Dullahans and Tablets

by Daniel Kolade

  Mari followed them out into the empty stadium. The rest of the party had gone elsewhere (obviously, because they found the one-sided execution boring).

  “C’mon, let’s see what you can do,” Zora said, standing on the arena platform facing her opponent.

  “This time, you’ll be the one to lose your head!” Hyde threatened as he drew the longsword.

  “We’ll see,” she smirked, walking towards him, wielding her polearm.

  He followed her lead and did the same. After a short delay, the combat commenced and quickly died in the next second as one of them had lost their heads. Zora stood, watching the boy who’d fallen to her aggression with her head intact.

  “Dammit!” he screamed, sitting up in the infirmary. “Why does she always go for the head?”

  “Because she wants to teach you to defend the critical areas of your body,” Mari said

  “Okay?”

  “Classes like Shadows and Dragoon target these vital areas to end fights as fast as possible.”

  “Oh, that makes sense,” he rose, accepting the new information and marching back into the stadium.

  “Welcome back,” Zora smiled, standing on the slightly elevated platform.

  “Draw your weapon,” Hyde demanded.

  “You don’t give up, I like that,” she smirked and equipped herself with the-head-chopping-halberd.

  This time, instead of rushing into combat, they simply walked towards one another. Somehow, it was like none of them had the energy to continue or any interest to fight.

  Yet, from the slow moving steps, attacks were thrown from both sides.

  Hyde did his best to keep Zora at bay as she, with superior reach, was capable of harassing him with quick jabs. He backed away from most of the pokes, however, the few he attempted to block, grazed him drawing small beads of blood.

  The pain was there, but it didn’t stop him. He pushed, even though it was obviously a one-sided fight. She was better in every way, judgement, skill, speed, range… will.

  He desperately wanted to reach her level of insight, will and power, but her experience was obviously years apart from his. It was so easily reflected in the wide stroke she drew with the halberd about to effortlessly sever the bond between his neck and head.

  However, somewhere in between the moving steel, an opportunity reared its head. Without thinking, Hyde claimed this moment of clarity and swung his sword. The blade came down in a downward slash like a guillotine. However, before it connected, his body stopped. His muscles froze and his limbs shutdown. An excruciating pain thumped in his throat, not more than for a split second.

  Thinking that he’d caught her off guard, he had hoped to counter. However, he failed to anticipate the strike that followed closely behind the first.

  Damn. His head fell from its throne. Now defenseless, the hierarchy of physique crumbled.

  “She got me again…” he whispered, finding himself back on the bed in the infirmary.

  “You’re a little bit of a coward, aren’t you?” said Mari.

  “What are you talking about—didn’t you see me?” he narrowed his brows.

  “You don’t want to hurt her and you don’t want to get hurt, so you pull your punches.”

  “I don’t—”

  “It’ll be okay, she’ll survive, just pay attention to how she moves,” Mari nodded with a gentle smile. “I know you can do it.”

  He didn’t say a word. Instead, he just silently looked at her, until he rose from the bed determined to face Zora once more. Unfortunately, death was the only outcome that seemed possible. Nevertheless, Hyde refused to stop, he returned again and again, hoping to avoid that scenario.

  Each time, he grew closer to his goal, but failure was still a huge price to pay in the meantime.

  “This time!” he exclaimed. “I won’t lose my head!”

  “Then protect it,” Zora shrugged.

  The two fought again. He improved his footwork, allowing him to dodge her deathly strokes, giving him a little wiggle room to decide the next course of action.

  Zora’s ferocity remained. She stayed as vicious as the first time they fought. Nerves as tough as steel, not at all rusted. Her skills were as quick and potent as blades, not a single one dulled.

  However, this time, Hyde pushed back. She swung her weapon from the right and the novice Dragoon intercepted the strike. He stepped in, closing the distance, quickly employing his blade as a shield. With her now off balance, he cultivated his opportunity, letting it bloom. Her greater reach was useless as he pivoted his feet, performing the attack that he’d used against the earth elementals.

  He didn’t have a shield, but that didn’t stop him. With his sword in tow, he flexed his shoulder and with the added tension, it began to glow as he performed a Shoulder Bash. The blow connected and added that little extra to her instability.

  He held his sword with the strength of thousands, bringing it down like a hammer on Zora’s shoulder.

  “I did it…” he whispered.

  “Bravo,” Zora said, lifting the sword of her shoulder. Somehow, she didn’t look like she was in too much pain. Not like he had been when her attacks connected.

  “I can’t believe I did it!” he exclaimed.

  The fight was abandoned and the two of them stood face to face, each with their own wounds and smiles.

  “Congratulations, Hyde,” Mari said, walking up the platform stairs.

  “Oh and I’m sorry for cutting your head off a couple of times—” Zora said.

  “A couple! It must have been at least twenty times!” he muttered.

  “Really, that many already? My bad, you’re new here, it must have been hard,” she frowned a little.

  “It seems like I’ll survive,” he whispered, forgetting the pain of decapitation and basking in his victory.

  “The monsters out there are cunning and ruthless, they will use every advantage in order to survive,” she explained. “That’s why you need to remember the fear, the pain and the worry of dying, because in this world it’s very easy to lose sight of that sometimes. That’s why we all become intimate with death, and once you experience it first-hand, you learn to avoid it, in every way you know how, when it really matters.”

  “But why the head?” he muttered.

  “Losing your head really helps,” she giggled.

  “I guess you’re right, but it’s such a strange feeling having your head detached from your body like that.”

  “Really? I wouldn’t know,” she shrugged.

  “What? You’ve never had your head cut off?”

  “Nope, I’ve been the one doing the cutting,” she smiled.

  “Are you kidding—after you gave me that spiel, about being intimate with death,” he complained. “You know what, I’m going to be the first to claim your—”

  Before he could finish, Zora had already rendered the bond between his neck and skull, void.

  “What the hell!” he screamed, jerking up from the hospital bed.

  “Welcome back,” Mari said, sitting next to him.

  “That was dirty!” he muttered, glancing at Zora, who stood leaning against a wall.

  “There’s no such thing,” she whispered slyly. “Anyway, it’s time for you to get a better overview of the combat system in this game.”

  “What—there’s more than just getting my head chopped off?” he grumbled.

  “Oh, there’s tonnes, it’s quite intricate,” she explained.

  “But don’t worry, you’ll be alright,” Mari whispered.

  “What do you mean, I’ll be alright?” he asked. “Am I going to get my head cut off again?”

  “Something like that,” she replied.

  “What!”

  “Hyde, you’re going to have to fight every member of the—the…” Zora began. “I’m thinking about changing our name to: The Headless Chickens.”

  “Sure, after I cut your head off!” he smirked. “Wait. You said I have to fight every member?”

&nbs
p; “That’s right,” Mari replied.

  “Does that include you?”

  She shook her head. “You’ll be fighting Abe because he’s our frontline Sentinel.”

  “Why are we doing this exactly?”

  “You need to learn, both how the other classes operate and how to fight them. On top of that, you need to figure out your own strengths and playstyle,” Zora explained.

  “Okay… you’re a Dragoon, like me, right?”

  “Yep, the class system is divided into two parts, marital and magic,” she added. “You’ll start with the martial classes first, which means your next opponent is Remi.”

  “He’s a Shadow, right?”

  “Yeah. I’ll just send him a message to come to the arena,” she said, grabbing her tablet. After a moment, Hyde’s tablet rang.

  “What’s that?” he said, looking at the screen. He navigated to the new guild menu that had appeared.

  Zora: Remi you’re up.

  “I thought you sent a message to Remi?” Hyde asked.

  “I sent it in the guild chat,” Zora explained.

  “Oh, so if I write something here, we all can see it?”

  “Mm-hmm,” Mari nodded.

  Another message came in.

  Remi: On my way.

  Abe: Finished already?

  Nitro: How many times did he die?

  Zora: About twenty.

  Abe: Twenty?

  Nitro: Dammit, that means Mari won again…

  Mari replied with a smiley.

  “Wait, are you making bets on how many times Zora would kill me?” Hyde asked, looking to Mari.

  Without saying a word, she instinctively looked away.

  “I can’t believe this!” he complained. “You guys are a bunch of jerks, you know that!”

  Another message appeared in the guild chat along with the iconic notification sound.

  Mila: Doesn’t that mean that Hyde holds the record?

  Nitro: He does?

  Abe: That sounds about right.

  “Wait, does that mean I have the least deaths against Zora?” Hyde asked.

  “Yep,” Zora nodded. “C’mon, Remi should be here now.”

  They left the infirmary and walked out to the arena. And sure enough, Remi was standing on the platform waiting. Mari and Zora sat on the stands, watching Hyde climb the platform stairs.

  “Hi,” Hyde said, feeling the confidence of someone who held the record of least deaths.

  “Hey,” Remi replied as a dagger appeared in his hand. “Are you ready?”

  “Let’s do this,” Hyde said, wielding his longsword.

  With those words, the two walked towards each other. Before long, they reached the centre of the platform.

  I have the reach advantage here. Hyde thought, hoping to keep his distance from his opponent. However, with that comforting thought, he was quickly proven wrong as Remi dashed forward and kicked his stomach before he could react.

  Every ounce of breath in his lungs were evicted, escaping his lips along with strands of saliva. He staggered backwards and bent forward slightly as his shoulders sunk and his gut ached. Now with a crumbled and almost laughable stance, Remi advanced before Hyde could collect himself.

  The blade was driven into Hyde’s chest, forcing him to endure yet another round of excruciating pain, but it didn’t end there. Consecutive punches were thrown in perfect succession, all of which, struck his face.

  When the final blow connected, Remi drew the blade from Hyde’s chest as he collapsed. Although, he clearly was down for the count, Remi performed the final attack to conclude his combo. He lunged at the boy who had now struck the ground. With his dagger, he confirmed the kill by stabbing Hyde in the chest. And just like that, the novice Dragoon’s bravado was shattered.

  “Holy crap!” Hyde screamed, jerking up on the hospital bed. “He got me…” he whispered after calming down.

  “It was over in a second.” Mari commented.

  “At least my head was still on,” he smiled.

  “Yeah,” she nodded.

  “Let’s see if I can do better this time.” He got up and headed for the arena.

  The match between the two guild members continued and resulted in Hyde’s repeated defeat. However, death wasn’t constantly around the corner. Instead, Hyde was given time to recuperate either by activating his Heal Skill in order to mend his wounds or having Mari provide some assistance in that department. But through the conflicts he learned of the Skill Map, and how things like Healing Skills fit into the dynamic of sword swinging and dagger jabbing. Remi was a great help in showing him the ropes and the different ways in which he could use Skills to gain the upperhand in a fight.

  Even though he looks like a thug, Remi is actually pretty nice, Hyde thought reattaching his Status Tablet to his waist.

  “Anyway, to make things simple, Skills provide adventurers with tools in order to perform great feats. At the moment the ones you currently have are only basic and part of the fundamentals—in time you’ll find more game changing Skills,” Remi explained.

  “Oh okay, I’ll do my best to become familiar with these,” Hyde said.

  “Are you ready for another?”

  “Sure.”

  Their fight reignited and a quick exchange of blows followed. It was obvious that his swordsmanship was improving, as were his instincts and reflexes. Blocking, evading and counter-attacking came more naturally now. Thankfully, this match was significantly more reassuring than the bout against Zora. Remi was actually nice enough to give him time to breathe and created situations where Hyde was forced to respond, and thereby improve. Unlike his fight with Zora. The boy evolved into a Dragoon capable of pressuring this Shadow into submission.

  He did this by creating an opening for himself, through the deflection of one of Remi’s wider dagger swings. However, when he stepped in to counter a punch to the face was enough to send him back.

  Yet, through the mild concussion (he remained on his feet, attentive) a killing blow came, like a single drop of iron rain. He pulled his sword up in one desperate attempt to not get a dagger to the face. Fortunately, his stunt proved successful.

  “I’m alive… I can’t believe it!” Hyde said, backing away. He had performed one of the Skills, Remi had said was exclusive to Dragoons, it was known as Parry.

  “Hey, Remi, you’re a Shadow, right?”

  “Yeah, and well done on blocking that last one,” Remi replied.

  “Oh, thank you—but you don’t really fight very shadowy.”

  “I don’t believe in that cloak and dagger stuff, I prefer to leave that to Abe.”

  “How mean!” Abe yelled from the stadium seats.

  Both Hyde and Remi looked up and saw their audience sitting and watching patiently for the outcome.

  “I didn’t even notice them,” Hyde whispered.

  “Listen, think of me more like an exception and not the norm,” Remi explained. “Are you ready for another?”

  “I’ll remember that,” Hyde nodded and pointed his sword at his opponent.

  The pair closed the distance between each other in single a moment and Hyde was the first to swing, using a Skill called Doublet. A double stroke came, but failed to hit Remi, who sidestepped it.

  The Shadow quickly moved to strike the unsuspecting boy with a blade hungry for blood. But, just before it struck, Hyde performed a flawless Parry. His right hand held the hilt, while his left held the blade itself. His perfect block forced Remi’s dagger to go on a wild detour, giving Hyde enough room to land a hit—a one-touch-win.

  “I landed one!” Hyde exclaimed, backing away with his sword stowed.

  “Good job, Hyde,” Remi said, putting his dagger away. “You should have picked up a skill or two after that one, be sure to check them out.”

  “A Skill?” Hyde repeated eagerly. He quickly unhooked his tablet and swiped to his Skill Map.

  Feint. The Skill that allows other skills with a clear wind up to be cancelled.

/>   “Congratulations, Hyde,” Mari said from the stands.

  Before, Hyde could fully bask in his glory, Zora announced the next fighter, “Mila, you’re up!”

  “What? Another?” Hyde muttered.

  “Yep, last one for today.”

  “Then what?”

  “Then we all have a good night’s sleep and resume tomorrow.”

  Mila walked up to the platform replacing Remi, and all of a sudden it clicked. “Wait, I can’t fight her, she’s—a girl,” Hyde said.

  “What! You could fight me—what’s the problem?” Zora commented. “Wait, are you saying I’m not a lady?”

  “Hey, you cut my head off, that’s different!” he retorted.

  “Oh, then, Mila, cut his head off!” she demanded.

  “What! I’m not losing my head again,” he said, raising his sword.

  “I’m ready when you are,” Mila smiled, with a rifle appearing in her hands.

  “Fine, let’s do this.”

  He didn’t realise it then, but she wasn’t wielding a melee weapon like he was. Her weapon of choice was a rifle. When stood, it was almost as tall as she was. On top of that, there was a small drone that sat relaxed on her shoulder.

  Before he could make sense of it all, a bullet was flung his way, the projectile speed was nowhere as fast as one would expect from a fire-arm, but nonetheless, it was pretty damn quick, resembling the velocity of a compound bow.

  Huh? Hyde thought, realising that a pellet had flown past his head, only the tiniest of gaps stood between them. Another shot was unloaded. This time, instead of going for a headshot, Mila adjusted her aim for a knee shot.

  Without a moment to comprehend and react Hyde was immobilised and in severe pain. With a single shot to the knee, he retired and the next shot fired was his last.

  “Dammit!” Hyde screamed, jerking up from the hospital bed.

  “You come here a lot, don’t you?” Mari murmured.

  “Shut up,” he muttered. “Another!” he announced and returned to the platform where Mila stood waiting.

  “If there’s anything that you’re unsure about just ask,” she smiled.

  “Thank you, I will,” Hyde replied.

  “Ready?” she said, kicking up her rifle into her hands.