《Delete by Shunnedanon》 Prologue - 1000 milliseconds
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Delete [WIP cover illustration] Author : Shu a.k.a. the frenglich writer Artist : Shu a.k.a. the wonder doge genre : adventure, action, RPG synopsis : Unfair, that would be what NPC think when they see the freedmen. They reap riches in impunity, not even risking their lives. Powerful, influential, immortal, they have everything. Slowly but surely, the vengeance unfolds. There is no escaping fate, especially for those who won¡¯t take it seriously. In this whirlpool of despair, Polly, the small, yet skilled phantom summoner will lull the curses of the past back to sleep. Fanfic TOC : http://www.royalroadl.com/fanfic/407 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Proofreaders : Atticus (a.k.a. Irondruid7), Fundle (a.k.a. MB) In the dead of the night, a boy roared from his gut. The boy, sullied with soil, squeezed a shovel with both his hands. His legs gave up from weariness, as he knelt in front of the hole he dug. In a fit of rage, he repeatedly struck the shovel on his forehead. ¡°Shit, shit, shit!¡± he would repeat as he banged the tool on himself. His forehead began to throb with pain. He stood and threw the shovel with anger into the hole. His hand reached towards the sheath fixated on his belt. He drew a curved dagger, a kukri. However, the dreaded window popped up in front of the boy.
You are suffering from a curse. You are unable to properly wield weapons except the source of the curse : Cursed shovel. Penalty on every other weapon : total damage reduced to 10%. Kukri (73->7)
The boy let out an exasperated sigh. He stared at the hole where he had thrown the shovel with disdain. Then, he jumped in the hole, disappearing into the darkness. Prologue : 1000 milliseconds The school was bustling with activity. The children were chatting and laughing here and there in the large halls of the school. The teenagers were heading to their club room, to do their favorite activities. Only one student, however, did not fit in the perfect picture of friendship and camaraderie. This student was Polly Summers. Her look radiated the air of an absent-minded person. Actually, the word ¡°radiated¡± would be an understatement in her case. Her appearance was literally shoving ¡°I am an airhead¡± message on whoever glanced at her. She had dishevelled long hair reaching her knees. Also, like many teenagers, wide glasses were resting on her nose. [1] Spoiler : http://sand.daar.free.fr/wp-content/polly-irl.jpg Polly was going home, thinking about how she would pass time on her way. ¡°Hi Polly, would you like to join us in our group study?¡± a student called out to Polly. Polly¡¯s mind was wrenched back to reality, like a bubble that had suddenly popped. ¡°Why? I don¡¯t need help to study,¡± Polly answered, tilting her head in confusion. The girl who had approached Polly was outraged. ¡°What? Just because you have top grade doesn¡¯t mean that you can ...Hmmph!¡± She was silenced and taken away by her friends before she could finish. ¡°Sorry Polly, we didn¡¯t mean to waste your time,¡± another girl from the group stayed back and apologized. ¡°No worry,¡± Polly said to the wind, as the girl had already left to join her friends. That said, she realized that she had become the center of attention of the nearby students. Even though they tried to be as quiet as possible, Polly could pick up some of their whispers. ¡°Isn¡¯t that girl a bit conceited?¡± ¡°Shhh! She¡¯ll hear you, she hears everything, idiot!¡± "Heh? Why would you think she''s conceited? She just looks like an airhead in my opinion," ¡°Actually, I have heard that, unless your grades are within 20% of her average score, she won¡¯t even talk to you!¡± ¡°Pffft, what the hell, doesn¡¯t that mean that you need at least 80%? haha¡± ¡°Wait, look at that airhead! Are you telling me that she¡¯s a genius?¡± "Don''t be fooled by her appearance," ¡°So cool, where do I sign up for her fanclub~?¡± ¡°Hehe¡­erm,¡± Polly let out an awkward repressed laugh at that last comment. She just looked like someone who randomly laughed alone. Nearby students slightly cringed at the weirdness. Polly didn¡¯t want to join any group studies. She was more interested in playing games. One of her current games was called Royal Road, a Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online action game, shortened VRMMO. In this fantasy virtual world, her consciousness was transferred into an avatar. This vessel allowed her to smell, taste and touch the environment. In this world, she had no limit, no restraint. She could push her virtual mind and body, far beyond the level of activity required by the boring tasks of real life. BUT, before playing anything, she had to walk to get back home. The way home had never been pleasant. Polly headed to the subway station. In order to kill time, she browsed on her reality augmented glass like she always did. She was reading while walking, splitting her attention between her surrounding and the manga that hooked her. She had walked for a few minutes already, when a warning appeared on her glass.
Warning #84, it is highly recommended to keep AR frame use to the minimum during displacements. Focus on the road is required in order to avoid accidents. - Cypher CTCA-493
The message was written over her browser page. Polly, surprised, observed the area. A looming shadow landed at her feet. Its dark metal coating shone under the sun. A quadruped robot was sitting, shaking vigorously its flexible tail. It was a robot dog, joyously barking at Polly. ¡°Woof!¡± ¡°Aw, sorry Shu! I almost forgot about you,¡± Polly said apologetically. She affectionately patted his neck as if it was a real dog. ¡°You¡¯re always there to look out for me,¡± ¡°Woof!¡± Spoiler : http://sand.daar.free.fr/wp-content/cypher.jpg Polly resumed her reading, and Cypher CTCA-493 was walking alongside her, the mechanical dog guiding her. Thanks to this artificial pet, she could indulge back into her manga. Time fled like an arrow. When she finished reading the latest chapters of her comics, she was already at home. She was in a spacious complex, something that you would expect for a rich family. Sitting on a sofa, she stretched. A relatively small man approached Polly and handed her a plate of colourful cookies. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Was school nice?¡± he asked as he returned to the kitchen. Polly nodded unconvincingly. She stuffed some cookies in her mouth. ¡°Oh, did you make those cookies, daddy?¡± The man sighed. ¡°You should hang out around your friends in a club, instead of wasting your time in games...¡± He looked back at the sofa, but Polly had already slipped away. She entered her bedroom. There were five massive pieces of furniture that occupied most of the place : A bed, a desk, a closet, a huge computer, and a virtual dive capsule. The capsule was like a big armchair, surrounded by a casing. It was an interface device that revolutionized the world, allowing one¡¯s mind to completely merge with a computer. Aside from those bulky apparatuses, the room¡¯s decoration was kept at a minimum. Only few photographs of her family were hanging in a corner of a wall. Most of them included her brother. Polly approached the computer. Shu, her artificial pet, was huddled at the feet of the central unit of her computer. It was on sleep mode, with its tail connected to it. When Polly brushed past the computer, the dog slightly opened his eyes lazily and went immediately back to sleep. She went straight to the capsule. She sat inside the chair, too big for her, and laid down. She closed the capsule door, and a built-in keyboard on the door appeared. A small screen displayed the command lines she was entering. The light inside the capsule shut down, and a countdown appeared on the screen.
5¡­
4...
3¡­
2¡­
1¡­
Welcome to Unidos - vesper edition
Polly appeared in a blank room filled with floating monitors and screens. Shu, which was in sleep mode in the real world, was virtually guarding the control room. His avatar joyously barked at Polly. ¡°Shu, launch Royal Road client quick start, please,¡± The avatar of the dog, and the screens disappeared. The room was completely bare. Polly felt a change in her sensations. A transparent window appeared, displaying messages as the game was loading.
[16:32] Adjusting coordinates¡­ weight¡­ gravity vector¡­ body control parameters¡­ body feedback offset¡­ Transfer in 1000ms...
Polly spawned in the middle of a forest, skipping the normal steps when connecting to the VRMMO. Her avatar in Royal Road was almost identical to her real life body. She didn¡¯t grow taller, she didn¡¯t have a bigger chest, her face didn¡¯t change. Her physical attribute didn¡¯t change except for one thing. She had beast ears on her head. She had become a werecat. She was hiding these ears behind her head band. It blended with her gothic lolita outfit, which was her mage robe, and her umbrella, which acted as her magic implement. Getting up from a makeshift bed, she put the bed back into her bag. ¡°Nightwraith, I am back. Come here!¡± she shouted. A bulky, muscular figure wrapped in tattered pitch black cape appeared from the shadow of the forest. His face was completely hidden under his hood, but horns pierced through it. He hurriedly came to Polly as soon as she called. The servitor, Nightwraith, saw the huge bag and picked it up with his black scaly hands. He grumbled a little as the bag was heavy and overflowing with randomly picked loots. He began to walk away, carrying the bag on his wide shoulders. Can Nightwraith carry this bag alone, though? Polly pondered, worried. As he noticed that Polly watched him doubtfully, he gave her a thumb up and a nod. Spoiler : http://sand.daar.free.fr/wp-content/lol-nightwraith2.png ¡°Haha, that¡¯s my servant,¡± Polly complimented. During their walk, Polly continued to chat and compliment Nightwraith, who simply nodded at everything she said. Nightwraith led the way, courteously keeping the flora aside for Polly¡¯s passage. A rattling noise invited itself during their forest excursion. It became progressively louder as water began to pour through the thick canopy above their heads. Fortunately, Polly used an umbrella instead of a magic staff. That was probably the only occasion where a magician wouldn¡¯t make fun of her for preferring an umbrella to a staff. As they went deeper into the vegetation, the light became dimmer. A mysterious mist filled the air, probably because of the rain that was pouring. The duo was used to going through that part of the forest, and Polly kept the trip lively. ¡°Did you hear Nightwraith? Someone told me that there were zombies in this area. But we have never encountered one, right? Maybe they are just rumors because this forest is called the Grave Copse. Isn¡¯t it the perfect mood to encounter a zombie though? hehehehe... But, it¡¯s true that we have never seen a grave- ouch,¡± Polly bumped into Nightwraith¡¯s back. He had suddenly stopped in his track, and let his bag drop to the ground. ¡°What is it?¡± Polly asked. Nightwraith cautiously moved forward. Polly caught a glimpse of a boy lying on the ground. A shovel was planted on the ground, next to the boy. The servant swept away the shovel that was in his way, and crouched close to the body to check it. As he grabbed the boy¡¯s shoulder, a spark of consciousness was instilled in the unfortunate boy. The latter mustered all his strength to raise his head. Rain was pouring and soaking every corner of his body. He felt cold. He didn¡¯t understand what was happening. The haze was surrounding his body and mind. And finally, through his blurry eyes, he saw a petite silhouette, the silhouette of his savior. [1] : Laser treatment for eye isn¡¯t recommended on young patients. Therefore, teenagers still use glasses. Author¡¯s note : Spoiler : The pathetic word count : 1800 words. Hi, it¡¯s my first fanfic. Hope you will like it. It''s supposed to be a relatively short fanfic (as a training for longer fanfic). The general setting is somewhat dystopiaish and based on Android: NetRunner.Though, it won''t be a crucial point in "Delete", but the longer story I would like to write. Also, Polly is certainly a major character in "Delete", but I don''t really consider her as the main character. (Someone forced me to mention a character in the summary ;_;) I will try to put several drawings for each chapters. I find comical situations to be much more easier to express with drawings than words. Edit : Yes, I added horns to Nightwraith. Why? Because horns are cool!!
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Chapter 1 - Shunned Freedman
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Proofreaders (1st part) : Kanadaj, NYAHAHAHAHA (a.k.a Ramzicmain), Poofriders : LaDenouement (a.k.a. LD, a.k.a. Onion Soup a.k.a something shu doesn¡¯t particularly hate a lot) Chapter 1 : Shunned Freedman Polly looked at the disintegrating blank room. She felt the world tilting dangerously. Her senses were screaming at her that she was going to fall on her back. Soon after, she was staring at the ceiling of a shabby inn room. Polly was now connected to Royal Road. ¡°Gnnnhfua?!¡± A black panther leapt onto Polly¡¯s virtual body and squeezed the air out of her lungs. ¡°Why, you!¡± She flipped the black panther away, chasing it from the cozy bed where she was resting. ¡°Hm, strange. It¡¯s so warm,¡± she pondered. She looked at her side and saw a boy sharing the blanket with her, along with a bit of ...warmth as he was naked? ¡°What the-!¡± she shrieked. Taken aback, she panicked and fell from the bed head first. She quickly got up, rubbing her aching head. Another unexpected situation assaulted Polly. She was patting her robe back into place when she realized that she wasn¡¯t wearing her usual gothic lolita robe. Instead, she was wearing a maid costume. ¡°Oh, my precious chastity? You still here?¡± She wondered. Polly looked at the boy more attentively. She reflexively readjusted her non-existent glasses to see better. If she had them, the glasses would glint maliciously. Polly didn¡¯t strip the boy, so she was surprised. It seems that when the inn owner shoved the unconscious boy on the bed, she took the chance to strip the boy to dry his soaked clothes. How thoughtful. The boy wasn¡¯t exactly naked, actually. He still had underwear and badly applied bandages wrapping him. It couldn¡¯t be helped that it was badly done since it was raining and dark. He would probably have survived even without bandages anyway¡­ She then noticed that the naked youth was still unconscious. Obviously, Polly had the mind of a maiden. She didn¡¯t read that many weird pieces of fiction that involved ardent bishounen rubbing their bodies against each other. Of course not, Polly wasn¡¯t that much into that¡­ Which was why she couldn¡¯t help but feast her eyes upon his bare chest with innocent curiosity when she realized the boy was defenceless. He was rather tall for a boy. Polly gave him around 3 more years than her, which would be around 18 years old? So, referring to him as a man, rather than a boy, would be correct. He had gray, messy, long hair, a rather good face, and a body that was rather thin. It lacked some muscle. He didn¡¯t have the dreamy pectorals, but the face compensated for that. Oh, but it was decent enough for Polly. Decent for what, exactly? Who knows... If you were to ask her opinion, she would tell you 7/10. However, the way she rates people is unknown¡­ And in the first place, it was easy to obtain good looks in the game. Just get some points in charisma, and you¡¯re set. ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s right. I remember now.¡± She had encountered an unconscious man in the forest she crossed. The Grave Corpse - not knowing whether he was a player or NPC, she had dragged him away by pulling his feet. She had roamed under the endless rain for an hour. They ended up at the only inn of the village, where the owner of the inn lent them a room for couples due to a misunderstanding. The inn owner and the maid were acquaintances of Polly, and offered her a bath and a change of clothes, which was why Polly ended up in a maid costume. Polly patted the black panther. ¡°Penthesilea, he didn¡¯t do anything, right?¡± The big feline rubbed her face on Polly¡¯s chest, asking to be patted. ¡°Great, thanks for watching over me.¡± Polly said a magic formula and Penthesilea vanished in a purple smoke. The Panther was an animal spirit summon. They formed a contract together when Polly was a Spirit Summoner. Even though Polly had changed her class to Umbra Summoner, her animal summoning skill was still available, but it stopped leveling up. She took her robe that was drying next to the man¡¯s clothes. She changed her clothes cautiously, wary that the man was faking unconsciousness. ¡°... You better line up some money when I come back.¡± Polly expected rewards for her good actions. With her full magician set, she was back as a goth loli. She arrived downstairs into the main room of the inn. It was strangely lively. ¡°Oooooi, Dilys! Bring me an ale and your nice butt too! HA HA HA HA!¡± An old customer, who looked like a beggar, shouted out to the maid. Dilys made an awkward smile to the boorish customer and readjusted her precious hair brooch. A large, ominous figure suddenly loomed behind the customer. ¡°Uh-oh,¡± the beggar felt the murderous intent directed at him. The whole inn immediately fell silent. He turned and saw the owner¡¯s angry stare. The owner was over 2 metres tall (6.5 feet). One of the owner¡¯s leather sandals was quickly hammering the ground in irritation. The leg¡¯s muscular thigh and calf were bulging, baring their curves. A long tail was trembling with overflowing anger. Large arms were crossed over large pectorals, and muscular eyebrows were frowning in an intense glare. Spoiler : BUT, YES! Dun dun dun! The owner was a SHE! A proud member of the Sayian Weregorilla race. Truly, her over-developed biceps were misleading. If it wasn¡¯t for her maid costume and her poor attempt at using make-up, nobody would be able to guess her gender. ¡°Haha, Momo, don¡¯t be jeal-¡± The beggar was cut short. He was sent flying elegantly across the room and exiting the inn with utmost style as his flying body broke through a window. He crashed loudly outside, landing on muddy ground. The beggar managed this beautiful figure of flying thanks to the strength of Momo, who had violently grabbed and thrown him with all her might. ¡°I told you not to embarrass Dilys for the umpteenth time this morning! Go away!¡± Momo roared, making the whole inn shiver. The old man got up and threw a glance through the broken window. ¡°Tch,¡± he spat, sullied in mud. He wobbled away. Dilys¡¯ dog tail was sticking out of a hole in her skirt. Polly grabbed it. ¡°Aaanhh~~? Poly¡¯?! Stop it!¡± Dilys begged with teary eyes. What the, isn¡¯t your reaction too much? Polly scratched her cat ears. Incidentally, they were in the queendom of Formoriah, the territory of the beast race of Royal Road. Polly was a werecat, and Dilys, a weredog. Polly handed Dilys a folded set of clothes. ¡°Thank you, Dilys, but as expected, the chest area is too loose for me,¡± Polly said bitterly. Dilys blushed and took it. ¡°Oh! Polly¡¯!¡± Momo called out to the small player, ¡°Come here! It¡¯s been a while, tell us about your trip.¡± Momo invited Polly to the free table, left vacant by the beggar that was kicked out. Polly sat obediently and Dilys brought some alcoholic beverages to Momo and Polly. ¡°Hehe, be amazed! I went to Amberstell and performed an ascension ritual. I released two of my servant ghosts,¡± Polly announced cheerfully. Polly was an Umbra Summoner. An Umbra Summoner fulfilled the duty to exorcise haunting spirits. However, they didn¡¯t forcefully erase the ghosts. Rather, they sympathized and helped them. In compensation, Umbra Summoners had the ability to subjugate those ghosts to complete the ascension ritual. Polly chose this class for its symbolic meaning. Whether it¡¯s a NPC or a real person, death is terrible, Polly thought. Helping those spirits come to term with their own deaths was the least she could do. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Oooh! That¡¯s great! Wasn¡¯t one of your servants a child, too? So he finally left, huh?¡± Momo was deep in thought. ¡°Yeah, he was a prodigious archer.¡± A hint of loneliness appeared on Polly¡¯s face as she nodded. ¡°Ah! But, I also got two new servants! They are both proud women, haha!¡± ¡°Come to think of it, you also got a boy too. What about him?¡± Momo asked, moving her face closer to Polly. Polly simply explained to Momo what happened. ¡°Huh? So you just found him half-unconscious on your way here and picked him up?¡± Momo asked in a surprised tone. She had an expression on her face saying something like ¡°How lucky!!¡± Polly beamed proudly as if she had stumbled on a treasure chest. ¡°Yeah, I carried him myself, ufufufu!¡± She bragged while showing off her non-existent biceps. Actually, it was Nightwraith who carried him. ¡°Hmm¡­ So, he is not Polly¡¯s companion¡­¡± Momo muttered, deep in thoughts. ¡°Those from the human race are rare here. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen one! I would even say that¡­ He is rather cute,¡± Momo blushed and looked away like a maiden. ¡°?!??!¡± Polly leapt back, staring at Momo. But she¡¯s a were-gorilla! The way she acts is way too creepy with her appearance! ¡°Come to think of it, were you the one who stripped him naked?¡± Polly asked. ¡°Hehehe, I guess so. Oh, I am such a sinful woman, hahaha¡­¡± Momo said shaking her head, holding her cheeks. If it were a comedy manga scene, blood would splurt from Polly¡¯s mouth. Urgh, I can¡¯t even imagine what she did with his body while he was logged off¡­ No wait, can NPC even do dirty things with AFK players?! Spoiler : Oops there''s blood. Royalroad isn''t a PEGI-13 game anymore!? Polly remembered Momo¡¯s previous attempts to seduce male customers. ¡°D-don¡¯t rape me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m too ugly, spare me!¡± ¡°Momo! I love you only as a friend!¡± or something like this. Momo would do absolutely anything for her lover. Though it usually ended with her actively bullying the poor fellows. Ahah, those were good times. So, he¡¯s her new victim, right? Polly coughed. ¡°Do you want him as a body pillow? I¡¯ll trade him for Dilys, ufufufufu,¡± she let an ominous laugh. As Polly suggested the outrageous exchange, both of them looked at Dilys. The waitress was being harassed by a clingy player. Damn it, we don¡¯t watch over you for five seconds and you¡¯re already being hit on??!!? ¡°Haha, come on, come on! I¡¯m so bored, there¡¯s no decent player to recruit for a party in this shabby inn,¡± a brat was pulling Dilys¡¯ skirt. A couple of players were talking to the brat, but got ignored. More like, nobody wants to party with you, Polly commented mentally. ¡°Let¡¯s go, big sis,¡± the player told his companion as they looked down on the brat, as if he was some cockroach. They eventually left him. ¡°Hmpf, the girl was fine, but that boy had to come ruining everything!¡± The obnoxious brat pissed everyone off. He forcefully pulled Dilys arm toward him and groped her. Polly¡¯s hair bristled. I¡¯m the only one allowed to grope her! The NPCs around were grumbling, glaring at the boy. ¡°Fucking brat¡­¡± ¡°Why do all freedmen behave like shit?¡± ¡°Sweet Freya, if we did something like that, we would immediately be kicked out by Momo.¡± ¡°Raaah, I wish I was immortal too.¡± ¡°Hey! What are you fucking looking at?!¡± The brat roared. ¡°If you have balls, stand up and come! Though, whether I get beaten or not, I would just burn you and your family in your precious house as soon as I respawn! HAHA!¡± The player was shouting at the villagers. ¡°Urgh!¡± ¡°...!¡± The villagers averted their gazes. They didn¡¯t want to risk attracting the wrath of an immortal freedman, blessed by gods, and also known as player. Momo, however, stood up. ¡°What the heck are you doing in my inn?¡± She asked him with a menacing air. ¡°...PUHAHAHAHA! You do have balls!¡± He roared in laughter. ¡°What are you? A friggin¡¯ transsex-...¡± He was making fun of Momo¡¯s manly maid appearance, however, that was as far as Momo¡¯s patience went. She slapped him. He flew away like a rag doll and sprawled out onto the floor. ¡°What! How dare you!?¡± The brat was outraged. He rubbed his neck that had taken some damage when Momo slapped him on the cheek. ¡°My line exactly,¡± Momo kicked him. ¡°Ouch! Hey! Stop!¡± The boy interjected as he was beaten to a pulp by Momo. The whole inn laughed at him and cheered for the inn owner. The player couldn¡¯t do anything. He tried drawing his sword but Momo was an experienced fighter. Even Dilys, who was a docile waitress, cheered for the outburst of violence. Tears began to swell up in the brat¡¯s eyes. ¡°Hahaha! Serves him right!¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you get for messing with my Dilys,¡± Polly shout. Finally, the boy couldn¡¯t take the humiliation anymore and ran away. Outside, the ground was muddy. A heavy rain had fallen on the whole forest. The boy didn¡¯t pay attention to the step at the inn entrance and crashed onto the dirty soil in panic. ¡°Sniff¡­ Shit!¡± The boy looked back at the inn. They were making fun of him. He ran away from the inn and slipped on the mud. ¡°Oh, are you okay, boy?¡± A villager reached out to him, but the obnoxious player slapped away the helping hand, and walked away without the NPC¡¯s help. ¡°Aaaah, damn. I was supposed to recruit other players in the inn,¡± the battered boy moaned as he kicked a pile of firewood on his way. Humiliated, he took shelter in the woods. I¡¯ll make you pay, he swore. BONUS : As an apology for the lack of drawing, here¡¯s a bonus drawing of Polly in game. Spoiler : Author note : Spoiler : The pathetic wordcount : 2.5k You might be wondering how everything so far is related to the summary. Well I guess this is only the first chapter, so it is to be expected. Whereas the prologue was setting Polly¡¯s IRL background, this chapter gives a glimpse of Polly¡¯s IG background. She has In-game friends, i.e. her servants and the NPC. It also introduces some tension to player/NPC relationship. Well, that¡¯s it. My english, and narrative skills are a bit bland, that¡¯s why I can¡¯t thank my PR enough for trying to correct this. Thanks to Kanadaj, LD, and Ramz for the PR (especially LD who PRed everything thoroughly). Thanks to people supporting me on the chatango such as Sieg, Vara, nls, Imi, MB, Exn, etc. *coughs* Also, I''d like to remind you that I''ll try to keep the story as shortest as possible.
Previous chapter : Fanfic TOC : Next chapter : "A-actually, don''t read the next chapter, baka!" Polly exclaimed.
Chapter 2a - Unavoidable Confrontation
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Proofreaders : LD, Ramzicmain, Kanadaj Chapter 2a : Unavoidable confrontation
[10:12 - Royal Road] [20:31 - GMT+1]
Polly stealthily checked the virtual clock displayed in the upper right part of her sight. RoyalRoad interface displayed the real-life time in order to let the players keep their responsibilities. However, Polly wasn¡¯t concerned by her real-life responsibilities. She was just a bit tired of Momo¡¯s rant about her love life. Momo sighed, ¡°Dilys has too much success. Every man I find to my taste ends up courting her.¡± She wiped her moist eyes. Despite her jealousy for her waitress, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to hate Dilys. Their relationship was similar to a mother and daughter. Momo, Polly and Dilys were discussing peacefully in the idle inn. Some players remained to chill out or find parties. The peak of activity had already passed, so Momo and Dilys wanted to spend time with their adventurer friend. During the three hours following a certain incident involving a player and Dilys, Polly and Momo exhausted their stock of discussion subjects. Then, the subject became Dilys and how she was attracting a lot of problems. ¡°KABOOM!¡± A loud noise resounded throughout the village. Polly felt the ground vibrate. ¡°Kyaaaaaaaaah!!!¡± A woman let out a desperate wail outside the inn. ¡°!? What¡¯s going on?¡± The customers and players who were lazing around began to make a ruckus. ¡°Dilys, go hide in the basement. I will go check outside with Polly,¡± Momo quickly ordered Dilys around. Then, she fetched her sword from under the counter. Huh? Sure, ok. Don¡¯t ask for my opinion, lol, Polly thought. ¡°BOOOM!¡± Another crushing sound made the ground shake. A bunch of villagers passed by the inn, running at full speed. Then suddenly, someone barged into the inn. ¡°Everyone run! It¡¯s a Posho king! It has already destroyed two houses!¡± The villager exclaimed with a ghastly expression. ¡°Someone please help!¡± Every nearby player received the same quest notification. Ting! You received the following quest :
Quest : Protect the village. Time limit : Until the village is completely destroyed. Reward : Experience, Fame
It¡¯s unusual. Normally, the hunters in the village are enough to repel stray beasts. ¡°Let¡¯s go, sis!¡± An enthusiastic young swordsman told a female mage. ¡°Hmpf?!¡± The mage was stuffing breakfast in her mouth when the swordsman forcefully grabbed her and dragged her outside. Momo headed towards the exit. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to force yourself,¡± Polly warned while leaving the inn with her. Momo was a NPC. Death was normally irreversible for NPC. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even though I look like this, I was a warrior once.¡± ¡°Yeah? You¡¯re better suited to be a security guard in the inn, though,¡± ¡°Ahah, does it have to do with fighting? Well, I couldn¡¯t imagine doing something else than fighting either. In this period of peace, I am glad to find something else to do,¡± Momo nodded as they approached the loud noise. ¡°I have to protect my inn, and the village that accepted me,¡± Momo resolved herself. ¡°It can be helped, then. Let¡¯s help together,¡± Polly sighed. Which servant should I use? Polly was thinking as they both walked towards the epicenter of the ruckus. Polly¡¯s class, a.k.a Umbra Summoner, normally possessed 100 control points. Those points were distributed equally between summoned units. Every summon had their own control point requirement, depending on level difference, intimacy, intelligence, innate power¡­ Failing to fill the control condition would result in various problems: Control points above 100% of the required amount: The summon would be completely submissive. Between 75% and 100: The summon might or might not follow the orders of the summoner. Under 75%: The summon might harm its master. Under 50%: The summoning would fail. Also, multi-summoning decreased the power of each summon. I have 103 control points. Nightwraith requires 30 control points, Dusklash requires 70 and Grievespera requires 80 control points. If I summon two servants, I won¡¯t be able to control both... And Nightwraith will be weaker than if I keep him alone. They saw a cloud of dust behind a street. The enemy was close. ¡°Let¡¯s party. Also, I need a moment to summon,¡± Polly told Momo. The latter nodded and stopped. Momo entered into Polly¡¯s party, and they were able to see each other¡¯s HP. Offering her right hand forward, Polly recited the magical formula, ¡°Evil yet corrected, the broken wheel of fate ought to turn again. Wretched soul of the underworld, rise and struggle. Heed my call, Nightwraith. Come forth!¡± Spoiler : As soon Polly pronounced the first sentence, a magic circle began to appear in front of her. Polly¡¯s right wrist was engulfed in a black flame. After she finished the formula and the magic circle was complete, the bracelet around Polly¡¯s right wrist disappeared. A darkness appeared and expanded inside the magic circle. Nightwraith rose from the shadow. His eyes ignited with a red spark after being completely released from the shadow. Spoiler : Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.¡°Uoooh!!¡± The young swordsman, who rushed headfirst with his sis¡¯, got thrown in front of Polly, Momo and Nightwraith. A female mage ran after the swordsman, picked him up and ran away for her life. ¡°INSTANT KILL?!¡± Polly and the rest turned their heads. Between two cottages, they saw a wild boar the size of a monster truck. It wielded immense tusks, and its dark eyes glinted with an ominous light. Bulging veins were scattered around its face as its snout puffed. It seemed a bit angry. He charged towards the group. The group, in shock, watched it run towards them with a surprising speed. The monster truck boar didn¡¯t fit in the clearance between the two cottages, but it wasn¡¯t a problem for Posho King. Spoiler : ¡°Brabrabrabrabra!¡± A loud rattling came from the walls of the houses, destroyed by the majestic boar. ¡°SCATTER!¡± Momo shouted. ¡°Transfer Pain!¡± Polly activated her defensive ability, transferring a portion of the damage received to her servant. It constantly consumed mana, so she quickly deactivated the spell after the Posho King grazed her. Everyone had jumped to the side and successfully avoided being impaled. However, everyone sustained some damage. The Posho King pulverized a cottage at the end of his charge. ¡°T-this isn¡¯t something we can defeat!¡± Polly shouted to Momo. Even so, Momo gritted her teeth and braced herself. Polly imitated her. ¡°Nightwraith, Momo! I will try to summon a support! I¡¯m counting on you!¡± Polly warned and retreated a bit. She didn¡¯t know whether the summon would support them¡­ or the Posho King. However, as they were, they would die with their current team composition. Grievespera was an elf that turned into a banshee. She had become Polly¡¯s latest servant, and her voice carried support class abilities. Even though she wasn¡¯t limited to, her specialty included amplifying the regeneration or attack rating of her allies through songs. This characteristic of Grievespera made her a rare and valuable summon. However, Polly¡¯s available control points wasn¡¯t enough to control both her and Nightwraith at the same time. Where is everyone? I¡¯m positive there were players in the inn and lots of hunters and lumberjacks in the village! Stars danced around Posho king¡¯s head. He wavered a bit and then, shook his head to clear his confusion. Surely, he wouldn¡¯t be unscathed after his furious charge. He saw Polly reciting a spell, and focused on her. He jogged towards her without charging. ¡°PAH!¡± Momo and Nightwraith grabbed the two tusks of the oversized boar during his quick advance. Momo¡¯s veins were bulging with effort. Her face was all red and her arms trembled. As Polly finished chanting her spell, the bandages wrapping her left arm were eaten away by a black fire. A magic circle formed in front of Polly and a pitch black figure rose from the shadows. It was Grievespera. Polly shuddered at her dreadful appearance - long silky black hair dripped with unsightly darkness. Her eyes were covered in a black bandage, and black tears seemed to flow from under the black blindfold. Though her body was almost entirely in black, the bottom of her face had immaculately white skin. Her crimson lips formed a bewitching smile while her legs were floating under the tattered robe. Spoiler : Her arms were sealed on her chest as a spear pierced both her arm and her heart. However, it wasn¡¯t enough for Polly not to notice the size of the big hidden hills on Grievespera¡¯s chest. Wait for it Polly, one day...I¡¯ll grow too. ¡°Grievespera, please help us protect the village! Use a support song to help us,¡± Polly begged the banshee. Regardless of whatever happened, Polly began to cast a spell. However, the ghost snorted. She didn¡¯t want to abide Polly¡¯s order. At least, she didn¡¯t decide to fight Polly. The cheeky elf banshee averted her face, her chin held high. Bonus : I have added a drawing in chapter 1. Spoiler : Author note : Spoiler : The pathetic word count : 1.5k This partial chapter prepares the setting for the village. Drawing & writing is hard ;_; I''m open to criticism, so don''t hesitate please. Precise commentary would be greatly appreciated xD.
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Chapter 2b - Poshos love triangle
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Proofreaders : LD Chapter 2b : Posho''s love triangle In front of this defiant attitude, something bloomed in the Posho King. He understood. His gleaming eyes turned into heart shapes. You could say that it was love at first sight. Only such a noble attitude could fit for a king of his stature. That, and the fact that she decided not to help kill him. As if the Posho King wanted to show off his strength to the blackened elf, he focused all his strength and violently shook his tusks. ¡°BAM!¡± Both Momo and Nightwraith were projected like cannon balls, flying towards new horizons. The huge boar approached the banshee, drooling. Grievespera had retreated behind Polly. She was simply watching, amused. Polly was the only one left standing. Nightwraith and Momo seemed to be knocked out from the attack. Polly¡¯s blood boiled. She was filled with adrenaline. She liked difficult battles, where she could throw her mind away. Surrendering to her berserker impulses, she lunged at the enemy in front of her. However, information was power. Polly knew that as long as she didn¡¯t know the pattern of the enemy, fighting back would be too dangerous. All she could do was dodge around, and let her mind and body naturally register the timing of the Posho King¡¯s attacks. ¡°Werecat instinct!¡± Polly activated her racial skill. It temporarily increased her agility, and lasted for five minutes or until she attacked. ¡°ROAAAAR!¡± The boar was frustrated. The Posho King was a low level small boss that was supposed to be defeated by a group of 4 to 6 people around level 80. Even though Polly was around level 90, a light attack from the boar would easily reduce Polly¡¯s health bar by ?. However, that had meaning only if the Posho King managed to land a hit. Polly danced around him, not letting him land one attack. His attacks were precise and unexpectedly quick. His first attack would be slow to start, but the follow up would be as quick as a light weapon attack. A variation of rhythm that turned out to be unforgiving for people who looked down on the boss¡¯ speed. When Polly tried to circle to his back, he began to attack with his hooves. He tried to roll sideways a few times to crush Polly, but no matter what happened, it seemed that the monster truck beast didn¡¯t have a real AOE. *** Nightwraith woke up in a house. Grumbling, he extracted himself out of the cottage¡¯s ruins. He then saw a pair of children hiding under rubbles that miraculously shielded them. They were shaking uncontrollably underneath it as they looked at the ghost. Next to them, a lifeless body of a woman was buried under the remains of the roof. Only her broken arms were visible. The sturdy Nightwraith survived the fall. Ironically, the people at the landing site did not. Spoiler : *** Polly decided to go on the offensive, as no useful ally was in sight after almost fifteen minutes of battle. At that point, her Werecat Instinct had already worn off. The safety margin between the Posho King¡¯s attacks and Polly¡¯s evasions gradually decreased. The boss seemed to get used to Polly¡¯s moves, but Polly got used to the boss¡¯ pattern. ¡°Ethereal greatsword,¡± she activated her spell. Countless black shards materialized in front of Polly. They gathered at the tip of her umbrella, forming a very lengthy immaterial blade. The spell was the summoner¡¯s counterpart of the necromancer¡¯s Dark Lance. However, Ethereal greatswords couldn¡¯t be thrown like Dark Lances. It was the moment the boss waited for. As soon as Polly began her spell, the Posho King charged. Polly¡¯s body reacted before her mind did. She simply threw herself to the side, but she was still in the boss¡¯ path. As Polly was mid air, she twisted her body. ¡°Occult flare!!¡± The vacant space in front of her left hand exploded in a surge of black flames. The shockwave was strong enough to propulse Polly away from the path of the charge. Using this attacking spell for mobility was not its standard function, but Polly liked to distort the use of her skills. As the boss passed near Polly, she slashed the monster with her black umbrella-sword. Spoiler : Spoiler : The Posho king braked when he saw Polly outside of his attack range. Since the cottage was already destroyed, he didn¡¯t knock himself into it. He quickly turned towards Polly, waiting for a chance to counterattack. She wasn¡¯t very experienced with her new class, Umbra Summoner. Still, she already had thought of a bunch of strategies, from when she fought with easy opponents. ¡°...Scarlet threads,¡± Polly cast a spell. Her left fingers glowed with a scarlet light. She ran and slid under the Posho king. With an umbrella in her right hand and five red sparks fluttering from her left hand, she reached the King¡¯s hindlegs. ¡°!!¡± The Posho King jumped on his hind legs. Polly got smashed by the Posho King¡¯s butt, completely emptying out and smashing her lungs. If it was the real world, Polly¡¯s ribcage would be in crumbles. Fortunately, using Transfer Pain she had still ? of her life remaining, from a grazing charge and a butt crush. GROSS! Polly was surprised that the boss had the ability to jump, considering its weight. Actually, anyone would be. Grievespera applauded when Polly got crushed, even though the female ghost had received a large proportion of the damage through Transfer Pain. Why do you applaud, Bitc*?! Polly crawled away from the Posho King, as her virtual body didn¡¯t respond very well from the shock. She sweated profusely as the Posho King¡¯s shadow grew bigger on her, but unexpectedly, something else caught his attention. ¡°...aaaaa-!!¡± A shout was heard from a far distance and one could feel an incredible pressure and killing intent from this warcry. A small speck was raising a cloud of dust. As the Posho King began to lose interest in Polly, he squinted to see the source of the ruckus. ¡°...aaAAAAAAAAAA-!¡± As the speck grew bigger, the intensity of the warcry increased. A long sword at hand, a bulky warrior ran at an incredible speed, that was accumulated from a ridiculously long course. The lone warrior was scantily clad, for a worn-out maid uniform was all she wore. ¡°Momo!¡± Polly shouted, astonished. ¡°YAAAAAAH!¡± The Posho King made an upward strike with his tusk. Momo¡¯s speed was faster than expected as she was already in the air when the tusk began to move, her blade already buried into the Posho King¡¯s head. The Posho King charged at a cottage as Momo was on his head. Momo needed to get off. The easily extracted sword left a red glowing hole on the Posho King¡¯s 3D model. However, she was stuck during the sudden burst of acceleration from the boar. Momo became lost in the rubbles of the destroyed house. Polly ran to dig her out and treat her wound with bandage. But thanks to that, the boss lost interest in those two. Grievespera suddenly started sweating a lot. The Posho King closed on Grievespera. She trembled when the Posho King licked her. Needless to say, she was absolutely disgusted. She grimaced towards Polly, meaning something like, ¡°W-What are you doing!? Release me already!¡± Polly smirked. She shrugged and shook her head. Good luck with your new boyfriend, haha! Grievespera let out an high pitched otherworldly wail. Highly compressed layers of air suddenly burst out in a small radius around her. It destroyed the nearest house wall. The Posho King staggered. His eyes had a new resolution. He understood that he wouldn¡¯t easily take his (proclaimed) queen away. He backed away to get a run-up and knock her unconscious with a charge. Soon after, the giant boar accelerated towards his beloved. If only he knew that Grievespera would merely fade away when she ran out of energy. A shadow jumped on Grievespera before the Posho King reached her and disappeared in a cloud of dust born from the Posho¡¯s charge. It dissipated, and what he saw was Nightwraith carrying the banshee like a princess. Spoiler : Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. The elf banshee had her mouth agape, surprised by Nightwraith¡¯s chivalrous act. Then she averted her face and fidgeted as he put her on the ground. Oi! Why are you acting all flustered??? What¡¯s with this development?!, Polly thought. Cuteness OVERLOAAAAD! Momo thought. Nightwraith threw his cloak back, as it turned out to be a cape. It revealed a black, corrupted armor. The chestplate harbored an half-erased insignia of the queendom of Formoriah - a crowned bird. Chains were wrapping around Nightwraith¡¯s armor. He slowly raised his right hand and pointed at the boar. Then, he slowly turned it upside down, and stuck out his thumb. Spoiler : You better not disappoint us after that, Polly thought as she was fiddling with her spells behind the Posho King. From the sidelines, Grievespera was totally mesmerized by the confident knight. Spoiler : The NTR¡¯ed boar let out a cry of pain. He shook away the tears in his eyes. His heart was completely shattered. He will get revenge on the brash armored ghost. ¡°Ancient spirit, remember your heroic past. Steel your mind, and wield your brave blade. Ultimate servitor, Nightwraith!¡± Polly shouted the last sentence. A shadow appeared in front of Nightwraith. He immediately reacted to his master¡¯s voice and grabbed the shadow. A giant black scythe materialized out of the hand. His eyes were gleaming like a blue flame. Spoiler : Like the phantoms serving Polly, the scythe was darkened. It oozed out a black smoke as a symbol of its ephemeral nature. The blade still reflected the sunlight. Nightwraith readied his scythe as the Posho King prepared to impale him. ¡°Scarlet threads!¡± Polly snapped her fingers. Numerous red threads appeared and closed on the boar, leaving no escape for the prey. It tied the boar¡¯s lower half tightly, squeezing the hind legs and his butt. Additionally, Polly made sure to coil Scarlet threads around the boar¡¯s male parts. Critical hit. ¡°UAAAAAAARGH!!!¡± The Posho King cried again. The threads buried into the animal flesh, slicing it without mercy. However, even though the threads sliced thoroughly the monster, its limbs weren¡¯t severed. Such was the game system. If a blade didn¡¯t have enough attack rating, it would only leave a red trail that would quickly disappear on the attacked body. So, if you were to gouge out a monster¡¯s heart with a butter knife, you wouldn¡¯t kill it. Only a powerful attack could scar a virtual body. The Posho¡¯s powerful legs lost all strength and his chin hit the ground. Nightwraith jumped on the King¡¯s head. He buried his scythe into the Posho¡¯s cheek, and firmly pulled on his scythe, splitting the beast¡¯s eye with his skill Demon Splitter. Grievespera howled a wind spell that cut the Posho¡¯s other eye. The wounded animal tried to shake Nightwraith off, who was mounting its head. Momo slashed the boar¡¯s side. Polly threw another spell, aiming with her umbrella. A large magic pentagram appeared beneath the boss, a hex designed to lower strength afflicted the poor boar. Spoiler : ¡°Let¡¯s go all out!¡± Polly shouted. They were smacking the boss in an unsightly manner as he was momentarily bound by the scarlet thread. In the midst of the brutal assault, Nightwraith managed to perform a break-off on the Posho King¡¯s eye, through the Demon Splitter skill. A break-off happens when you damage a specific part of a boss, like a tail, a wing, an eye, a tusk, a horn, etc. You could impair the boss and obtain more loot. Nightwraith had damaged the Posho¡¯s eye, and that was an unexpectedly good thing. The boss wouldn¡¯t be able to see through his left eye anymore, until after he rested. ¡°Ooooooh! Let¡¯s do it!¡± The villagers who were watching from a safe distance suddenly appeared. They strafed the monster truck boar with their bows while lumberjacks charged forward with their axes. The scarlet threads effect wore off. Regaining his composure, the Posho King jumped up with his four legs. In an instant, he disappeared. It was a surprising height. His majestic figure soared in the sky. Polly didn¡¯t waste any time. She already got crushed by the boss once. ¡°Run!¡± Polly warned as she ran away. However, Momo was watching the boar falling, dumbfounded. When she noticed the shadow grew larger, it was too late. She got crushed under the boss¡¯ weight. ¡°MOMOOOO!¡± Polly shouted, shocked. She saw Momo¡¯s empty life bar. The valiant inn owner died. Grievespera was also one hit koed by the AOE airstrike. The coward villagers once again cried and ran away. The only fighter remaining was Polly. The Posho King looked at her, smirking. A tattered dark cloth slowly descended from the sky and fell between Posho King¡¯s eyes. From the floating black cape, Nightwraith jumped and lashed out with his dark scythe. Looming death was a skill allowing Nightwraith to float around in the form of a flying dark cloth. During the short duration of the cloth form, he was immune to physical attacks. Blankly, Polly watched her brave servant fight, and fell on her knees. She was still shocked from Momo¡¯s death. Momo¡¯s death could have been avoided, but Polly only thought of running away. Also, if Grievespera hadn¡¯t disobeyed Polly, and used her support songs instead of hitting the boss, the situation wouldn¡¯t have been dire. Nightwraith¡¯s scythe dissipated. Ultimate servitor only lasted 35s at Polly¡¯s skill level, for a cooldown of 20 minutes. It didn¡¯t keep him from clinging on the boar¡¯s tusk and kicking the boar. Nightwraith roared gibberish. He looked at Polly, encouraging her to fight. Polly was still dazed. It couldn¡¯t be helped that she lost her motivation. If I had used Astral Seclusion on Momo, she would have vanished for 3 seconds¡­ She could have survived the impact. We¡¯ve already lost two people, and the boss should barely be under 80% HP. When she thought that, a bunch of players appeared behind Polly. They were six. A full team composition, including a swordsman, two warriors, a healer, a mage, and an archer. In the first place, the boss was supposed to be hunted by this kind of team. ¡°Cool, it¡¯s weakened. We have a chance now!¡± A swordsman said, all fired up. Polly grit her fangs, clenching her fist. She felt a surge of anger. They were lying in wait instead of helping us. Bonus : Spoiler : Umbrellas are custom prolonged wands. They have better casting speed than staffs, but lower magic power. Author note : Spoiler : This time, the pathetic word count is 2k. (8k total) I¡¯m sorry Momo. Question : If a weresheep was to eat a sheep, would that count as cannibalism? (*intense thinking*) Note : replaced paws by hooves (courtesy of Sieghard lol) Status of next release : planned for when the moon will crash on earth Draft : - Drawing : - Proofread : - I have another project for now, so this efu efu is on hold for a while. This new project has a loose link and similar (but actually different) theme from this one. The name is A Digital Dirge for the Deathless (Dark/Demon''s Souls meets Royal Road).
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