The Slayer

by Darren Hultberg Jr

  “And one more thing. Hold out your arms.” Hilda and I cautiously placed our arms in from of the violet eyed man. Vic kept his tight to his chest, quietly waiting to see where this was going. Wesley placed a hand on each of our wrists. His eyes lit up with violet energy as his grip began to tighten. “Zander… Hilda… you have proven yourselves worthy. Now, I grant you your wings. Fly high and strike true… for you are now members of Ravenflight.” Wesley removed his hands from our wrists, revealing violet insignias now etched into our skin. A notification popped up on my screen.

  Congratulations!

  You are now a member of the Ravenflight guild

  Rank: Initiate

  Items received:

  Cloak of the raven

  Insignia of the raven

  I tried to hide the smile stretching across my face, but it just wasn't possible. I immediately equipped the cloak. It was blacker than midnight, wrapping around my neck in a cowl that flowed over my shoulders and down to my ankles. Hilda had the same idea, though the cloak looked much more striking over her physique.

  “And you, Destroyer?” Wesley asked, referring to Vic by his silly character name.

  “I'm done.” Vic said coldly. “All this fighting… it's not for me. In gonna stay in the city and ride this thing out.”

  “I think that's best.” I said, even though I was screaming internally. All of those sucker punches in high school and now fighting wasn't for you?! My blood boiled for a few seconds, but I let it go. There would be a time for all of that, but it wasn't now.

  “You two best get yourselves prepared.” Wesley said. The tournament begins in a fortnight.”

  “You’re not coming?” Hilda questioned.

  Wesley let out a heavy sigh. “I wish I could… but it's best that I stay here. You see, Corbin quickly realized I wanted out of the game. That's why he had me captured and stripped of all my in-game power. He took everything away from me and hid me away in a dark corner of the Aether prison. Thankfully after years of working side by side, he didn’t have the heart to outright kill me…. What he didn’t know though, is that I programmed in a fail-safe, a way to be found by just the right person… El’s quest. Unfortunately, Once Corbin realizes I'm free he'll be looking for me. I don't think he's aware of my affiliation with Ravenflight… and I'd like to keep it that way. He’s stripped me of my ability to level, so the guild is all I have… the power to give quests, to grant rewards… The power to command my ravens.” He paused to place a hand on my shoulder. “When you reach your destination, search for the ravens. They will aid you.

  I cocked an eyebrow. “If that’s the case, then why haven’t you sent them for Vazryn?”

  Wesley nodded, as if he were expecting the question. “The game is fresh… The ravens under me are mere NPCs. Sending them to kill Vazryn on their own is futile. Right now, he rules this realm. He’d merely have the ravens destroyed before they got close. No, it must be something unpredictable, something he can’t entirely control. It must be a player.

  I nodded. “I guess we're off then.”

  Wesley smiled. Your strong Zander, I can see that. I’m certain you’ll make it to the arena city. Just keep your eyes peeled… my ravens will assess the situation and bring you further instruction.”

  I gave the man an apprehensive nod. “Uh, will do.” Damnit all, this man had thrown all this at me and just expected my trust? How could I even be certain he was telling the truth!

  I sat back and pondered it all for a moment. I didn’t have a ton of choices in front of me. I could follow through with this man’s quest, or I could abandon it all and go carve out an adventure for myself. Or… I could stay in town. I could try to wait this thing out… surely, someone on the other side had begun working to free us from this death game.

  No, I wasn’t going to sit around and rot in town. I was heading out, and I might as well head in the direction that was going to earn me something other than a quick death. I’d work for Wesley and the ravens for now. After all, Wesley had already shown to provide some generous rewards for his tasks.

  I nodded to the man, then turned to leave. Suddenly, he lifted a hand, bringing me pause. “And one more thing.” Wesley scrambled over to a small chest and withdrew 2 items. The first he handed to Hilda, an aegis shield with a large black bird etched into its face. The second item he handed to me. I stared at the item with wide eyes, a marvelous blade with a blackened hilt and a streak of obsidian that ran up its serrated edge. I lifted the blade into the air.

  “Nevermore”

  11

  Year of Rebirth 0003

  Just a single night was all the time we gave ourselves to prepare for our trek. Airrigar is where we were headed. The city was a well-known landmark of Aetheria, even before the game’s launch. For unlike normal locales, this city was built in a giant circle, its focal point being the massive fighting arena at its center. Word on the street was that Vazryn’s contest of champions was set to begin there in 21 days, meaning we had just 20 to arrive at the city and register.

  I pulled up my world map one last time, giving it a quick look over to confirm our route. The plan was to head West to Stormgard, city of towers and storms. From there we would resupply then make our way north to the arena. As long as we didn’t come across any trouble, we would arrive early giving us extra time to train. Still, a trouble-free journey seemed like little more than a pipe dream.

  I waved my hand, dismissing the map to give me a better view of Karrihdan… still no sign of Hilda. Our plan was to meet at the city’s main gate at dawn and head out from there. Noticing the darkness that still enveloped most of the street, I realized I was a bit early. I leaned back against the large pillar supporting the gate and focused on my interface. I pulled up my inventory. It didn’t hurt to give it one last look through before setting out.

  Inventory

  Gear

  Head: Ninja Cowl

  Chest: Studded Leather Armor

  Arms: Leather Gloves

  Legs: Sturdy Leather Boots

  Equip 1: Cloak of the Raven (+3 Dex +3 Int)

  Equip 2: Giant’s Belt (+3 Strength)

  Equip 3: --

  Equip 4: --

  Equip 5: --

  Weapons

  Main hand: Nevermore (Bonded)

  Off hand: Iron Shortsword

  Ranged: Throwing Knives

  Other:

  X3 Torches

  Flint & Steel

  Small bedroll

  Small tent

  Bandages

  X10 Rations

  Fresh water

  Grappling hook and rope

  X2 Gnoll pelt

  36 coppers

  I was fairly certain that I had everything I needed, though I was flat broke after picking up that ninja cowl from another player. Still, I looked way too good in it to pass it up! Next, I pulled up my character sheet.

  Name: Zander Darkblade

  Class: Slayer

  Lvl: 7

  HP: 170/170

  Exp: 675/700

  Str: 17

  Dex: 17

  Int: 15

  Con: 12

  Wis: 10

  Cha: 10

  Faction: Initiate of the Ravenflight guild

  Skills:

  Mark of the Slayer

  Lunging Strike II

  Double Strike

  Blade of the slayer (Bonded Weapon: Nevermore)

  Forge from Shadow

  Illusionary Strike

  I couldn’t help but grin as I gave my character sheet a look over. Id grown quite formidable in the short time since the game’s release… much more powerful than I’d ever been in the real world.

  I dismissed my character sheet as I rose fully to my feet. I held my hand out in front of me and focused. Suddenly, shadows began to stretch out from between my fingers, lengthening until finally they solidified to form my blade nevermore. I had used one of my newly acquired slayer skills to bond with the blade, making it even deadlier in my hands. Mor
eover, using the skill forge from shadow, I could summon the blade at will… an ability I was certain that prove invaluable in the battles to come.

  I waved the blade around, slashing at invisible targets, gauging the weapon’s weight and getting a feel for it before duty called and I would need to put the blade to use. Beads of sweat began to form on my forehead as I got into a groove, slashing and thrusting with the mighty blade, allowing my battle instincts to fully take control. I planted my foot and began to execute a spinning strike, though I was forced to stop short once I spotted the blonde-haired guardian standing directly behind me.

  “Are you done dancing around, so we can leave?” Hilda said coyly. She had a playful smile on her face that still had me stumbling over my words (if only briefly).

  “Ready? I’ve been waiting for you!”

  “Of course you have.” She replied as she headed through the gate. Strapped across Hilda’s back was her aegis shield, Corvus, and her ram-head mace she had acquired at the prison. She was level 5 now and had taken a liking to skills that aided in crushing her enemies, something not typical to a guardian. Nevertheless, she had proven herself to be a valuable ally and a good friend, something that was hard to find in either world.

  Our first day of travel went by without a hitch. We followed the road east, cutting through the sprawling forest that surrounded Karrihdan on all sides. It was a relatively safe trek, with most of the creatures in the area being lower level beasts. Every few moments we would pass by a player or two honing their skills against the errant creature that wandered too close to the road.

  We chose to make camp as night fell, building a tent in a vacant grassy plain under Aetheria’s two moons. The feeling of fatigue in this world was something completely different than feeling tired in my flesh, but after sleeping nearly every night for the past 17 years, it was an action that somehow felt… necessary.

  Getting to sleep turned out to be quite difficult, mostly due to a dull pain that ached throughout my head. My HP was full, and my HUD didn’t warn me of any current ailments, so I assumed the headache was just something I had to live with for now. Despite the pain, slumber finally took me.

  ><><

  Adam. A familiar voice stirred in my head, calling over and over.

  Adam. Wake up, damnit. It kept coming. I did my best to match a face to the voice, but my thoughts were unclear, as if a fog had passed through my brain…

  ADAM!

  I jolted up out my bedroll, sweat dripping from my brow. That voice, it had haunted me in my sleep. It kept repeating itself over and over, spewing out that strange name. Adam… I thought on it for a moment. Adam, that… that was my name!

  A feeling of sickness grumbled in the pit of my stomach. Had I been trapped in here that long that I had nearly forgotten my real name? No… perhaps it was just the fatigue, a momentary memory lapse from being woken so suddenly.

  Shaking it off, I rose from my bedroll and began summoning my items back into my inventory. Hilda was nearby, washing her hair in small natural stream at the edge of the field. It didn’t look like she had noticed my restless sleeping, or at least she didn’t plan on saying anything about it. I approached her, letting her know I was awake. We gathered our things, shared a breakfast of trail rations and set off once again.

  Beyond the field, the road twisted into another heavily wooded area. This time signs of life were few and far between. In fact, I hadn’t seen a single player traversing the wood. Hilda and I walked silently, listening to the sounds of the forest, keeping a keen eye on our strange surroundings. And lucky that we were… a chilling scream echoed through the air, but only for a second before it was quickly cut short. We paused, waiting patiently for the scream once more… but it never came.

  Hilda gazed at me, a look of concern on her face. “I think that came from over there.” She said, pointing to a large thicket to the right.

  “Dare we?” I said, my eyes slowly drifting back to the long road that still lied ahead. She gave me a disapproving glare, and I immediately knew we would be checking it out.

  I led the way as we began weaving through the trees, carefully approaching the thicket that lie ahead. I pushed away some of the bramble and squeezed through the thick brush, making my way into a large hidden grove. Despite the scream from earlier, I was almost shocked to see several others within the thicket. At the center of the grassy grove was a young woman, eyes filled with an unbridled rage. Long black hair with streaks of red fell over her small shoulders and large chest, nearly covering the thick rope wrapped tightly around her torso. She wore cloth armor of crimson and gold, indicating that she was likely a spellcaster, though with the gag in her mouth it was unlikely she would be casting any spells.

  Surrounding the young woman was a small group of men, all dressed in armor of varied material and quality. They stood near the woman in a semi-circle, watching as one of them mocked her before placing an unwanted hand on her waist. This was going to get out of hand fast.

  “Hey!” I said, drawing the men’s attention as I entered the grove. I always strived to approach each situation with a battle plan, but the distress of the woman had forced my hand.

  “Who the hell are you?” The man studied me with his good eye, the other covered in a tattered patch. “Get the hell outta here… Unless you wanna die here.” A few more of the men shot me toothy grins, their hands slowly moving to their waists where sharp blades dangled in leather scabbards.

  Hilda entered the grove just seconds later, eliciting more looks from the thugs. “Well, well.” One of them said, rubbing his hands together as if he was preparing to dig in to a hot supper.

  “Enough.” A commanding voice echoed through the grove. The men immediately backed off, though their eyes never left Hilda or myself. Approaching from the back of the pack was a man who stuck out from the rest of the ruffians. He was tall and sporting leather armor that was dyed green like tree leaves. Across his back a quiver full of arrows hang, at his side a fine silver battle axe. He brushed aside his long brown hair to get a better look at me, his hazel eyes deadly focused as they met mine. I concentrated on the icon above his head. It was bright red… indicating that he’d killed players before.

  Name: Rhylor

  Ranger

  Lvl: 10

  Damnit, I was hoping my higher level would be enough to scare some of them off. It looked like that surely wasn’t happening now.

  “You’re a fool for coming in here. You realize that now, don’t you?” Rhylor’s voice was cool, calm and collected. His expression remained serious as he spoke, but I couldn’t help but feel like he was mocking me.

  “Just let the girl go.” I said, trying to appear forthright and intimidating.

  Rhylor gazed back at the young woman, then back to me. “Her? The feisty one over there?” The woman’s eyes lit up with rage. I was certain if she wasn’t gagged that she’d be screaming something profane. “What business do you have with that one? Ya know, when we stumbled upon her in this grove here she was anything but kind. I only see it fair to let my men have a little fun with her. They look forward to things like this… It keeps them occupied in this shit world.”

  I grimaced. These were not good spirited adventurers… these men were dangerous. Of all the times, why did I have to choose now to act so righteous! I wracked my brain for something, anything to get us out of this. Suddenly, an idea began to formulate in my mind.

  “So, what is it then? You’re clearly not planning on letting the girl go…are you going to kill us?” I asked boldly.

  “I suppose so.” Rhylor replied in a matter-a-fact tone. His hand rested firmly on the handle of his battle-axe.

  I put my hand on my chin. “Seems like a pretty dumb idea if you ask me."

  Rhylor furrowed his brow. “How so?”

  “Well, what do you get from killing us? Nothing…”

  “Just the satisfaction.” One of the thugs chimed in, drawing a laugh from the others.

  “Maybe so.” I added. “
But if you’re looking to make a profit… then why not take part in a duel.” Rhylor’s eyes widened. Good. He was intrigued. “The great thing about duels is you can add a wager, and by the game’s laws I’ll be forced to pay up. I’ll bet my most valuable possession, and you… all you have to do is wager the freedom of that girl. I gave her a quick inspection.

  Name: Helena

  Warlock

  Level 6

  I hoped she was worth all this trouble. Rhylor sized me up, quickly inspecting my level and the items I wore. “And what do you have to offer besides a measly shortsword?”

  I raised my hand in front of him, inhaling deeply as I centered my focus on my palm. Shadows began to escape from my fingertips, swirling and lengthening before my obsidian blade nevermore formed in my grasp. Many of the men gasped in awe as the marvelous blade materialized.

  For the first time since our encounter, Rhylor grinned. “You’re on.”

  12

  The men circled Rhylor and I as we squared off in the center of the grove. Two of the brutes stood off to the side, standing guard near the entrapped warlock Helena, each wearing a grimace on their face. It appeared that they were none too happy about missing the fight.

  Hilda stood in the circle of men, waiting for the fight to begin. She gave me a slight nod as I took a fighting stance. I winked back at her, trying to show a little bravado in the face of a much stronger opponent.

  “Are you ready to get this over with?” Rhylor quipped, heaving his axe onto his shoulder with one hand. I didn’t respond, but rather pulled up my interface and selected Duel. A glowing ring of amber energy encircled us, barring the others from entrance. There was no going back now.

  A tiny sprite flittered into view at the center of the dueling area, taking the shape of a tiny winged women made of light. “Please make your wagers be known.” The tiny women said in an almost childlike voice. A small golden aura of light briefly covered my weapon as I raised it towards the sprite, then the light quickly faded.