Virtual Me- Valkyrie

by Michael Ocheskey

  ​Bartholomew took flight and I used my Shadow Arts to race to Melodia in only a few seconds. If only I could have used my Shadow Arts earlier, the goblins might still be alive, but even though the Shadow Arts manipulated magical energy, they were still a purely physical art and they put a lot of stress on my body. Running that far of a distance would have ripped my body apart before I made it halfway. Just the race from the goblin village to Melodia made me so exhausted I had to stop and cast a healing spell before entering the city.

  ​Soon after I entered the city, I ran into Merissa as she traversed the streets. She saw me and approached with a broad smile on her face.

  ​“Well now, aren't you a sight for sore eyes, Valkyrie.” She seemed stunned by my new appearance and hadn’t noticed my facial expression at first. “I'd say that's some journey you went on. Want to have a drink and tell me all about it?”

  ​“I'm sorry,” I interrupted, “I'm in a hurry. I'll talk to you later.” I marched on by without another word.

  ​She seemed hurt by my coldness, but only for a moment. Then she followed me, curious and cautious. I marched single-mindedly down the streets of Melodia, searching the signs for Musical Mayhem. Everywhere I went, people moved aside in panic. There must have been something horrifying about my expression to cause such widespread terror.

  ​I stopped outside the bar, Musical Mayhem, and took a few breaths to calm myself. If this plan was going to work properly, I would have to buy time for Bartholomew to get here. The only way to do that was to charm Jared. If I scared him off too soon, he might log out and I'd never be able to catch him. I silently recited the Nature spell that would enhance my hearing and entered through the swinging doors that reminded me of an old western saloon.

  ​Zephyra wouldn't notify Bartholomew until we were certain Jared was still in the bar. She watched in her invisible state while she waited for me to confirm who Jared was. I had managed to suppress the anger inside me. I could tell it had worked when the looks I was getting from the customers and staff held no fear, only longing desire from the men and curiosity from the women.

  ​I overheard one of the people in the bar say Jared's name and found a group of four men sitting around a table talking. The other three men were clearly players, not residents of this world. They talked about kill counts, loot they'd plundered, and other role-playing related topics. Jared was retelling the story of how he'd slaughtered the goblins. He made it sound as though they were fearsome beasts with razor fangs and armed to the teeth.

  ​Now I understood why he'd taken everything. He was leaving no evidence behind for people to find showing that he'd killed defenseless beings.

  ​I felt a breeze flutter passed my ear and knew that Zephyra had fled through the window to get Bartholomew. Now I just needed to keep Jared here.

  ​I walked up behind him and stated, sounding as if I was in total awe of him, “Are you Jared the Goblin Slayer? Is it true what they say? That you've killed over a thousand goblins?”

  ​Jared stopped his tale with an annoyed clicking sound and looked to see who'd been so rude to him. When his eyes met mine, which took a while since his eyes focused on my other parts first, his annoyance was gone and there was nothing but lust in him.

  ​“Well now, beautiful,” he tried to sound suave. “Those rumors can get slightly exaggerated. I haven't killed that many, but I've made my reputation on it. Would you like to have a drink?”

  ​“No, thank you.” I slid my hand up his arm and rested it lovingly on his shoulder. “But I am dying to know more. I'm new to this game and the only things I've managed to kill are a few animals. Do you think you could show me your stats screen? I want to know how many you've really killed. Pretty please?”

  ​Jared gave me this dumb smile and opened his window. Under his kill count screen, it showed that he'd killed four hundred eighty-three goblins. It ripped at my heart to see such atrocity.

  ​At least I wouldn't have to keep this ruse up much longer. The others in the bar couldn't hear it, but the blind panic I was hearing outside told me that Bartholomew had entered the city and was on his way here.

  ​“Well, that may not be a thousand, but it's still an impressive number by any account.”

  ​A gentle thud on the roof told me that Bartholomew was now in place. This farce was over.

  ​“You do realize, though,” I announced loud enough for everyone in the bar to hear, making my tone sound whimsical at first and harsh by the end, “the slaughter of that many innocent creatures merits punishment, do you not?”

  ​All conversation had died. Everyone was watching our exchange. I gripped his shoulder as hard as I could, using Nature magic to strengthen my grip, and continued my announcement. “The goblins you've slaughtered didn't possess any weapons or represent any threat. They were a peaceful people that wouldn't know how to protect themselves even if they did have weapons. That's what made them such easy targets for you, isn't it?”

  ​“Wh-who are you?” Jared stumbled over his words, fear gripping him as he saw my face transform into the vengeful beast that was writhing to get free.

  ​“I'm sorry,” I mocked. “I haven't introduced myself. My name is Valkyrie.”

  ​“The White Avenger?” Now he was in a blind panic. “But you're not supposed to be here! No one's seen you in months. We all thought you'd stopped playing the game.”

  ​“Well, as you can see, you're wrong. I've been on a journey and I returned because the goblins you've slaughtered outside Melodia were under my protection. Since I can no longer protect them, you can be damn sure I'll avenge them.”

  ​“Ha!” Jared was starting to get his courage back. “You can't hurt me here. The system doesn't allow players to harm each other in cities.”

  ​“That's true,” I mocked, feigning disappointment. “That's why I brought a friend along who would be able to hurt you. Now, Bartholomew!”

  ​The roof of the Magical Mayhem bar ripped off in one large chunk and everyone inside screamed at the sight of the monstrously large, pearl-scaled dragon growling down at them. He reached into the crowd and gripped Jared in his claws.

  ​“Not here,” I ordered. “Bring him to the fountain at the center of the city. I'll meet you there.”

  ​Bartholomew's wings flapped hard enough to knock the wind out of the people near him as he lifted himself into the air. Amidst the confusion, no one except Merissa, who'd entered behind me and had kept her eyes on me, saw me vanish as though I'd teleported.

  ​She raced out the door to reach the fountain as soon as she could. I caught only a small glimpse of her exiting the door as I used Shadow Step to make my way to my destination spot.

  ​I managed to beat Bartholomew to the fountain by a few seconds and when he landed, I joked, “What took you so long?”

  ​“I'm sorry. I had a lot of dead weight weighing me down.”

  ​Jared was screaming hysterically. Amid the babble I made out the words, “Why can't I log out?”

  ​As soon as the first word of my response came out, he stopped screaming and listened intently, “You can't log out because you are a player. Didn't you read the manual? Players who are within fifty feet of a resident of this world are not able to log out if that resident is showing hostile intent. Now that Bartholomew is here, you won't be able to escape your punishment.

  ​“Jared the Goblin Slayer, you are hereby charged with the crime of decimating the population of a race of innocent beings from this world in your pursuit of power and fame. You have driven the goblin race to near extinction for your pointless ambitions and your desire to earn yourself the ridiculous title of Goblin Slayer.

  ​“I, Valkyrie, the White Avenger, do hereby pass judgment upon you and order that you receive a punishment which rivals the atrocities you committed. The total number of your victims, four hundred and eighty-three, include the elderly, women, and children of all ages. As you are a player, simple death is deemed a punishment not equal to the crime, therefore, your puni
shment will not be quick and painless, but long and arduous.

  ​“Bartholomew, take his head off.”

  ​Bartholomew, Jared still in the grasp of his claws, lowered his jaws and clamped down on Jared's head. Jared appeared right next to where I was standing, and I grabbed a hold of him and threw him back into Bartholomew's clutches. Bartholomew waited for my next order while I knelt down and dragged what remained of Jared's corpse over to the fountain.

  ​“As your crime was instigated against residents of this world, who are not capable of reincarnation like we are, I cannot take your items and send them to Avenger Headquarters. Only items from player-killers and thieves are allowed to go there. Instead, I will make you suffer a different sort of loss.

  ​“Crimson heat, burn hot, burn rash. Turn my target into ash.” I recited the spell Incineration, which I'd used as the funeral pyre for the goblins, and Jared's body, along with all his items, burnt away to nothing.

  ​“You can't do this!” Jared pleaded, “You don't have the right to do this! The system won't allow it.”

  ​“I wish you would stop saying 'the system',” I urged. “And what makes you think I can't do this? I am an Avenger and I am simply doing my duty of vengeance. Besides, Aurora wouldn't help your sorry ass for anything. Who do you think told me where to find you?”

  ​Jared's eyes swam with a silent question: why?

  ​“You slaughtered hundreds of her children for glory. She wanted more than anyone to see you suffer, but she cannot interfere, so she sent me. Bartholomew, rip him in half.”

  ​Another scream broke the silence of the crowd and Jared once again stood at my side. Before he had time to move, I thrust him back into Bartholomew's arms and ordered Bartholomew to tear off all his limbs.

  ​Once more, Jared appeared and once more, I thrust him into Bartholomew's waiting claws, but this time I held my hand up for Bartholomew to wait.

  ​“I'm so glad you chose to play with your pain meter active at a full fifty percent,” I told Jared. “Otherwise killing you wouldn't be any form of punishment at all. I was originally going to have Bartholomew kill you one time for every goblin you killed, but I've changed my mind. It would be far too time consuming and just letting Bartholomew kill you doesn't ease the anger in my heart. You see, unlike you, I am a part of this world.

  ​“I have chosen to assimilate myself into this world and vowed to protect it and its people. I promised the goblins outside of Melodia that I would protect them, and I was sure that my reputation and name alone could do just that. The sorrow and guilt I feel at failing to protect them is nothing compared to the rage I feel for their murderer. I think it's time I took a personal role in your punishment.

  ​“Bartholomew, take this slug to the large boulder just outside the town gate. Out there I'll be able to handle things myself.”

  ​I met Bartholomew outside the city. Well, me and about half the residents of Melodia. Most of them had come to watch this execution because they were as angered and disgusted as I was by his crimes. The few players that had come to watch were more interested in retelling this story and spreading more gossip about me.

  ​Bartholomew was sitting on top of the boulder, one of his claws draped as if resting down toward the ground. He had Jared pinned against the boulder in a standing position, sort of, with his legs dangling just a few inches above the ground. I gestured for Bartholomew to lower Jared just a little.

  ​Now Jared was standing between a rock and a clawed place. The look on his face growing from terror to something close to madness.

  ​I drew my bow from my body and readied it. Then I pulled four arrows from my quiver. I planted two of them in the ground at my feet. The other two I kept between my middle and index fingers like Aden had taught me so that I could fire two arrows in quick succession.

  ​“Here's how your punishment will resume from this point onward,” I explained in a voice loud enough that Jared and the surrounding crowd could hear. “You will only have to die one more time and your punishment will be complete. However, that death will be incredibly slow and torturous. Consider it like the lashings many criminals would get instead of prison in times of old on Earth. If they managed to survive the lashings, they were set free.

  ​“You won't be receiving lashings, though. You will be receiving punctures. You see, I'm among the best you'll ever meet at throwing weapons. I know all the places on the body where you can cripple an opponent without killing them. We've already killed you three times, so that means you have four hundred and eighty piercing wounds to endure and then you will be free.”

  ​I nocked my first arrow and launched two arrows in quick succession. I picked up the two at my feet and launched them as well. In less time than it takes to blink, Jared was now pinned to the boulder with an arrow in each hand and one piercing each of his shins.

  ​I repositioned my bow on my body, reached into my purse, and pulled out the large bag containing five hundred long throwing needles. I was going to have to buy more needles and make four more arrows after this. The arrowheads and tips of the needles wouldn't survive piercing the rock.

  ​The next fifteen minutes were grueling torture. I made sure that each needle stabbed deep enough into his skin to pierce the boulder behind him and I stayed away from his torso and head, except for the single needle I threw into each of his ears, until the torture was coming to a close. Attacking only his limbs, and making sure the needles couldn't fall out, I ensured that he wouldn't bleed to death prematurely.

  ​When there were only ten more needles to throw to equal the total goblins he'd killed, I decided I could start on his torso. He would live long enough to see all ten needles. I threw the first into his manly bits, just because, six needles into his stomach, one into each of his lungs, and as I could see the life starting to fade from him, I thrust one right between his eyes.

  ​Right about now, Jared would be at the fountain logging out or teleporting to another city to escape me. I was sure he would contact SimTech to complain about his treatment. They wouldn't do anything, of course. It stated clearly in the manual that playing with pain was the SRU-visor user's decision and it warned of the cruelty that may happen either by a monster attack or by another player. Whether it was a player torturing you or a monster ripping out your guts and eating them while you were still alive, the pain you felt, though seemingly intense, didn't transfer to your actual body and wasn't anywhere near the level it would be in real life.

  ​With that warning in place, the company would forgo any liability due to any incident in which a player was caused pain except in the attempt of crimes in the SRU that were punishable on Earth. This was not a punishable crime in reality, so I was safe. I'm not saying it wouldn't be traumatic for him, just like my losing Lesley had been traumatic on me, but the only crimes that were punishable in reality were sex crimes and crimes that affected reality such as attempting to launder money through the SRU.

  ​A spat between two players, no matter how violent it got, wasn't a crime. They happened all the time. It was a part of the game that a lot of people enjoyed. Some were player-killers, others thieves, while others simply liked to duel. They would wager money or an item they owned on the outcome of the duel and the winner took the pot.

  ​I walked up to Jared's corpse, silently whispered the elven funeral song, and set his corpse ablaze, destroying my arrows and throwing needles as well. Bartholomew transformed into his humanoid form and walked up to my side. I could feel a cold breeze next to me that told me Zephyra was at my other side.

  ​“So,” I whispered. “Now that that's over, do you want to go meet my friend, Merissa?”

  Witch's Herbs

  ​Merissa hadn't followed me outside Melodia like many of the other townspeople had, which I was deeply grateful for. What I had done to Jared was not an easy thing to do. Even with my fury at its peak, it had felt wrong to me to torture another living person, but I could think of no other way to keep him in line. Simply killing him wo
uldn't do any good. It never had since the Avengers began.

  ​Our hopes had been that by creating the Avengers we could reduce the number of player-killers and thieves, but all it had done was make them more careful of who they targeted and where they targeted their victims.

  ​The crap I'd heard from Aurora about my fellow Avengers only helping people when they directly witnessed the crime was the problem. People didn't fear vengeance from us the way they should because we weren't doing what we were meant to do. Perhaps now, when the Avengers heard of what I'd just done, they would begin to get off their lazy asses and do something for this world.

  ​My actions were cruel, but if they lit the spark that started the brush fire I was hoping for, it would all be worth it in the end. The Avengers needed to understand what they were fighting for and what that fight would entail. This wasn't some party where they could enter the dance floor and leave it whenever they wanted. This was war. War with the player-killers and monsters who abuse this world on one side and the Avengers on the other. I had made my declaration of war. Now all I needed was for that declaration to reach the other Avengers.

  ​Bartholomew, Zephyra, and I made our way toward what had once been Rings and Things in silent reflection.

  ​It had once been difficult for me to tell the difference between players and the residents of Evanasia. Now I could easily tell. Players tended to make a hasty retreat when they saw me coming. The residents of Melodia, contrarily, approached with wide smiles and words of gratitude on their lips. I nodded and smiled back at the villagers, but I didn't have time to be bombarded with praise. I had to speak to Merissa.

  ​I stopped outside a shop visage I remembered. The windows were now almost impossible to see through as vines and plants from all over Evanasia grew from planters on the inside. The sign above the door read Merissa's Miracle Potions and Herbs.