The man immediately frowned before shaking his head. “You’ve made a horrible decision. You should’ve just been obedient.”
I closed my eyes and began to consider how to approach things, I wasn’t delusional enough to try to fight everyone head on. Moreover, I still didn’t plan on killing everyone if possible, it simply didn’t sit right with me. The only things I’d be killing would be the elves. A different approach huh? I quickly recalled all my fights and things I could use for an advantage. The ground on the crater was soft, I tentatively rubbed it with my foot replaying a certain thing from memory. Perhaps.
“Are you reconsidering?” The man interrupted my thoughts, but I did not frown. The people from the forest already stood at the edges of the shrubbery.
I already knew what I wanted to do. “No.”
His eyes met mine and with a sigh he spoke. “Surrender peacefully then.”
My mind paused. Was he serious? Wouldn’t at this point the warhorn go off and attacks would come? Was he just being silly? I didn’t know. I reached for my bowstring and he spoke once more, closing his eyes.
“A shame, I normally wouldn’t hurt a woman. But for you I will make an exception.” His hand tightened into a fist. “Capture her!”
Red came. Arrows were fired. Footsteps rushed. The man sighed. My hand reached the string and pulled— the arrow lit up in a verdant green, mana overflowing into it. I scurried back and jumped diagonally, the coarse ground rubbed on my feet, and with a verdant explosion the arrow was fired into the ground beyond the prophecy. A cloud of dirt billowed, like salvo the arrows passed through the screen with lines of dust. My body launched to the side of the smoke cloud, an arrow already slotted on the bow.
My knee scraped from the explosive momentum, I slid across the dirt, looking for an angle to shoot. Glim was present but I could only see it like a candlelight, everything else was diffuse light. And that’s when it occurred to me.
“Glim, stand behind one archer,” I called.
[Sure, this sounds exciting!] Glim immediately moved to the side and suddenly vanished.
I grinned as I pumped mana for Power Shot. And in an instant I aimed and shot in a single flick, the string creaked as it was let go. The arrow zipped through the smoke punching a hole with pure kinetic energy. Not a second later I heard the dull sound of wood along with a grunt of pain.
“She is in the smoke!” The voice I identified as the man called, red lines formed right in front of me as I grabbed another arrow.
A battle cry entered my ear. Like a wave, the dirt-cloud crashed against me, a man with a sword aimed for my legs. Non lethal? I pumped sufficient mana onto the arrow and threw it in front of me like an explosive. Distance had to be made. The man’s eyes widened as it exploded in his face. Two silvery lines passed through the smoke, one grazed my head and the other one missed and hit the ear. Two archers left— the man and the other one.
I grabbed yet another arrow and quickly placed it on my bow as I put distance between the remaining smoke. I quickly identified the next target as Glim moved in and out. I pushed mana into the string and fired. The arrow passed in an instant and all I heard was a grunt of pain not a second later, at the same time I moved another arrow that was ready to be fired. I looked for the lines of Penumbral Sense but they seemed fleeting, as I had a moment of hesitation the red coalesced once more and two people flanked from both of my sides. One had a shining sword and the other was unusually quiet, his footsteps leaving after-images behind yet his speed remained the same.
Skills? My head scrambled for answers and immediately fired a low charge Explosive Shot to the man with the sword. Once more I skated back and finally left the crater, the other man chased after me zig-zagging with illusory steps. My hand went to my quiver and at that moment, red overwhelmed my vision. It was as if I was a rock against a current that came from behind me.
[Behind!] Glim called.
Immediately I spun with my bow, and was met with a bright red dagger being swung down on me. The bow collided with the dagger with an awful screech, I winced and pushed back the attacker with a lunge. I quickly threw my bow to the ground and grabbed my spear.
[Blair!] Glim called, making me roll my eyes. [Do you remember the mana sword theory?] What was he talking about? [What if you try to make a stick sharper with mana, wouldn’t that make a sword? What about a spear? Imagine a spear that can cut from any surface!]
I had a brief moment of pause as the first man launched himself towards me with a diagonal swing. Making the spear stick sharp? Thoughts crossed my mind as I parried his sword, my torso and fingers barely not getting chopped off. He lost his footing as I took the chance to take a step forward and use my leg, I put my utmost force on it.
Warriors should use their body too.
My knee collided with his face, giving way effortlessly with a crack. Hesitation flashed through my mind as a notification came to me. I had a brief moment of pause, though the red lines called my attention once more. A bright flash came to my side as an orb of pure light smashed against my ribs, launching me to the ground. My entire body rocked as searing pain expanded through my sides. I gasped for air as I realized I was now right next to the trees on the west side.
I inwardly cursed myself for getting distracted and quickly got up gritting my teeth through the pain. As soon as my eyes regained focus, I noticed the smoke cloud was gone. Red came from my side, the man with bright red daggers was already running towards me once more. I scoffed and held my spear, thrusting it towards him. He barely parried, the spear was redirected from his chest to his shoulder, chafing it with a sizzling sound. He groaned in deep pain as his footsteps staggered.
I pulled back and thrusted, this time at his leg. He attempted to parry, but this time his movement was sluggish and hit his kneecap. Once more the poison did its thing and the man was instantly incapacitated. I didn’t have time to revel in my victory as pain shot through my leg, as if a rock had rammed into it it felt bruised and hollow. I looked down only to see an arrow stuck on it, a quick look up and I saw the person with the staff preparing more magic and the man aiming for me with a deep frown. I erased everything from my mind and reached for the nearest tree with all my might. The man fired one more arrow but barely missed.
My heart was aching, and my lungs gasped for air. My sides throbbed and my leg felt sharp pain from the arrow. I couldn’t help but curse at myself, it was a fucking F grade Prophecy. Was it really worth it to fight seven people for it? The clear answer was a resounding no.
“Girl.” The man spoke with a deep angry voice. “I will admit I heavily underestimated you. I see you haven’t killed any of my men so I am willing to let bygones be bygones. Just submit to me.”
I snorted. “Why are you so insistent on this? It’s just a stupid F ranked Prophecy.”
“It’s personal now,” he answered. “What you say?”
“I refuse,” I took a deep breath formulating a plan on how to reach the man and the other person.
I had to cross the chasm that was the crater in an instant, my bow was sprawled on the ground somewhere. I looked at my quiver, and grabbed three arrows, barely any remained. I took a look at my mana pool and saw I was going to be alright for two shots. Explosive Shot without a bow? I closed my eyes.
One shot, and two low-charge shots. Three low-charge shots? I did mental calculations as the man continued to speak.
“You are an elf,” he briefly said. “I saw your ears briefly. Why are you helping Humans?”
I frowned. “None of your business.”
“Do you care for them? I can send my men to kill them when you’re not looking. It wouldn’t be the first!” he threatened, his tone rapidly changing.
My frown deepened, this person was annoying. Would I be a bit sad if Matt got killed? Yes. Would I cry and seek revenge? No. I barely knew Matt, even after all the things he spoke to me, one can only get so close to someone with such a limited amount of time. I closed my eyes and began to think once more.
He muttered something before speaking. “Do you think you can show up naked in front of me and think I won’t want to fuck you? You’re a bitch.”
Ha? He continued.
“And once I am done I will go for your kind as well! This world is my playground!” His tone was serious, though I wasn’t taking him seriously. “Just you wait elf, you will be my bitch soon!”
A sigh escaped me. I should’ve just gone after him first. I removed the arrow from my thigh feeling sharp pain and my flesh tearing apart. I couldn’t snap it due to the fact that it was metal, and it was probably going to get in the way otherwise. My mind tuned out whatever he was saying and placed all three arrows between my fingers. There was no doubt. This man was thinking of me as if I were his property. Mana was pushed into the arrows on my hand.
I wasn’t anybody’s property. I wasn’t a slave. I was a dark elf from the Deep Dark.
I limped with the verdant arrows in hand, the spear in the other.
“You finally show up, huh?” He asked with a mocking smile. “How about you become an obedient servant? Surely you must be tired of this. You didn’t kill any of my men, so I can tell you just don’t have it in you. 4 stat points higher? What made you think two levels was enough? You will be nothing more than my fucktoy once I am done.”
I ignored him and flicked my index finger, the main Explosive Arrow flew behind me. With a small half-hearted jump from my right leg I jumped. In an instant an explosive kinetic force launched me forward. The man’s eyes widened as he stared, the other person prepared his magic as he nocked an arrow in his bow.
I was going to use everything.
My middle finger let go of the second arrow, another Explosive Shot bloomed in the air with green particles. My body launched at meteoric speeds towards the companion of the man. His expression became one of horror as a short second later I slid through the ground with a cloud of dirt. Pain shot through my limbs as I flicked the spear, he tried to parry it but still got stabbed on his arm.
A shriek of pain ensued as the companion fell. And finally the man with the beard remained. He pulled back his string as I limped towards him.
“Y-You…” He stuttered, his legs clearly quaking. “You’re a lunatic.”
With the final arrow in hand, I threw it towards him. “Tell me something new.” He tried to flick a shot towards me, but it was too late. The arrow spun behind him, and blew up. The explosion launched him straight to my feet. His face ate dirt.
“I wasn’t going to kill you, but…” I grabbed onto his head with my left hand. I felt so empty, and I didn’t want to suffer from mana depletion again. “But I am willing to make an exception.” I held onto his scalp, struggling to force him to look at me.
“Do it bitch,” he spat, breaking into a grin. “I’ve never had any more fun, you know how boring solitary confinement is? Of course you don’t. I’ve been watching those humans, you know how hard it has been to not kill them? If it weren’t for the demons we would’ve killed them already. They promised a lot of things if I refrained from killing them.”
I shook my head. “Do you know how those arrows blew up?”
His expression shifted to confusion. “A skill probably? Are you scared now?” His eyes wandered to my body. “Now looking at you up close, you’re an absolute beauty.”
I had a brief moment of pause as a raw feeling of disgust welled within me. “Nevermind, you’re not worth explaining to.” I pushed him back and two-handed my spear, coursing mana through it to make it as sharp as possible.
He waited with a grin but I didn’t care.
Sharp.
“Are you gonna do the deed?”
My mind changed. A quick kill is too merciful.
“I am waiting.”
I drained all the mana from it.
“You’re taking too—” I swung it like a club with utmost strength.
The spear shaft collided against his head, the mana now gone from it. Like an egg, it cracked with an explosion of crimson remains. Blood spluttered in the vicinity as I took a heavy breath.
“Fuck…” I felt mixed emotions from killing him, then I looked at the notifications.
[You have killed: (F) Human. Lvl 9.]
[For killing a defender as an invader, bonus experience has been awarded.]
[You have killed: (F) Human. Lvl 8.]
[For killing a defender as an invader, bonus experience has been awarded.]
More experience from Humans? At first I was a bit unsure about killing the humans, it didn’t sit right with me, but if every single one of the ones I fought saw me as an object then… I shook my head before turning to the nearest person, who was the man’s companion.
“Please… spare me…” he hurriedly said. “He forced us to do this.”
My brow raised.
“The empire of Arkaram, they…” The man looked at the ground. “They came up with an offer that made us stick around Mike. Mike, ever since arriving here has been unhinged. He killed one of us for disagreeing with him…” He shook his head and elaborated. “The man you just killed was Mike. He was in solitary confinement after trying to have his way with a male prisoner. He— he simply thought he owned the world, and the issue was exacerbated with this System...”
He took a deep breath before finally closing his eyes. “Thank you for killing him, even if you feel the need to kill us after our attempt on your life, I am thankful.”
Ha?
My annoyance became confusion, what the fuck was this person talking about?
[What he is saying is true!] Glim said as if helping my decision.
Whatever disgust I felt turned into nothing more than confusion, it was something I did not want to deal with. It was clear that not all humans were the same, Matt was an example, but it still felt wrong. I still wanted payback for whatever they had done.
I approached the man as he closed his eyes, and with a dull swing I hit his leg. A crunch resounded as he yelled in pain, he laid on the ground panting. He was weak.
Any form of desire to kill any of the men for some form of payback instantly vanished, I held no interest in killing those who couldn’t even fight back. I definitely did not want to deal with this, thankfully Matt existed, otherwise I would’ve just walked away.
Though if I had been alone, a fight would’ve never happened.
The man immediately frowned before shaking his head. “You’ve made a horrible decision. You should’ve just been obedient.”
I closed my eyes and began to consider how to approach things, I wasn’t delusional enough to try to fight everyone head on. Moreover, I still didn’t plan on killing everyone if possible, it simply didn’t sit right with me. The only things I’d be killing would be the elves. A different approach huh? I quickly recalled all my fights and things I could use for an advantage. The ground on the crater was soft, I tentatively rubbed it with my foot replaying a certain thing from memory. Perhaps.
“Are you reconsidering?” The man interrupted my thoughts, but I did not frown. The people from the forest already stood at the edges of the shrubbery.
I already knew what I wanted to do. “No.”
His eyes met mine and with a sigh he spoke. “Surrender peacefully then.”
My mind paused. Was he serious? Wouldn’t at this point the warhorn go off and attacks would come? Was he just being silly? I didn’t know. I reached for my bowstring and he spoke once more, closing his eyes.
“A shame, I normally wouldn’t hurt a woman. But for you I will make an exception.” His hand tightened into a fist. “Capture her!”
Red came. Arrows were fired. Footsteps rushed. The man sighed. My hand reached the string and pulled— the arrow lit up in a verdant green, mana overflowing into it. I scurried back and jumped diagonally, the coarse ground rubbed on my feet, and with a verdant explosion the arrow was fired into the ground beyond the prophecy. A cloud of dirt billowed, like salvo the arrows passed through the screen with lines of dust. My body launched to the side of the smoke cloud, an arrow already slotted on the bow.
My knee scraped from the explosive momentum, I slid across the dirt, looking for an angle to shoot. Glim was present but I could only see it like a candlelight, everything else was diffuse light. And that’s when it occurred to me.
“Glim, stand behind one archer,” I called.
[Sure, this sounds exciting!] Glim immediately moved to the side and suddenly vanished.
I grinned as I pumped mana for Power Shot. And in an instant I aimed and shot in a single flick, the string creaked as it was let go. The arrow zipped through the smoke punching a hole with pure kinetic energy. Not a second later I heard the dull sound of wood along with a grunt of pain.
“She is in the smoke!” The voice I identified as the man called, red lines formed right in front of me as I grabbed another arrow.
A battle cry entered my ear. Like a wave, the dirt-cloud crashed against me, a man with a sword aimed for my legs. Non lethal? I pumped sufficient mana onto the arrow and threw it in front of me like an explosive. Distance had to be made. The man’s eyes widened as it exploded in his face. Two silvery lines passed through the smoke, one grazed my head and the other one missed and hit the ear. Two archers left— the man and the other one.
I grabbed yet another arrow and quickly placed it on my bow as I put distance between the remaining smoke. I quickly identified the next target as Glim moved in and out. I pushed mana into the string and fired. The arrow passed in an instant and all I heard was a grunt of pain not a second later, at the same time I moved another arrow that was ready to be fired. I looked for the lines of Penumbral Sense but they seemed fleeting, as I had a moment of hesitation the red coalesced once more and two people flanked from both of my sides. One had a shining sword and the other was unusually quiet, his footsteps leaving after-images behind yet his speed remained the same.
Skills? My head scrambled for answers and immediately fired a low charge Explosive Shot to the man with the sword. Once more I skated back and finally left the crater, the other man chased after me zig-zagging with illusory steps. My hand went to my quiver and at that moment, red overwhelmed my vision. It was as if I was a rock against a current that came from behind me.
[Behind!] Glim called.
Immediately I spun with my bow, and was met with a bright red dagger being swung down on me. The bow collided with the dagger with an awful screech, I winced and pushed back the attacker with a lunge. I quickly threw my bow to the ground and grabbed my spear.
[Blair!] Glim called, making me roll my eyes. [Do you remember the mana sword theory?] What was he talking about? [What if you try to make a stick sharper with mana, wouldn’t that make a sword? What about a spear? Imagine a spear that can cut from any surface!]
I had a brief moment of pause as the first man launched himself towards me with a diagonal swing. Making the spear stick sharp? Thoughts crossed my mind as I parried his sword, my torso and fingers barely not getting chopped off. He lost his footing as I took the chance to take a step forward and use my leg, I put my utmost force on it.
Warriors should use their body too.
My knee collided with his face, giving way effortlessly with a crack. Hesitation flashed through my mind as a notification came to me. I had a brief moment of pause, though the red lines called my attention once more. A bright flash came to my side as an orb of pure light smashed against my ribs, launching me to the ground. My entire body rocked as searing pain expanded through my sides. I gasped for air as I realized I was now right next to the trees on the west side.
I inwardly cursed myself for getting distracted and quickly got up gritting my teeth through the pain. As soon as my eyes regained focus, I noticed the smoke cloud was gone. Red came from my side, the man with bright red daggers was already running towards me once more. I scoffed and held my spear, thrusting it towards him. He barely parried, the spear was redirected from his chest to his shoulder, chafing it with a sizzling sound. He groaned in deep pain as his footsteps staggered.
I pulled back and thrusted, this time at his leg. He attempted to parry, but this time his movement was sluggish and hit his kneecap. Once more the poison did its thing and the man was instantly incapacitated. I didn’t have time to revel in my victory as pain shot through my leg, as if a rock had rammed into it it felt bruised and hollow. I looked down only to see an arrow stuck on it, a quick look up and I saw the person with the staff preparing more magic and the man aiming for me with a deep frown. I erased everything from my mind and reached for the nearest tree with all my might. The man fired one more arrow but barely missed.
My heart was aching, and my lungs gasped for air. My sides throbbed and my leg felt sharp pain from the arrow. I couldn’t help but curse at myself, it was a fucking F grade Prophecy. Was it really worth it to fight seven people for it? The clear answer was a resounding no.
“Girl.” The man spoke with a deep angry voice. “I will admit I heavily underestimated you. I see you haven’t killed any of my men so I am willing to let bygones be bygones. Just submit to me.”
I snorted. “Why are you so insistent on this? It’s just a stupid F ranked Prophecy.”
“It’s personal now,” he answered. “What you say?”
“I refuse,” I took a deep breath formulating a plan on how to reach the man and the other person.
I had to cross the chasm that was the crater in an instant, my bow was sprawled on the ground somewhere. I looked at my quiver, and grabbed three arrows, barely any remained. I took a look at my mana pool and saw I was going to be alright for two shots. Explosive Shot without a bow? I closed my eyes.
One shot, and two low-charge shots. Three low-charge shots? I did mental calculations as the man continued to speak.
“You are an elf,” he briefly said. “I saw your ears briefly. Why are you helping Humans?”
I frowned. “None of your business.”
“Do you care for them? I can send my men to kill them when you’re not looking. It wouldn’t be the first!” he threatened, his tone rapidly changing.
My frown deepened, this person was annoying. Would I be a bit sad if Matt got killed? Yes. Would I cry and seek revenge? No. I barely knew Matt, even after all the things he spoke to me, one can only get so close to someone with such a limited amount of time. I closed my eyes and began to think once more.
He muttered something before speaking. “Do you think you can show up naked in front of me and think I won’t want to fuck you? You’re a bitch.”
Ha? He continued.
“And once I am done I will go for your kind as well! This world is my playground!” His tone was serious, though I wasn’t taking him seriously. “Just you wait elf, you will be my bitch soon!”
A sigh escaped me. I should’ve just gone after him first. I removed the arrow from my thigh feeling sharp pain and my flesh tearing apart. I couldn’t snap it due to the fact that it was metal, and it was probably going to get in the way otherwise. My mind tuned out whatever he was saying and placed all three arrows between my fingers. There was no doubt. This man was thinking of me as if I were his property. Mana was pushed into the arrows on my hand.
I wasn’t anybody’s property. I wasn’t a slave. I was a dark elf from the Deep Dark.
I limped with the verdant arrows in hand, the spear in the other.
“You finally show up, huh?” He asked with a mocking smile. “How about you become an obedient servant? Surely you must be tired of this. You didn’t kill any of my men, so I can tell you just don’t have it in you. 4 stat points higher? What made you think two levels was enough? You will be nothing more than my fucktoy once I am done.”
I ignored him and flicked my index finger, the main Explosive Arrow flew behind me. With a small half-hearted jump from my right leg I jumped. In an instant an explosive kinetic force launched me forward. The man’s eyes widened as he stared, the other person prepared his magic as he nocked an arrow in his bow.
I was going to use everything.
My middle finger let go of the second arrow, another Explosive Shot bloomed in the air with green particles. My body launched at meteoric speeds towards the companion of the man. His expression became one of horror as a short second later I slid through the ground with a cloud of dirt. Pain shot through my limbs as I flicked the spear, he tried to parry it but still got stabbed on his arm.
A shriek of pain ensued as the companion fell. And finally the man with the beard remained. He pulled back his string as I limped towards him.
“Y-You…” He stuttered, his legs clearly quaking. “You’re a lunatic.”
With the final arrow in hand, I threw it towards him. “Tell me something new.” He tried to flick a shot towards me, but it was too late. The arrow spun behind him, and blew up. The explosion launched him straight to my feet. His face ate dirt.
“I wasn’t going to kill you, but…” I grabbed onto his head with my left hand. I felt so empty, and I didn’t want to suffer from mana depletion again. “But I am willing to make an exception.” I held onto his scalp, struggling to force him to look at me.
“Do it bitch,” he spat, breaking into a grin. “I’ve never had any more fun, you know how boring solitary confinement is? Of course you don’t. I’ve been watching those humans, you know how hard it has been to not kill them? If it weren’t for the demons we would’ve killed them already. They promised a lot of things if I refrained from killing them.”
I shook my head. “Do you know how those arrows blew up?”
His expression shifted to confusion. “A skill probably? Are you scared now?” His eyes wandered to my body. “Now looking at you up close, you’re an absolute beauty.”
I had a brief moment of pause as a raw feeling of disgust welled within me. “Nevermind, you’re not worth explaining to.” I pushed him back and two-handed my spear, coursing mana through it to make it as sharp as possible.
He waited with a grin but I didn’t care.
Sharp.
“Are you gonna do the deed?”
My mind changed. A quick kill is too merciful.
“I am waiting.”
I drained all the mana from it.
“You’re taking too—” I swung it like a club with utmost strength.
The spear shaft collided against his head, the mana now gone from it. Like an egg, it cracked with an explosion of crimson remains. Blood spluttered in the vicinity as I took a heavy breath.
“Fuck…” I felt mixed emotions from killing him, then I looked at the notifications.
[You have killed: (F) Human. Lvl 9.]
[For killing a defender as an invader, bonus experience has been awarded.]
[You have killed: (F) Human. Lvl 8.]
[For killing a defender as an invader, bonus experience has been awarded.]
More experience from Humans? At first I was a bit unsure about killing the humans, it didn’t sit right with me, but if every single one of the ones I fought saw me as an object then… I shook my head before turning to the nearest person, who was the man’s companion.
“Please… spare me…” he hurriedly said. “He forced us to do this.”
My brow raised.
“The empire of Arkaram, they…” The man looked at the ground. “They came up with an offer that made us stick around Mike. Mike, ever since arriving here has been unhinged. He killed one of us for disagreeing with him…” He shook his head and elaborated. “The man you just killed was Mike. He was in solitary confinement after trying to have his way with a male prisoner. He— he simply thought he owned the world, and the issue was exacerbated with this System...”
He took a deep breath before finally closing his eyes. “Thank you for killing him, even if you feel the need to kill us after our attempt on your life, I am thankful.”
Ha?
My annoyance became confusion, what the fuck was this person talking about?
[What he is saying is true!] Glim said as if helping my decision.
Whatever disgust I felt turned into nothing more than confusion, it was something I did not want to deal with. It was clear that not all humans were the same, Matt was an example, but it still felt wrong. I still wanted payback for whatever they had done.
I approached the man as he closed his eyes, and with a dull swing I hit his leg. A crunch resounded as he yelled in pain, he laid on the ground panting. He was weak.
Any form of desire to kill any of the men for some form of payback instantly vanished, I held no interest in killing those who couldn’t even fight back. I definitely did not want to deal with this, thankfully Matt existed, otherwise I would’ve just walked away.
Though if I had been alone, a fight would’ve never happened.
