The Leveler

As Nim got closer something jumped out of the shadows. It's shape resembled that of a human and it didn't move like any of the undead he had seen before. A tall figure, a face covered with a mask and a dark cloak.

That was all Nim could perceive before the human attacked him.

Despite the cloak it's movements were swift, those of a trained soldier. Nim, although he leveled up, couldn't do much. A white blade cut through the air almost slicing him up. While trying to avoid being cut in half, Nim stumbled and fell. The white blade was pointed at his neck. The fight, if you can call it that, was over in a second.

The masked figure let out a genuine laugh.

"Who are you?" asked Nim.

"I'm the one asking questions." replied the figure. "Are you from the 61st regiment?"

"Yes. Why-"

"Have you seen Michael? Where is he?"

"He's... dead. Did you know him?"

"Yes. He... was an old friend of mine."

Something wasn't right. Though Nim couldn't see her face he was sure; the news of Michael's death didn't affect her. She stood there like a statue, showing no grief whatsoever.

"Are we done with the interrogation? It's not exactly comfortable on the ground."

"Yes, you can stand up now."

"For the love of God, do you greet everyone with the sharp end of that sword of yours?"

"Oh, no, not at all. It was a special occasion just for you, Highness of Dirt."

Nim dusted himself off. "Who are you anyway?"

She took off her mask; "Stephania Ayers."

"I see. The Ayers family... didn't they-?"

"No! More importantly, what happened?"

"Aren't you a bit late with that question? The undead attacked, everyone died. I'm the only survivor."

Stephania sat down on a nearby rock. "Just as I thought. This is a serious miscalculation. But why did Michael...?" she mumbled to herself. "Are you by any chance a Leveler?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Magic... well, not really. You see Levelers, like you and us in the Special Subjugation Force, have a special ability unique to them. Judging by your reaction you didn't konw about this, did you?

"N-no I didn't."

"No need to worry you will find it eventually. For some it only takes days, others even years. You might find out tomorrow."

"And what's your ability?"

"I can see flashes of the future. That's how I found you."

"So you could foresee the ambush, right? Then why didn't you save them?! If you knew this would happen you could've saved everyone!"

"Please, hear me out. I can't control when or how much I see. Nor can I predict how will it change depending on my actions. This is not a fairy tale. We came as soon as we could, but we had other more important matters to tend to. If we didn't sacrifice the closest regiment, half of the kingdom would be in ashes by now."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry for earlier. I don't have any right to be mad. Did the SSF find where the undead come from?"

"No, unfortunately we weren't able to find the source." she stood up "Let's go the others are waiting at the camp."

Stephania started walking and Nim followed.

"Oh, I forgot to ask your name."

"It's Nim, just Nim."

"Nice to meet you, Nim."

"Likewise. You will have to tell me more about the Levelers when we get back to the SSF camp."

"I'm afraid I can't. I don't know much about the topic. You'll have to ask Bertrand for that.