《The Strongest PK Killer of All Time》 Prologue Arc 1: The Final Quest "Man, I''m beat..." Setting the prepared meal I''d gotten at the store on the table, I undressed myself and left my suit on the floor. I lived in a one-room apartment, complete with a dining room and kitchen. I''d say it''s been about...a year since I moved in here and started working at my current company. I had a rickety, old table sitting next to my futon that hadn''t been washed in forever and trash bags that littered the place. It was a 23-year-old room with absolutely nothing going for it, save for one key item: a beautiful mechanical helmet -- a wonderful item that takes me away from the reality I''m living in into an entirely different world. That world is called, "Real Life Online," or "RL" for short. It''s a VRMMO, or Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online platform that allows a fully immersible experience for a skill-based game. It''s the first, safe version of its kind and its emergence made waves across the world. There were countless occupations of all different sorts, the ability to gain skills based on the choices you made, and gorgeous looking NPCs, or non-player characters. People had rushed to pre-order before it even went on sale, and the servers were so overloaded when it came out that they actually shut down. A month before, once RL went online and before it was officially announced, I''d learned that "Trader" was a class people could take as their occupation. It was an occupation I''d taken a shine to and had seen in picture books from when I was younger -- a class where one could travel to distant lands and live a life selling goods here and there. Trying to save a little bit at a time to hit that five thousand dollar mark threw me for a loop, but after trying to make things work one step at a time, I was finally able to buy one for myself. That had been five, no, around ten years ago, and I''d had stars in my eyes -- I was so excited. I''d come home and jump into the machine without even eating a bite of food. "...Oh, man." Just the sight of the gear for the VR made me let out a sigh. The online game of a different world -- even people who sucked at it claimed that it was really fun to play, but those were nothing short of lies. I started hating life the moment I set eyes on that helmet. "Trader" -- that class has to be the worst one known to man.d CH 1 "Trader" was the worst class known to man. To start off, there were two different types of existences within RL: one was based around combat, and the other around production. For example, an alchemist would fall under the "production" header, but that wasn''t to say they couldn''t fight as well. They reigned supreme for production-related activities, but could more or less throw some punches as well. They just couldn''t compare to combat-specific classes. Now, a warrior was categorized under the combat specialty. Combat was its end-all-be-all and the warrior was excellent at combat, but couldn''t produce anything to save its life. Either way, that was how the two different roles differentiated themselves. The trader, however, was a production-based class best with all matters related to gold in any way. Traders received discounts whenever buying from NPCs, would receive more gold than usual from monsters they''ve defeated, and would receive a higher reward upon a successful quest completion. When the game came online, they were a handy member to have around as having just one trader around would yield the party a hefty amount of gold more than without. As time went on though, the introduction of rare items and higher quality weapons caused an inflation with gold, the game''s currency. As far as combat was concerned, though, a trader''s battle skill proficiency was hardly anything to speak of. Did you want someone that would yield you a bit more gold, or someone who knew how to fight? The answer wasn''t exactly rocket science. Taking that into consideration, the need for a trader drops dramatically, and trying to make it through the game solo was asking for trouble. The reason why was because the trader was neither an alchemist, nor was it a blacksmith -- traders couldn''t produce something from nothing on their own; without support from other classes, battle wasn''t up for conversation either. As such, traders were considered to pretty much be parasites, and were avoided like the plague. RL was a character customization game that allowed a selection amongst a high variety of classes based on different choices made along the way. Of course, providing your first choice was not available at the time, you had the option of choosing a class that was fairly similar and, in turn, morphing it into the class you were originally hoping for. Characters were lifelong though, and couldn''t be changed to anything else. I couldn''t say whether it was to relieve server load or not, but you couldn''t start over with a new character once you''d already made one. I hadn''t found any information regarding transferring data to a different class, either. Once you made your choice, you were stuck with it. There was no point in regret either. After all, there weren''t any second chances. "Guess...it''s time to log in again." After finishing my meal, I put the VR helmet on. I mean, the very idea of going back into that game filled me with dread, but it would''ve been a complete waste of all the money I''d spent on it if I didn''t. It was a habit at this point, but with the way I was going, I might as well be as good as dead. [GAME START] I rode into the game through a sea of electronic waves. [Welcome to RL, Nishiki!] I logged into the game, hearing those very same words the AI has said who knows how many times before. I''d used my real name as my login: Nishiki Hanatsuki. "Good evening, Nishiki~" I started getting messages from the guild chat after logging in, and this time, it was the guild master, Nine, contacting me. This was the person who''d invited me into the guild "Once in a Lifetime" from the start. A guild was essentially composed of a guild master who acted as the boss, and then all the members were like a team the guild master had assembled together. I came to the guild in pretty much the same vein. This was, when I first joined the guild, I was invited for quests or hunts with other members a lot, but as our guild grew bigger, the invitations started dying down. That said, being part of a guild was a huge deal. It made me happy that I could be a part of something, even if only in a game. If a party was short a member, I''d do my best to jump in for the mission. [BangBangMaru has logged on!] "Heya, BangBangMaru~" "Yo!" "Sup!" "Hey, BangBang!" Just as I was about to greet Nine back, another member popped on and the reaction was completely different. It was so striking of a difference that I was beyond feeling sad about it. [You have a new message from Nine.] "Huh?" I hadn''t heard that email sound effect for a good minute. I only ever received a message from Nine every once in a blue moon... [Nishiki, there''s something I''d like to discuss. Please meet me at the guild HQ.] Only two sentences... Huh, I wondered what he wanted to talk about. [Roger that. On my way.] After sending the message through, I headed towards our HQ -- a place where all guild members convene for guild-related issues. "Hey, how''s it going?" "Hey, Nishiki. Sorry for making you come all the way over." When I walked inside the HQ, a middle-aged man -- Nine''s avatar -- was waiting for me. I couldn''t see any other members aside from him. "I''ll make this quick: I just wanted to thank you for all of your help up until now, Nishiki." "Huh?" I couldn''t make sense of what he was saying and then...it clicked. "We''ve almost hit our max for our member count, and I''ve been getting some complaints from other members." "Complaints?" I asked. "Wait, you mean about me?" "Yeah." "Oh... I see..." I calmed down slightly and let out a sigh. Hah, I should''ve known. It was because I was a trader, like I was a fucking parasite. It happened every damned time. "Have a good one," Nine said candidly, and with a vague, but slight smile on his face. How laughable. I''d bet this guy thought I was a menace to have around, too. VR was some crazy technology. You''d find out things that you''d never known about before. He''d more than likely found it difficult to say anything directly since he''d been the one to invite me in the first place. Now that the guild was bigger, he used the guild''s member quota and "complaints" against me as an excuse to kick me out today. With me gone, they had an open spot for someone new, and all the complaints were gone. Happy ending for everyone. What a fucking joke. Why did I have to feel this way even when I was playing a game of all things?! [Guild Member Nine has removed you from the guild, Once in a Lifetime.] [Teleporting to Lalocia Ice.] My background changed effortlessly alongside the chiming announcement, and I opened the menu since there was nothing else for me to do. "...No one''s on." When I''d opened the friend window after so long, then I came to see that, obviously, no one was online. I mean, it made sense, since most of my friends were traders. And having been ousted from the guild, I really had nothing to my name, now. No one was going to let me join them. Even the newbies and those trying to get a full party wouldn''t let me join in, since traders were straight up considered parasites. My only other option was to go solo, but there wasn''t much to be gained even if I sat there and threw one punch after another endlessly. Even with how many players there were nowadays, I would bet that I was probably the one and only trader around. "Open Status... Yeesh." Name: Nishiki Class: Trader Level: 20 STR: 20 INT: 5 DEX: 25 AGI: 15 VIT: 5 MND: 5 Status Points: 0 Skills: Lv5 One-Handed Axe, Lv10 Perception, Lv5 One-Handed Weapon, Lv10 Persuasion, Lv10 Trader Luck Equipment: Complete Iron Set, Iron Axe Items: Town of Beginnings, Green Solda, Map, Health Potion (S), Mana Potion (S) Money: 12,775,640G Titles: Millionaire, Multimillionaire Aside from the minimum equipment requirements, I chose dexterous weapons that would increase the chance of drops from quests or monsters and skills that would best suit my party members. And, looking at those skills now, all I could do was let out a sigh. Until now, I''d been working to make up for that five thousand dollars that went into getting the game, all so I could enjoy my time with it. To be honest though, I didn''t even know why I was putting in so much effort. It was entirely unlike me, but I assertively joined different parties and tried to fight battles without hesitation or wavering, and this is where it got me. No friends, and no one who would party up with me. If there was something I was proud of in this hobby world, it was building and saving up the currency in RL: gold. Whether by remuneration or selling off items, I built up my stash little by little. With my boost from being a trader, I''ve saved up over ten million gold. On average, those on the richer end might get around a million, but since I''ve gained so much, that''s how I got the "multimillionaire" title. Even if I traded all my gold into real money, I might get, what, a hundred bucks out of it? "I think...it''s about time to call this game quits." I''d delete my character, and whenever, or if ever they allowed for people to make a new character, that would probably be when I turned this game on again. I might be able to make something of myself at that point. "Let''s just...do one last run." For my last quest, I''d gather together a party and try to enjoy the very end of my RL days. "There''s no way anyone will join my party..." I opened up the recruitment menu and narrowed down the class selection to "trader". I already felt like giving up, but just like so many times in the past, I pressed the search button in front of me. [One quest found for class preference of Trader]: [Peddling Quest I] Sell something from Town of Beginnings to a trader who is in Green Solde. Party Member Reward: 50,000G Current Members: 1 Trader Party Leader: Silver "Are you kidding me?!" I yelled out without thinking when I heard the announcement. There was someone still out there, and just one... This had to be the first time in nearly a week since I''d seen anyone with a trader class. And then, there was the name of that quest: Peddling Quest I... That was a quest tailored for traders. "I can''t believe it..." I couldn''t believe I''d meet another trader out there. I didn''t even have to think about it -- I pressed the button to join the quest. Trader Luck: A skill every trader possesses that enables them to acquire gold after defeating monsters. Persuasion: A skill every trader possesses that will generally allow them to buy items from NPCs at a lower cost. CH 2 [You have applied to join [Peddling Quest I].] [Your request was approved.] [Teleporting to the Party Leader''s channel.] My request was approved in a heartbeat, and I was whisked away to where the leader was located. Everything spiraled around me until I saw I was back in the same place I''d been before. RL had a colossal number of people playing. You could bounce from channel to another as you pleased, but when you were requesting to join a quest, you would be forcibly transported to the channel of the person who petitioned for help. It had been a while since I''d had to do this. I''d always been shot down straight away just because I was a trader. [You have teleported to Town of Beginnings.] Once I got there, the first thing I saw was this girl running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Her avatar had long, beautiful silver hair and a nice, cute face. She was a bit shorter and slimmer than I was, but her slenderness gave off a sickly kind of vibe. Still, she seemed cute enough, and dare I say beautiful, and it seemed as if she was looking around for me. The map showed where party members were located, but since she was probably a newbie, I doubted that she knew to look there. "Ah!" The second she laid eyes on me, she let out a shout. Her name was "Silver", which I guess took after her hair color. Even in the guild, there haven''t been that many women out there who were actually good at the game. Something about this girl made me feel like I could see right through her. Hah, there weren''t any people like that in the guild, that was for sure. Give them an inch, and they''d snatch my money away at the first chance... "Y-you''re Nishiki, right?" "Huh? Oh, yeah, that''s me. Sorry about that." I had to restrain myself from saying anything at the thought of my previous guild members. Keeping my cool was my first priority here. That, and the ever-important trader in front of me and the quest that I was currently on. "Oh, thank god. This is actually my first quest, and well, actually, this is the first time I''ve ever played a game in my life." She blurted out a string of words, almost like she hadn''t been able to say anything up until this point, and let it out all in a huge whoosh. It was hardly surprising, considering how much of outcasts traders were. It wasn''t like anyone would accept them into their parties. I hadn''t had to worry about back then during the golden days though, when we hadn''t quite yet been considered a problem. Hell, the fact that she''s got an avatar like this and was a trader was unlucky enough as it was. We lived in a difficult world. "It probably won''t be a big deal." That...was a complete and utter lie, obviously. It was a peddler''s quest, and not just that, but a quest tailored for traders. It typically consisted of a trader pairing together with an escort and taking a loaded cart from an NPC to whatever its destination to clear the quest, otherwise known as a delivery quest. It sounded simple enough on paper, but in all reality, was an absolute pain in the ass. Why, you ask? Because there were assholes out there called PKers. "PK" referred to Player Killers. Their whole goal was to kill normal players like us. Those who killed people like that had the exclusive class of "PKer", a hidden class that extensively specialized in combat against other people. They gained experience through killing other players and taking everything from others by force. You could almost say PKers and traders were natural enemies to one another. They were an existence that would steal a trader''s gold with any mercy whatsoever. So, you could bet that any quest a trader had to take on would have a ton of those fuckers lying in wait. And, if there were a party with the trader, the PKers would match their numbers and show up to strike. Obviously, a trader that had limited to zero combat ability had no chance at all of winning against a PKer that specializes in combat against other people. The traders could always employ people in different classes, but then those other people would have to take on the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the traders and their objects, and the outcome of that was just as obvious. The quest had an amazing reward, and gave plenty of time to fulfill the requirements, but the probability of failure was far too high. As a result, that quest lost popularity really quickly, leaving traders forever looking for bodyguards to help assist them. It was a sad situation overall. This girl was going through the same problem... It''s just that I was the one lending a hand as a bodyguard this time around. "Thank you so much!" She sounded so respectful to me that it hurt. I knew I should''ve just been honest with her, but I had to say that just for the sake of appearances, at least. "Let''s get going then!" "W-wait for me!" I shouted at her, stopping her in her tracks as she was about to start the quest straight away. "I''ve still got some things I''ve got to get ready." "Oh, okay! I''ll be here until you''re ready!" she said, bowing. She sure had some energy to her. What a waste for her to be a trader of all things. Okay, now it was time to do all I could to ready myself for a fight against those pricks. This was the last time I''d be playing RL, after all. It was a miracle that I''d met another trader at the very end of it all. I had to go all out for this. I had practically no chance of winning, but if I could do something that might raise those odds just the slightest... "Sorry about that. I''m good now," I said when I got back. "No problem at all! I''ll start the quest for us." "Sounds good." She and I started walking towards the quest''s NPC. ...This was it. For her, it was the very first trader quest of her life. For me, it was my very last. CH 3 "All right, I''m counting on you guys." Silver took hold of the object given to her by the NPC in Town of Beginnings. She had a lot of cargo in that cart of hers -- she gave me a nervous smile. Ah, I remembered that feeling of trepidation running through me when I went through my first quest. "Heh," she said, not hiding her smile as she started pulling the cart behind her. She looked like she was having a good time. I wasn''t even exaggerating -- just walking around like that in and of itself seemed to make her happy. ...It was times like this that I definitely couldn''t burst her bubble with what was actually going to happen. If we actually finished the quest... If we got to the end, then I''d tell her everything. If we failed, well, then she''d figured things out for herself from there. "Okay!" she declared. "Time to get things started!" "Sure thing." [The Party Leader has initiated the peddling quest.] [Teleporting to the quest location.] [Commencing the quest.] As we were hearing the announcement, the people around us disappeared, leaving us on our own in a different area. Like this one, there were other areas specifically built for certain quests, depending on its stipulations. "Okay, you ready?" I asked her. "Totally! We''ve got this!" she responded enthusiastically. She''s speaking a lot more loudly now that it''s just the two of us... Anyway, our starting point was Town of Beginnings, and we''re supposed to head to the next town over, called Green Solde. The area we were sent to was basically the same as if we walked from one town to another normally -- the only difference here was that we were by ourselves entirely. It was probably going to take us around thirty minutes to reach our destination. Then again, I''d never cleared the mission before, so I didn''t really have a clue. Silver hummed a melody as she pushed the cart forward. Seeing how happy and excited she was, I could tell she''d never once done one of these missions before. I''d been the same way at first...but then I got my ass kicked by PKers. This time was going to be different though. Even if I died, I was definitely making sure she and that cargo got to its destination and clearing this quest for my last run of RL. "What''s wrong?" she asked. "You''re looking kind of scary." "Huh? Oh, hey, sorry." She was looking at me with concern written all over her face. Hah, did I really look that dark and scary right then? "Ah, there''s an enemy!" "What?! Where?!" "O-over there!" I ended up raising my voice at the word, "enemy". In my experience, the PKers didn''t usually make their appearance until around halfway through, so this was new. Still, there was always the off-chance that they might come out earlier... [Lv1 Slime] "...A slime. Yeesh." I rubbed my chest, feeling relieved. Other players wouldn''t come around in this area, but enemies that weren''t players made a frequent appearance. If we only had to kill the monsters to beat this quest, then man, I''d do these missions all day long. Then again, this girl didn''t know a thing about PKers, yet. "Heh, yeah, it''s just a slime! Ah, but, would you mind showing me how it''s done? I''m not really good at fighting..." she said, bowing her head with a grimace. ...Well, she was probably telling the truth with that. This game was not kind at all to newbies, especially if they were traders. This thing might have only been level one, but it sure put up a fight. It didn''t go down after a few hits, ensuring that you''d figure out how to really fight in RL. Even so, I''d been with a party my first time around, so it hadn''t been too arduous of a battle... "...Slash." I faced the slime and used one of my one-handed axe martial arts skills, Slash, against it. Martial arts were learned from increasing the levels of weapon skills, and were techniques that could only be utilized when equipped with that specific equipment. I was able to use Slash because I had a one-handed axe equipped at the time. A bluish light emanated from the axe, curving straight at the slime and slicing through it. [Slime is defeated.] [Experience gained.] It only took one hit to kill it, but then again, if I considered the difference in our levels, that only made sense. We might be in production, but some of us can still dish out some powerful attacks. "Wow, you were so amazing!" Silver screeched. All I did was beat down on something lower-leveled than me, but she was making me feel self-conscious. "Why don''t you give it a try, Silver?" "Okay, I will!" I doubted that she''d been taught a single thing about combat before now. It was just too bad that traders were ill-suited for combat. I should do what I could to guide her in the right direction. While we walked to our destination, I watched from afar and gave her instructions on how to fight slimes on the way. We''d gone quite some way once I took a look around myself. "S-Slash! Yes, I did it!" The slime''s HP fell to zero when she let loose her technique. I''d say it was a bit too early to count my chickens, but she was probably going to be fine on her own if it was just level one slimes we were talking about. With how absolutely excited she seemed to be, I couldn''t help but crack a smile myself. "Um, I just wanted to thank you so much for all you''ve taught me so far. I didn''t have anyone to show me how things worked before this..." "Hah, no problem at all." "To be able to go on such a fun quest together and even learn how to fight from you, I --" [BEEP -- BEEP -- BEEP] A loud warning rang in my ears, drowning out her words. It was them. It was a fortuitous skill to have. She didn''t hear a single thing -- I was the only one who could hear it. "Hey, sorry, but, uh, h-hang out here for a sec." "...What, why?" She looked worried. ...Shit. It was just that there were two PKers that were popping up in the field and that I needed to go face them personally. That was something I just couldn''t tell her. "Heh. Don''t worry about it. Just gotta check something out," I told her, pasting on a fake smile for her benefit. "...If you say so." "Yeah, no sweat. I''ll be back in a flash." She nodded reluctantly. Silver seemed like a good kid. Just watching her look so happy pushing that stupid cart made me feel a little giddy myself. I feel like if she hadn''t become a trader, RL would have been a lot more fun to play for her. She could''ve joined a party, been beloved by her guild members, and had the time of her life, but she was about to learn how cruel and cold a world this really was. There was nothing I could do to change how the game worked, nothing I could do about the PKers, nor about the sorry situation that being a trader brought about. The only thing I was capable of doing right now was ensuring this quest was finished successfully, no matter the cost. That was it. It was her first quest, and I wanted to make sure she enjoyed it from start to finish. "Okay," I told her. "I''ll be back soon." CH 4 Perception. It was a skill I could use while within battle that was not related to combat itself. In other words, it was a support skill. However, for a person like me who couldn''t use recovery or support magic, I''d had to find a different way. One of the different ways dealt with perceiving enemies'' positions. If I could figure out where they were before they got too close, I could catch them off guard and throw the first punch, which was the most important step. At least, I thought so. To achieve that, I learned Perception. If a PKer got close, or if they invaded while on a quest, I''d get a notification of their existence -- thus the sound I heard earlier. "I might''ve rushed this too much," I muttered. Whatever. What was done, was done. I downed some potions worth near a hundred thousand gold. [Used a Critical UP potion.] [Used an Offense UP potion.] [Used a Defense UP potion.] [Used a Magic Defense UP potion.] [Used a Speed UP potion.] [Used an All Status UP potion.] "Phew," I sighed. I was desperate, but even this might not be enough to take these guys down. All the potions did was make it not quite zero percent. "Let''s get this over with." I headed off in the direction of where the PKers were lying in wait, with nothing but my thoughts to keep me company. "Fuuuck, I never thought I''d see another peddler quest out here in this game again." "Shut the fuck up! He''ll hear us if he gets close!" "What''s he gonna do even if he did?" "...True. It''s two on one, plus he''s got that shit he''s carrying." "Seriously, dude''s a dumbass. He''s gotta be a noob." Yeah, well, this dumbass just heard everything you said. I couldn''t really get mad about it though, because then I''d just be agreeing with every word. The best route available to me right now was to just stay calm and clear. "Whoa, hey! There he is. Just the one guy." "I see him. Damn, he really is alone." Just when I thought it''d gotten really quiet, those guys spoke up. Damn it! They had a Perception skill, too! I had to throw the first punch before they zeroed in on my position! "...Ugh." Just as I was about to step out, doubt struck me. ...Could I really manage this on my own? I had almost no chance of making it through this. I didn''t have any experience fighting other players. This was my last run, and that''s how I''d made it this far through the mission. I was going to fight these guys when I, a complete coward, ran away from fighting regular, old monsters? I''d never win. Ugh, fuck it! What a time for my shitty habits to pop up. Never, never -- I''d had my heart set on this, and there I went again, doubting myself. That''s what I always did -- doubted myself and then ran away. "Hey, there he is!" As if pierced by a needle, my heart pounded in my chest. Damn it, what was I even doing?! "AAAHHH!" someone yelled out, and I forced myself back into the same state of mind I''d had in the silence. I charged into the direction the voice came from. "Whoa!" The arrow raced through the air in a heartbeat. I needed to shift out of the way just barely, but I wasn''t going to make it. It struck my shoulder. I felt the slightest bit of pain as my HP fell a bit. "Got him." "...The fuck? It''s a trader! You''ve gotta be fucking with me!" Standing in front of me were the two PKers -- the one who had shot the arrow at me, and another with a dagger in his hand, his face plastered with a grin. They''d taken a pincer movement, with one in front of me and one behind. [??? Lv20] [??? Lv20] I focused my gaze on the two PK players with question marks for their names. They were both the same level as me. I''d still held out hope that they might be a lower level than I was... "...How, is this possible...?" ...I wasn''t winning this fight -- there was no way in hell. Ah, damn it, stop thinking that way! Don''t you even think of losing! "YAAAHHH!" Partly from desperation, I waved my axe in the air as I charged at the guy holding the dagger. Don''t hesitate. Anything''s better than standing still -- just move! Focus -- eyes forward! Maybe there are two of them, and maybe they''re PKers, but who, cares? The only thing that should be on your mind right now, is killing them! "Whoa, hey, he''s comin'' for you, Rei!" "On him." In sight of my wavering field of vision, I knew for a fact an arrow was being aimed at me. He would pull back the string, let it loose, and an arrow would come barreling straight at me. So, I was just going to... JUMP! "Huh?!" "What?!" It went zipping through the air, aimed at my exact height, and whipping right past me. Keeping the momentum alive, I ran straight at the dagger dude. "Slash!" "...Nope!" I''d immediately unleashed my skill at the perfect moment. The timing had been exact, and I''d kept the archer in check. Everything had gone just right, but... "Man, you''re one slow fucker." He''d dodged it, and with absolute ease. The difference in our classes had become as clear as crystal. I still wasn''t going to let it get to me. In the corner of my eye, I saw the other guy ready yet another arrow. So, what was my plan? Dodge it? Or ignore it and keep fighting as was? "Slash." This time, the dagger dude released one of his own skills. I saw the blue light, and knew I had no choice. "Slash! Ugh, gah!" I unleashed my own skill, eating both of their attacks directly. "Dude, this guy is nuts! Hey, give me some support!" My attack hit him unaware, the bombardment greatly breaking down his defense. After all, axes hit harder than daggers. This was my time to shine -- I readied another skill. "Power Shot!" "Guh!" I was pretty sure it was an arrow, but the shot felt like lead when it pierced my stomach. The attack flipped me around, but... "Argh! Ahhh!" No! If I retreated now, that was it! I''d be finished! Feeling like I was literally knocking at death''s door, I threw myself over the dagger dude, both shouting and raising my axe over my head. I didn''t care how dirty that mud was. I didn''t care how shitty I looked. I was going to kill them, even if it killed me! "Slash!" "You--! Power Shot!" "Slash -- guh!" With him incapable of counterattacking, I started beating him black and blue with my skills. I didn''t give a rat''s ass if archer boy over there snuck in some attacks at me -- my sole focus was on cutting this guy into pieces. "F-fuck...you..." I just needed a little bit more. I could see the guy''s HP gauge whittling down, and all I needed was just maybe ten percent more... The problem was...I hadn''t paid any attention to my own HP. "Power Shot!" [You died.] My body suddenly felt light. Oh, no wonder. I guess I died. "God, that guy was a dumbass." "Making us do all that work for nothing..." As I listened to them talk, I felt something rise up within me, something I''ve never felt before. It wasn''t anger, nor was it a sense of regret, but rather something completely opposite of that. All I could help but think was that...this had been the funnest fight I''d ever had. It felt as if something were stirring from within me. I should''ve been more careful. I guessed...this was it. [Use Sacrificial Doll to revive?] The answer was a resounding [YES]. I wasn''t going to waste another chance. In RL, a Sacrificial Doll was a rare item costing around 500,000 gold. You could only use it once per battle, but it would bring you back to life. From what I''d heard, it was an item the top players would wait to use until the absolute right moment for it. The price tag on the potions couldn''t even compare to the amount of the doll, but then again, the effects of each were just as incomparable. The most valuable part of it is how it bares truth to the enemies'' carelessness. If someone like me were to use something like that here... Big oof on you guys, man. I held my breath as I came back to life. I''d catch them off guard. I couldn''t even begin to say how stoked I was to see how they''d feel getting killed by a trader like me. "Slash!" "Wha--?!" "Huh?!" The moment I revived, I unleashed my skill straight at dagger dude''s back. I got a damage bonus for my surprise sneak attack, and as for that remaining ten percent... [??? has died.] For the first time in my life, I''d succeeded in killing a Player Killer. There were no words to express how overjoyed I was. And, together with that taste of victory... [BEEP -- BEEP -- you gained -- BEEP] [BEEP -- BEEP -- you have -- BEEP] [You can now use "BEEP", "BEEP", "BEEP" -- you gained -- BEEP] All I heard was noise bouncing around in my head. I''m sure it was some kind of announcement, or something. I couldn''t pay it any attention right now, though. Anything that didn''t have to do with this battle was useless to me. I can''t lose my focus in this fight, no matter what -- not until that guy was dead by my hands! "Wait, what?!" The archer, stunned, looked at the ash that used to be dagger dude. "Pfft, you must be desperate if you''re gonna use a doll!" Don''t pay him any attention. Kill him without mercy. Look for every hole in his defense. Don''t waver. No words were necessary; just focus on the fight at hand. "Just one left to go." Once more, I took a deep breath. CH 5 "Ugh...!" "Slash!" It was easier getting rid of the vanguard than I''d thought it''d be. With dagger dude gone, I could tell the archer was agitated and confused about what steps to take now. Considering I only had the one person to fight against now, combat was relatively much easier than before. I''d focus on where he''s aiming, watch his hand movements as he nocks his arrows, and move out of the way to evade each attack. It felt like a vastly different battle than when it''d been two against one. I didn''t miss with any of my attacks this way either. "C''mon, hit him for once!" I stayed silent. If he were worth his salt, he''d take into account my movements and figure out how much a deviation was necessary to strike me, but this dude... It felt like he was faking until he made it, and not well at that. There was no thought put into it -- he was just shooting arrows at me. With attacks like those, I didn''t even need to jump out of the way; all it took was a quick step to the side to avoid them all. He''d seemed pretty okay when together in a party, but it was like he''d never imagined having to hold out by himself. "Guh, ugh..." "Slash!" Right after he let an arrow fly, I''d slide in for another attack. He no longer had any interest in actually hitting me. There was only twenty percent left to go. I just had a little more. Just a little more, and... Once I took this guy down, it''d all be over for the last time ever. Whoops. That''s what I''d thought, but I fucked up. There was the shadow of someone coming up behind me, the crooked smile that snuck up on archer boy''s face, the killing intent that I felt and a flash of light... I''d never noticed a single one of these signs. "...Die." Those are the words that suddenly reached my ears. The health that should''ve put me at an advantage had shrunk down ridiculously. The Sacrificial Doll grants you fifty percent health once revived, and now I was down to thirty. "Yeah, something about getting done in by a Trader puts a bad taste in my mouth, you know?" What was my best next step? Take out the archer, or launch a counterattack against the other dude? I couldn''t keep my thoughts straight. What was it I''d told myself earlier? Rushing through things would just bring about my own downfall! [Abnormal Status: You have been poisoned.] The announcement hit me as I pondered my thoughts. An "abnormal status"? Looking at my health bar, I noticed it had turned green and was slowly whittling down bit by bit. "Hah! The poison finally got you! It''s game over for you now, buddy!" laughed the dagger dude. Huh, I''d bet that even if I tried attacking at all now, they''d simply evade everything. Even if I took out the archer, dagger dude would just kill me off. So, what now? I didn''t have an answer, but there had to be something I could do to get out of this mess... Something, anything... Even if I did find my answer, I''d get ripped to shreds by these two. "I should''ve known things wouldn''t go so easy anymore." "...Power Shot!" Making up my mind, I brandished one of my martial arts at the dagger dude, as I heard the archer start his chant for his own martial arts from behind me. "Mm..." I jumped aside to avoid the oncoming attack, but no arrows came at me. "Power Shot." "Ugh?!" Crap, he was just saying the words before, not initiating an attack. Obviously, knowing this now was too little, too late for me. The second I took the guy lightly, he pulled the wool over my eyes. Before I had the chance to regret or despair over my situation, the real arrow flew through the air and struck me. "Hahah! He got you, bitch! Dumbass!" "Hey, shut up, Ren." The archer had broken through my defense, and an arrow pierced into my stomach before I''d had the chance to even try avoiding it. I''d never seen it coming. I was down to ten percent health. I''d had one job, and yet I -- "Sorry, I''m just tired of looking at this asshole." The two PKers were looking down at me, at the one they''d defeated in battle. I felt like a small breeze would whisk me away, and then there was that green health bar I had... The two of them didn''t even feel like there was a point in attacking me anymore. "FUUUUUUUUCK!" I screamed out. I didn''t know if anyone had heard me. The only thing I was sure of, was there was no point in struggling anymore. Nothing special had come out of fighting those two PKers who felt so far out of my reach. I glared back at them so hard it felt like my eyes would pop out of my head. [You died.] That was the second time I''d heard that. I guess I could plainly say that I''d lost this fight. Was this the end of my road? What would happen to her, then? Was I just going to let them leave and trample all over her? She''d probably be laughed off the face of the planet. They probably wouldn''t spare her an ounce of mercy after they found out she was dumb enough to be a trader. What will happen to her then, though? This was just a game, but still... She found every little thing in this game enjoyable as it was, so what would happen to her if they did that? What a farce. I''d bet everything on this -- I''d said I would see this quest through and make sure we completed it... And, what if that "everything" were my entire fortune? What the hell did I work so hard to build it up for if I was just going to die like this?! [Use Gold Resurrection?] Just before my body turned to dust, I could swear I heard an announcement sound off in my head. I swear I''ve heard those words before. [Yes.] The word "resurrection" alone was enough to make me say yes, without any hesitation whatsoever. [Half of your retained gold of 6,087,820G will be exhausted. Proceed?] "Yes! I said yes, already, damn it!" I yelled out. I didn''t give a flying flip if I had to use half of what I''d saved up. Hell, I''d use everything I''d ever possessed in RL if that''s what it took to revive again. I had nothing else after this, anyway. If it brought me back to life even a second faster, then that was more than enough. When I''d conceded, I could feel life flowing back into my body. My health went back up to thirty percent. [Exhausted 6,087,820G.] I heard the announcement as thoughts swirled around in my head. I''ve never once heard of the skill "Gold Resurrection" before. Was that a skill I''d gained after defeating one of the PKers? Ah, and I''d gotten one more thing as well. I could hear it in the faint reaches of my memories. "This is..." I opened the skill menu as I was being revived. "...Look at that. That''s the perfect ending for the grand finale," I murmured, smiling. I could still see the figures of the two PKers as they were walking away. They hadn''t even bothered recovering their health at all, and that was going to be their downfall. "...Let''s get this over with." I knew now what needed to be done for my last and final run of RL. CH 6 "Man, I can''t believe that guy used a doll to try to get out of that mess." "Hah, yeah, and you were so desperate when you were fighting that fucker. Hey, that trader took out a lot of my HP. Heal me, would ya?" "Say what? If you''d actually fought right instead of --" The PKers continued bantering back and forth like they didn''t have a worry in the world. They hadn''t noticed me yet -- this was my chance. The last one I''d ever get. I had to kill them this time. Readying my axe, I guesstimated the distance between myself and them. Yeah, that seemed about right. I could do it, but I''d probably need, what, dexterity, right? "Let''s see, just one more to go... Wha, hey, he''s still -- ?!" "What''d you say?" It seemed like their Perception skill had caught me, but it was already too late. "Wait!" "What? What?! Hey!" I was no longer holding onto my one-handed axe. Actually, it had already pierced and sliced through the archer''s neck. He''d already turnt to dust, so my axe was just laying on the ground now. A surprise sneak attack plus hitting a vital point gave me a triple damage bonus, and poof went his remaining ten percent health. "You... How did you revive yourself?" Virtual reality astounded me sometimes -- I could easily tell when others became angry about something. And, if I ignored him, I''d bet it''d piss him off even more. "Tch. Ignoring me now, huh? But you know you don''t have a weapon anymore, right?" I couldn''t deny that I no longer had a weapon in my hand, whereas he had his dagger and was ready to throw down. "Whatever, you''re so fucking annoying. You traders have a habit of struggling to stay alive, but sorry to say, this is the last fight you''ll ever have." I watched him start making his way towards me. He seemed sure of his victory. "Take this!" I hadn''t even bothered to recover my health past its thirty percent, but that was just to lure this guy into thinking he had the upper hand. If I''d recovered to full health, he would''ve been more on guard than now. He might''ve even prepared for more evasive actions instead of rushing me like this, and I couldn''t have that. If I put myself in a "near-death" condition, it''d be like drawing a moth to a flame. He was coming to strike at me, for that sweet carrot I was dangling in front of him, and that''s where it would end for him. "Guh..." He had some insane killing intent towards me. I couldn''t run from that -- the only path left to me was forward. That''s how it had to be. Whatever next attack I made had to connect. Any attacks I made after that didn''t matter, because if this one didn''t connect, it''d be all over for me. I had to anticipate my opponent''s movement -- I couldn''t be off by even the slightest degree. I couldn''t miss this strike, no matter what the cost. There was only one point to take note of in all of his attack movements, and I had the smallest of windows to strike. In the barest fraction of a second, I needed to read every single movement he made...and then strike right then and there. I''d use every last penny I had. This was the real thing -- my grand finale! "Gold Quietus!" I''m sure that dagger of his meant to slash through my neck, finishing me, but right before it reached me, a blinding golden path of light flared straight towards dagger dude''s stomach as I chanted my attack. The fifty percent of health he''d had remaining zipped down to absolutely nothing left. "...Wha?" It was an end to his life that came too swiftly for him to realize. And for me, in turn, it was an end to my entire RL existence -- not that anyone knew that much. With a pitiful cry, he turned into bright dust. He probably will figure out he''d died when he respawns again. [Exhausted 6,087,820G.] I heard the announcement as soon as everything was all said and done. "Gold Quietus" was a skill that could only be used once per battle and used up a preset amount of gold to launch a powerful attack. Obviously, the amount of damage it would do depended on how much gold you used, and so, I used every last bit of gold I had. And the result was as seen earlier. Who knew? Maybe if I had even saved one gold instead of using it all, the guy might still be standing here now. "It''s all over..." I won. I won against the PKers that I never thought I''d have a chance against, and now that girl could... I looked up at the sky of this virtual world. Although it should''ve been the same bright sunlight as ever, for some reason, it looked a bit brighter this time around. CH 7 "Guess I should head back..." I walked back to where we had taken the cart. Even though I''d lost every single gold I''d managed to save, I felt more satisfied than ever. On my very last run of RL, I''d taken down two PKers. "...Ah!" Once she caught sight of me, a grin grew on Silver''s face as she waved enthusiastically at me. "Sorry to make you wait so long, Silver," I said, matching her energy with a smile and a wave. "...N-Nishiki?" "What''s up?" "N-no, nothing, never mind!" "Oh, okay..." I wasn''t sure why, but she gave my face a hard stare, but when I asked her what was wrong, she backed away again. Maybe she could tell how at ease I was now by my expression. "Let''s get going again," she said. "Sure thing." She started pushing the cart forward again. There wasn''t anyone else that was going to butt into our quest now. She wouldn''t be attacked by them anymore. She was humming again. Time was passing by nice and easily. Looking around, I saw a beautiful world full of a lush green. It felt so real, like a path through nature. Birds flew through the skies, and I could see various animals here and there within the forest. In the middle of all of that, here we were, pushing a cart forward -- two little and insignificant traders making their way to their destination. The warm breeze wisped past my cheeks. "Silver." "Hm? What is it?" "Do you like being a trader?" "Yeah! I wouldn''t trade it for anything else!" she answered happily. "Haha." She was all smiles, and it was infectious enough to make me smile, too. I let out a sigh. After all this time, I finally felt a sense of enjoyment while playing this game. Even if you called being a trader the worst existence ever, and even if it was considered a parasitic class, I was glad that I was a trader here in RL. I glad I realized that finally, even if it was at the very end of everything for me. "Thank you..." I whispered to her, the gentle breeze gliding past the two of us. "Huh? Did you say something?" "Nah. Don''t mind me." Just like that, we continued en route to our destination. [You have reached your target destination!] [Teleporting to Common Field.] [Teleporting to Green Solde.] We''d taken the cart all the way to our goal. As soon as we''d arrived, both the area around us and the field changed to a place filled with merchant NPCs that were diligently unloading different goods and cargo. "...Wow." I''d thought we''d just pop up, the cart would go bye-bye, and we''d get our compensation. "Oh, my! Thank you so much for bringing everything! You''re the first traders to stop by!" The NPC who''d given the quest shook Silver''s hand. "Heh, no, it was nothing at all, heheh..." "This will turn a major profit for us! I sincerely thank you!" [Completed Peddling Quest I!] [Gained 50,000G as a reward.] [Gained experience as a reward.] [Gained the title "First Traders".] It was the first time I''d heard that announcement. The reward was pretty good, and we got a title to boot. I could tell just from looking at her face that she''d received the same things. "Heheh..." "Hey, you listening to me?" "Yes sir, of course!" I wondered how traders would be perceived now with everything that had happened. In all of the peddling that traders have done, this was an unheard of development. I had no excuses to make, I just hadn''t wanted to see her look so worried. I had to tell her what all traders were about. But... No, I had to let her know. If I didn''t, life was going to get a lot harder for her in the future. "Silver." "Yes?" she asked. "What would you think if...traders were treated really badly in RL --" "I couldn''t care less!" Silver affirmed. "I mean, it''s not the greatest feeling in the world. No one wanted anything to do with me when I talked to them." "O-oh, yeah?" Her answer was different from what I''d expected and it threw me off a bit. Maybe she didn''t need me to talk about this with her after all. She looked over at me. "What about you, Nishiki? How do you feel about being a trader?" Oof. I could feel my heart pound in my chest when she asked me a question I really hadn''t wanted to hear. I opened my mouth, hunting for the best way to answer her. "I..." I wanted to tell her I was quitting RL for good, but the words wouldn''t leave my lips. She probably asked because she''d considered quitting herself, and that shook my resolve a bit. I''d planned for this to be my last run, but now I wasn''t so sure. I''d used all of my money -- what could I possibly do now? Having over ten million gold had been my one selling point. "Anyway, you have fun. I''ve got work tomorrow." "Huh? But you still haven''t --" I opened the menu...and forced myself to logout for the very last time. I breathed out a sigh as I came back to reality and took off the VR helmet -- back to my suit thrown about haphazardly, the trash from the meal I''d eaten earlier, the piles of documents and papers stacked up here and there... For some reason, everything laying around like that bothered the hell out of me. "I should clean up a bit." The hands on my clock showed that it was midnight, but for whatever reason, I couldn''t sleep. I was wide-awake and felt like moving around. I should''ve been tired, but I didn''t feel that way at all. "...Man, that was fun," I murmured to myself as I cleaned my apartment for the first time in a long while. Skill Description Gold Resurrection: Can only be used once per battle. Uses half of one''s gold to revive; health is recovered by 30%. Gold Quietus: Can only be used once per battle. Uses a preset amount of gold which directly affects the power of the next attack (the more gold, the stronger the attack). Using a large amount of gold will result in a very powerful attack, but failing in execution will still exhaust the entire amount of preset gold. CH 8 It''s been a week since that event happened and now that I''d given up on RL completely, I was... "...I''m sorry." "Hey, I told you these documents had to be in by noon today, didn''t I?" I was in the same office like always, and like always, getting chewed out for something by my boss. I had mountains and mountains of paperwork I couldn''t finish in time even if it killed me. There was nothing I could say to appease him. "Well? What are you looking at me like that for? Do you feel the least bit sorry now?" I didn''t, at all. But, it wasn''t like I could tell him that. "...I''m sorry." "Is that the only thing you know how to say, idiot?! You listen here: those documents had better be done by tomorrow! Capisce?!" ...His rant was over. Well, if nothing else, I wasn''t finishing up this much work before we shut down, which meant I had to put in some overtime. Ugh. "Hello?! Am I talking to myself here?" "...Yes sir, I understand." I didn''t care about the deadline itself, but the paperwork was a major pain in my ass. It was just a shitty job that stole away every ounce of time I had. It wasn''t that I had bad luck today -- every single day was exactly like this. The supervisor from earlier was the chief clerk for my department. And, I don''t remember this happened at all, but at the welcoming party for new employees, that guy forced me to drink one glass after another of alcohol as some kind of practical joke. I got piss drunk and, for whatever reason, picked him up and carried him around during the party. Ever since then, it''s been an absolute hell. We were in the same department, and with me being directly under his control, he couldn''t stand the very sight of me. He already had a terrible personality as it was, but it got a hell of a lot worse. The office returned to its normal level of quietness. There was no one around who could help me, because even if anyone tried, or if I tried asking for help, my boss would flip out. "...Yeesh," I sigh. Anyone who wasn''t me would''ve quit already, but I didn''t have the courage to step into the unknown when I didn''t have any new job prospects lined up. Besides, I liked taking the easy roads, skirting by challenges, and choosing the safest options available to me. The idea that this was my price to pay for the life I''ve lived until now struck a chord in me today, too. "Phew, that''s everything..." My concentration dying down, I drank down the rest of my black coffee. The pile of documents I''d had on my desk were all dealt with now. There was no one else in the office with me. It might have been because I was concentrating so hard, but I never noticed everyone had left for the day. The hand on the clock told me it was already ten o''clock. Well, if nothing else, at least I didn''t have to catch the very last train. "That''s enough for today..." I grabbed my briefcase that was filled to the brim with all kinds of papers and headed out of the office. Today wore me out, too. I''d normally head home and do a round of RL, but I didn''t have that going for me anymore either. I wondered how that one girl was hanging on, and if she was still having a safe, and fun, time. ...Mm, not that any of that had anything to do with me anymore. It had already been a week since I''d played, after all, and I hadn''t found a single new thing to preoccupy my time with. "...I made a clean cut from RL, didn''t I?" For someone who ran from every little issue, I''d finally stood up against adversity for once. Not only that, but I''d actually won, and helped that girl complete her mission safely. It had been fun to play my very last run as a trader. "Oh, man..." It was deep into the night on a weekday when I made my way home. I was the only one walking down along the darkened road with only the streetlamps to light my way. When I let my mind drift away, the only thing that came to mind was all things concerning RL. I''d been playing all this time, so why is it now when I''d quit for real, that it was the only thing I could think about? I really had zero hobbies. The only things on my mind were my job and how to live my life, typically. Maybe I couldn''t get RL out of my mind because for the first time in the longest, I''d thought it was fun. "Dang, the supermarket''s already closed for the night..." I said, muttering aloud the most obvious fact. I must''ve been tired since every thought just slid out of my mouth without a filter. Not that it really mattered, since there wasn''t a single soul out tonight except for me. "Should I hit up the convenience store instead?" The convenience store in front of the train station was a place I''d always go at this time of night. There was nothing special about it -- it was just your average convenience store. ...I took that back. "K-knock it off..." "C''mon, why not? Let''s have a little fun." "Look at what time it is? You must be here to do that, right, lady?" It just had to happen at the place I wanted to go. I saw the unhappy figure of someone with their head bowed, hiding their face behind their food, and two young men surrounding them -- one with his hair dyed blond, and another with brown hair. It was your textbook definition of getting involved with the wrong types. I didn''t think crap like this happened outside of a novel. "...Shit like this actually happens?" I murmured as I headed towards the store. "Oh come on, you''re gonna enjoy it." "I-I don''t want to..." From the sound of the voice, it seemed like it was a young girl hiding behind that bag of food. What was she doing walking around this late at night? "You know you want this, so let''s go." "N-no, please..." The man''s voice lowering a bit, he grabbed her arm roughly. She was trying to get away, but I wasn''t so sure she''d be able to with how thin her arms seemed. "Wha?! "The fuck you shouting for, Taku? Whoa, who the fuck are you?!" I guess I surprised them when they turned around to see me right there. I was so tired I couldn''t even think. They weren''t the only surprised ones here. ...Why was I standing right here in front of them in the first place? CH 9 ¡°Wh-what do you want?¡± the delinquent asked. It only made sense that he¡¯d be surprised to turn around and see someone right behind him. I, for one, only came back to my senses after I¡¯d already walked up to him, so I didn¡¯t have any kind of answer to give him. Besides, if I told him I didn¡¯t know what I wanted either, it would just cause needless confusion. ¡°Say something already!¡± ¡°Fucking creepy!¡± The two delinquents were voicing their frustration at me. I didn¡¯t have an answer for them though. I would¡¯ve typically noped out of the situation as soon as I¡¯d seen it and gone to another convenience store instead, so why did I choose to come forward this time around? I¡¯d popped up next to them before I¡¯d even had time to register my actions. ¡°Hey, grandpa. You trying to get in our way?¡± asked one of them threateningly. His words right then were enough to trigger something in me ¨C it made me realize that this situation was exactly like that one back then. What was I hoping to get out of this? Why wasn¡¯t I running away? And, what was I expecting to happen after all this? ¡°...Man, just ignore him.¡± ¡°Tch, whatever. Hey, you. You ain¡¯t going nowhere.¡± ¡°...Ow!¡± By the looks of things, the girl had tried to rip her arm away to no avail. The grip on her arm was probably so rough that she let out a cry of pain. I suppose she¡¯d thought it was her chance while the two men were focused on me. I had time this out right first and foremost. ¡°...Huh?¡± Before my senses caught up with me, I placed a hand on the man who was gripping onto the girl. Saving her wasn¡¯t really my goal in doing this. The meaning behind my actions were all so I could reset the scene to align back with my expectations. It seemed like the future I was waiting for had become reality. ¡°Yo, grandpa. Mind butting the fuck out?¡± Something about the entire situation felt like it had shifted around. The man whose shoulder I¡¯d grabbed turned around to face me threateningly. At the very same time, the other man with him suddenly vanished from view. I wasn¡¯t sure where he¡¯d gone off to, since he was out of my peripheral vision, but if that was the case¡­ ¡°Take ¨C¡± -- Behind me! -- Someone¡¯s arm slipped around my neck, most likely to try to entrap me, but¡­ ¡°Ow, shit!¡± I stomped the heel of my shoe on his toes. His arm around me loosened as he let out a pathetic cry. Now, if I could just strike his ribs with my elbow, then¡­ ¡°Guuuh¡­¡± That was the sound of air escaping his lungs after I hit him. He lost grip on me entirely, his feet stumbling backwards. It¡¯s been so long that I couldn¡¯t recall when I saw it, but I remembered seeing some kind of TV program showing techniques for self-defense. I was just trying to replicate what I¡¯d seen, but looks like I¡¯d pulled it off. ¡°Uh?! Argh!¡± Maybe my sudden counterattack had taken him aback, but he was a bit slow on the uptake to attack. His form was atrocious, and sloppy at that ¨C not to mention slow. I could¡¯ve just dodged it but, then again, there wasn¡¯t really a need to. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Predicting where he was about to attack, I swung my briefcase at him. His eyes followed my motions, but his body couldn¡¯t keep up. I wasn¡¯t sure if he realized what was about to happen, but he watched as my bag went towards him and ¨C ¡°Agh?!¡± He must¡¯ve bit his tongue when my bag struck against his jaw, and down he went, falling unconscious from the pain. All¡¯s well that ended well, as the saying went¡­but, maybe not? ¡°Hah, hah¡­ You¡­ You¡¯re DONE!¡± It seemed like the first guy had gotten a second wind. In his hands was a sharp piece of metal. ¡°...You sure you want to use that here?¡± ¡°Y-You¡­ You, are, fucking, DONE!¡± My words fell on deaf ears. His pain and shame must¡¯ve knocked a few screws loose, because he was grinning as he waved the knife around. It was a foldable knife, otherwise known as a butterfly knife, as far as I was aware. He swung it towards me, as if he wanted to show it off. ¡°Hah¡­ Ha¡­ D-d-die!¡± He¡¯d lost it. He was out of breath, his mouth was trembling, and blood was running from his eyes. And, with that look of insanity all over his face, he was still coming towards me. ¡°...Bring it.¡± I¡¯d just have to figure out a way to deal with this. This is what I¡¯d been looking forward to. There wasn¡¯t a hint of fear within me. ¡°YAAAH!¡± yelled the man. His knife glinted in the light of the street lamp, and his hostility towards me was so thick a knife could cut through it. Yeah, this is exactly what I¡¯d been hoping would happen. My heart was pounding, and thoughts were racing through my mind. Knowing that this was a fight that would end me if I was touched by that knife blazed an odd feeling through my veins. -- It was a battle of life-or-death. -- I flashed back to the last time this had happened, to the scenario that I had so longed for. It was a time where I didn¡¯t run, when my feet only moved me forward, where my mind raced to find the best solution. ¡°Ugh!¡± The man seemed a bit indecisive. He wasn¡¯t aiming for anything major like my neck or heart, but my stomach. I wasn¡¯t sure if he was even willing to go through with it. It was a horrible attack that completely relied on his weapon instead of experience. It was nothing like I¡¯d experienced in RL ¨C this attack was slow, weak, and nothing to write home about. It was full of openings and cowardly to the max. Evading it was a simple matter, and with a hit to his solar plexus, the fight came to a disappointing end. ¡°Y-you¡­ I¡­ F¨C¡± He was mumbling something, but I had no idea what he was saying. I didn¡¯t care either way. The girl carrying her food had vanished at some point during the fight. -- ¡°Hah,¡± I sighed as I got home. I was no longer hungry; I hadn¡¯t bothered going back towards the convenience store and just came back home. When I¡¯d calmed down, I realized I¡¯d done something pretty unbelievable. I¡¯d won my fight against those delinquents, and hadn¡¯t run at the sight of a weapon. But the weirdest thing about it at all was I¡¯d enjoyed it. One wrong move, and I could¡¯ve died, but even still¡­ ¡°What the hell is wrong with me?¡± I lamented while laying on my bed. It wasn¡¯t like I had an answer, though. ¡°...What is this?¡± I wasn¡¯t hungry. I wasn¡¯t tired. I felt like that fight with the delinquents hadn¡¯t been enough ¨C my body was still raring to go. I felt like I¡¯d only experienced it in half-measures, and my body was ready for more and more. -- I couldn¡¯t understand it. -- RL floated to my mind against my wishes. I¡¯d quit playing, but my hand reached for the helmet of its own accord. ¡°Dang, I was supposed to be done with this thing¡­¡± I¡¯d only been playing every day out of habit since the day I¡¯d bought it, but today, suddenly I felt a kind of need to play it. ¡°Well, maybe for just a little while¡­¡± I wanted¡­a fight. I wanted¡­to be in the world of RL again. -- [GAME START] I''m messing around with different ways to call attention to single-line paragraphs without forcing some weird formatting, but I may stick with the random hyphens. CH 10 "...Hey! Did you check out the SB? There''s a Peddler''s Quest on it!" "Wha? Nothing on RL is that appetizing right now!" "Right? But, I''m telling you I saw it! And it''s just one person doing it, too! Dude''s insane!" -- There was a darker part to the world of RL, and within that space were a certain kind of people. They were people that only had to fulfill a specific condition to change to something under the header of the hidden class of PK: "Dark Knight," "Thief," "Lunatic," "Black Priest," "Assassin," and many other classes out there. Regardless of whichever one you became, you gained an advantage in PvP (Player versus Player) combat. PKing someone else granted you experience and you could take their items. Real Life Online -- its more normal approach was for you to defeat monsters and carve your way through a savage world, but it also welcomed a more unconventional path. It even had things you could outright call "evil"... -- "Hah, when you say one dude, you aren''t talking about that one trader guy that goes around without an escort, are you?" "Oh man, that''s just asking for trouble..." "Whatchu mean? If you''re not in, I''m heading there before the quest fills up. You gotta love a golden goose." "You cheap ass! I''m the one that found out about him!" "So?" -- There was a message board out there with quests specifically for those within the PK class: the shadow board, otherwise known as SB. Those of that class were able to search for intrusive-capable quests. By definition, those of the PK class could interject themselves into a quest as another player is shifting towards their specialized quest location. Each quest was randomized, so each PKer would submit a ticket for entry. If they won the lottery, the person, or party, could intrude into the quest. Trader quests...were one of the many quests they could jump into. To put it lightly, those particular quests were the most popular to invade. While it was true there was a lot of gold on the line, the difficulty level was what enticed people the most. It could''ve been because traders had packages they had to transport, but even one PKer was considered overkill. -- [Matched with Peddler''s Quest II. Teleporting to quest location.] The announcement rang through everyone''s minds. -- "YES! It''s my turn now!" "No way!" "Hey, man, all''s fair in love and war! Time to rake in some moolah!" "Damn it, that''s totally not fair -- I found it first! I want 10%!" -- Out of the bickering duo, one was teleported away. His expression gave off no sense of failure or defeat. That might have been because the only achievement he''d had with trader quests was the one time he''d succeeded just a week prior. "Phew, first things first: Keen Ears." His class was "assassin". It was a class dependent on quickly sighting the enemy and launching a sneak attack to kill the other player. With the Keen Ears skill, his hearing was amplified and he could hear every footstep of other players aside of himself. "Over there?" he thought to himself. "Closer than I''d thought. Eh, doubt I need to tread too carefully here anyway." The target was approximately a hundred meters away. He headed in that direction without too much caution... ...And without realizing the hunter had been the prey all along. CH 11 INoveltranslation8-10 minutes "Time to take out the trash," the assassin thought the moment he saw the shadow of the player leisurely pushing a cart without a care in the world. [Trader Lv20] A smile surfaced on his face when he saw the class and level of the other person. The word, "trader," alone meant this win was in the bag. He''d known as much before, but seeing that really made it more of a reality. Even were they the same level, the fact that the other guy was a trader already meant he was of a far lower class. "A trader, by himself? This man''s seriously trying to get himself killed," thought the assassin. It hadn''t looked like the trader was wearing anything particularly rare or special, either -- just your everyday gear. All he had were those axes and his armor... "Uh?!" Out of nowhere, the trader suddenly turned and walked in the assassin''s direction. "What the hell?" he thought. "Wasn''t he a trader?" He watched the shadow continue making its way towards him. He''d never experienced anything like this before where a trader would willingly go towards a PKer. His heart jumped in his chest. The assassin, the one with a definite advantage in this fight, started getting anxious; when people grew anxious, they tended to make mistakes. "Damn it, he''s coming at me head-on?! The trader continued walking closer, tossing the Object of the Grove back towards the cart. The two walked towards one another -- the trader towards the assassin, and the assassin back towards the trader. They soon came face-to-face. "Wh-what''s with this guy?" wondered the assassin. There were maybe ten meters of distance between the two. The assassin took a good look at the trader. There was absolutely nothing special about neither his equipment nor the axes dangling at his sides. Looking up, he met the trader''s gaze. There wasn''t a shade of fear present, but more that he got a sense the trader was waiting for something. It gave him a bad feeling. The trader wasn''t even glaring or anything, just staring straight at him, like he was measuring up the assassin''s entirety or something along those lines. That couldn''t happen, so the assassin used a skill to fight it. "Hide," the assassin thought, instantly vanishing from the trader''s sight. The skill "Hide" was a skill specific to assassins that allowed someone to vanish instantly. While activated, he couldn''t make any attacks as that would dispel the skill. That wasn''t necessarily a disadvantage though, considering that it was the most valuable skill for an assassin to utilize to get the first strike. The assassin would hide from sight, go back behind the target, and make a sneak attack -- that was the assassin''s specialty. Typically, an assassin''s MO was to fight hidden from the player''s vision, use Hide to get closer, and then make a sneak attack, but because he''d grown anxious, he didn''t do that this time. He grew careless because his enemy was a "trader". For a trader to face in his direction and approach was far from normal. That abnormality heightened his anxiety, making him rush and skip steps to finish the fight even a moment sooner. It was because of all this that his future changed. "He can''t see me, so I''ll end this qui--?!" Crap. The trader had noticed him. He should''ve been invisible to the eye, but he could swear the trader was looking over in his direction. "How can this be? He shouldn''t be able to see me!" As if to deny any misunderstanding that the trader was facing his direction, as if to forget the image of his gaze burning a hole into his soul, he ran to get behind the trader. "Good, good, I''m behind him now. I was just freaking out for nothing --" The hand gripping his dagger started trembling for no reason. It was the same hand he''d used so many times before in the same way. The trader hadn''t even noticed his presence either, but even still... "Wh-why am I scared of a trader?" "What are you waiting for?" It took him a moment to realize those words were uttered by the man standing in front of him. He''d gone behind the trader, quietly. The trader didn''t seem concerned at all. Honestly, it felt like he was the one with a dagger to his neck instead. The fear lingering deep within began rising to the surface. Standing right in front of him was an anomaly that he couldn''t wrap his head around. "A-AAHHH!" Dispelling his skill, he swung down his dagger. Anxiety, impatience, fear... All three emotions circled through his head relentlessly. He was too far gone now: his attack was full of desperation. Now that the tables had turned, he couldn''t calm down. And so... "Ah?!" Right after he had slashed down with his dagger, the man in front of him moved, easily evading the strike, almost as if he''d seen through it. "Is that all you''ve got?" the trader asked. "Sh-shut up!" When the assassin moved in for a followup attack, the trader was already creating space between the two of them. The assassin couldn''t understand it, and he leapt forward with a cry of frustration. "Assault Blade!" He activated a superior assassin skill that would provide increased bonus damage against other people. Being that assassins typically have a high agility factor, their attack speed was nothing to laugh at, and this particular assassin was no exception. With his dagger, gleaming black and gripped in hand, he sped forward at a frightening speed to stab it into the trader''s nape. "Slash." At roughly the same time, the trader activated his own technique. "A counterattack?" the assassin inwardly thought, smiling to himself. "Is he trying to match me? Pfft, he''s no match for my speed!" The tip of his dagger had almost reached its target anyway...but the blade shook as it neared. One of the trader''s axes was still arcing through the air, and so long as he evaded the assassin''s assault, his axe would strike its target with complete ease. But... The axe wasn''t heading in the direction of the assassin himself... "J-Just a little more!" he thought to himself. Just a short distance more, and the dagger would reach home, and the axe... It inched in further towards the assassin''s hand. The trader demonstrated not an ounce of hesitation, knowing that the slightest slip would greatly backfire on him. It was almost as if he could read the future, or if he had known exactly how the assassin would lay his assault. Without a single mistake, there was a sheen of blue light and -- "Guh!" -- a solid impact. Th-this couldn''t be...! And with that, the assassin''s dagger went flying out of his hand all too easily. It was hardly an impossible feat -- the power within the single-handed axe was not at all inferior to the assassin''s own weapon. "...Slash." "Ah, shit!" The trader swung his axe again. The assassin, now devoid of his dagger, tried to dodge out of the way, but... "Guh?!" The trader read through the assassin''s every move unrelentingly, timing his attack precisely to accurately strike. The assassin''s breath came out harshly. His hands grabbed at the dirt as he crawled away after his bombardment, the trader looking down at him the whole while. Most likely, the scenario should''ve normally been the exact opposite in the world of RL -- the results should''ve already been decided from the get go. Not much time had transpired after the trader''s last attack, from the time when the trader had read the assassin''s every intention to escape but having been blocked, and the time when the assassin''s weapon had been tossed to the wastes as the trader had pursued with yet another attack. Suffering one attack after another, the assassin had reached his limit both mentally and physically. And there the trader was, looking down his nose at the assassin as he crawled through the dirt shamefully. "What the hell are you?!" he shouted, his words empty -- or to put it more correctly, shouting was the absolute most he could do at this point. Even if he wanted to fight, he had no weapon to work with, and even if he did, everything would probably end the same way it had before. These were the only thoughts he had spiraling around in his head. In no way, shape, or form, was a "victory" achievable here. He only had ten percent of health left, and it seemed like the merchant''s last attack would be amidst the same silence as it had been. More than likely, this next attack would finish the assassin off completely. No longer bearing any hope of escape, the assassin closed his eyes. In the darkness, he heard the axe cut through the air. "I am...a trader," came a low and calm voice. His words, said by someone who had died more times than he could count, were voiced simultaneously the next announcement: [You died.]