As Talon, I spent my time exploring and hunting monsters and humanoids. I avoided people and settlements as much as possible, but at times, I still found reasons to enter human or mostly human towns and cities. I have seen my share of places like the Shit Hole. The biggest bully on the block will be the one in charge, and the rest of the trash will fall into an ever changing pecking order of who is stepping on who.
The last time I came by here, there were no gate guards, but now seven of them are clustered in front of the gate. The trash that passes for guards at the gate is dressed is a motley assortment of clothing and armor that has seen better days. Six of the seven stare at us, as we approach, with a mix of expressions. The most obvious being boredom, greed and hatred. The seventh guard is too busy digging in his nose with his pinkie, before inspecting the spoils of his venture and licking the finger clean.
Through the open gate, several dozen more of the trash can be seen loitering in the muddy courtyard. Drinking and gambling are their main interest, with raping a couple of dirty, rather unattractive, near-naked, female slaves being the runner up. Like the gate guards, they are wearing a motley mixture of clothing and armor. This place is even worse than the last time I passed by.
“Halt, in the name of Ravix.” The speaker is a tall, lean guard, with the most obvious aura of greed.
Jinmu glances at me. “Who is Ravix?”
“No fucking clue. He must be the latest rat at the top of the shit pile. Last time I came this way Zavin the Younger was the top catamite.”
“Possessed!” The greed on the guards face, twists into hatred, and he draws his sword.
At the lead guard's hissed word, the rest of guard hurriedly draw their swords as well. Even the nose-miner quickly wipes and pull his sword, a few seconds behind the rest. None of them show even a shadow of skill's bastard younger brother in the way they grip their hilts. These are simple trash, not adepts.
“What does he mean by possessed?” Jinmu is nonplussed.
“They called us The Possessed, when we played the game. We all thought it was just a part of the AI programming for the NPCs, but looking at it now, we must have seemed demon possessed or something to them.”
“Bro, are they here for them other Possessed?” Nose-miner's voice is easily audible, but considering his hunched forward posture and the hand in front of his mouth, he must think he is being stealthy.
“Shut up!” The lead guard glares furiously at the none-miner.
“Why do you not tell me about these other possessed?” Jinmu's demeanor goes from relaxed to sharper than his katana. Urehara Ryouske was the owner and CEO of a zaibatsu, but he was more like a feudal lord than a businessman in many respects. His companies provided above average pay and benefits to their employees, but he was merciless toward anyone who betrayed him. If he is really planning to build an empire, he will probably try to build it using players, and he will defend his future subjects against the threats of the Labyrinth of Yggr, or Taereun, or wherever his empire is located.
The guards, sensing the change in Jinmu, pale slightly, their hands nervously kneading the hilts of their poorly maintained swords. The guards behind the leader look at one another nervously, starting to back away from the gate. Only the nose-miner is standing firm, if you want to call shaking in his boots standing firm.
“I am still waiting for you to tell me about the other possessed. I will not wait much longer.”
I smile maliciously at the guards. “You faggots had better start talking. You're not even adepts, just trash. We don't need weapons to rip your limbs off.”
One of the retreating guards grabs a metal rod and starts beating on a metal triangle hanging just inside the gate.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The trash in the courtyard scramble to their feet, while more of them come running out of what used to be a crappy tavern. How a tavern owner would be able to do business in the Shit Hole without being robbed blind is beyond me, but last time I passed through, it seemed to be doing well.
“If they were not all trash, I would say were in trouble, but a thousand of them would not be a threat.” Jinmu's eyes bore into the lead guard's, while he makes his offhanded comment.
I move into the gate opening, and the guards flee like a flock of sheep running from a wolf. I do not even bother to do anything to them. How could trash like this ever be a real threat to any players?
“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?” The bellow is loud enough to hurt my ears and shakes the walls of the ramshackle buildings around the edges of the courtyard.
More the half of the trash cower, looking toward the back of the courtyard. The rest shuffle nervously, their weapons halfheartedly pointing in our direction.
As the trash makes way, a man struts into the middle of the courtyard. He is not very tall, a couple inches shorter than I am, with pretty boy looks and blonde hair that probably lands him more pussy than he ever had in his old life. Wearing black leather pants and a dark blue silk shirt, he has a black, wide-brimmed hat, with a huge peacock feather, and a bulge big enough to be his entire sock drawer in the front of his pants,. A rune-carved rod is held negligently in his left hand. He appears to be humming, and a distortion, like a heat shimmer, surrounds him. He is a caster, who probably specializes in sonics.
On the the caster's left breast, he has an embroidered badge. A field of black offsets an erect dick and two balls. I have to keep a rein on my temper, as I stare at Thug Horde's guild badge.
Jinmu glances at me, with his eyes narrowed.
“He's a Thuggie. Shit lording it over trash.”
Jinmu's smile is the baring of a predator's fangs. “This one is mine.”
“He's a caster, so be careful. He'll probably try to keep you at range, so he can safely dismantle you with spells.”
“Even if I was not interested in them, I have had to face a few casters before.” Jinmu is not looking at me, as he is already moving forward.
“Another Possessed!”
“He's not like them others.”
“He looks strong.”
“Will Ravix win?”
“That one in black scares me more.”
The trash does not try to stop Jinmu, and their whispers are clearly audible to me. It seems odd, I was certain that my hearing was not this acute. How can I so easily overhear their mutterings?
“What the fuck do you want, asshole?” Ravix's face is twisted by his sneer.
“You are part of Thug Horde. I am going to kill you.” The katana is drawn so fast, the surrounding trash must think it teleported to Jinmu's hand.
“I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but I'm gonna have my boys skin you alive and hang you from the wall, until you're dead. FUCK OFF!” A cone of sonic waves projects outward from the caster's mouth. He has an aberrant casting technique.
Jinmu, alerted by the tension in the casters throat, dodges to the side, and the sonic waves send six of the trash near his position flying. After flying nearly thirty feet through the air, before hitting the ground and rolling, the trash lie motionless.
Ravix moves away from Jinmu, but he is slow. Jinmu closes the distance in a flash. Jinmu's katana lashes out, slicing at Ravix's neck, but is deflected by the distortion around Ravix. Ravix backpedals rapidly, as Jinmu's katana strikes again and again.
“GO TO HELL! YOU PIECE OF SHIT!”
The cone of sonic distortion follows in Jinmu's wake, as he dives an rolls, coming up behind Ravix. Instead of using his katana, Jinmu steps in with an elbow strike that sends Ravix flying.
Clumsily falling on his face, Ravix scrambles to rise to his feet, but Jinmu does not give him the chance. As soon as Ravix reaches his knees, a powerful kick lands between his legs, and he flies through the air, flipping end over end. Even with his sonic field, the breath is knocked from his lungs, as he slams into the ground in a twisted heap. Immediately, more kicks land, driving him around the courtyard, until the field breaks.
Jinmu places the point of his katana under R
avix's chin. “You will tell me all about the other Possessed your minions mentioned, without doing anything to make me nervous. If I think you will attack, you will die.”
Ravix eyes rapidly dart around, as though seeking support. His terror makes an ugly mask out of his pretty boy face. The point of Jinmu's katana presses into his weak flesh, drawing a drop of blood.
“I am waiting.”
“They're in the cells under the old keep. I told you. Let me go! Please!” Ravix's voice is like the squealing of a pig, as he tries to press himself into the ground trying to get away from Jinmu's lethal katana.
“Brand, would you please go look. I will keep Ravix company.”
I walk toward the keep. “Watch yourself. I haven't seen a Thuggie running around by himself since the last Noobageddon War.”
Jinmu's eyes flicker in my direction, before he smiles at Ravix. “Why do you not tell me about your friends, Ravix?”
There are a couple trash, waiting in ambush inside the keep's door, but I enter too quickly for them to even follow my movement.
“Run.”
Their eyes wide, the trash slam into each other trying to be the first out the door.
The keep is not much more than a square tower, about fifty feet on a side. On the ground floor there is not much besides an open area for staging troops, stairs leading up, and a wooden hatch in the back corner. Pulling up the hatch, I find stairs going down. The first level underground is a storage room, and I continue past it. The bottom level has cells in three of the walls, with the fourth being where the stairway enters the room.
Two of the cells are occupied. In one of the cells are two men, apparently in the late twenties, dressed in nearly destroyed clothing. One is tall and rangy, being built more for speed and agility than strength. His long blonde hair, blue eyes, and rugged good looks, that are sure to attract female attention. The other is a little shorter, but still taller than I am, with broad shoulders and a powerful build. His swarthy features and lantern jaw would fit the role of the dark, handsome action lead.
In the other cell are three women, all of them naked and bruised. One is a bit of an amazon, her long blonde draped across her chest, somewhat concealing her broad shoulder, big tits, and pink nipples. Her face has above average looks, and she appears to be in her mid twenties. The second has brown hair, bobbed at her shoulders, not hiding her tits at all. Her body is all taught well toned muscle. While smaller tits than the blonde, she still has big tits, with dark nipples. Her face has too strong a jaw and nose to ever be beautiful, but she is on the better side of average too. The last has long raven hair, hanging down her back. That hair is long enough to reach her mid-thighs while standing. Her skin is flawless alabaster, and her moderate sized tits have pale pink nipples. She could be anywhere between twenty and thirty, maybe older or younger, her age is hard to judge. She does not have the air of an adept like the other two, she seems to be more likely to be a caster.
At first, none of them notice my presence, and I take my time staring at the women, especially the raven haired one. While the other two are attractive, she goes far beyond the realm of merely attractive. Even if I would have trouble finding a diseased whore that would fuck me, I am not dead or oblivious to women. Of course, with nano technology, there is no longer any such thing as a diseased whore in a first world Earth nation. They all have their diseases cured for free. By law, they have to receive regular medical care in America.
After the Great Fuck Over, women were more afraid of me, rather than disgusted by my appearance. I was an ugly Half-Dvergar monster that could kill a strong man, just by casually closing my hand on his throat. I was never particularly looking for someone to fuck, since my Half-Dvergar body was never driven by sexual urges like a human body. I considered raping one a few times, but in the end, not being driven by sexual urges, I never bothered.
“Mark? Mark McGuinness?” The blonde haired man is staring at me with his mouth hanging open.
“Mark, is that really you?” The raven haired woman is staring at me wide-eyed, while facing three-quarters away from me and covering her tits with her arm.
“Oh, my god. He's that ugly freak, the one that was in the coma ward.” The blonde is staring at me, disgust visible on her face.
The brunette has her eyes glued on my face, with her had over her mouth, saying nothing.
“Mark, how did you get here?” The blond man's face is the epitome of confusion.
“Who the fuck are you people? I get that you have something to do with the hospital, but who the fuck are you?”
The blonde man points to himself. “I'm Sigurd, John, your physical therapist.”
“Who are the rest?”
Sigurd points to the man next to him. “This is Harkins, he's a chiropractor in real life, but you never would have met him. The lady with the long black hair is Delilah, she's Deborah Kowalski.”
Delilah points to the blonde woman. “This is Xenia, she was a nurse in the coma ward, but she transferred out after Dr. Turner took over. Perzey was the same, she couldn't stand working under Dr. Turner either.”
I want to shake my head. I want to scream and curse. This is the work of The Nameless. He is still playing games and fucking with people, fucking with me. I am going to kill the fucking wanabe god, if it is the last thing I do.
Sigurd waves me closer. “Mark, you're a Taereun player. You know who Thug Horde are. How did you get past them?”
“Ravix was the only one here. Everyone else was the local Shit Hole trash.”
Sigurd cringes fearfully. “There are eight more. Ravix seemed to be the weakest of them. He was pushed around by the rest.”
“Wait! Where are you going?”
When I look back, Perzey, the brunette, is kneeling in front of her cell door, her knuckles white from gripping the bars so hard.
“I'm leaving. You're all fucking adepts or casters. You can break out of crappy cells like that on your own.”
“You can't go! They have Raven! They'll kill her if we don't stay here!” Tears are running down Perzey's cheeks.
“So, you all know your real bodies are dead?”
“We all heard this voice in our heads, telling us we were trapped in our character's bodies for the rest of our lives. Then, we were hit with our characters memories. It was awful, trying to deal with two sets of memories fighting for dominance. When we were coherent again, we we couldn't log out. The menu was gone.” John has a terrified look on his face as he gives me the minimal details.
I cannot hold back a single bark of morbid laughter. “Your real bodies are all dead. Over a million Taereun players are trapped in their characters. If you die, it's game over. Grow a pair and fight for yourselves. Thug Horde is nothing but trash.”
“NO! I won't let you go! They'll kill my sister!” The women's cell door crashes open, and Perzey comes hurtling towards me, twists of air under her feet speeding her with superhuman acceleration.
I slip aside, and the flat of my palm slaps Perzey in the stomach. She falls to her knees puking, and I turn to start up the stairs again. Hands grabs my foot, desperately clinging to me. Perzey is dragged through her own puke, as I take another inexorable step up the stairs.
“NO! STOP! PLEASE! MY SISTER!”
“Look at me!”
Perzey's face is pressed against her outstretched arms, as she sobs pathetically.
“LOOK AT ME!”
Perzey turns her face up toward me. Her disgust is obvious, as I push back my hood, leaving nothing to hide the scars and patchy hair.
“If you were in my schools, would you have said anything when I was harassed? When I was endlessly called 'Freddy Kruger' or 'Jason' would you have done anything to help me? Would your sister have done anything?”
“Yes! Don't go! They'll kill, Rachael!”
“BULLSHIT! I CAN SEE THE DISGUST IN YOUR EYES! YOU CAN BARELY STAND TO LOOK AT MY FACE!”
As the echoes of my screams fade, Perzey's face drops back onto her arms. Sobbing, she
tries to hold tighter to my ankle.
My eyes rake all of them cowering in their cells. I can barely hold back from kicking the cowering bitch at my feet back into her cell.
“Lying, fucking cunt! No one, not single person, ever stood to say it was wrong! When I would let the ones trying to bully me drag me to where there were no social cameras and beat them bloody, shit like you would lie and say I attacked them! If you want your sister to live, walk out of this dungeon and fight! I can understand you not standing up for someone like me. I'm a freak. I'm disfigured. I'm hostile and violent. But you won't stand up for your own sister. YOU DISGUST ME! I WANT TO PUKE ALL OVER YOU!”
“Mark! Stop it! Please!” Sigurd's face is pale, and his eyes are red. “We're not like you. We could never beat up people in the real world. We can't beat monsters like Thug Horde. You might be tough in the real world, but you don't even have your character's body and powers. They'll just beat you or kill you, if you attack them. We have our character's bodies, and it took them less than fifteen seconds to destroy us.”
Sssshhhhrrrreeeeaaaakkkk!
They all stare in wide-eyed incomprehension, as I casually sink one of my swords to the hilt in the stone blocks of the wall.
“Who the fuck needs some other body to fight shit bags like Thug Horde?” Ripping my sword from the wall, I sheathe it.
Perzey's hands limply fall to the floor, as I pull my foot loose and walk up the stairs.
“A slight difference of opinion?” Jinmu has a shadow of a smile on his lips, as I exit the keep.
“Cowards. I know two of them from the hospital.”
Ravix's eyes bug out of his skull, as I pick him up by the throat and shake him. He coughs spasmodically, as I let his feet touch the ground again.
Path of Transcendence 1: Ultimatum of the Nameless God Page 17