《Mad Player》 1. Welcome Onkai! It was a usual morning for the joyous village, whilst the miniscule but close community chattered amongst each other discussing the stresses of life, they worked hard to earn a living and pay the taxes they owed to the King. The merchants tried to persuade others to buy whatever it was they were selling by using the utmost capacity of their lungs. The children headed to the tiny school behind the clocktower as their mothers scolded them for running too fast down the busy streets. The crazy priest preached about how the end of times are near and the final battle between good and evil is around the corner.
ENTER PLAYER As if it was out of thin air, a boy had appeared in the center of the crowded main street, yet as if it was ordinary, the villagers continued with their lives. "Oww.." He mumbled sliding his hands through his snow-like hair to check for any lumps. "My head." "Where the hell am I? And just who the hell am I?" He questioned to himself as he finally managed to stand on his feet. SSSZZZ A knight had appeared out of the dust layering the village. "Welcome Onkai!" He yelled in an overly joyous tone and a fast but just comprehensible pace. "Onkai!?" "You have died, and so you have been reborn in a random location! You must commit yourself to the tasks the King leaves you in order to gain back your XP and level up so you can improve your skills!" "What the hell is he talking about?" He thought to himself as his face turned into an angry red from the sheer frustration of the confusion. "Your first task is to retrieve a friend of the King''s who has been kidnapped by a group of rebels. Choose your character''s class." A large blue screen containing white writing summoned up from the ground surrounding Onkai''s field of view. It read: Select your warrior: Ninja- You have an entire selection of stealth-based weapons to carry out your tasks and kills quietly. Be able to have rapid movements and read enemy moves with ease. Lean build for faster movement. Skills include enchanted weaponry and limited time invisibility. Base stats change by: -2 Strength, +5 Agility, +2 Attack, +0 Defense, +2 IQ, +3 Endurance, +0 Skills Mastery, +3 Weapons Mastery, +1 Healing, +0 Armor. Traits: Stealth, Flexibility, High Jump. Berserker- You have immense brute strength to the point you are able to fight with just your fists but you are given a colossal sword to cut down your opponents anyway. Be aware though, your rage can control you, if your rage bar is too high you will have immense strength but will not be in control of yourself, stay in the middle and you will increase strength and keep control, go low and your other stats can increase but your strength will decrease. Bulky muscular build for more strength. Skills include elemental sword and powers. Base stats change by: +6 Strength, -2 Agility, +4 Attack, -3 Defense, -2 IQ, +2 Endurance, + 2 Skills Mastery, +2 Weapons Mastery, +3 Healing, +2 Armor. Traits: Brute Strength, Fast Healing, Rage Bar. Samurai- You specialize in the sword arts and have incredible knowledge. You are also an expert in Martial Arts so you are not dependent on the sword itself. Your quick and unique thinking gift you with quick and unique moves to take down your opponents. Muscular build so strength and agility are balanced. Skills include shadow sword, shadow clones and limited time foresight. Base stats change by: +1 Strength, +2 Agility, +3 Attack, +3 Defense, +3 IQ, +2 Endurance +1 Skills Mastery, +3 Weapons Mastery, +0 Healing, -5 Armor. Traits: Clear thinking ( Slowed enemy moves), Foresight, Martial Artist Dark Knight- You are equipped with the best possible armor and have military level combat skills. You are able to sacrifice your HP for more strength and you have a horse with you at all times. Your primary weapon will be a fencing sword, but don''t be mistaken, that sharp point can do a lot. Muscular build so you can carry the armor on you. Skills include dark matter sword and enchanted armor. Base stats change by: +1 Strength, -5 agility, +3 Attack, +3 Defense, +2 IQ, +1 Skills Mastery, +2 Weapons Mastery, +0 Healing, +6 Armor. Traits: Loyal Horse, Lust for strength, Armor Hardening.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Elemental Warrior- You have the ability to control the 4 main elements; fire, earth, ice and wind. You will be able to control these elements from your hands and can summon any of the 4 whenever you want. You have great strength, which is a requirement to be able to command these elements. Additionally, you can transform into separate beasts that use each element, however this can only happen with enough stamina. Bulky muscular build to be able to control your ability. Skills include beast transformation, "One with the universe" and elemental creature spawn. Base stats change by: +3 Strength, +1 Agility, +2 Attack, +2 Defense, +1 IQ, -2 Endurance, +5 Skills Mastery, N/A Weapons Mastery, +0 Healing, +1 Armor. Traits: Skill Specialist, Power Bar, Stamina Bar Sorcerer- You can cast spells using a vector or just your hands, as a sorcerer you are able to gain more and more spells as you rank up but can only do spells on your chosen ability. You have immense knowledge and can easily outsmart your opponents if you try. Your spells and knowledge give you an incredible advantage in battle, the same can''t be said about your physique...Lean skinny build. Skills include spells and curses, specialized ability and limited time mind control, if high enough level and low HP in battle. Base stats change by: -3 Strength, +2 Agility, +3 Attack, +3 Defense, +5 IQ, + 2 Endurance, +5 Skills Mastery, +0 Weapons Mastery, +0 Healing, -3 Armor. Traits: Floating ability, Desperation, Increase XP Valkyrie- You are a specialist in aerial attacks and you have also mastered the art of surprise. You carry a mace into battle and have wings that allow you to fly and also shield yourself from attack. Opponents won''t be able to see you coming but when they see that mace they''re gonna wish they had. Bulky muscular build to carry mace. Skills include flight speed boost when low HP, tornado creation and wind control. Base stats change by: +3 Strength, +4 Agility, +3 Attack, +2 Defense, +0 IQ, +0 Skills Mastery, +2 Weapons Mastery, +0 Healing, +0 Armor. Traits: Flight, Need for speed, Need for Strength Remember, you can increase any of your stats as you go along, you can also earn new traits specific to your class. All you need is XP. "I guess I''ll go with Berserker then." Onkai lifted his pointing finger towards the "Berserker" class. Berserker [SELECTED] The words on the screen changed. Select your elemental power. FIRE ICE EARTH WIND "Ice of course." This time he actually touched the screen, he repeatedly clicked "Ice" until the click turned into more of a smash. ICE [SELECTED] Just then, Onkai felt a tremendous increase in strength, his muscles enlarged and his height doubled. In a matter of seconds he transformed from, what was at first a child, to a giant. "Cool!" He shouted as he raised his hand up and a blue ball of ice appeared from it. His ripped baggy clothes had also changed alongside his body, now transformed into white metal armor plates covering every inch of his body below his neck. "I just need to scan your heart and mind now to get your base stats ready, and after that we''re all done." The knight informed him. He whipped out a large device and started scanning over Onkai''s body. STATS READY! PLAYER: ONKAI CLASS: BERSERKER [ICE] Strength: 82 Agility: 68 Attack: 75 Defense: 63 IQ: 70 Endurance: 77 Skills Mastery: 74 Weapons Mastery: 78 Healing: 76 Armor: 71 Rage Bar: [68/100] Traits: -Brute Strength -Fast Healing -Rage Bar "Whoa! Those are some pretty high base stats. You must be one luck person, or you had a good past life. So, are you ready for your journey then? Let''s get started with the basics then. By the way my name''s Tomothon!" The knight shared whilst he took off his helmet, revealing his gleeful face. "Yes. Yes I think I am Tomothon." A grin spread from one side of Onkai''s face to the other, but this grin... it wasn''t one of innocence. No. Not at all. It was malicious. Evil. Cruel. Onkai raised his sword in the air whilst he absorbed ice into it. Tomothon kept walking and talking, without any knowledge of what Onkai was doing. The screen popped up... RAGE BAR RISING! [.../100] Tomothon turned around when he heard the alert and in a flash his once innocent smile was killed by an expression of utter terror. Onkai swung his sword back and slashed Tomothon''s arm which then froze his entire body. This time swinging his fists back, Onkai punched the ice figure with an incredible force, crushing it into tiny bloody bits... 2. A Bloodbath What lay on the floor now, a mixture of blood and bits of flesh. The children running off to their schools froze in their tracks, now wearing a face of terror. Their mothers calling for them, disgusted by the sight, fell to their knees and gagged their insides out. The merchants, from a combination of horror and intrigue, piled around both the red puddle and Onkai for a clear view. +75 XP RAGE BAR [72/100] Onkai lifted his hands in the air once more and shot out a furious blue blast of ice at the merchants surrounding him. Freezing them in their state of horror. He lifted his sword once more. SMASH! SMASH! SMASH! In a matter of seconds, the two dozen or so merchants had been decapitated in their ice-state prison. +1000 XP RANK UP: LEVEL 2 +1 Strength: 83 +2 Agility: 70 +1 Defense: 64Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. +2 Weapon Mastery: 80 "KILL HIM!" A distant voice shouted. "We''ll have your head for this, bastard!" Another cried. "Hmmm... What trait shall I unlock?" Onkai pondered to himself, oblivious to the chaos surrounding him. "Arm yourself, and take him down!" A military police soldier commanded to the village. "Ooh! This one looks interesting..." A vicious smile flooded his face as he scrolled through the blue screen showing him the different traits. ICE FLAME [UNLOCKED] The men of the village had gathered outside their settlements with pitchforks, knives and any other weapon they could lay their hands on. The women and children hid behind the doors of their huts, praying for the best. "Charge!" Ordered the same officer. The men now encircled Onkai from every direction, ensuring he could not escape, closing down on him ever so quickly. However, Onkai was clear-headed. "How do I do this now?" He put his diamond-encrusted sword back into a beautifully patterned dark blue holster that came along with his white and now bloody armor. He raised his hands in the air and a blue flame arose in both his eyes. A blue fire raised up from the ground, incinerating what must have been hundreds of men all at once. Turning them into beautiful snowflakes that now gushed in the winds of the village. The buildings around had also caught fire, forcing the women and children to come out. "Might as well end their suffering." Onkai sighed with pity. He upholstered his sword once more, slicing everyone in its path down, Mothers embraced their children for cover whilst begging for mercy, children wept into their mothers clothes, screaming for a savior. But it was no use. SPLATTER! SPLATTER! SPLATTER! Onkai relentlessly continued on his spree, sparing absolutely no one. Cries, blood and snow flooded the village until every scream had come to a halt. Bodies drowned into the blood like food in the belly of a beast. The warm, summer day had now turned into a cold and hateful winter as the snows drifted along. The remaining buildings were burned down by the cold and hellish flames that Onkai commanded over. The people were all dead now. The village was dead. 3. A Fellow Player +37,800 XP RANK UP: Level 2 ----> Level 18 +11 Strength: 94 +7 Agility: 77 +13 Attack: 88 +6 Defense: 70 +12 IQ: 82 +10 Endurance: 87 +9 Skills Mastery: 83 +10 Weapons Mastery: 90 +7 Healing: 83 +5 Armor: 76 "NEW TRAITS AVAILABLE!" "Plenty of choice now." SNOW BLIZZARD - Release a snow blizzard to freeze all surrounding objects- [UNLOCKED] SHATTER STRIKE - With a snap of a finger shatter the opponents you have frozen at once- [UNLOCKED] ICICLE STORM - Rain icicles down on your opponents at rapid speeds and carve them up- [UNLOCKED] ICE SLIDE - Slide over a layer of thin ice to increase speed- [UNLOCKED] A FROZEN FRIEND - Summon a horse, made of ice, whenever you wish- [UNLOCKED] Onkai sniggered as he looked over his shoulder, watching his blue flames engulf the once lively village.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. He summoned an ice horse from the ground by raising his hands up. He buckled on and set for, what he believed was, the city center, planning how he would bring another community to its doom.
Onkai rode and rode until he found another guy riding a horse. "This looks like a good time to put my new abilities to practice." He exclaimed to himself with joy. The rider stopped in his tracks and dismounted his horse. He rushed towards Onkai frantically, who now had one hand on his sword. Though at closer inspection, you could tell the guy was panicking. He had wings on his back and beautiful silver armor wrapped around him, contrasted by an ugly eyesore of a mace on his back. Drenched in sweat and out of breath, the man spluttered out, "Is it true? What they say about Lanshire village. Is it true?" Onkai released the tight grip he had on his sword, "The village down there you mean?" "Yes! You see my friends were staying down there while I was completing my tasks. News got round that the entire village burned down from blue fire. The country watchmen were around that area and rushed to inform the capital. They say no one survived.. well at least that''s what the people are saying? I had to check it out for myself." "Oh! Yeah, sorry everyone died, I just passed as well." Onkai replied trying to conceal his laughter. "No! Now I''ll never see them again, they''ll be reborn somewhere else and have forgotten everything. How though? How did this happen?" Onkai thought back to the massacre, he couldn''t really think of anyone he really struggled against. "Well, I can show you if you want." "What?" The guy replied in confusion. Onkai stepped to the side and in front of him arose a blue flame from his command- trying to taunt him in a deeply sadistic way. The winged-man''s face transformed into one of wrath after agony. He grabbed hold of his mace and plunged up into the air throwing his mace back to generate as much force as he could. Just as Onkai was about to be crushed he sped away from the winged-man using his new trait, ice-slide. Onkai used his snow blizzard to freeze him, and as he was about snap his fingers, the guy managed to break out and landed a hit on Onkai. RAGE BAR [75/100] Infuriated, Onkai rained down icicles on him cutting the Valkyrie up and pinning him to the floor. "Why? What did they do to you?" The Valkyrie questioned in a great pain. "To be honest with you, I''m not sure. I''m just angry for some reason, but I don''t know why I''m angry. I guess I just felt like doing it." Onkai replied to him. "What gives you the right to take out your anger on innocent people? What did they do to you? You heartless piece of shit. You deserve to die! You don''t deserve another life after this one. Scu-" Onkai grabbed hold of his head, freezing it ever so slowly whilst looking right into his eyes. And just how he did to his first victim, smashed him into tiny bits of flesh, this time from a snap of a finger. PLAYER ELIMINATED: TENON- LEVEL 16 +750 XP "Why am I so angry?" 4. King Erakal HIGHTOWER CASTLE It was a tower that pierced the clouds. So tall yet so thin like an enlarged stick, but grey in colour, depressingly grey. All but one window caged by black bars, apart from the one right at the top, if you could even see it. It didn''t look like a castle at all if anything a prison, yet it was a castle, the King of Highmaria''s castle.
A knight carried a scroll in his hand rushed towards the castle, he was tasked with delivering it to the King. As he entered through the gate of the castle, he realized he had been deceived by the outwards appearance. It was enormous, not thin at all and inside, it was beautiful. The King sat directly opposite the gate, though about a hundred or so meters away. The knight was beginning to question reality, "How on earth is this possible?" A line of guards on either side of the bright red carpet leading to the throne turned their spears to him, he walked cautiously to the King, lowering his hands while doing so. "I bring a message to Your Highness from the Council!" He informed him, kneeling. "Xavier!" The King, a young, surprisingly pretty, white-haired man with sharp red eyes, responded in a somewhat frustrated tone.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. A tall slim figure stood beside the King, he had a long beard and pretty blue eyes but looked middle-aged. His hair grey yet not the grey of the elderly, the type of grey hair someone would have to be born with. He marched down the stairs that led to the giant golden throne in which the King looked miniscule compared to. He grabbed the scroll and opened it, at first reading to himself silently. He grabbed at, what looked like, a wand from a holster on his belt and pointed it at the scroll. The scroll now flew on its own to the King, and the tall man read it aloud, although he couldn''t see the words for himself anymore: "Lanshire village has been desecrated by, what our sources tell us, a rogue ice berserker who goes by the name "Onkai". He was spotted not long ago attacking and eventually killing another player. You must send your best men to find this one man who clearly has too much power for his own good, or else he could be a threat to Your Highness Erakal and his Kingdom. This player who plays his own game must be stopped. Clearly he has no intention of playing it the way we want it to be played. This mad player must meet his doom, or else more will die, and more will question their safety in the hands of Your Highness Erakal''s Military Police... The Council." "Threat!" The King screeched in disgrace. "Those ignorant pieces of shit think he''s any sort of threat to me! Those bastards! I''ll kill them! I''ll kill them with my own goddamn hands someday! I swear it!" The King madly went on. "Xavier! You will kill this mad player." He commanded as he jumped from his seat. "Of course My Lord. He will be punished for his doings." Xavier responded in a monotone voice, rolling his eyes away. "You bastard! How many times must I tell you! Don''t you dare roll your eyes at me!" The King screamed in fury. "Of course My Lord." Xavier responded annoyed. "I have made you one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world. Find him for me, and I will grant you even more power." The King breathed in deeply and sat back down, resting his arms gently on his lap. "Who the hell does that Onkai think he is?" 5. The Kings Armor HIGHTOWER CASTLE [ XAVIER''S TRAINING ROOM] "Listen up boys! And well uhh... girl." Xavier demanded, melting about a hundred zombie like figures in an instant with his wand that a group of about 5 people were fighting against. "The King has ordered the death of a so called "mad player" named Onkai. He has given me the orders directly but I figure its time you put your useless asses to work and get some real training done. You have the responsibility to protect the King and you do shit-all, for once you have the chance to prove yourselves worthy to be my students and protectors of the Kingdom. You call yourselves the King''s Armor, so you should have no problem defeating Onkai. He is an ice berserker at about Level 18 or so I believe, he is quite powerful for a new player, but you all are much higher in power and rank. Kill him, and you will be rewarded greatly by me. That''s all. Now piss off." Xavier exclaimed as the group hurdled around him. SHUT! Xavier exited the room and shut the doors behind him. "God help them." He whispered to himself as walked away. "Damn! A mad player." A boy with flame colored armor cheered joyfully as he holstered a beautiful yet enormous red sword on his back. "He''s mine!" Shouted the only girl in the group. The boys had to look down to see the tiny yet fierce-looking girl. She had her hair braided in black and grey stripes and was equipped armor that looked too heavy for her, she also wore a long grey cloak with grey repeating circular patterns on it. "Okay Hinami. Whatever you say." A blonde haired boy in a blue cloak chuckled. He had white and yellow zig zag stripes all over him and wore an uncomfortably sharp chest plate that looked like it pierced into his lungs. He had two small blue scythes attached to both sides of his chest plate that looked like they could be potentially impaled into his arms as he rested them, though he showed no sign of discomfort on his face, in fact it was the complete opposite. He wore an annoyingly composed smug on his face that would irritate anyone who took a look at him.Stolen story; please report. "I don''t know why you''re laughing, Fasily. Does this seem like a joke to you. Lord Xavier has entrusted us to put an end to this man, and you''re giggling about it." Another boy in a grey and green cloak stated rapidly in a frustrated tone as he approached Fasily until they were face to face. "Do you remember that one time we had an assassin infiltrate the castle. Who was it that got his ass beat by him? Oh yeah! It was you Devolo. How could I be so foolish to forget." He exclaimed as he pushed Devolo out of his sight. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Calm down guys, we''re all friends here." The boy in the flame-like armor interrupted as Devolo picked himself up, creating a bubble of water from his hands as he did so. "How about you Zero, what do you think of this?" He continued, evidently trying to diffuse the tension. He looked at another boy crouching in the corner of the room, he was covered in black rags and his long hair covered his entire face, hence his eyes were barely visible. The boy looked up until you could see a tiny glimpse of white shining from his eyes. "Aren, you guys can''t work together at all, it''s best we go separately otherwise we''re just gonna burden each other as always... At least I know I''m going alone." He responded quietly and depressingly. He stood and left the room in a horribly slouched posture without uttering another word. "I hate to say it but he''s right you guys, we really are an awful team. I think it''s best we go separately from here, once that Onkai''s dealt with we should meet back here and try practice fighting as a team, or we''re really not gonna be able to protect the King if there''s a major issue." The other three looked attentively at Aren as he spoke. They each nodded their heads, agreeing with Aren''s words. "I guess it will be good practice for our own individual selves." Hinami added, slightly cheering everyone in the room up. They sat down on chairs scattered around the training room, and one by one, they each left without any farewells. 6. Wilhart District [Wilhart District] STAMINA {27/100} MUST EAT AND REST! The sun had risen after a long night of journey. Though he had the ability to summon a horse, Onkai had been exhausted through his travels under the scorching and merciless heat of the vast desert he voyaged ,and killed, through. He had finally entered the walls of Highmaria Central, where merchants tiresomely opened their stalls and equipped themselves with what they would sell, placing it on the stools as they yawned and rubbed their eyes, every now and then dozing off back to sleep for a minute or two. "Wilhart District ay." He read the sign on an enormous welcoming board that greeted those entering the walls. He scanned around to see the Adonis'' flowers blooming on the tall grassy fields and birds chirping on fat but healthy green trees. Farms were everywhere and with them slumbering cattle, which you could just about see under that gigantic grass. A few clock towers spread about the place and small tiny huts encircled them, all covered with large vines, which harmonized with the atmosphere. Though all of this was contrasted by a tall, grey, thin tower that menacingly stood over the entire city. Onkai had spotted a tiny stable in one of the farms, where he decided he would rest and recover. He climbed over the fence that kept him out and quietly crouched down to make his way there, not wanting to alert anyone as he was too weak to fight in his current state. As he made his way a nasty odor had shot up his nose. "Ewww." He whispered as he clenched his nose with his fingers. As he walked further, the stench worsened, until he had found a lamb, half dead and half alive, that was being feasted on by a wolf. Though in his hungry state, not once did he think about food. Instead a single tear had emerged in his right eye, falling down his cheek ever so slowly. "Why am I crying?" He questioned in both frustration and a deep sadness. He recollected his memories of massacring Lanshire village, he felt nothing when he killed all those people, including the children, if anything he felt slightly joyous when he did that, so why was he feeling like this now? RAGE BAR {98/100} SHATTER STRIKEThe narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. He was now full of fury and he didn''t know why, Onkai''s eyes had turned bright red and he was now breathing fast too, he choked the wolf with his bare hands and froze its neck eventually then destroyed it, decapitating it in the process. The feeling of sadness had returned, and now he felt a deep sense of isolation He continued crouching forward and dropped his hand from his nose. He had finally arrived at the stable and covered himself in the hay as he craved warmth, and after a few blinks, he had fallen into a deep sleep like the cattle around him.
"AHHHH!" Onkai yelled at the top of his lungs as he jumped out of the hay. He was dripping in sweat and his skin felt like it was burning. "What was that dream?" He questioned to himself gasping for air, the last thing he could remember was a person falling to the ground, covered in blood and chewed to bits. But this person had a sense of familiarity to them. He cooled himself by slightly freezing his skin. "What the hell was that!?" He heard a voice shout from outside. STAMINA {63/100} He sprinted out of the stable and saw an angry farmer marching over to him with a rifle. Onkai, tried to calm himself and piece himself together again. He had to quickly take him down or else other players would hear and come for him. BANG! -24 HP, {76/100} "Shit!" The farmer shot at Onkai''s leg, piercing it and opening a gaping hole in it. ICICLE STORM He rained icicles onto the farmer, cutting him into pieces, staining the green grassy fields with blood. Merchants on the streets sprinted back into their homes and farmers locked themselves into barns. Military police had heard the shot and, from the distance, Onkai could see that they started to run towards him. The cattle had gone wild and started to run in all different directions. He had already gained too much attention, he needed to get out of there quickly or else players would catch on to him and kill him. ICE SLIDE Onkai decided to escape the town as fast as he could, not wanting to battle too many players at once as he was right in the capital of Highmaria, he knew he would stand no chance if it came to that, especially with his new injury. He slid back to the gate in the wall he came from and made his way westwards, trying to find another opening to the city where he could rest up a bit more and eat, so he could continue the killing spree he started in Lanshire Village. As he did so, a green portal opened up in the ground, and with it, Devolo rose up. He shot out rocks from his hand, repeatedly striking Onkai until he fell to the ground. "Looks like I found you first. You caused quite a ruckus down there." He said, his eyes wide open and his tongue slightly out of his mouth. He breathed heavily and shook quite a lot. His appearance was extremely uncanny, he was very much alive, but looked dead at the same time, he carried skulls around his belt and had holes in his clothing, he was also burnt in some areas, but the burns were green, and from them a poison-like green ooze seeped out. He lifted his hands up and swampy trees arose from the ground, creating a cage for the two to fight in. "For too long have I been looked down upon. Your blood will prove my worth, Mad Player!" He declared excitedly and licked his dead-blue lips, blood lusted. "You are one pitiful sight. I''ll end this quickly so I don''t have to keep looking at you." Onkai exclaimed tauntingly as he struggled to pick himself up, the hole in his leg didn''t help either. "Ahh!" He gasped in pain. "I hate people like you, people who are so full of themselves and so quick to judge others." Devolo responded, annoyed. "I''ll teach you the importance of speaking through your actions, not just your tongue." 7. Devolo POSION ARROW Devolo summoned an arrow and shot ahead at the already weakened Onkai, piercing through his silver armor and then absorbed into his body. ONKAI{-2 HP PER SECOND FOR 15 SECONDS}{HP 76/100} "Ahh" Onkai grunted. He tried to escape the swampy trees that encaged him but it was no use, his powers weren''t allowing him. RAGE BAR {82/100} "There''s no escape for you, Mad Player. I heard so much about you back in Hightower Castle, of how you single-handedly massacred a village, looks like those stories were an injustice to you, you''re really just a coward." Devolo stated, as he created portals scattered around the ground. Onkai, drew his sword and dashed at Devolo in a fury. In response, Devolo drew two tiny green daggers and pointed them at Onkai CLASH! Onkai smashed his sword against Devolo where he was blocked and pushed back. ICE SLIDE As he fell backwards he used his ice slide to push himself forwards and change momentum and jumped on top of Devolo, freezing him in his place as he did so. "You disappoint me, snake." He laughed as he was about to snap his finger. CRACK Devolo melted the ice as a green substance secreted from his infested-looking wounds. He spit a green poison onto Onkai''s face as he did so, blinding him. "You filth!" Onkai screamed in pain as he tried to rub the poison out of his eyes. Just as Devolo was about to fire rocks at Onkai again, Onkai created a barrier of ice around himself for protection. He cooled his eyes using a blue mist from his hands and now he could see again, he waited a bit to let himself regenerate from before. He broke through his barrier, but Devolo was nowhere to be found, despite his repaired visionFind this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Up, down, left, right. Nowhere. "He can''t have just disappeared." Onkai thought to himself. KICK! Devolo emerged from a portal he had previously created and kicked Onkai right in the face, and then he vanished into another portal. ONKAI -6 HP {63/100} Again, Devolo shot up from a portal and kicked Onkai, this time in his leg which had a hole in it. Devolo kept going like this, not allowing Onkai to have a single moment to breathe. He had effectively hurt every single part of Onkai''s body and had tired him out. Onkai could barely make out his moves as he was being attacked at such a rapid pace, making him feel powerless. "Over here Onkai!" He laughed as he repeatedly smashed his legs against him. ONKAI -32 HP {41/100} RAGE BAR {96/100} Onkai felt a fire brewing in him, he couldn''t take this level of disrespect, this level of embarrassment. He was getting destroyed. SNATCH! As Devolo appeared out of a portal yet again, he spun his leg towards Onkai at a furious pace, but this time Onkai had grabbed onto his leg. He spun Devolo around in the air and smashed him against the floor at such force that tiny cracks had emerged. He grabbed hold of his greasy, greenly-striped hair and kept smashing him into the floor. As Onkai kept furiously smashing Devolo''s face in, his features became almost unrecognizable. His jagged teeth had all fallen out, his pointy nose now faced inwards, one eye of had popped out and his long tongue had fallen out. DEVOLO -74 HP {26/100} ACID RAIN Somehow, Devolo gathered the strength to rain acid on top of Onkai, forcing him backwards. SKIN SHEDDING DEVOLO +65 HP {91/100} "I''ll give it to you Mad Player! You almost got me there." Devolo confessed as he picked himself up. His face started to grow back and he licked his new teeth with his new tongue. He reached his hands out and his daggers came flying back into his hands as if they were magnetic. Devolo sprung up into the air and aimed his landing towards Onkai. SMASH! Onkai held up his sword to defend himself but it snapped in the process. Devolo swung his daggers towards Onkai''s head, but he jumped backwards and his sword regenerated just in time. They kept swinging at each other ,clashing each of their weapons into the others until the metal could no longer withstand it and broke off. Onkai worked his way around the portals on the floor, knowing one mistake would all it would take to end the duel. ICICLE STORM Onkai rained icicles down at Devolo who managed to break and dodge every single one of them with ease, that is until he left an opening for Onkai. Now that Devolo was distracted Onkai aimed his sword at Devolo and swung at his head. From the corner of his eye, Devolo saw Onkai''s lunge and lifted his arm to shield himself as fast as he could. The sword managed to cut through Devolo''s arm but it couldn''t get to his head. He swept Onkai''s foot, dropping him to the ground. "Tut. You just got lucky this time. Mark my words Mad Player, the next time we meet again, it will end with your head in this hand." Devolo stated as he summoned a portal underneath him, teleporting him away from Onkai''s sights. The trees around Onkai melted down to the ground and he could finally see the sunlight after an everlasting fight. " I really need a rest." Onkai said to himself as he gasped for air exhaustedly. 8. The Little Flying Girl After his fight with Devolo, Onkai continued journeying west around the wall to find a gate which would lead him to a place of rest and recovery. And so he found the perfect place to do so. ELMOR TOWN There was a large scraped-dirty sign that read these words. The town appeared to be abandoned. Lifeless. It was a town of rock and stone, grey and dull. There was a stone fence caging the town away from the city, where beyond you could see society as normal. But this was exactly what Onkai needed. Not too many people. Not any people. He decided to explore the town further to find the most appropriate place for his needs. He walked into the nearest house, a small, single-story, stone hut where it seemed rats had taken shelter. There were no beds and no sources of food, so Onkai decided to go to the next. However, he was met with the same fate. Again, again and again. No food, no bed, some broken rooftops and rats. He scanned around to see any other structures, because clearly the huts were doing him no good, and in the corner of the town he could see a large, fat tower, not exactly tall or anything bit bigger than all the other structures in the town. He journeyed his way towards it and welcomed himself in through what used to be a door, now really just an open entrance. On the left of the passage he entered there were stairs, and on the right a single large room, full of strangely-deadly looking weapons, including a tiny mace about the size of his forearm.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it He scanned around and ,to his luck, found food, and lots of it. From meat to vegetables to even a warm pot of soup. He sat down on a stone chair and placed the soup he saw on a table. He swallowed it away and devoured all else he could see which was edible. There was also a little, torn-up sofa in one corner as well. He jumped onto it and decided this is where he would rest up. STAMINA {88/100} HP {92/100} "Finally." He sighed as he shut his eyes. But then the realization came to him. "How was the soup warm?" He thought to himself. STEP! Someone was there and they were upstairs this whole time, now coming down. "Poor soul." Onkai thought to himself, grinning over how they would shortly meet their doom. Onkai confidently charged out the room to quickly end whoever it was in the tower. "Oi! Who is it?" It was a girl''s voice. She was now just about to step foot onto the ground floor. BOOM! A large rock blasted out of the wall and pushed Onkai back. He picked himself up and ran out, waiting for her to come at him. The girl arrived at the entrance, she was tiny, very tiny yet also very angry for some reason. A grey armor wrapped around her and grey cloak over it. It was Hinami. Onkai created a blue ice ball on his hands and fired it at Hinami, who smashed it away from her using a mace. "So you''re the Mad Player, huh! Glad you saved me the effort of having to go and look for you myself." She exclaimed. "Is there some sort of bounty on my head?" Onkai sighed as he upholstered his sword. "Tell me, are you with that ugly reptile?" He asked. "Devolo you mean? What, he found you or something?" She asked in return. "I''m not really familiar with a Devolo, but if it''s an ugly, reptile-like man, then yeah that''s who I''m talking about?" "Did you kill him?" "No, but I wi-" SMASH! Onkai was interrupted with a smash to his ribs. ONKAI -30 HP {62/100} "You killed Devolo!" She cried with a rage. "I''ll have your head for this!" She leapt into the sky and Onkai could barely see her anymore. CRASH! She landed onto Onkai''s chest, the impact further tearing his ribs and even making him cough up blood. The armor made her heavy and she dove down at a bullet-like pace. It was a evident she was a Valkyrie. ONKAI -42 HP {20/100} RAGE BAR {84/100} "Oww! That really hurt!" He barely managed to say as he coughed up more blood. ICE SLIDE He slid towards Hinami and grabbed her neck, making her struggle to breathe. He swung his sword back and as he was about to swing forwards, Hinami jumped to the sky, taking him with her. 9. Hinami Now flying up in the air at a couple hundred feet, one hand on Hinami''s neck, one on his sword, it looked as though this Onkai was doomed to death. If he froze Hinami, they would both die on impact, if he didn''t he would die on impact. She was either planning to use Onkai as her cushion for the fall or going to drop him to his death. "Are you mad?!" He cried as they shot through the clouds and kept gaining altitude. "Nope!" She replied with a cheerful smile. She bit the hand Onkai was using to strangle her, leading to the end of his hold, and also leading to his fall. He fell down at a furious pace, "Arghhhh!" He screamed as the ground approached him, closer and closer. He breathed in deeply, composed himself, and struggled to line his body upright, but managed to do so. He pointed his body as if he was arrow, shooting towards the 150 meter wall that surrounded the entirety of the great city he could see from above. Onkai formed a blue ball from his palms that formed into a giant icicle, about three times as big as him. He reinforced it with as many layers of ice as he could to harden it further He closed down on the wall and just as he was about to crash into it, he hammered the icicle into the thick black rock that made the wall. His hands broke and he flung back up again from the sheer impact. ONKAI -13 HP {7/100} HEAL UP URGENTLY! As he fell again, he just about managed to take hold onto the icicle again.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Down on the ground it seemed as if it was a warm, sunny day, but up there, it felt like the coldest of winters. Winds screaming and whooshing with the snow that vaporized as it fell closer to the ground but stabbed you at its ferocious speed high up there. With all his might, Onkai grasped onto the icicle for dear life and shuffled closer to the wall. His efforts made it so that he was right against the wall, he jumped and... ICE SLIDE Onkai slid down the wall at such great pace he was able to avoid a fall, he stuck to it and slid down a slope of sticky ice, allowing him a soft landing to the ground. "So you managed to survive the fall, huh. I admire your determination." It was Hinami, flying up in the sky with her wings open, a smug smile spread across her face, confidently thinking and knowing Onkai must be weak. "I have to get out of here." Onkai thought to himself as he clenched his abdomen. Everything hurt. He didn''t want to, and he knew he shouldn''t, but deep down inside, he kept repeating those haunting words to himself, "I''m going to die here." A FROZEN FRIEND He summoned a horse and, though it wasn''t like him, he decided to run away. "You coward! You choose to run in the face of difficulty, and here I was calling you determined!" Hinami taunted him as she powered through the wind, chasing Onkai from the from above. Onkai thought it would be best if he skipped over the fence that isolated Elmor Town from the rest of the capital, so he could lose Hinami in the crowd. As he charged forward, Hinami armed herself with her chained mace yet again and aimed at Onkai. Onkai looked back, anticipating what would would happen next, and decided to ride in a zig-zag motion. Hinami sent her mace flying towards Onkai, but by the strand of a hair missed. She forced her mace back and took another shot. Swoosh after swoosh, miss after miss, Hinami was starting to lose her temper, making her force ever more ferocious. However, Onkai''s movements became even more unpredictable. The fence was in short reach and Onkai sped forth. He prepared his horse to jump, and so it did. SMASH! Hinami took one last shot at Onkai from the sky... but missed. The fence was smashed into pieces, but Onkai very much alive, though he narrowly escaped death. Onkai rode into the heaving markets and dismounted his horse, losing himself in the crowd. If Hinami chased him down any further and tried to attack him, she knew she would harm the civilians given her destructive nature, so she decided it was best to stop there. "Lucky bastard!" She screamed thumping her fists into the air and whooshing her mace around uncontrollably, leading the civilians to stare at her in an awkward manner. "If we ever face each other again, it''ll end with you smashed into bits from this very mace!" Onkai snuck behind a small stall selling fruits. He started to laugh hysterically, realizing just how marginally he had escaped death. 10. Walls ONKAI HP{100/100} STAMINA{100/100} Onkai yawned and stretched his limbs, awakening from a far too postponed slumber. He crept out from a tiny cave, or rather a hole in the walls of the city. His fight with Hinami had almost put him into a forever sleep, but not quite yet. And so he was again free, free from having to fight anyone in complete exhaustion. He decided to wander around the walls and see if he could prey on anyone, it had been a while since he was up to some of his questionable fun. A FROZEN FRIEND Onkai decided to continue around the walls to see where it would be best to carry out his killings in some peace and quiet. He mounted his horse and started his way around the walls. "Maybe a challenge today wouldn''t be so bad, eh." He thought to himself as he gained a rush of confidence in his good health, feeling he was in fact up to the task of a decent battle. As he continued riding north, he noticed something quite odd. Though the walls of the city were in a circle, one wall stretched endlessly to the west. "Did I not notice this before?" He questioned as he had been outside the walls for quite some time now. "Perhaps my ignorance?" He recalled his fight with Hinami and remembered when he flung to into the sky and saw the view of the city and its surroundings from above. "Ahh! That''s right!" He envisioned a wall in the distance of the city that he could just about recall from his imagination He rushed forth excitedly to be able to unveil the mystery behind this anomalous wall. ICE SLIDE He paired his horse with the "ice slide" to burst forward as rapidly as possible, and in a matter of minutes he had rode dozens of miles, now directly opposite the wall. Onkai glanced upwards and discovered the enormity of them, he was but nothing compared to these walls that transcended all else but the castle at the center of the city, higher than the birds, higher than the clouds but on level with the infinitely tall Hightower Castle. "But what''s the reason behind these walls? Why create such structures for a city that appears to be so reassured with strength? Soldiers, military police and other players. So why?" Onkai''s curiosity was overwhelming him greatly. He searched for an entry to the other side and managed to spot a gate in the distance. He rushed along and was greeted with the sight of an ever unusual, closed gate.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Taller than any house he had seen so far in the city, and made of a thick, grey stone just like the walls themselves, but there was something menacing about the gate, perhaps because of its size, or perhaps that there were small stains of blood around it. He pushed against the the colossal gate, but how great his strength was didn''t seem to matter. He shot ice and all sorts of his abilities towards it, but they seemed to be of no use against this wall, as they approached too close to the wall, they would evaporate there and then. The wall seemed impenetrable. RUMBLE! The door was moving! Had he done something? Had he managed to somehow open the gate? A figure walked out, two scythes in each hand and dressed in a strange armor. "Out of my way!" Onkai commanded in both desperation and excitement as he tried to march through. PUSH! THE OCEAN''S WRATH A flood of water shot at him, forcing Onkai back. "Woah there! I don''t see why you''re in such a rush to get yourself killed but anyhow you know only military personnel can access these gates." It was Fasily, smug and smiling. "I have no idea what you''re talking about." SHUT! "Great asshole! I was looking forward to seeing what''s behind there." Onkai called at Fasily as he picked himself up from the ground. ICICLE STORM Onkai sent icicles flying down from a distance but Fasily was quick to defend himself. SON OF THE SEAS Water had emerged from Fasily and took shape of an enlarged human hand. It whacked away the icicles like they were dust and reabsorbed back into Fasily. "Ice, huh? It seems I''ve encountered the Mad Player to my dearest fortune. Lord Xavier will be impressed if I bring him your head." "Don''t be so cocky now! Let your guard down, and I will shatter you to pieces." "I don''t think you''ve quite grasped just how much danger you''re in right now, you seem too sure you stand a chance in this duel." Onkai was infuriated at how confident Fasily sounded. ICE FLAME Blue flames rose from the ground in a rage but Fasily was too quick for them. BECOME THE WATER (3 minute cooldown) Fasily had transformed into a bubble of water that fell to the ground, breaking into a puddle. The water split up into different directions, disappearing from Onkai''s view. "Over here!" Fasily rose back up from the ground, now whole again. At lightning speed, he dug his scythes into each of Onkai''s shoulders and kicked him in his back. ONKAI -34 HP{66/100} Onkai crashed to the ground and rolled to the walls, slamming his head against them. His head was now throbbing from the pain of it. "Ahh." He twitched in pain as he felt blood drip from his head, now making his snow-white hair streaked with red. RUMBLE! He felt the ground shake and turned to his right. The gate was opening again. From it, two men appeared. Covered head-to-toe in blood. One in black, destroyed rags with hair as dark as dark could get, and one in a rich orangey-red, flame-like armor. "I thought I told you I was splitting up with you guys for now." The one in black mumbled in a monotone but frustrated voice. "I know! I told the group we should split up as well. Looks like fate just wanted us all to be together again." The one in the flame-colored armor replied in a joyous voice. It was evidently Zero and Aren. Zero sighed, "And here I thought I could get some good practice before I face the Mad Player." "Rise! Give me at least somewhat of a challenge, otherwise this would just be a cruelty." Fasily commanded. Both Zero and Aren turned to the familiar voice. In deeply contrasting voices they pondered at the sight of the event taking place before them, "Fasily?" Likewise, Fasily faced their way as well. "You two?" He questioned. "Hold on just a minute! Let me finish this. You won''t bel-" SNOW BLIZZARD Onkai froze Fasily in his place and equipped his sword. He picked himself up, now appearing dehumanized. His eyes white but on them shone no light. His mouth dripping with foam and his muscles tensed up, appearing twice as big. RAGE BAR{98/100} WARNING!: INCREDIBLY HIGH RAGE (95+) AT RISK OF LOSING CONTROL MOMENTARILY. IF SO, BODY WILL FIGHT WITHOUT CONTROL + STAMINA MAY DEPLETE RAPIDLY. DAMAGE FROM ATTACKS INCREASED BY 5. ALL (BUT 2) STATS INCREASED BY 9. STRENGTH{MAX} WEAPON MASTERY{MAX} DEFENCE DECREASES BY 15. IQ DECREASES BY 30. {ALL APPLY FOR 30 MINUTES) 11. Inhumane CRASH! "Ice! Aren, it looks like Fasily''s up against the Mad Player." Zero claimed as he remembered the description of their foe given to them. "Ok I''ll take th-" "No! Stay back! Every time any of us try work as a team, we burden each other with our differences, let me fight him first, if I feel tired, then it''s your turn." Zero interrupted, commandingly. "But you never get tired!" Aren answered back as Zero disappeared, leaving behind a black smoke where he had been standing. The rogue Onkai charged towards the helpless, frozen Fasily, with the intention of turning him into frozen, red crystals. SHADOW CLONES As Onkai was about to obliterate Fasily, about a hundred, if not more, black creatures came from nowhere and started to encircle him. All in the shape of men, but no flesh and no features, just made of darkness. Onkai was now confused, clearly outnumbered, he couldn''t think straight in the first place, but now he didn''t know who to fight or whether to fight them all. Behind the dark cage, Aren carried away the frozen Fasily and started to melt him with gentle flames that scorched from his hands. SNOW BLIZZARD Inside the cage, Onkai tried to freeze his many opponents simultaneously, but as he did so, all fell to the ground and disappeared, but when his attack was over, they all rose back up. As he charged up another attack, one of the figures rose from the ground and kicked Onkai in his head. Onkai fell backwards and then another kicked him forwards. The figures then stopped moving, and all jumped onto Onkai, beating him from every single angle possible. It was all to fast for him, some continued their beating whilst some disappeared and ambushed him from another angle to beat him further. But then they all just disappeared... Zero showed himself before the battered Onkai. "Now I do have orders to execute you, but every player in Highmaria is gifted the right of a second chance, I''ll take you to the King and we''ll see-" WATER TITAN SMACK! A large figure made of water sent Onkai flying into the walls. Of course it was Fasily. "I found him first Zero! He''s mine!" He declared "You idiot, I had him!" Zero responded in a monotone frustration. "I had him until you two came along!" Fasily countered.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Zero turned and marched his way towards Fasily. He grasped onto his cloak''s collar with a painfully tight grip. "You don''t seem to understand just how much your arrogance pisses me off! Until the day comes you realize you''re not stronger than everybody, you''ll be weaker than everybody." He scolded him. "This is one of the reasons why we can''t work together, somehow you just always find a reason to argue, a reason to disrupt the flow of a fight." FREEZE! Onkai from the ground up and shot a blue beam towards the two, freezing them in their argumentative state. "Morons!" Aren chuckled, as he watched from a distance. "Looks like I really will have to step in." He leapt in front of Onkai and upholstered his sword. Aren aimed it at Onkai''s direction and tightened his grip on it, causing a flame to roar up from the blade. Onkai sent blue balls of ice flying towards his direction, but Aren slashed, smashed and dodged each one with ease. "That all you got Mad Player." Aren taunted him. HELL''S ROAD Aren pierced his sword into the ground and a flame followed itself to Onai''s path, burning high, bright and mighty. Onkai summoned an ice barrier to shield himself, but Aren''s fire was stronger than Onkai''s ice. The fire ruptured through and set onto Onkai. ONKAI -10HP/S IN FIRE{~88/100} Onkai yelled in pain and grunted in fury as he set ablaze. Like a mindless zombie he swung his arms towards Aren, but none landed on his target. "Poor thing you! Looks like your fate is sealed. Ha! Would you believe the other guys were making such a big deal out of you, talking about how strong you were and so on. Perhaps they were mistaken?" Aren continued to taunt Onkai in his pain. He pointed his sword towards Onkai''s face with the intent to kill, but as he set forth, Zero grasped onto his flaming sword, stopping him from completing his move. "Wait!" Zero shouted. "Why?!" Aren looked back in confusion. "Every player has the chance to redeem himself, if they choose to pledge their lives and powers to the military, and to the military only. No matter how much of a bastard he is, everyone gets a second chance. Plus, we need more men desperately, the way our numbers are falling, we have no other choice." Zero reminded Aren. Aren sighed and nodded his head. Disappointed, he holstered his sword and walked away. As Onkai continued to storm around in a fire, almost dead, Zero lifted him with a dark cloud and started swinging him around in the wind, until almost immediately the fire ceased. "I''m gonna have to put you to sleep for a bit." Zero told Onkai as he dropped from the sky. "What are you doing!? Let me kill him! We were ordered to kill him!" Fasily shouted from a distance. Zero didn''t respond, not with his words anyway. He pointed his hands towards Fasily and a black gush of wind pushed him back. He summoned a stick, not made of anything solid, but instead the same dark substance as all the other creations he had made. As he was about to smash the stick onto Onkai''s skull... ICICLE STORM Onkai managed to somehow pounce back up and sent icicles flying down at Zero, forcing him to lose distance from him. "More?!" Zero questioned him. Onkai, still furious, summoned two daggers in his hand, but as he did so... "ARGHHH!" His rage-filled frown had collapsed. An inhumane growl was coming from behind the walls. "Looks like they''re back again." Fasily informed Aren and Zero. "You two take them down, I''ll take on the Mad Player." Zero commanded them. "AHHHHHH!" Onkai was having a headache and horrible migraines, this sound was doing something to him. Suddenly, the visual of someone who felt very familiar transforming into a monstrous creature appeared in his head, and then the image of this person eating him alive. He collapsed to the ground and shrunk back to his normal state, now appearing human once again. His white eyes had regained their blue colour, and with them tears dripped. His anger had transformed to a horrible, melancholic ache. "What''s happening with him?" Aren questioned as the three comrades all looked at his breakdown. "I''m... not sure." Zero responed, just as confused as the others. Onkai started screaming in agony at the pain he felt in his head and heart, trying to cancel out the growls from beyond the wall and the too familiar visuals that surfaced to his mind. "Stop! Stop!" He pleaded, screaming in horror as he wept. "He started doing that when the zombies came. Maybe it''s that?" Fasily questioned. Onkai''s voice had faded away, he had used up all his screams and everything appeared to be rotating rapidly. THUD! He fell to the ground, now unconscious. 12. Choice Pitch black. Distant murmurs and dying echoes. Onkai felt like he was awake, like he could see all, but all was darkness. He felt condemned, powerless and, to some extent, afraid. "Ghuuuu!" Onkai gasped as if he had almost drowned to death. He was greeted with the sight of about half a dozen familiar people in a tiny, brick, prison-like room, just a wooden door, a table and a couple of chairs with a barred window. "Looks like he''s awake?" Xavier had his arms crossed, he was facing the whole of The King''s Armor as if he had just scolded them. "My condolences Mad Player. You must be quite confused." Xavier grabbed a nearby chair and took a seat opposite Onkai. Onkai aggressively pushed himself forward to attack Xavier, but his efforts were futile, he was chained and cuffed to the chair he sat on. "To be honest with you, you''re quite lucky to be alive right now, I mean I ordered these lot to kill you, but that Zero there has quite a gentle heart, though he doesn''t look it." Xavier pointed at a frustrated Zero who tutted and looked away. Onkai tried to use his powers but for some reason they weren''t working, he started shaking his hands in fury, hoping something would happen, but somehow, it truly seemed as though his powers were gone. "Trying to use your powers I see. Allow me to explain. I''m a sorcerer, I casted a spell on those chains so that your powers won''t work when you wear them." Xavier explained to him with exaggerated gestures, he talked to Onkai as though he was talking to a child, mockingly. "Indeed, being a sorcerer is quite entertaining." Onkai was getting frustrated but couldn''t do anything about it. "Now as to why you''re here." Xavier announced. "You see, in the Kingdom of Highmaria, every player is gifted a second chance, no matter what they have done. You get a choice really. Either you are executed, or either you pledge your life and abilities to the King, in this case you will spend your days working for the military. If you pick the second option, I would have to cast a spell on you where you would only be able to use your attacking abilities against the zombies. In the case you use them against anyone else, and if you have the intent to hurt them, your powers will vanish into thin air and you will die on the spot. If you attempt to escape the military, you will also die on the spot." " Onkai''s eyes widened, a look of hate, anger, sadness and fear, all in one, had conquered his face because of a certain word that left Xavier''s mouth. "Zombies huh... when I say that word, something really awakens inside of you doesn''t it?" Xavier questioned Onkai. Onkai didn''t reply, he stayed silent as he had the entire time. "It''s common for a reborn player to have a few flashbacks of his previous life for a while. I was informed that you, let''s say... reacted strangely to the sound of the zombies. Tell me, what is it you see when you hear those creatures being named, we may have a common enemy." Onkai opened his mouth, "I see death. I see people I know being devoured. I see people I know transforming into them."This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. He looked incredibly uncomfortable. "Transforming?!" Xavier questioned, the others all turned their heads towards Onkai in complete shock. "Listen to me. Every day I don''t know how many thousands of men die fighting to rid those devil spawns. They never seem to end, and we never seem to find out more about them. If what you say about human transformation into zombies is correct, we could potentially find their origins and a way to end them. Are you sure what surfaces to your mind is a valid recollection?" Xavier asked desperately. "Because if it is, we might just have a chance to end them." "I think so." "How?! You must tell me how! How does one transform into a zombie?!" Xavier leapt out of his chair and grasped onto Onkai, pleading him to answer. "I don''t know, I can''t remember." Xavier let go of him and sat back down, he sighed and held his head in his hands. "What drives you to be the way you are? Is it vengeance? Grief? Hate?" Xavier asked him. "I don''t know." Onkai responded, still looking away from him. "Well whatever it is, I can assure you one thing. The root is most definitely those zombies. You might enjoy all the slaughtering you do, but you won''t be able to do that anymore, though you can kill that treacherous feeling that awakens inside of you. You can help us and you can help yourself at the same time. If you take the oath, we can end the pain inside of you with those zombies." Xavier exclaimed. Onkai listened attentively, pleased by the thoughts of him desecrating zombies. "When a player goes to the same spot he died in a previous life, he will remember his past life, all of it." Xavier informed Onkai. "And how do you know that?" Onkai laughed. "Because it happened to me." "What?!" Hinami shouted in confusion. "You never told us!" "Do you remember the place of your passing at least? If we go there, you will remember everything." Xavier said, ignoring Hinami. "Not exactly. I know it was some sort of village, and I know it was outside those walls." Onkai responded. "Behind the walls is quite a large uncertainty, but a village you say? No one has ever heard of a village behind those walls." Xavier answered Onkai curiously. "I''m fairly certain. In fact, I''m sure it was behind the walls." Onkai finally looked up at Xavier, his eyes were convincing enough. "If what you say about the village is correct, then it is most definite life was or even is behind those walls. No zombie can build. So.. will you do it then?" Xavier had finally asked the pivotal question. "Y..uh... " Xacier attempted to persuade Onkai. "Remember how those zombie make you feel. I''m assuming not so good. Whatever reason it is you hate them so much, if you accept my offer, you can find out why. And I''m sure you''ll find no greater pleasure than subjecting those zombies to death in every way imaginable." "Fine." Onkai answered reluctantly, knowing his corrupted cynic freedom would now come to an end, people were no longer an option, but perhaps zombies would be even better. "Great!" Xavier cheered. He equipped his wand and started waving it around, uttering some sort of nonsense words. Fasily, Aren and Hinami held in their laughter. It was always quite funny when Xavier would cast a spell, it didn''t quite suit how he looked. He appeared as if he was some sort of mindless idiot when doing it, slightly dancing rhythmically as he did so too. He halted and put his wand back in his pocket. "It is done." He walked towards Onkai''s chains and tapped them ever so gently, but with the little tap was enough to evaporate them into nothing. "Now, if you didn''t believe what I said, try freeze me." Xavier commanded him. "But you just said that would kill me." Onkai answered. "I''m allowing you this one chance, just do it." Onkai hesitantly agreed to do so. As he always did, he lifted his hands in the air to create a ball of ice, but as he sent it towards Xavier, it travelled about an inch until it just vanished. "See, you can''t use it against people anymore." Xavier assured him with a cheeky grin. Xavier turned back to his students, his grin transforming into a nasty frown. "You lot. I''m tasking you to work with Onkai from here on, he holds valuable potential for the progression of life in Highmaria and to destroy the zombies once and for all. You will all train with him in the military induction, live with him and follow him on every military expedition beyond the walls. Protect him with your lives!" Xavier commanded them. A large group of complaining groans had filled the tiny room. "But we were just trying to kill him a few hours ago." Fasily complained. "He''s a... He''s an asshole though!" Devolo groaned. "I should''ve just killed him." Zero grunted. "Silence! Put yourselves to use for once!" Xavier scolded them all. "I''ll see you all tomorrow at the induction, now find him a room." 13. The Military CENTRAL HIGHMARIA MILIARY BASE: NEW RECRUITS COMMON ROOM The King''s Armor sat together, exhausted from the many drills they had to do for a second time in their lives. They maintained their distance from Onkai, the outsider. "Never thought I''d have to put up with that again!" Fasily sighed as he laid back on the bench he sat on. "Forgot how much of an ass that Sergeant Kael can be." Zero started to lecture them in his usual depressing voice. "It''s all pointless anyway, half of these guys here are gonna die on their first expedition. The next half won''t be able to deal with the things they see. They all came for there own reasons. Money, food, shelter, a second chance. Maybe they can have that all for just a day or two, but in the end, that short pleasure will cost them their lives, or at least their happiness. If they knew what this war would to them, I''m sure they''d choose any other alternative, even death. This military recruits for numbers, but numbers won''t help when the enemy is infinite." The whole group looked at Zero as if he spoke another language. Aren brushed of Zero''s words to a side like he wasn''t even there. "You''d think he''d... take it easy... on us... but he was just as horrid.... as the first time... round." Aren was munching down on crackers and slurping down on soup, the group just about understood what he said. "And it''s all because of ice boy there." Hinami pointed at Onkai with her eyes. He was just sat there, far from the other hundreds of people in the room, by himself. Though he did have an infamous reputation , the recruits couldn''t really be blamed for choosing to avoid him. Onkai sat on the floor, fiddling with his sword. He swung it left and right and then stood up and exited to the training grounds. "Should we follow him?" Aren asked the group, mainly looking at Zero who groaned and shook his head away from him, still annoyed over him being ignored. "I say we leave him, he does anything stupid and he''ll die anyway. Besides who cares if he does do something to anyone here anyway- at the off chance. I''d say about 90% of the people here are scum and deserve to die." Devolo snarled. Zero took charge, "No! We follow him! We can''t let him die. Remember, he could lead us to intel that could rid this world of those zombies." He jolted up and followed Onkai out. The rest of them looked at each other and sighed. They followed Zero as he left the room.
The night was at its darkest. Stars hid away from the darkness which had consumed the sky. The moon was full but dead of the sun''s light. Not a glint of light dared to peak out at the world. Crickets chirped but rather melancholically, a sign of life but the life seemed to be disappearing away slowly, growing quieter and quieter as the night continued. In the midst of the darkness, slashes and crashes could be heard from the training grounds. It was Onkai, practicing more, or perhaps just finding a way to divert his violent nature without having to give his life. "Mad Player!" A silhouette stood in the entrance of the common room, the only light source for Onkai. It was evidently Zero''s voice, but Onkai chose to ignore it, continuing to beat the zombie mannequin in front of him.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "You''re gonna have to talk to us eventually! Trust me, we don''t want to either, but for you to survive you''re gonna need to communicate!" Zero called at Onkai as he approached him. The rest of the King''s Armor watched from the exit to the training ground, amused by the sound of Zero''s raised voice- a rare occurrence. "I don''t need you to survive. You don''t need to follow me." Onkai informed him bluntly. "Given the reputation you''ve earned yourself- I highly doubt that." Zero countered. The sound of crunching leaves came from afar. "Hey! It''s the Mad Player!" A voice called out from the distance. "Where!?" Another called. "Right here! Where I am!" "That son of a bitch destroyed the village I lived in! I''ll kill that asshole!" Two hostile, sprinting footsteps grew louder, cursing ever more as they closed down on Onkai. Onkai tightened the grip on his sword, his eyebrows lowered and forehead tensed. "Don''t do anything! Remember, you''ll die if you use your abilities!" Zero reminded Onkai."Let me take care of this." He held two fingers to his head and closed his eyes. KING OF THE DARK The two figures halted in their tracks and wirled around each other as they fell unconscious to the floor. THUMP! Zero reopened his eyes. "Like I was saying, people don''t tend to take a liking to those who destroy entire communities. They don''t know the value you hold, at least not as of yet." Zero continued. "Considering your attitude you''re gonna need us one way or another. These people here, they will try to hurt you." The others listened carefully for Onkai''s response, poking their heads out of the door slightly more as if they all shared the same mind. Onkai sighed. "Okay, but it doesn''t mean we''re friends." He continued slashing the zombie mannequin. "We don''t have to be friends, we just need you to survive." Zero agreed with Onkai, turning his back to him. DING! DING! DING! Tiny bells started ringing around the ground. "Get your asses to bed!" A ferocious voice prevailed above the ringing bells, who else but the sergeant. Onkai reentered the common room. "Tomorrow we''ll sort you into your divisions!" The sergeant informed. He was bald, short and slightly chubby, nothing like his voice, nothing like his acts. "Don''t mean shit though, you rats are gonna be fodder nonetheless. Bloody damn cattle!" The recruits rushed to their dorms out of fear, but Onkai sat back down rebelliously. The sergeant rolled his eyes and marched towards him. "You deaf boy!?" He spat. He analyzed his face that now dripped in saliva. "Well look who we have here!" The sergeant had a stick wrapped around his belt, he withdrew it and smacked it across Onkai''s face, which was now a painful shade of red. "What you gonna do Mad Player, kill me?!" He laughed in amusement. Onkai''s entire body twitched, this level of utter disrespect and yet nothing could be done about it. "Ahh, I''m just messing with ya! Xavier told me why you''re here. Quite a shift isn''t it, from burning entire villages to becoming humanity''s biggest hope. I don''t believe it! But that darned wizard ain''t no idiot." He continued talking, looking in all sorts of directions but not at Onkai''s. It appeared as though he was just rambling to himself, listing all the qualities of Xavier, good and bad. Onkai felt like slapping him across the face for revenge- at the minimum. He breathed in deeply and rose up, preparing to go to his dorm and trying to make sure he wouldn''t do anything stupid- though it was an immense difficulty. "Hey! Did I say you could get up Mad Player!" He wobbled towards him and shoved his finger into his chest. " You listen hear you! I don''t care who you are, you only act on my word! Give me 50 laps around the ground right now." "You think that''s gonna do anything?" Onkai snapped at him. "This training you''ve given them, these physical tests; running, jumping, fighting against statues. You think that''s gonna help in battle? It''s all futile. None of them are ready. You''re just wasting their time trying to make them feel like they''re ready. If they''re gonna die, then we should''ve just marched out those walls today you fat bastard!" "Looks like we''ve got ourselves quite the talker over here!" The sergeant chuckled. "Fine, don''t run. But now you''ve sacrificed your sleep. What''s that hideous green boy''s name again? I''ve heard he''s a bit of a snorer. I''m taking your room, you''ll rest up with him now. Good night!" The sergeant grinned mischievously. Onkai clenched his fists and was about to start arguing with him once again, but as he opened his mouth, the sergeant lit up like he was struck by lightning and faded away.