Author's Note:

Hey guys! Do you know what day today is? [th_059_.gif]

No, it's not just another update! [th_serio.gif]

It's a ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of a story known as Flight of Icarus or Ace in simplier terms! [th_091_-2.gif]

Can you believe it? 'Cause I don't! [th_117_.gif]

I just can't get my mind around the fact that's it's been so long since I've started this story and it's still alive. It's just unbelievable! For all those who stuck around with me from the beginning or joined on the go and survived through all my excuses, random appearing abilities (yes, I'm still looking at you Magma Blade), cities chaging names back and forth (Mora--> Meresven--> Mora), storylines that never got their completion (yes, you scaredy cat female assassin) and so many other things that I don't want to even mention, I have only two words for each and every one of you

Now go and enjoy a double update as a gift ^^

***

"Ouch! That hurt!" Ace whined, holding onto his head. "Why did you do that?" he asked Hawk accusingly.

"You don't apologize by making a girl cry even harder!" the archer in question answered in exasperation.

"But it was just a random story! How was I supposed to know she'll start crying?"

"By not telling a tragic tale?" Rowena asked, sniffling a bit.

"How can you still feel anything for a storyline so overused?" the kid asked incredulously. "I was getting sick from even playing it."

"But it was so sad" Aurora said slowly. "Friends taken apart and then finding they have changed, unable to understand each other and having to live their lives alone. How can you not feel for such people?"

"I give up" Ace said, rolling his eyes. That was like an age old favorite motive for sweet, heart-wrenching stories and he thought everyone would be tired of it by now. Showed up not to be the case.

He shook his head and went to look for the entrance. The frog had said it was somewhere nearby.

As told he found a large stone which he couldn't move no matter how much he tried. He wondered how frog people would do it but having none around left it to be found out at later time.

"Can anyone break this?" he asked his group. Everyone shook their heads but Worglan. He came to the stone and murmured something under his breath turning the stone to dust.

"Another useful spell" Ace noted and was the first to jump into the hole that opened up.

DUNGEON: You are the very first players to discover Damp Caves

Reward: Fame +500.

Every day for one week, double EXP and double item drops. The rarest items will drop from killing the first monster of each type. Subsequent kills will drop common items.

Surprisingly the dungeon was well lit with torches every few meters. It's walls were moist with moss growing everywhere. The atmosphere damp.

Ace called [Flare] closer to himself as it started to waver more than usually. This place wasn't friendly to his little flame. And for his group either since their support magic was mostly Par with fire element as his base.

"Which way should we go?" Nein asked, looking in both sides of the tunnel they had barged in on.

"Who cares?" Ace asked, taking left side. He walked quickly, trying to sense any upcoming prey. [Instincts of a Predator] were reaching as far as they could but nothing piqued its interest. "It's empty!"

"Don't worry, someone will soon jump on us from somewhere" Hawk said with grim assuredness. He knew how dungeons worked.

"I don't want to wait" Ace muttered. "I'm scouting ahead!" he shouted out and rushed ahead, ignoring Monthu's no.

He remembered what had happened last time but this time he didn't plan to make any stupid mistakes. Not that there was any enemy to fight anyway.

As he thought that, he felt a presence a hundred meters away. With a joyous "Yes!", he ran. At first he planned to sneak but seeing it was a sole snake warrior decided against such precautions. [Magma Blade], [Shadow Dash], [Backstab] and [Cut-throat]. All were used in quick succession before the beast had even time to react. However, it stayed alive.

Unprepared for that outcome Ace received a couple of jabs to his chest and one to his right hand. Feeling his health dropping quickly, he jumped back and took a fighting stance the old man had showed him. Blocking the next attack he tried to attack with his other dagger but the opponent was too far away and slammed his spear's shaft into Ace, pushing him away. "Dammit" the kid hissed using [Shadow Dash] to get even further back.

His opponent's weapon was three times the size of his and even the guy's hands were longer. It was a huge disadvantage. "Wild Vines!" he cast trying to slow the creature down. But it's scales were naturally slick and he escaped the grasp of vines gracefully, going for the kill.

"Acid Splash!" Ace tried again, backing continuously. The creature hissed in pain but didn't seem to have lost a lot of health and hurried again.

The kid heard echoes of his friends' voices and knew he had to hurry up. [Evasion] helped him escape a hit and he rushed forward activating [Fear of the Hungry]. It boosted his statuses considerably which he used fully after casting [Bolt Arrow] at point blank range.

The short stun was more than enough for Ace to slash and stab at the creature's chest. While doing that, he heard wood hitting ground and felt a sharp pain in his side but ignoring it continued.

*Last Stand Activated*

'More damage!' was his single thought as he slashed and slashed, trying to kill the resilient creature. Feeling another wound opening in his side, used [Shadow Dash] to get over the creature and added all his skills. Having reopened its wounds the damage was doubled. Seeing that it wasn't dead even now he used his last resort [Heart-seeker].

This didn't leave the snake a chance and it fell with an angry hiss, turning into grey mist. A tooth and spear fell which Ace picked with a huff.

*You have leveled up!*

"What was that?" Aurora asked, casting a healing spell on Ace. The kid looked up to see them standing some ten meters away, just having rounded a corner.

"A beastly monster I don't advise soloing" he said looking at his destroyed clothes. There were two dagger made holes at the side with sides covered in red and greenish slime which counted as blood for the snakeman.

"So why did you do it? And how?" Nein asked. He wasn't sure about the kid's level but if he acted that free-willed, it had to be somewhat high, around a hundred maybe.

"Because I have many tricks up my sleeves," Ace answered, "but I don't plan on repeating it. If there had been two, I'd be dead meat by now."

"You're the worst scout, I've had the misfortune to meet" Monthu said, glaring at the kid. "Which part of the word scout includes fighting?"

"It ambushed me!" Ace said without a second's delay. "I had no choice!"

Monthu gave him a look that said he didn't believe it in the least and looked at the group. "We need someone else to actually scout ahead."

"But I'm the only one capable!" Ace said with conviction. It was truth, no matter how Monthu didn't want ro agree on that. Neither priestess, nor mages could do it.

"I can go!" a voice chirped up from the back. All eyes centered on its owner. "Well, I can turn into a hawk and look around. It shouldn't be too dangerous" Rowena said, shrugging.

Ace eyed her with annoyance. It was his job to go first! While she was changing shape, taking everyone's attention, Ace used [Shadow Veil] and started to move in the dungeon. This time he didn't plan to fight, just observe. And laugh at Rowena as she will get caught by the snakemen.

Not long after, a dark bird whished past him and he hurried to keep up. Sneaking he couldn't run but [Instincts of a Predator] helped to know she wasn't getting very far away.

He could feel her slowing down. Most likely observing the prey. Few steps more and he knew there were four snakemen. Something he had no plan to challenge. Without [Heart-seeker], he most likely would have died and against a single one. That meant they were over 230 or even more. Level difference too high for him to deal significant damage even in vital spots.

A loud screech made him wince. He had a guess at what had happened; a certain bird got caught. When he went closer, he could hear sounds of struggle; snakes hissing, bird screeching in pain. His eyes landed on a hawk impaled on a wall with its wing pierced. It was fruitlessly flapping the other and trying to get free while the four snakeman stood around pointing at it with creepy smiles on their lizard like faces. Was that hissing supposed to be laughter?

Ace knew he was safe but should he endanger himself and try to help the stupid girl? She should have known that such a large bird would never work as a scout in a cave. Not only was it suspicious but also made a lot of sound.

A tear rolled down her cheek, she was clearly in pain and sighing Ace decided to help. It wasn't in his nature to watch others being tortured when he wasn't in the mood. Besides he'd hear no end about it from the group if he'd done nothing to aid her.

He sent [Flare] by the ground to the other side of the tunnel and used [Burst]. The little explosion attracted snakemen's attention and they rushed to see what had happened there. Ace ordered the flame to lead them on a merry chase while he broke the spear shaft and took the bird off the wall. He saw Rowena losing her shape, growing bigger.

"Don't! Stay as a bird!" he said to her and she followed his order, returning to the wounded bird. "Good, else I wouldn't be able to carry you. I doubt you have much health left."

"Five percent" she whispered back, bleeding all over him.

"That's damn low" he answered, casting [Ice Field] to travel faster. He kept it up until they reached where the group was waiting and Aurora used all her spells to save Rowena's life.

In that time Ace turned to Monthu accusingly. "I told you no one else can do it but me! She would be dead if I hadn't disregarded your opinions and went after!" He was very glad this happened. It was important to keep his prestige in the group and now they wouldn't even dare to think of sending someone else.

"What happened?" Monthu asked Rowena, ignoring Ace for the moment.

"It was empty at the beginning then I saw two snakemen talking and flew closer to make sure there weren't more. As I did that two more jumped out from a corner, one threw a spear piercing my wing and fixing me to the wall."

"Couldn't you change shape or something?" Nein asked, eyeing her strangely.

"I can't do that with foreign substances in my body. Besides that one hit took almost all my health away and it wasn't even a vital spot! Those guys have insane levels!"

"Ace?"

"I'd say over two hundred. Twenty something most likely" Ace said sitting down and taking a rye bread to chew on.

"That's mad, I've only just reached hundred!" Rowena said in disbelief. "There's no way I can fight something like that!"

"How could you kill one?" Nein asked Ace, surprised. He suspected being the highest level here but even he wouldn't be very eager to fight those things. Not without his dolls for sure.

"Luck?" Ace asked, innocently. One that happened when he was just starting the game.

"I would like to have such luck too" muttered Rowena abandoning the robe Aurora had leant. It wasn't cold inside and the white was stained red now.

"Did you kill the four then too?"

"Haha, no. I left those guys for you to have fun with." He stopped for a moment before adding. "I can lure them here any time you wish. They're still running after Flare. Shall I do it?"

"Yes" Monthu said, looking over the group. "Par call out your pets, Nein use the buffs, Aurora you too, Rowena turn into something agile so you can dodge their attacks and help me keep them busy while Hawk, Worglan and Par will weather them down with their long range attacks. We should be able to make it through."

"Sure" Ace said with a laugh. "And I'll do what I want." After that he continued nibbling at the bread while everyone warily waited for the snakemen, receiving the ton of buffs Nein had.

When they showed up, Nein was the first to attack. "Spirits lingering in here show these youngsters fear, Dread!"

The creatures lowered their heads, moving slower as if afraid of something to jump on them. "Those who've died and those who've lived in the horrors left rise to drink the blood of the unwary, Exhaustion!"

Snakes slithered forward but their moves were slow and attacks sloppy. Monthu and Rowena were pleasantly surprised by that since their work became ten times easier and they could even get an attack or two in instead of solely defending. The girl had turned again in a hawk but this time smaller one that could evade the attacks easier and keep pecking them continuously.

Ace finished his bread and stood up to have a go too. He was amazed by Nein's powers to weaken such high level mobs so much but it only reaffirmed his suspicion about the guy having an insanely high level himself. What was he really doing among them and Perry for that matter? Could he harbor such deep hatred for Silver Wing to do anything for it, even spend his whole playing time with a bunch of weaklings?

Sadly, Ace couldn't really ask those questions out loud so he hid himself in shadows and used [Shadow Dash] to get into the fight. He used all his assassin's skills besides the ultimate one and a few spells for variety before getting out. He might have been way higher level than Rowena but being mage rogue, his defense was non-existent. It was a miracle he managed to survive those attacks until Aurora came and healed him against that snakeman earlier.

He had to remember close combat fighting the old man had taught him. Ace had been training it for all that time he spent in Mora but outside he'd forgotten all about it and never used it once. Well, maybe once, no more for sure, relying only on his stealth and getting away abilities.

He waited for his abilities to go off cooldown and went back in to deal a nice amount of damage before getting out. He already had a plan to take one snakeman for himself but from a next group. These were already half-dead so no fun playing with them.

In some twenty minutes they were finally done Ace, Monthu, Par and Hawk getting a last hit.

"Waah! Zero experience for all that fighting! That's not fair!" Rowena shouted out in despair.

"You should have asked to join the party then" Ace advised her. The good thing about groups in RR was that it didn't allow players to check your information. Only health and mana was showed and even that in percentage value. Ace would have liked to learn about Nein who joined in now too, but keeping his own secrets was more important. Especially when one was being spied on.

"I'll go look for enemies to lure while you go and wait by the place Rowena got caught. I'm not running miles to get enemies to you."

The group nodded and they moved out. Ace heard slithering sound and turned to look back but it was only Par's magma snake returning to its owner.

Ace used [Shadow Dash] and after hiding in a corner got the veil on. Almost invisible he sneaked ahead. At some point he remembered to also activate [Silent Steps], not that there had been anyone to hear him. The monsters were very scarce.

Well, instead their groups were growing steadily. This time there were six of them. To prepare the group for an increase he sent [Flare] back and made it show a number five. After a decent amount of time he dropped the veil and threw a poisoned dagger lodging it between one of the snakemen's scales.

They didn't appreciate it and rushed to fight. Ace was having nothing of that. He used his jump named dash to create distance and after activating [Flame Step] started to run to his group. The snakes hissed in annoyance and threw their spears at him. [Evasion] helped him escape Rowena's demise and he made it safely out while having dealt some damage.

"You said there was five!" Monthu shouted out trying to stop three.

"One's mine!" Ace answered turning and stabbing a snakeman mid move. His blades were still enchanted with magma that allowed for his attacks to go through the scales and deal a lot more damage than they should.

From the back Nein casted his spells weakening the opponents and Ace felt a little better with having to fight without [Fear of the Hungry] since killing his teammates was out of the question.

This time instead of just taking the position and then attacking randomly, he waited for his opponent's attack and after redirecting its pointy end used [Bolt Arrow]. Few seconds stun, couple deep attacks and getting away. Then evade, block, dodge and a kick. [Acid Splash] to prevent an attack, a quick slash to the hand and back. Evade to left, block and [Shadow Dash] over the opponent's head to [Backstab] and [Cut-throat]. Then [Acid Splash] right into the wounds and fall down to escape the back hand attack. Slash at legs and roll away. [Gust] to have time to stand up and block the attack. Evade to right and slash at the outstretched hand. [Burst] to get in the snake's face, cut a few deep slashes and take a few steps back.

Repeat everything until the thing dies.

A few mishaps and a ton of strikes later Ace breathed a sigh of relief having gotten rid of his opponent. It had lasted longer when he would have liked and the opponent had even been weakened by Nein's spells while Ace buffed.

He looked around and saw two snakemen defending against an onslaught of attacks coming from the whole group. Three had already been killed.

Ace didn't waste time and jumped into the fray casting [Bolt Arrow] and delivering a set of assassin skills. They instantly deleted the weakened enemy and Ace was free to [Acid Splash] the remaining snakeman. He was about to make the finishing stab when a little snake slithered up and bit the monster, killing it.

Then it winked at Ace.

The kid froze in mid swing. Did that snake just wink at him?

He was about to finish his attack on his friend's pet when he was interrupted. Again.

This time the snake started to glow, molten lava leaving its body and encasing it. In moments the creature was all hidden beneath a moving, shifting layer of liquid fire. How it stayed glued to it was a mystery.

"Par?" Ace asked, lowering his weapon. He had no plan of destroying it by stabbing lava.

"What?" asked the kid, coming closer. He had stood away with Worglan and hadn't yet noticed what was happened to his snake.

"Your snake is acting strange. I think you should take a look" Ace said with a step back. The heat around the snake was growing in intensity.

Par did as told and upon his coming a see-through window appeared before his eyes.

*Spell 'Creature of Deepest Fires' has reached level 5. You now can summon a higher level snake.*

The kid thought for some time and then started to chant the summoning words. "Deep within the heat sleeps a creature born of fire, her breaths a toxic fume, her body sleek and deadly, Raise Cherufia!"

The moment he finished smoke surrounded the lava caccoon. It was so thick there was no way to see it through.

For normal people.

Ace activated [Mystic Eyes] and watched as the cocoon solidified, turning almost black and then cracked. Something within it moved, struggled to break out. It took a minute or so but a golden snake shook off the hardened lava.

She was twice the length of the previous one, reaching almost a meter, but hadn't grown in width. Ruby red eyes glared at Ace as if sensing him able to see it in its vulnerable state and ate the cocoon along with smoke. Well, at least it looked like it was doing that.

"It's grown!" Par shouted out in delight and rushed towards his summoning. The snake turned to him and with what could almost be attributed to a smile went up his hands to wrap around his neck.

When Ace came closer to inspect it better, the creature spit at him. A wide hole opened up on his sleeve and his skin reddened from the burn. "What was that for?" Ace asked in outrage.

"You look weird with those white eyes" suggested Hawk.

"You shouldn't spit at friends!" Par said to his pet and it hissed a bit before lowering its head. The kid smiled at it and softly brushed its head.

Angry pecks on Par's head stopped him from giving any more attention to the newly grown snake. He was forced to let Claw land on his hand and stroke its feathers to calm it down. The little bird didn't want to share his master with anyone, especially snakes!

Ace watched that show with a puzzled expression. The snake had stayed on Par's neck all the time they weren't in combat and the kid had mana but not even once had the sparrow shown any discomfort about it. He was happily flying around and resting on anyone's shoulders when Par's was taken.

But now it was angry. Jealous.

'What had changed?' Ace wondered. 'Was it only the snake growing bigger or was there more to it than base appearances?'

Now it was snake's time to be annoyed. It had watched Par stroking the bird's feathers for some time and saw it as an unequal treatment. To bring it to master's eyes, the snake slid down Par's arm to where Claw had been standing and hissed at him with smoke coming out of its nostrils. The sparrow never being the brave one flew off and the snake took its place, looking at master with eyes asking to be prized.

Ace chuckled. Now he knew why Claw felt threatened by the snake's growth. It hadn't been only physical but intellectual too. This meant the snake had lost its cold-blooded mind that didn't know what caring meant and was more like a robot's than a being's with emotions. All this was abandoned to learn of feelings and become like a dog; ready to please and die for his master.

Claw came to Ace for help, he flew a circle around his head before stopping to land on the shoulder and start eyeing snake which was played with by Par. The poor boy had no idea what was happening around him.

"Hey, Par!" Ace said, closing in again. The snake hissed at him, but this time he was ready for what it will do next and evaded the fiery spit.

"Snake!" the kid shouted at his pet again. "You can't spit at Ace! Never!" The animal lowered its head once more, but continued to glare at Ace.

"Par! Should I take care of Claw for some time?"

"What? Why?" Par asked, confused. "Isn't he my pet?"

"Yes, yes" Ace answered, nodding quickly. "I just thought that with your snake changing and everything, you'll be busy taking care of it which will leave Claw sad."

"I-I'm not busy!"

"Really? So why is the snake all over you while Claw is sitting at my shoulder with a desolate expression?" Ace asked, motioning with his hands to make his point clearer. "I don't think that's on purpose so I'll take care of Claw until you have time for him" he said with a deliberate smile. The little bird chirped then, brushing his head against Ace's neck.

Par looked at them with sadness and then at snake who was nudging his hand to pet it again. His solution was to glance at Monthu who would have liked to have nothing to do with this kid dramas. "What should I do?" his brother asked in a plead, eyes on the verge of watering. "I love them both!"

"Then show it" Monthu said coming closer. "Pet the snake when it does something good but never on such occasion pay all the attention only to her. In her success let Claw enjoy it too. Same goes for when Claw does something nice. However, if one does something bad make sure he is punished but never do the same to both. Also if you play, play with both together. Never let one out of it or else he'll leave and look for a friend in a different place like what happened now."

"So we should act as family?" Par asked, trying to simplify it all to himself. For his defense, it had been a mountain of words.

"Yeah" Monthu said and shooed Claw off Ace's shoulder. The bird was annoyed but seeing Par's eagerly outstretched hand came to it.

The kid now held his pets on different hands and made them look at him. "I'm Par, that is," he motioned to his brother, "my brother Monthu and you are now my brothers too. Claw and Red." The snake shook its head lightly, making Par's expression drop a few levels.

"I think its disagreeing with the brother part" Ace suggested softly. "You know it may be a female too."

The snake nodded eagerly at that.

"So you're a sister then!" Par said, happy again. "This means we're family and should look for each other. Understand?" he asked in a solemn tone and his pets feeling the importance in his words nodded gravely, signing a peace treaty for the time being with their eyes.

Ace watched the show with a slight smile before he got bored and sneaked away. It was the most comfortable way of walking.

His walk didn't last for more than ten minutes when he had to make way for a large group of snakemen. They were moving unhurriedly but with grim determination in their eyes. It looked as if they were going to a fight in which death was a possible outcome.

'What valiant effort! They sure think high of us!' Ace thought counting to twenty. There were way too many snakemen for their little group.

First and foremost he sent [Flare] to warn the group. It was small and faint, easily escaping notice among the many torches lighting the dungeon.

This thing would give his group some five minutes to prepare and think of a plan. Ace hoped they were very fast thinkers because time was of the essence here if they didn't want to get wiped out.

He followed the snakemen group from behind. It was easy since they were not expecting an attack from the back and left it unprotected. One monster even stopped to rearrange a torch while his team went ahead. Ace made sure others were far enough and jumped on the guy using [Heart-seeker] instantly. It was dirty and unfair but the kid felt it was neccesary. He took a couple of fangs it had dropped and hiding beneath [Shadow Veil] caught up to the group.

They were almost on his friends but something was blocking their path. It looked to be gray of color but from his vantage point Ace couldn't see it well and he didn't dare to get closer. Some fifteen snakemen almost a hundred levels higher than him was a bit too much even for his standards. Not that he would go down alone if he was seen.

Time passed and feeling bored Ace sat down without making a sound. It was extremely boring but he wanted to see what was blocking the path. Snakemen had been hitting it with spears continuously but they as well might have been hitting it with their heads for all the good it did.

He guessed it was some spell of Worglan's but if they had ran away, it should be disappearing any time now. Everlasting spells required ages to cast and were impossible to make in the little time they were given before the attack.

It took ten more minutes before Ace was awakened from his half-slumber. The obstruction had went away and snakemen rushed forward. It lasted for a whole second before Ace heard Monthu's voice shouting something and then another wall rose, separating the snakemen in two groups. One was left behind again while the other went ahead and engaged the enemy only to be slaughtered.

Ace guessed it would take them another two or even three rounds if they were getting tired to subdue the enemy and decided to leave. He was going to die of boredom if he was to stick around that long.

[Flare] flew around his head signaling about its return and went back to its usual place over his left shoulder.

Ace sneaked back and this time went deeper in. As he went the cave started to branch off every other step while giving three choices where to go. Ace always chose the middle one and continued on. He had to find something whether it be more monsters or traps.

Almost as he thought that, he heard talking.

"They're taking long!"

"Were they wiped out?"

"Shall we go?"

"It's our duty!"

Ace read it as a warning and rushed backwards to hide inside one of the adjuscent pathways. From there he watched as a group of fifty some snakemen lave the tunnel and go from where he had come. 'My friends! I feel sorry for you but you'll have to stick around for a very long time. These guys don't feel like giving you a break to get back to real life if you don't want to get locked out for twenty-four hours.'

Instead of condolences he sent [Flare] to warn them and returned to the path he'd been going in previously.

Behind a turn in which the snakemen had been talking, he saw remnants of a camp. There were doused off fires and a couple of bloody but otherwise empty cages standing by the walls. A black frog leg was laying in the ashes and another near a wall, there were black dots on it.

Ace made sure not to touch anything and went ahead.

Whenever he saw a solo snakemen scout, he'd engage it and fight using all his skills. This time they weren't weakened but with [Fear of the Hungry] the difference wasn't stark. If at any point he felt threatened or saw backup coming, he would use his ultimate skill and make himself scarce while hunting down each guy personally.

It was a simple and efficient strategy to raise his skill proficiencies, battle sense and rid the dungeon of any more cleaning parties that would try to wipe his group out.

He played around like that for a very long while, rising his levels quickly, but everything has to come to an end.

At some point he walked out of the cave. Bright sunlight flared out and he was forced to cover his eyes. It lasted for a moment and soon he was free to look around.

He found himself standing on a green field that was surrounded by gigantic walls and stretched very far into the distance. Ace carefully started to walk forward and soon came upon a lake. It was crystal clear with abundant flora at the bottom. Touching the water, Ace found out it was refreshingly cold.

Without a second thought he took his clothes off and ran in. All the fighting had tired him out and his sweaty body was eager for a good cleaning swim. Ace dove to the very bottom, looking over the strange plants he'd never seen before but his breath was running out quickly. So he rose up to take some oxygen in and was back touching the orange small leafed plant. It was slick and escaped through the fingers.

Ace went up again and floated for a bit. Sun was shining in his eyes while his body enjoyed the cool water. It was what paradise was supposed to be like.

Yet soon Ace felt his skin wrinkling up and he decided it was time to get out. He pocketed his dirty clothes while taking out the set he'd been using previously. Brown breaches, yellow long sleeved shirt with decorative buttons and a violet scarf.

Done he started to walk away but something was bugging him. It felt as if he had forgotten something so he turned around and looked at the lake that was reflecting his own puzzled expression.

Reflecting like a mirror.

"Mirror Walk!" Ace shouted out breaking the silence of the place. Yet nothing jumped out at him.

He quickly opened the spell menu and looked for the incantation.

"Reflections of here and now connect the worlds together, create a path of doubles to travel around, Mirror Walk!" he chanted out imagining a random body sized mirror. It was supposed to have simple wood engravings on its frame and be of natural dark brown color.

That done he stepped onto water and felt his legs sinking in as if he was standing in quicksand. He kept himself calm and didn't struggle no matter how uncomfortable it felt until it was over.

For a millisecond he found himself in a world made up of human sized mirrors and then he was transported and found himself stepping through one of them and out in a dimly lit room.

Moonlight shone from an open window to reveal an old room. It was middle sized with grey, cracked walls and a wine colored carpet on the ground. One whole wall was hidden behind a dark brown wardrobe, some parts of it were open revealing dusty shelves and forgotten age old clothes.

Ace came over to the window and looked through. It showed up to be a small town, no more than ten houses, and be sleeping peacefully. There was not a single light in any of the houses. However, he could see smoke a bit farther away, somewhere in the forest.

He took out his dark cloak and fox mask and put it on. It was hard to determine what was happening there but if people recognized him, it was better as Silver Wing than Ace.

He jumped off the window, it had been only second floor, and noticed something he hadn't seen from up high. At close he could see dried up blood on the streets, body shaped contours in houses and axe marks on the walls. The lightless homes no longer felt as having their residents asleep, well, at least not in the kind Ace had believed previously.

Heavy clouds hid the moon, casting the world in darkness. Ace activated [Echo] and continued forward. It wasn't as good as [Mystic Eyes], but it didn't make his eyes glow eerily which was a tremendous plus when hunting at night.

It took him no time to reach the forest but inside he was met by a thick undergrowth that was over two meters tall so way higher than him. And there were no trees. It had been a trick of shadows that made large plants look as though they were a forest of aspens or something of a like.

Ace felt cheated since now he had to push his way through which was no easy feat and at the same time try to stay silent, but no good ambush was ever made when people heard you coming from miles away so he continued on quietly.

It took him the better part of the night to get to the camp that had a monstrous bonfire at the center. The thing was built from the plants Ace had just pushed through and they were put in a pyramid that was more than two meters tall, and burned very well when it shouldn't. The plants seemed to have more properties than just looking like trees in the dark.

Ace ignored the people for a moment to sneak to their supplies and pocket some of their cut up plants. He took the smaller ones that were most likely been chopped up to start the fire and were left for tomorrow or something. They weren't heavy and he always made sure to have an almost empty backpack for random items on his various travels.

He heard a scrunch of boots on the ground and dove back into the plant forest. After putting [Shadow Veil] on, he looked back to see what had interrupted him. It was a man of thirty with heavy plate armor shining off the fire and wind chiseled features. He had a great sword on his back that signaled him to be a player with great strength, he could be anywhere from one hundred eighty to two hundred forty level. It meant he wasn't someone to be trifled with.

Ace listened to the low grumbles the man was making about the stupid work and colleagues while soundlessly putting his cowl on. He waited for the moment his opponent turned his back to him and for the last time checking it was a shadowy corner jumped forward.

[Magma Blade] and [Curse of the Hungry] mid [Shadow Dash], [Backstab], [Cut-throat] and to top it all off [Heart-seeker]. The guy fell without even knowing what hit him. A horn blared while Ace looted him thoroughly and in moments made himself scarce without forgetting to leave the guy a copy of his necklace.

He went in the shadows and hiding behind thick vegetation sneaked closer to the main part of the camp to find out what had happened, why the sudden commotion.

"Helios is dead! Something killed him! It might be the curse monster the villagers had promised! Stay in groups and don't split up! We deal with this as with everything; teamwork and coordination! This way nothing will stop us! Group now!" the leader shouted out from where he was standing by the bonfire. Ace heard him as clearly as if he had been standing a step away.

Not that he liked what he listened in to. What he despised most was dealing with groups of players at once especially ones that didn't want to get separated. His ultimate skill could kill anyone in an instant but then he got stunned for a second and a half which was more than enough for anyone to kill him. Simple clothes and cloaks sadly didn't give any special resistances against swords and axes trying to cut you in half.

Players divided into groups of four or five and entered the plant forest. There were ten or so such groups.

Ace waited for them to leave. He wanted to catch the leader waiting alone but his plan was fouled by a few parties that stayed just out of the eyesight but close enough to aid the leader in moment if he was ever attacked. They weren't even searching, just staying around like an honor guard. Or a trap.

Ace smiled, thanking [Instincts of a Predator] for existing and went to hunt the brave ones. At first they were going to be lax and not that afraid of danger, thinking their friend was just caught unawares. Which was truth.

Ace singled out a group that was particularly unruly, walking as far as three meters apart. That was more than the kid needed to make his kill and disappear before anyone could get to him through the thick vegetation. Suddenly, he was happy for his small height. It made him so much more unnoticeable when heads of some players peered over the plants to reveal their whereabouts.

He took out the five players in half a minute and instantly went for another group. It was important to use their laxness to the fullest because after it wore off, it was going to get so much harder.

Three more groups died before players became aware of the real danger. They had thought it had been another semi-hard monster that could be defeated by a small group of high level players but what they were fighting was a ghost that just deleted people. He came unseen, not a single victim had mentioned seeing anything out of the ordinary, before they were butchered and forcefully logged out. It wasn't fair in their eyes. Almost half of them had died and nobody had the slightest idea what their opponent was.

Leader called them all back in to gather up for safety and reveal how his strategy has failed for the first time. No monster before had managed to fight off the allure of killing the boss first while all his subordinates had went to look for it.

"What we're facing is not only deadly but smart also! We need not underestimate it! It's the toughest opponent with faced so far but we must prevail! We're the Black Mercenaries of Kallamore! Nothing can stop us!"

"Yes!" the group shouted out with pride, their morale restored. But there was one guy more level-headed than the others. "Sure we're strong but how is that going to help against this particular enemy? We've all got mercenary class which aids us little in finding the guy that is using Laughels as a cover. We neither have magic spells nor spot skills to pin point his location and brute strength doesn't stop him from sneaking up on us and killing." This brought down the mood considerably.

"Then we should d-" another guy started but the first glared at him. "For all we know he might be listening in on our conversation even now. Get it? We know nothing of him!"

"Then let's use group chat" leader suggested and the place quieted down. Ace felt like killing the two, well more than before. Now it was personal. They were people that were too smart for their own good.

He sneaked around from where he could take good aim and took out a couple of daggers that had been covered by trustworthy poison, one that promised a painful death. He used [Curse of the Hungry] on them and threw with precision. He then did the same with a dozen more daggers he had poisoned while waiting for his group to finish. Now was as good time as ever to test out what he had created.

Like always some ended up being potions and a few guys showed shocked expressions to see their health restored or statuses rise up for a limited duration, but most weren't so lucky. Ace was getting better at distinguishing what made a potion and what a poison. One guy started to puke his guts out, another had a strong coughing fit while others started to dance, shiver, run to the brushes (Ace made quick work of him), talk nonsense, clutch some body part or scream in suffering.

In all that chaos Ace threw another couple of daggers at the buffed up players. Those blades were poisoned with what last time he had found as a very useful poison. It induced madness. This would never work against mages or clerics who had high intelligence and wisdom stats which made resistant to mind control but warriors were never known for that. Their brutality, simplicity was their greatest strength and weakness.

The raging players made the bad situation even worse for the mercenaries and they fell in disarray. They were having their own problems fighting off the poison without having to defend against their friends gone mad who they didn't want to kill.

This situation was perfect for Ace to enter into the fray. Last time he had just watched players butcher each other but this time he didn't want others to do his work for him.

He first took care of the guy puking, who had no way of defending himself. Then he followed by getting the one that couldn't fight because of violent coughing fits. And then he was noticed.

"He's here!" the leader screamed pointing at Ace and heading straight in for the kill even though his face was scrunched, holding in moans of pain. The poison Ace had used on him was no joke. "It's Silver Wing!" someone screamed out in horror and that made the scene freeze in motion. People looked at him with disbelief and fear in their eyes and even the leader faltered in his attack. Ace grinned at their reaction and sidestepping the leader's clumsy attack penetrated his armor with a single thrust. "Heart-seeker" he whispered and the guy fell on him with a shocked expression before disappearing in grey mist.

The battle was won then for Ace. Leftover players rushed at him to avenge their superior but their attacks were made sloppy by fear and various effects of poisons. They were also getting attacked from the back by their mind controlled colleagues.

Ace put his Kris back and took out two random well-made daggers that were poisoned with something. He used them to slash at his opponents while dancing away from their attacks with ease. Or so he pretended to be for them to continue staying afraid. They might not have been much higher level than him but there were still twenty or so of them and he was not of any fighter class. His only choice was to weather them down with poison and hope they fell down before he did.

Whenever [Shadow Dash] was up he used it to reposition himself and sneak in a [Heart-seeker] or [Backstab] with [Cut-throat] if he wouldn't have a second to stay still. Most of the time he didn't.

Ace really missed his magic. It would have aided him considerably in this situation fighting against a group. Most spells were AoE (Area of Effect) which made them perfect for such battles. However, it would give him away way too easily. He was quite unique already which meant if his friends ever met Silver Wing, they were most likely going to recognize him. But if he used double class on his both identities even strangers would be able to add two plus two and come up with the right solution. And some were already on his tail.

Perry might be stupid, willful and too straight forward at times but she had good instincts. She instantly sensed there was something wrong with him even if all signs showed otherwise and he repeatedly made fun of her efforts embarrassing her before her whole group. It did nothing to dissuade her of the belief Ace was somehow connected with Silver Wing and she sent her best man to watch him.

This made Ace wonder something as he feinted an attack to the left and slashed from the right, kicking backwards at someone's shin. Did Perry really know what Nein was? Was she aware he was higher level than her and should be a superior instead of an underling? He seemed to have a good head for battles too as he used puppets to fight.

Ace had no doubt the guy had been hiding his power with them all along. Well, at least the most prominent part. He revealed his buffs that were simply amazing and had to have been used repeatedly all the time to reach such high level but the guy had no party. He seemed to be of the loner, soloer type.

An axe came his way and Ace used [Shadow Dash] followed by his skills and landed in a clear spot, behind everyone's backs. Without waiting to get surrounded again, he jumped on one guy's shoulders and stood still for a moment. Like he expected people were too exhausted and blind from the pain to care how and what they attacked.

It was hard standing on someone's shoulders who tried to throw you off but this was a game. High dexterity allowed to have better balance which meant Ace could pull off this trick and mercenaries started to attack the one he was standing on while trying to reach him. He in that time put one of his daggers away and took out a piece of dried meat to replenish his stamina. It was on the low side from all the running he did here.

The sight of mercenaries fighting like robots was so pathetic he jumped around only until his energy returned and he could fight on equal footing again. Then be activated [Fear of the Hungry] and went into a frenzy. His eyesight got clearer, other senses sharper making him understand the movements of his opponents before they even decided to do them.

Slash here, dodge there, a punch followed by a jump, kick and stab. Lean to the left, block with right, kick backwards and stab with the left. Evade, slash, reverse the attack to get close and personal so the stab would be even more vital, duck leaving the poisoned dagger to survive a sword thrust and roll forward between the guy's legs. Stand up to slash in a wide arc to make some distance, scare them and jump on someone with a laugh, stabbing him on the back. Use [Heart-seeker]. Trust their fear to keep them away and use [Exodus].

Watch their eyes widen and smile like a maniac. It's important to keep images. [Shadow Dash] forward and stab, slash. Stay still to evade the attack from the right, push backwards and punch someone. Block an attack from the front with both blades and hold it before sliding down and slashing at the person's legs. Then roll sideways to dodge a few thrusts and stand up before getting surrounded.

Initiate. Never react. Jump and run to the left, throw a dagger. Let them chase. Turn around and stab with [Heart-seeker]. Watch him disappear. Dodge a blade and attack. Get closer. Stab. Lean to the right, back up, block from the left and redirect their sword. Kick. Jump forward to escape a swing from the back. [Cut-throat]. Fall down and grab some dirt. Roll backwards, slash at a leg. Stand up and run at your opponent. Throw dirt in his eyes. [Heart-seeker].

Jump to the left. Throw a dagger. Get another. Chuckle.

Kill every last one of them.

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