least this way she could feel proficient at something.


    Vivian wasn¡¯t sure what she wanted to do today. She wanted to play around with her gauntlets but she didn¡¯t know the best way to go about doing so.


    She was wondering what to do when she saw a signboard on the street advertising the Northfront Coliseum.


    Empress teleported towards the duel arena. It was a very obvious sight. Although DoG Online took place in modern times, the duel arena was very old-fashioned in appearance. It was reminiscent of the old school coliseums.


    She sauntered up to the entrance of the arena, stopping by a man who sat at a desk out front.


    ¡°Are you here to participate in the tournament?¡± he asked her.


    ¡°Tournament?¡± Empress asked questioningly.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± the guy replied, ¡°The monthly tournament is starting in a couple of days.¡±


    Empress blinked. She had completely neglected to keep track of the date. She hadn¡¯t seen much reason to care. Now that she knew the game had monthly tournaments, she would have to pay more attention.


    ¡°Tell me the details.¡±


    ¡°Well, the tournaments are divided based on level. Players levels 1-20 are in one section, 21-40 in another section, all the way up to 100.¡±


    The man paused, ¡°Well now that there is a starting zone, the 1-20 competition is more like levels 10-20.¡±


    Vivian nodded her understanding.


    ¡°Do you want to participate?¡±


    ¡°What are the rewards?¡± Empress asked, a glint of greed in her eyes.


    ¡°It depends on which section you¡¯re in,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°The 1-20?¡±


    ¡°The rewards for coming in tenth place or higher is a minor power crystal. Places 3 and higher get an average power crystal. First place gets an average power crystal and five million credits.¡±


    Empress¡¯s eyes went wide. The rewards were very tempting.


    ¡°Sign me up!¡± Empress declared.


    Although she was nine levels lower than the highest level player in her section, she believed she could still make it decently far in the tournament. Most importantly, it would be a good way for her to get combat experience and to practice using her gauntlets.


    ¡°Sure thing. Fill out this form,¡± the man said, handing a piece of paper over to her with a smile.


    Empress quickly completed the form, entering herself into the competition.


    She spent the days leading up to the tournament in preparation. She went to her boxing class multiple days in a row, trying to soak up as much information as possible. Although she hadn¡¯t improved significantly, she felt a little more confident.


    Finally the day arrived.


    Empress entered the coliseum and was directed towards the lobby. In the lobby she saw the other competitors whom she could potentially face. While many were cold and detached, there were many who were nervous as well.


    Empress was one of the first half, holding herself with an aura of mastery. She knew that the fa?ade of confidence was important, even if you really weren''t.


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    Eventually, a man came by with a hat filled with scraps of paper. Matches would be determined by a draw. The people who drew numbers one and two would face each other, the players who drew numbers three and four would face each other, and so on and so forth.


    There were hundreds of competitors. Empress just so happened to grab lot number 81. She would be faced against whoever had number 82.


    She looked around the room in a futile attempt to discover her opponent. However, everyone held the scraps of paper closely, not wanting to reveal any information.


    The competitors were called up to the stage one at a time. Empress sat in the stands while she waited, watching the fights. Luckily, super-powered fights usually didn¡¯t last long. It would be her turn shortly.


    One of the first matches was between a man who could transform in a grizzly bear and a man who could make his bones jut out of his body at will.


    The fight was an intense one. The bear-man used his superior size and strength to press down upon the bone-man, almost clinching a victory. However, at the last second, the bone-man used an attack similar to a porcupine shooting out all of its quills, sending spikes of bone into the bear. The bear-man died instantly. The bone-man wasn¡¯t much better off though, he was incredibly weakened. It would be a surprise if he managed to make it to the next round.


    Empress shook her head. In a tournament like this it was important to conserve your strength. She would have to use as little energy as possible if she wanted to win.


    Eventually, after numerous battles, it was her turn.


    Her opponent stood across from her, a buzzing noise came from his body. He opened his mouth, causing hundreds of wasps to fly out. Empress shuddered. She had seen something similar in a movie once. It was disgusting. She was determined to kill him as fast as possible.


    The judge signaled the start of the match.


    Empress wasted no time. She immediately activated her teleportation, appearing in front of the man. She swung her fist forward, causing the air to tremble.


    The bug-man simply bent backwards, the small of his back almost touching the floor of the arena.


    His bugs flew up into the air, dashing towards a vulnerable Vivian.


    Empress immediately glanced backwards and teleported, throwing up a barrier between her and the bugs.


    The bugs crashed into her force field. Their fragile bodied crumpled as if they had hit a car windshield.


    Empress smiled triumphantly. Unfortunately for the bug man, she countered him very well.


    The bug-man frowned, calling his bugs back towards him. They entered his mouth and he swallowed them with sickening crunch.


    Empress¡¯s face scrunched in disgust.


    ¡°What the heck is he doing?¡±


    The bug-man began to tremble from head to toe. His veins bulged, threatening to burst.


    All of a sudden, he began to transform. Antennae sprouted from his head. Enormous wings emerged from his back, followed by stingers that jutted from his fingertips.


    Empress frowned. Maybe the fight would be more difficult than she had originally imagined.

 Chapter 10: Intrigue

    (Author''s note: Thanks for reading my story up until this point!  I''d really appreciate it if you guys dropped a rating or a review, it would help me know how the story is doing and if I need to change anything.  Anyways, enjoy!)


    Chapter 10: Intrigue


    The Northfront Coliseum was filled to the brim. Thousands upon thousands of players sat on top of their seats. They were all currently cheering and hollering. An intense fight was in action on the arena sands.


    Empress narrowly dodged a hand of stingers. The bug-man was turning out to be a surprisingly dangerous opponent. Ever since his bizarre transformation, he had become far faster and stronger.


    Vivian threw up a layered barrier, hoping to slow down the bug-man¡¯s advance. It had no effect. His stingers broke through the multiple layers of the shield. Her force fields were unable to do anything to stop him.


    He quickly dashed behind her, using the superior speed granted by his wings. He stabbed forward, forcing Empress to teleport out of the way.


    ¡°I can¡¯t keep this up,¡± Empress thought worriedly, ¡°I still need to participate in the other fights.¡±


    She had already spent too much energy dealing with him, she needed to end the fight as quickly as she could.


    ¡°I wish I had some bug spray,¡± Empress thought with a frown. All of a sudden, a lightbulb went off in her head.


    She laughed aloud, causing the bug-man¡¯s insect face to frown.


    Empress summoned half a dozen barriers, causing them to float in the air in front of her. Then, with a clench of her hand, she purposefully crushed them, turning them into shards.


    ¡°Normally I abandon control of them once they break,¡± Empress smirked inwardly, ¡°What¡¯ll happen if I don¡¯t?¡±


    She had tried to use her barriers to cut the training dummy before, but she never considered using the pieces that remained after they broke.


    Thousands of barrier shards hovered in the air, looming threateningly. The light bounced off of them, making them appear like pieces of glass.


    Empress waved her hands forward, causing the shards to explode forth like the shrapnel from a grenade.


    The bug-man couldn¡¯t dodge all the slivers. He threw up his arms protectively, covering his face. Dozens of shards embedded themselves into his body, causing green blood to flow outward.


    Empress didn¡¯t waste her advantage. She immediately teleported to the bug-man¡¯s side, punching forward with her gauntlet.


    The blow caught the bug-man on the side of the head, causing an explosion of gore.


    Audience members shrieked as pieces of brain matter flew towards them. Luckily, a barrier appeared, separating the crowd from the destruction.


    Empress pounded her gauntlets together in a victory pose, soaking in the cheers of the ground. Basking in the limelight was quite enjoyable.


    Learning better control over her powers was one of the primary reason she had joined the competition. She owed the bug-man a lot for his help.


    Vivian stepped off the stage, going towards the lobby. Her competitors stared sharply at her back, sizing her up.


    After a dozen more fights, the man with the hat returned.


    This time, Empress drew number five. Her face turned ugly. She wanted more time to recover from her match.


    After a few minutes it was already her turn to go out on stage. As Empress faced her opponent, her mouth fell open in shock.


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    ¡°Y-y-you!¡± two shouts rang out simultaneously.


    Across from her was Rai.


    Rai¡¯s brown eyes bored into her, filled with hatred.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you here Empress,¡± he spat, soiling the arena floor.


    Empress frowned. She hadn¡¯t expected to see him either.


    ¡°What are you doing here Rai? Weren¡¯t you staying in the starting zone?¡±


    ¡°After you robbed my bank, business plummeted. No one trusted me to keep their money anymore,¡± Rai said glumly.


    ¡°Is that why you put a one million credit bounty on my head?¡±


    ¡°What? Are you stupid? You think I would waste that kind of money on a bounty?¡± Rai sneered.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t you?¡± Empress asked, her eyes going wide in disbelief.


    It was Rai¡¯s turn to frown, "I have no clue what you''re talking about.¡±


    The crowd listened attentively, curious as to what the participants were discussing


    ¡°Can I trust him?¡± Empress wondered coldly, ¡°Who else would profit by doing that?¡±


    Suddenly, a cough rang out. It was the referee of the fight.


    ¡°Can we begin?¡± he asked, a little annoyed.


    Empress blushed, realizing she had become distracted. She could deal with the situation later.


    At the judge¡¯s signal Empress dashed towards Rai. Due to Rai¡¯s negation, the fight seemed that it would be a very straightforward one.


    Rai sneered, ¡°I learned my lesson. Try counting these!¡±


    He pulled a submachinegun from his inventory, pointing the barrel at Empress¡¯s head.


    ¡°Die!¡± he said firing a barrage of bullets towards her.


    Empress was unperturbed. She remembered one of the special qualities of her gauntlets. Negation powers didn¡¯t affect them!


    She crouched to make her body a smaller target, she then held her hands out in front of her like a catcher at home plate during baseball.


    The bullets from the submachine mashed into her gauntlets and were instantly transformed into dust by the protective barriers. Some of the bullets hit home though, grazing Empress¡¯s arms and chest.


    Rai¡¯s eyes went wide, ¡°Catalyst gloves?!¡±


    Empress smiled evilly. She grabbed a rock that laid nearby.


    This time, instead of activating her barrier power, she activated her minor teleportation.


    The gauntlets caused the rock to teleport out of her hand, appearing in front of Rai¡¯s face. It crashed into his nose, making blood fly.


    Empress didn¡¯t waste the opportunity. She dashed forward, performing serpentine maneuver.


    A deep sense of dread filled Rai. This situation was too familiar.


    He instantly ejected the magazine on his submachinegun, pulling another one from his pocket. He inserted it just before Empress could reach him.


    He pulled the trigger.


    An idea instantly went through Empress¡¯s mind.


    Activating the teleportation on her gloves once more, she held her hands out in front of her.


    The bullets touched the gauntlets, only to be immediately teleported away, returning to Rai.


    Rai didn¡¯t even have time to react. He was instantly riddled full of holes. Blood shot out of his body like a fountain. He collapsed to the ground.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Teleportation mastery has reached level 6!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°The winner is Empress!¡± the judge declared.


    The crowd went wild.

 Chapter 11: Finals

    Chapter 11: Finals


    After defeating Rai, the following fights leading up to the semi-finals went smoothly. Now, Empress was once again in a dangerous situation.


    Her opponent was a hulking brute of a man, but contrary to her first expectation, his powers didn¡¯t involve strength or defense.


    ¡°Take this!¡± he growled.


    Suddenly the sands of the coliseum began swirling, creating an enormous vortex of sand that threatened to pull Empress under. The man¡¯s name was Quicksand.


    Although she found his name a little too revealing, there was currently nothing she could do to reverse the situation. The sand was quickly causing her to sink into the ground.


    In a moment of desperation, Empress summoned barriers, using them like shovels to dig herself free.


    After successfully releasing herself, she jumped into the air, using the barriers as platforms to keep herself off the floor.


    Quicksand frowned, lifting his hands into the air. Suddenly, the sand began leaping up from the ground, becoming large pillars that headed towards Empress in an attempt to smash her.


    Empress teleported out of the way, creating barriers under her feet at every step, allowing her to remain suspended in the air.


    She blinked towards Quicksand, punching out with her gauntlets at his stomach


    Quicksand sneered, allowing the punch to connect. With a boom, Empress¡¯s hand went into his belly.


    However, no blood came out. Suddenly, his stomach reformed, trapping Empress¡¯s fist inside.


    He punched outward, connecting with Empress¡¯s face, causing her head to whip backwards from the blow.


    Her entrapped arm prevented her from escaping. She desperately attempted to ward off Quicksand¡¯s attacks.


    Suddenly, she snorted, realizing the ridiculousness of the situation.


    Clenching her fist, she caused a barrier to materialize inside of Quicksand¡¯s body. With an explosion, pieces of Quicksand went flying. He was unable to transform his body into sand fast enough.


    The crowed went mad with glee. They began to chant her name.


    ¡°Empress! Empress! Empress!¡±


    Vivian smiled and waved to the crowd.


    As she returned to the lobby, a white-haired girl sat waiting.


    ¡°You must be my final opponent,¡± the girl spoke up, putting out her hand, ¡°My name is Yuki. What¡¯s yours?¡±


    ¡°Empress,¡± Vivian admitted, shaking the girl¡¯s hand.


    ¡°I remember you!¡± Yuki¡¯s eye lit up.


    ¡°You do?¡± Empress asked, confused.


    ¡°Yup. You caused a huge disturbance on the first day the beginner areas opened. In addition, your heist of Yoro Bank is well talked about.¡±


    Empress blushed slightly.


    ¡°The beginner zone incident was an accident,¡± Empress protested.


    ¡°Whatever you say,¡± Yuki laughed with a wink.


    Suddenly, a voice echoed through the arena announcing Yuki and Empress¡¯s fight.


    ¡°Good luck!¡±


    ¡°You too.¡±


    The two girls walked outside to the arena under the cheer of the crowd.


    They took battle stances opposite of each other.


    Yuki made the first move. A blizzard was conjured, instantly covering the arena in a thick layer of snow.


    Empress was immediately blinded by the dense whiteness. She summoned a barrier around herself, keeping the snow off her body.


    Suddenly, the snow began twirling harder, causing the temperature of the arena to plummet.


    The coldness of the arena penetrated Empress¡¯s barrier, causing her to shiver.


    Immediately following the drop in temperature was a loud crashing noise. Hail formed in the storm, smashing into Empress¡¯s shield.


    Vivian cursed. Yuki was even more difficult to deal with than the sand man. She couldn¡¯t even find her in the snow.


    Just as she was contemplating what to do, spears of ice jutted out from the ground. Empress didn¡¯t react fast enough. One of the spears stabbed through the bottom of her foot, soaking the snow red.


    Empress grunted in pain, immediately lifting her foot off of the spike. A hole was torn in her foot. She could see through it.


    Various idea raced through Empress¡¯s head.


    Finally, she decided to make use of her barrier shards. Summoning her barriers, she broke them and released the pieces into the storm.


    Minutes later, a yowl of pain rang out and the blizzard abruptly stopped.


    Empress could suddenly see.


    A beat up Yuki was staring at her. Blood coated her body; her clothes were torn into shreds.


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    The shards had swirled around the arena in the blizzard, colliding into Yuki. Although Yuki was immune to the snow and the hail, she couldn¡¯t resist the glass-like slivers.


    ¡°I underestimated you,¡± Yuki frowned, ¡°Looks like I need to be serious.¡±


    Yuki packed snow onto her wounds, then shook it off. Her wounds had healed.


    Empress raised her eyebrows. Copying from her, she implanted a tiny barrier in the hole in her foot, sealing it.


    Yuki suddenly slammed her palms into the snow, causing the ground to shake. The snow surged towards Empress in the form of a massive avalanche.


    Empress¡¯s face twisted. She wouldn¡¯t be able to use her barriers to block the attack.


    She immediately teleported as high up into the air as she could, dodging over the avalanche.


    However, Yuki had calculated that. The second her body popped over the snow, an icicle tore through her chest.


    Empress immediately stopped the bleeding using her barriers. However, she wouldn¡¯t be able to last much longer.


    On the other side of the avalanche was a surprised Yuki. Empress was turning out to be more resourceful than she had originally imagined.


    She once again slapped her hands onto the snow, creating an army of snowmen. The snowmen had icicles for fingertips. They slid across the snow towards the wounded Empress.


    ¡°This girl doesn¡¯t let up, does she?¡± Empress grimaced in pain.


    As the snowmen approached, Empress condensed a small barrier and threw it towards them. With a bang, the barrier expanded, enlarging in size, sweeping the snowmen away.


    Yuki frowned and went to create some more icicles.


    However, the ground suddenly exploded out from underneath her feet, tossing her into the air.


    Empress had planted what she a called ¡°barrier seed¡± in the snow. By condensing a small barrier and hiding it, she could create a trap that could cause the enemy¡¯s downfall.


    The minute Yuki was sent into the air, Empress teleported towards her. She grabbed her fists around Yuki¡¯s neck, choking her.


    Deprived of oxygen, Yuki could no longer concentrate. The icicles she attempted to summon dissolved the moment they came into existence.


    After a few minutes of struggling, Yuki died.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Force field mastery has reached level 7!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Congratulations! The winner of the level 1-20 tournament is Empress!¡± the judge declared.


    The crowd roared explosively. Their stomps shook the stadium.


    Empress smiled widely, relieved that the tournament was finally over.


    ¡°Here are you rewards: an average power crystal and five million credits,¡± the judge said, trading the items to her.


    ¡°Thank you very much,¡± Empress beamed. She wasted no time in absorbing the power crystal.


    Suddenly, a screen popped up in front of her face.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Force field mastery has reached level 10!


    Minor Teleportation mastery has reached level 9!


    You have reached level 15!


    Force field mastery can now evolve. </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Evolve? (Y/N)</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Empress instantly trembled with excitement. Without hesitation, she confirmed yes.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Ding!


    Reflective barriers can now be created!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Empress instantly summoned two barriers. On one side was her normal see-through barrier, and on the other side was a shimmering, glowing one.


    She smiled in glee. Reflective barriers would be a useful tool in her arsenal.


    After reigning in her excitement, she walked off the stage under the cheers of the crowd.

 Chapter 12: Information

    Chapter 12: Information


    Vivian returned from her boxing class and collapsed in front of her computer in a heap. She was exhausted. Her trainer had come up with a specific regimen just for her, focused on building her foundation. She was forced to change her diet too. No longer would she be able to survive off of cup noodles.


    With a sigh, she flipped on her phone and checked her messages. Once again, numerous texts and voicemails were addressed to her from her mother.


    Vivian slowly shook her head.


    ¡°I can¡¯t keep ignoring her, can I?¡± she asked sadly.


    After a moment of hesitation, she dialed her mother¡¯s phone number.


    ¡°Vivian!¡± a middle-aged voice rang out.


    ¡°¡­hi mom.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to contact you for weeks! Are you okay?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Please come back home!¡± her mom pleaded.


    ¡°Troy says it was all an accident. He¡¯s changed, I promise!¡±


    ¡°That man won¡¯t change,¡± Vivian spat into the phone, ¡°Until he¡¯s gone, I¡¯m not coming back.¡±


    Vivian could feel her mother¡¯s mood instantly shift from the other side of the phone.


    ¡°You¡¯re being selfish! It was one incident! He promised it would never happen again! Come home immediately!¡±


    ¡°One time?! You know it was more than once!¡± Vivian yelled, tears streaming down her face.


    ¡°He wants to see you and apologize¡±


    ¡°He should be in jail for what he did to me,¡± Vivian hissed, ¡°Don¡¯t call me again until he¡¯s gone.¡±


    She then hung up the phone and began to sob.


    The phone call with her mother had been short, but it was all that was needed. Her heart felt empty. Her mother still chose that man over her.


    After calming down, she turned towards her monitor and made her way over to the forum¡¯s front page. She needed a distraction. The results of the tournaments had been officially announced. Various videos were on display for public viewing.


    Videos from her battles had thousands of likes on them. Audience members were stunned by the creative ways she used her barriers. Vivian sighed. She would have to be more careful in the future. Many of her abilities had been revealed.


    After re-watching her battle against Rai, she remembered she had some important information to discover. Was Rai telling the truth? Had he really not set the bounty on her?


    Empress logged in the game after taking a shower, making her way towards the information brokers. Now that she had money, she could afford to use their services.


    The building was loud and proud. Painted bright red, it attracted the gazes of dozens of passersby.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t information be sold more...secretly?¡± Empress wondered.


    After dismissing her hesitation, she entered the shop.


    ¡°Empress! Nice to finally meet you!¡± a young man wearing a monocle said, ¡°Come on in, come on in.¡±


    Empress blinked in surprise.


    ¡°I saw your battles. Really impressive, truly. If there is anything I can assist you with, just let me know.¡±


    Empress opened her mouth, ¡°I need to figure out who posted a bounty.¡±


    ¡°Sure, no problem at all,¡± the broker said, turning towards a computer.


    ¡°I¡¯m assuming you¡¯re talking about the bounty on your head?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Empress nodded.


    ¡°Cool. The fee will be $100,000 credits!¡±


    Empress traded over the money without blinking an eye.


    ¡°Okay, let me see what I can do.¡±


    His keyboard rattled as he pulled up the information.


    ¡°Okay, found it,¡± he said after a grand total of five seconds.


    ¡°The bounty was posted by a player named Screo. Here¡¯s a picture of him.¡±


    The man turned the monitor so that Empress could see.


    ¡°Him?!¡±


    On the screen was the image of a man with hawk-like eyes. It was the man who used to be a bodyguard for Rai.


    ¡°I knew it. Rai lied to me,¡± Empress said in disgust.


    Empress paused for a minute, then shook her head, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t jump to conclusions. There might be more to it.¡±


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    After thinking for a minute Empress asked the monocle-eyed man another question.


    ¡°Where can I find him?¡±


    The man grinned widely, ¡°That¡¯ll cost you another 100,000 credits.¡±


    Empress sighed and handed the money over.


    ¡°Okay. He frequents a bar known as the Black Keg in the downtown part of the city,¡± he scribbled some directions onto a piece of paper and handed it over.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Any time. Nice doing business with you!¡±


    Empress left the store.


    She followed the directions on the piece of paper and made her way towards the Black Keg. She entered the bar, causing the customers and bartender to stare at her.


    ¡°You¡¯re awfully young to be in a bar,¡± the bouncer said, walking up to her.


    Vivian rolled her eyes. It was just a game, it¡¯s not like it mattered if she drank alcohol.


    ¡°I¡¯m just looking for a friend, I¡¯ll leave in a bit.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± the bouncer shrugged, ¡°But you have to wear this.¡±


    He fastened a band around her wrist indicating that she couldn¡¯t be served any drinks.


    Empress sighed, ¡°Can I at least get some water?¡±


    The bouncer nodded, handing over a glass.


    She looked around the bar, not seeing the hawk-eyed man. It was apparent that she would have to wait for a while. She frowned. It was a good thing she was patient. All the waiting she had to do would have driven a normal person crazy.


    She slowly sipped her water, occasionally fending off the advances of older men.


    Not long after, Screo entered the bar.


    Empress wasted no time. She walked in front of him, making eye contact. His eyes went wide in panic.


    ¡°H-h-hello Empress,¡± he stuttered, ¡°Didn¡¯t expect to see you here.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t play games with me Screo,¡± Empress sneered, using his name to instill panic, ¡°I know you put that bounty on my head.¡±


    Screo raised his hands in protest.


    ¡°I was paid to!¡± he pleaded.


    ¡°By who, Rai?¡± Empress sneered.


    ¡°No,¡± Screo shook his head, ¡°I was paid by some green-haired girl.¡±


    Empress froze.


    Dozens of confused thoughts whirled through her mind.


    A green-haired girl? The only green-haired girl she knew was the girl who sold her the gauntlets.


    ¡°What did she look like? Describe her,¡± Empress commanded.


    Screo told all the details he remembered, making Empress frown. There was no doubt about it, he was describing the shop girl.


    ¡°Why would she put a bounty on my head? I never even met her before I bought the gauntlets.¡±


    Empress¡¯s face turned serious, ¡°Crescendo must be behind it all. Why though? Didn¡¯t she save me from being attacked?¡±


    The gears in Vivian¡¯s mind turned.


    ¡°She¡¯s been trying to make me owe her a favor,¡± she mused.


    ¡°She probably put the bounty on me just so she could save me,¡± Empress thought in disgust, remembering the incident in the unrestricted zone.


    ¡°Can I go now?¡± Screo asked uncomfortably.


    Empress stared daggers at him before sighing.


    ¡°Yeah, you can leave.¡±


    At her permission, he dashed out of the Black Keg.


    Empress logged out and switched on her computer.


    She made her way to Crescendo¡¯s profile in the character database. What she saw made her face twist in displeasure.


    On the total level leaderboards, Crescendo was ranked number 7. She sported a whopping level of 96.


    She was also number one on the total kill leaderboard. Empress didn¡¯t stand a chance.


    Empress frowned. She figured she should have heard of Crescendo¡¯s name before since she was so high level. Crescendo must have exploded in power only recently.


    ¡°I need to get stronger,¡± Vivian grit her teeth, ¡°Crescendo played me for a fool.¡±


    Plans instantly started revolving inside her mind.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to show her what happens when you mess with Empress!¡±

 Chapter 13: Minions

    Chapter 13: Minions


    Empress was desperate to increase her strength. If she wanted to be able to get her revenge on Crescendo, she needed to be stronger.


    However, not only was Empress against one of the strongest players in the game, but she was also against an entire organization. Her one advantage was that Crescendo didn¡¯t realize that Empress knew her plotting.


    Vivian planned on spending a trip in the forests outside of Northfront City. By killing the numerous primordial beasts and absorbing their power crystals, she would be able to rapidly increase her power.


    But before she headed out, she had some shopping to do.


    Empress stepped up to a weapon store, not the one with the green-haired girl, and went inside.


    The shopkeeper¡¯s eyes lit up as he greeted her. He recognized Empress from the tournament.


    ¡°What can I get for you?¡± he asked politely.


    Empress had spent some time contemplating what to buy. Her gauntlets served as powerful melee weapons, but after her fight with Rai, she had some ideas in her mind.


    ¡°Do you have any arrows?¡± Empress asked with a smile.


    The main reason she wanted arrows was due to her catalyst gauntlets. By imbuing them with her teleportation power, she could make anything she touched teleport. Combined with arrows, this would make for an extremely deadly weapon.


    The salesman¡¯s eyebrow lifted, ¡°Yeah, we have arrows. Most people use guns though. You sure you wouldn¡¯t rather buy some bullets?¡±


    Empress shook her head. It was harder to retrieve bullets.


    ¡°I need barrier piercing arrows.¡±


    ¡°Those are pretty expensive but I¡¯m sure you can handle it,¡± the man laughed. He knew about the reward money from the tournament.


    He picked up a package of arrows from behind his counter.


    ¡°Here. Premier penetration arrows. 50,000 credits each.¡±


    Empress blanched slightly at the price, but she was determined to buy some.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take twenty.¡±


    The shopkeeper grinned widely. The cost for twenty barrier-piercing arrows was 1,000,000 credits. That was a significant amount of money to him.


    ¡°Thanks! I¡¯ll even throw in a quiver for free! Would you like a back or hip one?¡±


    ¡°A hip quiver please.¡±


    They commenced a trade, exchanging the items.


    ¡°Thank you for your business! Please come again!¡± the man smiled.


    Empress nodded politely.


    After equipping the quiver and loading it full of arrows, Empress headed to her next destination.


    She stopped in front of the large shop, staring at the words on the front.


    ¡°Minions R Us¡± was imprinted in bold letters.


    Shaking her head in amusement, Empress headed inside.


    ¡°Greetings! I am Horacious Gladius Max! At your service madam,¡± a large-bellied man with beard greeted her.


    Empress blinked at the man¡¯s name. Was he serious?


    ¡°Here to purchase some companions I assume?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be correct,¡± Empress nodded.


    ¡°We have all different kinds of folk at Minions R Us, take this catalog!¡± the man said, throwing the booklet at her dramatically.


    Empress flipped through, noticing the different kinds of minions available.


    There were four primary kinds of minions: animals, sidekicks, henchmen, and servants.


    Animals were primarily used to guard a person¡¯s hideout, whether it be pits full of snakes or a guard dog. Henchmen were NPC¡¯s without powers. They were also used for guarding bases, but they could also assist in carrying out crimes. They came pre-equipped with skills and weapons. Sidekicks on the other hand were special, super-powered minions that scaled with a player¡¯s level. A player could only have one sidekick at a time. Servants were self-explanatory.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    After thinking about her rundown castle, Empress decided to buy two dozen servants, ten henchmen, and a few sharks to place in the moat around her castle.


    Now she was currently deciding if she wanted to buy a sidekick.


    ¡°What kind of sidekicks do you have?¡±


    ¡°Every kind!¡± the man said with pride.


    ¡°We have illusionists, mind-controllers, negation users, elemental manipulators, telepaths, etc.¡±


    Empress pursed her lips thoughtfully.


    ¡°What would complement me best?¡± she wondered curiously. So far she hadn¡¯t required much assistance in combat. She had made due without a problem.


    After some serious consideration, she opened her mouth.


    ¡°I want a healer.¡±


    ¡°A healer?¡± Horacious asked, raising an eyebrow, ¡°Are you sure you wouldn¡¯t rather have someone who could attack or defend?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± Empress said, shaking her head. Her barriers were already the best defense and offense she could think of. Healing her wounds after a battle was extremely important, especially if she planned to be out in the field for a long period of time.


    ¡°Very well,¡± he said, stroking his beard.


    He reached under his desk, pulling out a different catalog.


    ¡°These are the healers we have available, feel free to choose.¡±


    Empress scanned the list, reading the information about the sidekicks.


    The available healers all healed in different ways. Some harnessed the power of solar energy, others healed by transferring blood or by kissing the person.


    Nearing the bottom of the list, Empress saw one that caught her eye.


    ¡°Tell me about the wound transferal ability.¡±


    Horacious smiled widely, ¡°You have good eye. That¡¯s the most offensive ability amongst the healers. By touching the wound, the healer is able to absorb it and transfer it to another target.


    ¡°How much for someone with this ability?¡±


    Horacious stroked his beard in thought, ¡°Two million credits, that includes your other underlings as well.¡±


    Empress winced but nodded at the terms.


    ¡°Good. We have two sidekicks with this ability. One is female and the other is male. Any preference?¡±


    ¡°Female!¡± Empress blurted out. Realizing her mistake, she blushed.


    Horacious blinked, ¡°Are you sure? The man is rather handsome.¡±


    Empress nodded rapidly. She didn¡¯t want a man touching her every time she got hurt.


    ¡°Very well,¡± Horacious nodded.


    He opened a trade window with Empress, handing over four small sigils.


    ¡°Here are the summoning signs. Activate them and they will create portals containing your new minions. Enjoy!¡±


    Empress thanked the man, giving him the credits.


    She made her way to Darkreach castle, expectations in her mind.


    As the castle came into view, Empress sighed. It was truly shabby. No wonder her quiver full of arrows cost the same amount. Most villains had high-tech hideouts equipped with laser-beams and motion detectors. She was probably the only person who would choose a castle.


    Hilda and her knight greeted her at the entrance.


    Empress showed them the summoning sigils, causing their eyes to light up in happiness.


    ¡°The castle will be lively again!¡± Hilda beamed in joy.


    Empress laughed, and stood over the moat to her castle. She activated the sigil, causing sharks to appear inside the water.


    After filling the moat with the beasts, Empress walked inside the great hall of the castle¡¯s keep. She would summon the rest of her underlings there.

 Chapter 14: Summoning

    Chapter 14: Summoning


    Empress stood in the great hall with her knight and Hilda. She held the sigils in her hands, ready to activate them. With a thought, she started the summoning. The symbols glowed brightly, causing Empress to shield her eyes.


    The air started to swirl and tremble. A hole ripped open in the space before her. Footsteps could be heard from within the void.


    Suddenly, a stream of people gushed out. The crowd consisted of twenty-four women dressed in maid outfits. When they saw Empress they immediately curtsied.


    ¡°Greetings madam!¡± they rang out simultaneously.


    Empress smiled in satisfaction.


    ¡°Hilda, show them to their duties. You¡¯re in charge.¡±


    ¡°Thank you mistress!¡±


    Hilda gathered the ladies together and escorted them deeper into the castle. Once the servants disappeared, Empress activated the second sigil.


    A group of large, burly men emerged. They looked at the castle interior with interest, ignoring Empress.


    Empress frowned. She waved her hand, causing a barrier to descend from the sky, flattening them. They groaned in pain, struggling to resist the pressure.


    ¡°Look at me,¡± Empress snapped, causing the henchmen to raise their heads.


    ¡°I am Empress. I am your queen,¡± she said slowly.


    ¡°You will respect me or I will wipe you from the face of existence,¡± she said coldly. A regal aura emanated from her body, causing the men to go pale from fear.


    Empress lifted her barrier.


    Feeling the pressure go away, the men immediately crashed to their knees. The groveled upon the ground, trembling.


    Satisfied, Empress turned to her black knight. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, frowning.


    ¡°My name is Felix, madam,¡± the knight said with a knowing smile.


    ¡°Of course! Felix!¡± Empress coughed, blushing slightly.


    ¡°You¡¯re in charge of the underlings. Whip them into shape.¡±


    Felix saluted.


    ¡°On your feet!¡± he snapped at them, waving his lance of darkness threateningly.


    ¡°Follow me!¡± he ordered, leaving the hall. The henchmen dashed after him in a panic, desperate to get away from Empress. She rolled her eyes at their backs in amusement.


    She now stood alone in the hall. One last sigil rested in her hand.


    Empress took a deep breath. It was time to summon her sidekick!


    She activated the final sigil, ripping another portal in space.


    The first thing Empress saw was flaming red hair. It burned brightly, causing Empress¡¯s eyes to go wide in amazement.


    Following the hair was the head and body of a young girl. She was looked to be around Empress¡¯s age. She wore a red hoodie and ripped jeans. A sheath hung from her back.


    The girl yawned loudly before speaking.


    ¡°Yo,¡± she said, making a peace sign with her fingers. A sleepy, uncaring expression was on her face.


    ¡°Hello!¡± Empress said enthusiastically. She now had her own sidekick!


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Empress asked her.


    ¡°Helia,¡± the girl said, looking around casually.


    ¡°Tell me about your powers.¡± Empress said with a smile.


    The girl sighed, running a hand through her flaming locks.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you told all that when you bought me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Empress admitted, ¡°I just want to confirm.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple. You get hurt, I touch and absorb the wound. Then I touch the bad guy and give him the wound instead. Understand?¡±


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Empress nodded with a slight frown. The girl was a little rude.


    ¡°I have one question though. What happens if you don¡¯t transfer the wound? Will it rebound?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I just can¡¯t absorb another wound until I give the previous one to somebody.¡±


    Helia paused briefly, ¡°Oh yeah. I also can¡¯t regenerate body parts so don¡¯t lose a limb.¡±


    Empress paused thoughtfully. Helia¡¯s ability was pretty unique.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to hunt primordial beasts for power crystals. Can you hold your own?¡± Empress asked her.


    ¡°Yeah. Just worry about yourself boss,¡± the girl said, yawning once more.


    Helia¡¯s eyes wandered around the room in greater detail.


    ¡°Nice place you¡¯ve got here by the way,¡± Helia said with a smirk, glancing at the torn tapestries and banners hanging from the ceiling.


    Empress felt her face twitch.


    ¡°I¡¯m working on it. I just hired some servants today.¡±


    ¡°Good. It¡¯s an eyesore.¡±


    Empress took a calming breath.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough. Let¡¯s go,¡± she sighed.


    The two girl exited the great hall and entered the courtyard.


    Outside, the henchmen were currently performing physical feats. Felix had them performing pushups and sit-ups. They dripped with sweat, soaking their clothing.


    ¡°Glad to know I¡¯m not the only one who likes big, sweaty men.¡± Helia said, causing Empress to rub her temples. Learning to live with Helia was going to be difficult.


    The two made their way deep into the forest, searching for primordial beasts. As they searched, Helia spoke up.


    ¡°Let me handle the first one by myself.¡±


    ¡°You sure you can take it?¡± Empress asked warily, ¡°You¡¯re a healer after all.¡±


    ¡°I already told you. I can take care of myself,¡± Helia said with a frown.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Empress said, making a placating gesture.


    It wasn¡¯t long before they encountered a beast. It was an enormous gorilla. It thumped its chest in confrontation.


    Helia wasted no time running up to it. She immediately drew her sword.


    Empress¡¯s frowned as she saw the plain blade. It wouldn¡¯t be able to cut through the gorilla¡¯s thick hide.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± Helia yelled, just as Empress was about to run in and help.


    Empress froze.


    All of a sudden, Helia performed an action that made Empress¡¯s eyes go wide in horror. Instead of attacking the primordial beast, she attacked herself.


    She rammed the sword through her own stomach, causing blood to go flying.


    The gorilla opened its eyes wide in confusion. Its meager intelligence was enough to know that something was amiss.


    Helia took advantage of the ape¡¯s pause. She touched it.


    With a burst of light, Helia¡¯s wound disappeared. All of a sudden, the injury showed up on the primordial beast.


    The monster blinked in confusion before roaring in pain. It didn¡¯t understand what happened.


    Helia wasted no time. She stabbed herself two more times in the stomach and touched the ape once again.


    The ape roared as blood spilled from its body like a fountain. After a few moments it collapsed.


    Helia looted the minor power crystal that dropped from its corpse.


    ¡°I told you I could handle myself,¡± Helia said sleepily as she sauntered up to Empress.


    Empress¡¯s mouth was wide open. Helia¡¯s fighting style was horrific. She glanced at the red-haired girl from the corner of her eyes.


    Maybe a sidekick wasn¡¯t such a good idea.

 Chapter 15: Hunting

    Chapter 15: Hunting


    Empress bent down and picked up the umpteenth power crystal. So far that was the only thing she had done. She hadn¡¯t even had the opportunity to test out her arrows.


    Helia was skilled. Not only did the girl attack via self-mutilation, she also employed a barrage of deadly sword strokes, swiftly dispatching all of her enemies. The downside was that she was pretty sure Helia was insane. No normal person would be willing to stab themselves repeatedly in the stomach.


    However, Empress couldn¡¯t really complain. The experience was great. She already reached level 20.


    Empress rubbed her hands together excitedly. She was an inch away from reaching level 10 in her teleportation mastery. She quickly absorbed a few power crystals, crossing the threshold she needed to level.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Minor teleportation mastery has reached level 10!


    Minor teleportation mastery can now evolve.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Evolve? (Y/N)</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Empress accepted without hesitation.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Ding!


    Emotion teleportation now available!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Empress¡¯s face went blank.


    ¡°What the heck does that do?!¡± Empress cried internally


    Empress was aggrieved. She was hoping her evolution would finally allow her to teleport without seeing or at least let her teleport other people.


    Instead, she was left with this.


    She opened her status window and checked the skill description.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Emotion Teleportation: Allows the user to teleport their emotions away to their target.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Empress sighed. It was exactly as she suspected. What was the point of that?!


    Suddenly, a voice spoke up.


    ¡°Hurry up slow poke,¡± Helia said lazily, ¡°My level scales with yours and I want to get level one-hundred sometime this year.¡±


    Empress frowned. The girl was pissing her off.


    ¡°You need to cut it out,¡± Empress told her.


    ¡°Cut what out?¡± Helia asked in confusion, her sleepy eyes widening.


    ¡°Your attitude. If we¡¯re going to be partners, I need to be able to like you. Right now you¡¯re being extremely annoying,¡± Empress told her bluntly.


    A faint blush crept up Helia¡¯s ears. She stuttered in reply.


    ¡°I-I-I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to be an asshole,¡± Helia hung her head in shame.


    ¡°Sometimes I say things without meaning to. I promise I¡¯ll control myself.¡±


    Empress blinked in surprise. The girl was surprisingly meek.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Empress said quietly, ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving.¡±


    Helia nodded, following slowly from behind.


    The duo encroached upon a hidden valley, buried deep in the foliage of the forest. Laying on the valley floor, covered in dense fur, was a pack of around forty jaguars. Massive canines jutted out from their mouths. They had huge claws that looked able to fell a tree in a single swipe.


    Helia frowned, ¡°You sure this is a good idea, boss?¡±


    ¡°Scared?¡± Empress asked teasingly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not scared of anything!¡± Helia huffed, ¡°Those are berserker jaguars though. They¡¯re extremely fierce and won¡¯t stop chasing until their prey is dead.¡±


    ¡°As long as we don¡¯t run into any intermediate-ranked primordial beasts we should be okay. Just keep your eyes open,¡± Empress replied.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.Helia nodded. The sleepiness vanished from her eyes and a determined expression emerged on her face.


    Empress smiled in satisfaction. The girl was serious when the time called for it.


    The two slowly approached the sleeping jaguars. When they got within range, Empress put her hand on her quiver.  She activated her gauntlets, instantly teleporting all twenty of her arrows towards the throats of the sleeping jaguars.  The arrows penetrated their jugulars with ease. Their thick fur was unable to stop the costly arrows.  Empress was relieved, the arrows were truly worth the money.


    Suddenly, the rest of the pack woke up. The thick smell of blood had disturbed them. They roared, causing the trees in the valley to shake.


    Bloodshot eyes stared at Empress and Helia. Simultaneously, they dashed towards the two, enraged.


    ¡°Stay close,¡± Empress told her sidekick. Helia nodded.


    Empress fired her barrier bullets at the approaching horde. Five of the creatures were downed instantly, the projectiles tearing them apart.


    She briefly considered throwing up a layered barrier to separate herself from the beasts, but after she looked at their claws she realized it would be futile.


    All of a sudden the creatures stopped in place, causing Empress to frown. They opened their mouths, forming massive balls of fire.


    ¡°Boss¡­,¡± Helia said with a frown, ¡°This doesn¡¯t look good.¡±


    Empress¡¯s face turned ugly before suddenly turning back into a smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have this under control.¡±


    ¡°You sure?¡± Helia asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Empress said, nodding seriously.


    The tension immediately flowed out of Helia¡¯s body. The laziness returned to her eyes. She trusted Empress¡¯s judgement.


    With a boom, the fireballs flew out of jaguar¡¯s mouths, flying towards the pair.


    Empress calmly summoned a barrier, protecting them. This one shimmered and glowed.


    The fireballs struck the barrier with a loud thud. The shield shook, causing Empress to doubt her herself briefly. However, before the force field could break, the fireballs rebounded like a spring, flying back towards the beasts.


    She had used her reflective barrier for the first time.


    The creatures didn¡¯t manage to dodge in time. The fireballs returned to their users, crashing into them and setting them on fire. They howled in agony as they were burnt to a crisp by their own attacks.


    ¡°That was¡­impressive,¡± Helia grudgingly admitted.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Empress beamed, knowing that was the best compliment she was going to get.


    Empress coughed.


    ¡°It¡¯s your turn to pick up the power crystals.¡±


    Helia rolled her eyes and walked forward towards the nearest corpse, prepared to loot it.


    All of a sudden, Empress¡¯s eye went wide in horror. She immediately teleported forward and shoved Helia out of the way.


    With a loud boom, a colossal cheetah appeared, smacking into Empress¡¯s side with staggering speed.


    Empress was sent flying through the air before skidding across the ground. She started wheezing, a rib had punctured her lung. She patched it up with a barrier, but she needed to get to Helia quickly.


    She summoned her strength and teleported forward. The cheetah wouldn¡¯t allow it though. A third eye opened up on its head. It swiped at empty space. Right as its claws entered the zone, Empress appeared.


    The claw struck her leg, causing deep gashes that touched revealed bone.


    Empress cursed.


    ¡°Be careful!¡± she yelled to Helia, ¡°It has some kind of foresight. Run away!¡±


    NPC death was permanent. The girl was a little hot-headed but Empress grimaced at the thought of her dying.


    Helia grit her teeth in frustration. She knew there wasn¡¯t anything she could do to help. She quickly turned around, dashing into the forest.


    The jaguar let her go, determining that Empress was more of a threat.


    Panic raced through Empress¡¯s mind.


    ¡°What should I do?¡±

 Chapter 16: Comradery

    Chapter 16: Comradery


    The jaguar stared at Empress, grinning evilly.


    Empress¡¯s heart went cold. It was definitely an intermediate-ranked beast. Its intelligence and abilities were too high to be anything else.


    The main problem Empress faced was the creature¡¯s third eye. It was allowing it to see her actions in advance. Empress grimaced. There had to be some kind of limit to the beast¡¯s power. She just had to figure out what it was.


    The primordial beast was in no rush to kill her. It slowly circled her, toying with her.


    Empress summoned her barrier shards, shooting them out in a wide net in an attempt to prevent the jaguar from dodging. It didn¡¯t even move. The shards crashed into it, breaking as they touched the steel-like fur.


    The jaguar dashed forward with blinding speed, not even giving Empress time to teleport. It swiped at Empress¡¯s good leg, rendering it useless.


    Empress cried out in pain, falling to the ground. Both of legs had been rendered useless. The creature licked its lips, stopping in place, curious how Empress would react.


    She slowly crawled away, trying to put distance between herself and the creature.


    All of a sudden, she saw an object.


    ¡°An arrow!¡± Empress thought with glee. She bent down and touched the shaft with her gauntlet, causing it to teleport towards the jaguar¡¯s third eye. The jaguar immediately turned its head, allowing the arrow to fly past.


    Empress summoned a reflective barrier, causing the arrow to rebound, heading towards the beast from behind. It didn¡¯t dodge. The arrow pierced its back, causing it to howl in pain and bewilderment.


    Suspicion appeared in Empress¡¯s mind. Why hadn¡¯t the creature dodged?


    Empress fired barrier bullets at the beast, purposefully missing them all. Once they were behind the jaguar, they expanded, damaging the creature from the back.


    The primordial beast roared in pain once more, rage appearing in its eyes. It stared at Empress angrily. It would no longer toy with her.


    Empress understood. The creature could only use its foresight on things it could see!


    It pounced towards her, claws gleaming threateningly. Before it could reach her, a red-haired body crashed into it from the side.


    ¡°Helia!¡± Empress gasped. The girl had returned.


    Helia had a massive gash on her forehead, streaming blood. She touched the jaguar, causing the wound to transfer. A huge cut instantly appeared where the creature¡¯s third eye was, blinding it. It trembled in agony, releasing a screech that paralyzed Empress and Helia in fear.


    ¡°A mental attack!¡± the frozen Empress realized. She activated her emotion teleportation, sending her fear back towards the creature.


    The jaguar shivered, panic entered its eyes.


    Suddenly, Helia roared, breaking the paralysis. She stabbed her sword forward, catching the immobile beast in the eye. The sword entered its brain, killing it instantly.


    The massive body shook, then crashed to the ground with a boom.


    A notification popped in front of Empress¡¯s eye.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have reached level 25!


    Emotion teleportation mastery has reached level 2!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Her eyes went wide. She had gained five levels!


    She turned her attention to Helia, mixed emotions in her mind.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°You came back.¡±


    ¡°You saved my life. I couldn¡¯t leave you here, even if it could¡¯ve gotten me killed,¡± Helia frowned.


    ¡°That was really stupid of you, but thank you,¡± Empress laughed.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t completely stupid of me. I saw you reveal the creature¡¯s weak point. I wouldn¡¯t have attacked otherwise.¡± Helia huffed.


    ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you,¡± Empress smiled.


    Helia turned towards Empress, her face softening, ¡°Let me heal one of your legs.¡±


    She touched the wound, absorbing it.


    ¡°Sorry I can¡¯t heal both of them right now,¡± Helia sighed, supporting Empress by the shoulders.


    ¡°It¡¯s enough,¡± Empress smiled, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the castle after we pick up my arrows.¡±


    Helia nodded in agreement. She was thoroughly worn out.


    ¡°Wait a second,¡± Helia said, ¡°Take this.¡±


    She held out an intermediate power crystal.


    Empress shook her head, ¡°You use it. Your powers haven¡¯t evolved yet, right? You need it more than I do.¡±


    Mixed emotions entered Helia¡¯s eyes, but she eventually nodded, ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Under the background of the setting sun, the two girls picked up the arrows and returned to the castle. When the two reached the gates, they were met by a group of men in black armor.


    ¡°Greetings Empress!¡± they cried in unison.


    Empress¡¯s eyes went wide.


    ¡°Felix?¡± she asked the man, ¡°Are these my henchmen?¡±


    Felix nodded with a big smile.


    ¡°Impressive, aren¡¯t they? I¡¯ve been disciplining them.¡±


    Empress nodded in appreciation, ¡°You¡¯re doing a great job!¡±


    ¡°Thank you madam!¡± Felix saluted.


    Suddenly, Helia looked at one of the henchmen.


    ¡°Come here,¡± she motioned.


    The man look at her warily, before trotting forward. When he got within range, Helia touched him, causing the man to collapse to the floor.


    ¡°My leg!¡± he gasped in pain. Deep gashes had suddenly appeared in his flesh. Helia smiled, walking over to Empress and absorbing the wound from her other thigh.


    ¡°Was that really necessary?¡± Empress rolled her eyes.


    Helia shrugged, ¡°Better him than you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Empress smiled.


    Helia blushed slightly, rubbing her head.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± she whispered.


    The girls walked into the great hall.


    ¡°Let¡¯s divide up the minor power crystals,¡± Empress told Helia.


    They split the stack of crystals in half, each getting a decent number.


    Empress immediately absorbed hers, causing her skills to level up.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Emotion teleportation mastery has reached level 3!


    Reflection force field mastery has reached level 2!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Empress smiled with satisfaction. The trek had been very beneficial.


    Suddenly, she sighed. She was still far away from being able to contend with Crescendo. Hunting primordial beasts was a good way to gain experience, but it wasn¡¯t fast enough. She would have to search for other methods.


    It was at that moment that Empress noticed the condition of the great hall. The walls were practically glowing. The piles of rubble that had laid on the floors had been removed.


    ¡°Wow. You really did hire servants,¡± Helia commented.


    ¡°Yeah, they did a fantastic job, didn¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°For sure,¡± Helia laughed, ¡°It¡¯s not an eyesore anymore!¡±


    Empress laughed.

 Chapter 17: Ruined Cities

    Chapter 17: Ruined Cities


    Vivian stared at the punching bag, taking a deep breath. She dashed forward, releasing a series of jabs and hooks. The bag shook, swaying back and forth from its rope.


    ¡°Nice job!¡± a voice told her. It was her boxing coach.


    He threw a towel towards her, allowing her to wipe up her sweat.  Vivian sat down, taking deep, labored breaths. She was exhausted.


    ¡°You¡¯ve really improved,¡± he told her with a smile, handing over a water bottle.


    ¡°Thanks Dave,¡± Vivian choked out between breaths. She took a swig of water.


    ¡°What made you decide to take up boxing?¡± the trainer asked her, ¡°Why not MMA or some other type of martial art?¡±


    Vivian frowned, unsure if she wanted to answer.  Finally, she sighed.


    ¡°A couple different reasons,¡± she explained, ¡°I wanted to get in shape and learn how to punch. The most important reason is because of my father.¡±


    ¡°Your father?¡± the coach asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°Yeah. He was a professional boxer,¡± Vivian said, reminiscing, ¡°One day, he broke his leg in a fight, ending his career.¡±


    ¡°I wanted to learn boxing because of him,¡± Empress said, an unreadable expression on her face.


    Dave nodded in understanding.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite noble of you to pick up where your dad left off! I¡¯m sure he¡¯d be proud!¡±


    Empress smiled, ¡°Yeah. He¡¯d be surprised.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s train harder then, so you can show him sometime!¡±


    Vivian nodded, climbing to her feet.


    Hours later, inside of the game, Empress made her way towards the Northfront plaza. She had an idea to level. Helia walked by her side.


    ¡°What are we doing here, boss? Didn¡¯t you say there was a bounty on your head?¡±


    Empress nodded, her plan was risky, but necessary.


    ¡°The shuttles to the ruined cities are here.¡±


    ¡°The ruined cities?¡± Helia asked, her face blank.


    ¡°Yeah. They¡¯re open-world dungeons that take place in an abandoned metropolis. They¡¯re full of primordial beasts and rare treasures. They¡¯re the perfect place to level up.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t the forest a good enough place to level, is this necessary?¡±


    Empress nodded.


    ¡°The ruined cities have lots of players inside of them. It¡¯s been far too long since I¡¯ve hunted down other people. I need to start climbing the leaderboards again. Besides, they also have lots of intermediate-ranked beasts. It¡¯ll be a great source of crystals.¡±


    Helia frowned, ¡°Won¡¯t people hunt you down when they realize you have a bounty?¡±


    ¡°Yup!¡± Empress smiled, ¡°It¡¯ll save me the trouble of looking for them.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re crazier than I am,¡± Helia shook her head.


    ¡°Whatever.¡± Empress laughed, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The two walked towards a man holding a megaphone.


    ¡°Offering teleportation to the ruined cities! 50,000 credits per person!¡± he shouted through the device.


    Empress approached him, ¡°Teleportation for two please.¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes gleamed once he saw her. He opened his mouth widely.


    ¡°Empress!¡± he shouted in recognition, ¡°You want to go to the ruined cities?¡±


    Heads immediately turned towards the three. Greed entered their eyes. The man had purposefully spoken through the megaphone.


    Empress paid the man¡¯s ploy no heed. She nodded, handing over the credits.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Very well! Teleportation for two, coming right up.¡±


    A message popped up in front of Helia and Empress¡¯ eyes, asking them to agree to the teleportation.


    They accepted, disappearing from the plaza.


    Instantly, dozens of people ran up to the man holding the megaphone.


    ¡°Teleport me!¡± they cried.


    The man smiled widely, ¡°Of course. Of course!¡±


    Empress and Helia landed in the abandoned city.


    ¡°We need to hide, fast,¡± Empress told her sidekick.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to hunt them down or something?¡± Helia asked, confused.


    ¡°Yeah, but I can¡¯t take on that many at once,¡± Empress admitted.


    Helia nodded in understanding. The two girls immediately dashed through the streets.  Shortly afterwards, a portal ripped open in space. People poured out of it.


    ¡°Where¡¯d she go?!¡± the asked, desperately looking around.


    The group immediately split up, all heading in different directions.


    Empress and Helia ran. Empress would have teleported, but then she would have to leave Helia behind. As they sprinted, Empress planted barrier seeds in the ground. They ducked into an alleyway, waiting for their chasers to catch up.


    When their pursuers dashed on top of the barrier seeds, Empress activated them, sending the group flying into the air. She immediately threw hundreds of barriers shards, cutting into them.  As the people started falling to the ground, she grabbed Helia and dashed away.  This process repeated a few more times. Empress was using a hit and run tactic to slowly whittle them down.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty diabolical,¡± Helia praised.


    Empress only smiled, concentrating on her pursuer¡¯s location. They were moving slowly now, afraid to step on any barrier seeds.


    All of a sudden, a roar rang out. A massive rhino charged down the street towards the people. Its horn gleamed threateningly, charged with electricity.


    ¡°Crap!¡± Empress shouted, ¡°The stupid beast is going to steal my kills!¡±


    She immediately leapt out of her hiding place, teleporting after the rhino.


    ¡°Wait for me!¡± Helia yelled, running after her.


    The crowd saw the rhino and cried out in fear, ¡°Intermediate beast! Run!¡±


    They employed their various abilities, all trying to escape the rhino¡¯s wrath.  Worried that her prey would escape, Empress employed a giant, layered barrier in the shape of a dome, cutting them off.  The people cursed and cried out in fear, trapped in the force field.


    The rhino speared one man through the stomach, electrifying his body. It stomped on another, killing her instantly.


    ¡°Stupid rhino! Leave them alone!¡± Empress yelled, appearing in front of it.


    It glared at her, eyes red.


    With a roar, it charged at her, horn pointed forward.


    Empress teleported and punched outward. Her fist slammed into its side, causing it to tremble.


    The creature snorted, unperturbed, swiping at her with its horn. Empress teleported away.


    Her face turned ugly. The beast¡¯s defense was incredibly strong. She would need Helia¡¯s help for this one. She turned towards her companion, who had finally caught up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t leave me behind!¡± Helia reprimanded her.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Empress winced.

 Chapter 18: Tactics

    (Author''s note:  Negation-tipped arrows have been changed to barrier-piercing arrows. :D)


    Chapter 18: Tactics


    The rhino snorted, charging towards the duo. Empress and Helia immediately dove to the side, moving out of range.


    ¡°Could you please stab yourself?¡± Empress asked politely.


    ¡°Sure thing,¡± Helia drew her sword, ¡°I still have a wound I need to transfer though.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll distract it,¡± Empress nodded, ¡°Find an opportunity to touch it.¡±


    Empress teleported forward, employing a series of gauntlet-empowered blows. The rhino roared, stomping onto the ground. Its stomps caused the ground to quake and tremble. A nearby building collapsed, falling on top of a nearby player.


    ¡°Stop it, you stupid rhino!¡± Empress yelled. She fired a barrier bullet towards the creature¡¯s eye. Before it could strike the target, the rhino¡¯s horn glowed, creating a protective shield. The bullet struck it and bounced off.


    Empress cursed, teleporting an arrow forward, striking the shield. The two forces fought against each other, creating sparks. Eventually, the power of Empress¡¯s arrow dissipated, causing it to fall to the ground.


    The rhino roared in triumph, charging towards Empress. Suddenly, Helia fell on it from above. She had climbed a nearby building.


    She touched the Rhino, causing its leg to give out. It crashed to the ground with a large thud. Wasting no time, she ran her blade across her throat, causing blood to spill. Before she could collapse, she transferred the wound.


    Blood immediately started flooding the streets. The rhino tried to roar, but only an unintelligible gurgle emerged. It thrashed, throwing Helia off of it. After a few moments, it died.


    ¡°Good work,¡± Empress smiled, giving Helia a high-five.


    ¡°Thanks, boss.¡± Helia smiled back.


    ¡°Let¡¯s clean up the rest of the players, shall we?¡±


    Helia cracked her knuckles. The surrounding players turned white from fear.


    Howls of agony echoed through the streets, causing players in other parts of the city to shiver. They nervously headed towards the screams. When they arrived, they found the corpses of dozens of players. Many of them had holes through their stomachs or slit throats. Others were missing their heads, exploded by a tremendous force.


    Off in the distance, Empress and Helia wallowed in victory. Helia handed over an intermediate power crystal.


    ¡°Here. I got the last one, this one¡¯s yours.¡±


    Empress opened her mouth to argue, but changed her mind, realizing Helia wasn¡¯t going to give in.


    ¡°Alright, thanks,¡± she said, taking it.


    ¡°What now, boss?¡± Helia asked.


    ¡°There are still other players in the ruins. I have an idea, but I¡¯ll need your help.¡±


    Helia¡¯s smiled evilly as she listened to Empress¡¯s plan.


    A group of superheroes were gathered together, looking for Empress. One of the players looked around nervously.


    ¡°Are you sure this is a good idea?¡± a girl asked, ¡°You saw what Empress did to all those players.¡±


    One of the members of the group sighed.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t see anything. Empress may be strong, but there¡¯s no way she killed all those players. The wreckage was mainly done by that dead rhino we saw, I¡¯m sure of it.¡±


    ¡°But someone had to have killed the rhino!¡± the girl argued.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°Shut up Illutra,¡± the player told her, causing her to frown.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me to shut up Flaron! We both know what Empress is capable of!¡±


    As they walked through the streets, they kept their eyes open for any signs of movement.


    Suddenly, a girl appeared before them, a gaping hole in her stomach.


    ¡°Help me!¡± she cried out, ¡°Empress attacked me!¡±


    The players immediately went on alert, looking around nervously. Illutra walked up to the injured girl.


    ¡°Where¡¯d you see her?¡± Illutra asked.


    ¡°Farther down the street,¡± the girl groaned, ¡°Please help me or I¡¯m going to die of blood loss.¡±


    Illutra sighed, reaching down to assist the girl. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She looked down in bewilderment. A large hole was in her abdomen.


    She stared at the girl who was now mysteriously uninjured.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± the girl yawned, pulling out her sword from her sheath. She swung it forward, catching Illutra in the neck.


    The rest of the players roared angrily.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Flaron growled.


    ¡°Killing you,¡± Helia laughed, throwing a small object in the middle of the group.


    The barrier seed exploded with a boom, sending the crowd into immediate disarray. Helia charged into their midst, severing limbs with her blade.


    A flash appeared near the bewildered Flaron, sending him into a panic. A familiar girl with a crown was in front of him.


    She punched outward with her fist, catching him in the throat. His windpipe was instantly crushed, making him die shortly afterward from asphyxiation.


    The might of the duo proved to be too much. The group was slowly and completely eradicated.


    A blood-soaked Helia smiled ferally.


    ¡°That was fun!¡± she laughed.


    Empress nodded in agreement. The kills had increased her notoriety and fame by a great amount. In addition, she had already gained two levels.


    ¡°Now that we¡¯ve staunched the flow of players after us, we can hunt some primordial beasts. Keep your eyes out for any treasures there might be.¡±


    Helia nodded, an expression of anticipation on her face.


    The girls walked through the streets, keeping an eye open for anything that might attack them.


    ¡°Remind me to buy you a jetpack or something,¡± Empress told Helia, ¡°Not being able to teleport is annoying.¡±


    Helia put on a thoughtful expression, ¡°How about rocket boots instead?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Empress smiled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare forget,¡± she laughed.


    Suddenly, flames sprung up from the ground, surrounding the pair.


    Empress grimaced, ¡°Looks like we¡¯ve found a primordial beast.¡±


    Helia put her back to Empress¡¯s casting her gaze around.


    After a few seconds of searching, they found the cause of the fire. A horse wreathed in flames was atop a nearby rooftop. It neighed loudly, causing the fires to rise in intensity.


    ¡°A horse?¡± Empress frowned.


    ¡°¡­boss,¡± Helia said quietly.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Empress asked, glancing at Helia from the corner of her eye.


    ¡°I want it,¡± Helia drooled, her eyes sparkling.


    Empress¡¯s eyes went wide.


    ¡°What? Why?¡± she asked.


    ¡°You said I needed a faster way to travel. Besides, it matches my hair!¡±


    Empress facepalmed.

 Chapter 19: Mount

    (Author''s note: Thanks for reading up until this point!  I really appreciate it.  Now that we''re reached this point, I might take a break for a day and prepare for the upcoming arc.  P.S.  What do you guys think of Helia?  Is she really that unlikable?)


    Chapter 19: Mount


    The flaming horse whinnied, causing the sea of flames to surge towards the duo. Empress immediately employed a reflective barrier, protecting them. The two started chatting amidst the fire.


    ¡°How do you suppose we go about catching it?¡± Empress asked curiously.


    ¡°Capture it within a barrier and I¡¯ll beat it into submission,¡± Helia told her.


    ¡°Do you honestly think that will work?¡±


    Helia shrugged, ¡°There¡¯s only one way to find out.¡±


    The horse snorted angrily, upset that the girls were ignoring it. It neighed, increasing the temperature of the flames. The flames rolled forward into the barrier, only to bounce backwards, setting a nearby building on fire.


    Empress listened to Helia¡¯s plan, entrapping the horse inside of a reflective barrier. It struck the shield desperately, only for the attacks to rebound, striking it.


    It whinnied in panic, unable to escape.


    ¡°It¡¯s only a minor beast, you sure you want it?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Helia nodded rapidly, ¡°I already picked out a name. Scarlet!¡±


    Empress sighed.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to open up a hole in the barrier, ready?¡±


    Helia rolled up her sleeves, her eyes filled with determination.


    At Empress¡¯s signal, she entered the force field with the horse. The horse looked at Helia warily, not understanding the situation.


    Helia grabbed her sword and slid it down her arm, flaying the skin. Once her arm was completely devoid of flesh, she absorbed the wound, repairing it.


    ¡°We can do this the easy way or the hard way,¡± she told the horse, causing it to back up in fear. Its meager intelligence was enough to let it know the girl was insane.


    Seeing that the horse wasn¡¯t going to comply, Helia frowned. She dashed towards it, springing towards its back. Just as the creature was about to move out of the way, force fields entrapped its legs, preventing it from dodging.


    Helia landed on the creature with a thud, transferring the wound to it. It immediately cried out in pain as the skin on its limb disappeared. It fell to the ground with Helia on top of it.


    It desperately flailed and kicked, trying to remove the flame-haired girl.


    Helia held on tightly, assisted by Empress¡¯s barriers.


    The horse raged for a dozen minutes before collapsing to the ground, exhausted.


    Helia gently rubbed the fallen horse, comforting it.


    ¡°There, there, Scarlet,¡± Helia whispered, ¡°Let me heal you.¡±


    She absorbed the wound, causing the horse¡¯s eyes to go wide from relief. It glanced at Helia, confused. Maybe the girl wasn¡¯t so bad?


    Empress removed her barrier, freeing the horse. It unsteadily rose to its feet with Helia on its back. It trotted in a circle, getting a feel for the new weight atop it.


    ¡°Thanks, boss.¡± Helia beamed, nuzzling the horse.


    Empress gazed on warily, ¡°It¡¯s a primordial beast. It can¡¯t be trusted. We have to get it mind-controlled and registered when we get back to Northfront.¡±


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    Helia wasn¡¯t worried about the horse betraying them, but she nodded her agreement to placate Empress.


    The horse was fast. It caused trails of fire and smoke to rise from the ground as it ran. Helia smacked her lips in satisfaction.


    As they traveled, they eventually came across another pack of players. These ones gave Helia a wide berth, scared by the primordial beast she rode on. There were many powers that could be used to take primordial beasts, most of them were insidious forms of mind-control. They had no desire to contend with someone who had that ability.


    Unfortunately for them, Helia was very interested in testing her new mount in combat. The horse opened its mouth, spewing flames that the other players, setting them on fire. They desperately rolled on the ground, attempting to put out the flames. However, the more they struggled, the greater the flames grew.


    The scent of burnt flesh pervaded the air, making Empress crinkle her nose. She watched from the sidelines, throwing up barriers to prevent the escape of any players.


    They pounded the force fields in desperation, deploying their arsenal of abilities in an attempt to escape from the fire. However, they didn¡¯t realize that the barrier was reflective, resulting in many self-injuries.


    Helia galloped through the burning corpses, removing the heads of any survivors with her sword. Blood boiled from the heat, evaporating into the sky. Helia laughed, her red hair flowing the wind.


    Empress whistled appreciatively. Helia was a sight to behold. A flaming-haired girl atop a flaming steed. She felt her heart twinge a little, causing her to laugh.


    Helia stopped her slaughter, turning her head in the direction of the laughter.


    ¡°Everything okay, boss?¡±


    ¡°Yup,¡± Empress smiled, ¡°We better get moving though. The flames are going to attract unwanted attention. I want to keep the advantage of surprise.¡±


    Helia nodded, steering Scarlet towards her. The horse looked at Empress curiously, wondering why it wasn¡¯t allowed to set her on fire.


    ¡°Let¡¯s spend a few more days leveling, then let¡¯s return to Northfront.¡±


    Within a short period of time, rumors spread throughout the ruined city. Tales of a flaming-haired horror and of the indomitable Empress reached everyone¡¯s ears. No longer did people try to hunt Empress down for her bounty. Instead, they spent the majority of their time running from her.


    Empress¡¯s bounty was eventually removed from the board. The players were too afraid to accept it. No one within level range was capable of putting an end to Empress¡¯s tyranny.


    A few days later, Empress and Helia were forced to leave the open-world dungeon. All of players had fled or died, turning the city into a ghost town. Even the primordial beasts began avoiding the two.


    Luckily for Empress, the trip was worthwhile. She had reached level 30. All of her skills had also reached mastery level 5 due to the numerous power crystals. Helia¡¯s wound transferal was on the cusp of evolving. The primordial beast had also grown more powerful, radiating an intense heat. However, Helia was unperturbed, riding it anyways.


    Trip concluded, the girls returned to Northfront City.

 Chapter 20: War

    (Author''s note: The previous chapter 20 has been scrapped entirely.  This is a brand new arc.  Let me know what you think, thanks.)


    Chapter 20: War


    Empress and Helia were returning from the ruined cities when a notification appeared in front of their faces.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Southfront City has declared war on Northfront City!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Empress laughed loudly.


    ¡°What?¡± Helia asked, confused, ¡°Why are you laughing?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s perfect!¡± Empress smiled, ¡°I was worried about what to do to level up, but now a war is happening!¡±


    ¡°Why would Southfront start a war?¡± Helia wondered, knitting her eyebrows.


    ¡°Resources,¡± Empress said simply, ¡°The winner of the war gets massive benefits to their city.¡±


    Empress shrugged, ¡°Besides. Players from the different cities hate each other. It was bound to happen eventually.¡±


    Helia¡¯s eyes twinkled curiously.


    ¡°What happens if we lose?¡±


    ¡°Then we become a part of Southfront until a server reset happens.¡±


    ¡°Has any side managed to capture all four cities?¡±


    ¡°Not that I know of. I¡¯m sure the rewards would be incredible though.¡±


    Empress motioned towards Helia, ¡°Go get Scarlet registered, I¡¯ll be at the plaza.¡±


    Helia nodded, steering Scarlet away.


    Empress teleported forward, quickly making her way to the city¡¯s center.  Thousands of players were there, yelling back and forth.


    ¡°The Saints of Mercury are recruiting members! Come join us to take down Southfront!¡±


    ¡°Recruiting members for Northfront¡¯s Fifth Battalion, join us for great rewards!¡±


    Empress shook her head, smiling. As she cast her gaze around the plaza, a hand tapped her on the shoulder.  She glanced backwards, seeing a familiar face.


    ¡°Hey Empress,¡± a white-haired girl stood, waving amiably.


    ¡°Yuki!¡± Empress grinned, ¡°No hard feelings, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Yuki smiled back, ¡°I wish you wouldn¡¯t have choked me though.¡±


    She grimaced, touching her neck.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Empress blushed, ¡°I panicked.¡±


    Yuki waved her had dismissively.


    ¡°Going to join an organization?¡± Yuki asked curiously.


    ¡°It¡¯d probably be a good idea,¡± Empress admitted, ¡°I only know one group though, and I have no interest in joining them.¡±


    ¡°Want to join my org temporarily? We could use your assistance against Southfront.¡±


    Empress hesitated, ¡°Are you sure you need my help?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Yuki nodded, ¡°You¡¯d be one of our strongest assets.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d have to ask my sidekick what she thinks.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing,¡± Yuki smiled.


    A dozen minutes later, Helia returned with Scarlet.


    ¡°Welcome back Helia,¡± Empress told the red-haired girl, ¡°What do you think about joining Yuki¡¯s organization during the war?¡±


    Helia frowned, glancing over snow-haired girl.


    After a minute, she nodded, ¡°It seems like a smart plan, boss. We¡¯ll have strength in numbers.¡±


    Yuki reached out and shook Empress¡¯s hand.


    ¡°The war won¡¯t officially start for twenty-four hours. In the meantime, let me take you to our headquarters and introduce you to our other members.¡±


    Yuki¡¯s headquarters was a massive skyscraper. The girls hopped in the elevator and rode it to the highest floor.  When the door opened, a couple faces immediately darted in their direction.


    ¡°Welcome back Yuki. Who are they?¡±


    The question was asked by a woman in a red dress. She exuded an aura of charm and seduction.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Flora, this is Empress and her sidekick Helia,¡± Yuki smiled, introducing the pair.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Empress the one who crushed you in the tournament?¡± another voice asked.


    Yuki frowned, ¡°Knock it off.¡±


    A young man draped in black lounged on top of a couch. An amused expression was on his face.


    ¡°Whatever sis,¡± he laughed.


    He hopped off the couch, walking towards Empress.


    The man reached out a hand. Empress shook it.


    "The name''s Kuro.  I''m Yuki''s brother."


    "Nice to meet you."


    Yuki clapped her hands together, ¡°Great. Now that everyone has been introduced, let¡¯s get planning, shall we?¡±


    Yuki spread a map out on the table, showing the locations of Northfront and Southfront cities.


    ¡°First things first.¡± she said looking at Empress and Helia, ¡°Are you guys familiar with the rules?¡±


    The pair shook their heads.


    ¡°Okay. It¡¯s pretty simple. For the duration of the war, everyone only has one life. If you die, it¡¯s over. The side that wipes out the enemy wins.¡±


    ¡°Is that the only way to win?¡± Empress asked curiously.


    ¡°No,¡± Yuki shook her head, ¡°There are also capture points scattered throughout the cities. If you capture all of the opposing points, you win.¡±


    Empress frowned, ¡°Won¡¯t the side with the most high-level players hold the advantage?¡±


    ¡°Ordinarily, yes,¡± Yuki admitted, ¡°However, for the duration of the war, everyone will be scaled to the same level. It¡¯ll be a contest of pure wit and skill.¡±


    Empress smiled, ¡°Sounds like my type of battle.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan then?¡± she asked Yuki.


    ¡°Our organization has been voted the responsibility to capture point F,¡± she said, circling a spot on Southfront¡¯s map.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be extremely difficult. It¡¯s the point deepest in enemy territory.¡±


    Empress sighed inwardly, ¡°Of course it¡¯s the most difficult point.¡±


    Yuki reached into her inventory and pulled out a packet of golden, metal bands.


    ¡°We have to wear these on our wrist or else we can¡¯t participate. They¡¯re identifiers. The enemy will be wearing red ones.¡±


    Empress and Helia each grabbed a band, fastening it to their wrists.


    At that moment Kuro spoke up, ¡°Since we¡¯re going to work together, we need to know the full extent of each other¡¯s powers. No being shy.¡±


    Yuki spoke up, ¡°You already know my power. I have snow manipulation mastery.¡±


    She nodded towards Kuro.


    ¡°I have darkness manipulation mastery and enhanced reflexes,¡± he grunted.


    Flora spoked up next, ¡°I have pheromone mastery.¡±


    Helia and Empress exchanged glances.


    ¡°I have barrier mastery and minor teleportation. Helia has wound transferal.¡±


    Yuki nodded in appreciation.


    ¡°Helia and Flora will be our support. Kuro and I will be the main offensive. I can trust you on defense, right Empress?¡±


    Empress nodded.


    At that moment Helia spoke up, ¡°Empress beat you, right? Shouldn¡¯t she be on offense then?¡±


    Yuki shook her head.


    ¡°My brother and I work best together. Empress is the only person among us who has a strong defensive skill.¡±


    Helia nodded, understanding. Empress patted Helia¡¯s leg appreciatively.


    Yuki spoke up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s head to the training room in the basement. It¡¯ll give us a chance to coordinate our powers together.¡±


    The group nodded their agreement and headed to the elevator.

 Chapter 21: Practice

    (Author''s note: IMPORTANT!!! If you haven''t already read the new chapter 20, please do so. The old was scrapped. Thanks for reading!)


    Chapter 21: Practice


    With a whir, the elevator made its way to the basement of the skyscraper. The door opened with a ding, allowing the group to exit.


    The training room was large, easily the size of a football field. Empress couldn¡¯t begin to imagine how much the whole hideout would have cost.


    The group gathered near the edge of the room, lining up in front of Yuki.


    ¡°Welcome to the Crimson Lilac¡¯s first official training session,¡± Yuki spoke.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go ahead and get started,¡± she clapped.


    ¡°I¡¯ve taken the liberty of calling a few henchmen to be our rivals. They don¡¯t have any super powers, but they should allow us to test our coordination at least.¡±


    Empress frowned, ¡°You guys don¡¯t have any sidekicks?¡±


    The original members of the Crimson Lilac exchanged glances. Yuki shook her head.


    ¡°We kind of spent all our money on the hideout,¡± she explained.


    ¡°Although, NPC death isn¡¯t permanent since the latest patch, so maybe it would be worth buying one eventually,¡± she said with a thoughtful expression.


    Empress¡¯s ears perked up


    ¡°NPC death is no longer permanent?¡±


    Yuki nodded, ¡°There were quite a few complaints from the player-base. Now there is just a one million credit revival fee.¡±


    Empress smiled widely, taking a glance at Helia from the corner of her eye.


    ¡°Anyways,¡± Yuki said, ¡°Let¡¯s get training.¡±


    The group took up a formation. Kuro and Yuki were at the front, easily allowing them to be on the offensive. Empress was in the middle, allowing her to deploy barriers in front of her teammates at a moment¡¯s notice. Helia and Flora were in the back, ready to assist whenever needed.


    Numerous henchmen were lined up in front of the group, equipped with everything from swords to rifles. They wore black suits, giving them the appearance of secret agents.


    ¡°The henchmen are equipped with training weapons, so no one will die. You can still get injured though, so be careful.¡±


    Empress and Helia nodded.


    ¡°Okay, 3¡­2¡­1¡­ GO!¡±


    At her command, they dashed forward, charging towards the henchmen. The minions immediately opened fire, raining a hail of bullets towards them.


    Empress deployed a reflective barrier, causing the bullets to return to their senders. Dozens of henchmen were decimated, defeated by their own attacks.


    Kuro and Yuki followed up, waving their hands in the air. Spirals of darkness and snow swirled together, taking on the shape of a dragon.


    The dragon charged forward, spewing globules of darkness and icicles. The attacks crashed into the henchman, instantly crushing them.


    Suddenly, henchmen rappelled from the ceiling, landing behind the group. Flora waved her hands forward, sending pink particles towards them. The pheromones slammed into the men, causing them to adopt hazy expressions. Admiration and love appeared on their faces.


    Before they could awaken from their daze, Yuki turned around, sending an avalanche of snow their way. They were frozen instantly, falling to the ground in the form of human popsicles.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Just as the group was about to celebrate, a deep, mechanical groan rang out.


    Yuki¡¯s face fell, ¡°I forgot I bought that.¡±


    In front of them rolled a tank.


    ¡°You bought a tank?¡± Empress asked bewilderedly.


    ¡°It looked cool,¡± Yuki shrugged.


    Empress was about to comment further when a blast rang out. The group dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. The bullet struck the ground, causing the room to tremble.


    Empress was about to summon a barrier when Yuki stopped her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother, it has barrier-piercing shells.¡±


    With a sigh, Empress put her hands back down.


    ¡°What should we do?¡± Flora asked, ¡°Strike it with everything we¡¯ve got?¡±


    Yuki smiled sheepishly, ¡°It¡¯s made from extremely powerful armor. Our super attacks won¡¯t work.¡±


    Kuro groaned in annoyance.


    The tank driver grew impatient at their banter, firing another bullet towards them. Flora wasn¡¯t quick enough to escape the blast radius. The shock sent her flying.


    Helia immediately dashed towards her, absorbing the wound.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Flora smiled, grabbing Helia¡¯s hand as she was hoisted to her feet.


    ¡°How do we defeat it?¡± Empress asked Yuki.


    Yuki shrugged, ¡°Our powers aren¡¯t very well equipped to fight it. We need someone with metal manipulation or something.¡±


    Empress rubbed her chin thoughtfully, coming up with a plan.


    ¡°Okay, I have an idea. Can you guys distract it for a minute?¡± she asked the group.


    Yuki and Kuro nodded. They immediately summoned another dragon, attacking the tank. The tank weathered their attacks, not even shaking. The tank driver fired at the dragon, causing it to blow into pieces. Empress didn¡¯t waste the opportunity. She immediately teleported towards the tank. She condensed a barrier and placed it inside the barrel.


    Yuki¡¯s eyes went wide in disbelief. She immediately waved her hands towards the tank driver.


    ¡°Don¡¯t shoot! Don¡¯t shoot!¡± she yelled.


    The tank slowed down and the hatch opened up. A confused henchman looked at her.


    ¡°Why? What happened?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Empress placed a barrier inside of the barrel. I¡¯m just trying to save my money,¡± Yuki explained, her panic dissipating.


    Kuro burst out laughing, ¡°Good job Empress! Remind me to have you deal with any tanks we run into.¡±


    Empress smiled slyly, proud of herself.


    ¡°Nice thinking, boss,¡± Helia praised.


    The only one who wasn¡¯t happy was Yuki. Her heart felt like it was going to explode at the thought of wasted money.


    ¡°Well, that went well.¡± Flora spoke up, ¡°It seems like we¡¯ll be able to accomplish our mission tomorrow.¡±


    The group grew slightly somber.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be tough, but we can do it,¡± Yuki said.


    ¡°Agreed,¡± Kuro seconded.


    Yuki turned to Empress, ¡°We¡¯re going to log off and get some sleep. We¡¯ll need all our energy tomorrow.¡±


    Empress nodded at the idea.


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving Helia,¡± Empress said, taking out the summoning sigil.


    Sadness briefly flashed through Helia¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Alright, boss. I¡¯ll see you when you get back.¡±


    Helia was familiar with the peculiarities of the so called ¡°players¡±. As far as she was concerned, they were simply a part of two interconnected worlds.


    Empress unsummoned Helia and logged off.

 Hiatus

    Yup, it''s exactly as the title states.  Due to my summer semester finals coming up and my clinical depression I''m going to stop working on the story for a while.  At this current moment in time I don''t feel capable of writing content I feel proud of.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Feel free to curse me out or send me hateful messages if it''ll make you feel better :P


    I''ll cya later.