《City of Darkness》 Chapter 1: Joining the Army -The scan on your iris and vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account?- The new user looked around and admired the quality of the virtual reality systems graphics ¡°Yes!¡± -Select the name of your avatar- ¡°Sora¡± -Select your gender from male, female or neutral- ¡°Male¡± -Anteus Legends has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary twenty-nine races.- ¡°Beastman¡± -You may alter your appearance- Sora looked at his avatar and saw that although he was a beastman his basic features ¨Cespecially height¨C remained the same. ¡°Increase height by 2 inches¡± Sora¡¯s avatar now gave off the appearance of a tall humanoid wolf. If anyone were to encounter this creature in the real world they were certain to run away. -Your appearance has been altered. Continue?- -Your account has been activated. Your stats and class shall be determined while you are playing Anteus Legends- ¡°Which stats do beastmen start with?¡± -Beastmen have seven primary stats, strength, agility, stamina, vitality, intelligence and wisdom. With the exception of strength 10 stat points have been placed in each primary stat.- ¡°How many stat points have been allocated to strength?¡± -Beastmen start with 20 base strength- ¡°Proceed¡± -Select the city and kingdom you want to start in.- ¡°I would like to start in the City of Tirium in the Ocelot Kingdom.¡± -Would you like to take the tutorial?- ¡°Skip¡± -Welcome to Anteus Legends- Sora smiled at the swiftness of the registration. Upon hearing the voice which had welcomed him he knew he had successfully entered the biggest virtual reality game on the planet; Anteus Legends. He had already researched the various races the game offered and he had spent more time deciding his username than anything else. Despite its virtual reality interface being different from an ordinary television or computer screen the game¡¯s registration was similar to many other online role playing games. The light around him faded and Sora found himself standing in the middle of a decrepit city square which was surrounded by run-down buildings which were visibly crumbling around him. People furtively moved about and glanced around as though expecting to be attacked. Sora smiled as he felt the tension in the air and after doing a quick check confirmed that there were no people interacting or groups simply hanging out in the city square. He reveled in this kind of atmosphere. He continued to look around for a few more seconds and unseen by any outsiders he was twitching his legs and hands in order to become used to the virtual reality¡¯s systems which allowed him to move his virtual body as though it was his own. As soon as he saw that there were no people in the nearby vicinity he ran down a street towards the north. Although other users would have taken the time to explore the area and see the wonders Anteus Legends offered in terms of graphics Sora knew that he had to head towards the building known as the Castle of Tirium to fulfill his goal. Sora forced himself not to look around as he passed numerous buildings and shops. If anyone caught him staring they would immediately know that he was a new user and in a city like Tirium being spotted meant being added as a target for future robberies or worse. He was panting as he reached the entrance to the castle and took a single look before heading towards the left where the Tirium recruitment barracks were. As Sora walked into the barracks entrance a clerk looked up at him, ¡°What?¡± the clerk had been sleeping and was annoyed that his nap had been interrupted. ¡°Tirium is in need of protection and I want to help in any way that I can. I have come to join the army of Tirium as a new recruit.¡± Sora added some grandness to his response and the clerk lazily snapped his fingers and a piece of paper and pen appeared from thin air. ¡°Fill in the application form and your registration will be complete.¡± Almost immediately after stating these words the clerk went back to sleep and Sora saw from the way that he conjured the form that the clerk was a user as well. He quickly scribbled his name on the application form and saw that this was the only detail that needed to be filled in. It was for this reason that he had entered Tirium in the first place. With such relaxed security and ease of entering into the soldier profession it was ideal for Sora who didn¡¯t like to wait long periods of time. On the forums he had read that Tirium accepted anybody into their army no matter who they were and everything had happened exactly as Sora planned.
You have joined the Tirium Basic Army. You are currently restricted from exiting the city. Time remaining: 4 weeks.
Every new user on Anteus Legends had to spend a period of four weeks inside their starting city or capital in order to get used to the mechanics of the game. The army kept track of members that had any sorts of bans or restrictions placed upon them and notified them of their particular limitations. Luckily only four hours in Anteus Legends was the equivalent of one hour in real life so Sora would only have to stay in the city for a week of real time. ¡°Go through the door and talk to Commander Anthony.¡± The clerk had woken up again and jabbed a finger towards a nearby door in an attempt to get rid of Sora as quickly as he could. Sora passed walked through the door and immediately felt a breeze on his face that told him that he had exited the building and entered the barracks courtyard. Several men in tattered uniforms were swinging their swords at wooden dummies and even more were simply lying on the grass and staring at the sky. ¡°Atten-hut!¡± A soldier in glittering steel armour exited through a door leading to the main building and several soldiers grumbled as they gathered in a line and saluted to the armoured soldier. The armoured soldier gestured and the men went back to what they were doing. Sora approached the armoured soldier and saluted. ¡°Commander Anthony Sir! I am Sora. I have just joined the Tirium army and was told to speak with you.¡± Several onlooking soldiers spat on the ground at Sora¡¯s blatant flattery but Commander Anthony looked at Sora with appreciation in his eyes. ¡°A new recruit? You seem eager. Go and hit those practice dummies so that I may see your skill.¡± Sora smiled at the commanders words and picked a wooden practice sword off the ground. He had read in the forums that the NPC commander was a noble and righteous individual and that flattery and hard work were a quick way to gain his recommendation for a promotion in the army. ¡°Yes sir!¡± Sora moved towards the practice dummies and several soldiers crowded around to watch him. Sora looked closely at the dummies and kept his smile in place as he stood in front of one of the more worn out ones. As soon as he had entered the compound Sora had seen that certain soldiers had been gathered in groups and it was clear that to them this demonstration was a test to see if they should recruit him into their groups. Depending on how it went he would either become a respected member of the clique or he would be turned into a cash cow for the rest of his stay in the army. He stared at the wooden dummy and saw that a faded face had been drawn on its head by some soldier long ago. He swung the sword at in an arc towards the dummies head and several soldiers snickered at his sloppy skills. As his swing hit the dummy a cracking sound resounded through the yard and the snickers stopped as the soldiers gazed at the headless dummy. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Although the dummy instantly regenerated the damage done to it the message was clear; Sora was strong enough to smash a wooden dummies head in and the same might happen to them if they weren¡¯t careful. Normally this wouldn¡¯t have been possible for a level one user but Sora had gained increased strength as a beastman and he had seen that this dummy had several cracks running down its head due to being worn down throughout the day. He swung his sword several more times and also sent several stabs into its stomach as though it were truly a person standing in front of him. ¡°Stop! I have seen enough.¡± The soldiers returned to what they were doing previously as Commander Anthony called out to Sora. ¡°Clearly you are still a little rough around the edges however I am sure that with enough time and practice you will become a great asset to our army.¡± Commander Anthony had seen that his skills were lacking but by smashing the dummy¡¯s head he had gained the commander¡¯s respect and Sora could see it in his eyes. ¡°Thank you sir!¡± So far all had been going according to his plan. He had even been forced to make his skills sloppier than usual in order to avoid the interest of the nearby soldiers. He was only going to make himself known once the time was right. Sora saw movement from the corner of his eyes and had to stop himself from turning around until he felt a hand grab his shoulder. He was forcefully spun around to face a man with a nasty scar on his face. ¡°Come with me boy.¡± Sora could instantly see that the man was only the muscle of whichever group he was a part of. He was fairly tall and his hair was a long black clump of matted material which made him seem more of a beastman than Sora himself. Sora was also sure that had he been standing several feet away he would still have smelt the man¡¯s terrible breath. The man dragged Sora to a group of three guys and threw him in front of them. Sora hid his anger to the best of his abilities and looked up at the group of people seeing a slim man and two overweight guys beside him. ¡°You looked weak out there greenhorn. I saw you talking to Anthony over there but you should know that I¡¯m the real boss around here.¡± The man in the middle of the group spoke as the two men beside him stomped their feet in a gesture of strength. ¡°Let Gronk play with him. Gronk will try not to break him.¡± The man to the right was referring to himself in the first person and had a pleading look on his face. ¡°No let me toy with him. I want to see how his legs sound when they snap.¡± The man to the left cracked his knuckles in anticipation. They were positioned in a spot that was far away from Anthony so that he would not notice if they beat down the new recruit. ¡°Gronk, Kelm. Shut up.¡± The two looked hurt as their boss rebuked them. ¡°Yes Sam.¡± Clearly the hierarchy was first priority to them and it was clear that any manners were completely disregarded when talking to weaklings such as Sora. Sora got up off the ground and brushed some dust off his shoulder. He didn¡¯t really care about the dust but the gesture clearly showed that he wasn¡¯t cowed by the man in front of him. It appeared that he would have to show his skills earlier than he expected. ¡°I¡¯m not looking for small fry like you¡± Sora laughed at the man in front of him and the man laughed as well then spoke a simple command to his subordinates. ¡°Kill him.¡± Gronk and Kelm smiled nastily and walked towards the beastman. The muscle man that brought Sora over to the group ran to a safe distance as he realised that a fight was about to break out. Sora looked at the two, ¡°Are you going to step on me with those fat feet?¡± They roared in unison and charged towards Sora and jumped right before reaching him with their hands sticking out to grab him. Sora swiftly dodged to the side as the men landed on the ground and leapt behind them. He hit Gronk in the back of his knee with his sword to unbalance him. The man staggered and Sora continued his motion by bringing the sword from the back of Gronk¡¯s knee to the back of his head and with one powerful swing managed to cause the man to flop face first onto the ground unconscious. Kelm looked at his fallen partner and cautiously circled around Sora. He was carefully searching for an opening in Sora¡¯s defence but Sora faced his wooden sword towards him and they stared into each other¡¯s eyes. Sora saw Kelm¡¯s eyes shift behind him and spun around to smack Sam in the ribs. The man cried out in pain and in the same motion Sora twisted the sword downwards and felt flesh as he stabbed the space behind him. He leapt to the side so that he, Kelm and Sam created a triangle formation. Kelm clutched his stomach which had just been hit by Sora¡¯s sword and the Sam looked as though he was regretting entering the fight. Although he was outnumbered Sora had clearly been hiding his skills and his two enemies were hurt and demoralised. He had them right where he wanted them. Before Sam could react Sora stabbed his sword towards the Kelm¡¯s chest and combining the strength of a beastman and the weight of the enemy Sora managed to knock him onto his back. Sora looked at the man squirming on the floor and it reminded him of a cockroach which had dropped onto its back. Sora heard a yell and easily dodged a punch sent to his side by Sam. Sora ignored him and continued to the enemy on the floor. Sora swung his sword and heard a satisfying crack as the sword connected with the man¡¯s testicles. Several soldiers that were watching the fight winced and Sam was visibly pale.
New skill acquired: Sword Mastery.
Sora turned to face the last enemy but found that he couldn¡¯t move his sword. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Clearly these weaklings are no match for you.¡± A man was holding the end of Sora¡¯s sword and despite his bonus strength Sora found that the sword wouldn¡¯t budge a single inch. The man¡¯s level was too high for him to handle right now. ¡°Release my sword. I can see that you are stronger than me. I will stop this fight.¡± Sora tried to look as defeated as possible. The man smiled and forced the sword out of Sora¡¯s hand. He had clearly not been fooled by Sora¡¯s act and realised that despite their differences in level if Sora managed to get back his sword his skills might make him a difficult opponent. ¡°It is clear that you did not come here to start petty fights. Why have you joined the army?¡± The man was smart. He could sense that Sora was not simply trying to test his skills out on any weaklings he came across. Sora smiled, ¡°Take me to your leader.¡± The man looked surprised but after a second of consideration he gestured at Sora to follow him and walked towards a door heading towards the main building of the barracks. Sora glanced at the groaning men behind him and saw Sam glaring at him with hatred in his eyes. He ignored the man and walked towards the main building. If he was going to reach his goal then he would be making many more enemies along the way and they would be far stronger than the men he had just beaten. This was just the first step of his journey. The citizens of Tirium and all of Anteus Legends had yet to know true terror but he would show them. He would show them all. Chapter 2: The Arena Sora walked through the doors to the main building and was assaulted by cheers and shouting from all sides. He looked around in amazement and saw that inside of the building was a square concrete plate surrounded by lines of chairs which were filled with people. From what Sora had seen while outside the City of Tirium was run-down and had seen better times but now Sora realised that the buildings outside were eye candy compared to what lay within. Sora went to stand next to the man that had led him into the building and looked at the show occurring on the concrete square. Two men were standing barefoot and punching each other. The concrete they were standing on was cracked and every punch sent specks of blood flying into the air. One of the men lunged at the other kicked him in the stomach. As the man collapsed on the ground his opponent wrapped his hands around his neck and leg and threw him out of the square as the crowd cheered. The man next to Sora snorted in disgust, ¡°He should have killed him.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t want to risk getting the player kill mark.¡± Sora remarked in return. In Anteus Legends a player that killed other users would have his name displayed in red above his head with a cross. Other players would kill the marked person for their items or to gain experience and didn¡¯t have to fear repercussion. The man looked at Sora, ¡°There is no penalty given for killing in this arena. He was just soft.¡± The man nodded to two large men nearby and they grabbed Sora¡¯s arms before he could react. Sora calmly looked at the man, ¡°I assumed you were going to take me to your boss.¡± ¡°Prove yourself by fighting. If you interest him maybe he¡¯ll see you. If you don¡¯t then he¡¯ll kill you until you have negative stats for wasting his time. No. I¡¯ll kill you myself.¡± The man walked off and Sora was thrown face first into the concrete; the arena. Laughter and jeers were directed at Sora and he got a good look at the arena. The concrete was cracked and uneven. Jagged splinters poked out and threatened to slice through unwary combatants if they stepped in the wrong spot and the red splashes that covered them suggested that many people had. ¡°It appears that fresh meat has been sacrificed to our undefeated champion! Place your bets!¡± A man announced the next battle and was collecting cash from the spectators. Sora smiled at his opponent - the large man he had seen beating the previous combatant ¨C and his hand caught a wooden sword which flew towards him from the stands. It appeared that the people he had come to meet did not want to see a one sided blood bath. He stood with his sword in front of him as his opponent let out a yell and sent a punch towards his head¡­ ¡­ Sora stepped on the man and ground his defeated opponent¡¯s head into the concrete. Sora saw that blood was leaking from his enemy and swirling into the cracks in the concrete. ¡°AMAZING! Bacchi the Strangler has been defeated by the mysterious beastman!!¡± As the announcer spoke Sora could see several spectators grumbling in annoyance as they counted the amount of money they had lost betting on Bacchi. Several people begun to shiver and Sora jumped back from Bacchi¡¯s body as an intense killing intent filled the room. A figure jumped in the air and landed gracefully on top of Bacchi¡¯s head smashing it further into the concrete. She kicked the unconscious man out of the arena as the announcer excitedly began to speak. ¡°A new opponent has come to test the mysterious beatman¡¯s strength! I present to you¡­ SCARLET THE BALL CRUSHER!!¡± Several men in the audience shuddered as the Scarlet moved towards her opponent. The hair along Sora¡¯s body begun to twitch and Sora leapt back as Scarlet''s fist hit the air where his head was a moment ago. The red haired beauty looked at Sora and crouched with her hands stretched out in front of her. Sora sent a stab towards her head and heard a crunching sound as she moved her hand to block the sword. The crunching sound continued and Sora realised that his sword had been split in half. Scarlet¡¯s palm moved in a circle and the weapon flew out of Sora¡¯s hand. Her fingers flew towards Sora¡¯s eyes and he could hear the squelch of his own eyes popping as he cried out in pain. He moved his hands protectively in front of his face but felt his neck jolt as he was hit from behind. His head flew forward and was instantly smashed by an elbow to the face. Sora gasped and fell on his back. ¡°Scarlet is moving towards the opponent and¡­ yes!! She¡¯s going for her signature move; THE BALL CRUSHER!!¡± Sora couldn¡¯t see and was disoriented from the blows he had received but he instantly moved his hand in front of his legs and grabbed tightly onto Scarlets arm. He heard her cry out in surprise and quickly pulled her in. He kicked and felt his foot dig into her stomach. Instead of pulling out for another kick he lifted his opponent higher into the air and flipped her over. He staggered and stood still as he tried to hear his opponents movements. Sora heard a shuffling sound and sent out his hand to deflect an oncoming punch. He jumped and sent a kick out in front of him. He heard a cry of pain as his shin connected with his opponents head. As Sora landed his legs collapsed and he struggled in vain trying to move away from his opponent. Sora was suddenly lifted into the air by a pair of hands and he flinched as Scarlet brought his face closer to her but before he could react she had already made her move. He clenched his hands and a soft sensation caused his lips to part. He could smell the bitter tang of blood coming from Scarlet and wrapped his hands around her hair. He felt her clash with him and she gently nipped his lip. He traced her mouth with his tongue but smoothly drew away after a few seconds. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. The taste of blood was still fresh in his mouth. He heard a whisper in his ear, ¡°Your eyes didn''t recognize me so I poked them out. You can¡¯t say you don¡¯t remember me after this. I¡¯ll be back¡± His legs collapsed and he fell to the ground as she let go of his head. ¡°SCARLET THE BALL CRUSHER HAS LEFT THE ARENA!! This is an automatic forfeit and the winner is the mysterious beastman whom all had thought crushed and defeated!! Sora let himself be carried out of the arena and didn¡¯t make a sound until after his eyes had been healed. He opened his eyes to find that the man that had had him put into the arena was across from him. The man was grinning at him. ¡°No one has ever gotten out of the arena alive after fighting Scarlet. I¡¯ve definitely never seen her kiss somebody. You have balls rookie. Slicer¡± Sora looked at him in confusion. ¡°My name. Slicer. Don¡¯t wear it out.¡± Slicer sighed at him and thought about why a beauty like Scarlet had decided to kiss him instead of killing him. He didn¡¯t think much of Sora¡¯s intelligence and his words were short and simple. Sora touched his lips with his fingers, ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot.¡± ¡°You could have fooled me. Everyone saw you collapsing on your legs from the effort. That kiss really took it out of you.¡± Slicer was trying to goad but Sora stayed silent. ¡°Whatever. After that fight there are a lot of people that want to fight you. Mostly out of jealousy though.¡± Slicer seemed content to continue talking but Sora had business. ¡°I won. Did I interest your boss?¡± Sora hadn¡¯t forgotten that the reason he was in the arena was because it was the only way to gain the boss¡¯s interest. ¡°Oh that. I lied.¡± If looks could kill Sora would have sliced Slicer in two. Slicer quickly put his hand up to block a punch that was aimed at his face. ¡°Hey now! I might have lied but there¡¯s no way you can see the boss. He¡¯s not here.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sora didn¡¯t have time for Slicer¡¯s small talk. ¡°We¡¯re still an army. He was sent out about a week ago on a mission under Commander Anthony¡¯s orders. He¡¯ll be back in a while and you can try talk to him then.¡± Slicer looked eagerly at Sora as though the information he had given him was helpful. ¡°When exactly will he be back?¡± Slicer thought about Sora¡¯s question for a second, ¡°Probably a month.¡± Slicer watched as Sora got up and walked away, ¡°Hey! Where are you going?!¡± Sora didn¡¯t bother to look back at him and Slicer had to run to catch up to him. ¡°Listen, I lied about the boss. Happens to the best of us. I¡¯ll help you out. I know what you can do for the next month while you wait for the boss.¡± Sora halted and Slicer slammed into his back. Sora turned to look at Slicer, ¡°this had better be good.¡± Slicer smacked him over the head with his fist, ¡°Don¡¯t forget I¡¯m stronger than you rookie. I¡¯m also your superior.¡± He could see anger in Sora¡¯s eyes and smacked him over the head again, ¡°Listen well rookie. Good information sources say that if you hit those dummies your stats will raise even if your level stays the same. The stats cap at forty extra and if you do this for four weeks straight there¡¯s a special surprise in it for you. I don¡¯t know what this is since nobody in the army has bothered to do it except for the boss.¡± ¡°How can I trust you on this? I would be wasting four weeks for all I know.¡± Sora didn¡¯t trust Slicer and he knew that nobody in Tirium did anything nice without expecting some sort of payment in return. ¡°He speaks the truth.¡± Slicer and Sora turned and faced the man that had interrupted them. Bacchi the Strangler walked calmly towards the two, ¡°I have not completed the training myself. But I can vouch that the information if true.¡± Sora was wary and Bacchi could see it, ¡°Grow stronger. I heard you¡¯re looking for the boss. But until he comes I will be training to defeat you. The fact that the man who defeated me in the arena today was beaten by a girl puts a bitter taste in my mouth.¡± He walked past Sora and opened the door to the outside training area. ¡°And you? What do you want for this information Slicer?¡± Sora looked closely at the man. Slicer wasn¡¯t his enemy but he most certainly was not Sora¡¯s friend. ¡°Just a small, insignificant little thing is what I want is all. What are you looking for?¡± ¡°Hastur¡± Sora followed Bacchi outside and walked with him to the wooden dummies. Slicer looked at his back and snorted, ¡°Never heard of it. Is it a type of cheese??¡± Sora stared at the wooden dummy and recognised a familiar face drawn on it. He only had to wait for four weeks and he would be a step closer towards his goal. He began to hit the dummy. No matter how long he waited if he reached his goal it would all be worth it in the end. Bacchi grunted and began to do the same. He had four weeks until he completed the dummy training and once he had he would fight Sora again and crush the beastman¡¯s head between his hands. Slicer took a final look at the two and went back inside. ¡°That rookie would have been an interesting guy. Too bad for him. He¡¯ll soon learn that you can¡¯t kiss the boss¡¯s girl without punishment.¡± Slicer sighed. He had given Sora the tip about basic training but he doubted it would help him much in the fight against the boss. When the boss got back from his mission he would kill the Sora until the rookie''s stats reached zero. Notice of Hiatus *Do not read past this point if you¡¯re looking for a fan fic chapter* Notice of Hiatus: City of Darkness Hello people that read my fan fic. Due to several reasons which include upcoming assignments, then upcoming exams and finally an upcoming overseas trip it is likely that I will be unable to write chapters on my ff¡¯s within a reasonable time frame. So instead of letting you all become slowly pissed off at the slow and inconsistent release, I will instead release a whole bunch of chapters constantly after 2 months of hiatus! Yayyy, now you all get to wait in suspense for two months instead of anger! To prevent people getting bored I may post side stories as we go along, but honestly the workload is too much for me to be able to write ff chapters in this environment. Remember people, I don¡¯t know how others do it, but I write my ff¡¯s based off of the dreams and adventures that not just you but also I wish existed and if it comes between satisfying deadlines or satisfying dreams I will always pick the latter because you can¡¯t create a meaningful ff if your being rushed. Stolen story; please report. See you guys in two months for City of Darkness chapters. Note: Anything posted in this period of two months is simply a side chapter and not part of the main storyline. Ps: If you''ve read this far then good for you! As a reward I will let you know that I am still writing the chapters as we go along but I will not be posting them, should you wish to see them in this time and you have a chatango acc (CoughCough Slimi CoughCough) then I might send you the unreleased chapter if you ask nicely, but only if I trust you and should *ANYONE* post the chapter as their own work then I will never give anyone a free look again :) At the same time you are free to hype people up without giving anything away.