The Dragon's Wrath: Ashes of the Fallen

Chapter 50: Return to the Fifth

(Thursday, June 24th Game Day / Sunday, February 28th Real Day)

Night had already fallen by the time I made it back to the dungeon town but I was actually glad for it as it kept prying eyes off my precious cattle and kittens. They were a national secret, after all. My kingdom's ultimate treasure at the moment were these little fellas, and so long as no one caught wind of my plans, I would have a leg up on the competition for a little bit longer.

Sneaking into the back of the stables behind the inn, I tied up each calf in its own pen where it could munch on some hay and get some much needed rest. I figured they would be safe there for now, especially since no one actually had a horse yet.

Entering the inn that I had been staying at, I paid the fee for four pens and informed the inn keeper that I would be staying for nine more days. The inn cost me ten coppers a day but it was reasonable, as the inn was fairly upscale compared to the others. Storage space via a locked chest was included in each room, which was quite large in its own right. There was a full-sized bed, a small table and chair, a personal washstand with a small mirror situated just above, and magic-powered lights that had a soft amber glow to them. Compared to some of the other inns that only provided a small twin-sized bed and not much else, this inn was like going from a one-star motel to a three-star hotel.

All in all, it was a pretty nice place.

Not to mention, the tavern downstairs was considered the best one around and I received one free meal a day during my stay. The cost for a pen and hay wasn't too bad either, at three coppers a day. Of course, the charges were by eight-hour in-game day, rather than real-life twenty-four hour day… which would have been quite convenient. Everything went according to the game clock, so that was twenty-two coppers per eight-hours including the room rate with the pen rentals.

That added up rather quickly, really.

Oh well.

Checking the clock, Barik would be on within an hour and so too would the rest of the crew. We had been hitting the dungeon up every day on a schedule, twice a day at the very least, with a third run squeezed in on the weekdays.

The only real issue when playing with Aussies was the time difference… midnight here was five in the afternoon for them. Plus seventeen hours for them, so in order to maintain our group runs, I either had to stay up extremely late or wake up very early.

It wasn't that bad, since I had no life anyways, but it took some getting used to at first. First few days were a bit awkward, especially getting my food and sleep cycle on board. Though, after those first few days, I transitioned wonderfully into a complete night owl.

"Ah, I should eat," I muttered to myself after the kittens had settled into their positions on the bed. They had already ate and were fast asleep; now it was time for me to take care of my virtual body. Wolf jerky could only last for so long, especially with how realistic the food tasted in this game. I was getting sick of eating nothing but flavorless jerky.

Leaving the kittens in the room, I made my way downstairs to the tavern only to find the hallway blocked by four young men standing shoulder to shoulder. At first I thought, perhaps something was going on, but after a few seconds had gone by they were still blocking the path while chatting amongst themselves. They weren't in a hurry to go anywhere, they were simply being a nuisance.

"Excuse me," I said loudly and clearly as I attempted to make my way through.

They didn't move though, they didn't even turn around.

Typical behavior, really… there were always a few people like them running around. Crowding doorways, blocking paths, standing on-top of an NPC so others couldn't interact with them… these people who were content with their selfish behavior were always in a game. If you played a game without these kinds of characters, it probably wasn't much of a game.

That's just how it was.

"Hey guys, think you could move over a bit?" I asked as politely as I could muster, while trying to contain my anger. I didn't have the patience for this shit, but the good citizen route would be my first attempt.

"What's it matter to you punk, mind your own damn business," said the man closest to me as the four of them turned around to face me.

"You're blocking the doorway," I stated plainly while locking eyes with the man who had spoken up. "I'm going through and you're in the way."

"Tsk, wait your turn," replied another man. "We were here first."

Ah, I couldn't help but wonder, what was the penalty for combat again?

My hand was itching as I started to gather electricity in my palm, the penalty for fighting within a town was somewhat severe, but I didn't care.

Then they all turned around and walked away.

"Huh," I whispered as I watched the four enter the tavern and occupy a table in the corner. My mouth agape, I released the lightning that had accumulated, letting it dissipate into the air as I was forced to shake my head to break my chain of thought.

"That was unexpected," I mumbled to myself.

Making my way over to the bar, I grabbed an empty stool near the middle and sat at the counter. Maybe I was too harsh on the four, and jumped the gun. They could have been indecisive, yet I was ready to send them to the graveyard.

Oh well, my intuition was usually right.

No harm, no foul, anyways.

"What will you be having?" asked the barkeep not long after I settled in.

"I'll have the potato stew, and a loaf of bread," I replied quickly as I relaxed my shoulders and set my arms on the counter. "Ah, and bring me a porter too, a stout porter preferably but any porter will do if you don't have a strong one."

"We have a good selection of ales and beers, quite a few porters to choose from," the barkeep stated with a smile. "I'll bring you the strongest one we have, it's quite good."

The wait was relatively short.

I suppose that was to be expected here, the service was fast and the food came out quickly. It honestly surprised me a bit. Well, to be fair, the food I ordered had probably been sitting in a large pot for hours, so I can't really compare that.

Looking around the tavern, the place had a nice, comforting layout.

The design was simplistic but efficient, spacious but not too distant. Everything felt connected while giving enough privacy for each guest. It was a good layout, one that I might have to borrow for Dragon's Breach. Opening my overlay schematic menu, I was able to trace the entire room out and save it for future use. I might not end up using it, but it didn't hurt to have an example for my own tavern.

I did like the efficiency.

Add in the décor and it was really a quaint little place, too.

There was a certain rustic flair combined with a bit of a modern touch, somewhat out of place though considering the time-frame that the game was supposed to be in. The building was a combination of stone and some type of concrete replica along with treated and painted wood. The style was more 1700's then 1100's, but it somehow worked. It was certainly a far cry from the wooden shacks of the Northern Triangle, and definitely more advanced than my log cabins and lodges.

Eh, but I liked my artistic touch a tad bit more.

Log cabins were always aesthetically pleasing to the eye, anyhow.

As I ate, I kept my head down while listening to the ongoing conversations all around me. One table off to the side, occupied by three women most likely in their mid-twenties based on appearances, were busy chit-chatting about their relationships.

That was hardly the least bit interesting.

They weren't worth listening to.

Another table, a mixed group of three males and two females, were discussing the dungeon's third floor and the difficulty they were having with the boss. They weren't too far off on strategy but they seemed to lack experience, skill, or levels.

Well, they would get it eventually.

Letting my eyes defocus as I concentrated on filtering out the noise from the important conversations, I eventually found one that got my ears to perk up.

"Did you see that blog post?" asked a man with a squeaky voice.

"Which, the meeting details or the one on that group that cleared the fourth floor's boss?" questioned the other man. "I saw both up the other day."

"The meeting one, the report on how the North is basically free territory for the taking," replied the man with the squeaky voice. "There's only one player village way up in the wastelands, dude, we could easily stake out a place for ourselves."

Ah, Emily, what would I do without you.

I knew the day would come, it was bound to.

So it was hard to really stay mad at the girl. She was doing her job, introducing areas and going over the details of how territories in The Dragon's Wrath were developing. The game designers needed feedback, especially on why some areas were seen as incredibly lackluster. I understood that, I truly did.

It would have been nice if she didn't single me out with that photo, putting a target on my back. After that meeting, I had lost all interest in returning to future meetings. I never really liked going in the first place, but felt some responsibility to attend as an Alpha tester. Plus, information was always important.

Well, their query was a pointless one in my mind. They wanted to gauge popularity and categorize it. Popularity was a strange thing to explain though, often times the most popular thing was far from the best in its category… there was something at work, something that couldn't always be explained.

The masses could clamor for change, for improvement, for something to evolve from the stale state it is currently in, but then when cookie-cutter copies come out, they flock to it and buy it up en masse. Their preconceived notions taking over, they ignore the faults and love it for what it embodies, for its similarity to the stuff that came before it. All of the complaints that had been made would be forgotten for the time being. Well, only until the doldrums finally become apparent once again. Then complaints anew about the repetition and the poor state of the industry would arise once more.

It was a cyclical nature, and one that couldn't really be explained.

What made something popular was often random, and once it was engrained in current thought, breaking the mold could prove difficult if not disastrous.

The developers wanted to figure out how to sway public opinion, to advertise the remaining open territories in the game, to popularize areas that weren't favorites.

I thought it was all a waste of time.

Those who appreciate it, will find it.

It may take some time, but given the right circumstances, it will happen.

Attempting to figure it all out was truly pointless.

Oh well, there wasn't much I could do about it here and now. I had my territory, that small village… all alone up there that everyone now knew of. They might not have known the owner was the lone guy sitting at the bar, eating some potato stew and drinking a dark beer, but they knew my village.

What bothered me, was that these random people had heard, no, read about this information on a blog. Releasing information within the meeting was one thing, but there were rules on confidentiality and not reporting it to the general public. Leaks always happened though. Some individual sharing everything for the good of the people, breaking rules and regulations so as to get popular while pretending to be Robin Hood.

Truth was, he or she wouldn't get punished for it. The offense wasn't that bad, at least not to the company.

Having nearly finished my meal, I started to think about my plans going forward. I had my cattle in tow, a couple of kittens too, and my dungeon questing was nearly complete. The only thing left, was to return home… to see Selene and Katherine again.

As I was thinking of the girls, a woman entered the tavern wearing a heavy robe that covered her from head to toe. All I could see were the black leather boots and the tips of her dark brown hair poking out from the hood covering her face.

Normally, I wouldn't bother looking.

Well, I might glance… once or twice.

Something was off though, with her walk.

And that's when I noticed that she had a cane, though she didn't seem to be relying on it much. A cane was a bit peculiar, but if she was a caster it was a suitable weapon if not a bit rare and out of place at the moment. Most casters didn't bother with weapons as it slowed them down, especially since enchanted weaponry wasn't really available yet. Yeah, she was odd… odd enough to catch my eye.

Continuing to eat what little was left on my plate, I could see out of my peripheral vision that she was looking for a place to sit. She ended up settling on the bar a few stools away, at the end far from the rest of us. A few minutes had passed, as I played with my food and wondered if there was anything interesting to do while waiting for Barik and the others. The girl ordered some food, but I stopped paying attention after that.

She was interesting for a minute.

After a few seconds though, it was creepy on my part.

That was, until I heard some laughter coming from her direction. The table behind her got me to turn my head, only to witness what was possibly the oddest thing I had ever seen when it came to someone eating at a bar. The girl was touching her food, hovering her hand over the plate and gently feeling each ingredient with the tip of her index finger, as if she had no clue as to what she was looking at.

She was interesting again.

"Mm. Excuse me," she called out to the barkeep with a voice that sounded awfully familiar. After he came over, she pointed at the food in front of her and politely asked, "could you tell me what this is?"

I couldn't see her face, but the expression of the barkeep was easily visible.

"It's what you ordered miss, are you unhappy with the quality?"

She seemed a little taken aback as her head moved slightly and her voice wavered ever so slightly, "Ah. No, everything is quite alright. Sorry for the confusion."

The barkeep was confused and shook his head as he walked away. I didn't quite blame him even if I felt he misunderstood. She asked a weird question and if I hadn't seen her poking her food a second ago, I probably would have responded in the same way. The way she was handling herself, the only thought that had crossed my mind, was that of a child who had never seen that type of food before.

My guess, was she honestly wanted to know what type of food it was.

I was tempted to answer the question for her.

Yeah, why not… there was nothing to lose.

"That's an aebleskiver right there," I said with a slightly raised voiced to catch her attention while pointing at the donut-like pancake. "It's more of a breakfast item the way it's served, usually it comes with jam and powdered sugar though."

"Oh, I see," she replied with only a quick glance in my direction before turning back to face her food. "I've never had it before, it seemed interesting. Perhaps I should not have ordered it for dinner, then." As she said that, she poked it once more which almost made me laugh out loud. She had an innocence to her that was somewhat charming. She didn't make eye contact, but she seemed friendly enough.

"It doubles as a dessert," I replied lightly with a laugh. "I think you're good."

"Is that so?" she countered with a cheerful voice of her own.

My mind was slow on the uptake but even despite that, I knew she was too familiar to be a stranger. I couldn't place it. Her mannerisms weren't new to me, even if they were slightly strange. The way she responded as well, was making me question my memory a bit. I was missing something. Ah, it did sound like she had an accent though, but with the noise from the tavern it was hard to hear.

If I could see her face, it might change everything.

"You wouldn't happen to-" I started to ask before being rudely interrupted.

"Can I help you?" she asked bluntly but passively.

She wasn't talking to me though.

During our conversation, the four men that had been blocking the doorway earlier had made their way over to the bar. Now, the four of them stood around her, surrounding her essentially on all sides.

"Hey, you're a healer aren't ya?" asked one of the guys that had crowded behind her.

I was a bit surprised that she could sense them, as she never turned around and her head was still covered by her hood. She either had exceptional hearing or a skill that alerted her to people approaching.

It was a bit strange.

"I am," she replied curtly while continuing to stare at her food.

"We're headed to the dungeon, come heal for us," continued the same man.

"I have to decline, I already have prior arrangements," she stated with a matter-of-fact tone of voice as she started to eat the meal in front of her.

Normally, this is where most people would leave.

Of course, these guys couldn't take a hint.

"Eh don't be like that, we'll take good care of you," said another man as he leaned in next to her. At the same time the other guy relaxed his arms on the counter on the opposite side, crowding her even more. They were a bit too close… but I wasn't going to jump in and cause a scene. I almost started a fight earlier when they were blocking the doorway, only for them to walk off.

Maybe they were slow to react.

"Come on, I'll buy you some real food, better than that slop you're eating."

Following up on his buddy's sales pitch, the man that was currently leaning in to her lowered his voice, to the point where I could barely hear it.

"Yeah, if it's money you're after we've got deep pockets babe."

"I'm not interested," she replied rather bluntly and somewhat harshly as she set her hands down on the counter. I could sense the agitation in her voice, as her patience had started to dry up. Well, I had stopped eating when they made their way over and interrupted, but I was nearly finished anyway.

"Hey come on, don't be like that," growled the number two guy, as he reached out and grabbed her arm. She reactively flinched as she tried to distance herself but had nowhere to go as the men had completely surrounded her.

Yeah, I had seen enough.

"Hey, give the girl her space," I interjected roughly. "She isn't interested."

The two men in the back that had yet to speak up were the first to glance over, followed by the other two. The girl continued to stare at her food, keeping her head down. Their faces were a sight to behold though, disdain clearly showing. They didn't seem to like me butting in while they were in the middle of their coercion tactic.

"What the girl and I are doing is none of your business, hear me?" threatened the ring-leader as he closed his fist on the counter. He wanted to impose his will, unfortunately I was too tired of arguing with gamers.

"Nah, I'm not hearing you," I retorted, with my hands still resting off my pant pockets. I had an unassuming stance, each thumb in a pocket with arms relaxed and elbows slightly out. Taking a few steps forward and standing in the middle of the group of the four, it was my turn to have some fun.

"My patience is short, fellas."

"Yeah?" asked the ring-leader while standing up and turning to gesture towards his friends. "What are you going to do about it, you, against us?"

The penalty for fighting inside town was severe, and I didn't really care too much but the loss of reputation would be hard to recover. As much as I wanted to strike them down where they stood, with everyone else in close proximity a bar fight could unravel in short order. Yeah, I needed to get them outside.

"Waddle on home little ducklings, you don't know what you're getting into," I snickered while waving my hand in a half-assed shooing motion.

"What the fuck, you're calling us ducks?" one of the other guys questioned. "That doesn't even make sense, the fuck are you on about."

They didn't know what to make of the insult, hell, even I didn't know what to make of it. They just resembled a bunch of ugly ducklings to me and seemed so out of place.

"No, I called you a duckling, a baby duck," I said seriously. "But, I realize the error of my ways, it was a momentary lapse in judgment, an insult to ducklings everywhere."

"This kid, he thinks he's funny," laughed out one of the guys.

"Think you're tough, guy?" asked another. "Step outside, I dare you."

"Yeah, let's see you run your mouth when you aren't protected by the town NPCs," said the third man. "Come on, don't back out now, hero boy."

A grin crossed my face as my objective had been completed.

"Sure!" I exclaimed with enthusiasm. "I'll lead the way, I know a great spot."

It was the stupidest insult I probably ever could have thought of, but these guys were all too eager to prove themselves. Baiting them to their deaths seemed cruel, well they asked for it. I felt no shame or remorse in doing so.

I didn't even have to get vulgar or insult them on a deeper level.

Superficial childish insult for the win, I thought to myself.

Grabbing my gear bag that was on the floor next to my barstool, I continued to walk out of the tavern and past the town boundary, stopping once I had reached a neutral zone with a small clearing. No one had followed us, surprisingly.

Well, maybe it wasn't that unusual.

We didn't really make much of a scene as no one had been yelling, if the other tenants weren't paying attention, they probably wouldn't have noticed anything going on. That was better for me, since I didn't want anyone to really see what I was about to do. I had recently picked up a new spell… one that I had been grinding for, for quite some time. It was about time to give it a whirl.

"Bet you regret trying to play the hero now, don'cha?" asked one of the guys with a smirk. Ignoring him, I decided to check out the gear that they were all wearing. They were all melee types, four warriors essentially based on the two-handed weapons three of them had and the one-handed sword plus shield of the fourth. A horrible composition really, they would always be fighting for the same gear and in groups they were entirely one-dimensional. Well, they hadn't really showed any capability of making the right decisions so far, so it wasn't unexpected that they would all run the same class-type.

"Let's get this over with already," I plainly stated. "I've got places to be."

"Next time, you should mind your own damn business," threatened one of the guys.

"Yeah, right," I replied. "Heard that the first time, any last words?"

"Fuck this asshole," yelled out another guy as he grasped his weapon.

Two men leveled their spears and began to charge with a hoarse battle cry, closing the distance between us in a matter of seconds. Kicking back to create space, the wet grass provided lousy footing as I struggled to get into position. In an instant, both men used a [Lunge] and thrust their spears out with one arm, hoping to land a first strike.

A quick draw of my one-handed axe from its sling and a deft swing easily deflected both spearheads as the third man with a two-handed sword, stepped forth and dropped a [Heavy Swing] on me. Reacting as quickly as I could, I brought my shield to bear the brunt of the impact and took the hit that sent me sliding back in the light mud. A drizzle had started to fall as I took a step back and watched the three regain their composure.

They weren't entirely suicidal or brainless, after all.

The fourth man with the shield, the ring leader, circled around me as he watched the fight unfold. Four to one, he was waiting for a moment to strike, to hit me from behind as I deflected and defended myself from the onslaught of the three before me.

That was his plan, most likely.

Not a bad one, but it wouldn't work… it would only serve to play into my hands.

Keeping my eyes on the three in front of me while trying to maintain the shadow of the fourth, I shifted my feet as I stole a glance at my shield. It had cracked slightly during a sub-boss fight and wasn't at full-strength… if that claymore hit the right spot, there was a good chance my shield would shatter.

I needed to be careful.

A foot shifted, and then in an instant one of the spearmen dashed forward with another [Lunge] as he aimed at my torso. Stepping into the lunge, I tucked my shield into my side as I twisted and contorted my body to let the spear slide through the gap, locking my shield arm down on the shaft of the spear and hooking the man with my axe.

Grasping the handle and ripping back as hard as I could, the axe cut through the man's neck as blood began to pour. Screams followed but before I could react, a [Quick Thrust] came from my left as the other spearmen went for a light pinpoint attack. The spear clipped my shield and grazed my shoulder, slicing through the leather but not deep enough to pierce my skin.

In that moment, a blur caught my attention out of my peripheral vision as I tucked and rolled into the second spearman, just in time as the claymore cut through the air where I had been but a split-second ago. Crashing into the dirt, the large sword sent clumps of grass and soil flying up and around me, obscuring my vision in the slight rain.

Then the expected followed, as the shadow made its appearance with a [Shield Bash] from behind, but I was ready for it, I was waiting for it.

On my knees, tangled up with the two spearmen and the other two within arm's reach, I brought both of my arms into my chest as I gathered an enormous amount of energy and began to shake as electricity wrapped around my body. Still on the ground, curled up nearly in a ball, the electricity that had surrounded me began to expand rapidly as a shell formed around me, and then, it exploded.

A one-second cast from start to finish, it all happened in a flash.

A literal flash, an explosion of light, of thunder cracking the air, of balled up energy no longer containable, spreading and disrupting the entire area around me. The four men that had been within an arm's reach were instantaneously and simultaneously thrown back, knocked outwards an easy ten feet as they fell to the ground, stunned from the impact as they tried to understand what had happened.

Lying on their backs, grasping their heads and clutching their weapons, they were momentarily incapable of defending themselves.

Without bothering to stand up, I raised both arms and initiated a [Chain Lightning] without a chanted verse. Even though the cast time was short, there was plenty of time for them to gather themselves.

Three men were getting back to their feet in front of me, cursing at me, muttering under their breaths, bitching and moaning that I had pulled a fast one.

"Chain lightning," I mumbled with a sinister grin appearing across my face.

Another flash, another crack, and the intertwined bolts of lightning cut through the air and rain only to impact, spread, and dissipate faster than I could exhale. The three struggled to move as their health had fallen to below half and the paralyzing after-effects kept them down, but I wasn't done.

Not yet, there was more to the magic show.

Gathering myself mentally, I focused on a spot behind the man with the claymore as he was the first to get up. With one knee still on the ground, all I had to do, was think of the next words, Flash Step.

An exhilarating feeling followed, one that left me holding my breath as if it would suck the air out of my lungs if I didn't. My body had dematerialized faster than I could register as I shot through the air, and by the time I realized where I was, my axe had been raised. My mind finally catching up to my body, I eyed the bastard-swordsman kneeling before me, as I hacked once into the base of his skull from behind.

The sound of a skull shattering was rather silent, but the feeling was real enough. Like hacking into a coconut, the thud could be felt through my hand and forearm, and once it broke through the hard outer shell, the mushy interior was reaved into two. His body limp, my axe stuck, I let go as I eyed the two spearmen next to me.

An arm outstretched, a connection between us was made.

Lightning fluctuated, ebbed and flowed, surged and waned.

In three seconds the man had ceased his movements as the other two had backed away, watching in horror. They weren't aware of my secret, they had no clue.

The truth was, that I was a bully.

They had brought this on themselves.

Bringing both palms together and taking a lowered stance, with legs spread shoulder-width apart, I bent at the knees and began to cast a [Lightning Bolt]. It was all I had left mana wise… two more [Lightning Bolts] and I would be empty, gassed of mana and with only my shield and bow left.

It was no matter though.

The two remaining stragglers regrouped, with the shield-bearer standing front and center, defiantly raising his circular wooden shield in an effort to deflect the spell that was about to be cast at them. It was an effective strategy against spells, one that I had yet to employ but would do in the same situation. They weren't entirely unskilled and even showed some semblance of small-unit tactics. Unfortunately, they couldn't block what was about to come.

Unbeknownst to them, in the midst of the rainstorm that had been falling throughout our fight, puddles had accumulated in the low spots. There wasn't enough rainfall to create deep puddles but with the off-and-on rain over the past few days, there were already small pools ready and waiting.

There was a funny thing, about electricity.

They would learn in short order.

"Through power, darkness turns to light, render all to ash," I droned on with monotony as the balled lightning continued to increase in power. They stood back, believing in their defenses, waiting for me to make the next move.

"Lightning Bolt!" I yelled out quickly to startle them, as I thrust both arms forth and aimed at the ground beneath their feet. As the lightning bolt cut through the air leaving a trail of electricity behind, it nearly instantly hit the puddle underneath them as the electricity discharged partially into the ground and the rest up through their legs.

They both convulsed in place for a second, buying me time to pick up my shield and draw my dagger as I rushed towards them. Using a [Shield Bash] of my own, both shields clashed as he met my charge. The shock of the impact sent us both reeling while he lost his footing and slipped backwards. The spearman took advantage and attempted a [Heavy Thrust] that managed to pierce through my side, causing pain to reverberate throughout my body. It was a deep wound to my torso, but nothing fatal.

He pulled back, as the shield-bearer regained his footing and squared up once more. They intended to draw the fight out, to poke and prod… to whittle me down over time.

I wasn't a fucking carving though.

A two versus one scenario, they held their ground as I thought of my next move. My mana was slowly regenerating, enough that I could use another [Flash Step] and possibly another [Lightning Bolt] as well. My health was at 74% while theirs was at 48% and 63% respectively. The only problem, was one good hit could send me to the graveyard. It didn't take more than one solid hit to the head, or a direct hit to the heart to kill a man. We were only mortal, after all.

[Discharge] had a long cooldown, otherwise I would use it again.

A [Flash Step] combo into [Discharge] would easily win me the fight, but I had another thirty seconds to wait. They seemed to catch on though, as I was pacing around them, biding my time just for that. I needed mana, and my cooldown period was long.

They decided to split, attempting to circle me once more.

I kept the shield-bearer in front of me, letting the spearman get behind me. He was the real threat, but I wanted him to grow confident, I needed him to make a mistake. The shield-bearer couldn’t kill me in a one versus one, his equipment and skillset betrayed him. But a single well-placed [Heavy Thrust] would end me.

They started to grow impatient as I watched their every move. They circled, as I continued to shift my feet one step at a time, maintaining an angle appropriate for a counter. I still had my shield and my knife, and they were afraid of the unknown.

"He can't use those abilities again," yelled the shield-bearer to his friend. "He would have used them already if he could do it more than once. Let's get him before he recovers, follow my lead!"

"Talking in the middle of a fight?" I asked jokingly. "You underestimate me."

"You just got lucky punk," claimed the spearman behind me. "Caught us by surprise, you ain't shit. Don't get cocky you son of a bitch."

"Ah, is that so," I mocked with a haughty laugh.

Now was the time.

Slowly turning my head and focusing on the spot behind the spearman, with my body still facing the shield-bearer, I thought of two specific words, Flash Step. Without the need to utter a word, my body was sucked instantly through a vortex of light, reappearing directly behind the spearman faster than I could understand. Instinctively throwing my shield out with a [Shield Bash], it connected with the back of the spearman as he tumbled down to the ground with barely a sound.

He hastily rolled onto his back to protect himself, but a spear was hardly usable on the ground as he waved it weakly in my general direction. Ignoring his futile attack I leapt forward and fell on top of the man with my knee in his chest and another leg out to the side to brace myself. Before he could react, I slipped the knife cleanly through his exposed throat and up beneath the chin, smooth and easy without any resistance.

Warm blood poured out onto my hand as the rain continued to fall, washing away what little trace there was. In an instant, another man had perished to my blade. The corpse beneath limp and harmless, there was only one obstacle remaining.

Sitting atop the dead body, I looked up and eyed the last of the bunch.

Rain continuing to fall, dripping down my face and off my chin… this was the scenario we were in. Only two of us were left, and only one would walk away. The ring leader that blocked the doorway, the one that decided to harass a girl in my presence, he was the only one left now. He figured he could get away with his brash attitude all because of numerical superiority… no, not when I was around.

If he sought mercy, he wouldn't find it here.

"You're fucking sick," he shouted in desperation.

"Maybe I am," I replied nonchalantly.

The scene certainly was gruesome, I had methodically ripped them apart, one by one. I didn't shy away from slitting a throat, from hacking into a skull, or from burning a man to death internally with my lightning.

Maybe I was sick, but it didn't matter to me.

This was a game, and only that.

They would have done the same to me, if given the chance.

Without any further hesitation, I walked towards the man and dropped my shield on the ground, keeping only the bloody knife in my hand. With my arms relaxed and the knife dangling by my side, I closed the distance as the man readied his sword and raised his shield. He didn't back down, but he was anxious and nervous. He didn't know what to expect next, and I didn't blame him.

In truth, I wasn't skilled enough to kill him with my knife alone.

The knife was a bluff, meant to distract and nothing more.

I needed him to lower his shield or to attack.

As I closed the distance between us, the man grew impatient and angry with himself. He was angry that he had hesitated to fight me one versus one. That this lone man with a knife in the rain was keeping him standing still with shield raised. I could see it on his face. He was displeased, it didn't sit well with him.

"Does it bother you, that you're scared?" I antagonized.

He stood there in silence.

"Let me teach you something," I said as I slowed my pace slightly. "In this world of ours, there is always someone better, bigger, stronger, smarter, or worse, smaller, weaker, stupider… that's the nature of things. Someone will always come around and surprise you. Yet, you and your friends find yourselves above some others, and collectively as a group probably get away with your practices most of the time, too. Well, you just met someone better, and now I'm showing you what it's like to be on the other side of that fence."

Stopping a few feet away from him, he was clearly trying to contain his rage.

I only had to push a little more.

"It's not so fun being the weak one, is it?" I questioned, pitying him with my eyes.

He caught on, and his face nearly contorted as his anger boiled over and he roared at me, raising his sword into the air and charging at me with his shield held centerline. Three steps brought him into range as he swiped down at me, attempting to cut into my neck as I had no way to parry, but I had no intention of deflecting the blow as I tucked to my right and slid onto the ground. My right shoulder hitting the mud as I slipped and slid to the side, the man missed his swing as his back was exposed to me, shield pointed uselessly in the opposite direction.

I raised my left arm.

With my free hand, I opened it and channeled the most powerful individual spell that I had. [Arc Lightning] shot out and connected the two of us, as his exposed back became the focus of my attention. I only had enough mana for two seconds, and that wasn't enough to kill him, but it was enough to buy me some time.

Standing up with the channel still going, I walked closer to the man and as the [Arc Lightning] cut out due to my mana shortage, I plunged the knife that was in my right hand straight into the back of his spine, lodging it deeply between the vertebrae and severing it completely. A twist and a pull, and the man fell to the ground a corpse.

The fight was over.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I relaxed my shoulders as I stared at the carnage.

Four bodies lying on the ground, now released with their hosts in spirit form at the graveyard, waiting for the time penalty to fall off so they could resurrect. They deserved what happened, in my mind.

They were asking for it.

Yet, I wasn't really happy.

In fact, I felt like a murderer… the brutal nature of the fight left a lingering distaste in my mouth. It was too graphic, too personal, too real… really. Killing in PvP was expected to be harsh, that was the nature of virtual reality.

The fact that they strived for such an advanced realism is what set the game apart. Though, they had turned down the graphical gore so organs and such wouldn't be displayed, there was still the sensation of piercing through someone and the warmth and stickiness of their blood splattering across your face.

Really, it wasn't that much different from stabbing a wolf.

Maybe that was what bothered me… that there was no physical difference between cutting down a virtual beast and a virtual representation of another human being.

Desensitized… perhaps, I was.

The rain had picked up and was now a steady downpour, I was drenched from head to toe and covered in mud but I didn't really care. It washed the blood off, it cleansed my gear… a free bath, is all it was.

"Ah," I muttered to myself. "This is depressing."

Tilting my head back, I stared at the clouds that partially obscured the moon as I pondered how the future would turn out. I tried to get away from the fighting, with the constant struggle between other players and losing my temper. Now, I was right back in it. First, I killed the pugs that were talking shit, now… I killed four guys because they were rude and annoyed me.

I was completely, utterly regressed.

I had fallen back into my old habits, and I wasn't happy with that. Picking up my shield and my axe, I put everything back into their holsters and walked off into the forest. There was a little shame that I had resorted to violence so quickly.

Though that went away rather quickly.

At the end of the day, violence, was sometimes the answer.

Those guys wouldn't have learned anything if I tried to talk it out. Now, they at least knew to watch themselves and their behavior in public. I'm sure they will still misbehave, but fear is a curious thing. Fear will stop someone long before logic will.

Yeah, maybe I had regressed.

Well, it wasn't that bad.

I had a goal anyways, to build a kingdom in the North. Bloodshed would be necessary, as it was to free Selene and Katherine. Fights will happen, as players will come to blows over disagreements. And eventually, power struggles will occur, as this land, this game state known as The Dragon's Wrath, soon becomes a warzone where factions wage war on neighbors, partly for fun, partly for dominance, and maybe just because. Deep down, we all enjoyed it a little.

A guilty pleasure, is what it was.

Yeah, taking out the baddies was a fun thing.

I kind of liked it, really.