Book 4, Chapter 4

Hawk

    I got into the game early the next morning.

As father expected, I need to go to j.a.pan region and sabotage something when

the nation war system is implanted. There's no doubt I'll need some serious

power to do that.

    I already have strong companions, servants and gear, the

only problem is my level. Nothing serious though, six months should be more than

enough for me to get enough levels.

    I need helpers too. To fight against a whole

country...There's no way I can do it alone. Even the most powerful boss in the

game would probably be dead fast if tens of thousands of players try to kill it at the

same time. And ten thousand is not really a big number, if you look at the

current game population.

    Yes, I'll need a large-scaled Guild. But...I know my limits. The

best I can do is to command like 50 people, no more.

    Hum. I'll try to find some

elite players with similar ideas as myself then. Quality values more than

numbers. We just need to annoy them, not to fight an all-out war. We don't need

a whole army for that.

    That's decided then. I should go to Yuri first, as her skills

are not something I should ignore. As for Wayne...Nope. He got a nice hidden

cla.s.s too but isn't that powerful. It's best if I ask him to do the support

jobs.

    I was lying just outside the Lost City and looking at

the skies when going over these plans (well, I like cloudy weathers!). Someone

appeared and cast his shadow over my face.

    "Excuse me, sir." A deep, male

voice came over.

    I tilted my head and looked at him. It's a strong, warrior-like

player. His hair is soaked in sweat, panting heavily, and is wearing a worried

look. Though his face told me that this man probably is the sunny type. 

    He...should

be wearing a golden colored knight armor, but it's covered in blood, and the

chest protections are all torn up.  There's a really big sword hanging behind his back. I can only see

the hilt from my point, the long handle suggests that it's a long, two-handed blade.

    ————————————————————————————————————————————————————

    Hawk has been really unlucky today. A random punk insulted his

girlfriend when they're trying to level up together in the morning, and they

went up into a fight.  What he wasn't

expecting is that the thug called his guild members for help. He couldn't hold

himself against so many people, and was eventually killed after picking out

several enemies too.

    Luckily, his gf was teleported away by the system's

protection mechanism. (In [Zero], female players can choose to instantly escape

to a certain city, or teleport the target 10 kilos away when receiving s.e.xual

hara.s.sment. The first option will apply if the player is unable to make the

decision, such as when stunned or hypnotized. I'm not sure about male players

though...cause I never heard of something similar happening to guys, yet.)

    Next,

he found himself resp.a.w.ned in a big, grand-looking city. The problem is there's

not a single living soul at the place. He left the resurrection point and exited

the city without meeting anyone along the entire way. It crept him out.

    He tried to leave the place from the teleport station

but was prompted that the station is unavailable to white-name players during

the day. So he could only leave on foot. Now he stumbled into this mess

graveyard! He's sure this place is totally haunted or something. Who would

build a graveyard the size of a national park?

    He wandered around in the graveyard for a while when he

saw a black object lying on a crumbled tombstone. He approached it carefully

and noticed that it's actually a human, or at least something looks like a human. The

figure's helmet covered its entire face. A spike stood out from between the

eyebrows like some sort of horn, with a "V" mark at its base. The

mask part is obviously retractable. The eyes are the only parts that are not

completed covered, but he cannot see the eyes as there's a V-shaped violet

crystal embedded there like gla.s.ses, like those eye lens in j.a.panese

robot animes.

    The...creature, not sure if it's a player, is equipped

with full metal armor of similar black color. Two dragon emblems are engraved

upon the breast part. The broad shoulder pieces suggest that it's for male. Various

gems are set on the ta.s.set, below which is a pair of black leg guards, also

without much seams or visible joints. The left leg is crossed on the other, revealing

a blade behind the heel.

    Finally, the two gauntlets. Their tips are shaped like

two life-like dragon heads. Their "horns" point towards the back, apparently

weapons too. The part behind the hand is thicker, obviously there's something

hiding inside it.

    Conclusion: the whole armor is terribly deadly.

    From the two

swords on the waist and that cavalry lance lying on the ground, the man must be a

melee cla.s.s. Hawk is confident in close combat, so he decided to move over and

ask him some questions.

    ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

    I sat up and looked at the man in front of me. "Something

you need?"

    He responded with quite some politeness. "I...think

I lost my way. May I ask which way should I go to leave this place?"

    "Leave? There's a teleport station right?" Someone

who doesn't know about teleport stations is still a new sight these days.

    "I found it. But it told me that only red names

can use it, white name players need to wait for nighttime."

    "You're not

red name?" I stood up and retracted my wing blades. I spread them when I

lied down to make it more comfortable.

    The man was shocked a bit when he saw the wings, but

recovered quickly.

    "I'm not red, as you can see."

    "That...can't be. This area is meant for crimed

players. Only those with really high Evilness will get sent here, how did you

end up in that city?"

    "But that's what happened. And my name is white, for

real. I did fight someone but it was judged self-defence because I wasn't the

one doing damage first."

    "Now this is strange." I walked around him. This

time I can fully see that sword he's carrying--not only the hilt is long, the

blade itself is nothing like an ordinary sword I've ever seen. Similar to his

armor, the sword is also tainted in blood and lots of cracks and turns. He must

have been fighting with a lot of people.

    But I was just planning to find strong

helpers! Now one of them is standing right in front of me.

    "Are you

carrying anything related to darkness?"

    "Huh? Maybe this one?" He took out a red gem.

"I got this drop from a lich boss. I don't know what it is for though."

    "That should be it. There's a chance that

you will be teleported here if any dark or evil object sits in your pocket. And

this thing must be a really powerful one, if my guess is right."

     The knight

became worried again. "But, how will I get out of the place now?"

    "That's simple." My observations told me he

can be a very decent partner, I may just ask him to join me. "I know

everything about this place, and I can do anything in this place. Sending you

away should be a piece of cake. Just tell me the coordinate you want to go, I

can take you there."

    The Teleport Ring will do the job nice and quick.

    "For real?"

    Ok, he's doubting me. Totally

legit.

    "The name is [Hawk]. Thank you in advance!"

    "I'm [Ziri]. Don't thank me yet. Don't expect free

service. Fight me, I'll send you if you win. No worries though, I just want

to see your real strength, the outcome doesn't really matter."

    "Of course. Bring it on!"

    s.h.i.+ng. He already

got his sword in hands. That speed is impressive, only someone who PvP'd a lot

can get prepared so fast.

    "No potions and items. It's just practice, won't be

necessary to waste any money on it."

    "Agreed."

    "Let's begin!"

    I lost target the moment I said that. Holy--I can't believe

it! I wasn't expecting that kind of speed from someone big with heavy armors!

    Hawk

charged at me from one side.

    "[Holy Hammer]!"

    He smashed the face

part of the sword on my left shoulder!

    -100!

    Paladin skill!

    I took

the full hit without defending myself and got knocked sideways. Before I fell, Hawk

crouched below me and gave me a powerful upper-cut. "[Sky Upper]!"

    -200!

    "Ahhhhh--"

    I'm sent into mid-air. I can't

resist the forces at all, probably because they're part of the skill's special

effects.

    Hawk didn't stop though. He jumped above me when I'm still flying

upwards.

    "[Falling Sun]!"

    -400!

    A downward leg-swipe at my stomach. Now

I'm falling back towards the ground. I don't know how he did it but he reached

the ground first. He steadied himself using only one leg, and kicked the other

leg at me.

    "[Rising Halo]!"

    -600!

    I'm flying again. d.a.m.n, this

superman got on top of me. However did he do that?

    "[Meteor Drop]!"

    -800!

    He fell

upside down from high above and smashed into me using his two arms at full

speed, sending me down again. You guessed it. He flashed below me like before.

    He landed on his hands this time, while bending his

arms to dampen the speed and charge up his kick. He bent his legs all the way

to the same level as his arms before kicking them at lightning speed, at just

the right time when I reached him.

    "[Leaping Rabbit]!"

    -1200!

    "AHRRRH--"

    I'm rising for the third time! I saw

a shadowed figure went past me again. He's trying to finish me off in one combo!

    I managed to flip myself 180 degree, and triggered my claw blades.

    "[Heaven Impact]!"

    -1400!

    He gave me a shattering

kick, crane style. I caught his ankle in my claw and cut off his leg guard like

opening a metal can. It didn't prevent his attack though.

    That move surprised him. I know breaking his

equipment won't actually do any damage, the problem is I can't touch him!

    He tried to use

the other leg to kick me again. I grabbed his leg and did a barrel-roll. Now I'm

the one behind him.

    I aimed my claw at the back of his head. He tried to block

it by putting his hand in the way.

    Crack! His gauntlet got cut down. He rolled over and kicked at me. I was sent away again.

    That was quite a

series of attacks, but they all happened in a short period before we reach the ground.

    I touched down safely and kept some distance with

him.

    Hawk looked at his bare leg and hand. "Impressive.

This is the first time someone broke out of my ultimate combo. I never lost to

anyone in a 1-on-1 fight you know."

    "Likewise. I lost 4700 HP. So each attack cause

double damage than the last one? And I believe you hadn't finished that combo?"

    "Yeah. I created that move. You interrupted me

before I can finish. After [Heaven Impact], I would kick you up again using [Perished

Land], then do a 10-hit flurry attack using my sword as a finisher. I never

expected you would catch me though. May I ask what's your level? 4700 damage

should be enough to knock out any type of player at this stage. That Big Blade

on the ranking top is the only one with 5000+ HP, as far as I know."    

    "I'm

313 now. I got 5000 HP too."

    "Are you a tank?

How did you set your points? But there's no way you can get that much HP at 313.

Big Blade is, let me see, level 477!"

    "I uh, have some really nice equipment." I

pointed at my armor. "Look, you don't find these stuff in market stalls."

    Hawk waved his hand, a tall, white unicorn appeared at

his side.

    "I thought this is not necessary, but looks like I'll have to

use my full power to win. Careful now. As a rider, I can do much much better than what

I did without my horse!"

    He jumped onto his mount and grabbed that lance

hanging beside the saddles. "You should do the same! I saw your lance back

there. You have your horse too I a.s.sume?"

    "Oh of course." I smiled, and pressed my hand

on the ground, creating a s.h.i.+ning spell pentagram.