End Online: Volume 3 (23 page)

'Or like
Mason jokingly said, we could scare them out. Who am I kidding, that is simply
ridiculous... Wait, now that I give it some thought. This may work.'

"Everyone,
I have a plan. I will need to go back and gain twenty levels."

"And
what is your plan this time?" Mason says with a frown.

"Do
you really want to know?"

"...
No. I really do not want to know..." He exhales depressingly.

"Well
then, off I go."

"Hmph,
don't think you're going by yourself!" Mason calls out as not only him but
everyone else follow me back into the tunnel.

As soon
as we exit the tunnel on the other end I lead the way to go searching for
groups of bandits in the woods. I drift through the foggy moonlit forest like a
white ghost. That's right, a ghost.

***************************************************

Four days
in game passed by while I hunted bandits constantly. The only delays in
levelling were looking for the next group of enemies or when the other party
members would deal the killing strike.

As like
when I left to power level, I return to the entrance of the cave in the middle
of the night. A few owls break the silence of the night, hooting from high
places in the pine trees.

"We're
finally back." I emit quietly.

"I'm
sorry," Shai'en chimes in a sad tone, "I could only locate the
direction to the city, not the opening to the tunnel."

"Don't
worry, nobody blames you." Mason gives her a gentle smile.

A lot
happened over the past few days. It was only two days of hunting when I finally
reached the extra twenty levels that I needed, while everyone else got nearly
that as well. Mason also seemed to pass on from his grumpy mood after taking
out some of his frustration on some bandits.

With the
extra two days of hunting while searching for the tunnel, I gained a further
fifteen levels. My stats also grew slightly, but no more than one or two points
in any stat. I was focusing on my level after all.

"Everyone,"
I turn around before the entrance of the tunnel to speak to them. "From
here on, I will mostly be acting on my own. It will be best for all of you if
you could hide somewhere nearby and watch each time I go in, just in case I
need immediate backup."

"I
don't understand," Mason addresses me in response, "What could you
possibly be planning to do?"

"Something
crazy," I laugh while turning around to go back into the tunnel.

At the other
end of the tunnel it is still night time, so I don't waste any time and put my
crazy plan into action immediately. Making sure there are no bandits in the
vicinity, I quickly leave the building and enter one of the alleys. Everyone
except for Shai'en leave shortly afterwards and stick to the shadows, tailing
me in case I come into any trouble.

The elf
has to stay at the house so she can send up the location beacon afterwards so
we can find our way back to the right house before daybreak.

The
clean, crisp air enters my lungs one deep breath after another. I dodge in and
out among the dark alleys until I approach a night patrol of bandits.

I
silently activate 'Multi Mirage', keeping the false images hidden from view in
various alleys, except for one which appeared in front of the bandits.

"G
ee
et 
o
o
u
t,
L
e
e
e
av
e 
th
ii
s t
o
o
ow
n." I
draw my words out and control the mirage to speak them.

"You
can't possibly be serious!!" 
Mason
shouts over the party chat.

"Who
is this fool?! Hey guys, let's cut this joker down." Not one of the
bandits seem even remotely frightened.

"L
e
e
e
av
e
...
Or di
e
e
e.
"

At the
same time in the alley. I start to recall all the things in my life that have
made me angry. I build up on those thoughts and relive them in my mind until I
start to become furious myself. As soon as the murderous urges rise from my
stomach, so does something else.

This is
one of the two techniques I practised in the forest over the past few days. It
is unfortunate that there is no words that can be used to release this, as the
activation stemmed from emotions.

Not just
my real body, but all of the clones as well, develop a blood red aura. The aura
is only barely visible around the body, a slightly red hue throbbing in the
air. This is the dragon's bloodlust I received as a side effect of Grael
forcefully putting a small piece of his power into my body to keep track of me.

The small
group of bandits suddenly stop in their foot steps, their faces instantly
paling.

"H-hey,
what's with this guy!?" One of them calls out, hesitating to move another
step.

This is
why I needed to level up. The dragon's bloodlust is only effective on enemies
of a lower level than mine. In this scenario, the bandits are level 115.

My
stamina depletes by one point every second while one of the bandits suddenly
breaks off from the group and charges at the mirage. Screaming while driving
his dagger down, my mirage dissipates into mist and vanishes, completely like a
ghost.

I then
allow another one of the 'ghosts' to charge out of the alley at that bandit. The
mirage travels at my top speed, cutting through the air while leaving a large
trail of bloodlust behind. The bandits go even paler as this mirage charges
into the body of the bandit who simply had no time to react. Once again, the
mirage disperses upon contact.

Not
wasting any more time, I allow the rest of the mirages to disperse and charge
out myself with the second technique I was practising over the past few days.

Crouching
down, I take of at my top speed in an instant. I consciously control my afterimage
to stay behind in the alley as I stop and reappear behind the bandit.

"Watch
out! Behind you!" The other two bandits call out fearfully from about ten
meters away.

Unfortunately,
it was too late for this bandit. Two quick attacks to the back of the neck were
critical attacks while I follow up by slipping the shortswords through the gap
between the collarbone and the shoulders and into his torso. Four critical hits
executed in the blink of an eye didn't even leave enough time for the bandit to
react before he died.

"L
e
e
e
av
e
."
I say to the other two bandits who are far too frightened to even move.

It is
quite a dilemma for the bandits. They can't run away because they are currently
under my aggro, but they can't get any closer due the fear induced by the
dragon's bloodlust.

Taking
this my cue, I slowly turn around a stride off into one of the alleys.
Immediately leaving the area with my speed, I return to our base home before
day breaks out.

Despite
Mason's objections to my plan that begin to arise, I continue this act for a
full week in real life. I could approach and attack up to four of five groups
of bandits every night in game.

"Jason,
did you hear?" The rough voice of one of the bandits sounds from outside
the residence. "That elven ghost struck again last night. My best friend
Honley was killed!

"It
is absolutely terrifying." Another voice replies, "They say whenever
you strike it, it disappears before your very eyes. But when it strikes you,
you die!"

"I
can't stand it any more. I don't care about what the boss thinks. I am going to
be leaving tonight with Kir and the others and never come back. I'm not waiting
around to be picked off."

My plan
is slowly succeeding. Each day more and more bandits flee the city in fear of
being helplessly killed in the night. I honestly really cannot begin to fathom
how many bandits had fled the city, but the numbers on the street halved.

The only
concern our group raised was that when the bandits fled, they often took an elf
slave or two with them. Seeing elves in collars and chain being led away from
their home caused Shai'en to turn silent. Matrix, at one point, turned around
to try and console her, but she only replied with silence.  

A few
days after that though the rate at which the bandits fled and the elves were
dragged around slowed down, eventually coming to a grinding halt with 25
percent of the bandits left.

"You
know, we may be able to kill them all by now" Mason says, his voice
brimming with confidence.

"I
wouldn't rush it. If there was forty thousand to begin with, then there are
still ten thousand remaining. Are you still confident in being able to fight
that many?"

"...No,
I guess not."

"Well
then, what we need to do is find out how to get rid of the remaining quarter.
We have all heard their conversations and they are dead scared. They
practically soil their pants the moment they see me at night. What is keeping
them here."

"It's
their boss." Matrix joins the conversation. "I mean, umm, I remember
hearing the conversation between two bandits the other week about how he didn't
care what the boss thought, he was leaving regardless. Umm, I think their boss
also has them fearing him."

"True,
you have a fair point there. And where would we find him then?"

"In
the castle. Where else would we find the final boss but in the biggest and most
extravagant house around."

"You
have a fair point. Well, everyone, gear up. We will leave at sundown."

It is
only a quarter moon tonight, meaning there is a lot less light than usual. It
is almost like we were destined to sneak through the city tonight and
infiltrate the castle at the center of Eltreant.

We stay
away from the rooftops. While being quicker and the more popular infiltration
method in the movies, not only would it reveal our silhouette to anyone looking
in our direction but it is also practically impossible with the roofs being
constructed by some kind of natural foliage.

More than
half the night goes by and we finally arrive at the entrance to the massive
structure in the center of the city. The castle, unlike every other building in
the city, is made out of stone bricks. The entire building also has an
excessive amount of vines growing all over it.

'I wonder
exactly how long this has been here?' 
I
think while staring in utter shock and admiration at it.

"I'm
surprised at the lack of guards."
 Mason
says over the party chat.

"It
is certainly interesting."

As we
walk in the building and pass through the entire courtyard, not a single bandit
appears in front of me. I begin to doubt whether or not this is the passage to
the final boss as there are no bandits leading up to it.

I hear
some low sobs of children and gently hushes of mothers coming from inside one
of the rooms. Creeping as close as I can, I wait until the final moment before
swinging the door open and jumping into the dimly lit room at maximum speed.

I grind
my feet to a halt as I realize that there are no enemies here. The only others
here are the elvish citizens who couldn't flee and have been thrown in cages
and placed against  this wall. However, there are only a few hundred elves
here, meaning that there are a lot more elves locked up in this place.

"Please
wait for a while." I speak to the petrified people. "I must save this
city first, otherwise you will only be recaptured if not killed. Do you understand?"

A few of
them nod while the others remain silent with eyes devoid of all life.

"I-it's
s-so sad." Shai'en looked down at the prisoners while sobbing, "I had
only heard rumours. That t-there was a place where the rebellious elves a-are
locked up until they b-break."

This may
be a game, but this sad sight is incredibly hard to not look away from. The
once graceful people are now covered in dirt, blood, and even some gruesome
mutilations that could unsettle the hardest of stomachs.

'Of
course, they can only do something like this in an 18+ game.' 
I think to myself as I turn around and signal everyone to leave.
Walking past Shai'en, I place one hand on top of her downcast head and whisper
for her to hold on. Everything will turn around in the end.