Awaken Online: Catharsis

by Travis Bagwell

  Jason jumped from behind the barrel and hurled his knife at the thief's arm. The blade sunk into his flesh just above the elbow. The man let out a pained yell, dropping his weapon.

  -26 Damage (CRIPPLE).

  Lucky hit.

  Activating Sprint, Jason closed the distance between himself and the injured thief. He grabbed the other throwing knife from between his teeth and threw it at the man’s leg. He drew his free dagger with his right hand, his white knuckles clenched tightly around the hilt.

  MISS.

  His blade just barely missed the thief's moving legs and scattered harmlessly against the road. Jason now had the thief's undivided attention. The man's arm was badly injured and his eyes looked frantic as he searched for a weapon with his left hand.

  The thief was too slow and Jason was already upon him. Jason used his momentum to slam into the man, causing the thief to tumble backwards. His body forcefully struck the nearby wall, and he tumbled to the ground. Jason, not relenting, was soon on top of the thief, and stabbed both daggers into his neck.

  -320 Damage (CRITICAL). 102 overkill.

  Thief dies. 440 Experience

  Blood fountained from the twin wounds, and droplets splattered on Jason’s face. He rubbed at the blood that had landed on his cheek with the back of his hand, leaving a red smear below his eye. He glanced over at his zombies and saw that they were standing idly over the corpses of the other rogues. They had managed to kill the remaining two thieves while he had been busy.

  Jason rose to his feet slowly. His breathing was still calm, yet it felt as though ice was actually forming behind his eyes. The bloodlust still filled his veins, and his eyes scanned the street for more victims.

  Wait, why do I need to keep fighting?

  Shaking his head slightly, Jason forcefully released his mana, and his emotions came rushing back. Guilt and confusion warred in his head as he surveyed the corpses in the alley. While he was under the effects of his dark mana, he felt numb to these sensations.

  What the hell was that? I probably would have attacked someone if they had happened to walk by, regardless of who they were.

  His thoughts turned inward. He was upset, angry, and frustrated. At his parents. At the Richmond faculty. At the other students. At Alex. At living in a bare bedroom and having to desperately search for a way to pay for his room and board. Even at Riley and her fickle loyalties. Yet the emotion was not a hot burning rage, but a dull, aching craving. He longed desperately to vent his frustration in a whirlwind of destruction. The darkness had grasped at his moment of weakness and urged him to act on his desires.

  He shook his head in an attempt to clear it.

  I don’t know if I can stay in control. I could easily slip up in my current state of mind. Especially if summoning my dark mana leaves me so uninhibited.

  Surveying the corpses on the ground, Jason felt a brief tremor of guilt and doubt. His emotions were in a tangle, and he wasn’t sure what to do about that. He knew that in order to pay his rent he would have to push forward, but at what cost?

  At least these opponents would have killed me if I hadn’t acted, Jason thought.

  Yet he knew that the guilt sprang from how freely he had given himself over to the dark mana. Maybe next time he wouldn't have sufficient provocation. The more often he embraced the darkness, the easier it became.

  Onyx trotted over and stared at him appraisingly. He arched his back and glanced at the corpses. With a large yawn, the cat settled himself on the chest of one of the dead thieves and closed his eyes.

  Well, Onyx doesn't seem to be wallowing in self-doubt and worry. Maybe he should be my new role model. I could just nap constantly and let others do the work for me.

  Shaking himself out of his stupor, Jason ordered the guard and stable master to begin pulling the corpses into the nearby alley as he checked his notifications.

  x1 Skill Rank Up: Small Blades

  Skill Level: Beginner Level 5

  Effect: 9% increased damage and accuracy with daggers and throwing knives.

  x1 Skill Rank Up: Night Vision

  Skill Level: Beginner Level 5

  Effect: 14% increased vision in darkness or near darkness.

  x1 Skill Rank Up: Perception

  Skill Level: Beginner Level 3

  Effect: 7% increased chance to discover traps and unnoticed details.

  Jason was now level 13. He quickly added his five points to Willpower.

  He began to recalculate the Control Limit and level cap for his zombies and paused. There had to be an easier way to determine this information. Pulling up his Character Status, he examined it carefully. Jason noticed that there was a button available under his class name that he hadn't seen before. He pressed it, and a new prompt appeared in his field of view.

  He checked the math to make certain the screen was right. He determined that the game must round down to the nearest whole number in calculating his Control Limit and the level cap. This meant that he could summon up to nine zombies, factoring in the increased Willpower provided by his Summoning Mastery. He was going to need a small army for what he had planned for this evening and the extra level helped.

  While he had been fiddling with his notifications, his zombies had managed to move all of the corpses out of the street. Jason searched the bodies and pocketed the small amount of copper and silver he found. He left the gear and weapons on the thieves, the equipment wasn't noteworthy and his new minions would need it.

  He then began casting Specialized Zombie repeatedly. It took some time to raise all seven thieves since he still had to wait for his mana to regen each time. Even with his improved mana regen from his increased Willpower, it still took almost two minutes to fully regen his mana each time he cast.

  Soon he was surrounded by his new horde: seven thieves, the guard, and the stable master. The thieves didn't have impressive levels, but all of them had the Sneak skill and many of them could Sneak Attack. He also noticed that the level 17 thief had the Pick Lock skill. A grin crept across Jason’s face. The chances of his plan succeeding were looking better.

  I love it when a plan comes together, he thought. He had a strong urge to rub his hands together and cackle evilly.

  The constant summoning had also caused his summoning skill and spell to increase in level.

  x1 Skill Rank Up: Summoning Mastery

  Skill Level: Beginner Level 2

  Effect: 6% increased stats for summoned undead and 6% increase to effective Willpower for purposes of determining control limit.

  x1 Spell Rank Up: Specialized Zombie

  Skill Level: Beginner Level 2

  Effect: Increased skill proficiency retained by zombies. Skill cap Beginner Level 2

  Jason waited until he had fully regen'd his mana. Then he clothed his minions in the extra cloaks from his bags, and his miniature army started making its way to the north-side of Lux. This time, he was careful to avoid any confrontation. As they made their way into the more populated portions of Lux, he divided the group in half. It would look strange to have such a large group walking down the street.

  He instructed the off-group of thieves to meet him at a point designated on his map. There was an alley located on the north-side that would be a good meeting spot. He made it clear that they should be discrete and stay hidden as much as possible. This was a good opportunity to test how well his zombies followed instructions when he wasn't present. If there were any problems, he’d rather discover them now than later that night. He could only cross his fingers and hope that they weren't revealed and destroyed.

  I guess I could always find more though.

  Approximately thirty minutes later, his little army was regrouped in an alley on the north-side. His off-group of thieves had made it to the rendezvous without incident. Jason was forced to give the zombies incredibly detailed orders, but he was surprised at how well they carried them out. It was a pain in the ass. He was already trying to think of ways to make the tactical instructions permanent.
/>
  Sitting around and talking to dead people all the time is going to get me some strange looks.

  His plan was to ransack the manor adjacent to the alley. During his scouting expedition, he had noticed that this manor appeared luxurious, but didn't have many of the security features common in the north-side. Its main entry looked out on an open courtyard with no gate and no guards patrolling the grounds outside. He hoped this meant that the security inside would be more lax, but that there would still be items worth looting.

  Jason gave careful instructions to his group of thieves. They would all enter the building through the servants' entrance located in the alley. He figured that this portion of the building would have fewer active guards.

  He would then split his army into two smaller groups like before, giving instructions to the off-group of thieves to stay in stealth as much as possible as they made their way from room to room. He cautioned them to stop frequently to ensure that their stamina stayed topped off. If they found a person alone, they were to attack from stealth on a vital point (kidneys, throat, heart, etc.). If there was more than one person, a thief would be sent to fetch Jason while the others stayed out of sight.

  Jason planned to keep the guard and the stable master close to him in case he needed to do any heavy fighting. Dying wasn't on the agenda for the evening.

  Once he felt that his instructions were as clear as he could make them and covered as many contingencies as he could think of, he looked at his small army one last time. Onyx lay curled up on a nearby barrel.

  “Are you coming?” Jason asked the cat.

  Onyx looked at him with a bored expression and then slowly rose to his feet, stretched, and yawned. The cat stared at him blandly. His expression said simply, “I guess so.”

  Jason shook his head in irritation and quietly ordered the high level thief to pick the lock. The door creaked open slowly. His group of thieves crept in with Sneak active. The guard and stable master remained in the alley until Jason gave them the okay to enter the building.

  The servant’s door opened into a small hallway that ended in front of another door.

  Probably the kitchen.

  Jason crept forward and cracked open the door. His suspicions confirmed, he saw two servants moving in front of the stove. They were quietly talking amongst themselves, cleaning up what must have been dinner.

  He whispered to one of the thieves to make its way to the servant on the left, while Jason would take the one on the right. The servants dropped silently, their blood spilling onto the floor. Jason didn't receive a damage notification or any experience. More than likely, the system considered these NPCs to be no challenge.

  Onyx didn't seem particularly enthused at Jason's victory against the unarmed kitchen help and was already walking out of the room before Jason even had time to clean his blade.

  Why does it always feel like the cat is judging me?

  The kitchen had two different doors leading into the interior of the house. Jason split his group as planned and started making his way through the manor. The guard and stable master trailed a room behind his group with instructions to rush forward if an alarm was sounded. He gave the zombies each a bag so that they could act as his pack mules. As the group moved forward, Jason collected anything that looked valuable and tossed it to the zombie guard and the stable master.

  He was surprised at how large the structure was and how many rooms it had. It was easily over 10,000 square feet and each room was packed with ornate furniture, tapestries, and sculptures. In contrast to the filth and partially collapsed buildings he had seen in the south-side, the manor looked like a royal palace.

  Jason's group encountered several servants and a few guards, as they progressed. The guards they encountered were each around level 100 and were a pain to kill. They weren't impossible if his thieves ambushed them in the same way Jason had killed the guard at the gate. It was important to land both a critical attack and cripple them to end the fight quickly and quietly.

  The off-group of thieves seemed to be killing steadily on the other side of the house since Jason kept receiving experience randomly. His careful instructions paid off. The experience was rolling in, and Jason leveled a number of times.

  He was now level 19. He decided to raise his Endurance to 20 since he needed some extra stamina and regen. He put the rest of the points into Willpower, raising it to 113. With his Summoning Mastery, he now had an effective Willpower of approximately 120.

  He used his Specialized Zombie ability to raise the guards as they were killed and had them stand in the back with his mules. He also replaced the stable master since he was next to useless.

  One strange thing that he noticed was that his zombies leveled as he gained experience. The thieves in his group were now all approaching level 20. Jason didn't have the option to assign their stats as they leveled, but it meant that his summons grew slowly in power if he managed to keep them alive. This seemed odd since their bodies would continue to decay and the levels would eventually be lost. Maybe there was a way to make them permanent?

  Wouldn't Morgan have told me if it was possible to stop the decay? Not that anyone has exactly been forthcoming about information.

  He shook his head. That was a problem for later. He continued his slow march forward in Sneak.

  Jason's journey through the manor soon ended in front of a set of broad double doors. He could hear several voices on the other side that sounded like a number of people were sitting in the room. He needed to come up with a plan before he proceeded.

  He moved his minions back down the hallway and into one of the side rooms. He felt reasonably certain that they were out of earshot of the room he had encountered. Then he sent one of his thieves to find the off-group and bring them back. Once all of his minions had collected inside the small room, he surveyed the group.

  I have a decent little army now.

  Unfortunately, he didn't know the layout of the next room. He expected it was some kind of large study based on the design of the rest of the house, but he couldn’t be certain. He also wasn't sure how many people were in the other room or how many of them were guards. If he was lucky, maybe most of them were low level nobles having a dinner party.

  What he needed was a diversion. His eyes skimmed over his own guard zombies and paused on two that still had their throats intact. They must have been stabbed in the kidneys or heart. He frowned in thought.

  An idea flickered in his mind's eye.

  He inspected one of the guards. He was Level 92 (limited to level 42). His health was around 600.

  Trying something new, Jason whispered to one of the guard zombies, “Say Jason.”

  The guard zombie stared at him for a moment. It coughed hard, ejecting phlegm and blood from its throat and mouth. Once it was done coughing up the muck in its lungs, the zombie's mouth opened experimentally. “J-Jason,” it gurgled in a hoarse rasp.

  Onyx leapt back in surprise and hissed at the zombie. Jason chuckled and looked at the cat with a bemused expression. Onyx glared daggers at him.

  With a grin, Jason turned back to the group of zombies. The plan began to solidify in his head, and his eyes shown with a wicked darkness. The chill spread through his body in waves and seemed to hum slightly in approval at what he was contemplating.

  It was time to give his group of zombies their new instructions.

  Chapter 18 - Vague

  Sir Ryalt was a retired knight and had served for many years in the employ of Lux. He had once been a soldier of renowned fighting ability and had fought for the city on many occasions.

  That had been many years ago. Now he held dinner parties for insipid nobles who had never held a sword. Sometimes, amidst the pleasantries and fake smiles, he still yearned for the simplicity of the battlefield.

  This was one such night.

  He was meeting tonight with a small group of nobles from some of the nearby houses. What they had revealed had set his teeth on edge. Yet Sir Ryalt was old enough to see the c
orrupt wisdom in their words.

  The nobles had revealed that Regent Aquinas had been dead for several months. The noble houses had covered up the regent's death to maintain stability in Lux. Regent Aquinas didn't have an heir, and news of his death would have incited a war among the noble families that would have devastated the city.

  To avoid this result, the nobles had banded together and had been governing the city in secret. Their hope now was to transition control of Lux and the Kingdom of Lusade to Strouse, the regent of Meria. They had also explained with secret, greedy smiles that Strouse was willing to pay each noble handsomely for the keys to the city.

  Lux had withered in recent years, and Sir Ryalt agreed that a war among the nobles would likely have destroyed it. However, he was no spring chicken and knew that the nobles would only have agreed to work together if they were all being paid handsomely for their cooperation. The offer from Strouse was likely just an unforeseen bonus.

  Looking at the state of south-side (which was now little more than a slum), Sir Ryalt expected that the nobles had been skimming from the city's taxes for some time. They had approached him as a last resort to encourage him to go along with their plan. Most likely, they wanted to avoid any bloodshed. They knew that he had always been loyal to the former regent.

  In spite of his honor and his loyalty to Lux (or perhaps because of it), he saw little choice but to join the hoax. Sir Ryalt didn't need the money they were offering and he was appalled by what they had done, but he couldn't see his city fall to insurrection and chaos.

  How had his life come to this? As the nobles continued to chatter at him with flowery words, he thought back to the days where all he needed to worry about was swinging his sword.

  His thoughts were interrupted as the doors to the hall slammed open with a loud thud, and two guards burst into the room. The pair closed the thick wooden doors before rushing toward the group of nobles.