Ch. 10 - The Mules' Gloomy Past

The Wild Mules naturally were as black as tar. In shape, they were often put into a comparison with horses, only that the mules were smaller in size. Originally, these animals used to roam in and out of Tiger Mountain Village freely. The villagers considered them harmless yet friendly and even domesticated several of them to be trained as pets or help out in farm labor. Things went well between the people and the mules until one day, a village guardian name Ralph Allan came across a rotting corpse of a mule near the entrance of Bamboo Cave. Due to the insufficient food supply the government was providing, he endangered his whole family by taking the mule's double-dead meat home. The world turned upside down when surprisingly, the meat was found out to be tasty. From then on hunters from all over the village gathered and began to mass-hunt all the mules to temporarily put an end to the food crisis. However, it extended to the point where a widespread of various mule delicacies occurred. They existed in all kinds: roasted mule, corned mule, fried mule, mule adobo, mule in tomato sauce, rice with chopsuey and mule toppings, you name it.

The poor creatures had suffered a wipe out. Well, almost. Since only one was fortunate enough to survive.

Three days later, a decapitated body was discovered in the forest. Nobody knew what happened. Then more were found the next day, equally as macabre as the first one. Intelligence reports stated that the culprit was an animal--a Mule--as confirmed by a number of eyewitnesses interrogated by the investigators.

Was there a mutation? The only theory on how such harmless beings could turn into vicious monsters seemed vague.

The World Government declared Tiger Mountain’s state of quarantine until the mystery was solved.

After a few weeks, an old hermit called the authorities claiming that the Aborigine Chief had employed his demon magic to transform the last remaining Mule into some kind of a blood-thirsty beast. The investigators bought this. So a troop of village guardians was dispatched to negotiate with the Aborigine Chief in hopes that the magic could still be reversed. It was led by Ralph Allan.

“Lift this curse from the Mule, Chief. The potential hazard has already been foreseen. 64 villagers were killed violently in just a month. Please, Chief, we will agree to your terms.”

“Potential hazard? Nyahahahaha! But it seems to me that you didn’t foresee the potential hazard 1 year ago, when you decided to consume the dead mule instead of burying it and letting it rest in peace.”

“My family was going to die! I had no choice!”

“Did the Mules have a choice? You and your…gluttonous army of carnivores slaughtered them all so fast that you made it look as easy as harvesting crops in Farmville.”

“…So it all comes down to this. Even if I say I’m sorry for the rest of my life, it won’t change anything. The Mules are gone because we killed them. And now…”

“Yes! And now… you humans, it’s your turn to be gone because the Mules are going to kill you.”

“Mules? So it wasn’t just one.”

“It was only one! The last Wild Mule came to me asking not for revenge, but for his mother. His father. His brothers, sisters, cousins. His friends. Good heavens, the poor animal was blaming me for what happened when it was all your doing! He was crying, asking desperate questions like, what if he died? Being the last of their kind, the Wild Mules would completely disappear from the face of the earth.”

“And as nature’s protector, you couldn’t let that happen.”

“That’s why even if it cost him being turned to a zombie, I did what I did. The magic could never be undone. Bwahahaha! And to ensure the continuity of his specie, I’ve resurrected other Wild Mules as well.”

“What do you get out of this?”

“Hahaha! So now you’re thinking I’m doing this for fun. Ralph Allan, it is my sole duty to keep nature in balance. I am not helping the Mules to exact their revenge on you. I just helped them survive. Revenge is up to them. Wahahaha!”

“But revenge is always an option. If they choose vengeance, there will be killings!”

 “I thought that’s what you wanted? Men eat Mules, Mules eat Men… that’s pretty balanced out. ”

“I never wanted that. And I understand that it is because of our own weakness and folly that all these happened. But nonetheless, Chief Aborigine, let’s keep it real… so, what do you want?

“A sacrifice.”

Ch. 9 - Operation: Information Extraction

Bamboo cave was indeed full of surprises.

The group split up and took separate paths in search for Chaty the fairy. Lust knew the forests extremely well so he volunteered to venture deep into that area. Magina and Ash were assigned to cover the steep hills located northeast where they set up camp. Morph and Mykee on the other hand, were to patrol around the campsite and immediately capture and report any aborigine should they spot one.

"In case they show up, let's try hard not to kill'em, ayt?" Ash reminded Magina, referring to the aborigines.

"I know. We are Chaty's only chance of survival..." The assassin breathed smoke from a cigarette. He understood the importance of their mission.

They strode carefully over dried leaves, occasionally holding on to boulders and gnarled roots of the giant trees to keep their balance. When they came to the summit, the peaceful vicinity was electrified when Ash felt a stinging bite on his left foot and unleashed a loud scream of pain that almost blew his head up.

"Fuuuuuukkkk!!!"

Magina turned around and aimed his flashlight at Ash, who bent down to tend to his injury. Blood was escaping from the wound. The light was then adjusted by Magina further to the left, where a beast with scary red eyes was discovered.

"Get away, Ash! Run! It's a freaking demon!"

Ash sprang away from the demon. "Oh, shit! Wild Mules! How many of them are here?"

The assassin surveyed the area more with his flashlight. "Four! I counted four of them! Prepare for combat and don't hold back. These aren't aborigines and therefore it's not a problem if we kill them!"

Ash's Water Gear blades levitated behind him. In a flash, a cold wave of terror crystallized one of the Wild Mules. Then he concentrated the water particles in the air and a tiny ice ball began to form at the center of his palm.

"Damn right. But they're no ordinary adversaries either. What we're looking at right now are Elite Wild Mules so I strongly advise that you be extra careful and please try to be as smart as I am." The moment the wiz finished speaking, he already had a sphere in his hand. It had increased in size to a 5-inch diameter and was made of hard, solid ice. Ash cast the object with a tremendous amount of force towards the freezed Elite Wild Mule. With a shattering sound, it collided like a bullet against a mirror. Millions of ice shards traced the shockwave from the impact.

"Bwahahahaha!" The wiz took great pride in his technique. That was one heck of a finishing move that he'd learned over years of playing video games.

"What the ef?!" The stupefied Magina was thrilled. "That was Sub-Zero's Fatality in Mortal Kombat! You're fucking brilliant! Know what, I'm gonna follow you on Twitter."

Upon witnessing their buddy's demise, the three remaining Elite Wild Mules went extra wild. They stomped the yard with their hooves like they were warming up for a sprint...

The assassin and the wiz stood their ground.

Ch. 8 - Finding Chaty

Magina's cheeks were already bulging because his mouth was all stuffed with meat.

"Smells like Medusa, tastes like Medusa!"

"Been sleeping with that woman, too?" Lust faced his fellow assassin. He looked a bit deranged.

"'Course not! She's all yours for God's sake!"

All of them, except for Mykee, enjoyed the exotic anaconda stew. The six of them circled a small campfire for they could use the extra warmth and the light it emitted helped keep off predators. Not far away was a roughly-established tent that contained everyday-life commodities such as kitchen wares, hygiene kits, make-ups, body lotions, PSPs, jackstraws, titanium stones, condoms, a tube of KY jelly and other valuables.

Mykee was starving. He'd never tasted an anaconda stew before, and he wasn't going to taste one no matter what. His intestines were growling, but that wasn't enough to make him grab a fork and stab a slice of snake flesh... and put it into his mouth. Fuck. No way that's gonna happen, he reinforced himself. To divert his anxiety and hopefully forget about his complaining gut, he initiated a succulent talk with Magina, who had already swallowed 4 slices of Lust's son.

"Magina, dearest of all my friends. Tell me about your adventures."

Magina drank a full glass of water and cleared his throat for some storytelling. "Well, I was hunting for emeralds in Star Town a few hours back when I ran into Paparouch. You know that bastard?"

"That arrogant wiz. I don't like him. So what happened?"

"We had a little showdown. He got me in the end." Magina reached for a cigarette.

"That sucks... I hope you get your revenge someday bro."

"Thanks. I'm gonna pwn him hard for ya. But how bout you? You haven't eaten anything yet. Not hungry?"

"Not hungry."

"Figured." Magina yawned. "I feel kinda sleepy now. It's been a long day for us... Well, good night."

He waved at his other comrades. "Night, guys."

Dinner was over. They all fell asleep one after the other. The fire exhausted itself little by little. Soon it died unnoticed.

. . .

Three hours later, a shadow stalked from behind the bushes. The moonlight revealed an Aborigine Guard's silhouette. More of his kin emerged from the tall grasses and began closing in on the smoking pile of woods and ashes. They were advancing with such stealth which only meant that they had zero intention of alerting the six sleeping humans ahead. Feathers of giant birds were fastened at the tip of their spears. Random piercings and other jewelries decorated their already complicated faces. These creatures had little value for life.

It was already past midnight. Lady Chaty was roused by mosquitoes sucking blood from her legs. She kicked them off and covered herself back in her blanket. At that point she heard sounds of footsteps on gravel. Her keen senses told her that enemies were nearby. She sat up but before she could warn her friends about the incoming danger, a moist palm of an aborigine kept her mouth from opening and in a spur of the moment, Lady Chaty was gone.

. . .

Morpheuz opened his eyes at 3 in the morning and immediately noted the fairy's absence.

"Wake up! Chaty's been taken!" He was in a panic mode when the others regained their wits.

"What?" Ash was still rubbing his eyes.

Magina and Lust rose to their feet and secured their daggers alongside their belts. Basic assassin drill for times of uncertainty and disaster: maintain maximum level of concentration. The mages however, Ash and Mykee put on necklaces with pendants bearing the Tao symbol. It was a mysterious symbol understood only by wizzes through a hardcore training that evolved with each generation. To all others, the Tao symbol was only a sorcerer's craft meant to make bad people faint for 5 seconds.

"I can't find Chaty anywhere. I've checked the tent but she's not there." Morpheuz worried like a hen.

"Maybe she took a leak in the woods, or something like that," said Lust.

"I'm not buying that." Morpheuz shook his head at what Lust suggested.

Lust's theory was plausible, but the whole country knew that Chaty had always been a bedwetter.

"Calm down, idiots." Ash lifted his hands. "I think the aborigines kidnapped our friend."

"But why Chaty? If those aborigines are mad about us breaking into their cave, why didn't they just kill us when we were off guard?" The monk argued.

"That's because..." Ash's tongue seemed to have stiffened all of a sudden.

"Because what? Spill it!"

"Because the Aborigine Chief wants Chaty as a sacrifice to the gods." Magina finished what the wiz didn't have the courage to say.

"Crazy aborigines," Morpheuz whispered. Then with a game face he spoke: "There is only one solution to this. First, we find the aborigines' hideout. Once that happens, we'll just simply grab Chaty off the Aborigine Chief's hands."

"I wish it was that easy," Mykee commented. "But to begin with, we don't even know where they took Chaty. I'm afraid she'd be dead by the time we reach her."

Lust answered back with the sound of a plan. "No mykee. Morph is absolutely right. This is a very simple piece of puzzle. You know, if you can't search for information, you can always extract it."

And as he fingered his daggers patiently waiting inside their sheaths he added, "Trust me, we'll find her. I'd kill them all if I have to."

Ch. 7 - Porn, Anyone?

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Ch. 6 - Daddy Lust

An assassin with a blindfold stepped out of the portal.

"Magina. We didn't expect you." Lust said bluntly.

"Sorry I'm late. I know about eveything. Mykee told me." Magina stared at his friends with excitement.

"So tell me, where the hell are you headed?"

"Away from here. I've already caused a major disturbance to this place, if you know what I mean. Haha!"

"I get it. Let's go somewhere safe where we all could talk. There's something you should know about."

. . .

The entire crew sat around a small fire at a secluded spot inside the Bamboo Cave in Tiger Mountain. Contrary to its name, Bamboo Cave actually never had an abundance of bamboos, only wild grasses and bushes that served as food for mules and monkeys and other animals. The one thing that Magina liked about Tiger Mountain is that the sun shined almost only once every week, so technically it's dark and cool most of the time. The night life never died. Perfect for people in need for a place to hang out, drink and smoke weed.

Mykee, who had complained a lot about the biting cold back in Snowville sat nearest to the fire. Ash sat next to him, smoking his usual Marlboro Lights. Opposite to them were Morph and Chaty, who'd been blabbering about duel strategies and dream items for hours since their arrival to the mountain. Lust and Magina, who cared the least about the world, positioned themselves at a corner.

Magina slipped his hand inside his backpack, then pulled out a freshly sealed box of Marlboro Black.

Morpheuz, Ash, Chaty and Mykee drew out a stick each from the box. The only one who never smoked was Lust.

"Where'd you get this?" Ash asked fascinatedly.

Magina flicked his lighter and lit his cigar. "From Medusa. A little token of appreciation."

"I see. But how come did you not turn to stone?"

Magina touched his blindfold. "I have this!"

"Oh, that. Yes." Ash concurred. "Don't forget about the guild invite tomorrow. Mykee and I are coming in."

"Yup."

Lust butted in. "There's something I should know, right? What's that?"

Magina showed him the photo from Medusa. There was a writing at the back that read: HI DAD.

"So is this my son?"

"Was."

"You mean--"

"He's gone. I'm sorry." Magina placed his backpack on top of Lust's lap. The latter peered inside and felt the long, cold and limp body of the snake with his hand. After a while he looked at his friend.

"You killed my son! :-)"

Ch. 5 - The Snowville Incident

Lust too evasive steps. The unfriendly daggers that could have penetrated his flesh sliced through air. An assassin had attempted to ambush him from behind.

“Nice try,” Lust remarked.

In a desperate manner, the Lv.49 assassin charged straight at him only to fail for the second time. And with a swift spin move Lust worked his daggers to burrow deep into the enemy’s stomach. He finished by twisting the daggers to make sure that the insides are shredded.

A few meters away, a tamer stood and stretched her bow. She sent an arrow flying towards Lust. The arrowhead was dipped in deadly toxin.

“Catch this…”

The projectile almost found its target, but Lust’s dexterous fingers simply caught it with ease. Without a word, he dashed to the astounded tamer and in the blink of an eye, limbs, guts and blood flew in all directions.

“O my god. That’s gruesome!” Mykee covered his eyes with his hands.

“Sick!” Ash added as he averted his eyes.

“That guy doesn’t know when to stop. Come, let’s stop him before he accidentally chops our heads off.”

“Bad idea. We’re more likely to get killed if we do that. Better stay put.”

Chaty and Morph were seated on the snow-covered ground, silently enjoying Lust’s own unprecedented style of adult entertainment.

The monk finally stood up. “I think that’s enough, Lust!” He yelled to the assassin on rampage.

Lust, tired as he was, sheathed his daggers and walked away like nothing had happened. He was certain that no single person brave enough to defy him remained.

“That was fun.”

“Of course. Now you’re going to hell.” Mykee joked.

“This is a major crime, seriously. Slaughtering lowbies? Man, the government’s going to hunt you down.” The X-scar monk spoke to Lust.

“I know that, Morph,” answered Lust. “But I have no doubts that the investigation team will never miss out with the fact that I’m connected to all four of you. You also will be charged as criminals. Bwahahahaha!”

“Cool.” Ash lit a cigarette.

“No… it is not funny.” Mykee warned.

“On the other hand,” Morph broke in, “I’m looking at the bright side and guess what? We’re going to be famous!”

He snatched the cig pack from Ash’s hand. “I need a smoke.”

Chaty grabbed the pack and took out her own stick as well. “Me too.”

“Speaking of FamouS, Repel kinda felt bad about you guys leaving the guild.” Lust motioned to Ash, Morpheuz and Mykee. “But it’s okay now, I told him it’s nothing personal.”

“That’s good,” said Ash. “So what do you think should we do now? Run away? Surrender?”

“No way! Let’s get out of here before the police arrives.” Morpheuz suggested.

“I guess it can’t be helped. This all your fault, Lust. And you too, Morph and Chaty, for taking advantage of the situation a while back.” Mykee scratched his head.

“Cut the crap, Mykee. You’re overreacting. There’s not much time so let’s go.” Lust walked past Mykee then spanked his ass.

“Ouch!”

The group entered Snowville and proceeded to the Transport Fay.

“Hello everyone! What can I do for you today?” The Transport Fay greeted them with a naughty smile.

Morpheuz stepped forward and asked. “Can I use you?”

The Transport Fay hesitated for a moment because she sensed something wrong with the question. After reconsidering, she answered, “Yes, of course. Where to?”

Morpheuz thought for a minute. Along with the others, he knew that they had to keep a low profile to keep out of the public’s watchful eye. If they teleported to Stone City, they might run into some patrolling police and get arrested. Sky village seemed to be the best choice, but its flat terrain would only make them easy to spot. So they all agreed for Cloud Mountain.

“Cloud Mountain, please.” The monk requested.

“Cloud Mountain? I’m afraid that you have to talk to the fay in Stone City for that, sir.” The fay bowed her head in apology.

“Listen, we can’t go to Stone City. I know you can do it. We’re willing to pay whatever you say the price is.”

The fay brought out a small calculator. “That would cost you 95 silver each, 475 silver in total for five people, or 4 gold and 75 silver.”

Lust reached for his wallet and told his mates, “I got it, guys. It’s on me.” He handed a bill to the fay. “Keep the change. We’re ready to teleport! Yeah!”

“Errrr, I can’t make contact with the fay at Cloud Mountain, sir.” The Transport Fay announced.

“Don’t bullshit me. What does that mean???”

“The line connecting Snowville and Cloud Mountain is in use, sir. Somebody’s warping to this location.”

“What?”

“Normally,” the fay explained, “a person in Cloud Mountain who wants to go to Snowville will need to go to Stone City first. It’s just like your case, actually. But who could be in such a hurry and pay lots of money to take a direct teleportation route from Cloud Mountain to Snowville?”

A buzzer beside the Transport Fay went off. The space in front of the fay began to distort. It twisted back and forth, slow at first, then accelerated faster and faster.

“Move away! Someone’s coming!” The fay cried out.

Ch. 4 - GQ Done

“Oh-kay,” Lust began. “Anyone of you with the guts to kick the shit out of me, step up.”

The winter trees stood as stiff as ever. The snow fell with extraordinary gentleness, as though every single flake that fell would set off an earthquake. Once again the entire village was enveloped in a deafening quietness. Neither man, bird nor beast had the courage to create noise.

“Anyone. He said anyone of you!” Lady Chaty reiterated Lust’s challenge with arrogance. She and Morpheuz had already secured themselves behind Lust, Mykee and Ash at that point.

Still, nobody moved a muscle.

The anticipated silence however was shattered when Lust’s cell phone beeped. A text message had registered.

Lust clicked it on. “It’s Magina.”

“What’s up with him?” Ash was curious.

“He’s inside Snake Cave, doing guess what, a GQ! Can you believe it?” Lust chuckled.

Mykee interjected, “What a pussy.”

Without warning, Lust grabbed his daggers, a shiny couple of +6 Soul Recall. “Let’s get it on.”

“Hey. What about us?” Ash and Mykee looked worried.

“Suit yourselves,” was all Lust could say. And with complete disregard to friend or foe, he Adrenaline Rushed into the petrified crowd to signal the start of a gory genocide.

. . .

The sacred hall at Snake Cave’s interior was indeed spacious even with all the countless statues of stone that seemed to inhabit it. A cheerful conversation resounded in that large, dimly-lit room. Magina had himself leaning against the wall. He was worn out from all the fighting he’d done. Beside him sat a formidable-looking woman who had scales instead of skin and serpents instead of hair. They were both drinking alcohol.

“So, Medusa,” Magina kicked in as he gulped beer from his bottle. “What is it that you’re going to award me for not kicking your ass? Haha!”

“Oh yesss, I almost forgot!” Medusa’s forked tongue rattled. “Wait here. I’ll go get it.”

Medusa slithered away, went behind several pillars, then disappeared. She’s such a nice host, Magina thought.

Moments later he felt his cell phone vibrate. There was a message from Mykee. It read: DvD3, we’r3 4LL h3Re in SnEwVi113. LV5t iZ 1n PK m3wD 4Nd h3 d1D a 4.1k cr1t to a mOnK. CvM 0v3r, d0n’T mizZ oVt wit 4LL t3H 4Xon. xoxo

He replied: On my way.

Medusa returned carrying something in her hand. It was wrapped in a thin plastic cellophane. She handed it to Magina.

“Oh my… Marlboro Black! How sweet of you. Thanks, Medusa.” Magina gave her a tight fat hug.

“That comes with 10 pieces of disposable plastic filters. Be sure to use’em, okay?” Medusa reminded.

“Sure I will. Thanks so much. I love it.”

“You know, Magina,” Medusa hissed. She was staring into space, like she had a big problem or something. Maybe a deep-seated secret.

“Yep?” Magina had already noted the change in the snake woman’s mood.

“Sometimes, things really get lonely down here.”

“And?” Magina looked at her seriously.

“And… I mean I’m glad you came to visit. I don’t get that much visitors in this kind of place, you know. They all turn to stone. Look at all the statues around, I have 2,352 of them at this time.”

“What’s so sad about that? I still think it’s cool. Here,” Magina passed her another bottle of beer.

Medusa smiled as she received the bottle. “It’s been ages since I last saw you. You sure have grown. Look at that belly.”

“I was level 18 back then.” Magina evoked some memories from long ago. “Lust always told me to finish scenario quests on time. So one day he invited me to join his team, he said he’d help me finish my Snake Cave tasks. He was level 25 when we first came here. I’m sure you still remember that.”

Medusa tossed her bottle. It banged against the hard stone wall and was smashed to a thousand pieces. The liquid it once contained spilled onto the floor. “That Lust, how dare him…” Her face darkened with rage.

Magina placed his hand on Medusa’s shoulder. “It’s okay. If you’re mad I totally understand you. You just need some time to learn how to let it all out… and free yourself from a past ruined by love.”

“Where did you learn that?” Medusa wiped her tears off. “Thank you anyways, Magina. You’re really a saver. Do me a favor, will you?”

“Anything for my gorgeous friend,” the assassin sweet-talked.

Medusa produced a wallet-sized photo from under her scales and handed it over. “Please make sure Lust gets this. And please tell him that his son loves him so much.”

Magina nodded in agreement as he examined the photo. It was a picture of a little brown anaconda playing by the pond with her mother Medusa. All of a sudden he felt chills run down his spine. Cold sweat started to trickle down his sideburns.

“I really need to go, Medusa. Please show me the way out.” Magina hurried. “Thanks for everything.”

“Gosh, don’t you have a token?” Medusa guided him to a door at the eastern side of the hall. “Okay, take this entrance. Once you’re in, turn right, walk straight until you reach the elevator doors. Take care. And don’t forget to write!”

“I won’t.” Magina responded. By that he meant ‘I won’t write’ and ‘I won’t go back ever again’.

As he paced away, he grabbed his backpack and felt the cool, slimy thing inside. He pulled it out and a young anaconda emerged, curled dead and cold. The snake’s brown color matched that of the one in the picture from Medusa.

“Shit.”

Ch. 3 - Cease Fire!

“Roarrrr!!!”

Startled, Ash and Mykee almost simultaneously twisted their necks to investigate where the roar came from.

The two of them were surprised when Lust made a grand entrance riding a +7 Divine Tiger.

“Holy shit, man!” Mykee couldn’t believe his eyes. “When did you upgrade that?”

“About a minute ago.” Lust replied. “You didn’t hear the rumor?”

“Of course I heard the rumor, you fuckface.” Mykee shot back. “I just didn’t consider it because it’s only a rumor, duh? But anyways, it’s actually for real. That tiger looks so cool so great job, man!”

“Thanks.” Lust turned to Ash. “Hey Ash, can I borrow some of your medium rubies?”

“No.” Ash snapped.

Lust needed medium rubies to up his recently acquired Greedy Wolf gears. So far he had kneepads, armguards, boots and belt. He’s still at 57 and not allowed to wear GW Armor so he’d settled with Demon Ruin Armor for the meantime. Lust is a tall, slender-built assassin with ivory hair that hung in an extremely long ponytail behind his head. Only his brown eyes were evident in his grim looks, since his nose and mouth were covered in a surgical mask for a reason unknown. He currently loved only two things in life. One is gold, and the other is medium ruby.

Ash’ cell phone beeped. “It’s a text message from Magina. He told me that he’s in ID now. He also asked if we’d like to join too.”

“InfiniteDreamers you say? That’s the guild of the tamer Empress.” Lust told them.

“I wonder if that guy really has a pussy,” Mykee sounded concerned. “You sent a reply already?”

Ash deposited his cell phone back into his pocket. “Well, I told him to send invites to the two of us tomorrow morning.”

“Geez. Since when did you have the authority to decide for two people?” Mykee protested.

“It’s for your own good. #20” Ash assured.

“Alrighty then,” Lust intruded, “I figured you already found out about the commotion at Snowville. Since I decided to check it out, why don’t you two come with me so we could all take a closer look together.”

“No problem.” The wizards agreed. They summoned their mounts and trailed the path leading down the mountain.

. . .

Magina stuffed his cell phone back into his purse. Ash and Mykee had confirmed that they were going to join guild the next day. That made him feel satisfied.

The jungle boas seemed to smile up at him. It was pitch-black inside the cavern. And the air, steady as dead, stank of blood and venom. Magina knew that no one, not even Chuck Norris, should stay long inside Snake Cave. It’s not the ideal spot to put up a home. Neither suffocation nor death itself had made this place infamous to a lot of adventurers. It was said to be the lair of Medusa the snake goddess. And it was also said that men didn’t die by the stone gaze she brought upon them. It was the horror in her appearance that killed them.

Magina drew his trusty old daggers and strode forward warily. “Let’s get this over with,” he announced. “Because from now on, I officially hate GQs.”

. . .

“Heal me! Fast! Fast!” The monk in a +3 Wild Vision Battlefrock with a cross scar on the forehead almost cried.

Two assassins were hitting on him at the same time while a fairy was buffing and healing him. Three assassins, a tamer, and a monk were already down and witless on the ground. This notorious monk-fairy tag team had been wreaking havoc for some time now. First at the West Suburbs, now at Snowville. Not a single soul dared to stop them.

“Morpheuz!” The fairy called. “Somebody’s whacking me. A monk. Do something!”

“Damn it Lady Chaty. I’m still busy here. Hang on for a sec!”

“I’m gonna die! I’m gonna die! Waaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Lady Chaty was down on her knees already. Possibly too weak to take on some more punishment. She was about to give up on healing Morpheuz when, unexpectedly, the surrounding crowd split into two.

“Who’s that?” Morpheuz wondered, still fending off the attacks from the two assassins he was fighting.

It was clear that someone had arrived. Someone dominant enough to make people pave way for him.

“Cease fire!” The dude who had just turned up thundered.

In less than a second the crowd’s murmurs and cheers and cries halted.

They all looked up at the assassin on an awesome +7 tiger. Behind him were two wizards.

One was Mykee, mounted on a Blue Flame Horse and talking to his cell phone. His cyan-dyed hair, parted at the middle, caught the wind with style.

The other was Ash, who certainly stood up for his name because his hair had the color of ash. He rode a +5 tiger and took a long drag from the cigarette fixed between his fingers. Marlboro Lights.

“What’s going on?” Lust broke the silence.

“This monk is the troublemaker here.” Morpheuz pointed at the bald guy who tried to take down Lady Chaty earlier.

“What did he do?”

“Lady Chaty here and I were doing the repu quest peacefully until this guy arrived and stunned us. Chaty was killed and lost a ton of exp. I will never forgive this guy.”

“He’s lying!” The monk reacted in order to defend himself. “That never happened! Truth is, he lost to me in a duel and just can’t take it so he hit me in the face with a shovel! Look at my nose!”

“Ho-ho!” Morpheuz retorted. “Me? Lost? Look who’s talking!”

“Please Lust… No!” The monk begged. “I’ve got witnesses. They can tell you everything. Everything!”

“Shut up!” Lust ended the chat. “Alright. Morpheuz, Lady Chaty, you guys take a step back, I’m taking care of this one.”

Ch. 2 - The Delinquent Duo

The crowd that gathered around the blacksmith’s stall had silenced. A young assassin stood in front of Mr. Blacksmith for the upgrading of his +6 Tiger. At level 57, Lust had proved to be one of the mightiest sins around. He had ordered the growing bunch of people that came to watch him upgrade to shut up, otherwise he’d kill them all for good.

“I’m not so sure about this, kid.” The blacksmith informed Lust. “We only have a teeny 10% of making it through to +7,” he added.

“You think?” Lust eyed the blacksmith. “How about I poison bash you right here right now. That would leave you a teeeeeny 10% of making it out of the hospital alive.”

At that moment a punk from out of nowhere yelled: “Yeah! Do it, Lust! Rock and roll!”

Almost instantly Lust Adrenaline Rushed to the poor guy and slit his throat. The gush of blood bathed the spectators nearby with terror. Lust fixed his eyes back on the blacksmith, who grew pale with shock. “Hit it,” he uttered in a commanding tone.

The blacksmith, swallowed whole by fear, hammered the large emerald deep into the tiger’s skull with all his strength.

“TING!!!”

And Whorl Mountain had never been so alive that time of the year.

. . .

The Moon Bear panted heavily even after only a few meters of traveling outside Star Town. It had received instructions from its master to stop at the Cateran’s spot.

At Lv.51, Magina wore a standard-issue green Demon Ruin Set, save for his kneepads and cuff which he acquired through hard work in reputation quests. He sported a lengthy, braided blue hair that almost touched his waist. A blindfold concealed his eyes that, although not blind, had fake scars drawn vertically across them. Pretty much like the blinker in DotA.

The lady approached Magina as he dismounted the bear. “Hey,” she greeted.

“Hi. Thanks for earlier, Miss—“

“Empress. My name’s Empress. You are?”

“Magina.” Magina lifted his blindfold for a moment to have a better stare at the beauty in front of him. “Do you like pizza? I know a place.”

“No thanks, maybe later.” Empress bit her lips and smiled. She offered her hand to Magina for a handshake. “It’s really nice to meet you, Magina.”

Magina took her hand. “You too. It’s my pleasure.” Then he added, “You know, your name actually suits you very well, Miss Empress.”

“And why would you say that?”

“You’ve got a vast empire on your chest.” Magina’s eyes were focused on the lady’s pair of extra large hooters.

“Excuse me?” Empress threw a sharp look.

“Oh I’m sorry. I actually meant to say that you have really big tits and I’d just love to squeeze them. Even suck on them, too.” Magina’s lips made sucking gestures.

“Oh thank you! Thought you’d never notice.” The lady’s face turned red.

“You’re most welcome.” Magina responded.

“So… I see you’re not in a guild right now. By any chance would you like to join mine?” Empress pulled off an innocent look.

Magina had noticed the blush in her face. This wasn’t a good time to turn down such a harmless offer. So he accepted it. “Sure thing!”

“So your first task is to do your GQ. I want 600 points in 60 minutes!” Empress commanded in a flash.

“GQ? Is that a sexual position or something?”

“Guild quest, duh?”

“Ah, guild quest. Not a problem.” Magina never knew what a GQ was, but he’s about to do his first one.

. . .

On an isolated platform at the snowy Whorl Mountain, wizards Ash and Mykee trained and farmed non-stop. Ash was a few levels higher than Mykee, though both of them had similar Blue Jade sets. And weaps, too. The icy cold weather had tortured their bodies well enough that Mykee the smart guy raised a rare idea.

“It’s too chilly up here.” He started.

“So?”

“I was thinking, why don’t we try training down there at Sand Village. I hear it’s summer in that area, perfect place to sweat. What do you say?” Mykee winked as he presented his plan.

“Good thinking!” Ash exclaimed. “All there is down there are insects that feed on stupid wizards’ brains. Not to mention the fact that you’re the stupidest wizard I’ve ever known, the thought of those bugs sucking you dry for being very, very stupid gives me the creeps. Yet those bugs don’t give much exp no matter how hard you squeeze them. They don’t even give a shit. Besides, we’re ice wizards. Under the sun’s scorching heat our techniques will only melt right before our eyes.”

“Guess you’re right.” Mykee conceded. He hurriedly eradicated his share of monsters and after seeing Ash still busy killing his, Mykee sneaked over to the edge of the platform.

From up there one could appreciate the wide landscape below, including Snow Village and Stone City as well as the Wonderland and all regions that surrounded them. Mykee took a good sweep around and observed something strange that appeared at the entrance of Snow Village.

“What is it, Mykee?” Ash inquired. “Something unusual?”

Mykee turned and spoke over his shoulder, “Yep, something’s happening down there at the village.”

Ash walked over and stooped. “I see. It’s probably the delinquent duo. They’re at it again.”

“Should we check it out?”

“I don’t know. I think it’s better if we just stay here.”

Chapter 1 - Great Depression

The lifeless night sky glared back at Magina as he rested on the dusty streets of Dai’s Field. Nasty-smelling air moved in and out of his lungs. The soil had been stained with blood from the Caterans.

He had killed like a million of them but not a single medium emerald dropped. Wicked, because he desperately needed one.

Still dwelling on his misfortune, he suddenly sensed a swift piercing pain through the back of his shoulders which hurt like hell literally. Although in agony, he quickly clutched his Cold Blood Daggers with composure and turned to face his attacker.

A wizard came into sight. The red Fire Dragon Set he wore was polished like glass, perhaps upgraded to +4 or +5. The flighty pair of White Flow Swords on his back was ready to tear and burn flesh.

“Paparouch,” Magina identified his foe, a Lv.53 fire wizard.

“Let’s play.” Paparouch mumbled. With that he raised his arm to strike the assassin with inferno.

. . .

Mykee squirmed in his seat while he watched a fellow wizard destroy a group of ugly monsters. The snow was becoming thick, and the cold climate made breathing even more difficult than training itself. The other wiz cast a Tide Spout that ruthlessly annihilated the enemies. Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Hey Ash I love that!” Mykee cheered for his friend.

“Lazy son-of-a-bitch. So you’re gonna sit there forever and watch me do all the dirty work?” Ash complained.

“I’m trying to recover HP and Mana, duh? I’ll get back to work later.” Mykee alt-tabbed and checked his Facebook account.

Ash went on with his leveling. Screw that bastard Mykee, he thought. To Ash, power is everything. He had only two goals in life: one is to dominate. The other one is to bully. And he loved doing both. Soon he’s going to level up which meant another step closer to greatness.

Unfortunately, he forgot he was mobbing too much. Ash was overwhelmed by mobs and got knocked out dead even before he could scream: “Puuuutah!”

. . .

“Damn. How long was I out?” Magina woke up. He scouted the area and saw no more signs of Paparouch. Perhaps he just came to kick his ass then scurried away. That guy was two levels above him after all. And his items were far more, let’s say powerful. Magina once again inspected his weapon. He’s already 51 and yet still carrying those crappy Cold Bloods. Like all other Sins, he wanted a nice pair of blue Soul Recall Daggers too. This was all thanks to the BMB he had received as a reward when he was 48. It FAILED.

He then noticed the injuries he had sustained from earlier. There was a hole at the back of the head, his left rib cage was shattered, his back was torn open and oh shit! An eyebrow was missing.

The massive loss of blood caused Magina to drop face down to the ground. He tried to make out the things he was seeing but he couldn’t. Maybe his eyes were failing. Just then he thought he saw a figure of what seemed to be an angel. She had a long, silky red hair that streamed down gracefully from a radiant oval face. Her eyes had the shade of blue like that of the deep ocean. Between them was a tiny but straight slender nose that divided her face into two pretty half-moons. Those tender, slightly parted lips were rosy and looked as though they had a lot to tell.

To Magina, here was a creature he could only meet in his dreams. But at least he’s still reasonable enough to admit that he’s not dreaming. Everything he’s experiencing now was a part of a near-death delusion. And in a matter of seconds he’s going to die.

“What happened to you?” He heard the creature speak to him. The voice was soft and heavenly, almost like music to his ears.

“Am I dead? You’re here to take me to heaven, I suppose?” he asked the creature.

“Of course you’re not dead, dimwit. If you have a jackstraw, I believe now is the best time to use it. After you respawn back at the town, come back here and we’ll talk.” The creature’s words were a bit rough, but whatever.

Magina searched for the jackstraw in his backpack. Within a second he found himself in Star Town, once again in good shape and ready to rock and roll. And take note, no exp loss! The words returned to him. Come back here and we’ll talk.

She’s no angel after all. Nevertheless, he felt a great desire to at least learn the name of his savior. So he mounted his Moon Bear and headed out of the town, to the place where the creature was expecting him.