Fear of Death

The Uji River was an excellent source of freshwater. The forest and its trees were fit to be chopped down without disturbing the natural wildlife. Herbs and fruit were ripe and easily collectable. The main objective was uncomplicated and straightforward.

Sarah, Emma, and Pauline were given the task to gather herbs and water. Alex and Paul, men who chose to wield physical weapons, went to chop down wood. The four remaining men stayed at the school to help with cleaning.

Dasha couldn't use the axe unless he unequipped his metal gauntlets. He didn't mind the switch. The metal gauntlets increased his attack by four. The axe, called a masakari, increased it by ten points. As a single-edged blade with a flat side, it was suitable for precise cuts and shaping wood and not battle. The proper grip of an axe eluded him initially. After observing Paul, however, he fixed his grip.

"Alright men, plenty of space needed," Alex said. He definitely didn't know what he was doing and merely pretended otherwise. "I put quite a few points into strength. I'm pretty sure if I just…"

Alex drew in a breath. Dasha watched him throw all his body weight to and fro, using absolutely no technique and having as many holes in his form as swiss cheese, and managing to smack through three branches of the banyan tree. The banyan tree was special and its roots descended from branches, eventually reaching the ground and forming new trunks. These banyan trees were younger and smaller. There weren't many branches to chop down.

Alex, all of a sudden conscious of his strength, blinked and placed the axe down. "Uhh, is it okay that we chop down trees? Isn't it, like, against nature?"

"We're not committing mass deforestation. We're fine," said Dasha.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"If you say so, man."

Alex grinned and let his axe loose again. Dasha walked away. It was like Alex said, space was required in order to effectively chop wood down.

Plus, there was the matter of finding those bandits. Paul eyed his retreating back.

Chopping wood for an hour was a bore. Dasha's arms were sore and his hips were in pain. Swinging them over and over again was tough. Banyan trees reached up to thirty feet and spread laterally. Rather than causing them to fall over, chopping them was akin to taking pieces of it.

Ten carefully placed logs of wood were placed on the ground. Carrying them was going to be a hassle. Dasha figured he was going to have to increase his strength. He was planning to anyway.

[ Status: Dasha Pang

Class: Amateur Martial Artist

Level: 21

HP: 175

HP/Minute: 17.5

MP: 264

MP/Minute: 33.5

Attack: 59

Defence: 36

Attributes

Strength: 49

Resilience: 35

Agility: 69

Deftness: 57

Vitality: 35

Magical Might: 33

Magical Mending: 33

Distributive Points: 23 ]

By putting ten points into his strength stat, his overall attack had jumped to fifty-nine, although the number was misleading since he was equipped with an axe. It provided ten points over his metal gauntlets' four points.

The logs were cut and arranged at two metre length intervals. Long enough to hog over his shoulder and still be able to carry a noticeable amount of them. Each weighed three-hundred pound logs and he carried five of them with ease.

He did the math in his head. He started off with a strength of seven, so he should theoretically be seven times stronger. Dasha's body type resembled a swimmer's. He was lithe where it mattered. Toned but not bulky. Broad shouldered with defined abs, lats, triceps, long arms, and strong legs. If the stats were literal, his bench press would be two thousand seven hundred and thirty.

There was a gym at the White Abyss. When he returned, he planned to crunch the numbers and see if the system was technical in its stat increase. For science.

His ears twitched. He heard a battle cry and the clashing of metal.

A fight.

He gently set down the logs on his shoulders and crept towards the noises. Words were exchanged. Panic.

A level 9 and a level 10. Paul and Alex. A pair of knives versus a long spear.

Paul came close with his twin daggers and swiped at Alex's face. Cuts emerged on Alex's cheek despite his well-placed step-backs. Alex was stronger and higher levelled, yet Paul's determination and agility was catching him off guard.

"I don't—" Another strike, another miss. "—understand, man! I thought we were cool!"

No response, only furious attacks. Bam, bam! Two blocks from Alex's spear and a reflexive counter that struck Paul in the stomach. The tip of the spear stabbed him.

Immediately, a flash of apprehension swept Alex's face. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to fight another human. Yet Paul recovered and persisted. Without so much of a word, he charged at Alex, his knives glowing with energy, and slashed at Alex.

It hit. No, it didn't just hit, his knives destroyed Alex's spear and stabbed him in the chest. Blue eyes went wide in terror and blood slipped from his lips, dripping to the ground deafeningly.

"What…?"

"Static Swipe," Paul proclaimed. "You should have given it your all before I—"

Slam! Dasha kicked him in the side and hurled the murderous man away. The knives were still stuck inside Alex, his health close to dropping into the red zone and his legs barely keeping him up. Dasha grabbed him by the head and gently placed him on the ground. His eyes were losing colour. His skin was clammy.

'Step one: assess the victim. He's in critical condition. His left lung is punctured. Step two: control the bleeding. The weapon is still inside. Good. Keep it inside. Don't let it trickle out.'

His time as a hospital volunteer kicked into overdrive. Dasha was thinking fast and hard. He couldn't rip open his chainmail armour, however. He couldn't bandage the sides or—

From the corner of his eye, Paul dashed at him. His eyes were hungry to eat him.

"Ugh!"

Without looking, Dasha's fist slammed into Paul's nose and sent him reeling. The former medical volunteer focused on the injured man and elevated his head slightly to help maintain an open airway and facilitate breathing.

"Am I…dying?" Alex coughed. Blood spilled down his lip. "I'm already…dead…though…"

Humour. Good. His consciousness wasn't fading then.

"Open inventory." Typical medicine wasn't at his disposal. Therefore, it was now or never. It was time to test out his potions. He took out the healing tunic, popped the cork, and slipped it into Alex's mouth. To the side, Paul was recovering from the pain, his nose bleeding. He simply watched as Dasha brought out another potion, the vitality brew, and made Alex drink it.

A wave of satisfaction came over when Alex's health bar went into the yellow zone. He was healing faster too. Though the blades were still causing risk, Dasha could at least say he had two minutes to fight the murderous bastard.

His metal gauntlets already equipped, Dasha stood up. "I never thought I'd meet a wannabe serial killer," he said.

Paul was taken aback. He was tall and bony. Fringes of hair fell over his eyes and acne-filled nose, and he screamed the generic persona of a basement dwelling serial killer. Paul sneered and did an overhead attack with his two knives. His body was full of openings and he didn't even know it.

"Wannabe? I'm the real deal—"

A right hook later and Paul literally ate his words. The pain must have been greater than he expected because he remained crouched, holding his face and unable to speak.

"Get up. I can only spend two minutes on you."

Paul did. After a shaky breath, he wiped the blood off his lip and glared at him. "I'll kill you."

"Do your best," Dasha replied dismissively. He should have been shaking. He should have been afraid. He wasn't. He faced this enemy with the same indifference he gave everyone in his life. Life or death, it really didn't matter to him.

He didn't know why either. Was he broken? Was something wrong with him?

"Hm." With a backstep, he narrowly avoided Paul's slash, not that it would hit him anyway. From his perspective, Paul was obscenely slow. It was like fighting a toddler. The difference in levels, the difference in agility and dexterity, all of that culminated in a fight feeling almost playful.

But then Paul got faster. Faster, faster, faster, till his speed rivalled his own.

'A slow starter, hm?'

Paul's body switched into a blue hue. A lightning encasing as he lunged at him, two blades once again high up and ready to cleave him in three.

'What a stupid attack.'

A lunge this close couldn't be avoided but it couldn't be shrugged off. By expertly gripping Paul's extended arm near the wrist with his lead hand and simultaneously planting his other hand firmly on his chest, he effortlessly twisted Paul's torso and momentum, sending him tumbling backward. While there was a shock from the two seconds of contact, it was brief. His health bar stirred.

Paul landed on all fours and charged at him again.

It seemed Dasha couldn't keep his guard down.

The two tips of his knives lit up with lightning. "Static Swipe," Paul whispered under his breath.

It was an attack that focused on a critical hit. An attack that would triple or quadruple a player's damage output.

Assuming it landed.

Dasha didn't exhibit a tinge of fear as he came close, grabbed Paul by the wrist, and stopped Static Swipe in its tracks.

"You know how to fight with the intent to kill." His grip tightened. "Not bad."

That was when fear came over Paul. That was when he realized he stood no chance against Dasha. That the player in front of him was levels above him.

"You're like him, aren't you?" Paul muttered, almost insane. "You were blessed by a god."

Suddenly, his eyes flared up and with newfound strength Paul writhed and tried to escape from his grip. He couldn't. He failed.

Panting, Paul hung his head. His nakedest self came to the forefront of his eyes.

Fear.

"This is the end…isn't it?"

His eyes were meek. His body was losing strength. Paul must have been running on adrenaline. Without it and the Game System, he didn't have the stamina to continue.

To be bestowed with the power of life and death…Dasha had never been in this spot. This man, this pitiful caricature of a human attempted to kill Alex, an innocent. But he was also so pathetic and weak that Dasha could do anything with him.

Anything at all. The manipulative poison known as fear was that powerful.

Dasha opened his mouth and…