Author's Note:

Another chapter! And it kind of blew my regular chapter length passing over 8 thousand words -.-' Well at least it was pretty fun to write so I hope you enjoy it

****

"Get ready! We're leaving soon!" shouted Hawk running into an inn where a party of five were eating breakfast.

"Who's on fire?" asked Aurora while others continued to eat their share without even acknowledging the archer.

"A large caravan came to town today and was hiring mercenaries! I wrote us all in and they're leaving in an hour!" explained Hawk as quickly as he could.

"You did what?" Monthu asked incredulously. There was a scowl on his face.

"It's a good idea!" the ranger said pleadingly. "They're travelling the same way as us and will even pay us to just walk by them which we would have to do anyway!"

"Didn't we agree to not enter any large crowds?" Monthu said not giving in an inch.

Hawk had nothing to say to that but Ace picked up, his curiosity piqued. He had never been in a caravan.

"Shouldn't there be a lot of robbers on the road if something like this is scheduled to pass through here?"

Archer saw what the kid was hinting at and nodded in enthusiasm.

"Many! That's why the main merchant is hiring every adventurer he can find! This road will be unsafe for a few weeks more if we let this chance pass!"

Monthu didn't like it at all. Many people meant many dangers for his brother but otherwise they would be stuck here for almost a month. He now understood why Ace said he befriended Par to get to him. It really worked and he couldn't do a thing about it.

"How much does he pay?"

"10 golds for the travel. Every kill adds 5 gold" explained Hawk with a smile. The battle was won. He should probably thank the kid but monsters didn't deserve respect, right?

"That's not too bad. We might as well join in. Everyone get ready. Aurora buy supplies while I find a place to lock up Levin."

"Hey! I don't need locking up! I can be a mercenary too!" the illusionist said disagreeing.

"No" four people said simultaneously and left him standing with Par.

"Could you maybe take these off?" he asked the kid. You never know.

"Nope my brother has the key. Besides you hurt Aurora's feelings so you deserve this" the child answered looking very serious.

"Kids..." Levin muttered rolling his eyes and returned to the room he had shared with Monthu and Par. It's not like he was allowed to go anywhere else. Par followed him up and sat down to play with a ring puzzle.

The single street was full of people talking with NPCs to maybe gain a quest or renew their supplies. Ace watched them for a moment thinking about his own situation. He didn't have to worry about food now that he was part of a group but it was better to be prepared for the unexpected.

So he went to a general store and joined the line. There were seven people before him but luckily they only bought basic supplies and left the all-purpose barley bread for him. It stayed good for a whole eternity so he bought thirty of them and all herbs the store had.

It wasn't much but a few poisons could be made, maybe even a potion. For some reason it was ten times easier to make a strong poison than any kind of potion.

Done with shopping he went towards a house he saw Aurora entering. She walked out soon enough with a bright smile and together they went to where Monthu was talking with a man in his late thirties wearing clothes made of silk. Maybe the main merchant?

The guy was waving his arms wildly with his face beat red while Monthu stood opposite with his hands crossed.

"What's wrong?" Ace asked stopping beside his team mate.

"Get out of here, brat. I have no candies for you" the merchant growled moving his hands in a shooing motion.

Ace's eyes flashed angrily but he just turned his gaze towards Monthu who looked surprised. "Forget him. Just tell me why you are arguing."

"This money bag doesn't want to take us in without horses but we don't have enough funds to buy horses on a whim" Monthu explained with a sigh. Saying you didn't have enough money was embarrassing but the kid had to understand the situation.

"If that's all there is to it, I can buy those animals and we can go" noticing Monthu prepared to argue he added. "You can pay me back once we're finished."

That was acceptable and Monthu nodded even though he wasn't used to borrowing money. It was a new experience for him but they really needed those animals for travel or else they'd be stuck in this corner of the world for a whole month.

"What could you possibly have? Ten coppers? Maybe a silver? Horses cost more than that punk" the merchant laughed.

Ace just rolled his eyes. He'd seen people like that who hate youths for no apparent reason and he learnt to deal with them. Best action was to get out of their vicinity as fast as possible. If that was impossible, you had to give them what they wanted.

He took out a handful of golds from his pouch and put them in the merchant’s hand. And another one. And another one.

"Is that enough? Or do you take more than 5 golds for a single horse?”

"How did you..."

"I think you missed the point here. The how doesn't matter. What's important is that I gave you the money and ask for five best horses you have. Or are you going to return me the money?"

The gold quickly disappeared in the folds of cloth.

"Follow me"

Ace smiled happily. At least money could always give you respect. Kids that are born in rich families are really better off.

The merchant led them to the back of the caravan where horses were free to graze around while travellers took a break in town and resupplied. There were all kinds of them brown, white, with dots, a few solely black or white.

They were taken to a corner where twenty something horses were separated from the rest.

"These are for sale. You can pick the ones you like."

Both guys went to look at them even if they had no real knowledge about how to differ the animals. All of them looked healthy and good for riding.

Aurora stayed on the side in case the horses decided to attack. You can never be too careful.

A grey horse standing apart from others took Ace's attention. He came closer and held his hand for the horse to sniff. The animal snorted a few times but didn't fight back as Ace tried to pet him.

"I'll take this one!" he shouted to the merchant. "What's his name?"

"Why would he have a name?" the guy asked surprised. It was an AI (artificial intelligence). Who would care enough to give it a name?

"You'll be Ash then" the boy said scratching under the ear. The horse seemed to like that and tried to kiss the kid who managed to dodge at the last second. 'I had almost forgotten all about it. Thanks for reminding me' Ace scowled, his mood ruined.

Monthu chose a brown stallion for himself and a mare of lighter shade for his brother. She seemed to be more than five years old and unable to throw her rider off even if she wanted to. It would require too much energy.

A white mare with some darker dots was chosen by Aurora still standing away while Hawk who had just come went for a black one with a white leg.

"How much were they?" Hawk asked preparing his horse for a ride.

"Five golds each" Aurora answered beside him. The other three were further ahead looking for a higher ground from where Ace could mount. He refused everyone who volunteered to help him and repeatedly said he can do it himself. "But we didn't have such money! It's 25 golds! A fortune wasted!" Hawk exclaimed forgetting what he was doing.

"Ace" Aurora said stroking the soft skin of her mare as if that explained everything. And it did.

"You mean he not only has an assortment of random skills you wouldn't expect to see but also a bank overflowing with money?" His horse's whinnying returned him back to present and he petted him a few times before jumping on his back.

Aurora shrugged before getting on her own horse.

"Who knows? He seemed not to mind paying it..."

"But he's accustomed to lying. That's what you wanted to say wasn't it?" Hawk asked angrily. "Why do you defend him even if you know he's rotten to the core?"

"I don't know that!" Aurora said loudly but then softened her voice. "What if he's just been hurt? It couldn’t have been easy to know you'll never grow up and be able to do things that make life worthwhile. Like have wife, children, and your own home. Can you imagine being denied all that?"

They were both informed about everything that was talked about over the table. Melinda had recorded Ace's every action and word for future reference.

"Does that make him a hero? A saint? He was faced by tough choices and has fallen. He's a liar and a murderer! That's why he's rich and can throw money right and left at his level. You should understand that he's a wild beast. If you come close, he'll bite you even if all you wanted was to treat his wounds. He's no fallen angel to return to the right because of you. This is not a freaking fairytale!" Hawk more like growled than said.

He couldn't believe Aurora's stupidity. She heard what the bastard did and that he had no qualms about lying someone straight to the face yet she still stayed by his side, turning all attacks away from him.

"That's the reason! We're all humans! Maybe he just needs friendship for his god qualities to blossom and take him away from the darkness. It is my as a healer's duty to heal his soul!"

The loud arguing voices carried over the field where the three stood. Monthu had helped his brother on a saddle and was watching for Ace's reaction. His face muscles twitched a few times but no real expression appeared there. The kid was clearly pretending not to hear the words.

Soon both parties joined together and found their place in a caravan. The topic was never brought up again but Ace stayed very quiet. He answered only with a yes or no until Par and Aurora left him alone for the ride. He had many things to think about. Life was never as easy as you wanted it to.

***

"Rooooooaaar!" a loud growl came from the woods as a horde of trolls attacked. They looked extremely ugly with huge noses, small beady eyes and walked hunched with trees as weapons in their hands.

All the warriors on the right side of the caravan grouped up and intercepted the charging mobs. Or tried to.

None of them had ridden a horse before which resulted in a lot of bumping and many falls. Those who managed to stay up tried to attack with their swords but fighting from a horseback wasn't the same as on the ground and required extreme balance and getting used to. Half of the remaining fighters fell or injured themselves...

Only three knights present didn’t suffer any damage. They were in their element and showed off their skills by keeping fifteen trolls back by themselves while fighters got back their bearings and confronted the monsters now on foot.

Archers weren't doing that well, either. Their horses were moving so their aim was usually off.

And Hawk was one of them even if he tried his best to aim correctly. But he was used to shooting moving targets instead of being the one moving himself. It made him miss many of his shots. However, one of them was a bull’s eye and finished off an already weakened troll.

"I got one!" he shouted to his friends while seeing a red number 1 appearing in the corner of his right eye. All those who joined the caravan quest had a countdown of their kills which then would be turned into gold coins when they reached the destination.

"We can hear you, no need to shout" Aurora answered him with her hands on ears. "Congratulations on making five golds"

No one else from the party were involved in fighting. They passed without even moving a muscle. Monthu didn't want to leave his brother and wasn't letting him in that chaos. As for Aurora, clerics weren't good in close combat. Period.

Ace was just enjoying the ride. 'What was the point of revealing one's skills when there were enough man power to subdue the threat. Besides he had enough money not to care about the reward. Five golds for a head, really? That’s almost like free labour.'

The caravan was attacked a few more times before the evening by wild monsters but wagons sustained no damage. A few players had died because of lack of clerics (No one paid for healing so they rarely went on such expeditions) but no one missed them. Less people to share hunt money with.

In the evening the party lighted a fire and Aurora made dinner while others lazed around, tired from all the riding.

Par was especially exhausted, not even having energy to try and chat up Ace who was still keeping his cold appearance.

'Maybe I should take a break?' he thought and logged out.

***

It had been around two days since his last leave and his growling stomach didn't forget to remind him of it. Opening the curtains Kirin saw that it was still an early evening so he ordered a pizza.

While waiting he checked the forums for news but seeing nothing relevant left soon.

Tiiiiiiiiriiirr!

A sound came and Kirin paid for the pizza. He ate it ravenously and was about to fall asleep sitting than a sound of a doorbell was heard once again.

'Who could possibly have come? Please god, don't let it be Kevin and his gang!'

As he opened the door a heavy scent of roses assaulted his nostrils.

"Welcome Aunt Marina. What brought you here on this lovely evening?"

"I came to check on my favourite kid, of course! I heard your parents are gone once again! What stupidity! How can they leave you alone?" she said angrily, giving him a basket full of fresh vegetables and fruits from her garden. "You should come live with me. I would take better care of you. What do you think?"

"Thank you aunt but I can't just leave. This is my home! My room! My toys! Everyone knows I live here!" he said shaking in horror.

"Aww... You're such a lovely kid" the woman replied pinching his cheek and proceeding to the kitchen. "You've been eating fast food again, weren't you? But what could be expected when there's no parent control! They spoiled you rotten. Oh and I brought you something. It’s at the bottom of basket.”

Kirin took out all items in order putting them in their respectable places; apples and plums on the table, tomatoes and cucumbers in a refrigerator while onions went at the back of a cupboard.

A plastic bag lay at the bottom. Kirin carefully picked it up and took out the item from inside. It was a little car you could control with motions of your hand equipped with a specific glove.

A wide smile appeared on the kid's face and he hugged his aunt.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" he said to her stomach which made the woman laugh.

"I knew you would like it. Take good care of it. And I've got to leave now, Janetta has returned from Paris so I just came to share the good news."

"When will she come to play with me?" the kid asked with shining eyes.

"You have to wait a few days! She's very tired after her flight."

"Okay..." the kid said, his head hanging down and followed the aunt to the door. “Bye!"

"See you soon, Ang. I promise you Janetta will come as fast as she can!" with that she left and the kid closed the door.

A scowl manifested on his face. 'She just had to return now'. He went to his room and threw the car in the toy box where many others lay.

***

After four days in game Ace returned waking up in a wagon. It was dark but he could see the outlines of other bodies thrown in beside him. 'Gross'.

He freed his hands and legs and jumped out of the wagon rolling on a ground a few times. His hands were a bit bruised but it was so worth it to get out of that meat grinder. And he really needed a bath now.

The caravan was going faster than him so he was getting farther and farther from the middle where the wagon was pulled by two horses.

"Hey, you're back!" someone shouted loudly and Ace raised his head to look around.

The group was a few meters behind him, Monthu holding the rains of his horse.

"Hi!" Ace answered motioning for them to leave the procession for a moment and let him get on his horse. A few steps away was a small patch of higher ground and Ace used it.

"Why did you leave the first evening?" Hawk asked.

"Nothing interesting ever happens on the first days of travel so I might as well miss them. And I hope we can get some action in a next few days because I'll have to leave for some time after that" Ace said with a thoughtful expression.

"We had enough action already" Hawk said not agreeing.

"Did Monthu even put a hand on his weapon?" Ace asked raising an eyebrow to which Hawk had no answer. "There were only some skirmishes. I want to see war! An all-out battle!"

"Do you think we'll see something like that?" Par asked, his eyes glowing.

"Well some big gang should make an attempt at taking so much loot, gold and experience. I couldn't believe that all of them got scared of the hired defenders" Ace said explaining and looking around.

All of the fighters looked much better than the last time he was on. None were staggering or holding reins as if their life depended on it. That was quite a quick improvement. Maybe there was a skill associated with riding?

The day passed monotonously without a single encounter. Ace felt like crying while sitting next to a fire. There were no foes in his path and his fingers itched to go hunting and feeding. But that would probably be a grave mistake comes tomorrow.

The lack of monsters could mean only one thing. Some stronger predator was in the vicinity. And more often than not it meant human involvement.

So he kept his hands crossed under the cloak to prevent them for reaching the dagger and talked with Par to distract himself.

'Going out alone to hunt mobs in enemy territory would be suicide too. So you stay here' he kept the pep talk. A talent to focus on many things at once had its downside too.

Soon Par went to sleep and he was left alone with his thoughts. That was not good.

To fight he took out the flute and sat down. The instrument was made by a beginner and looked crappy but Ace acquired it just because he was taking everything. He never had thought that it'd become one of the best ways to calm himself. He had told the truth to the mage back then. The music had a soothing effect.

In the morning a see-through table appeared before his eyes.

Tiiriing!

Level up: Flute Mastery [Passive] Novice 5

Increases the quality of music produced by 50%

Increases the calmness of those who hear it by 9%

Ace felt happy, that meant he could rest that much easier.

When people started to wake up and log back on, he stopped playing and put away the flute. He took out a canteen of water and splashed water on his face. That was refreshing and helped him leave the sleepy state he was in while playing.

The horses were saddled and the journey started again.

But no more than an hour later the line stopped.

"I'll go check" Hawk said, volunteering and galloped towards the front of the caravan. It took him around ten minutes to return and his face looked pale. "There's a blockade of trees up ahead and they hadn't fallen because of a storm. An order to enter a protective formation was sent a few minutes ago" he said explaining hurriedly.

A circle was being made of wagons by putting lightest and worst made inside while heaviest and sturdiest made up the fronts on all sides.

Horses were driven towards the centre ring and left while all who could use a weapon were to stand guard. All fighters were given a bow and some arrows to wound enemies until they came in close range. Archers and mages were positioned inside wagons near the windows through which they could use skills and hide easily. Some braver ones went onto the roofs and lay there in waiting.

Monthu was positioned at the east side, sun in his eyes. It was so quiet. No one dared to make a sound after preparations were finished, no matter how much time passed.

It was the worst part of any battle in Monthu's opinion. The waiting intensified all fears and drilled on nerves. It made you think of those you'll lose and if you'll survive yourself. Even if this was only a game no one wanted to feel the pain of death or see their friends disappearing in a grey flash. It made one weak in the knees. Only seasoned fighters could survive long times of it without going mad.

Luckily, in this aspect and only in this, arrows started to rain in waves on the wagons a few minutes past eleven. Most of those who hid on the tops were dead in the first wave but some managed to crawl down and get their wounds healed by the few present clerics. There were two for each of the four main sides but two hundred fighters in each. To expect some healing was stupid, everyone knew to rely on their health bars instead of miracle savings.

Soon the coming arrows thinned out and were gone in a next minute. As that happened, an army came charging out of the woods. It was made out of all kinds of races but all of the players were clearly rogues. They ran with daggers in their hands and faces filled with greed, afraid of nothing.

But they should have.

A wave of arrows met them while they had no cover. Lucky ones died instantly while many others were maimed by unskilled fighters who couldn't shoot straight to save their life. The surviving ones ran ahead expecting to begin fighting but fire started to rain on their heads, scorching their faces and backs while finishing off injured ones.

A loud cry of joy came from the defenders side as the last rogue fell disappearing in a grey flash.

***

"Should we really have sent them without any defence to fight?" Wenton asked his leader.

"Some sacrifices must be made to win. Now those idiots used up most of their arrows and showed that they have around two hundred mages. It'll be easy from now but just in case first send Martin with his squadron" Dark, the leader of the bandit army, answered.

He was around twenty with dark skin, eyes and clothes. His face was always in shadow of a cowl.

Dark was pretty young to lead so many people but his strict and unforgiving nature, coldness and perfectionism allowed him to quickly rise in the ranks of criminals. Out of all the candidates he was the one chosen to lead this army of monsters in human shape for his outstanding talent and he planned to prove his worth. If some competitors died in battle, that wouldn’t be is fault at all. There was never a battle where someone hadn’t died.

***

The joy was short lived among the defenders. Before mages could sit down and recover their missing mana, another army went out, this time people wore the same rags but some had hardly fitting leather armour and instead of daggers they held rusty swords.

Ace was hiding together with other rogues among the wagons until they could somehow sneak out and maybe assassinate some unlucky fellows. Rogues were usually worthless in large battles so no one expected great things from them. Not that there were many of them, only about twenty or some.

From his hiding place Ace could see the approaching idiots being met with arrows and wondered how murderers were so poor. Most of beginner armour is better than what they were wearing...

Some fell from arrows but this time they managed to reach the first ring of wagons and defenders had to pick up their swords and axes to get rid of them. It wasn't too hard but there were many of them. If one fell another appeared and used every dirty trick available.

Only the east side was having some problems as the main force came their way. A few summoned monsters helped them but it wasn't looking too well. Monthu and other defenders had their backs to the wagons while being attacked from 3 to even 7 people at once.

Ace decided to have a taste for himself and sneaked out to hunt. He got a bit farther away, thrust his dagger, killing a random enemy swordsman from behind but somehow his friends noticed and turned to Ace.

"That wasn't my plan” Ace muttered, dodging one sword and deflecting another with his dagger.

The worst part was that he had no space to jump away! They were standing in his dagger’s reach instead of using their longer one of swords.

If running away wasn't an option, then killing was. He took out another one and slashed at the closest opponent while blocking with the other hand. But he didn't have ten hands to deflect all attacks and suffered some hits. And it hurt!

"Damn bastards" he hissed and started to claw (with daggers) his way through, using [Instincts of a Predator] to sense enemies' movements and [Evasion] to dodge or nullify as many attacks as possible while still going to the side where some defenders fought and would give him a helping hand.

Slash. Stab. Kick.

Everything was used to get people out of the way. If they fought dirty, he was even worse. Punches in the eyes to blind, vines and ice to trip (usually on his dagger) and hits in all the weak places no honourable fighter would ever attack.

Ace managed to move a meter ahead like that but it felt like forever. Slash. Stab. Slice. And repeat while dodging everything coming his way. Stamina was already half way. He needed to reach a safe zone and soon.

'Why did I thought going out was a good idea again? I've never done anything more stupid! I think so?' Ace thought before falling down and crawling between enemies’ legs. It seemed good until one guy noticed him and tried to skewer him. And it was damn hard to evade while being on all fours.

"Wild Vines!" he shouted out keeping the fighter in place and used him to jump and return on his legs. He had managed to move another meter after that but now even more people were around him of which none looked friendly.

'This is not going to be my first death!' Ace screamed in his mind using [Shadow Dash]. But there was nowhere to land! His hand and leg were slashed lowering his movement capabilities a lot. But there was no time to rest; he pushed forward while swordsman were confused by his sudden appearance for a moment. Up ahead he could see Monthu's head. Just a few more steps to salvation!

Monthu was swinging his scythe decapitating all the unwary. He was higher level than them and they had no armour. It would have been child's play if there just weren't this damn many of them! No matter how many fell, the others were pushing and pushing.

There was a certain madness about them. No fear for death or pain, not a care for weaker skills or equipment. They didn't even seem conscious!

A flash of gold caught his eyes as he butchered another guy. It came from farther ahead but was gone instantly. 'What could it have been?'

As he was cutting another enemy it flashed again. Was that sun reflecting on someone's hair? Monthu had a bad feeling about it. He knew only one person with such bright golden hair. 'Is he really stupid enough to go alone in the middle of enemy army?'

He motioned for those around him to take a step forward and push those bandits back. Little by little they managed to meet up with the light haired idiot. The moment he saw Monthu the guy slumped down unconscious.

'That stupid, idiotic, moronic...' Monthu cursed as he blocked a few swords aimed at the kid and picked him up.

"Cover me!" he shouted to his comrades and carried the boy that was covered in blood and open wounds.

A white clothed female jumped out of the wagon as he came closer.

"What happened? Wasn't he supposed to stay back? Is he still alive? Those gashes are so horrible!" Aurora screamed running to him and collecting holy energy.

"Found him dying nearby, take care" Monthu answered and laid down the body inside.

The girl nodded and started to chant

"Oh Kione god of those who need your help, show your love to this wounded lamb and heal his wounds, Healing Heart!"

White light descended enveloping the kid's body and making the wounds close up before the clerics' eyes.

"You should have saved your mana for those who really need it" her new partner Gerard remarked.

"He's my friend. I couldn't let him die before my own eyes while I had a way to help him" Aurora answered sitting down yoga style to meditate.

"Better your friend lives for a few hours than we win?" Simon muttered using [Healing Hand] on a soldier whose shoulder was pierced.

***

A groan left Ace's mouth as he started to wake up. It hurt everywhere and most muscles were screaming profanities at him. "Dammit, what had I been doing" Ace muttered under his breath, massaging his head.

"Going to suicide and chickening out" supplied a white robed man with one eye following everything that went outside.

That brought memories back.

"Oh god..." 'I'm not sure what to be surprised more - at the stupidity of my own actions or actually surviving it.’

A few flashing messages at the corner of his right eye under the kill count of 12 caught his attention.

Level Up: Evasion [Passive] Average 3

Allows you to better dodge attacks and projectiles coming towards you.

After evading successfully you're granted a 3% speed boost for a short duration

Luck increased by 25 points (+25 LCK)

'That could have been expected' Ace thought, smiling against his own will. 'And that poison is damn effective. I should coat my daggers with it more often.'

"What happened while I was out?" he inquired while doing stretches to get used to moving again.

"We've been fighting for 6 hours now and everyone is exhausted. Fire has been started by flaming arrows which killed a lot of mages and rangers, even two clerics were lost. And there’s just no end to the bandits!" the cleric said explaining with a frustrated look. There were signs of exhaustion on him too - drooping shoulders, hunched back, pale face.

Ace walked to the window and glanced outside. Chaos and a sense of loss met him. There were thousands of bandits over the field and others were still coming from the forest. Defenders had leveled up a lot and were killing them by tens but there were just too many of them! And they took out warriors one by one as there was a big lack of healers. It looked like a certain defeat but people were still fighting. None wanted to just go and die. What if a miracle happened? This was a game after all.

"Death to them all" Ace murmured with a malicious smile and left the safe for now wagon.

He sneaked up to an enemy and bursted him down but this time he didn't go to the middle of an army to do that. He stayed close to Monthu and gave him a hand if some attack was missed while the guy noticing the newcomer just nodded in acknowledgement and did the same.

'This is not working' Ace though blocking an attack and twisting his dagger to stab his opponent. 'There's just too many of them to kill one by one.' Duck. Kick. Slash. 'We need some mass attack but most mages are gone and the ones that survived aren't able to inflict enough damage.' Burst of fire to the face and stab while the guy is blinded. 'Archers are out of arrows too' Evade, redirect the swords and impale them by each other’s weapons. 'We need something strong, and it would have to spread wide.' Kick in the gut and step back a few steps to drink a few health potions and back into place where Monthu had stepped in.

'A bomb would be very helpful' Ace mused slicing a throat. A gurgling sound came but no one seemed affected. This battle lasted so long that people got used to the massacre around them, going as far as not even noticing the gore around them.

Item broken!

Dagger of Audacity has broken do to it's durability reaching zero!

Ace threw the pieces down and took out another one.

"Damn" he hissed when he noticed that it wasn't coated in poison. It was a very bad time to run out of half his damage.

'That's it!' he screamed in his mind. 'It might be even a key to victory!'

"I have an idea" he shouted to Monthu and ran back inside the protective ring.

"Mages and rogues!" he yelled at the top of his lungs and started to take out items from his bag in a rush.

"What is it?" the first mage to come asked. He was wearing a dark green robe, which was scorched on the corners.

"I have a plan but it requires cooperation of wizards and all rogues. It's cruel and inhumane but I think we're in a desperate enough situation right now not to care."

"What do you have in mind?" the main merchant of the caravan asked. They had all run in too as none were fighting and all wanted to live.

Ace explained his plan and asked for their help. They grimaced a few times but nodded running to their wagons for supplies.

***

'What are they planning now?" Dark wondered sitting in the highest tree and following the events on the battlefield.

It looked like an hour or two more and they would win but for some reason there hadn't been a magical attack for more than ten minutes. 'Can they be chanting for so long? What kind of spell could require so many people and time?'

There was no change for another ten minutes and defenders felt the lack of magical assistance as twice as many enemies pushed them and all had full health.

Then a pair climbed onto a wagon, and another, and another. Soon there wasn't a place where no one was standing. 'They are safe as we have also run out of arrows but what could they possibly be planning by pairing wizards with rogues?

They answered him soon enough as vials were thrown far into his army and wizards used basic spells to explode them. A rain of green and blue, red and yellow, white and black descended on his army of rogues.

"Aaaghh!"

"Gaaaaah! My eeeyyyeees!!!"

"Save me!"

"Kyyyaaaahh!"

Horrible screams reached his ears. They were so loud and heart wrenching that even a cold blooded murderer like him had to block his ears with his hands. 'What the hell is that?' he wondered trying to ignore the sounds while he was writing with one hand. No voice chat till the screams died down would be available.

It took five minutes for his commanders to answer.

/It's deadly poison! East rear! /

/East middle reporting! My unit was showered with acid! Can you believe it? More than half are incapacitated or missing parts!

/We front! Sticky concoction! Hinders movements!/

'That one's probably already dead' Dark decided and read on the crazy answers.

/All went mad and started attacking each other! Berserk potion? West side commander/

/South side! All drunk!!! Concentrated alcohol?! Men are still trying to drink and falling down red faced! All control lost!/

/Beard from North reporting! Stink bombs! Can't breathe!/

All sides were screaming at him their horrors but what could he possibly do for them? They had no clerics and there was no backing out for them. Angel guild would hunt all one by one till level one if they tried to desert.

/Push on! We can still win this! They are too much weakened to put a fight!/ he encouraged his commanders while not moving a muscle to go and help.

'What kind of monster could have thought of it?' he wondered deciding to meet him someday and continued to watch from his high place.

***

Screams were also heard by the defenders but none rose to cover their ears. It was a sound of death but as long as it was their side using it, it was also the sound of victory.

Warriors shouted and fell on the confused bandits with renewed energy their morale soaring. They fought like men possessed forgetting their injuries and throwing caution aside.

If there was a chance to survive, they were going to use it and nothing was going to stop them. Wizards having used only a few mana points for those low level spells weren't taking a vacation either. They called upon ice storms, vines and giant golems. All fire mages went to south side were bandits still had remnants of alcohol on themselves and called upon fire. One even went for [Meteor Shower].

Elements raged among the army putting them in even bigger chaos. No longer anyone listened to commands or went the right way. Some even ran away! Mages cheered loudly every time some left the battlefield and followed with a bolt of lightning somewhere among the army to make sure they ran far.

It was a hundred percent turnaround from their subdued actions since the beginning of attack in the morning.

Ace together with other rogues was down among the warriors dancing with his high agility and sneaky attacks. They were winning and he had a huge grin on his face as he stabbed another bandit with [Heart-seeker]. It was a good feeding ground for sure.

***

"Dammit. How can they be winning?" Dark shouted to no one in particular as most of his commanders were dead. "There were ten times more of us than those hired hands but the bandits are getting annihilated! How could it turn out like this?"

"Because you're incompetent" a calm voice came from somewhere downward. "I told the leaders it was a mistake to let such a lowlife like you to lead, but would anyone listen? And look where we are now.”

"Perin..." 'What is one of the Angels' committee members doing here?'

"I'm here to get what rightfully belongs to the guild" the person explained as if sensing his thoughts. Dark had no idea how merchants' property belonged to the guild but he wasn't here to ask questions. He skilfully climbed down and smiled at what he saw near the leader.

***

Finally all the bandits were killed. Most of the warriors lost their lives being too reckless but those who survived were the very best; veterans of battle. Tired they all fell to the ground and were asleep in moments. On the top of wagons wizards were doing the same.

Only rogues didn't go to rest, they were too busy looting all the fallen items. Bandits had no high level equipment but their shirts and pants could be sold for a silver or two if you were good at lying or found some idiots. Ace was among them collecting all kinds of miscellaneous items. You never know when you'll have to impress another kid.

And it was the greed of rogues that saved the travellers from total extermination. They were the only ones left awake to notice another gang of players leaving the woods and running towards the caravan. One of the rogues blew a horn he had found and woke everyone up by sacrificing his life, not able to run away in time.

The enemy had a total of 5 archers and used them to shoot at the still sleepy wizards who were slaughtered in no time.

The warriors managed to wake up from their fifteen minute sleep even more tired but they still gathered together on the east side where main action was about to happen. Monthu wanted desperately run back and look for his brother but a whisper from Aurora stopped him.

She said that his brother would die anyway if they lost this last encounter. 'But it's already lost' Monthu wanted to shout at her but he saw the reasoning behind her statement and stayed where he was. 'There's a hundred of them; fresh, well armoured soldiers ready for battle and seventy of us, tired and action weary. They can easily pick us up even without fighting as they have long ranged attackers and ours are dead or out of ammunition.'

/We, rogues that still have our wits about us, are going to take out the archers and anything else we can on the way. Tell others that we won't die easy and want to go out with a bang! Better fight well!/ A slight smile manifested on Monthu's face as he read Ace’s message. 'Go out with a bang, huh? Fine, we can do it too!'

"Everyone listen! Rogues are infiltrating the enemies this moment and going to kill all long ranged nukers!" he yelled out so all could hear it.

"What? Why? What's the point?" the exhausted warriors asked. Their morale was at the very bottom after coming of the enemy reinforcements. "We're going to lose anyway!"

"They said they weren't going down like sheep taken to a slaughterhouse. If one has to die, he better do it with a bang! I don't know what you plan to do but I'm not going to be showed off by a rogue! I'll take them all on my own if that's what it takes!" Monthu declared loudly, his eyes flashing with grim determination. "Our honour as warriors is at stake here!" he shouted rising his weapon high up and pushing his way to the front. No one stopped him or blocked his path.

He stood alone against the approaching army. Maybe it was a coward in him speaking or a berserker but he didn't want to wait for inevitable doom. 'It's better to die with your head held high' Monthu decided as he looked up at the sky and howled more than screamed. It was a war cry, a challenge to the heavens and mankind.

With that shout he held his scythe to extend forward like a spear and dashed off unhesitatingly.

Many eyes followed his mad run until shame brought them down. But they didn't stay long like that.

Weren't they veterans of this battle, the best of the best, the remaining ones? How could they live with themselves if they chickened out in the end when even rogues didn't? Hadn't they joined the game to become heroes?

Now the animalistic growl, scream, howl, whatever you like to call it, came from the seventy so fighters charging at the better armoured and rested enemy. Yet they all wore wide smiles while yelling their lungs out. Neither of them noticed a small pop up bar indicating a new skill learnt.

At that moment the rogues struck. They bursted down the archers and two clerics present in a second and jumped on those that were closest. Their skills were on cooldowns but that didn't prevent them from stabbing wherever they could. They were soon noticed but then one of them threw a bottle to the ground and black smoke rose. Ace decided he should learn how to make it too as it was something too good to pass up as a rogue. It confused and blinded all those that were close by.

Rogues, however, didn't take a notice of it as they were used to night activities.

The abilities came off cooldowns and the confused warriors went to have a chat with their maker, literally. Ace used that time to get closer to the two leaders standing away.

One wore everything dark; boots, pants, shirt and mask. Eyes and hair were midnight black. It was very hard to guess his favourite colour.

The other didn't belong to the scene. He was a paladin with a church of Helena's symbol engraved on his plate armour! Nothing else could be said about him as his whole body was covered by heavy armour.

Ace chose paladin as he seemed so out of place, more like a leader from behind the scenes forced into the open. He was sneaking a few meters away when his target called out to him.

"You're wasting your time rogue."

'Damn Glitter Dust' Ace cursed straightening out and thinking about his next approach but first he needed to buy time.

"How did you found out?" he asked in a voice of a disappointed child.

"Glitter Dust, kiddo, the biggest enemy of all rogues" the dark guy explained helpfully.

"Isn't it like extremely expensive?" Ace asked, wonder evident in his voice.

The guy nodded.

"And you work for such a master? I wish I was ever paid half as much as you. We only get five golds for all this trouble!" the kid said with a sigh to an amused bandit leader.

"I still don't get it, why would anyone send a child to hunt me? I wouldn't even hire one for protection! It's no wonder they lost!" the paladin murmured with his eyebrows making a v form.

"That's because no one sent me!" the kid said laughing joyously but then his face became serious or as much as a kid could look serious. "We, the surviving rogues, decided to go out flashily so they went for your rangers while I decided that your death would be even better!"

"And how did you plan to do it?" the paladin asked with mockery in his voice and raised his visor to look better at his supposed opponent.

"To stab you from behind like a true rogue does!" the kid answered defensively, clutching his two daggers more tightly.

"Hhahahah!" the armoured guy burst out laughing while the kid stared at him with indignation in his eyes. "I'd like to see you try." Another bout of laughter.

The dark guy stayed silent out of good heartedness. He might have been a murderer but kids were innocent creatures. They haven't been corrupted by all the evils around them. Or have they?

That last thought came from the smile that appeared on the kid's face as he positioned himself behind Perin. He felt like warning his leader that it might have been a bad idea but he was a bit too late.

"Whenever you're ready kid" Perin said tauntingly.

"Now! Magma blade! Cut-throat! Backstab!" The paladin dashed away the moment he saw his health disappearing in big chunks.

"What ar.." Perin wanted to ask but Ace was on him already having followed with [Shadow Dash].

"Heart-seeker" Ace said in a soft soothing voice, his dagger passing through all armour and reaching his enemy’s heart.

He waited those few seconds prepared to die but nothing happened. As he opened his eyes he saw the heels of the dark guy as he ran at full speed through the forest, tearing everything that got in his way.

"Thank you" Ace murmured with a smile and turned back to the battle.

The fighters looked to be on equal grounds but it was just a dream. Defenders fought bravely but they were standing on pure will and determination. Their stamina bar had been flashing for ages and they couldn't take it much longer. A single surviving rogue somehow had reached the warriors and was fighting together with them.

Ace's eyes fell on a heap of items that the paladin had so generously left. Sadly with his true face on he couldn't use the curse. There were three items there - a helmet, an ore and a whistle. 'Could it be what I'm thinking about?'

"Shrriii!" a piercing sound came as Ace blew the whistle. 'What command could that have been?' he wondered as he climbed the same tree Dark had previously occupied. From there he could see paladin army throwing their advances and rearranging themselves on the left. Defenders got many good hits in while the armoured guys tried to disentangle themselves. Three even died.

A cruel smile broke out, twisting Ace's face. 'This is going to be so fun!'

The moment they started to attack after finishing the formation he blew again on a different note. They started to advance. 'I didn't want that! He blew on it again as long as possible. They made a Romanian turtle formation exchanging their swords for spears and shields.

"Fuck it" Ace cursed almost throwing the thing down. It wasn't helping at all! They were even suffering more damage this way as no one could get close to the enemies hidden behind the shields.

'If this doesn't work, I'm throwing this thing down a volcano!’ He climbed down and started to play his favourite song that Par had named Little Sparrow. Ace never agreed to play it for him but now the kid was away or dead and this atrocious thing wasn't producing any right notes either, but it finally had the desired effect.

Paladin's guys left the turtle formation but stood still glancing at each other not understanding the command. Monthu on the other hand didn't wait for any commands, followed by all fighters he ran in slashing right and left to deal most damage till they collected their wits and started defending themselves.

But they didn't.

Some half-heartedly blocked with their swords but were soon overwhelmed, not knowing what to do without orders and being attacked by ferocious demons. There were hardly anything human about defenders any longer with their eyes wide as not to fall asleep and impale themselves, pale faces and covering of blood which was everywhere - on their weapons, clothes, faces and even in hair. Devils and murderers usually looked better than that.

Finished creating confusion Ace joined in hitting everything that got too close to his daggers. But it was no longer the same as before. He could still burst people down with abilities but his normal movements had slowed down considerably hurting evasion skill and his attack power. The red flashing stamina bar probably had something to do with it. His remaining energy was draining quickly.

'Stupid game rules making me feel well one moment and exhausted the other' Ace hissed not caring that not the game rules but adrenaline was at fault here.

Soon he was fighting blindly too tired to raise his head trusting in [Instincts of a Predator]. 'Best ability I ever learnt.'

A different clashing sound woke him from his dreaming state. It wasn't a sword his daggers met. With a loud groan he raised his eyes and saw a... scythe? 'Who ever used a scythe to fight? Oh...'

"Monthu..." His voice seemed to bring the guy back from his daze too.

"Ace?"

"I think..." murmured Ace glancing around in an amazed voice. "We made it."

There was only a handful of people standing around and all wore blood like a second skin that signalled them to be one of the defenders.

Nightmarish smiles broke on their faces as they looked at each other with respect. They all went to hell and back and somehow survived it. It showed a strength of character as no weakling could have lasted so long by luck.

In each of their eyes a primal need to declare their victory could be seen and neither tried to fight it.

A loud roar swept over the forest and reached even Dark who had been hiding far away. A chill passed through his bones and he decided to better run very far away from there.