We resumed our journey with the light of the moon as our guide. It penetrated through the canopy of trees above us and casted a soft glow on our path.
Sehkt and Moostein led the way. I quietly followed behind them.
There was silence among us, with only the soft sounds of our footsteps filling the air.
Moostein, who usually loved to banter with Sehkt, also remained silent.
Maybe our recent conversation was still on his mind, or perhaps he was simply exhausted from the journey.
We walked for hours. Until finally Sehkt extended his arms to halt our steps and he said, "From here, we should start to be cautious."
"We've entered their domain, Lu. When we used to own this land, we would know if there was an illegal entry to our ground from this point. "
Then, all of a sudden, I detected a hostile presence around us. In a split second, a slash came through, targeting Sehkt.
*CLANG!
Sehkt deflected the sudden attack, but it still managed to injure him. His left hand hung limp as he backed down close to Moostein
"These NPCs are conversing as if they're real people, Jom. It's funny," said the one who had launched the sudden attack.
"That's exactly what this game offers, BenFury. How many times are you gonna be surprised by their random interactions?" a voice from deeper ahead replied.
Sehkt whispered to Moostein, "Prepare to die, Moos."
Moostein drew his shield while Sehkt readied himself.
"Look at these two! They even have better equipment than we do!" BenFury exclaimed.
"Bro, yours and that other guy's weapon over in the back are the only trash weapons here. This bow I just pulled is an advanced rarity," Jom stated.
These guys must be players. The way they talked about us made it seem like we had no understanding.
While I was trying to measure their capabilities, I noticed the bow guy was already chanting — it didn't look good so I acted right away.
I dashed straight toward him to prevent him from doing whatever he was trying to do. I had my sword raised in the air, and when I was close enough, I slashed downward.
Jom was his name, wasn't it? He's fast.
"Woah, this guy is actually capable," BenFury said while chuckling.
"Bro, I felt the heaviness of his attack when I used stepback. I don't want to drop my items here. I'm just going to report this to Devial. Log out for now until I call for some backup."
"Jom! What? You're such a coward!"
"Sorry, BenFury. I spent one hundred US dollars for this weapon. Call me a coward, but I'm not going to be an idiot. Byee!"
With that, Jom ran away, leaving his comrade behind.
"No way I'm logging out! I'll loot all their drops by myself!" BenFury shouted as Jom ran away.
This is great, I thought. We can just take him down and continue our journey.
"Lu! We're also running!" Moostein shouted.
We're running? I asked myself.
Why are we running?
Before I could understand, BenFury absorbed Moostein's charge and skillfully slipped to the side.
Moostein's in trouble.
"Vidze, let me use you. Luminance Lance!"
Sehkt chanted from behind.
A blinding glow struck BenFury, followed immediately by Sehkt's spear, aimed straight at him.
BenFury was struck directly in the chest, but he still managed to shout, "Refract!"
In an instant, his body moved as if time had rewound itself, retracing his steps back to where he had been just moments before.
It was something I've never seen before, I sensed danger. So I prepared to jump right into their clash.
"You AIs have some good coordination, huh?" he sneered.
"Sword skill, Dart Stab!"
I dashed in, but BenFury's sword glowed, and in a flash, he lunged at Sehkt, who was still recovering from his previous attack.
Sehkt barely reacted in time — a deep gash streaked across his face, and he collapsed to the ground.
I glanced toward Moostein, he had just finished his charge, he had no time to rescue Sehkt.
BenFury shifted his gaze back to Sehkt, a greedy smirk forming on his face.
"Your spear is mine!"
While his sword was raised in the air, I thought of an idea.
"Larent, Dart Stab!"
I called out, copying the skill BenFury had just used. I'd done it before — mimicking the sword awakening call I'd heard from Nox. This should work too... it had to.
Larent glowed blue and in a flash, I dashed forward — faster than I'd ever moved before — aiming straight for BenFury.
*CLANK!
He managed to block my attack, but at least I stopped him from striking Sehkt.
I pressed on, chasing after him with relentless slashes. I swung my sword with all my force and pushed him further back.
"Stepback!"
He dashed back, gaining some space away from me. His breathing sounded heavy, and I could sense the frustration building in his eyes.
It was like Deus'.
"Not bad," he muttered. His grip on his sword became harder.
Then, he started swiping his fingers through the air.
I don't know what had gotten into me, but my body moved on its own — dashing straight toward him and unleashing another set of slashes.
I looked at his face; he was starting to feel overwhelmed — I could tell.
His breathing grew heavier and heavier, and his eyes widened with fear.
It felt good. His face, full of fear, felt good.
I liked it.
"Larent, show me your color... Soul Reaper!"
I chanted the words. I had never known I could use that skill, but I used it anyway.
The blade felt heavier in my hand, yet more powerful.
After I had chanted the skill. A dark shadow enveloped both me and BenFury.
BenFury's eyes opened even wider. He tried to back away, frantically swiping at the air to maybe logout.
"Stay still," I muttered, my voice colder than I expected.
I walked slowly toward him.
He stumbled back and fell on his backside.
Larent, still in my hand, left a shadow tracing the space it had previously occupied.
"W-what are you d-doing?" he stammered.
I stepped forward again, feeling an eerie confidence surge through me—
"AHHHH! S-stop!"
He shouted in terror, his voice breaking with panic.
His fear fed something inside me, and I couldn't stop myself from craving more.
I smiled, widely. This was the first smile I knew I did. It was not forced on me at all. It was my real smile.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
That was his last sound before I struck him in his skull with Larent.
"Lu?" Moostein's voice cut through the haze.
I froze, the dark aura around my blade started flickering.
What was I doing?