I saw a massive fortress on the side of Str mountain as the road traveled through fields towards the dominating structure. The fog had just cleared this mourning and my meeting with the Mystery Man had been arranged for the following morning. Solid Steel had instructed me to reach the fortress and from there they would take responsibility for my safety.

There had been a discussion about all the heat on me, but that in turn fueled their own business and recruitment. They couldn’t hate me for being popular when they were using that popularity for themselves. I had achieved a poison immunity to Death poison at level three two nights ago. I had taken to drinking the stuff in small sips. We had filled up the empty beer barrel with a farmer.

I spent a lot of my time with my ass hanging off the wagon as I was hit with a massive bout of diarrhea laying a trail of liquid waste as we rolled along. The only thing keep my spirit up was the auction Solid Steel was holding. I would get 10% of the sale price up front and then another 25% once it was delivered to the buyer, which was when Solid Steel would be paid.

The biggest issue was that it was hot, which meant everyone and their grandmothers wanted it. It had reached number two in total popularity for known weapons. The first was the Sword of Song that released a powerful melody that put people and monsters to sleep when it was used. I also had to admit that, that weapon was far better than the scythe.

“Oh god, why am I doing this?” I groaned out as another spasm hit me.

“No idea.” I glared at Tor’s back. “Will you be able to do anything tomorrow?”

“Yeah, just, urggg, yeah. Another canteen of water One. I need to detox, oh god.”

“Yeah, I am so glad I am not as insane as you are. I can’t believe you requested a metal canister to take some of this stuff along.”

“It…is…useful. Urrrrkkkkk.”

“You are making me feel sick.”

“Just jelly, I will…..be immune.”

“I have no idea how you are still alive with thinking like that.” One and Two nodded at her comment, those traitors.

“He never puts these parts in the videos.” One whispered to Tor.

“Yeah, always cuts to the part where he saves the day.” Tor replied.

“Traitooooooors. Another canteen of water One, I need to wash off, it burns.” It was a long and miserable mourning and things weren’t getting better despite having stopped taking the poison last night. I didn’t mind the ribbing so much, but oh my sweet life. This was so painful.

“Hey Kenji, there are five people up ahead. You better wipe your ass and pull up your pants.”

“Alright, I can do this. Oh god. Ok. Ok. Just need to focus. I have done pain training. I am a master of control. I am a master of awesome. Alright, let’s do this. One strap me up. Two grab a weapon. One once you are done get a bow. Focus. I need to focus.”

“They are about a three minutes out.” Tor said. “Two swordsmen with armor, another one has a massive war hammer, an archer, and what looks like a mage. This group looks serious. There is a symbol on the armor, it is red.”

“Damnit, ok, they definitely want a fight. Tor, save your MP for healing. Target the mage, who knows what they will pull. We can’t let them debuff us. One you will shoot at whatever you can hit, make sure your arrows are poisoned. Two, stay back and intercept anyone who gets by me. I…I…I am going to rush forward and engage. Any chance of an ambush?”

“I see a group of players even further back. Around seven to nine. Spectators or vultures.” One had finished strapping my weapons and armor to me and tightening the straps. Tor had stopped the cart and turned it around so the back was facing the advancing group. I got out the two mugs. I left one next to the barrel and filled up the other. I held the mug in my left and the scythe in my right and rested it over my shoulder.

HP: 7281.21 / 10437.5MP: 183.21 / 217SP: 1521.48 / 1862.82

I cursed as my HP and SP were lowered from the poison. I had wanted the immunity before I had to give up the scythe and it was coming back to bite me in the ass literally. Oh god, I really didn’t want to fight right now. Can’t we all hold hands and sing songs about peace, friendship, and love? I am a mountain. I am a mountain with a steel body. One, two, three. Focus. One, two, three. Focus. I can do this.

The opposing team stopped a hundred feet out. “Let them come to us.” I said quietly.

“Hello, Rain of Blood, Kenji Shadowen, Calamity, Son of Reaper. You sure have accumulated a number of names.” The mage called out.

“Indeed, I don’t suppose you are here to join up?”

“Sorry but we are here for your head. I won’t ask you to surrender.”

“Good, because you are going to be on your knees and I am going to split you in half and cook you inside out.”

“Interesting, but easily avoided. For the first thing I am going to do is curse your dick off.” My mind blanked for a moment at that. “Oh yes, that is my specialty, cursing dicks off.”

“That is terrible. Kill him and I will give you this scythe for free.” I yelled at his teammates, all lies.

“No chance of that. We all know each other in real life, so no chance of backstabbing. I also cover their subscriptions.” A rich entitled asshole, who liked to talk. I hated this more and more. Focus. One. Two. Three. Focus.

At my max speed of twenty seven miles an hour, that was about forty feet per second. Two and a half seconds to get in range. I am glad I had worked this out before to keep track of my progress. Mages were more effective the closer they were. He would probably wait until I was engaged and then start fighting. Both groups continued to stare at each other, waiting for the other to make a move.

“I can wait here all day. Can you? I heard the Sparkly Rainbow Unicorn Princesses you so affectionately named She-Hulks are also on their way here.” This guy was an idiot but he was right.

“Tor get us out of here. He is being too annoying, something is up.” Tor started the horse to lead the wagon away from Str.

“You are so lame I don’t even want to kill you. It would be bad for my rep, Dickless.” I whispered, “Laugh loudly everyone.” Two managed to let out a roaring laugh that was a bit shocking. Dickless looked like he was really pissed off and began gesturing and pointing at us. The opposing group and Dickless began advancing up the road.

They entered a classic formation as the swordsmen spread out to the flanks, the war hammer wielder took center with the archer and mage at least twenty feet behind him. “Stop the wagon Tor, it is show time.” The wagon stopped and the opposing team continued to advance.

I hoped down off the tail gate. The cloak of the Reaper drifted in the light breeze behind me. Anything was easier than fighting that thing. A powerful- NO! I am a mountain that will not yield. Focus. One, two, three. Focus. Keep it together.

Their front line was sixty feet, fifty feet, forty feet. The archers loosed on both sides and their melee rushed. I went for their left swordsman. Out of all of them he looked the most nervous. I made sure to tilt the mug slightly forward to try and prevent spillage but even then a quarter of the poison ran out over my hand.

I kept the scythe in front of me like a battering ram. The swordsman brought up his weapon to block and I chucked the mug of poison in his face. He went down screaming. The guy with the war hammer threw his weapon. It struck my left arm partially and spun me around.

The other swordsman was closing in along with the mage to an effective combat range. I barely held onto my scythe with my right hand as I spun forcing the players closing in to retreat. I stepped to the side just in time to avoid the war hammer being yanked back through the air. I kept up my spin for another two rotations and then let the scythe fly at the archer who was being distracted in his shooting match with Tor.

His teammates shouted and he turned. He brought up his bow and the scythe cut through the wood but lost its momentum. It fell and the flat of the blade landed on his exposed arm. I was already pulling out my throwing knives and chucking them for all they were worth. Arrows began to target Dickless and he began to run out of range. I took the opportunity to retreat back to the wagon. The swordsman and hammer man followed. Two chucked a mug full of poison right over my head. I felt a couple drops hit me but was able to ignore them thanks to my immunity.

The swordsman rolled to the side but the hammer man wasn’t fast enough and was hit in the leg. Two kept up the mugs full of poison. I turned and drew my flame blade with my right arm. My left was not doing well after that blow I had taken.

I raced in and stabbed both the men one after the other. I saw Dickless running away in the distance. He hadn’t done anything and had lived up to his name. “Come on let’s clean this up and make a fresh batch of poison.” It was easy enough to melt down the archer to refill the poison we had used. We collected more weapons and the wagon was getting very full.

After Tor healed my arm up a bit we continued down the road and there were twenty run down and grimy looking players on the road. Some stared at me with awe, most with envy. Probably the ones who survived, but were too weak to accomplish anything but didn’t want to give up. It truly was a pathetic sight.

“One and Two, dump all the shitty swords we have off the wagon. Tor and One, shoot anyone running away and Two cover the wagon. If anyone gets too close give them a mug.” They looked at me and then turned to the crowd. Players began to move in on them and pick the weapons up greedily.

“Alright, listen up. We are going to have a contest. The winner gets the reward of becoming my slave and serving me. The losers, death. If you don’t want to participate, you better run or you will die. Fight!” One guy stabbed another in the back. That was when all chaos broke loose. Players stabbed each other in a frenzy of blood.

I noticed one guy losing his weapon and resort to strangling a person with a piece of intestine that was lying on the ground. Then he was then kicked in the face and fell into a pool of blood. Another guy had been stabbed in the leg and had bitten into another person’s groin since he couldn’t stand. I would probably have to go back and re-watch this since for a span of fifteen seconds there was too much to keep track of as these hopeless individuals dismembered each other.

Then there were three left standing. They all charged each other at the same time. Two of them ganged up on a single person, eviscerating him. Then one of them leapt on the other before he could recover and ripped out his throat with his teeth. “We have our winner. Come and stand before me.” The last survivor trudged through the groans, organs, and blood of the fallen people.

He stopped four feet in front of me. “Do you wish to serve.”

“Fuck yeah. Problem is I keep dying.” He gave me a grin. He then looked to the side and spat out a chunk of flesh.

“Interesting. You shall be Three. I see a small pond and stream off to the side. Strip and clean yourself up, there should be a fresh change of clothes in the wagon. After that help One and Two. One and Two, stack up the corpses and remove their heads. Place them along them around the pile of bodies looking outward. Tor supervise please. I need a couple minutes…oh god.”

After my stomach unclenched and I cleaned myself off, the corpses had been sorted along with the heads. “Three, before we initiate you I will explain how things work. You can leave now and be done with me. If you choose to stay you listen to what I say no matter what. You will be my slave. In exchange you get to make a single request of me. Just one and only one. I can refuse if it something unreasonable, but you keep your request.”

“Hell yeah. This is going to be awesome. Oh for my request, I want to kill people.”

“That will happen naturally. Just like One wanted women, that will be a natural state of affairs. We may not kill everyone, but we will kill a lot.”

“Oh, well then. What did Two pick?”

“He asked in help to kill a man named Albus. He is responsible for locating him and then I will decide if we can do it.”

“Sweet. Okay, let’s see….”

“You don’t have to decide now.”

“I want the scythe.” There was a long moment of silence at that.

“Hmmm, well you should know that the monster that I took it from regenerates. It may possibly try to come and get it back.”

“But you put it up for….oh you are really evil. Okay, I get dibs on any awesome weapons then.”

“Very well, you will get first pick after Tor and myself. She is my second. Tor you up for some fun?”

“Hmm, well he isn’t really my type. I mean he is short and has red eyes. The black hair is a nice touch though.” I suppressed a sigh.

“One get the fur cloak and lay it out somewhere clean. Two get me a senbon and dip it in the barrel.” They rushed to obey. I had Three strip and lie down on the cloak. He looked incredibly excited. I kneeled behind his head. “Pain and pleasure. Your life is now mine. Let us see how strong you truly are. Your new name is Three, come embrace your new life.”

I held up the senbon. “Betrayal is met with pain. This is just a taste of what will happen. Endure in silence.” He shook but managed to keep his mouth closed as the poison pierced his skull. “Then there is pleasure, scream out as you embrace your new life Three.”

“Bet he lasts ten seconds.” One whispered.

“No way, a minute.” Two replied quietly. Tor climbed on top of him and he screamed and screamed. Living up to his new name, Three lasted three minutes. Water was poured on his forehead getting rid of the poison.

“That was amazing. What was that stuff at the beginning?”

“Death poison, we have an entire barrel full of the stuff.”

“Awsome, you actually melted people. I couldn’t believe that when I saw the clip.” He got up and then put his hand in the barrel. He pulled it out and began to rub the poison all over his groin. That was seriously messed up.

“Ummmm?”

“Sorry, the way this stuff digs into my flesh is awesome. Are you sure we can’t keep the scythe?” I honestly thought I was the most insane person, but this guy took the cake or the poison barrel as it were.

“Don’t worry we will be saving a bunch of it. I am sure there will be a lot more…experiences in the future. Clean yourself off and get dressed. If you want you may apply the poison to yourself. Don’t make a mess.”

“Got it. This is awesome.” Tor just looked at me as he went back to the pond.

“Not my fault, he won.” I said weakly.

“Honestly, at least he wasn’t related to a horse at least.” I just gave her a glare. Three ran back over and got dressed.

“So what now boss?” One and Two gave him a glare.

“One is our archer and is working on shooting. We got a new war hammer on a chain for Two since he is our strongman. Tor is our medic, second in command, and backup archer. You will train as a combat mage, specifically in Fire. I believe the god that is the most called upon is Rife (ree-FA). I am guessing you are a low level?”

“Well not anymore after all that.” He gestured at the corpse pile.

“You will place most of your points into Wisdom and Intelligence. You need to get those as high as you can. Constitution, Strength, Dexterity and Endurance should be raised up to ten. Every fifty levels put another ten points into them.”

I took a breath and continued. “You will also Meditate, that means sitting still and trying to feel your inner energy. Work on this whenever you are not doing anything else. MP is valuable so keep working on it. One what level is your meditation?”

“Level two.”

“Good. I want you to also come up with a single chant for Rife. Something small, simple, but versatile. You will keep your MP ten below your max. When it gets to that point, practice the chant. I also want you to practice it in your head constantly while you meditate. Any questions?”

“No, this is awesome!” I began rubbing his hair.

“Good.” A ripple of fire leapt out and got him. Three let out a yelp and ducked down. “If you talk a lot I feel the need to be close to you and that can get fiery.”

Tor groaned at my pun, ruining the moment. One and Two snickered. “Traitors, all traitors. Anyways, let’s get going before Dickless comes back.” I was forming a solid team. I still wanted my evil bard. A theme song would be awesome and it would be great for announcing our presence. Not very practical, but what was the point of playing a villain if you didn’t enjoy it?

We reached the road leading up to the fortress and began our ascent. “Those walls are twenty feet high, probably a couple feet thick, and you have to climb up to them.” Tor pointed out.

“Well good thing we aren’t attacking. Solid Steel has some sort of agreement with the ruler of Str to use this fortress. I am not sure but I think it is their Headquarters.” I replied.

We reached the portcullis guarding the entrance. A soldier looked down at us from over the parapet. “Password and name.”

“Solid Steel sells superior steel surely. Solid Steel sells superior steel surely. Solid Steel sells superior steel surely. Kenji Shadowen.”

“That is the password?” Tor looked at me.

“Yes, probably whoever came up with it, thought it was a great joke.” A familiar face appeared as the portcullis and gates were opened.

“Hello Kenji Shadowen, good to see you again. Welcome Kenji’s companions.”

“Hello Michael Grunning.”

“We have prepared rooms for you for the night. Dinner and breakfast will be provided, but with the extras….”

“Will a gold piece cover it? We need another horse and are the arrangements made?”

“Follow me everyone. For the horse, those are fairly expensive, but two gold coins-“

“Two! I thought a horse was only five silvers?”

“Inflation, with players killing everything, prices are sky rocketing. We are breeding them as fast as possible, but that takes time unfortunately.”

“Fine.” I handed over more gold.

“A horse will be made ready. As for arrangements, everything is taken care of. We are also prepared to transfer the scythe whenever you are ready.”

“Now is fine, we are sticking together.”

“Of course of course. We have prepared a room for it. The auction has done remarkably well so I am glad you were able to make it here despite all the players moving to intercept you.”

“They got the spanking they deserved. I figured your group had pulled in anyone in the area with any reasonable skill and that everyone else wouldn’t make it here in time.”

“Very astute of you. Yes, Solid Steel dominates the region and this is our headquarters.”

“I am impressed you managed to get an entire fortress.”

“Well the Lord of Str has been most generous. In exchange for helping to maintain order in the region we receive a wide berth. He also was able to pull his soldiers back to the city to help maintain order.”

“Impressive arrangement.”

“We are here. We had a rack specifically made after you gave us the dimensions.” Michael unlocked a solid wood door and led us into a chamber with a single stand resting in the middle. “Set the scythe on the stand. The auction will be over by tonight. Business has never been higher thanks to you. I know our Union branch is doing very well at the moment thanks to your advertising.”

“If you want we can set you up with a bath now?”

“No, I want to see your armory as agreed on and sort out the wagon. All of you get to work. Pull everything out and start sorting it. I want everything off that wagon. I saw a well also, give it a wash it smells filthy. Michael if you could show us the armory and to your blacksmith.”

“Of course. This way.” My arm and leg guards needed to be straightened out and my throwing knives needed quite a bit of care. A number of the blades were cracked. We got new bow strings and I got leather armor for Tor, One, and Three. I got a chest plate for Two. Then the wagon was inspected and a new wheel was put on where the old one had lost a couple of spokes.

A lot of food that would last for a while was loaded up. I also made sure to get two regular outfits, a winter outfit, and a desert out fit for each person in my group. Then there was a proper medical kit with bandages and a sewing needle.

A couple of percentage points were knocked off my payment for the scythe to cover some of the extra things I had requested but Solid Steel was more than happy to provide. I really couldn’t blame them, the auction was closing in on the fifty thousand dollar mark and was quickly escalating as it was brought to a close. Solid Steel had taken a prisoner and used them to confirm the scythe’s powers, which heated up the bidding even more.

There was a large communal bath in the lower reaches of the fortress. It was incredibly nice to get the grime off my body. I also noted that my flame generation slowly heated the luke warm water up to a much more relaxing temperature as long as I kept moving about.

“Tor which one do you want?”

“Hmmm, I will take Two.”

“Two go help out Tor. One wash my back, Three wash my front. Make sure you get every surface.” I came out of the bath much more relaxed. I put on my cleaned armor and fresh clothes. We went to dinner in a small room. Michael joined us.

“Guests get the privilege of their own dining room.” Michael explained.

“So we don’t corrupt your men.” Tor added.

“Against your charms, few could resist my lady.”

“Tor how many men you think you could take?”

“Depends on the men. If they aren’t horse size, probably twelve and still walk the next day.” One began to choke on the food he was eating.

“Michael, would some of your soldiers would be interested in some exercise?”

“It is not our standard policy, but for a price-“

“Twelve silver, one for each man and you go first.” He gave a long look at Tor.

“I am tempted, but I cannot partake. While sex magic has not been confirmed, there is no need to expose myself to unknown risks. As the representative of Solid Steel here I have to stay professional.”

“That is unfortunate. Also do you have a prisoner I could buy, they won’t last the night.”

“Ah, we do have a couple of player auto pilots chained up. For a gold piece we could sell you one for your enjoyment. Also all the auto pilots have agreed to do whatever we tell them in exchange for being given food and water.”

“Let’s make that four. For me and my men.” Smiles broke out around the table.

“Very well.” Michael turned to a nearby servant and whispered a number of instructions. “We have set you all up in one suite. If you wish to retire there Tor can begin and we will bring up a selection. Any preference?”

“No, just bring up a range of like ten if you have that many.”

“Yes, we do.”

We retired to our suite and Solid Steel soldiers entered one at a time. I had no idea where Tor was getting all that stamina. “She is scary boss. That thing where she twists her hips, it looks like some guys are going to be ripped off.”

“Don’t underestimate a woman with passion.” I rubbed his head and he let out a yelp. “That reminds me, Three come kneel at my side.” He came over and I rolled up my sleeve. I then pulled out one of my newly repaired daggers. “I want you to drink my blood, this should help with fire magic.” I cut part of my arm lengthwise below my wrist. Three glommed on and began sucking away.

“You sure that is wise?” One asked.

“Two go find some bandages. One strip.” They both listened as Tor's screams of passion echoed through the fortress. Two had come back with Michael with bandages and bound players. He raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything. “Three enough. Two wrap up the wound. One stand right here and be quiet. Michael, sorry for the wait.”

“No problem, no problem. Here at the ones you requested.” Ten players with gags, naked, and hands behind their back were led out. There were seven men and three women. “Two you may pick first, then Three.”

“That one.” Three said the second I finished. He had picked a smaller girl with overly sized breasts.

“You don’t mind if we make a mess Michael? Do you?”

“One second. I will have the servants remove the rugs and tapestries. Please try and not get any blood on the beds.”

“That is fine. Three once they are done moving things, you may do whatever you want in the center of the room. I hope it is entertaining.”

“Of course boss.” He was already stripping.

“Two?”

“That large guy.”

“You want some privacy?”

“Yes.”

“We can find you a separate room. Two soldiers will remain outside the door if you need anything.” Michael said. “And yourself?”

“That woman with the scar across her body. She looks like she will put up a bit of a fight.”

“Excellent choice and your other companion.”

“That one at the end. His exceptional size will be useful in teaching someone not to ask questions.”

“Of course.” Everyone cleared out and Two left with his selection. Three…Three was making a mess of things. He was going away at her while poking her with a knife just enough to let out a trickle of blood in different places. He had also cut off the tip of one of her nipples and occasionally flicked the wound with his tongue. I didn’t know whether to be impressed with how sadistic he was or scared.

“One, help me lay this guy on the ground. You are to ride him until I say stop and no touching yourself.” One looked at me with a measure of fear. “You questioned me. Start or it will only get worse. Now for you pretty.” I tested her Strength by pushing her legs. She was a low level, perfect. I flipped her over and made sure her nails were trimmed, which they were, perfect.

I woke up early the next morning like I normally did. Three was lying inside the carved out girl. I thought I recognized a couple of organs, but couldn’t be sure. After about five minutes into last night I had let One do what he wanted with the guy. One had removed a larger part of the man’s anatomy in frustration and beat him to a senseless pulp on the stone floor in a fit of rage. He had gotten cleaned up and had fallen asleep on the bed. I had joined him after I was done with my choice. My woman had died from a combination of bleeding and burning.

Tor had also found her way back and woke up One to have a go with him before passing out. She really was insatiable. “Everyone get up.” I kicked One in the side and he let out a groan. “Three go and get cleaned up. One go find Two and get some breakfast.” I let Tor sleep, no need to invite her morning fury.

We were provided with some cheese, cut fruit, and fluffy bread. It was a nice change of pace from our usual fare. Tor got up with the arrival of food. Two had given a shocked looked at what Three had done to the girl he had chosen. “I hope you all had enough fun.” I got round of nods, even from One. “Alright let’s go.”

We met up with Michael in the courtyard. The sunlight was just barely poking up over the horizon. He led us to some stairs carved into the mountain behind the fortress. “It takes an hour to reach the top. He is already waiting for you. I will have the auction results when you come back down. Everything else is prepared as per your request. Finally we have located the thing you requested.” He gave me a small grin, this was going to be a great surprise. I nodded and we set off to meet this so called Mystery Man.

***

6996: That is why this game is limited to 18+ only, wow

Hosey: I am your father

Envy: You spelled your forum name wrong, unless you are talking about a fire hose

UltimataSecret: LOL, +10

Ramponator: There was one guy that went down to his knees, freaking hilarious

UltimataSecret: Wouldn’t there be too much loss of blood to the rest of the body

GODHAXLOL: HORSEY YOU ARE HERE

Ramponator: That is why he kept passing out, check it out

FaceReaper: I wanted the scythe, NOOOOOOOO

FallenGod: Well it will find a good home wherever it goes, maybe in my hand when I steal it

TheLordBreckley: Let’s intercept it

FuriousGhost: I am coming for you

UltimataSecret: Not you again, you are hereby demoted to C rate nuisance

6996: What about the skull cloak?

***

Author’s Note: A bit more graphic than normal, but it sets the tone of the group. You didn’t think an Anti-Hero would have a nice group or a harem? They are bound together with violence and taking whatever they want. I wanted to convey this. One views himself as a ladies man, which was why that was a really mean punishment. Two is out for revenge, your solid stoic type. He is uncomfortable around this level of violence, but wants to complete his goal. Three, well Three is what happens when a true serial killer gets into the game. Think Silence of the Lambs and you are on your way there.

Tor would be described as a man in a woman’s body. With the military allowing women to join all branches of the US military, she is the kind of woman that would be in an elite branch with a more mercenary attitude. She can kick ass and likes to dominate but she can also work in a team when required. She would never consent to being a slave and follows the MC since he is exciting and she craves action. Probably the most complex character I have made for this story. Women are trouble like that ;p

I also wanted to showcase Solid Steel as a totally mercenary organization. The Solid Steel is a group dedicated to making money and growing stronger. It is the birth of the first corporation in FEAR. While the Order is based on morals, Solid Steel is much more mercenary. They would kill anyone if the benefits outweighed the consequences. They stick with Kenji, since the Mystery Man likes him. Otherwise they would have captured him and most likely have killed him.

In a couple of chapters there will be an in depth look at the stats and skills of everyone in the group. While I have their general strength in mind, it is a pain to write it all out. Don’t worry though this weekend you will get your fill of all the stats and a discussion of group fighting styles and builds.