Chapter 7 - Fear them

A cute curly and blond-haired little girl was sitting on the side of the road. Her ocean blue eyes seemed forlorn. She was wearing a black newbie outfit.

...............

"Oh Carl! Look at her. She seems so sad. We have to comfort her."

"What if she needs help? She's a kid. I won't be saddled with a kid"

"But sweety.... she's so cute... doesn't she look like Anna when she was young?

"... You got me. Alright, let's go"

The couple gently went to the girl and asked her what was wrong

"It's my big sister. She was mean to me because mommy told her to look after me, but I said nothing because she told that I was burden and had no right to complain. But then she met up with her friends and told me she had enough of baby-sitting. She left me all alone. Before leaving she also said that if I dared tattle to mommy then she would kill my dolly. I don't want my dolly to die but I don't wanna stay alone. What can I do? I don't know what to do. It's scary being alone"

"Awww cupcake, you sister really is a meanie. Don't worry if you hide your dolly before telling your mommy then she can't kill her can she? And did you know? Dollies cannot die. There have the sewing magic which can make then all better. But if you're alone why not come with us? We're grown up so we'll protect you. Won't it be great? You may even get on the shoulders of Carl here if you want." She mock whispered "He looks like a gruffy bear but don't worry he's all honey inside"

"Honey? I like honey because it's sweet" She frowned "It's sticky though. What is your grown up name? Mine is Kiri. I'd be happy to come with you. Maybe we could eat honey together?"

"Sure. I'm Isabella. The honey badger here is Carl"

"I know this already. You told me before. Big sister has memory problems too? Mommy says that grown up often forget things, so I shouldn't be mad if she break a promise because she couldn't help it. It's sickness she said. I'm not sure what it is but I don't like it. It's a nasty word."

"Yes, it's a nasty word because it's sad. Come little one. We'll go to the nearest town"

"I don't wanna go to the town. I want to help you. I'm a singer because they heal. Healing is good. I am a good girl. Please let me heal you when you hunt the baddies monsters. I wanna be useful. My sister said I was useless but it's not true. I don't want it to be true." Kiri's lips were trembling. She seemed about to cry

Isabella shared a look with her husband. He shrugged "It's a fantasy game after all, and she should have age blocks"

"Ok. Let's work together then. What's your level? Carl and I are about level 130 so you can level up pretty quickly if you play with us"

"Woaaaah you are awesome. Kiri is only level 24. Kiri will do her best!"

"Let's go then"

................

Carl and Isabella had decided to do the LizardCave dungeon. Instance for lvl 120, it would allow them to level-up a little without taking too much risks. They didn't want the little one to die.

As they entered the lair, a group of 3 level 90 salamanders, all of them swordsmen attacked them. Carl moved Kiri to the back and taunted the monsters, effectively hoarding all the aggro. His wife began chanting spells.

"Ice Arrow!" The first Salamander found itself bleeding and slowed

"Lightning bolt!" The second had been stunned

"Earth shackles!" The third was immobilized

The tank finished his first target and moved on to the second, and then the third. His swordsmanship was pretty good, and his wife's mob-control and burst damage allowed them to move on to bigger groups. Kiri healed them during the fights by singing.

At first the couple had been surprised. She had an exceptionally melodious voice... but she sang children’s songs. It was kind of funny. So here they were, hunting while listening to songs such as 'twinkle twinkle little star', 'Baa baa black ship' and 'old mc Donald'.

They few party they crossed all left with a smile on their lips. It made their day.

The most surprising though? It was the effectiveness of the healing. The couple had heard that some singers could get the voice of healing, but because of their lack of elemental affinities it was inefficient. Kiri's wasn't. It was extremely good.

In the fourth cavern, they began to feel the strain of having so little a party. Riri had levelled-up quite a lot, sure, but she was a healer and had no apparent offense. The lizardmen now came in groups of 8, and there were swordsmen, shamans and priests. Their levels had also gone up and were now at 100. They thought that maybe it was time to get back a little when Kiri stopped singing. The next thing they knew, they were dead, one-shot by daggers.

In the Ouroboros waiting room

"Oh Carl... I think Kiri was killed first. How unlucky... but how were we to know that a super high level rogue was player-killing there? I feel guilty"

"It's too bad we didn't get her contact information. It was swift and painless so she shouldn't be feeling bad. She's probably as surprised as we are"

"I guess so."

................

Ding! Ding!

You have killed an innocent player: +50 infamy

You have killed an innocent player: +50 infamy

Riri had backstabbed the couple. They each got a dagger through the gut. Her offense alone would have killed them instantly but the critical strike sealed the deal for Carl. She didn't pick the loot, it was nothing to her.

At first, the lovebirds had gotten on her nerves. They were kind. So kind. Too kind. Seriously, who was that nice at this day and age? Nobody!And they were sweet too... so sweet that watching them interact together had almost given her cavities.

Didn't the nursery songs irritate them? 6 hours non-stop would have made even the kindest soul reach the end of his rope.

And yet the stupid duo had said nothing, even going as far as to sometimes sing along with her. Really? Didn't they understand what the game was about? A new world. No real rules. Anonymity. BE TRUE TO YOURSELF! Don't be nice if you don't feel like it. Hypocrisy. She hated it.

However after a while, she had understood. These persons were REALLY kind. They weren't simulating for the sake of conventions. Well... Carl maybe a little but he truly loved his wife. Somehow it mellowed her a bit, and rather than make them experience the terror of the demon-child, she had kindly killed them from behind.

It had been her good deed of the day. She felt proud..... even her could show true kindness!

She was now level 54. At level 66 she would activate the form 2 of the turtle's path. She could have taken care of the murderer’s marks by covering them up with shapeshifting, but decided not to. She was bored of playing nice Kiri and decided it was time to let the lizardmen dungeon feel fear.

Yes, the sweet kid that everybody had witnessed singing childish rhymes would kill them all wearing a smile on her cute little face, her increasingly red eyes evident to all as the diamond on her forehead shone bright. Nasty Kiri it would be.

*Hehe. Here comes the fun part. I'll stealthily get to the back of the dungeon without killing anybody, then I'll do a major sweep of the place on the way back*

Activating stealth, she quietly and discreetly ran to the Boss-room. The lizardking was suffering at the hands of a good party. His priest had already been ended and now his life was being shipped at. He wasn't far from the 10% life platform and would soon enter a Super-state.

It would be Kiri's cue to act. She loved mayhem, so why not wait for the ideal conditions to make her grand entry?

As the King let out a roar of rage and shot a clawed hand through the torso of one of the tanks, Kiri came out of the darkness.

In a whirlpool of dagger swipes and kicks, the kid wearing a newbie-outfit attacked the 8 players.

...............

Sigmund didn't understand. Everything was going well until the 'berserk-state' of the boss. His brother, already at end's meet was killed, but they would have managed still. What wrecked everything was the kid. He had seen her on the way. She was the singing newbie. I had been fun listening to her nursery songs, and the healing had made him reconsider the usefulness of the singer class.

But the hell? With murderous red eyes, the little hellion was now playing with them. Yes, playing. After one-shooting their priest she had begun chipping at their life, cutting them all over without ever once touching a vital area. She was laughing all along. It froze his blood. It was truly a vision of horror.

The blood-soaked fallen angel was giggling in madness as it tortured them. It couldn't be called a child anymore.

It hurt a lot, but she was way too fast for them to stop. As their mages blinked in hope of running away, the thing ALSO did so. It wasn't possible! A rogue couldn't blink. Well... now that he thought about it, a rogue shouldn't be able to use the voice of singing either. What was going on?

This level of strength... this versatility... It was simply monstrous. Was this an event or something? She couldn't be player could she? Shat had to be at least lvl 400...

And the boss? Aaah yes the boss. Well he was watching. He seemed to be properly entertained, even clapping his hands in mirth when the red-eyes did a double beheading of the mages. Even Sig had to admit that it was pretty stylistic, with the blood flowing almost artistically. However the wet thud made by the heads as they met the ground kinda spoiled the effect.

Sigmund fell that his turn would soon come. Only 4 of them were left. He then watched as a pillar of fire engulfed his comrades' bodies, and then nothing.

He was dead, waiting for an audience at the Ouroboros court.

Madness.

*Kids are scary*

...................

You have killed an innocent player: +50 infamy (x7)

Yup. Good warming up.

She had discovered that if she avoided vital area, the damage would be determined by the amount of strength she put into the strike. It also worked for vital areas, but the bleeding effects finished her preys a bit too fast to her liking. She had also tested magic, but hadn't yet understood how to hold it back. Her fire pillar attack was only supposed to kill one of the players.... but it insta-killed all of them. Dayum.

Lost in her musing, she felt a hand tap her shoulder. Turning over she found herself facing the lizard king

"Little demon. You saved me so I owe you a debt of honor. Do you wish for riches? I have some stacked in a secret cavern. You can take it all." The king was impressed. The youngling had not only saved his life, but also avenged his honor by playing with the humanoids bandits. By doing so she had also exacted retribution for the shameful death they had given his little sister, the priest. She was also an extremly strong being and he respected strength.

"Secret cavern? That's not common knowledge. Interesting.... but no thank you. I don't want riches, I have plenty already. Right! What about coming with me? Let's team up. I'll be killing all of the players in the lair, so if you tag along you could get some action. It would be fun wouldn't it? The lizard king strolling around with a player-killer?" She grinned

*My battle-sense rates him at 6. He's good*

Ding!

System notice: Lizardking Baruth has accepted your invitation. You are now in a party with Baruth.

Ps: Thanks to your irregular chaotic properties Baruth can leave the boss room, but don't get too far from him or he'll be teleported back.

"Nice! I didn't know we could do that with ... natives. Don't get too far from me alright? We'd get separated if you do. Hmm? You're losing life still. Let me heal you first. The song will also buff you, and those who aren't in my party will be massively debuffed. The healing effect will end as soon as I get moving though" said Kiri

The tune of the queen of the night it was. The childish voice made it creepy. Maybe it was her intent seeping through. She was going on a murder spree after all.

"Hmm through me you're also buffing my lizards. The bandits will have a surprise.... +20% to so many stats... eh!"

*Neat-O*

...............

Blood, blood everywhere, and screams.

Screams of pain

Screams of denial

scream of fear

Scream of despair

An impossible existence was singing while slaughtering them all. Players were dying by the dozens either at the hands of the red-eyed child, or at the claws of the lizardking. What was he doing out of the boss-room anyways? Was this an event? And why were the ordinary lizardmen kicking their weakened asses? The song..... It was the blood-curling song!

"Aaaargh please stop!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Mom help me!"

"Why is this happening? Why?"

"Monsters!"

"UERK! ah.... Kids are... scarrr-y"

This day of great turmoil, the values of many changed... yes they did, and most of the traumatized players promised themselves they wouldn't ever cross path with any kind of lizard. Or kid. Mostly kids...

First, a begrudging respect was born for the singer class.

Second, many were now wary of the beginner outfit.

And last? A great fright of cute kids was born in the heart of most of Kiri's victims. It would haunt them for the rest of their life...

.................

You have killed an innocent player: +50 infamy (x116)

"The harvest was good. I'm now level 66 and the second form of the turtle's path is giving me skill-proficiency. Nice. Did you level up Baruth?"

"... Level 66... "

"... Yes, so?"

He cleared his throat "Yes. 18 times. I'm now level 158."

"Great. What are you going to do from now on?"

"May I tag along with you? I wish to fight by your side in order to become strong. Once it is so I will be able to properly protect those I wish to. Never again shall I powerlessly witness a cherished one dying as I did my sister"

System notice: You have tamed Baruth!

Baruth has proposed to become your pet. If you accept his race will become a variant of the Lizardking and he will access new paths of evolution that were barred to him until now

- He will be able to leave your side and freely roam the world without fear of being teleported back to the dungeon because his link to it will have been severed.

- You will shoulder half his infamy and get the murderer's mark if he kills

- As a pet you will be able to revive him 24 hours after death with a penalty of 2 levels.

Do you accept?

YesNo

"Alright. I agree. But I think It would be more efficient of you went your own way. You only gained levels here... and it will only ever be so I you follow me because I'm too strong for you.

To be like me you need to train and gain stats. You also have to level up your skills. Levels are useless. You were surprised when you learned of my level weren't you? Levels don’t reflect true strength.

I have a skill that show how much of somebody's potential is untapped. You now rate at 5. It means that half your current potential has not been unlocked yet. Do you understand?"

"I do"

System notice: Baruth is now your pet

You registered Baruth (lvl 158) as you pet and he has evolved into a Saurian, greater reptile.

He has gained the skills:

- Chameleonic mimicry

- Greater regeneration

You can summon him at your side anytime and he will be teleported to you.

(Because you do'nt have the monster tamer skill, his status window will be available to you once you reach level 100)

>> Mudutu : "Mistress? The Saurian race is a rare variant that is said to have hidden tyrannicals skills. You may not want to leave him alone.... His kind is not frienfly with humanoids" The book was in earring form and rarely talked unless adressed to, but this time he made his opinion known. He didn't feel safe about his mistress unleashing a possible hazard in the Strategos kingdom.

However Kifirin totally ignored his words. In fact what Mud had told her made her day. *Nice! I won't forget to bring popcorn if something happen. Seeds of Chaos.... scatter and disperse so that one day I may be entertained!*

It had given her ideas... This was but one seed, and if she got her way, many more would follow.

"Great. You can now leave the dungeon and freely roam the world. If you die you'll be revived 24 hours later with a penalty of 2 levels. I don't know if you'll have to go through a judge though.... hmm say hello to Pao in my stead if you're assigned to him. You may very well be... you're my 'pet' after all. Oh! Right. Right now I'm Kiri, but I have many faces and names. Watch." She equipped one persona after another, doing stylish twirls as she shapeshifted. After looking like Finn, she finally took the red rogue persona and smiled.

"As you can see there are many 'me' but the real one is Kifirin. It's also the one I'll be using by default, so if you either cross any of 'me', just act like an acquaintance. Pao knows of Rin and Kifirin by the way, so either is fine."

Gaping, the Saurian looked at his mistress with awe "You really are something else. I'm glad I asked for your protection"

"Haha. If people question you, just tell them you're a shifter.... and try to level up your mimicry skill. It should allow you to look humanoid and enter towns if you ever feel the need to. You can kill as much players as you want, I don't really give a crap about infamy and can simply hide the murderer's marks. But please avoid slaying natives... they don't come back after all. I may not be the nicest person around here (really?), but I'm not outright evil. Well... not yet at least. I don't know about the future after all.

Don't forget that the aim is to train and gain stats. I remind you that levels are secondary. Next time I see you you'd better rate 7 on my battle-sense. Are we good?"

"Yes we are. Thank you. And... later, I guess"

"See you" She pecked him on the cheek and left the area without looking back.

Blushing, Baruth used the fledging mimicry to look less menacing (less scaly) and also went his own way. He could contact his mistress whenever so he didn't feel lonely. His story was only beginning... he wanted adventure!

................

Kifirin decided to become adult Kiri and continue player killing for a little while. The lizardmen's lair event had helped her let off some serious steam but she still felt a little restless. However, she wasn't after wholesale slaughter... so she decided to seal 70% of her stats. Her skill levels were still the same so she still had the advantage.

She wanted to exercise. So she would.

The Red diamond plain on her forehead and eyes a deep-red, the heroine left in direction of the level 150 hunting grounds that were nearby. Generally, people who finished the lizardmen dungeon went to this place. Because she had killed the last batch of 'graduates', she was on her lonesome for most of the way.

She once crossed the path of an elderly native, but as the woman cringed in fear she just gave her a nod and continued walking. As told her pet, she didn't kill NPC if she could help it. Baruth had been spared because he had clear sentience and hadn't seemed like a bad guy. He referred to the players as bandits after all, and was only protecting his home. In his mind he wasn't the aggressor.

When she reached her destination, she was surprised to see that it was already under attack from another player killer. The priest was somehow directing an army of varied monsters and humanoids. The hunters had banded together, and braving the curses sent by their attacker they were trying to clear a way to him. They outnumbered his side 3 to one but then again, killing the general usually incapacitated the troops. Smart. It also meant that they were eager to see him dead.

*Oooooooh Fun! Lemme join!*

Beaming, Kiri ran at the help of the priest. His summons all wore a black collar, so she knew not to attack them. Cracking her knuckles she joined the fray.

...............

Vanhart was cursing. Both ways.

Cursing in his head because he had been surprised when the 'hunters' ambushed him, Van was also using good ol' curses to help his summons fight the opposing army. In fact he was flinging curses and healing spells like a madman. His skill proficiencies kept going up. Yay!

Now, why the inner cursing? Because he'd been had like a fool. Having had no murderer's mark, he really though he wouldn't attract attention. Yes, he could get rid of the marks alright... slave sacrifice was proving useful.

So there he'd been, white as snow.... however, the 'hunters' were bounty hunters.... here to collect his bounty. Again.

The first dozens of times they came for him, he had taken care of it with ease, even enslaving his defeated opponents. The diverse attacks had in fact supplied him with a steady supply of quality slaves, supply whom kept on growing as the assaults repeated. However the word must have spread that he was one mean son of a bitch because things had suddenly gone south a few days ago. A big group had gone after him set on killing him and getting back their soul orbs.

Too bad they hadn't taken more backup. He got out of the predicament with more than a few ruffled feathers, but he won.

This time however? He knew he wasn't going to win. They totally outnumbered him. Dayum.

That's when the battle's tide reversed. Violently. A Blond angel with red-blood eyes had come to his rescue. Sure, she was laughing all along so thje image was a bit weird overall (Crazed angel?), but with extreme finesse the rogue was slicing apart their foes. It was beautiful... and somehow he could almost hear the melody of the battle. It was shifting with each of her moves. She was the conductor. The girl was so fast, and so precise… she didn't seem that more powerful than his hunters, but she certainly was more skillful.

*So that's what one can do with great skills. I see. But still... a true melee rogue... that's rare*

Getting back to business, he continued the support role, including her in the beneficiaries. In fact he was mostly concentrating on her. She wasn't in his party so it made things a bit complicated. The slaves were expandable. His ticket to victory wasn't.

...................

Kiri was having fun. Real fun. She had more or less the same stats as her opponents but she fought way better. Her friendly priest had also buffed her. Ha! Funny. Her offense and defense were outta the lock however.

Evading a sword she kicked a rogue who though to backstab her and then gutted a priest that supposed wrongly that he was out of her reach. As her foes suffered gross damage from the view, she grabbed a part of the spilling gut and choked another priest with it. Then she aimed for vital points, ending both their lives... A mercy really.

Wary, the rest of the dwindling army got cold sweats.

Grinning, she rushed behind a mage and beheaded him before going for the tank. She played a little and finally cut off his fighting hand. To make a point, she went all out on his shield and broke it in a matter of seconds. She then offed the offending screamer and went after better prey.

*Alright next time I'll lower my offense. Maybe the defense too? This is a bit too much. Though... it's teaching me great control over my strength. I can more or less decide how much I can damage them now.*

All the mages left pooled their mana together and sent her an AoE spell, thinking it would do the deed. However the ice storm that blitzed her did more damage to the collaterals than her. The slow she suffered from was counteracted by her priest... and he also healed the bit of life she had lost.

*Yup, defense is too high.*

Getting bored, she unsealed her magical abilities and prepared to rain down hell on the rest of the hunters.

"And now children, THAT'S A REAL AoE SPELL! They're supposed to pack a punch ya know?" screamed the rogue-not-so-rogue as she unleashed hell on earth.

A huge fireball crashed and simultaneously caused a huge explosion while a tornado trampled them with extreme prejudice. It brought forth desolation. On the ground, stone spears shot off with tremendous speed and pierced her foes. If one must say, the icicles falling from above finished the lovely picture. The area had received the wrath of Mother Nature. Well... Kiri, but you get the point.

There were obviously no survivors, be them hunters or slaves.

You have killed an innocent player: +50 infamy (x89)

You have killed a player's summon: +10 infamy (x36)

"Ooops" She quickly re-sealed her magic

....................

".... don't worry, I have more in stock. But holy shit... what was that? You're an incredible rogue AND an OP multicasting mage! I didn’t even know that mages could multicast… And neither did our foes from the look on their face when it happened" *I've never seen that. That was awesome!*

She fidgeted

"Alright. You helped me so I won't dig, but GG still. GG and thanks. You saved my ass. I would say I also saved yours but you weren't really in need of my support, were you? I may not have been able to see your HP gauge because we're not in a party but you didn't even seem fazed by the super AoE that targeted you"

She raised a brow

"Right. No questions. Well we're both marked for murder and I can't get rid of my marks for a while, so wanna party up? We'd PK around the place 'till we get bored of it. I'm Vanhart by the way... dark priest and slaver"

"Deal. My name's Kiri. Red rogue who dabbles in magic. Lemme just adjust my stats. I need to lower my defense... it's too high."

You have joined Vanhart party

"Is it? You're an interesting one indeed. I liked your 'dabbling' in magic. Makes one wonder what would happen if you got serious about it"

*#### level 66? The hell? I thought she was super high level! And what's with her HP and MP gauges? 70% are grey.is this what she meant about adjusting her stats? Was that her fighting at 30%. Holy Macaroon.*

"Am I? You're a slaver. I'd say it's Unique. Anyways, I'll be counting on you to heal me this time."

"Hear hear"

................

A month it lasted. A month of terror.

2 fiends were terrorizing the Strategiana countryside, killing all shifters that had the misfortune to cross their paths... without exception. The natives, however, were weirdly ignored.

The rumors say that the twin-demons were leading an army of monsters and revenants. Sometimes, only one of the demon fought while the other watched, seemingly bored.

The Dark Priest was extremly feared because his curses were permanent unless one went to a high priest... and because he somehow stole half the soul of his victims. He even became known as ~the soul-stealer~

His partner, the ~blood-soaked monster~ was also feared but for another reason. She matched her foes in their own fields and killed them with their own spells or moves. To top it all, a flying book calmly followed her and commented blandly on the techniques used. But the worst? It was her laugh. It reeked of madness and would haunt her victims for a long time.

And then there was THAT. Most of the times there would be a survivor... but he hadn't been 'spared', don't misunderstand. In fact everybody agreed on the fact that they were the ones to pity. Apparently they were force-fed some strange mixtures and had to live with seemingly-permanent severe status-effect. Indeed… nobody had yet managed to lift said status effects.

Baldness, impotency, destroyed stats, hideous appearances, skills loss, extreme paranoia, unsatisfiable sex drive, loss of motor functions, .... etc etc

It was a russian roulette, but lottery style with 9/10th chance of a lethal result.

You either got something good, or something awfully bad. However the bad cases were the most common, so the few lucky ones thanked the stars for their good luck. Rumors were that when there wasn't the telltale survivor, then it was because the hellish concoction had killed him outright.

When one commented that the 'hellish food' tasted in fact pretty good, he got booed. He was one of the lucky ones so they said he was biased.

-------- xxx --------

"By the way didn't you get ripped off at the market a while ago? I think I saw you. You wore a cloak and were buying supplies from an old woman. I've think I'd never seen the haggling skill fail so much" said Kifirin

The priest blushed and finished spoon-feeding THAT to the begging spellsword before answering ".... yes it was me. Infamy has many bad points. I may have mid-intermediate haggling, but it failed before the sheer enormity of said infamy"

"Huh. Too bad you can't hide it like me. Have you tried the underground market?"

"I think I will probably go there next time"

"Yup"

................

"Ara ara? Jo? Have you heard of the twin-demons? I'm mighty interested in their victims being force-fed something... and then having strange status effects"

"Yeah, I heard. You don't think...?"

"Obviously. I'm proud of my apprentice. She's found guinea pigs! To train her skill so much.... if it isn't dedication! So proud!" Deidre was bursting with pride

".... It's not consensual. And she's killing the others"

"Who care? They're shifters. She hasn't laid a single hand on natives so it's all good with me"

Johannes considered the matter and then nodded "True"

..........

*Aaaah I wonder what the mistress is doing. I hope I can see her soon!* Baruth was diligently training.

-------- xxx --------

As the twin-demons walked the countryside, they left terror in their wake.

Soon, the Knights would be sent to deal with them. However, when they finally mobilized, the demons were gone, as if spirited away.

Later, they became a myth used to scare misbehaving children.

**********************************