A silver sword pierced through my shoulder.
The thick green line at the top left corner of my field of vision slowly shrank. At the same time, my heart was racing as fast as it could and my mind constantly telling me that this was the end.
The green line- also known as a Health bar - suddenly turned orange as my health got lower than 50%. I now only have half of my life force remaining, half until I meet death.
I hastily got back up and took my defensive stance against the three sword-wielding bastards who constantly laughed and bantered with every swang they took.
And time and time again I swiftly evade or block those attacks.
"Haaa…. Haaaah…."
I force an enormous breath to steady myself on this heart-stopping moment. Even though this virtual body does not require oxygen; I know for sure that the body on the other side will be panting like crazy with this amount of coordinated movement. My head, hands, and back would be sweating and my limbs would be sore and my heart would be beating as fast as a moving bullet train.
I found myself at a complete disadvantage, it was three against one. Just me against these people.
I slowly increased the distance to pause my thought but ultimately to lure my enemies into creating an opening. I stared deeply into my enemies' eyes for a few moments before one swan his sword horizontally. The sword, now covered in Akira Red, cut off my hood which shattered into blue glitters of crystals, Revealing my short brown hair and hazel blue eyes. The tip of the blade scraped my cheeks, creating a bright light scattered instead of blood.
"...HA!"
With a short shout, I swung my sword with all my might, constantly telling myself 'I must survive'. The sword cut my enemy like butter and thanks to my superior speed and agility stat, the system assisted me through the programmed movement and chained the next slash with extreme speed and deadly precision that would be near impossible in reality.
However, I didn't stop. I charged towards the final opponent with my superior speed and covered a distance of 4 meters in 0.4 seconds. I activated my sword skill «Horizontal Square» to cut the man into pieces. He would fall to his knees with his eyes watering knowing very well that his health pool would drop to zero. I would hear the sound of glass breaking as I stared at his blue fragments as they faded away.
But if this is a game then why would you cry about dying?
Because death in this virtual world means death in the real world. It's instantaneous and short, a perfect way to die without leaving a trace.
More than 2,000 have died in this hell world and if you value your life above all else, then feel free to stay in a village or wait for somebody else to clear the game for you.
But I go to the frontline every day with a band of brothers and sisters. From angry boars, lizard warriors, and Skeleton armies.
None of them I fear more than a human being.
The countless battles me and my friends fought to secure the chance of freedom from this virtual hell. It was a sacrifice that was made in the name of freedom.
In the place of the deceased, players lay virtual experience points and drop items that I could loot. But there was no time as the sound of footsteps got louder and louder to which several armed men in shining white armour appeared, all had a red cross on them to signify their order and reveal who they were.
I took a step back a few meters away from the knights, it was intimidating to see so many men and women standing in front of me, with their swords wielded like they were ready to attack at any moment. My health was below 20% and their numbers alone were enough to tell me that this was an unwinnable fight. I could see their eyes give me a murderous intent and I could tell they don't want me alive.
They know who I am. They know what I did and caused. Their minds were thirsty.
Thirsty for my blood.
No matter what I'll say it would be irrelevant to them. I could say: I never wanted this to happen. I never wanted anyone to die.
But the damage was already done.
I spend every day making progress with the ones I bonded with for the long years. And somehow I still cheated death, it's irritating to witness the ones you cared for die over and over again, only to be the 'lucky one'.
I've taken many lives, I've stolen loot from people, and a bad person for this reason. But all of those with thousands of reasons why I did it. We are just people trying to survive.
Was this his plan? His life dream? To make this hell to become some kind of god? To destroy every soul in my body?!
What a joke...
Out of 100 floors, only 74 have been cleared. So many memories, so many lost to bear. The sacrifices I have to make to protect one's love. All of this was for one army to hunt one man down because he was one of the few to spend his life creating a paradise for many to enjoy.
But I'm an idiot.
A goddamn fool!
A fool who was too naive to see the true intentions of a single man. It pains to think of all the lives that were lost, all the blood that was constantly straining my two bare hands. I constantly dream of saving them all, but reality would put me back to my senses.
He was my inspiration once upon a time. But now he's nothing but a Taboo.
He was my sin.
I sigh as I look down to the grassy floor of the forest for possibly my final time. I could imagine the last thing I'm seeing is virtual grass.
It looks oddly beautiful. It looks like one, it feels like one and smells like one. I took a brief smile before facing my opposition with dispassion as I took my battle stance. At that moment I thought about that day.
Two years ago...
The time when everything ended and began...