Mike had died. It was at the hands of the dark-skinned girl with elongated ears. Stan didn’t know what she was, other than simply inhuman. She was agile, much more agile than any other person he had seen, and her magic — he had seen it before in beasts, but he had never seen it used as a sort of launching mechanism. The scene was almost like a Hollywood movie in his eyes, fully immersive, and completely horrifying. Her skin was filled with dried blood and the clothes she wore did little to keep her modesty, it was feral, primitive.
She tried to reason with Mike — everyone had — but as expected the man had lost his bearings, he could see it too. She, in spite of how savage she was, was going to grant him a quick death, though his death was quick in the end, it was visceral. She swung a spear as if it were a baseball bat, and the brutality of it remained imprinted in him. It was a swing full of primal rage, even though she emitted no sound the atmosphere felt heavy. The spear shaft collided against Mike’s head, but instead of snapping there was blood. Like a watermelon it exploded in a visceral fest, one that remained in his eyes ever since. The spear had a sheen to it, it was almost like gun-metal, or oil. He was unsure, but it had to be some kind of item.
To his surprise however, as soon as he explained himself, the girl deemed it not worth it and simply broke his leg, choosing to let a human deal with it. Yes, he still remembered his explanation vividly, it was after all something recent. He had no plans of anything when the whole New World thing started, but his prison mates or whatever they were at this point, stuck around. Though not everyone from the prison was there, very few people actually, Mike was among those people. Stan didn’t know much of the guy, but soon he started to show his true colors, and at first everyone kind of dealt with it, no one really trying to put him in his place.
It was simply idiotic to everyone to try to teach him a lesson, magical animals roamed around, and they were in a forest, what time could anyone spare? Eventually Mike’s reign of terror began, sabotage after sabotage, some people died to the Moose, others died to the foxes, and tripped down, everyone felt scared to try to kill Mike due to the fact that all humans were supposedly allies, at the same time none wanted to leave the group. Sabotaging Mike never seemed to work, or no one wanted to do it — it was shameful. It was the consensus among everyone, we were basically hostages, soon he abused his advantage to gain more levels than anyone else. And that just solidified everything.
Most were just charged with robbery, but Mike was different; there were rumors, gossip that was thrown around, some said that he was someone that tried to do it with unsuspecting prisoners, others thought he was a psychopath, but eventually everyone plotted something to leave him. Unfortunately, that was also when the demons showed up.
They came with an offer after showing how easily they could kill everyone, no one had a choice but to accept. At the same time, Mike was recognized as the de-facto leader. In the end everyone became a minion. That was until the girl came and killed Mike, though one had also died from a knee kick. She was a monster in the flesh, he was sure of it. She was crazed, and always grinned, everything was grin worthy, the only flash of emotion was when she had killed the two members.
One was rage and the other was confusion, he didn’t know what kind of fate he had to run into her, but at the same time it might be a form of luck — Mike was dead after all. And she was not a serial killer either, at least she derived no pleasure from it. In the end, he managed to strike a deal with the other group; the group that belonged to the girl, and soon they were let go. He was simply grateful that only his leg was broken.
Stan sighed. He had gone through so much in the past 3 days, his thirty-three years of life did not compare. He was clean now, but if he was given some substance he was sure he would try to use it, anything to get away from the hellhole he was currently stuck in. It almost felt like a cruel joke, he had never touched books or consumed much media, and now he was stuck in a videogame world. If the generous system hadn’t injected him with knowledge after the fox died, he was unsure where he would be. Correction, he was unsure where he would have had anything else gone differently. The stupid fox had picked a fight with one person and soon everyone ganged up on it. Thankfully, one carried a makeshift knife that was stabbed onto its throat. It had been 3 days since then.
He felt weary, he felt as if years had passed at this point. Alas, he also had to report back to the demons that Mike had died. It was part of the deal, and he would certainly be stupid to think he could fool The System itself, a contract struck through a near omniscient entity, trying to run away from that? Yeah right. He snorted. No one was in the mood to chat, and most of the group members had been injured in some way, at least incapacitated; in short, everyone was in some form of pain.
◇ ◇ ◇
The cave was nearly empty, he couldn’t find the Commander nor any of his servants. Instead there was simply a man sitting there in a lotus position, it was a demon too, the horns adorned his head like a crown, and his dark blue-near-purple skin was weird to look at, a far cry from the red he was used to seeing. The man opened his eyes, amber and golden like an owl’s. Stan felt cold from them, much like the girl’s.
“You people must be the new recruits of Arkaram,” he spoke, dignified.
His clothes however were mostly gone, and all he had were loose pants that were in perfect condition. His perfect body bulged with power, it was symmetrical like a greek statue, but his bulk was closer to a modern body-builder, though Stan had no clue who the man was, other than he was important. Feeling a knot in his throat, Stan swallowed.
“Y-Yes…” He had no more to say, not to this man.
The man mused to himself. “So, if you people are here I am assuming something must have gone wrong?” Stan, for some reason, felt compelled to answer.
“Yes… our leader died. That means I am the new leader of the squad, but I must report the casualty to my superior…” He felt so professional at that moment, but his heart beat faster and faster as the demon’s eyes glanced over him and the rest, piercing like a snake’s.
“Hmm,” the demon nodded. “So, what happened?”
Stan swallowed, unsure if what he was about to say was rage worthy. “We tried to follow command and ran into an inhabitant from another world. She was a girl with elongated ears, but… Her race was just, three question marks? She was… strong.”
The demon’s eyes momentarily opened wide before returning to normalcy. “Tell me in detail, Stan.”
He gulped. When did he tell the demon his name? Stan awkwardly shifted under the gaze of the demon, even meeting his eyes was too much for him. A sharp jawline and the chiseled features of a greek god — he feared angering the man in front of him, but in the end he had no choice but to speak.
◇ ◇ ◇
Stan raved about the girl, he made sure to even say how bloodthirsty she was. She was a maniac even. He wasn’t spouting lies, but he described everything in detail to the demon in hopes of pardon, it could be said to be a shame for the group to get taken down by a single individual.
He made sure to mention her bow tricks, her strength and agility as well as her impossible feats of agility. The more the demon listened the more his smile widened, and by the end of things he seemed even thrilled.
And when Stan was about to finish he remembered something important.
“She was level 11, too!” he said trying to escape any type of punishment.
The demon’s eyes widened in surprise once more, and he muttered things to himself before chuckling. He looked past the cave and into the dense forest, running his hand through his hair and pulling it back, a satisfactory grin printed on his face.
“Oh, my. And here I thought it was going to be a boring conquest,” the demon chuckled, before turning to him. “Stan, thank you for this information, this is your reward. Just remember, spread our name far and wide.” The demon extended its hand much to his surprise.
He received it with doubt, spreading his palm only to see a beautiful jewel land on it.
“Unfortunately, I cannot provide more, but let this be a start.” The demon finalized with a happy tone.
Stan stared at the gem, it shone bright and full of color, ethereal and seemingly intangible. He inquired seeing the rarity of the item.
[E ranked Prophecy: The Second Spark. 0d 21h 32m.]
At that moment, Stan’s eyes widened, sensing the impending question the demon nodded with a pearly smile.
“Those who join Arkaram will be treated fairly,” his smile vanished into nothingness. “And those who oppose shall be crushed under its might.”
Stan nodded at the man almost automatically.
“That said, what an interesting woman.” The man sat down once more in a lotus position. “If fate allows it, our paths shall cross. I want to meet this mysterious elf. If she is as impressive as you claim, then she is worth my time.”
Stan had a moment of pause, who was the man in front of him anyway. He looked once more, carefully analyzing every little detail, but the more he stared the weirder he felt. The person in front of him in his mind was like an unmoving monolith, and yet his level said something else.
[???. Lvl. 8]
Stan too was the same level, but if he had to fight the man he was sure he would lose, no— he would stand no chance. The demon in front of him emanated power. Thankfully, he was done here, a small sigh left him as he turned around and left the cave.
“Stan,” the demon called, and his ears stood on end from its voice. “Do not disappoint me.”
“Yes, your…” He stammered and swallowed, not knowing how to address him. He looked behind him with horror, feeling breathing on his neck. Piercing yellow eyes stared at his soul followed by a laugh.
“I am your new ruler. The Emperor of Arkaram. Do not forget,” the demon said solemnly. “That said, you’ve made a great contribution to the empire by bringing news of the elf. Search for new Prophecies for all your squadmates.”
Stan hurriedly nodded and left as soon as it was possible for him.
◇ ◇ ◇
The Emperor closed his eyes in the middle of the cave, thinking about the news Stan the subordinate had brought him.
An elf with no race.
Four planets that reached Equilibrium?
He smiled.
Unexpected surprises, but none are unwelcome.
In his eyes, if Stan was to be believed, sounded like the ideal warrior. One that he might just want to have as his right hand man if given the chance. He just had to find her. He needed someone that had seen true bloodshed, someone that was able to explode a man’s head with a spear just like Stan mentioned. And she might just fit what he needed.
Mike had died. It was at the hands of the dark-skinned girl with elongated ears. Stan didn’t know what she was, other than simply inhuman. She was agile, much more agile than any other person he had seen, and her magic — he had seen it before in beasts, but he had never seen it used as a sort of launching mechanism. The scene was almost like a Hollywood movie in his eyes, fully immersive, and completely horrifying. Her skin was filled with dried blood and the clothes she wore did little to keep her modesty, it was feral, primitive.
She tried to reason with Mike — everyone had — but as expected the man had lost his bearings, he could see it too. She, in spite of how savage she was, was going to grant him a quick death, though his death was quick in the end, it was visceral. She swung a spear as if it were a baseball bat, and the brutality of it remained imprinted in him. It was a swing full of primal rage, even though she emitted no sound the atmosphere felt heavy. The spear shaft collided against Mike’s head, but instead of snapping there was blood. Like a watermelon it exploded in a visceral fest, one that remained in his eyes ever since. The spear had a sheen to it, it was almost like gun-metal, or oil. He was unsure, but it had to be some kind of item.
To his surprise however, as soon as he explained himself, the girl deemed it not worth it and simply broke his leg, choosing to let a human deal with it. Yes, he still remembered his explanation vividly, it was after all something recent. He had no plans of anything when the whole New World thing started, but his prison mates or whatever they were at this point, stuck around. Though not everyone from the prison was there, very few people actually, Mike was among those people. Stan didn’t know much of the guy, but soon he started to show his true colors, and at first everyone kind of dealt with it, no one really trying to put him in his place.
It was simply idiotic to everyone to try to teach him a lesson, magical animals roamed around, and they were in a forest, what time could anyone spare? Eventually Mike’s reign of terror began, sabotage after sabotage, some people died to the Moose, others died to the foxes, and tripped down, everyone felt scared to try to kill Mike due to the fact that all humans were supposedly allies, at the same time none wanted to leave the group. Sabotaging Mike never seemed to work, or no one wanted to do it — it was shameful. It was the consensus among everyone, we were basically hostages, soon he abused his advantage to gain more levels than anyone else. And that just solidified everything.
Most were just charged with robbery, but Mike was different; there were rumors, gossip that was thrown around, some said that he was someone that tried to do it with unsuspecting prisoners, others thought he was a psychopath, but eventually everyone plotted something to leave him. Unfortunately, that was also when the demons showed up.
They came with an offer after showing how easily they could kill everyone, no one had a choice but to accept. At the same time, Mike was recognized as the de-facto leader. In the end everyone became a minion. That was until the girl came and killed Mike, though one had also died from a knee kick. She was a monster in the flesh, he was sure of it. She was crazed, and always grinned, everything was grin worthy, the only flash of emotion was when she had killed the two members.
One was rage and the other was confusion, he didn’t know what kind of fate he had to run into her, but at the same time it might be a form of luck — Mike was dead after all. And she was not a serial killer either, at least she derived no pleasure from it. In the end, he managed to strike a deal with the other group; the group that belonged to the girl, and soon they were let go. He was simply grateful that only his leg was broken.
Stan sighed. He had gone through so much in the past 3 days, his thirty-three years of life did not compare. He was clean now, but if he was given some substance he was sure he would try to use it, anything to get away from the hellhole he was currently stuck in. It almost felt like a cruel joke, he had never touched books or consumed much media, and now he was stuck in a videogame world. If the generous system hadn’t injected him with knowledge after the fox died, he was unsure where he would be. Correction, he was unsure where he would have had anything else gone differently. The stupid fox had picked a fight with one person and soon everyone ganged up on it. Thankfully, one carried a makeshift knife that was stabbed onto its throat. It had been 3 days since then.
He felt weary, he felt as if years had passed at this point. Alas, he also had to report back to the demons that Mike had died. It was part of the deal, and he would certainly be stupid to think he could fool The System itself, a contract struck through a near omniscient entity, trying to run away from that? Yeah right. He snorted. No one was in the mood to chat, and most of the group members had been injured in some way, at least incapacitated; in short, everyone was in some form of pain.
◇ ◇ ◇
The cave was nearly empty, he couldn’t find the Commander nor any of his servants. Instead there was simply a man sitting there in a lotus position, it was a demon too, the horns adorned his head like a crown, and his dark blue-near-purple skin was weird to look at, a far cry from the red he was used to seeing. The man opened his eyes, amber and golden like an owl’s. Stan felt cold from them, much like the girl’s.
“You people must be the new recruits of Arkaram,” he spoke, dignified.
His clothes however were mostly gone, and all he had were loose pants that were in perfect condition. His perfect body bulged with power, it was symmetrical like a greek statue, but his bulk was closer to a modern body-builder, though Stan had no clue who the man was, other than he was important. Feeling a knot in his throat, Stan swallowed.
“Y-Yes…” He had no more to say, not to this man.
The man mused to himself. “So, if you people are here I am assuming something must have gone wrong?” Stan, for some reason, felt compelled to answer.
“Yes… our leader died. That means I am the new leader of the squad, but I must report the casualty to my superior…” He felt so professional at that moment, but his heart beat faster and faster as the demon’s eyes glanced over him and the rest, piercing like a snake’s.
“Hmm,” the demon nodded. “So, what happened?”
Stan swallowed, unsure if what he was about to say was rage worthy. “We tried to follow command and ran into an inhabitant from another world. She was a girl with elongated ears, but… Her race was just, three question marks? She was… strong.”
The demon’s eyes momentarily opened wide before returning to normalcy. “Tell me in detail, Stan.”
He gulped. When did he tell the demon his name? Stan awkwardly shifted under the gaze of the demon, even meeting his eyes was too much for him. A sharp jawline and the chiseled features of a greek god — he feared angering the man in front of him, but in the end he had no choice but to speak.
◇ ◇ ◇
Stan raved about the girl, he made sure to even say how bloodthirsty she was. She was a maniac even. He wasn’t spouting lies, but he described everything in detail to the demon in hopes of pardon, it could be said to be a shame for the group to get taken down by a single individual.
He made sure to mention her bow tricks, her strength and agility as well as her impossible feats of agility. The more the demon listened the more his smile widened, and by the end of things he seemed even thrilled.
And when Stan was about to finish he remembered something important.
“She was level 11, too!” he said trying to escape any type of punishment.
The demon’s eyes widened in surprise once more, and he muttered things to himself before chuckling. He looked past the cave and into the dense forest, running his hand through his hair and pulling it back, a satisfactory grin printed on his face.
“Oh, my. And here I thought it was going to be a boring conquest,” the demon chuckled, before turning to him. “Stan, thank you for this information, this is your reward. Just remember, spread our name far and wide.” The demon extended its hand much to his surprise.
He received it with doubt, spreading his palm only to see a beautiful jewel land on it.
“Unfortunately, I cannot provide more, but let this be a start.” The demon finalized with a happy tone.
Stan stared at the gem, it shone bright and full of color, ethereal and seemingly intangible. He inquired seeing the rarity of the item.
[E ranked Prophecy: The Second Spark. 0d 21h 32m.]
At that moment, Stan’s eyes widened, sensing the impending question the demon nodded with a pearly smile.
“Those who join Arkaram will be treated fairly,” his smile vanished into nothingness. “And those who oppose shall be crushed under its might.”
Stan nodded at the man almost automatically.
“That said, what an interesting woman.” The man sat down once more in a lotus position. “If fate allows it, our paths shall cross. I want to meet this mysterious elf. If she is as impressive as you claim, then she is worth my time.”
Stan had a moment of pause, who was the man in front of him anyway. He looked once more, carefully analyzing every little detail, but the more he stared the weirder he felt. The person in front of him in his mind was like an unmoving monolith, and yet his level said something else.
[???. Lvl. 8]
Stan too was the same level, but if he had to fight the man he was sure he would lose, no— he would stand no chance. The demon in front of him emanated power. Thankfully, he was done here, a small sigh left him as he turned around and left the cave.
“Stan,” the demon called, and his ears stood on end from its voice. “Do not disappoint me.”
“Yes, your…” He stammered and swallowed, not knowing how to address him. He looked behind him with horror, feeling breathing on his neck. Piercing yellow eyes stared at his soul followed by a laugh.
“I am your new ruler. The Emperor of Arkaram. Do not forget,” the demon said solemnly. “That said, you’ve made a great contribution to the empire by bringing news of the elf. Search for new Prophecies for all your squadmates.”
Stan hurriedly nodded and left as soon as it was possible for him.
◇ ◇ ◇
The Emperor closed his eyes in the middle of the cave, thinking about the news Stan the subordinate had brought him.
An elf with no race.
Four planets that reached Equilibrium?
He smiled.
Unexpected surprises, but none are unwelcome.
In his eyes, if Stan was to be believed, sounded like the ideal warrior. One that he might just want to have as his right hand man if given the chance. He just had to find her. He needed someone that had seen true bloodshed, someone that was able to explode a man’s head with a spear just like Stan mentioned. And she might just fit what he needed.
