I was never much of a fighter. I’ve gotten into two fights, and both were in middle school. Before testosterone kicked in and every kick and punch was powered by real muscles. I’m a nerd. I love kung-fu movies, I enjoy the 80s action flicks, and my favorite movie was The Matrix for at least five innocent years. But I knew I wasn’t Neo. I never watched a violent movie or played a violent video game and thought, “That’s me.” In real life, fighting is bad. When you’re a kid, you learn that just punching those who bully you gets you in more trouble, not less. And when you’re 6’ 2 and dark-skinned, anything you do on that spectrum gets you labeled as simply one word, violent.

And I never wanted that moniker, so I avoided violence, never really learned how to apply it, and never wanted to. People often called me big for no reason because of that.

But now I’m a dwarf and a rather weak and small one at that. And I’m going to be turned into paste if I let this giant man covered in tattoos and curly brown hair get up. I know exactly what would happen. My face still aches from simply remembering. My brain begs me to use the full version of Identify, and my face pales when I realize what’s going on.

Human : #15 Slave of De’ Pollo

Health : 262/428

Stamina : 3/192

Mana : 127/127

Status : Exhaustion(Recovering), Reptilian Sight (By sacrificing their sight, those blessed by the Exalted One gains thermal vision and the ability to discern those who are blessed from those who are cursed), Blessing of the Basilisk (After giving their mind, body, and soul to the Exalted One, this humble servant has been given a portion of the great snake’s power of regeneration. Recover 50 health per second after injury.)

50 health per second? 50? The fuck. What the actual fuck! In the middle of my mental breakdown, my mind flashes back to the kidnapped elves and how strong at least one of the people sent to rescue them was. Or how one guy is literally holding on to my Frost Armor enchanted wrench despite receiving multiple stacks of Frostbite.

I can’t win. But I can’t run either. Not here this deep in this cave system with god knows what else is waiting down here and with no way to get out. Can’t run, can’t hide... No, the only thing I can really do is fight. The only solution is violence, pure and raw and probably very ugly. No, I have to be worse than that. This isn’t a fantasy video game, I’m made of flesh and blood, and they’re made of flesh and blood. And I want to fucking live.

“AAAAAAGHRRRRRRAOR!” I scream at the top of my lungs as I charge Slave #15. The sudden outpouring of unmitigated rage allows me to power through the bonds tying my hands together just before we collide.

He doesn’t budge, but I don’t care. I grab his head in my hands as his confusion turns to anger; not that I’m attacking him, but probably because I’m no longer a captive.

I’ll correct that. I shove my thumbs into his eye socket and shove my index finger deep into both ears drums. He screams, but I scream louder-

“COLD EXTREMITIES!” with a voice amplified by mana that seems to shake the cave in its intensity. Extended Range and Multicast click on in my brain, and what happens next?

When I shoved my fingers into his broken eyes, the sound he made was a mixture of surprise, pain, and frustration. He was hurt but wasn’t really injured. In fact, compared to the pain of losing them (his eyes) in the first place, what I did was an inconvenience, a painful one, but minor. But when I added Cold Extremities? That pain must have been indescribable. The sound he made was indescribable, and it was cut short as the cold rolled down his throat and entered his lungs.

I must have turned his brain into a snow globe. His body goes limp as he tries to fight back but fails. I shift my body as he attempts to knock me off of him before sending a hard knee into his face, the effort seeming to have shifted his nose. But that isn’t enough, so I knee him again and again, earning blood that freezes as it leaves his nostrils and partially breaking his nose. But that isn’t enough. His health is still climbing, so I start dragging him closer to the wall and, with a grunt, start bashing the back of his against the jagged surface.

The system shouts numbers that I ignore as I simply keep bashing his head against the wall over and over and over again as the fresh tint of red blood starts to smear the spot where his head keeps landing. And as I keep trying to break his skull, Slave #15 begins choking on his own blood, his body convulsing as the Basilisk’s Blessing struggles to keep up with damage taken. Still, I keep whacking him against that wall until, finally, the bloody smear I made is joined by bits of bone and then frozen brain matter.

Dead. He slumps to the ground unmoving, the red bar for HP is gone, and the only thing left is the feeling of relief that is short-lived. Because the thing that saves my life is me remembering that there were two of them.

“Frost Ar—”

The punch hits my temple and sends me flying. Blood and blinding pain fill my vision as I’m sent hurtling down the cave.

You’ve taken 124 Damage

You have gained Moderate Blunt Force Related Trauma.

You have gained Fractured Skull

You have a Concussion

I regain consciousness once my body hits the ground; I do a short bounce before coming to a rolling stop as I end up in a heap face down and bleeding from the side of my head. He cracked my skull through Frost Armor.

Panic sets in, I try desperately to get up, but I’m immediately pressed into the cave’s dirt floor as a large naked man puts his entire weight on my back with his foot.

You have taken 35 Damages

You have Internal Bleeding

You have Collapsing Lungs

I scream in pain as all the air escapes from my lungs, and I feel my chest cave in from the sheer pressure. I’m going to die, right here and now—

And then I see his head drop to the ground, followed by the pointed, narrow shoes that seem familiar.

“He killed one,” chimes a familiar girly voice that I can’t seem to remember...

“Must have gotten lucky,” gruffs a male one.

Then, suddenly, small but surprisingly strong hands pick me up and settle me against the nearest wall. Fierce but not angry eyes bore holes into mine, and then I realize to my horror who saved me.

“Andreen?”

He shakes his head as if he could be any other fucking elf.

“You sure we need him, Mixie?”

I turn my head back and forth until I see the woman he is referring to, and then recognition and shame spread across my face. Being disheveled, missing pants, and wearing shredded underwear in a cold cave...

“Yes!” She nods, her eyes glued to her brother’s face.

He unclenches his fist and, in doing so, lets me plop to the ground unceremoniously. I would complain, but I’m currently bleeding profusely out of one side of my head, and I’m having trouble breathing with a punctured lung.

He walks over to Mixie, points at me, then points at a point further ahead, then walks back to me, clearly in a huff. Did Mixie insist on saving me?

“Get up, dwarf. We need your help.” The elf grunts and then looks down. “And put on pants.”

***********

Character Sheet

Name: Mike Sammons

Race: Dwarf

Origin : Hills

Stats : Level 8

Strength : 11

Dexterity : 7

Intelligence : 14

Wisdom : 12

Constitution : 12

Charisma: 1

Bonus Stat Luck: 19

Bonus Stat Perception: 1

UnAllocated Points : 5

UnAllocated Class Points : 1

Character Status

Health : 54/104

Stamina : 56/56

Mana : 87/130

Conditions : Moderate Blunt Force Related Trauma (You have received a physical injury with enough force to cause near permanent damage and disfigurement to the affected body part, immediate medical attention is required.) Curse of Grave Water - Partial Resistance (You have extended the time until insanity takes your mind, body, and soul. Use it wisely.)

Class Sheet

Class : Necromancer (Wizard Lv_5) (Cleric Lv_2)

Spells Book : Tome of Mike

Cold Extremities_Lv 3:: Active Spell_Cost 14 Mana_ 1 Second Cooldown_You remove the warmth from things you touch. Deal 26 Cold Damage per second with a 25% chance of causing Chill and Frostbite. Lose 3 health per second the longer this ability is active. You can activate this ability on each extremity. Scales with Intelligence and Constitution.

Frost Armor. _Lv 3:: Active Spell_Cost 25 Mana_ 5 Second Cooldown_ Give a protective layer of Ice on a target object or creature you touch. Target gains 117 points of Elemental Armor however they lose 3 Stamina per second. Has a 50% chance of applying Chill and a 15% chance of applying Frostbite to Melee attackers. Scales with Intelligence and Wisdom.

Cause Fear. _Lv 1:: Active Spell _ Cost 10 Mana_ 3 second Cooldown_ Your perceived combat prowess has allowed you to manipulate the hidden Stat Will. Enemies you target within a short cone are forced to reconsider attacking you and have a 20% chance of being effected by Terror. Scales with Wisdom and Charisma.

Passive Skills

Identify Lv 2 :: Allows you to see the first page of a Character Stat sheet. At second level you can perceive details of monsters by knowing their name. Glossary is unlocked.

Reduced Spell Cost Lv 1 :: Spells you cast cost 5 Mana less.

FrostBorn :: You have an increased chance of applying FrostBite and Chill. Also anytime you apply FrostBite or Chill to a target above 3x stacks gain 1 Health, 1 Stamina, and 3 Mana.

Extended Touch Range :: Spells in touch range can either remain touch spells or shoot out in a straight line for 1 meter (about the size of a baseball bat).

Multicast :: Reduce the effectiveness of a spell by 40% to increase the number of times that spell is cast by 2 at no additional cost.

Resist Disease :: You have achieved a greater than normal resistance to biological agents like diseases and toxins. You gain XP once foreign ailments have been overcome.

Resist Curse :: You possess a supernatural resistance to the effect of Curses. You gain XP from breaking curses.