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The smell of blood invaded my nostrils. I watched helplessly as the woman standing over me raised her sword. I was completely drained, I had no mana left, no items, nothing. As the crimson tendrils held me down by my arms and legs, all I could do was wait for my death. As the sword drew near, I felt the last bit of courage I had disappear. I was going to die. Alone. In this god forsaken place filled with evil. And for what? To protect those ‘friends’? The same people who mocked me, took advantage of, and used me? Oh, who am I trying to fool? I was here only because of my own greed. Because I wanted to be useful to someone. Because I wanted to that group to need me. To value me. To have a reason to keep me around. How naïve I was, thinking that power would grant those wishes. All it did was help build a wall between me and everyone else. The sword approached. I saw the purple light reflect off the sword’s blade. After everything I went through, I hadn’t expected my death to be by the hands of another player. I saw her smile, but this time I didn’t think it was beautiful. It was an ugly smile because it was genuine. She was enjoying watching me die. She was enjoying killing me. The sword struck my chest and pierced my heart. I let out a scream of pain and agony. The pain was so real, all of this was so real. It shouldn’t be, but it was. What should have been a simple game had become my new reality – all of our new reality. A reality filled with magic, war, blood, and death. My vision darkened as the pain slowly faded. I felt the last of my vitality leave my body. It felt cold. I wondered to myself, when would I stop being? When would my thoughts disappear? Soon, I saw those words I feared for all this time appear before me. “DEATH”, in the pale blue font the game always used. They remained suspended in the air for several seconds. It was over. After a long time of fighting, grinding, and exploring, it was finally over. I had died. This was the end of my story. Suddenly, words before me shifted and changed into something different. I took a shallow breath as I heard a faint heartbeat. * * * Cover art by me * * * We have a discord! Come say hi, chat with me and receive updates on status of my novels! https://discord.gg/2EFthae7XR * * * This story is my submission for the 2020 Webnovel Spirity Awards.
The Professor's voice echoed in the lecture hall. She sounded irritated, probably because of the two girls in the very back of the lecture hall who just wouldn't shut up. They were always like this.
I felt someone poke my shoulder. It was Erik, the popular kid who just so happened to be very rich. Ever since I transferred here, he hadn't given me a moment's rest. But then again, I enjoyed his company – he was a smart guy.
"Do you have some time after class?" He asked quietly, while making sure the professor wasn't looking. I nodded, then continued taking notes. While the class wasn't particularly important, I couldn't let my grades fall. Not because I was about to fail or anything – I was top student of my class – but because my family wouldn't tolerate anything less than perfect.
Class ended soon after and I followed Erik to the cafeteria, where four other people waited. "Who are they?" I asked as my social anxiety kicked in. Two girls and two guys of my age were enjoying their drinks.
"Friends from high school, they came to this college as well." He said with a grin. "Come on, I'll introduce you." He grabbed my arm and dragged me along to the table. I hesitated, but eventually relented. I couldn't spend my whole university life escaping from social situations.
"Hey guys!" Erik waved at the group as we joined them. "This is Kai, the guy I was telling you all about." He squeezed my shoulder as he spoke. I awkwardly smiled as all four pair of eyes focused on me.
"Hello, I'm Kai Friseal. Nice to meet you." I extended my hand as my heart raced. Too many eyes were focused on me for my liking.
"Hi!" The first to shake my hand was one of the girls. She was blonde and quite pretty. "I'm Alina. Nice to meet you." She smiled as she gestured to the other girl. "She's Samantha."
Samantha had short, black, curly hair. She seemed somewhat tired and only shook my hand after Alina prompted her to. "Nice to meet you." She mumbled. I forced a smile as one of the guys grabbed my hand and vigorously shook it.
"I'm Joshua Kestler." He had brown hair, was fairly tall but skinny. He grinned and pointed at the next guy, who seemed quite alike to Joshua. "That buffoon there is my brother, Vincent."
"Shut up, moron." Vincent lightly punched his brother's arm. At that point, Erik finally decided to intervene before things got out of hand. "Alrighty then! Kai, these four airheads are my friends from high school. We've known each other for years and I can vouch for their good hearts and empty brains."
"Shut up!" All four shouted at him after a moment. I couldn't help but relax a little, the environment was much more welcoming than I had expected.
"So, what's up with you Kai?" Samantha asked after a moment's hesitation. "It's not often that Erik decides there's someone worth his time. Especially when that someone isn't even willing to spend much time with him." Her piercing words caused me to tense up. I nervously laughed while glancing at Erik. Was he going to say anything?
He just smiled and shrugged, leaving me to fend for myself. I forced a smile as I tried to explain. "It's not that I'm not willing to spend time with him – or any of you. I just don't have much free time between classes, studying and practice." I wasn't lying, my schedule was really packed.
"Practice?" Alina asked while fiddling with her hair.
"Yeah, I'm a martial artist. I have to practice daily. Add classes and studying to that and you suddenly get a packed schedule."
"Whoa, does that mean you can like… fight?" Joshua asked with excitement in his voice. I laughed and shook my head. "Theoretically, yeah. I can wield a sword or knife. But I'm still a beginner, my technique is… weak at best." I said as a bitter smile formed on my lips. I couldn't help but think of my sister as I spoke. She could fight.
"That's still so cool!" Alina shouted maybe a bit too loudly. Clearly, the others were already used to it as Erik just sighed and Vincent quickly warned her to lower her voice a bit.
"Thanks, I guess." I said with a half-hearted laugh. The conversation soon shifted into different topics, until Erik decided it was time to get going. I felt a bit guilty as I was constantly looking at the time and he was surely just being accommodating.
We headed off to the parking lot, where I was ready to part ways with the group. But Erik put a stop to my plans almost as soon as we arrived at his car. "Alright, get in!" He said with a huge grin. I hesitated and looked at the time. It was 2 p.m. I still had about an hour before it was time for practice, but I didn't really want to risk being late.
"Sorry guys, I have to go to practice soon." I did feel a little sad as Erik seemed somewhat disappointed. He hesitated as the others exchanged looks. "I can't afford to skip it," I mumbled. Now a feeling of guilt had appeared. I knew Erik was sincere and the others seemed like good people too.
"It's fine." Erik finally said. "Oh hey, how about this? Why don't you at least let me drop you off? That way you won't have to deal with the busses and all that."
After a moment's hesitation, I smiled and nodded. I couldn't see the harm in accepting – at worst he'd learn where I train. What harm could that do, right? "I'd appreciate it, actually." I said as we got in the car. The girls bid us farewell there, but not before making me promise to join them again tomorrow. The Kestler brothers got in the back seat and almost immediately started arguing about what I believe was supposed to be their dinner plan.
"So, where is it?" Erik asked as he pulled out of the parking lot. He waved at a few familiar faces as we left the school grounds. I quickly told him the address before remarking on his popularity. "Is there anyone who doesn't know who you are?" While I was partially joking, I did want to know just how popular this guy was.
"I'm sure there are." He said, but was quickly interrupted by Vincent. "Nope! He knows everyone and everyone knows him." He grinned and poked Erik's shoulder. "What're you buying us for dinner?"
"Nothing." Erik responded with a deadpan expression. "We're here," He added after a short moment. I glanced out the window. We were at the training hall already. What usually took me almost half an hour of travel time had taken less than ten minutes.
"Thanks a lot, Erik. See you tomorrow." I got out of the car and after making sure I hadn't left anything behind, closed the car's door.
"Take care." Erik, Vincent and Joshua waved at me before they drove away. I sighed and headed inside – there was no point in waiting out here until it was time for practice.
If I had known how much this day would end up affecting my life, I wonder if I had chosen differently.
