Chapter 67 – Breakdown

“Hey, it is you! I didn’t see you come online! When did you get here?” Anna asks cheerfully as she approaches our table.

“Uhm…”

“Wait, you’re level fourteen!? How is that possible?” She stops, looking at me skeptically.

“You know this girl?” Allison asks with a tilted head. “Oh! Is this the girlfriend you talked about? Ryan, you dawg. She’s hot!”

Dad grunts from the side. “Nice one, son.”

“I never said anything like that!” I glare at her, my mind scrambled.

Oh for the love of. “Anna, can we talk about this later? I’m sort of occupied at the moment.” I ask through gritted teeth, trying to stare my family into silence with little effect.

“Nah, come on! I want to meet her! Hello! I’m Allison, Ryan’s sister. Pleased to meet you!” Allison says with a grin, extending her hand.

“Uhm, I’m Anna… Wait. You never answered my question!” She says, staring at me. “How did you manage to reach level fourteen so quickly?”

“Please. Not now-” I start, but my opinion on things doesn’t seem to matter to anyone around here anymore.

“Is reaching level fourteen really that impressive? I know he’s only played for a week and a half, but level fourteen actually sounds pretty low for someone who spends every waking moment in this game.” Allison says with a shrug.

“Please stop talking!” I hiss at my sister, but it’s already too late.

“Ryan? What’s going on? What’s she talking about? You even appear as offline on my friends list. Are you hiding from me?” Anna asks with a confused stare.

I groan as I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I really don’t want to talk about this.”

“Well, too bad for you. I want some answers. If you don’t start talking, then I’m going to get them from somewhere else.” She crosses her arms. “Allison, was it? Would you mind elaborating on what you said?”

“Uhm…” Allison narrows her eyes, looking from Anna, to my defeated slumping body, then back to Anna again. She looks confused, unsure of what to say.

“Whatever my son has done is his problem. If you want answers, then you should hear it from him, not us.” Dad says from the side, his help coming a few minutes too late.

“Your son? Older sister?” Allison asks. “Wait, how old are you people really?”

“That’s kind of a rude thing to ask a woman.” Allison chuckles. “But for your information, I’m thirty-two years old.”

Anna glares at me. “So you’re not fifty-three years old then?”

Allison bursts out laughing. “Fifty-three? This little squirt? Holy shit! Ryan! Seriously? You’re roleplaying dad now?”

“So I guess you’re not an office clerk, have a daughter studying medicine in London and a wife that died from cancer either then. Are you even from Manchester?”

Allison bursts into laughter. “I’m your daughter now too? Ryan, seriously! This is too much!” She gasps for air.

I sigh, rubbing my temples. This is bad. Real bad. The cat’s out of the bag and there’s no way I can salvage this situation. The best thing I can do here is damage control. “Fine. I don’t care anymore. Yes, Anna. I lied. My name is Ryan, and I’m a twenty-eight-year-old former office clerk from Newcastle. My current employment is trying to earn enough money ingame to play full-time.”

“Why would you lie? I thought we were friends.” Anna glares at me, visibly growing more agitated by the second.

“To be honest? I don’t really know why. When I first met you guys, I really just wanted to be left alone without being impolite. I figured you didn’t want to talk to an old man who just plays this game casually, so I just tried to seem as uninteresting as possible so you would stop bothering me. Apparently, that didn’t work, and then everything took a weird turn.” I say, rubbing my temples.

Taking a deep breath, I continue. “You kept writing to me and I felt bad about rejecting you after you gave me all those gold coins. How can I admit I lied after that gesture? I didn’t really know what to do, so I figured I’d just be boring for a while and you would eventually forget about me. Well, since that didn’t happen, I ended up in this awkward situation where I’m making a fool out of myself in front of everyone I know.”

“Seriously? Why didn’t you just say anything earlier? I thought we were friends. Friends don’t lie to each other like that. That was a really shitty thing to do, Ryan. If that is even your real name.”

I sigh once more. “I know. Sorry about that. I perfectly understand it if you want to delete me from your friends list. I’ll even reimburse you the gold you lent me.”

“I don’t give a fuck about the gold!” Anna shouts, making everyone flinch. “I thought you were my fucking friend. How the hell could you do this to me?” A tear forms in the corner of her eye.

“Look, I said I was sorry…”

“Fuck you!”

My cheeks redden. “Do you know what? I said I was sorry and I mean it. Here. Take your damn gold. I don’t even want it anymore.” I shout back at her, opening my inventory and dumping twenty-one gold coins on the table. The coins slam into the wooden surface, several of them rolling down onto the floor. “Now, please get out of here. I don’t deserve being treated this way. Least of all from you two.” I sneer.

“And what is that supposed to mean!?” She shrieks at me. “I offered you everything. Gold, friendship; a place in our guild. And this is the thanks I get!? Seriously, Fuck you!”

“Ryan.” A voice from behind Anna says. Everyone’s heads turn in its direction, and Brian visibly gulps as he suddenly garners the attention of everyone in the room. Even Joe. If it hadn’t been because his avatar is digital, I’m certain we would see the sweat pouring down his face. “S-sorry for interrupting. But I have a question as well.” He awkwardly stammers.

“What!?” Both Anna and I snap at him in sync.

“R-right. You said earlier that you wanted to earn enough money to live off playing this game. Since you’re playing as a crafter, the best way to make money is by joining a powerful guild like ours. When Anna offered you to join, you were pretty insistent on turning her offer down. Why is that?”

Anna’s glare immediately snaps back at me, her eyes narrowing. “Yeah, why is that, Ryan?” She says cooly.

My mind blanks. Oh, shit. Say something, Ryan! Anything! “That’s because… Uhm…”

“Because you’re a lying piece of shit!” Anna shouts.

“No! Because I felt bad about lying to you, okay? At least at first.”

“Bullshit! You obviously hold a grudge for some dumb reason. Just fucking man up and be honest for a change.”

“Fine. You want to hear the truth? Do you!? Then yeah, I’m mad. Fucking pissed off, actually. Because of what your team did to me!” I shout.

“What the hell does our team have to do about this!?” Anna screams back.

“Everything! Three months. They took three months away from me!”

Anna’s strained face slackens, her eyebrows rising. “What?”

My hands are shaking as I glare at her. “They killed me. One and a half weeks ago. I’m the level thirty-eight Necromancer that’s been all over the internet.” I spit, my anger boiling. Anna’s eyes widen in surprise and Brian’s jaw threatens to knock a hole through the floor.

I’m not ready to stop though. The gates have been opened. “Do you know what it feels like to have your dream shattered like that? After working so hard for it? Because of your team’s actions, I lost everything. That’s why I’m stuck playing as a goddamn Trap Maker. It’s already far too late for me to become a top leveler, and there is no way I can successfully build up another Villain. I’m stuck playing as a damn crafter as my only way to stick out from the endless ocean of other players. Do you know how degrading it is to be invited into the guild by the very same team that ruined everything for me!? Yes, I’m pissed off. That’s why I didn’t want to accept your invite.”

“Ryan… I-”

“Save it! I don’t want to hear it. I don’t even want to look at you anymore.” I get up on my feet and push past her.

[You have removed High Elf Aeromancer - Anna’el Windrider(49) from your friends list.]

[You have removed Human Templar - Bronn Silverguard(49) from your friends list.]

“Ryan!” Anna shouts from behind me, but I’m already out the back door. Slamming the door shut behind me, I take a deep breath as my face slackens.

“Fuck.” I mutter, shaking my head. That was intense. I got caught with my pants down with no real way out. I didn’t intend to get angry, but it just felt right. To scream at her. Shit. I’m probably the biggest asshole in history to cover up my lies with an even bigger lie. To play with people's’ feelings like this. What is wrong with me? Anna doesn’t deserve this; my family least of all.

I sigh. It had to happen. When it all comes down to it, cutting off all contact with Anna was my only real option. I’ve gained all I can, and she’s nothing but a liability for my plans going forward. I need to succeed. To become the top Villain in the game. I dread to think about what my actions would mean if I fail. For all of this to be in vain. I owe it to myself. There is no going back from this.

Fuck. I need to kill something.

----------

I let my sour mood stew for a while as I head back to the hideout to round up my underlings. They’re still not back from the latest heist so I decide to do some planning while I let my temper cool. My inbox is pinging like crazy as I receive several private messages, but I ignore them all. I’m not in a mood to deal with this. My only option is going forwards and try my best to forget about this shitstorm. I really need a change of pace right now.

I’ve thought about this for several days already, and it’s about time I utilize the PvP patch fully. Killing players is now a major source of experience, and this city is filled to the brim with low-level noobs. I know I’m being hunted by a bunch of powerful Villains, but there should only be five of them, and the city is huge. Striking at smaller pockets of players should sow chaos in their ranks and I can easily disappear before anyone even knows what happened.

During the last week and a half, I’ve discovered that the population of high-level players is much lower than I previously expected. It makes sense, after all, since the area around any large city only contains low-level monsters, while the higher level monsters are further into the wild near the center of the continent. Apart from Anna and her team, I think I’ve only spotted around three dozen players high enough level to cause me serious harm, and the majority of those are on guard duty near the city’s gates. With my current strength, I think I can even handle a small group of level twenty players as long as I get the drop on them.

Tonight is the night. Someone needs to die.

As soon as Cobra and Viper return, I only give them enough time to dump the loot in my office before I order them to turn and head back out. The only good thing with the news of the sewer system being leaked online is that it only took a few hours for the massive player population to create a complete map of every single sewer entrance in the city with the corresponding level differences of the monsters contained below. This makes it easy to predict what the strength of the players near each of the entrances will be at. My goal for this little excursion is an entrance located to the far northeast of the Harbour District. The entrance is located in a dead-end alley, and the monsters beneath are roughly level eighteen to twenty. That means the players heading for that area should be around level sixteen to eighteen. It’s always more efficient to hunt slightly stronger monsters after all, or else the experience gain would be abysmal. Especially when fighting in a group.

I gather my underlings in an adjacent alley that doesn’t appear to have a lot of foot traffic. As long as I have a map at hand, it’s easy to predict where players will be at all times. Players are lazy by nature, and they would never bother to move into a narrow back alley without having a need to. The main streets are quicker, and there are far fewer obstacles and much better lighting there. Therefore, as long as I know there is nothing of interest back here, then I should be fairly safe for a good while.

I take a deep breath. Killing players is the ultimate test of my capabilities, and failure is not an option. If I let even a single player live, I set myself up for getting gobsmacked in the nutsack. I need to kill them quickly and leave before they respawn and sound the alarm on me. I need to hold nothing back and strike quickly and efficiently, leaving them no chance to fight back.

The alley containing the sewer entrance has several key features I can take advantage of. Seeing as it’s located in a dead-end alley, I already know there is only one way for the players to arrive and leave from. The back alleys are also a maze of nooks and crannies that makes it incredibly easy to hide a great number of people as long as you have a stealth-based skill, and the rooftops are only one to two stories tall, giving plenty of opportunities for my ranged units to gain a height advantage.

As soon as Viper returns from a scouting run and gives the all-clear signal, I order my underlings to rush into the alley and take up their pre-scouted positions. My Prowlers and I brought a rotten old ladder we found in an alley three blocks south and we use it to climb onto all the adjacent roofs to be certain to cover as many angles as possible. Cobra takes charge of the Thugs and hides behind a stack of crates near the far end of the alley. His job is to cut off the players’ escape in case they try to make a run for it. In contrast to this, Viper takes the rogues and hide near the actual sewer entrance. This is to make sure the enemies won’t flee into the sewers while also setting them up for a great flanking position if the ambush turns into a brawl.

My underlings move to their positions with practiced ease, and I head over towards a chimney that offers the best view of both sides of the alley. Activating Camouflage, I keep my eyes peeled for any players approaching, trying my best to steel my nerves. It doesn’t go too well. No matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to shake the thoughts about Anna from my mind. Every time I close my eyelids I picture her teary eyes looking back at me.

I don’t get time to brood for long, however, as my view soon lights up with red markers as my Prowlers spot someone approaching. Shaking my head, I try to clear my mind to focus on the task at hand. Four people enter the alley from the far end. The group seems to be in good spirits as they straddle down the alley without a care in the world. I smirk as I watch them pass Cobra’s hiding spot, not even giving the suspiciously located pile of crates a second glance before they walk past it. Inspecting them, I make a note of their party composition. A Cleric, two mages, and a Fencer, all between level sixteen and eighteen. Good. All lightly armored targets with low health pools.

Since an ambush needs to happen quickly, and preferably without making any noise before we’ve already committed to an attack, I needed to drill all my underlings in target priority before we set the ambush up. To gain the most out of an ambush, you need to do as much damage as possible in your initial salvo. While just letting all my underlings fire blindly towards the enemy would deal a lot of damage, it would also give the enemy a chance to rally if I don’t manage to kill anyone. The first rule of player versus player combat is to always kill the healer first. No matter what. A healer is the most important part of any group composition just because the healer is what makes the group able to fight for an extended period and boost the entire party’s capabilities for as long as possible.

I let the four players walk half the distance towards the sewers before I order my underlings to strike. Instantly activating Cheap Shot and Fight Dirty, I have all seven of my ranged units target the healer. All seven crossbow bolts strike true as the enemy Cleric slumps together.

[You have slain Gnome Cleric - HealBot4Hire(16). Gain 160 Experience, 3 Infamy.]

My eyes widen in surprise as I watch how quickly he died. Wow. He must have had even fewer points invested into Endurance than I have. The three remaining enemies turn around at the sudden sound coming from behind them, and one of the mages yelp in surprise when he sees the corpse behind him. “We’re under attack! Archers!” He shouts before magic erupts from his hands, a large cocoon made of fire surrounding his body.

“Above us!” The other mage yells, summoning his own mana into a similar cocoon as the fire mage, but this one crackling with electricity.

This is all they get to say before a wall of muscles slam into the fire mage from behind, toppling their fragile formation.

“Behind!” The Fencer yells, drawing his rapier. Before he gets to charge backwards, however, Viper materializes behind him, sinking her dagger deep into his throat. The Fencer coughs up a mouthful of blood as he falls forward, desperately clutching at the large wound. In the meantime, Cobra is pummeling the unfortunate fire mage as the lightning mage is starting to panic. He launches a spear of lightning towards one of my Prowlers, the spear impacting with a loud boom. The shock stuns my Prowler as he topples over, impacting the roof with a thump. It isn’t enough to kill him, however.

I start channeling my new Stone Skin spell, brown mana swelling around my hands as I launch it towards the wounded Prowler. The magic seeps into his skin, and I watch how his skin hardens and gains a light brownish tint.

My ranged units unleash another volley of bolts, all of them targeting the lightning mage at the center of their formation. The first four bolts are deflected by the shield, but the fifth shatters it in an explosion of mana. The mage is knocked back a step by the impact, and he shouts in pain as the remaining two bolts slam into his stomach.

My dwarven Thug sees the opening and lunges forward, tackling the recoiling lightning mage from the side, bringing them both to the ground. Suddenly, an inferno of flames erupts from where Cobra slammed into the fire mage earlier. My two half-orc Thugs are thrown backward, but I can spot Cobra clinging to the mage through the wall of flame. I quickly throw a Stone Skin in his direction, but I’m unsure if the spell holds. I grit my teeth. Cobra can handle that. Probably.

My eyes are drawn towards the fight between Viper and the Fencer. Even with Viper’s devastating opening attack, the Fencer seems to have recovered by using a Health Potion. The two are currently locked in a flurry of blades, but Viper is gaining the upper hand as she is supported by both my rogues as well as myself. I throw a Stone Skin spell in her direction for good measure, but it seems unnecessary as the Fencer turns on his heel and bolts down the alley.

“Stop him!” I shout as all my ranged units aim their crossbows in his direction. They loosen their bolts, but only three of them impacts his back. The Fencer’s health pool visibly drops, but not enough to make him stagger. I’m not going to let him get away though.

I start channeling Conjure Oil, targeting a small patch of the alley directly in the Fencer’s path. Due to the horrible lighting, the Fencer is unable to spot the dark liquid erupting beneath him before it’s too late. His feet are swept from under him as he comes crashing to the ground. He moans in pain as he rolls over on his side, desperately trying to claw his way back onto his feet. One of the half-orcs tackles him from the side, however, quickly followed by a pissed off Viper; her dagger repeatedly stabbing into his torso.

It only takes a few seconds for my vision to be filled with notifications.

[You have slain High Elf Pyromancer - Magickarp(17). Gain 250 Experience, 4 Infamy.]

[You have slain Half-Orc Stormcaller - HammerThor(18). Gain 300 Experience, 5 Infamy.]

[You have slain Human Fencer - Sir Reginald(17). Gain 250 Experience, 4 Infamy.]

[Fight Dirty has leveled up to Novice 7.]

[Stone Skin has leveled up to Novice 2.]

[Conjure Oil has leveled up to Novice 2.]

“I should have started killing players three days ago.” I mutter as I slump together, resting my back against the chimney. I release a deep sigh as I bury my face into my hands.

I sit still for a while, trying my best to tune out the noises around me. My muscles are aching in a way I didn’t think was possible, and I feel a pain in my chest that I can’t find the words to describe. I know I have to move. To get out of here, but my body just doesn’t want to listen. I feel tired. So very tired. Tired of everything. Of existing. Why must it be like this?

“What the hell am I doing?”