by Dave Austin
I used time paralysis and used the two seconds to push her away from him. While this was happening I saw Brie and Trent fighting one of the guys while Joannie, Rashida, and Foxy took the other one. However, even when outnumbered 2 to 1 and 3 to 1 the guys were resisting. We needed to go beyond our normal limits.
Brie used her fire magic and equipped her sword and Joannie did the same with her electricity power. While I was left alone against the archer. We were too close to each other to use our bows so we had to use our fists. He had a stronger attack but couldn’t keep up with my agility.
Kitty was doing her best to heal everyone but was getting low on magic and the battle was dragging on. The action was happening too fast, but going nowhere.
Foxy tried to go behind one of them but got caught. He grabbed her by the throat and threw her onto the ground. Trent gave her a potion while Kitty healed Brie. We knew they would be strong, but they were too strong.
Their levels weren’t higher but they were clearly stronger and more experienced in the art of fighting.
“Enough.” We heard someone shouting.
We all looked at him. A level 2 old bearded man stood on the corner of the road without a single weapon. Yet, he didn’t seem to be scared as he walked calmly toward us.
“You’re making too much noise. I can’t sleep.” He said.
“Shut up old man. Get out of here before we kill you too.” The archer shouted.
“Nowadays young boys don’t have respect for anyone,” He said as he walked up to the archer.
The archer was about to punch him when instantly he fell on the floor. We were all mesmerized. The old guy hadn’t even moved but had won. There was no barrier and no other item.
“How the hell did he do that without moving?” Trent shouted.
“He moved. You just didn’t see him.” Joannie said. Even she was surprised and she had seen a lot of shit.
“There’s no way a level 2 can do something like this,” Trent replied.
“You know young man,” The old guy started, and in a single heartbeat he moved next to Trent, “you shouldn’t underestimate the older people.”
“We came in peace.” Brie said, trying to cool him off, “we are just here looking for Steveinsh.”
“Why him?” The old guy asked.
“We don’t know but Debil sent us. He said Steveinsh would be able to help us against the faceless man.”
“Oh, Debil? That noob. Follow me.” He demanded, “as for you two. You better leave, and not come back or you’ll have the same fate as your friend.” He informed the other two.
They ran as fast as they could, while we followed the old man. Not that we had any other choice. He led us through a shortcut, which made us arrive at the top of the third mountain in half the time.
“Here we are. Now, what do you want from me?”
“You’re Steveinsh?” Rashida asked.
“You’re slow. I thought you would have realized that by now. Anyway, my question still remains.”
“We need a way to destroy the faceless man,” I said.
He walked up to me, stared at me for a while and mumbled something inaudible. He seemed to have a special interest in me. I was afraid he could feel the darkness lingering inside me.
“I might be able to help you. If Debil sent you that means the world out there must be really bad. Where is he now?” The old man asked.
“Well, about that… We have no idea who Debil is, but he sent this letter.” Brie replied, and handed him the letter.
“He had so many names and different jobs since the game started that I have no idea what name he was using now. There are items that will hide your name or even your real level, like the one I’m using now. He’s usually a gravedigger or a bartender. It depends on his mood.”
“We met a bartender in Riverdant.” Brie shouted, “He saved our lives, but got captured by Tillian and his army.”
The old man burst out laughing. Despite knowing that his friend was probably being tortured he didn’t even flinch. Instead, he saw it as a funny thing. We all looked at each other, trying to understand what was going on. Was this dude okay?
“If they captured Debil it was because that’s what he wanted. Tillian he’s strong, but not as strong as Debil and he knows it. I see there’s a lot you don’t know. I suppose you’re on a tight schedule so let’s not waste time with details. Two things, did you made a pact with Tillian? And second, do you know who the faceless man is?”
We told him about the deal with Tillian, Krespo, and about the faceless man’s power and the theory about Kino. He listened intently, with his fist under his chin, thinking thoroughly about everything. Whoever this man was he knew much more than us despite living in such a secluded place.
“Hum…I see. This is what you’re going to do. Ignore Krespo. He’s a mess and he would probably get you killed trying to get an item nobody’s even heard of, and that could be real, but probably isn’t. Tillian won’t be coming for you as long as you don’t mess with him again. It would be a waste of his time and resources. Now, about the faceless man, I might know a way to defeat him but only you can do it.” He said and pointed at me.
“Me? Why only me?”
“It’s dark magic, and you’re the only one who has a large amount inside of you.”
Everyone looked at me with a mixture of confusion and admiration. The old man promptly noticed it and sighed.
“You didn’t tell them, did you? Well, one day they would’ve figured it out. I can feel that you already have some control over the darkness. Maybe a special attack?”
“Yes…” I said shyly, “I can stop time, but it’s only for two seconds.”
Everyone was shocked. I knew they would have trouble trusting me from now on but I did what I had to do and I still believed that it was the best choice. No one said a thing until the old man was finished, he explained that I needed to learn how to control the darkness and that the only way he could think of to defeat the faceless man was an extremely rare item that could only be seen by someone who was in bed with dark magic. There was only one big problem, he wasn’t sure if the item really existed.
It was a myth.
“Where?” Joannie asked without hesitating.
“Here.” He said, “Fifth mountain, in the house with the blue ceiling. Instead of using the shortcut, you need to go through the normal road, and you’ll see the house from miles away. The myth says you’ll find a tunnel that will lead you to a dungeon where an evil that can’t be described lives, and protects a powerful item. Lots of people have tried their luck. A few never came back, and others never got inside the house.” He finished.
“Well, time to pack and go there,” Brie ordered.
“But be careful. The danger is closer to you than you might think.” Steveinsh added.
“Before we go. Is Savened on our side?” I asked.
“Hum… You know about them. Well, if you aren’t dead already that means they’re on your side. As long as you don’t fall to the dark side you’re all safe. They won’t hesitate to kill anyone if needed so you better be careful.” He told us.
“Who are they?” Foxy asked, her voice trembling.
“In the beginning, our goal was to help people in need.”
“You were one of them?” Kitty shouted.
“I was. I left when I realized they had other plans. I’m all about killing those who deserve it, but not the innocents that get caught in between. I live here alone because I love the game, but the people not so much. Anyway, focus on the task ahead.”
I wished he didn’t talk in such secrecy. We just wanted to leave so we quickly said our goodbyes and got the hell out of there. He wished us good luck and told us that the next time we disturbed him he would kill us. There wasn’t hesitation or trembling in his voice making it clear that it wasn’t a joke. We all sighed and apologized for the mess.
This had been too easy. Besides the three guys who attacked us, we hadn’t come across any problems. It
was like the game itself wanted to be saved. We repeated the same shortcut Steveinsh had shown us. It seemed to be a well-kept secret or maybe no one dared to go inside, knowing who they could find on the other side. It seemed like there was much about Wild Fantasy Online that we still had no idea about. We all hoped he wasn’t tricking us and sending us to death.
Silence fell upon us. I could feel everyone glancing at me, judging me, wanting to ask questions, but no one wanted to start. It was too much for me. I burst out, and just shouted from the top of my lungs,
“I’m fucking sorry. I shouldn’t have hidden something like this from you, but I knew that you would get mad. I can stop time, it could save our lives.”
“But you can lose yours in the process. You’re dealing with dark magic. You don’t get anything for free.” Brie shouted. I wasn’t sure if she was more worried about me, or mad at me.
“I’ll be careful. I promise. I’ll only use it in life or death cases.” I replied, trying to cool them off.
They nodded their heads but kept silent. I figured that it was best to not bother them, and let them come to their senses. They had to realize how valuable and useful my skill was. It wasn’t the time to be putting our personal feelings above saving the world.
We got to the place where we were ambushed before, but this time there was only a gentle breeze passing around and no one to be seen. Brie motioned with her hand to follow her, and so we did. No shortcuts were available now so we still had a long way to go.
As we walked something felt wrong, we could feel someone following us. The feeling of eyes being on us from a few meters away was unsettling, especially since we couldn’t see anyone.
“Maybe an invisibility item?” Brie whispered.
We all nodded our heads, agreeing that it had to be. However, we could only keep walking. We didn’t know how many they were and where they were, only that they were a few meters behind us. If they hadn’t attacked us yet they must want something out of us, or they heard our conversation with the old man and think they can get to the item before we do. We were almost on the fourth mountain when we heard a huge explosion coming from the other side of the mountain.
“Let’s go. Faster, before someone catches us here. We can’t waste time fighting.” Brie ordered.
Despite being tired we hastened our pace and began running toward the fifth mountain. My feet hurt, and my knees trembled but it wasn’t time to stop. We’d have time to rest after saving the world.
“Look, there is the house,” Rashida shouted and pointed at it.
“Finally. We’re getting closer.” Kitty muttered and smiled.
We decided to do a brief pause before walking the last miles. Whatever was inside that house wouldn’t be easy and we needed maximum HP and magic. We shared items and made sure everyone was ready for what was to come. No one talked to me, it felt a bit like they had excluded me from the group, but kept me by their side because they knew I could be useful. After this they would push me away, I could almost hear their thoughts. Wondering why I had lied, and if I was on their side. They were afraid I’d succumb to the faceless man’s power, and honestly, I was too.
Our time to rest ended, so we got up, grabbed our backpacks, and started walking. Five minutes had passed when the noises behind us got louder. Someone was running toward us. Then, we heard metal hitting the floor. It could only be a sword. I turned around and saw someone extremely close to me, and its sword near my face. I only had time to use time paralysis and dodge his sword. He seemed confused but tried to attack me again.
This time Brie used her sword to deflect his attack.
“I can’t let you go through. Tillian ordered me to kill you all. It seems he didn’t like how you ran away.” He said. We couldn’t see his level, “Show up boys.”
Two guys hidden behind the rocks surged forward with grim smiles, and axes in their hands. Fuck. We had to fight them, and this time we wouldn’t have any help. They were easily twice our size and had yellow teeth, however, none of them had armor. Their defense sucked, and they were going to bet everything on their attack.
“Kill them.” The leader said.
“Sure Lord Krespo. We’ll do it gladly.”
We shouldn’t have pissed off Tillian, but now it was too late and Fighting was the only way out. Brie and Joannie took the lead, wielding their swords and swinging them against our opponents, who did the same with their axes. It was a ferocious battle and it was time for the rest of us to join them. Rashida and I grabbed our bows and got ready to shoot when Krespo got in the middle.
“You’re going to have to deal with me.” He said.
Bows weren’t good in close quarters, and Foxy only had two daggers. Krespo maneuvered his sword, hitting us several times and stopped only when we were on the ground, our HP getting lower. We hadn’t hit a lethal spot, but there was blood dripping from our arms and chest. Our armor was nothing to him, his sword had crushed them easily. We were now at his mercy.
He was so focused on me and Rashida that he didn’t even see Foxy throwing a dagger at him. It hit him right in the left leg, and he knelt on one knee in front of us. Once again, being sneaky was saving her, and our lives. Trent tried to seize the moment to cut his head off but he managed to escape and hit back Trent’s arm. Blood was spilled, and we had to walk backward.
“I’m going to kill you all, and you’re going to be the first.” He said, his eyes staring at Foxy.
Krespo’s HP was around 50%. He got up and whispered something onto his sword that just had to be dark magic. A dark electric light that lifted all the rocks nearby suddenly enveloped his sword. He laughed, and told us once again we were dead. His veins became dark, and so did his eyes.
Darkness had taken over him.
We weren’t fighting against him anymore, but an upgraded version who felt no pain and no regret. He waved his sword and all the rocks turned to us.
“How are we getting out of here alive?” Rashida shouted.
Two seconds weren’t enough to escape every rock, and we had nowhere to run. Brie and Joannie were still busy with the other two guys.
“If you surrender and apologize I might let you live. What do you think?” Krespo asked, and giggled like a maniac.
“We won’t,” I shouted.
“He’s right. We are so close, we won’t quit.” Kitty added. She was also trying to hide her tears.
We all feared death, but at that moment none of us were going to let him have his way. Memories of the past flashed across my mind, despite not having played for a long time I had amazing adventures. I wasn’t going to let things end in such a pathetic way, in the middle of nowhere against someone like him.
I couldn’t.
Time slowed down and I knew exactly what I had to do and what the consequences would be. Foxy clutched my arm. It was time. I took a deep breath and let darkness flow through me. The voices appeared and instantly got louder. My mind was filled with calmness, and an enormous desire to kill those who were frightening my friends.
There was anger too, but I wasn’t moved by such thoughts. It was the peacefulness that killing brought that fuelled my willingness to do it. The darkness provided me the strength needed to fight Krespo. I just had to handle it time enough to defeat him without the void getting a hold of me. Jones’ word spread through my mind. He had said that in a moment of need I should be able to use a barrier.
I focused on that. It was our only chance.
Time went back to normal. Everyone around me had closed their eyes. They had quit, thinking that we didn’t stand a chance. Hell, no. The world depended on us. Using all the energy I had, along with the darkness running through my body, I made a barrier big enough to protect ourselves from the rocks. It didn’t last long and soon I was on my knees, breathless, and without magic. However, I had won us an extra life.
“Oh. I see. You belong to the darkness too.” Krespo said.
“I’m not like you. I’m not going to surrender to it. I’ll fight it.” I sho
uted.
“You can’t fight it. It has no limits. The voices will consume you. You’ll get hungry. You’ll want more and more, it’s like an addiction. Once you taste the power you can’t stop.” He said.
His eyes and veins still had a black, putrid color. I had saved us but we didn’t have a good plan. We would have to rely on our power and try to find a weak spot while Brie and Joannie fought the other two. They were working together, but so were our enemies.
Krespo wielded his weapon and got ready to attack us again, but was suddenly stopped. His feet seemed glued to the floor, and no matter how much he tried to move he couldn’t. A few seconds later the same happened to the other two guys.
“What’s going on?” Brie shouted.
“Who cares? Just kill them before they kill us.” Kitty screamed. Fear had taken over her.
Brie and Joannie beheaded the two guys while Foxy jabbed her dagger into Krespo’s heart. We knew it wasn’t a heroic thing to do but it was our best chance. If we let them go they would probably come back, and the next time they could bring more people with them. We couldn’t let that happen. The only thing that mattered was our goal.
Foxy leveled up two levels due to the whole ordeal, which was a small silver lining.
“You really didn’t think I’d let you do this all by yourself, right?” a familiar voice said.
It was Jones.
He was skidding down a mountain near us and waving at us. I had never seen him so happy. Once he got closer to us we all hugged him and asked him lots of questions. Poor guy couldn’t even talk without someone asking something else.
“Calm down everyone. I’m fine. I still feel pain when I walk or move my hands but don’t worry about it. Sorry I ran away Tim. I needed to get to my house so I could log in. However, I can’t use dark magic again. My body can’t take it.” He confessed.
“How do you know my name?” I asked.
“You should never have used dark magic in the first place. Why are you two so alike?” Brie reprimanded us.