We rode as fast as we possibly could.

The wind blew in our faces as we sped across the rest of the forest. Not wanting to alert the enemy, Bea now rode by our side on Pan.

“Can we go any faster?”

By now, this had to be the fifth or so time I had asked Percy.

“No, Ikite. I know you’re worried, but I’m barely managing this pace as it is. I can’t physically go any faster, unless you want to stop halfway.”

Percy was getting annoyed with me, though he tried to make his reply as polite as possible, for someone who was out of breath.

Gritting my teeth in frustration, I pulled up my statistics page in preparation for the oncoming fight.

It had to be a fight, unless they hadn’t reached Nunyek yet - which wasn’t likely.

Statistics

Strength 21 Intelligence 7 Dexterity 20 Constitution 20 Sense 5 Charisma 7 Comeliness 6 Adaptability 8 Unspent Base Stat Points 20

Twenty unspent base stat points, what should I spend them in?

“Quick warning before you add any base points. Since you’ve reached level twenty, safety mode has been disengaged. Safety mode is unconsciously applied to players who are under level twenty, that helps them with getting used to the system. Safety mode alters two main things.”

“The first is the amount of pain you receive from getting damaged. Safety mode deters some of the pain away, allowing players to stay sane when getting damaged. As your level increases, the pain increases slowly, until you reach level twenty, which by then your body will have learnt to deal with by itself.”

“The second is your statistics. Upon reaching level twenty, every base stat point added will alter your physical attributes. This means that when increasing your strength statistic, your muscles will grow and you will become and feel physically stronger. Adaptability and sense have no changes, whereas comeliness also increases your attractiveness towards other people. Dexterity will physically change how good you are at controlling your body too. This feature was previously disabled due to a large influx of players abusing their base stat point allocations.”

Oh right, I remembered getting that notification about safety mode.

Wanting to test out how the stat points felt now, I added one point into strength.

A pulse of energy shot through my body, down from my head to my feet.

I felt… stronger?

Yet, my muscles didn’t become any larger, from what I could see.

Shrugging, I dumped the rest of the points into constitution, aware that I was going to need as much health as possible. Who knew how overpowered the Nexus army was going to be, using level 33s as scouts.

Over and over, the same adrenaline filled me, before disappearing moments laters. To be honest, it was kind of addictive.

Suddenly, smoke could be seen from the tops of the trees, and a cry pierced through the air.

“Percy…”

I fidgeted in my seat, wishing I had a fancy perk like teleportation.

“On it.”

With two simple words, his speed doubled and I was jerked backwards, barely managing to stay on his back.

Within a minute, we made it out of the forest and burst into my worst nightmare.

The small path that led up to the entrance of the village was tainted by the blood and bodies of the guards. Even worse, the town’s buildings were cracked or broken down, like some impossibly heavy force had struck them. Cries and screams of the villagers could be heard coming from the centre, where the familiar orange glow of fire could be seen. Strange creatures flew around the town, blasting even stranger magic at everything in sight.

Growling in anger, I dismounted quickly and ran into the town.

“Ikite! Stop!”

Ignoring Bea, I entered my home town, Nunyek.

It was even worse close up.

People, people I knew, were bleeding to their deaths on the side of the pavement, holes I could fit my hand through missing from their bodies.

Forcing down the urge to puke, I urged myself to hurry. Was ma ok?

I broke into a run once more, keeping my eyes ahead of me.

Blood splatters on the wall.

The market burning down.

Creatures flying above my head, shooting destructive beams.

Yet, I ran.

Somehow, I made it through the town alive or without stopping again.

There it was! Our cozy cottage!

As far as I could see, it had been undamaged and looked completely the same. The buffalo grazed peacefully in their paddock and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Perhaps the nexus army hadn’t made it here yet?

Slowing my pace down, I cautiously stepped up the porch and knocked on the front door.

“Ma? Are you alright?”

The unlocked door swung open slowly and I peeked my head inside.

I heaved a sigh of relief as I saw my mother, though frightened and afraid, hidden under the table.

“Ma! Thanks goodness you’re alright!”

She crawled out from under the table, eyes watering.

“Ikite? Why are you here? How are you here? What’s going on?”

Unable to control her emotions anymore, she burst into tears and hugged me tightly.

Soothingly, I patted her head and whispered to her.

“It’ll be alright, I’m here now. I’ll protect you. I’ve gotten really strong, you know?

Unfortunately, just as she seemed to have calmed down, an insect-like arm burst through my stomach.

At that moment, all I could do was regret not putting more points into sense.

Blurgh!

Sticky blood spurted out from my mothers mouth, and she turned her head up to look at me.

“Ikite? What’s going on-”

Before she could finish, the arm was pulled back through us, leaving a gaping hole where our organs should have been.

Notifications

Warning: Your health has dropped below 50% Warning: Your health has dropped below 25%

Then the pain hit me.

Doubling over, I coughed out a lot of blood and collapsed onto the floor, my mother lying to me.

Somehow facing upwards, I watched as my attacker, a human-like locust, stepped over me towards my mother’s limp frame.

The creature had a human form, with flat black insect wings attached to its back. A green shell or some sort of outer layer covered the entirety of its body and seemed to provide good protection. The strangest thing though, was its head and arms. Six spindly bug like arms, protruded from the middle of the body and its head did not reflect any human features.

Profile

Name Gana Level 165 Species Human-Locust Rarity Impossible (Hell) HP 1205/1205 Gender Male Skills ??? Information You don't need any information for this creature, as you'll never never come across or even see it.

“If you want to live, don’t move.”

It’s voice buzzed in a deep way, making the monster seem even more dangerous.

“Stop…”

I managed to croak out a word before the pain shut me up once more. I wondered how I was still alive.

Gana, the creature, picked up my mother effortlessly with his insect arms and flung her already limp body into the wall.

“No!”

My arm moved of its own accord, grabbing on to one of his legs.

Gana, instead of turning to face me, simply flicked his leg with impossible speed.

Crack!

Screaming in pain yet again, I felt my hand and arm break from the force. By this time, I was sobbing, covered in blood and ready to give up.

Still on the floor, I turned my head to face my mothers direction, hoping to see any sign of life.

But of course, this wasn’t some kind of made-up world, where everything would go my way.

A singular blood stain ran down the cracked wall she had been thrown into. Her lifeless body drooped and bent in such ways that would not have been possible for a living human.

And she didn’t move.

Warning: Critical Health

I was dying.

Did I care?

No.

But I trained for this, to fight the army from Nexus. I was supposed to be able to win against them, to be strong.

It was at this moment, that I realised how deluded I had been from the very beginning. I was as insignificant as a piece of dirt, compared to the power that other individuals had. The strong ones could sweep me away with a finger, just like that imp.

I didn’t have the power to do anything.

However, someone else seemed to.

“Ikite! Are you alive?”

Just barely.

“Just hang in there, ok?”

It was Percy. Did he follow me? Why couldn’t he have come earlier?

I heard the giant longsword scrape across the ground and Percy’s hooves clomping on the cobblestone floor.

“Run. If you value your life, at least.”

Gana.

Oh god.

Percy would die if he fought Gana.

I turned, about to shout to him to leave me, but it was too late. The fight had begun.

Percy swung his greatsword first, cutting through the air, aiming for Gana’s head. In a flash, Gana simply stepped backwards, somehow avoiding the blow. Percy seemed confused too, but wasn’t done yet. Using the momentum of his swing, he performed a deadly uppercut which should have sliced the insect in two, yet again, it somehow missed. Stepping a few steps closer, Percy lifted the sword over his head, then brought it down with incredible force and speed.

Ting!

This time, Gana didn’t dodge the strike.

Instead, he raised one of his insect arms and casually caught the sword with one hand.

A surprised look appeared on Percy’s face, while Gana’s showed no emotion.

“You’ve been imprinted. I’ve got no need for someone who’s been influenced as heavily as you.”

Confusion joined the surprise in Percy’s expression.

In that moment, Gana placed his hand on Percy’s chest and flicked.

Nothing happened.

Then all of a sudden, Percy tensed and his whole body became rigid.

Blurgh!

Blood gushed out of his mouth like a river and he clutched at his chest.

Percy

Health: 200/400

“What. Did. You. Do?”

The poor centaur was in shock. Instead of answering, Gana just repeated his phrase from before, this time adding something at the end.

“Run, if you value your life. Although at this point, you may not survive even if you do.”

Percy untensed, then backed away slowly, before facing me.

“Sorry Ikite, I don’t know what you got yourself into, but whatever it is, I can’t help.”

“Wait… Percy… Don’t leave me.”

Then the panic set in.

“Don’t leave me!”

“I want to live too, Ikite.”

And with that, he backed out of the doorway and ran.

My health still dropping, I activated hold and took my last minor health potion out.

“Drink it.”

Gana stood at the far side of the room, looking out at the town through the window.

Staring daggers at him, I chugged the potion and wiped my mouth.

Level 20: 19441 EXP to next level

HP: 105/195

Stamina: 170/230

A hundred and five HP, I could just go for a surprise attack now… Slowly, I began to unsheath my sword.

“Don’t.”

Gana’s voice, as strange as it was, had some sort of commanding effect on me.

Shuddering, I sheathed my sword and brought myself up into a sitting position.

“So what are you going to do with me?”

At this point, I knew my life was in his hands. If he chose to end it, he could do it in a flick of his finger. Literally.

“Torture, then we’ll see what happens.”

Huh? Torture? Hadn’t he already done enough to me-

Where was he? Wasn’t he just standing by the window…

“But first, sleep a little.”

Behind me?

Before I knew what happened, something hard hit the back of my head and I blacked out.