《Level 1 Adventurer》 0 - Hero
HP 2098/98875321 - WARNING
The world was aflame.
[ BUFF ENABLED - HOLINESS BLESSING ]
I had come too far. There was too much, to even consider losing.
[ BUFF ENDED - PEACH OF IMMORTALITY ]
Yet time was running out.
HP 1023/98875321
I could not get hit. I was so close.
[ UNIQUE SKILL ACTIVATED - ULTIMATE PRESTIGE SUMMONS OF A THOUSAND BLADE STORM ]
I could not feel my arms as they delivered blow after blow. I could not feel my chest as it rasped and struggled. I could not feel my last drops of consciousness drip away. All there was, was Magnamartis.
{ MAGNAMARTIS The Despoiler } Difficulty - SSS+ ULTIMATE DIVINE DEITY HP - 897623101230123 / 1612390712396923 Category - WORLD BOSS
My skills formed a crashing wave of light that broke upon him. The golden giant did not flinch, his unceasing great cleaving sweeps shook the earth where they touched. Our arena crumbled further apart.
HP 476/98875321
I lowered my blade. Felt its weight. Saw the faces of the dead. My friends, my enemies, children and the old. All had perished in this VRMMO, their loved ones cradling a body in the real world with a mind boiled by the VR headset that wore it. My vision was gone, swallowed by the darkness encroaching upon the edges. My ears were ringing until I could hear nothing. All that remained was knowledge of the inevitable. "Boom" His first attack stage. His pattern had reset. TICK My feet began to run. TICK The air seared with red beams of energy. An unavoidable attack. I did not count, did not breathe, did not think. There was only the - TICK
[ UNIQUE SKILL ACTIVATED - MIRACLE PROVIDENCE {{{- INVINCIBILITY SS+ -}}} ]
A microsecond of invincibility and the energy failed upon my skin. Mantis like golden minions emerged from under his plates. Their huge scythes missed me over and over by a hairs breadth as my body bent and swayed. I could hear the music of it all. And so I danced. TICK My sword carried sweet high notes of destruction, unmaking of things most evil. Waves of monsters cascaded on me and I launched myself into them, and through. TICK
HP 68/98875321
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. I was level with the eye of Magnamartis. Huge, all encompassing, gushing with mana.
[ UNIQUE SKILL ACTIVATED - DIVINE MANA FLAME ]
My sword was engulfed in roaring red flame. I closed myself from reality, and let all my mana flow into the blade. Red became blue, blue became nothing. It wasn''t enough. More. I needed MORE! My entire being shook violently but I did not let go of my blade even as it warped and cracked. TICK One moment, I was sailing through the air. The next I was scraping my sword against his immense cleaver, deflecting it by only but a micron. It was enough. I plunged my sword deep into Magnamartis''s eye. Nothing happened. My heart dropped, cold fear made me open my eyes. The music was lost to me. NO! The last dregs of my mana left me for my blade, and I looked up to see the light blotted out by a wall of monsters, the claw of the closest was so large in my eye, I knew it was over. I felt the game crackle and fizz, walls of pure logic and pixel heaving and spitting. Was I already dead? Was this the end all my friends had seen? "CRACK!" Then opaque turned to white, and white, it grew and grew. "BOOOM" The roar of light consumed everything. I opened my eyes to find myself standing alone in the arena of stone. I looked at my hands, then at the walls, unseeing. "Hahahahahaha!" A laugh permeated the field. I looked around, no one. It was my own.
HP 9/98875321
I couldn''t stop laughing. Tears of joy or pain or I know not rolled down my face even as I fell to the ground. It was so close. I gripped dirt from the earth and clenched it to me it was the most amazing thing. I had calculated correctly. Surpassing the maximum mana density had achieved an exponential damage modifier. I felt tears on my face, my legs giving way.
Level Up! { 99 -> 100 } MAX LEVEL REACHED
[ Acquired +1 x Armour of Magnamartis ] [ IMMORTAL TIER ]
[ Acquired +1 x Cleaver of Magnamartis ] [ IMMORTAL TIER ]
Title Acquired [ Saviour of humanity ] Slay Magnamartis and free the denizens of Sword Dance VRMMO to return to their lives.
Title Acquired [ The Chosen One ] Slay Magnamartis as a solo player.
"Status!"
"Zach The Chosen" Human. 16 years. LEVEL 100
Titles Last Hope [ X+ MYTHICAL ] Harbinger [ X++ ] Arbiter [ X ] Blade Emperor [ X+ ] Savior of humanity [ TRANSCENDENT ] ...
Skills Reality Shatter [ TIER - SS+ ] Miracle Providence [ TIER - SS+ ] Mana Flame [ Tier - ERROR?! ] ...
Classes Arcanist [MAX] Warrior Mage [MAX] ...
I smiled to myself. I had done it. All the pain, all the sacrifice, all the loss¡ªit had finally led to this. And now¡­ now it was over. With a trembling hand, I opened the menu. There, at the bottom, where it had once been greyed out, taunting us for so many years, was the Log Out button. My finger hovered over the button for a long moment.
Are you sure you wish to exit Sword Dance VRMMO? [YES] [NO]
I took a deep breath. The weight of everything hung heavy in the air, but I knew what I had to do. ¡°Yes,¡± I whispered, closing my eyes. 1 - Heros welcome Light. Great streaks of glaring white that turned to radiant, blurry red and blue as I opened my heavy eyes. I put my hands to the ground at my side as I sat up, feeling sharp cold rock and grit underneath my fingers. Wait. I sat up suddenly, looking down at the grit on the stone floor, the minute specks that stuck to my fingers as I raised my hand, stuck under my fingernails, wedged between the swirls of my fingerprint. What! Crisp, cold air filled my throat, its burn invigorating. Tears of joy rolled down my face as I scrunched it up in my hand and marvelled at its coarseness, its wondrous... imperfection. I was free, finally it was over. I had been trapped in that flawed perfect dream for so long I had forgotten what reality felt like. But something was wrong. The stone beneath my fingers wasn''t hospital tile. The air didn''t carry the sharp scent of antiseptic. And the light... the light wasn''t fluorescent, but something else entirely. "Oh mighty hero! We beseech your help¡­" My head snapped up. Shimmering blue light refracted off a chandelier, gold and crystal hovering above me. The ground was cold and hard rock, I pushed myself up. I was in a grand hall of towering marble, rich purple and red tapestries lining the room alongside men and women clad in robes and armour. I lay on cold stones, warmed by huge braziers with strange blue hues. The shimmering blue light of the stones died down. They all had animal features¡ªears, tails, even claws. A man in ornate armour had fox ears protruding from his helm, twitching slightly. A woman nearby swished a squirrel-like tail, the fur shimmering under the torchlight. The rustle of people, the way they never truly stopped moving. They did it randomly, it was an incredible sight. But joy gave way to confusion. Then to dread. My heart began to race. This wasn''t a hospital, those looked like players, like I hadn''t escaped after all. I swiped the air "Menu!", tried to equip my gear, summon my familiars, teleport to hearth, anything. Only crisp air followed my movements. Two women stepped forward. The first was a regal figure, clad in silver and adorned with huge jewels. Long, elegant cat ears emerged from her styled hair, and a sleek feline tail curled gracefully behind her. She looked down at me with dispassionate dark eyes that flickered with a bruised purple storm of ethereal light. The other woman was dressed simply, her warm smile reaching eyes filled with kindness. Wolf-like ears peeked out from her hair, and I caught a glimpse of sharp canines when she spoke. The dark eyed one repeated what she had said "Oh mighty hero! We summon you to save us! I am Queen Hella and you are our only hope in this great¡­" She turned to the other. "He doesn''t look very strong."If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Keep going" She muttered back. "Ah, mighty and benevolent warrior, dungeons everywhere have been intensifying their attacks, our city is under threat, the time is nigh! We implore you for your help." I stood up. "Where am I-" Then a great wrenching of my mind send me staggering. A sharp, blinding agony exploded in my skull. I screamed. A world burning, an infinite cosmos of pixels, a reality come undone. My body buckled, and my head hit the stone floor with a sickening thud. Warm blood trickled from my nose. "Oh! What have you done?" The wolf woman rushed to my side. "What!" Even the crowned one looked shocked and pale. She rounded on the wolf-woman. "How was I supposed to know he could not resist a simple mental invasion? How could he have no will? You summoned me a 0 ranked adventurer?" "It doesn''t matter what rank he is, he is our only hope! Don''t hurt him!" Everyone in the hall stood frozen, their assorted animal features accentuating their expressions of disbelief and scorn. "Look at him! He''s not even a man yet!" She spat, her cat ears pinned back in contempt. She reached down and held my dazed face, looking into my eyes. Hers held a storm, black and hellish, pulsating and hungry. "Damn your summoning portal, Lilac! Somehow you''ve invented a way to summon the weakest specimen on this planet. Damn your ritual and damn your Goddess! Get this joke out of my sight!" "You haven''t given him a chance your majest-" "You would dare argue with your Queen?" Silence. I groaned, trying to sit up, my body still reeling from the assault on my mind. "What¡­why?" I whispered, my voice hoarse. Lilac knelt beside me, her touch as gentle as the warmth of sunlight on a cold day. I trembled, barely able to lift my head, but she wrapped an arm around me, supporting my weight as though I were fragile glass. Her soft voice hovered close to my ear, full of quiet strength. "May she watch over you." As I wavered, she slipped a small, weighted pouch into my hand, her fingers lingering for a moment, as if trying to transfer some of her own strength into me. "What''s happening? What is this?" I croaked. It was a bottle "If... when things seem darkest, drink it. But only if you have to. It will show the path forward, but none walk away the same." "Get out of my sight Lilac, we''re back to square one thanks to you and your little project. The church will hear about this." Lilac looked apologetically down at me as she rose and walked away. I reached out and she only shook her head. My body was numb, failing me even as I tried to gather my bearings. The hall around me blurred, filled with faces both human and animal, all gazing at me with a mix of pity and contempt. What had this Queen done to me? "Will anyone step forth and help the hero?" A tired voice called. Awkward shuffling ensued. No one responded. "I will" Another woman stepped forward. She was clad in silver, her long, dark hair cascading down her back like a waterfall of ink. She had the same regal bearing as the queen, but her smile was soft and friendly. "I''ll help you," she said sweetly, her voice low and comforting. "I''m Lyn. Come with me. We''ll find a safe place for you to recover." She extended her hand, and I hesitated before taking it. She looked to the Queen for approval, getting it. She slipped something on my wrist, a glowing blue band. "This is for your protection. It''ll prevent you from accessing your abilities" "Abilities?" Lyn didn''t respond, instead whisking me away. 2 - Blue box She guided me through winding streets that seemed to defy gravity. Ancient brick towers leaned at impossible angles, held together by pulsing blue runes that carved paths through the mortar. The wealthy districts gleamed with enchanted marble and floating gardens, while darkness pooled in the alleys below. Guards in gleaming, ethereally blue armour watched our passage. Some had pauldrons that seemed to contain moving fire, living ice. At each gateway, enchanted weaponry floated in the air while trees pulsed with magical light, a show of power and protection. We crossed into areas where buildings sat closer together. Less magic. A maze of crooked buildings and smoke-filled streets. Market stalls lined the thoroughfare, merchants hawking everything from potions that sparkled like starlight to charms that whispered promises in voices that weren''t quite human. My mind only caught vague images, overwhelmed and ravaged by the mental attack. The sweet stench of decay grew stronger as we walked deeper into the city''s bowels. Black mould crept up the walls like veins, and figures lurked in the shadows of narrow alleys, the sound of steel on stone echoing in the darkness. "Watch your step," Lyn warned as we passed a group of beggars huddled around a flickering purple flame. Their eyes glowed with an unnatural light, skin mottled with black veins. One reached for my ankle but Lyn pulled me away. Floating carriages drifted overhead, pulled by creatures made of pure energy. The wealthy passengers wearing masks, not once looking down below as we passed underneath in their shadow. "Almost there," Lyn said as we approached a weathered pub sign swinging in a non-existent breeze. "The Broken Crown." A woman in tattered clothes grabbed my sleeve. "Spare some copper for the cursed, sir?" Her skin was nearly translucent, shot through with pulsing black lines, something dark and writhing visible in her eyes. Before I could respond, Lyn pulled me toward the pub''s entrance. The wooden door creaked open, releasing a wave of warmth and noise. Inside, the upper class patrons lounged at polished tables, drinking from goblets that never seemed to empty. Enchanted lanterns cast dancing shadows on the walls. I barely had time to take it in before someone slammed into me, sending me sprawling onto the floor. A man in expensive robes sneered down at me, his eyes flickering with that same corrupt purple light. "Watch yourself, kinless scum," he spat. "What the¡ª" I started, but before I could stand, Lyn stepped in, pulling me to my feet. The tavern keeper slapped down two bowls of steaming stew, chunks of meat and vegetables swimming in a rich broth. My stomach growled ¨C I couldn''t remember the last time I''d felt real hunger. In the game, eating had just been another stat boost. I wolfed down the food like a starving man while Lyn watched, stirring her own bowl thoughtfully. The flavours were intense, overwhelming ¨C nothing like the muted sensations of the VRMMO. When was the last time I''d tasted real food? "I''ve told you my name," she said finally, her voice carrying a curious blend of American clarity overlaid with European inflections - like many others I''d heard here. Even Queen Hella had spoken with unmistakably American pronunciation, though others seemed to mix in these strange European undertones. "So how about yours?" I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. "Zach." The name felt strange on my tongue, like something from another life. "Listen, I need to know ¨C what happened back there? With the Queen? And why can''t I access my menu or skills?" Her spoon froze halfway to her lips. She set it down carefully, eyes studying my face. "Menu? Skills?" A small frown creased her brow. "The summoning must have scrambled your mind worse than I thought." "Summoning? No, I was in Sword Dance ¨C the VRMMO. I just defeated Magnamartis, I hit max level, I was supposed to be free..." My voice trailed off at her blank expression. "VR... what?" She leaned forward, lowering her voice. "Listen carefully. You were summoned here by the Church''s ritual, but something went wrong. The Queen''s mental probe shouldn''t have hurt you like that." I sat back, my bowl forgotten. "That''s impossible. I was just in the game. I was level 100, I had the Armor of Magnamartis, I¡ª" I reached for skills that weren''t there, for power that had vanished like the memory of a dream as you wake up. "What year do you think it is?" she asked gently. "I... I don''t know. 2030 maybe? I lost track in the game." She shook her head slowly. "It''s the 13th cycle of the 2nd eon, and you''re not in any game. This is real." She glanced around the tavern, then leaned closer. "But maybe some of that fighting experience you remember could be useful. The Church has never attempted a summoning quite like this before, so your mind might have trouble adjusting." I stared into my empty bowl, mind racing. If this wasn''t the game, and it wasn''t Earth... "Why was I summoned?" "The dungeons are spreading," she said grimly. "Getting stronger. The Queen needed a hero." She gave a bitter laugh. "Though I don''t think you were quite what she was expecting. A kinless¡­ anyway I''ll speak to the bar owner, see if we can''t find something to help you." I held my head in my hands and by the time she returned my mind had come back to me a little. I was taken down to a courtyard. "The owner here has a rat problem, they''re as weak as it gets so you should be able to sort them out." A scratching sound pulled me from my reverie. There, in the corner of the courtyard, a massive rat the size of a large dog was gnawing at the base of the wall. Its matted fur was an unnatural grey, muscles rippling beneath as it worked. "Perfect," Lyn said, stepping back. "Just deal with this one and we''ll get you sorted."Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. The rat noticed us, turning to reveal yellowed teeth and eyes that gleamed with feral intelligence. My hands instinctively moved to draw a sword that wasn''t there, to activate skills I no longer possessed. In the game, I wouldn''t have even had to do anything, passive abilities, familiars, enchanted armour, aura. It wouldn''t let it get in visible distance without being torn to shreds., a burst of mana, any of a hundred abilities I''d earned through blood and sacrifice. But here I was just... flesh. Weak. Human. The rat moved like lightning - so much faster than I expected. My body tried to respond with practised grace, but everything felt wrong. No strength enhancement, no combat prediction, no automated defensive stances. Just me. Its teeth found my neck before I could dodge. Real pain exploded through my body, not the muted pressure of the game but sharp, searing agony that made my vision blur. Pure instinct took over - I grabbed its matted fur and used my whole body weight to slam it against the ground. I could feel warm blood running down my neck, my own blood, real blood. The rat thrashed beneath me as I desperately held on, its claws raking across my arms. This wasn''t a boss fight with carefully timed patterns. This was brutal, messy survival. With strength born of desperation, I smashed its head against the stone floor again and again until it finally went still.
Achievement! [ Survivor ] Almost die killing your first monster! +1 STR
No I fell to my knees. Anything but that. Anything but the game. I slammed my hands against the ground. Cowed. My heart plummeted. The familiar blue notification hovered before me like a spectre from a life I had left behind. I staggered backward, the weight of realisation crushing the air from my lungs. This... this can¡¯t be the game. It feels too real. The earth, the air, the light¡ªthe sensations hit me like a tidal wave of clarity, too vivid, too raw. I swallowed hard, trying to push back the rising panic. But the blue boxes... the EXP notifications... If this isn¡¯t the game, then what is it? What have I woken up to? Suddenly, everything felt wrong. I should be in a hospital. Someone should be monitoring me¡ªwaiting for me to log out. But instead, here I was, in a place that shouldn¡¯t exist. My mind spun with questions that had no answers. I wasn¡¯t ready for this, not after everything... everyone... I had lost. I must''ve finished the game, we had descended on the final boss¡¯s lair. An army of knights, magicians, healers, beast tamers. The entire raid party had been resplendent and powerful, yet we were unprepared. It was a suicidal choice, yet the longer we waited the more people we lost. My team, I did not know what had happened to them. Some had perished before my eyes. The rest, I don¡¯t know. They got me to the throne room. I had fought Magnamartis, and the glitch had worked. We had entered with so many, and in the end there were so few, and that was all for naught? I couldn''t even feel myself think, should I throw up or should I stand and cheer? I didn¡¯t know what to feel, whether I should be feeling at all. It was all too much. Yet the idea that I had sacrificed so much for nothing, it paralysed me, I began to see the faces of those I had seen die, in their last moments their eyes were lit up with such terror, such desperation. The walls rustling contained their whispers, their last cries, their begging. I had made it out. I had logged off. But what did I leave behind? Faces flashed before my eyes¡ªsome I had fought with for years, some who had died only days before. Their expressions in their final moments... the horror, the desperation... it was etched into my mind like scars. I could still hear their screams, faint but unrelenting, echoing in my thoughts like the wind through the trees. They had sacrificed everything for me to stand in front of that throne¡ªand for what? What was this victory worth if it cost every single one of them their lives? The ache in my chest swelled. The longer I thought about it, the more crushing the weight became, until my legs nearly gave out. They were gone, and yet here I stood, breathing air that should have been theirs. I should feel relieved¡ªgrateful, even¡ªbut all I felt was a gnawing emptiness, like I¡¯d traded one prison for another. I breathed in, and breathed it out. Letting those thoughts settle deep back into the recesses of my mind. It was too much. I could feel my new STR improvement in a way the game could never. My muscles burned with a deep, living ache - not the cold numerical increase I was used to. Each movement felt different, more grounded. When I flexed my fingers, I could feel the tendons shift and pull, the raw power building beneath my skin. In the game, strength was just a multiplier on PHYS damage. Here... here I could feel every fibre of enhanced muscle working in concert, the way my body moved with new purpose. Another rat appeared, larger than the first. But something was different now. As it charged, time seemed to slow - not from any game effect, but from pure, living instinct. I could feel new strength coursing through my muscles, an organic power that had nothing to do with numbers or status screens. As the rat leaped, I let reflex take over. Stepping inside its attack, one hand grabbing its throat while the other slammed into its belly. The impact shuddered up my arm - real force, real momentum. Not the clean, predictable physics of the game, but the raw, messy reality of flesh and bone. The rat thrashed, but I could feel the difference that single point of strength made. Not as a percentage or multiplier, but in the way my fingers dug deeper, how my stance held firm where before I''d stumbled. When I slammed it against the wall, I felt the precise moment its spine gave way. It crumpled to the ground, and I stared at my hands. In the game, strength was just a number that made my attacks hit harder. But this... I could feel how my muscles bunched differently, how my body moved with new awareness. Even my breathing had changed, deeper and more controlled. The rat''s blood was warm on my hands, its fur still bristling with fading life. No pixelated damage numbers, no clean death animation. Just the heavy finality of a real kill. The rat corpses lay before me, blood staining the cobblestones. Real blood. Not pixelated damage effects or pre-programmed death animations, but actual life that I had taken with my own hands. The gravity of that hit me harder than any boss fight ever had. I looked down at my trembling hands, still sticky with blood and dirt. They were scraped raw, fingernails torn, knuckles bruised, it wasn¡¯t right, but yet it was. The achievement notification mocked me, floating there like a ghost from my past life. Was this just another game? Another trap? But games didn''t have this... weight. This consequence. When I breathed, I could feel every cut and bruise protest. The metallic taste of blood in my mouth wasn''t a status effect - it was real. "Oh goddess..." Lyn''s voice came from behind me. I turned to see her standing in the doorway, face pale. She rushed over, nearly slipping on the blood-slicked stones. "I''m so sorry, I shouldn''t have... I thought -I mean, even the weakest people here can handle..." She rushed to my side, examining the wounds on my neck and arms. "How are you even still conscious? Your will stat must be... " She shook her head. "I really messed up. I should have checked your stats first." "Stay here," she said firmly. "I''m going to get someone who can help. The temple has healers who won''t ask questions." She squeezed my shoulder. "Just... don''t move. Please." "Wait! Tell me is this a game? Why are there stats! What is happening!" 3 - Heroic Rescue She just looked back at me in confusion and kept going, leaving me alone with the rat''s corpse and my thoughts. Minutes stretched by. The wound on my neck throbbed in time with my heartbeat. Where was she? It shouldn''t take this long to- A voice drifted up from somewhere below, muffled but clear enough to make out words: "...fresh ones tonight. Queen''s paying double for anyone unmarked." I froze. The voice had come from the hole the rat had been gnawing at. Crawling forward, I peered into the darkness. The passage widened just beyond the entrance, sloping down into what looked like a stone garage. More voices echoed up: "This is risky! Doesn''t he work for the queen?" "Dungeon don''t care. He don''t have to know does he?" "Whatever, hurry up, the guard patrol''s almost here." My blood ran cold. I crept forward, following the voices. The tunnel opened into a dimly lit chamber below. Through a gap in the stone, I could see figures moving in the shadows. My heart stopped. Lyn lay crumpled on the ground, her dark hair fanned across the dirty floor like spilled ink. Her chest rose and fell slightly ¨C unconscious, not dead. Relief warred with horror in my chest. Heavy footsteps echoed through the chamber. A guard in militia colours strode in, her armour gleaming dully in the low light. Unlike the others I''d seen patrolling above, her uniform was finer, marked with symbols of rank. "Bloody hell boys what have you brought me?" she asked, tossing over a jingling pouch to the figures in the shadows. "Just keep this one on the quiet yeah? Like usual, but maybe abit more than usual, cause you''re fishing in high class territory here. Risky risky." She clicked her tongue. "Stick to the people who won''t be remembered, or you might end up on the cart yourself." The criminals ¨C I could see them better now, a man in dark rags criss-crossed with purple growths ¨C nodded before melting back into the darkness. As they moved away, I saw it in the guard''s face ¨C that same corrupted purple light crawling through her veins like living lightning, pulsing beneath her skin. Her eyes glowed with an unnatural sheen, while the varicose veins in her rabbit ears were black as night Rage boiled up inside me ¨C rage at the corruption, at the betrayal, at this whole twisted world. But underneath it lurked something darker: recognition. The purple, it was just everywhere. In Hellas eyes it had been an abyss in tumult, raging silhouetted colossus grappling around a black iris. In others it was like a parasitic bruise, a coagulation of blood massed and hardened until it protruded obscenely. Flat, sharp, soft, sloping. It was a mess of purple that streaked across features, distorting them. Somehow Hellas eyes were more disturbing. I needed to move. Needed to help. But even with my new strength, what chance did I have against an armed guard? In the game, I''d been nearly invincible. Here, I was just... Lyn stirred slightly, a small sound of pain escaping her lips. The guard placed a box over her, and began to walk to the front of the cart. I frantically patted my pockets, looking for anything I could use as a weapon. The pouch Lilac had given me earlier - I pulled it out with trembling fingers. Inside was a small glass bottle filled with shimmering liquid that caught the dim light like captured moonlight, swirling with an otherworldly glow. It was beautiful and terrible all at once, like staring at a star that had fallen to earth. What did I have? Nothing. Maybe I could overpower her as she is distracted. My heart hammered in my chest as I drew nearer, muscles tense with desperate purpose. But as I moved to strike, the high crack of stone on my shoe made me freeze. Before I could even think to dodge, her hand shot out and seized my throat. Her grip was like iron, lifting me off my feet with inhuman strength. The purple corruption in her veins pulsed with dark energy, spreading across her skin in web-like patterns. I could feel the cold bite of it trying to seep into my flesh where she touched me, like frost creeping across a window. She held me like a toy. "What are you doing?" With my open I grappled my hand against her head. It did nothing, my hand couldn''t even pull at her skin. "How did you get here? How did you know?" I kept feebly whacking at her. Impotent. "I guess we will find out." Her eyes turned purple and purple crept from her arm onto mine. It moved and I started to get very worried. I raised the bottle with my other hand, she tilted her head at it, curious, and smashed it against her face. The purple and moonlight mixed. Glass went everywhere, I was cut. Much of the contents splattered to the floor, some splattered into my eyes, my nose, my mouth. It tasted like knowing without thought. Like a cool breeze on a springs day. Like the full-moon on a street with no streetlights. Remembering when you thought you had forgotten. She smiled. "Just how weak are you?" If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. "Pretty¡­ weak." A drop entered her mouth and she shrugged. She held me and reached across, touching her hand to my head. The purple leaped from her hand up my hand into my mind. She seemed surprised by this. The tide was strong. It pulled at me. Yet like the prow of a ship I cut the wave. It rushed and rushed and a speck against the void I held. Hands gripped my ankles, they hugged me with warmth, cupped my cheek and whispered in my ear. I could see it now. I was there again, a paragon of strength, purple and amazing. A huge army of men and monsters alike built a mound I stood atop, emperor of blood, salvation from life, destroyer of faith. The unbeliever. This is strange. I wasn''t really a fan of that shade of purple, I''m more of a fun purple guy than the pulsating, dreary abyssal purple that shone out of my eyes. All the world bowed before me. I was the leviathan in Hella''s eyes. Black and terrible. Eating away at the root of the world while the masses cried out, screamed for my love. I was adored. Hmm. I don''t get it. This isn''t¡­ me. A family. Me in the middle. It was a happy scene, warm and inviting they loved me not like they loved the leviathan, but like I belonged. Their eyes were black, their smiles. I did not recognise these people. I could see its offering, knew it could do as it promised. I just don''t care. What is an emperor of blood but an emperor of rot? What is it to be loved and not to love? It was the shadow of success, a misunderstanding spooled out and put back together misshapen and ugly. I want¡­ I want to eat apple cloudy cider hot like that one time I did with my mom. I want to sit in on itchy grass and pat my dog and worry about the sunlight. I want to walk next to sparkling streams and catch the little fish that dart there. Or try to. I walked there now, and the torrent came with me. I held a sword. Huge, flaming, magnificent. The guard, dissolving from a black flame. My old sword magnificent again, all my powers, my levels, back. No one would defy me. I could excise the rot of this city. The power would be awesome and terrible and my reign would be benevolent and just. No. I''d rather be fishing. My sword changed, dangling into water, my line bobbing up and down with the river, always a false hope of a bite. I haven''t caught anything in a long time. I guess that''s why they call it fishing not catching! I chuckled to myself. My dad''s line started whirring. A bite! He reeled in furiously until you could see the pale body of the fish rise out of the black. "Pop!" he tried to raise it out of the water, and something gave. The fish disappeared in a splash and we looked at his line. Twisted in a spring, his knot must''ve given. "I should really learn how to tie a fishing knot." He shrugged sheepishly and grinned at me. We googled it and without his glasses he couldn''t see what he was doing so I did it. I missed my dad. This thought seemed to enrage the purple. My sword, it could give me anything. An ocean of fish. Anything. I''m not sure it understood. That''s what I had fought for so long. That''s why I had struggled. Not to do this again, not to become the flame-demon, the conqueror, the whatever. Just let me, be me, live my life not again sacrificing everything just so others could have something. Let me be selfish, and have the things I hadn''t for so long. My dad''s visage came then. Smiling and black eyed. But he was gone a long time ago. Indignity like a waterfall. Rage a crashing blade that thrummed against my head. I saw red and only red. Bile filled my mouth. "YOU DO NOT GET TO KNOW HIM! YOU DO NOT GET TO KNOW HIM!" It tried to pull back, but I would not let it, I sunk my rage into it and pulled it in. Unceasing, uncaring as it wriggled and tremored and thrashed. A screaming, crying tear pinged throughout the mental plane. I was left with drags of purple in my hand and as force disappeared, having cut its losses and run. I was left alone with a much smaller presence. One that had not seen the light of day in a long time. She was looking at me, still trying to process what she had seen, but now she began to remember and her memories dragged us under. It was a little girl, running being swept into her mothers arms. It was a woman dragging a mother away from her child. It was a woman. The merchant had not paid his taxes, the firemana leapt up the side of his cart voraciously. Couldn''t''ve afforded lacquer then. It was a girl buying a biscuit, she got two because she hadn''t made a fuss at the market this time. It was a woman, running, running. A political criminal had escaped. A cat-kin woman, an ox-kin boy, a rabbit kin girl. Pounding down familiar dark alleyways, baton at the ready to restore order. It was a little girl, running, running, down black alleyways, up twisting side streets, running. From a woman. She rounded a corner. The child saw the woman and the woman saw the child and everything came undone. Then the woman returned. Spent. And unknowing. Her face was pale and sweaty. Her breathing hitched and hawed, yet the purple of her face was gone. "I''m¡­ sorry" She muttered. Tears ran down her face, she grasped my clothing. "Thankyou¡­ thankyou." My legs nearly gave out as I stumbled back to where Lyn lay. The purple corruption that had started spreading to my arm faded like morning mist, leaving only tender, bruised skin behind. Whatever had been in that bottle, it had done more than just clear the guard''s corruption - it had given me a glimpse into the darkness eating away at this city''s heart. Not just the visible corruption that stained their skin, but the deeper rot that had taken root in their souls. I checked Lyn''s pulse - still steady. She was starting to stir, her eyelids fluttering. I needed to get her out of here before more guards showed up, before someone else decided to take advantage of her vulnerability. In this city, it seemed, mercy was a currency few could afford.
[ CELESTIAL TIER POTION - RESISTED! ]
[ CELESTIAL TIER MENTAL INVASION - RESISTED! ]
Achievement! [ Unbound by Level, Flesh or Creed ] Force an enemy significantly higher level than you into submission +1 WIS
I felt as though my frontal lobe had finally kicked in. Like darkness ever-present around me receded a touch. The constant flickering of consciousness was made less of a waking dream and the sharpness of it all came into focus. The misery, the distraught anger. The walls of brick made so imperfectly because the. I was so much greater. I could feel how the wristband sapped my meagre mana now. Looking around I felt¡­ fear. Something was wrong, something that had tickled my senses now poked at me. 4 - Doing what is right There was purple everywhere. I thought back to things I had seen before. The guard, the homeless, the carriages, the castle. This place had power, so much power. Magic and spells and flying carriages. So why did so many suffer? Why did they need to summon me here to defeat their enemy? Lyn was heavy but with an awkward carry I managed to get her out onto the main street. Askance glances were all I received for my bloodied body and the unconscious woman. These people were strange. I was somehow stranger. The only person who seemed to see what was happening. The only person to care. A stranger alone in a strange, un-kind, land. I did not know what to do, so back inside we went. I went up to the barkeep. "We were attacked! There''s men in your cella-" He looked at me with the strangest expression. Threatening and fearful like he couldn''t quite decide if he wanted to murder me or run. He leaned across the counter and grabbed my shirt. "Shut your mouth. Sit down. And I''ll have the lady helped." Ok then. Back to the table like nothing had happened except for the blood, the dirt, the pain and the endless boiling questions. The barkeep came over with a red potion and left it on the table. "HP potion. You give it to her and you piss off ok? Don''t ever come back" I fed it to her and watch colour restore itself to her face with each dribble that actually managed its way into her mouth. I think the chocking, spluttering woke her up as much as the potion. "What happened!?" "You were kidnapped. Taken by -" She hushed me. "Taken by someone who gave you to a guard, who put you on a cart. I took out the guard," She was taking this knowledge remarkably well. "You. You took out the guard?" "Well this purple stuff tried to grab onto me, then it tried to tempt me to give up my soul or something in a weird way. It was like Hella, just straight into my head, but this time it rifled around and started bringing stuff up-" "Why didn''t you take the offer?" "Take the offer? Why would I do that?" "So you can take what others have taken from you? For the sake of you, and your loved ones? "Loved ones...?" She said nothing for a long moment. "You''re strong. But also the weakest person I have ever met. But also the strongest." "Sure, but what''re we going to do about the kidnapping? We going to talk to Hella or is there a police station- ah I mean a guard station around here or what?" She squinted at me as if I was crazy. "Report? Listen don''t mention this to anyone." "You''re not going to tell anyone that you almost got kidnapped?" "I''m telling you not to mention it. So don''t." "What? There''s criminals dressed in guard uniforms kidnapping people! I saw her mind! That guard has been burning down merchant stalls and chasing children down streets, we need to report it at least!" "Keep your godsdamned voice down. Just¡­ I''ll deal with it." There seemed something on the tip of her tongue. "Just¡­ leave it. Ok? Can you do that?" "Umm sure. Can you tell me then do you see achievements? A system? Blue boxes in the air?" She looked at me again strangely. "Of course. Why?" "You''ve always seen them?" "Yes." "Ah." I was being crushed by the air. "Are we in a video-game?" I was sure we were not. "A what? There''s no games" She sighed exasperated. I sat there in silence, processing this. Everything I thought I knew seemed to crumble further with each passing moment. Lyn got up and left, saying she had to attend to something and that she would be back.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. A guard walked in, his armour gleaming despite the dim light. A magenta stripe crossed his breastplate with a crown like the guards in the throne room. The barkeep gestured at me and he walked up. "You aren''t fit to sit here young man. Come along." "Wait my friend, Lyn, she''s just cleaning herself up." "Lets go, or do you want thing to get ugly?" "Listen, you need to know something¡­" I couldn''t stop myself. "In the cellar, there''s kidnapped people. A guard wearing yellow was involved" The guard stared at me. His fox-like ears twitching with interest. "A corrupt guard, you say? This is a serious accusation. Tell me everything." I explained what I''d witnessed - He listened intently, nodding with a grave expression. "This is deeply troubling," he said finally. "I''ll personally see to it that this is investigated. Wait here." He strode off purposefully, finally taking it seriously. Lyn walked in and they began to talk, walking out of the pub. I kept eating. I would have to apologise to Lyn later but in the heat of the moment I didn''t know what to do. "That''s him," the captain announced, pointing directly at me. "The one who attempted to kidnap and assault this poor woman." My head snapped up. Lyn stood beside them, tears streaming down her face. Her shoulders shook as she pointed a trembling finger at me. "He... he tried to drag me into the cellar," she sobbed. "If I hadn''t fought him off¡­ he wanted to do terrible things to me!" I didn''t say anything. My mind was a whirl trying to get anywhere but it found no purchase on thought, on memory. Lyns face kept flashing before my eyes. Time became a blur and I was brought before Hella again, Lilac and the assembly were still here. Watching me. "You have been accused of battery, and sexual deviancy!" A gasp went around the room at this. "How do you plead!" She demanded. "¡­not guilty" My body was then wracked with pain, I blacked out. She had invaded my mind again. "Liar!" I saw Lilac again, tears streaming down her face. She was pale white. "I wondered when you would show your true colours. You fiend. From the moment I laid eyes on you I knew you would bring nothing but trouble. You''re no hero!" "You''re right." The words left me, but it was all I could muster. I wanted to scream, curse and holler, but I hung my head like a guilty man. Guilty of trying to help someone, trying to point out the obvious, guilty of being surrounded by monsters in silver and not knowing it. "All the people of this city will know what you have done. Your crimes against the royal family. You are a guilty man and you will say it!" My mouth stayed shut. I felt their looks press in on me, the silent disregard for humanity now filled my nostrils, painted the undersides of my fingernails, choked my lungs. This place was the illusion of a society, a vivid anti-humanity, a festering waste of faceless not-people. Lyn looked at me head tilted sideways, sticking her tongue out.. A throb of purple revealed itself on her solar plexus, like a black mark. Her clothes were torn and muddy - she must have ripped them herself to make her story more convincing. The thought made me sick. The lengths she''d gone to, just to frame me. Just because I''d tried to help. "Exile him to the forest!" The queen commanded. "It''s not possible! It''ll kill him! His WILL stat is way too low! He''ll end up in the forest and never wake up, lost to himself!" "He is lost to himself already. Do as I say." Nobody moved."DO IT" She snarled. "or it''ll be your little ragtag people paying the price" Lilac turned to me. Her eyes were red, full of agony and helplessness, they never left me. "I''m so sorry. You need to hold onto yourself, know who you are and don''t forget it. Because you will die." She chewed her lip and muttered "Oh goddess your love guide me." She raised her arm, reaching for me, and light blossomed on the platform. The effect was immediate. My vision blurred, the world around me twisting and warping as if reality itself was coming undone. My body felt like it was being ripped apart molecule by molecule, every nerve screaming in agony. My mind began to unravel, slipping away into the void. But I held on. I focused on Lilac''s words, on the warmth in her voice, on the belief she had in me. I thought about everything I had lost, everything I wanted to prove, the injustice of this world and the burning desire to survive, if only to spite those who had cast me out. The pain intensified, but I didn¡¯t let go. I couldn¡¯t let go.
The last glimmers of light of the ritual began to die down, Lilac held her breath. Begged her god to forgive her, to forgive these people, to let it be a success. A flash of brilliant white light erupted from the portal, engulfing the room in a blinding blaze. Lilac¡¯s heart stopped for a moment, her entire body tensing in the overwhelming brightness. Then, as the light receded, she felt it¡ªa presence. Strong. Unyielding. Her heart leapt. He¡¯s alive. Blessed be life, the sun, and the moon! A surge of joy washed over her, and she almost cried out in relief. But how could he have done it? He was only just a boy? The queen¡¯s voice snapped her out of her momentary bliss. "What was that?" queen Hella barked, suspicion lacing her tone. Lilac turned to the queen, hastily composing herself, the joyful expression vanishing from her face. "The portal ritual¡­ failed," she replied, her voice flat, calculated. "He is dead." The queen scoffed and waved her hand dismissively. "As expected." She turned her back, leading the rest of the court out. They shrugged, muttering amongst themselves as if the death of their supposed "hero" was nothing more than a passing inconvenience. A strange sensation lingered in the air, something she couldn¡¯t place at first. She closed her eyes, focusing, her senses attuned to the faint traces of mana in the room. There. A subtle taste on her tongue, sharp and earthy, like the scent of damp leaves after rain. Forest. Her heart sank, dread creeping into her bones. No. No, no, no¡­ She buried her face in her hands. It tasted of forest. "I''ve killed him. Oh goddess forgive me I''ve killed him" 5 - Heros reward I sat up suddenly, my head spinning from the teleportation. The ritual had felt like being torn apart and reassembled, every atom screaming. But I was alive. I had remembered myself through it all. There was something strange. Something wrong. Something that annoyed in a familiar way. I felt down to my legs and came across hard yet soft, cutting yet smooth, The grass in the game was ever present and ever yielding, pillowy stuff of an ideal suburban dad''s would gush for. It was fake. This was not. This was not particularly anything. It was yellow and dead and alive and vibrant and some stems had little shoots squashed by animals and some had domes of seeds hanging of them high in the air. It was all so¡­ random. I plucked at it. Amazed. Held it squashed and torn to my nose to indulge in the wet herbal nothing smell of it. Still not in game. I stood taking a deep, satisfying breath. My mind hadn''t been quite right after whatever Hella did to me, everything was a haze, a world seen through a broken mirror formed of glazed pottery and hateful faces. Fragmented memories flashed through my mind¡ªthe grand hall, Queen Hella''s scornful gaze, Lilac''s kind eyes filled with worry, a thousand mocking jeering looming silhouettes, the overwhelming sensation of being pulled apart by the portal. Lyn. I touched my wrist where the wristband used to be. I guess it hadn''t made it. That place, the towers of brick, the lane-ways, the people with cat ears and fox tails and sharp canines. It was real too. But in its overwhelming newness there was nothing to compare to the game with. Here I indulged. In the kinetic force of the earth, with its random rocks and sticks and debris. I shook around like a cat on that green carpet. Finding wondrous imperfection in everything. The wood, the individual tears on a blade of grass. How one rock had pitted holes and another was cracked down the middle but not split. Even the rustling of the branches, you could feel the wind push the branches and the sound of it all rise and ebb with that flow. I felt a slight, irritating tickle on my forearm. A tiny black body was making its way up my arm. Prodigiously manoeuvring it dodged hairs and powered round my wrist aimlessly. It was fascinating until it stopped suddenly stooping its head and a slight pain twinged from it. -Flick! The ant was gone.
( Black Ant ) Killed! +1 EXP
No, please no. My heart dropped. I had hoped that was a horrible waking terror, I had tried to forget what Lyn said. What the world was like. If this isn¡¯t the game, then what is it? What have I woken up to? I leaped back as unbidden blue boxes filled my vision, tripping and tumbling back to the grass.
Achievement! [ Slayer of Magnamartis, Saviour of the World ] [ Dawnbringer, King of the Gods ] [ Saviour of Humanity and all ]
Ability Gained! [ INDOMITABLE HUMAN WILL ] ( PASSIVE ) Will = ¡Þ
My breathing hitched. Slayer of Magnamartis. I wet my dry lips and repeated those words. The sound of my own voice reminded me of something.
Zach Human. 16 years. Level - 1
Endurance 0
Dexterity 0
Strength 1
Wisdom 1
Intelligence 0
Spirit 0
PerceptionUnauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. 0
Will ¡Þ
I wrung my head and sat back. This was reality, undeniably so. The game had just followed me into it. I sat ruminating, the despair a weight around my neck, it felt as if I had traded one mantle for another. In the city, I''d been too overwhelmed by the betrayal to really process what Lyn had said - that everyone saw them, that this wasn''t a game to them. To anyone. I thought of Lyn''s face as she accused me, of the corrupt guard''s purple-stained eyes, of Lilac''s tears as she cast me out. What kind of world was this, where power levels and stats existed alongside real pain, real betrayal? Where notifications congratulated you for killing actual living creatures? The game had been a prison, but at least I''d understood its rules. This... this was something else entirely. Yet, the despair that weighed on me could not smother my spirit. Minute yet pernicious, the idea of a fresh start, a new beginning, unlimited potential, it set a flicker in my heart that would not be quelled. It was hard to think about the game, I had never failed to keep moving in it, always pushing, always grinding, always the best. But now, in some strange way, I had done what needed to be done, this was reality, I had escaped the VRMMO and awoken in a new world. Except for one thing. The title I had received, "saviour of the world," this world knew something of the game. But it wasn''t the game? How could that be? How could I have infinite WILL? What does that even mean? At least it explains my survival of the portal and resisting the potion''s effects. But where was I? What just happened in the city? The sun pressed down on me as I lay asking questions, the only answers I received was the high whistling through the branches. The heat was relentless, as if trying to pull me out of my thoughts and back to reality. I couldn''t stay here. I needed water and food, instinctively my hand reached for my sword, only to find its absence, and that absence seemed to reduce me, the world growing larger, the dark underbrush around gloomy and impenetrable. It was a thick wood filled with vitality, the underbrush filled with logs and bushes drinking in the dappled light. The ground felt different beneath my feet - not the predictable, even surface I''d grown used to in the game, but a chaotic jumble of sensations. Every step brought new textures: springy moss, rough bark, slick mud that squelched between my toes. I was level 1 again, a measly 10 HP. I found a stick and forged into the underbrush, eyes peeled. Strangled alien cries and caws seemed to gain depth. I did not appreciate how alien they truly were but standing there eyes wide stock still I could decipher nothing in the chaotic chorus of the forest all shadowy silhouettes and no substance. Figures formed in the darkness, turning to look at them they would disappear. It wasn''t right. I was used to a map, a UI, at least some understanding of what I faced. Now all I had was a primal fear that made my hands shake and my breath come in short gasps. I kept reaching for abilities I no longer had, scouting, searching, my inventory, but nothing familiar was there to comfort me. All I had was that reminder of my weakness, LEVEL 1 INDICATOR I forged on. ¡®Zinggggg¡¯ I flung myself to the ground. A splash of dazzling white light slammed into the earth in front of me. The grass sizzled and blackened into ash. Before I could even think, long buried reflexes forced me into motion. Rolling to the side, I managed to avoid another blast. A familiar hum filled the air, high-pitched and angry¡ªthe unmistakable sound of mana bolts. My instincts kicked in before my brain could catch up, and I threw myself to the side just as a bolt of white light slammed into the earth, sending a shower of dirt and grass into the air. My heart pounded in my chest, my breath coming in ragged gasps. How long had it been since I¡¯d felt real pain? The VRMMO had dulled so much of it, but now... now, every scrape, every bruise burned like fire. I could barely think, my body moving on reflex alone. This wasn¡¯t supposed to happen. I wasn¡¯t supposed to fight for my life in the real world. Yet here I was, dodging mana bolts like a level 1 scrub all over again. The thought sent a wave of bitter frustration through me. Was this really my life now? Fighting creatures that shouldn¡¯t exist in a world that was never supposed to be real? I lurched to my feet, the thunderous beating of my heart slamming in my chest drowned out everything. I stood still for a moment. Adrenaline was pumping, sweat and my breath and everything forced into painful overdrive like I was dying, the game did not do that. Everything had slowed down so much, and yet I felt so powerful, my entire body numb yet on fire. ''Zinnnng'' Pain exploded across my back as the mana bolt slammed into me, searing heat radiating through my body. I howled, stumbling behind a tree, heart pounding in my throat. It had been so long since I felt something this intense¡ªso sharp and real. This wasn¡¯t like the game. There was no safety net here, no respawns. If I made a mistake, that was it. My mind was reeling from the over-stimulation. The corrupt queen had attacked my very spirit and the pain had been the pain of not knowing myself, of witnessing memories without their meaning, knowing you had loved, but not knowing who, a soul in tumult, cast adrift. This was pain of pain, true agony, nerve endings telling me parts of my body was dead or dying, and it was like ice water on my systems, paralysing while forcing me to act. I forced myself together and risked a glance around the tree, my breath catching in my throat as I spotted the creature¡ªa horned rabbit, its eyes glowing with mana, red and unblinking. It was smaller than I expected, but the raw fear twisting in my gut didn¡¯t care. I was level 1, with barely enough HP to survive. If I didn¡¯t act fast, it wouldn¡¯t be a glitch, a cat eared witch, or an unfair boss that killed me¡ªit¡¯d be a rabbit with a glowing horn. Jagged, gleaming, buck teeth. A wicked horn imbued with white luminescence, alien blood red eyes peered out from a white shaggy squat form.
{ Horned Rabbit } Level - 1 HP - 2/2
I felt a touch of cold fear grip my heart. My stomach clenching slightly as I stood behind the tree. I did not know if I could outrun it. I filled my lungs with air and launched from behind the tree. Pelting down towards the animal I saw the horn pulse with light and swung to the side as a ball of light was lobbed in my direction. Its attacks, guided by the glow of the horn, were easy to predict. However, each evasion grew closer than the last as the distance between us closed. Each step more precarious as the tangle of roots and fallen branches threatened to trip me. The rabbit seemed to have overestimated itself as I bounded forward, closing the distance to it rapidly. As it turned tail, powerful hind muscles started to bunch up in preparation to leap away back into the brush where it could strike at its discretion. I had lost my stick at some point, and no obvious weapon appeared in the underbrush. Instead, I launched forward just in time to catch its large fluffy feet mid leap. Long claws scraped along my grasping hand, splicing the skin, my arm was wrenched hard by the rabbits powerful momentum. We slammed into the mucky underbrush. Wind driven out of my lungs, stomach driven back too far inside me, I held on. The rabbit didn''t hesitate as I was still regaining my bearings. I bellowed as it wrenched around and gouged into my hand with its oversized and yellowed buck teeth. It met something hard and scraped along it, it felt like a horrid chorus of nails on blackboard yet emanating entirely from within my body. Crying out in pain I slammed the damned animal into the dirt, trying to loosen its grip on my arm without letting go of its feet. A cacophony of angry squeals unleashed from the rabbit. Yet even as I repeatedly slammed the rabbit into the earth, hollering in rage and agony, it only seemed to squeal louder. A low hum of mana emanated from the horn as it began to glow, I had but a second. I whipped around and slammed the rabbit horn first into the tree, the waves of agony narrowing my vision into a dark tunnel. ''Zing'' Heat washed over my hand and the rabbit let loose a low grating keen. Woodsmoke wafted over me, piercing the veil of pain. Yet, it still wouldn''t let my arm out of its agonising grasp. Instead of resisting I shoved it forward, ensuring it would stay in the tree and took hold of its scrabbling hind paws with my other hand. ''Shhk'' A wave of warmth engulfed my hand as the rabbit let out a harsh, grinding groan. The scent of charred wood infiltrated the pain-haze surrounding me. Still, it refused to release my arm. Instead of pulling away, I pushed it further into the tree, gripping its struggling hind legs with my free hand. I shoved its legs up, contorting its body up while its head stayed facing the tree. Shoving with all my might I let loose a primal roar. Visceral, wet pops reverberated across the rabbit. ''Crack!'' A high snap rung out. Then silence, only my laboured breathing filled the air.
Enemy slain! { Horned Rabbit }
+ 1 [ Damaged rabbit pelt ] + 4 [ Copper ]
Level Up! { 2 } You have gained + 1 assignable status point(s)