"I-I won't tell you a-anything," he spat blood and grinned wickedly.
A brutal slash — one quick swing, and the attacker's head was gone.
Mike had killed a player. He hadn't wanted to, but if he hadn't, it would've been his end.
HP -24-
Bleeding!
You have reached Level 4!
HP — 130
6 Skill Points available!
Main Quest Unlocked:
Vengeance March!
Find the Black Rats and destroy their group.
Hint:
Village Market
Tomorrow 12 AM
Mike exhaled, stumbled a few steps forward, and collapsed.
"Hellooo???"
Mike jolted awake, startled and disoriented — until he saw her face.
"Ice?"
Once again, Mike found himself in the healing room.
"What happened, Mike? We found you in the main hall covered in blood, and somehow no one can start the house quest anymore. Do you know why, Mike?"
Mike's thoughts:
How could that be? Because Pal is dead… the quest can't continue. That must be the group's goal — to stop or destroy the game itself!
"I fought an enemy who attacked us and… I killed him, but I don't remember much else," Mike said.
He wasn't really lying — but somehow, he knew more than he told.
Ice simply nodded and helped him stand. Together, they stepped outside.
"I-Ice… I had to…"
Ice simply nodded and pointed to a bench. "Come."
It was evening now. The sun painted the sky with the last orange rays of the day. The two sat down.
"Mike, here — a little gift!"
Mike watched as Ice opened her inventory and searched through it. She pulled out a sword.
"I promised you, didn't I?"
She handed it to him.
Gift from Player: Ice
Forged Sword of Dasum Village
Level 6
100% Durability
"A level 6 sword? Thank you, Ice!"
She nodded and smiled warmly. Their eyes met — for a moment that felt longer than it should have — until Mike stood up.
"Alright, I should get some sleep. I've got something to do tomorrow, okay? You've got your own house now, so you'll have to invite me sometime!"
Ice laughed, her voice light and cheerful.
"Okay, deal! Good night, Mike!"
Mike waved goodbye and walked back to his house. Inside, he sat on the bed and looked at his new sword. It gleamed sharply — the finest blade he had ever seen.
Level 6 wasn't much in the original game, but here… it felt different. Nobody really knew who had the highest level anymore.
Mike stared at the corner of his room.
"How will things turn out from here…?"
He closed his eyes — and drifted into sleep.
Mike opened his eyes and found himself standing before the mysterious, gigantic castle again. This time he recognized immediately where he was — the same spot where the shadow creature always appeared. Mike tried to open his inventory, but it didn't work. He stopped trying to open it. He wanted to kill this creature for the pain it had caused him.
A huge black flash cracked and the creature appeared behind Mike. It looked like himself, only in a kind of shadow form, as if it were his evil self — no, something else.
What kind of fucked-up creature are you, copying me?
The creature stood still. It was terrifying how similar they looked, like Mike was staring into a mirror. The creature pulled a sword from its inventory. The hilt was brown and the blade black; little black sparks crawled along the edge.
Defeat me and it will be yours. You can even use it in battle.
When the creature spoke, it sounded like listening to a voice message of himself — checking how he sounded. It was exactly Mike's voice.
Holy shit, this is creepy, man.
Mike took a fighting stance. The creature threw the sword to the ground in front of Mike. It clinked on the stone floor. They stood on a rock in front of the castle; behind them stretched a desert full of black shadows. Mike picked up the sword.
Unknown item
Unknown quality
5000%
Legend rank
>>Hm, a good weapon. Now come here, you bastard<<
Suddenly the creature vanished and reappeared again and again in a blink, as if it were playing. Mike studied it carefully and lunged forward, but to no avail. He felt a blow to his stomach. The wind lashed his body and seconds later he slammed into a tower of the castle. The tower split in two. Mike fell and fell, but he managed to catch the stairs. The creature hovered above him.
>>Mike, I am your shadow<<
Mike hung from the stairs with both hands but leaped back up quickly. The creature struck lightning-fast, blow after blow into Mike's stomach, but this time Mike did not fly away. The strikes were light, only extremely fast. The sword flew from Mike's hand. The creature caught it quickly and carved an X into Mike's belly. Blood sprayed down the stairs.
**W-why?**
Because you are still weak. Tip: use your skill points.
Mike had no strength left. He was at the broken end of the stairs where the tower had collapsed and tumbled down before he could get up. On the ground he closed his eyes.
Mike jolted and stood up instantly. He looked around in panic and realized he was in his house. He saw the bed and the candles fixed to the wall. Everything was fine, but that other world — that castle — would not let him go. It kept pulling him back and that creature used him like a toy. Mike wanted to finish the quest tomorrow. He wanted to kill every single Black Rat.
HP: 130
Strength: 0
Mike stared at the floating window and decided to put everything into Strength for now.
Strength 0 ➜ 6
Strength 6
0 remaining skill points
Am I stronger already?<<
Mike lay down and closed his eyes, hoping the castle wouldn't call him again tonight.
Mike's username turned green again instead of red, since a few hours had passed since he killed the player.
1 Message —
5 levels have been added to the player
Congratulations! You have reached Level 8!
You have 15 Skill Points available to spend.