Hunt for the Necromancer - Book 1

by Wes Havoc

  That's boring.

  "You're so fucking boring, Aaron."

  I gritted my teeth, seething. With a guttural yell, I lifted the sword and before she could widen her eyes I put the blade down in a diagonal motion.

  I frowned, catching my breath. I was sure my blade cut her straight through her neck. I expected her head to drop or blood to spill on me but the demoness just stared with wide eyes for a moment. Then her body fell to her knees and dropped chest-down against the road.

  I shivered for a moment - that was bizarrely real even without blood. Numbers appeared above her back as if smoke, but I was focused on the notification by the corner of my vision as a tingle ran up my spine.

  You leveled up! 1 > 2

  I smiled to myself. So all I had to do was behead hot demon girls in realistic ways and I'd level up and get stronger. I glanced at the body lying by my feet as I walked around her and down the road. No blood stained the blade of my sword. I sighed, satisfied. At least they'd save me from pools of blood.

  But this got me thinking. I couldn't wait to see how realistic sex was.

  2

  I followed the road, turning a corner in an abandoned building. Smoke rose from its windows, but I turned from it to take a look at what looked like the main square. It was better paved than the road I came in. There was a fountain in the middle of it and some benches, a tall building with an impressive tower on the opposite side from where I stood. If I were to bet, I'd say it was a church, or whatever this game took for a religion. Some houses around the square were also on fire, illuminating the place.

  The battered ground was littered with corpses.

  My heart rate picked up, even though the rational side of my brain told me they were not real corpses. They were pixels taking the form of corpses, but not real, living human beings with dreams and quirks lying dead under the stars. It was quite the scene either way. Necks were turned the wrong way, some had their skins dark with burns. Some limbs so crooked I diverted my gaze.

  A yell caught my attention as a woman darted from inside a house. Her dull dress had been burnt by the fire dancing behind her. After her, another demoness followed, the same hungry grin the one that attacked me had.

  This one sported tiny leather shorts and a leather top that could barely keep her huge tits from overflowing. Her golden hair spilled down from her shoulders down her waist, swishing from side to side as she took each step as if she was a top model walking down a catwalk. I watched her chest bouncing slightly, mesmerized by what this game created - tits like those were not available in real life, that was for sure.

  The demoness stretched her wings as she caught sight of me, blinking her long lashes as she changed target to approach me. I clenched my teeth, holding my sword hard between my hands, but my gaze was completely focused on her bouncing breasts.

  I know. I looked like a teenager. But Marc had been right - those boobs were out of this world.

  She was ten feet from me when another form jumped over her, screaming their heads out. I jumped up and away, watching the newcomer take the demoness down and, sitting over her hips, raise a sword above her head, bringing it down as the demoness hissed. The sound of blade cutting through flesh made me shiver.

  After a moment, the killer stood up, turning to me slowly. "You either kill them or you run away, alright?" Her face was scrunched up as she bared her teeth at me. There was something in her eyes that edged contempt.

  And she was so freaking beautiful.

  From what I could see, the newcomer was some kind of gladiator or warrior. She wore a leather skirt with high boots, lined with fur, as well as a dark top, also lined with fur. Her brownish-red hair was sexily disheveled, as if she did that on purpose, a long strand falling between her round boobs. Her arms were defined, as were her long, muscled legs, and she held up her sword with the skill of someone who's killed one too many. She blinked big green eyes at me for a moment before she surveyed the square and turned around to go.

  "Wait," I breathed, stepping up to her. She stopped, her gaze so intent on me I had to clear my throat to ask. "What the hell is happening?"

  She motioned to the demoness at her feet. "Demon attack, can't you see?" She paused a hand over her hip, her eyes scanning me. She had those cute freckles over her nose, her cheeks orange with the firelight. "Are you a knight?"

  "Yeah," I nodded, forcing myself to stand straighter. "Aaron. At your service."

  What.

  I was so freaking stupid. I ground my teeth before I could say any other stupidity, hoping she wouldn't find me half as an idiot as I found myself.

  She cocked an eyebrow at me. "Brianna..." My heart walloped. She analyzed me, probably calculating how long would I survive in that shit. I was still glad she was actually considering me when she tipped her plump, red lip up. "Alright. If you think you can handle, we could use another sword against these hell spawns."

  She turned and strode up the square. I followed right behind, using the moment to take a careful look at her amazing ass. The shorts ended just above the curve of her marvelous bottom, so I could catch a good glimpse of them with each step she took.

  I thanked the video game gods. This was so much better than reality. Apart from the demon attack part, of course.

  She pointed to a barricade close to what I believe was a church. "We're checking the houses for civilians, then taking them to the Temple." She looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes roaming my body once more. "What level are you again?"

  "Just a two. I've just leveled up."

  "Oh, so you've just spilled your first blood," she grinned, and it was bright and huge and made my heart stoop. With that small gesture, her own face seemed to change. "Congratulations. You'll probably level up some more tonight." I tried to smile back, but she turned away before I could act on it. She directed us to the porch of a two-stories house, sword in hand. "Get ready to kill as soon as one of those bitches show up."

  I nodded even if I was behind her. She jumped inside the house, her eyes looking for anyone, but it was empty. We walked around the place and climbed up the steps, but there was no one, nor civilian neither demon. She signaled with her head for us to leave the place once we reached the first floor. I was about to turn around when I caught sight of the movement from the back window.

  A demoness jumped over it, lithe as a cat, breaking the glass with a crashing sound. She stretched herself and landed over Brianna with such strength the two dropped straight to the ground, the demoness' chest waving back and forth as she straddled the warrior.

  I sighed. I already loved this game.

  As much as I would've loved to watch those boobs swaying, I jumped over with a scream, sword in hand ready to swing and digitally behead her. She snapped at me, rolling away in the last moment as my sword swung where her head had been.

  Brianna jumped up, clutching her own sword. "Thanks," she breathed, frowning. "Now let's take that bitch down."

  The demoness prepared to lunge at us, grinning. When she jumped, I had already started to swing my blade and it met her neck halfway through her movement, her smile melting into an astonished expression. There was only a thud as her body dropped to the ground.

  Smokey-numbers rose from her back but I did not feel the tingle up my spine this time, and there was no level up message by the corner of my vision. Guess I'd have to behead some more before I got another level up.

  Brianna sighed, striding to the door. "Good swing. That was a close one."

  I followed her back to the square. "Thanks." As we walked up to the next house, we stepped over a fallen villager. Apart from twisted limbs and the lack of blood, another thing caught my attention this time. Their bodies were untouched. "The demonesses are not eating the villagers." I stated, feeling somewhat Captain Obvious.

  Brianna looked over her shoulder at me as she prepared to enter another house. "No. It's just the regular killing spree. It's been like this since the Necromancer took over."

  I frowned. The Necromancer? Kic
k-ass name. I opened my mouth to ask who was that, but we entered the house before I could form the words.

  We killed another demon there, and this time the tingle up my spine came paired with the message of leveling up. As we left, I cleared my throat. "The Necromancer?"

  "Yeah. Up in the capital." She slowed her steps so she walked beside me. "You know, she killed the whole royal family, took control of the kingdom and is letting all sort of other races attack villages, as long as they pay her taxes." She frowned, her jaw clenched. "We pay her taxes but... I don't know. That doesn't seem to be enough. We've had all sorts of invasions. We survive and rise up, and then after some months, there's another attack. It's been like this for some three or four years." She shrugged, clutching the hilt of her sword. "This succubus group alone has attacked us thrice up until now."

  I gulped. "Succubus group?"

  "Yeah. Haven't you noticed? Or did you think they were common demons, dressed like that?" She blew out a dry laughter. "The leader has taken residence up at the abandoned castle. She comes back every year or so, just for fun. Just because she knows no one can stop her."

  "What? What a b- bastard." I managed to stop the offense in the middle, and I looked up at her to see if she noticed. She didn't seem to have minded, and I suddenly felt stupid for holding back insults. "So no one can beat her?"

  "We can, but that's not all it takes. Every time we beat her, she leaves and then comes back later, you see? We'd have to make her our ally so she'd stop doing that."

  "And what would it take for her to become your ally?"

  Brianna gave me an once-over again, tipping up her lips. "More levels than you currently have."

  * * *

  I dropped myself on the first step of the Temple, sunrise bathing the square in warm, orange light. The buildings were in ruins around me, barely their skeletons standing as smoke rose in swirls to the skies. Brianna sat beside me, sipping from a bowl of soup.

  "Are you sure you don't want any? It's not much, but it's warm." She sipped again, her green eyes bright as she studied the square.

  "Nah, I'm good," I reassured her. I could eat, but I loved the idea of not needing to. I spent the whole night running around and fighting and didn't feel the need of sleeping too. "What's the plan?"

  "They can't walk in sunlight, so we'll have the morning to try and organize ourselves. Bury our dead, rest." She eyed me, bumping me with an elbow. "Will you stay for tonight's attack? You've improved quite a lot."

  I did. Of course, I was a level 7 now, the last level having been reached after killing a particularly nasty demoness. She showed up mid-square in the last hour of the evening, sporting not more than some leather straps over her nipples and between her thighs. I got a couple of scratches myself, glad they were not as painful as they would've been in real life, but managed to kill her just fine.

  "I will stay," I nodded, watching her bronze skin in the light.

  "If you want to level up during the day," she adjusted herself, her knee touching mine. "There's going to be a bunch of quests for you in town. No heroic stuff though," she side-smiled, and I couldn't help but smile back. "But there's going to be need for a strong pair of arms."

  She pressed her arm against mine, her eyes glinting. My heart was beating as fast as when I first saw a demon. "Yeah, that sounds good," I answered, gazing at her.

  "You'll have to be stronger if you want to tackle the Lady up the castle." She winked, then rose and left after a set of guards that called her.

  I watched her round ass walking away. I wondered if I could ever have a girl like that... Then I shook my head, frowning to myself. She was part of a game and it probably meant to make me feel like that. I had to get real and focus on the main goal of the game: beat it and get laid, nothing more, nothing less.

  I shot up to my feet and crossed the barricade to explore a new part of town. I needed to get stronger to beat the boss, and it would be all the better if I were some levels higher to make it easier. The faster I beat the boss, the faster I'd get some action.

  3

  At the beginning, I wandered around. Though the city was not exactly big, it seemed to be basically made of alleyways. Lost, I asked myself if there were enough survivors to give me any quest at all. But across town, it seemed a group of villagers managed through the night just enough.

  I helped retrieving lost pigs. I built a second barricade. I put cinders out and helped little girls finding their mothers and fetched herbs near the outer walls to produce healing potions. This last one was particularly interesting - it was just an herb, sitting by the edge of the forest, but everyone around me seemed to be wary of retrieving it. Something about the ones who lived in the woods.

  I got a healing potion myself as a reward, and free lunch from the owner of one of the pigs. My arms ached with the effort but I felt excellent - unlike what Brianna said, those people thanked me as if I was doing heroic stuff indeed. After lunch, leaning against one of the few porches still standing, my mind drifted away.

  Men and women alike had their sleeves rolled up their elbows as they worked hard to rebuild whatever they could. They made the porches again, they secured doors and boarded up windows. Kids weren't spared - the ones I've met were helping their parents in minor duties. Even the ones with a small exclamation mark upon their heads, indicating the possibility of a quest, were not idle. Something told me they'd do their jobs with or without my interruption, and that was something else in video games. Usually, characters would stand, lost and confused, waiting for the player to come rescue them.

  I strolled around that part of town until the sun leaned to the west. Blinking against the red sunset, I wondered if the sky being painted in blood was a sign of what the night would bring.

  "Morning, sunshine," a sweet voice called from behind me as I entered the square. I turned to see Brianna, wearing the very same clothes and with dirt smudged across her cheek, smiling up at me. "Managed some levels for tonight or you're just going to rest your strength?" She reached up and pressed a finger against my strong biceps, smirking.

  I chortled. "For your information, I'm a level 10 now, my lady."

  "Oh," she pretended to be surprised, pausing a hand over her chest. "Good. And there's still time for you if you'd like to try and level up a bit more. Are you taking on the demoness lady today?"

  "Yeah. As long as she isn't taken down, this will keep on happening."

  She nodded once, her eyes roaming over my body. The longer I watched, the longer it seemed her eyes studied me. "I guess you've already got some money, no? You should get something with higher defense."

  My brows shot up. I overlooked that completely. Swiping my fingers to bring up the side menu, there was, indeed, a small gold coin right under my name and level, indicating the amount of money I owned.

  "Do you think anyone will be able to sell me anything?"

  She acquiesced, jutting her thumb behind her. "But you'll have to go back the way you just came from. There is a store on the other end of town. Their building wasn't hit at all."

  * * *

  When I arrived back at the main square, the last rays of sunlight were coloring the rooftops of the lower houses. Between trying to find my way and doing more quests on the way back, it seemed the city was ready for another attack at any given moment.

  Some put on defensive clothes and strapped swords at their sides; others blocked their doors and windows after being sure their kids were safe. I passed a group on my way to the Temple that prayed on their knees by the fountain, led by a man in white that possibly was a sort of priest.

  "Finally," Brianna greeted me from the top of the stairs, her face clean and her sword sharp. "Got lost or managed more quests?"

  "Both," I smiled. She laughed, the sound reverberating around the stone buildings. I could hardly remember the last time I made a woman laugh - even if she was make-believe, so my heart swell with pride at the sound.

  "Awesome!" She jumped down the steps to where I was, pausing a hand
over my new vest. "Nice vest. This will definitely help against the Big Bad." She grinned, making my heart rate speed up. I watched her, green eyes sparkling up at me, her hand still over my vest. "If we live the night," she started, biting her lip, looking sideways, "or if you manage to make the demoness your ally... Come find me. I'd love to reward your bravery." She directed me a coy smile, letting her hand drop.

  My heart galloped. If I was intent of taking down the boss before, nothing could beat how crazy I was about it now.

  I assented. "I'll be back before you can miss me," I tried, internally celebrating as she smiled.

  "I'll be waiting." She took a step back, unsheathing her sword. "Killing some demons to pass the time."

  I grinned to myself, turning to stride down the road that would take me out of the city. I couldn't wait to get my reward.