Interlude 1.00
Unknown POV
...
A breath fell over my nape. He was one of the only I deigned worthy of touch. A finger flickered and dragged over the collar of my shirt and pulled me back.
My head lulled for a moment and blinded me for a second more.
Soon though I was once again able to glare at the evil within my view.
Ian - ah~ my dear Ian - he tore his attention away from my wellbeing and took a familiar stance.
His legs spread apart while his body coiled and pointed the tip of his sword towards the evil.
The moment I had entered into this game and felt the reality chipped into my mind. There was a certain passiveness that wracked my entire body.
My expectations had been tempered by a certain level of doubt and brought even further by suspicion. It was not the first time that unreal claims had been made.
And it wouldn't be the last time either.
But when my hands clenched themselves and burrowed nails into my palm.
I felt the pain and a rush of endorphins flooded my mind.
This game...
I let out a breathy sigh.
My body impacted against the ground. Ian had tossed me there so that I may be protected from the shrapnel that flew.
Explosions had destroyed the foundation of the building above my enemy. He yelled a quite undignified roar.
An attempt to release the restraints placed upon his back.
But the building had collapsed, and literal tons of material pinned the man to the ground. He was unable to even struggle.
Let alone bring a hand up to begin to untangle himself from the mess.
I smiled.
Wider
WIDER
His knees creaked from the strain placed on them, his mouth grit with so much force I could hear his teeth crack.
The man's arms gave out and the weapon he held fell limply at his side.
He was left with only a glare. A glob of spit attempted to make its way towards me.
I could only giggle as it froze and fell to the ground less than half way towards me.
The leader of this small city.
It was nothing more than a tutorial city with hundreds of people who spawned in and around the town.
The leader had actually been accommodating. But game could see game.
He was nothing but a snake.
"Ian"
I raised my hand towards him. Without even looking Ian drew the sword from the sheath at his waist and placed the hilt in my hand.
I tested the heft before I swung it a bit.
Ian lulled for a moment. Then, in a submissive pose, he dropped to his knee on the ground. Ian's gaze was set to the snow.
"Such a dear~" I sang.
The leader, buried under all the rubble, roared in rage.
"You'll die! There won't be a lord that won't come after YOU!"
Before his very eyes my smile widened into a manic grin.
"And I will welcome them~"
Blood stained my rapier. Crimson pooled against the ground as I turned and gestured for Ian to follow.
Neither he nor I commented on the smothering of drool that fell over my lips.
Instead I ordered my sweet Ian to clean up this mess.
"Round them up. Both the player's and villagers. They will kneel at my heel or be dead by the end of the night.
"As you wish."
/./
The crystalline glass swirled in my hands. I watched as the red fluid fell towards the top then back to the bottom.
The night was lit by faint torches. The players had not a single speck of wisdom. Their minds were taken by rage and fear.
Adrenaline pumped through their veins as their minds began to forget that this was all just a game.
I could not blame them.
As their slaughtered friends and fellow humans fell to the ground in crimson bursts. While the perpetrator merely gave them a cold and disinterested look.
Ian... oh my dear sweet Ian.
Many had died to his sword. Their bodies were paralyzed by fear and pain. It gave Ian the chance to slaughter them like the cattle they were.
Death in this game was harsh. Harsher than any game before it. I had read up on the policy and found it quite simple.
Their account would be deleted. Any feats or accomplishments they made would be erased from the database and would be free to be taken by any other brave player.
Even their name would be erased too.
The only legacy that would remain would be the actions they took, the consequences they reaped and the knowledge they had accumulated.
A brutal penalty made harsher by the twelve-hour penalty. It was reasoned that the mental anguish that came with death would only be worsened by further play.
I could see why. Even just as I gazed out the window and watched the severed heads of players fall in shock.
There was no known way to numb the pain given by the machine as it was purely mental.
A passionate sigh left my lips. My hand cupped my cheek.
Whether it was the wine or the brutal deaths. I didn't know what caused the flush upon my face.
My tongue lapped at my lips. A want... No, a need for further blood. For the alcohol to pleasantly burn down my throat.
In the span of a day, this town had fallen.
Many factors had contributed to this fact. The pathetic strength of the guards and mayor. The freedom this game allowed.
Our feat wouldn't be replicated so easily.
This town was low level. A starting town at the best.
Others would be different.
I shook my head and let it lull to the side. I watched the small flakes of snow fall down only to catch on the tip of my finger.
My glass was left forgotten on the table. My body had brought me outside. Amongst the dark of the night lit only by the slowly fading bundles of light.
Ian approached. His sword was stained crimson with the blood of the players and townspeople.
Ian followed my steps. This town was dead. Any that survived were mere cowards that couldn't even raise their fists in the face of death.
Ian placed his coat over my body. It helped to warm me slightly.
In turn I handed him a slip of paper I had found. Marked within was our next destination. A small village with even less people than the newly christened ruin.
But if one were to look further. The paper showed an empire spanning the entire continent. A place I would call mine.
Soon.
There were of course outside influences. Some embassy here, a foreign country placed on an island chain near.
But this whole continent was ruled by one body.
This village was one of the hundreds made to conquer the frontier. It matched US history starkly.
Like the America of old there seemed to be grants given.
As how else would these small villages survive in this harsh forest? How would they make it across the continent and settle if not by the government's interference.
Through mountains and great plains they made their way. Until finally they settled here to make themselves a better life.
Maybe just maybe they would inherit some nobility for their efforts.
But unlike the America of old. Here there was something more. Ivory towers stretched to the heavens.
Mages created towers of research. I couldn't see them from here. But the slip clearly showed their influence over the known frontier.
A rough smile, lit by ambition, marred my face. My first step had been set.
Already, I moved to realize it.