Battle Maiden

Book 1 : Into the Gates of Hell

Chapter 4 : Lion's Dance

*****

Quote:“Tomorrow will be the examination which will determine the fate of our allowance. Hopefully all the hard work and sacrifices will pay off. It’s been a while since I’ve logged on to Royal Road. Once the test is over, I’ll play to my heart’s contents. But for now, I hope the goddess of good grades is smiling on me.”

“The goddess must be playing tricks with me. Just as I was feeling motivated for a last push of studying, my brother barges in my room and asks me for a favor! He is actually lowering his head!!

He’s asked for favors before, but NEVER lowers his head!

How can I say no to that? Now, I have to log on Royal Road instead of studying!

Goddess of good grades, are you rewarding my hard work with a brief moment of recreation? Or did you forsake me and force me away from studying?”

-Excerpt of Steve Journal-

*****

“So, what is it that you need?”

It was Steve’s avatar, or better known as Lightning in Royal Road. Lightning is a bit taller than Spoon. Sporting leather armor lined with small mithril plates, which was designed to optimize speed while not forsaking defense. On his back hung two scimitars forming an X. On his head, a pair of clear goggles of high workmanship. Other than height, he resembled himself in real life.

“I need antidotes, lots of them. I need them quickly!” Spoon begged from his twin.

“Antidotes? I have a few left over from my last quest. Let me check.”

Lightning rummaged through his knapsack, and took out 5 bottles of antidotes, and 2 health potions. Potion and antidotes, however expensive, were good to have in case of an emergency. Due to their price, they were kept only for emergency, and not for grinding. Grinding while downing bottles of potions was counterproductive in Royal Road. Resting and meditating was more effective in the long run.

“Why the hell does a level 1 like you need antidotes?” Lightning was curious of what made his brother lower his head to him.

“It’s a quest, expires in about a day. It involves lots of poisonous rats.” Spoon was pressed for time; he tries to keep his explanation short.

“Then take the potions too. I won’t need them till next week. I’ll give you some gears, but I have nothing a level 1 can equip.”

Lightning handed over all antidotes and health potions to Spoon. He already reached level 86, which is not bad as the highest leveled player at that time was level 137. Higher leveled player seldom keep low leveled equipment around. But Lightning still searched his bag for anything useable for his brother.

“So, are you doing this quest alone?” Lightning asked while rummaging his inventory.

“There is this one other person. It seems like the quest have a certain requirement in order to be given. I think in this case it's people who passed the basic training, I'm not sure.” Spoon answered, diverting his gaze.

Realization struck Lightning, his hand stopped rummaging through his inventory.

“It’s the girl!” Lightning exclaimed, grinning wide.

“Now that, answers everything. My brother is in love!!” He continued, all the while holding his laughter in.

Spoon hadn’t responded to his brother’s antic. He did not know how to respond to it. He was very embarrassed, even just standing there felt awkward.

“I don’t even know if it’s love. It’s just that, she felt different..” Spoon scratches his head, ruffling his blue hair, making a mess of it.

“That there, my brother, is a very good sign of love.” Lightning regained his composure, trying not to make fun of his brother.

“Well, this calls for a celebration. I’ll treat you on something!” Lightning grabs Spoon’s leather tunic and dragged him down to the local blacksmith.

The difference in their strength made any resistance futile. Spoon had no choice but to give in to his brother’s wish.

“You have no idea how many times I tried to hook you up but to no avail. Now that you’ve found someone, there is no way I’ll let you go unprepared.”

Lightning was in a very good mood, he started to talk nonstop as he dragged his twin along the streets. He did not even give him time to reply to his rambling.

“By tomorrow, you will be a man!”

“...”

That escalated way too quickly.

*****

‘Will he come back?’

Sera pondered as she sat in the back alley of Salty Rose; the restaurant she was employed at. She got a quest that was way over her head. It forced her to ask for help from others. She was lucky that the guy she found was good friends with the husband of Mrs. Graham, the owner of the Salty Rose. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have allowed him to also participate in the quest, as she did not trust others with the dark secret of the restaurant. There was a rat infested dungeon right under the restaurant!

‘If he doesn’t come back, my chances of completing this task is zero.’

‘Failing means losing my job.’

‘Losing my job, I won’t be able to survive in this city.’

She began to think of an alternative place she could work at. It was not an easy thing, as NPC react to a person based on their reputation. With her low relationship points with the instructor and being fired from the library for not doing her job, she already have a bad reputation. Failing the quest will result in getting fired and reduced friendship with the owner of the restaurant. Adding them all up, she won’t recover from that. Not in this city.

*****

“Sorry, I made you wait.” Spoon’s voice shook Sera from her deep thought.

Spoon arrived with a knapsack filled with potions and antidotes. He was briefed by Sera of the general situation; he knew that without preparation they were bound to fail. He had to convinced Sera to wait for him as he ‘prepares’. By asking favors from his high leveled brother, but he did not want to tell her that.

“It’s okay.” Sera responded, her eyes on the cold stone pavement. She felt bad that she doubted him earlier.

‘Why is she avoiding eye contact? Did I take too long? I rushed as fast as I could!’

Spoon really did rush, as the time he went offline is 4 times the time lost in the game. He even bowed to his brother instead of explaining things to save time.

“Here, take this. It’ll come handy.” Spoon handed over 3 antidotes and a health potion to Sera on round wooden tray.

Sera took the potions and the wood tray along with them. As she held the tray, she found out that it was not a tray at all but rather a buckler, a wooden buckler lined with metal around its edge. The face of the shield was carved with the face of a lion, roaring and baring its fangs. A golden lion with silver mane, ember eyes that would intimidate small beast who looked at it. She shot a look at Spoon, who just smiled back at her.

“You said that you’re not that good at fighting. Perhaps the shield will help you protect yourself.” Spoon had recovered from his earlier shock, having the girl of his dreams asking him for help. While still unsure how to approach her, he is still the gentle Scott inside.

“I can’t take this..”

Sera, by nature, always earns the thing she has. She did not like the idea of getting something for free, getting favors she can’t repay. It reminds her of people who accuses her of having everything without working for it.

She refuses to be the person people accuse her to be.

“I don’t have the money for this. I can’t accept it.” Sera tried to hand the buckler back to Spoon.

“I got the buckler for free from someone I know. It is not my style to fight with a shield. Since I had them, you can use it. Simply keeping it in my bag is not very smart don’t you think? You can return it to me after we complete this quest.” Spoon insisted that she take the buckler.

At the blacksmith, all the swords usable by their level on sale were not up to par with their current sword. Since his brother offered to buy any one equipment he wanted, the next best thing for him is a shield. The buckler was the best shield the blacksmith had for those levels are under ten.

Sera reluctantly agreed and equipped the buckler.

Wrote: Wooden Buckler of Lion’s Might

Defense rating: 10

+ 6 Str

+80 Hp

The buckler is made by a highly skilled blacksmith using high quality materials.

While small in size, it is very easy to handle.

“Shall we go then?” Spoon was glad he was able to convince her to accept it.

“Sure.” Sera answered.

Both of them proceed into the kitchen through the back door. They formed a party with Sera as the leader. She hesitated, but gave in to Spoon’s reasoning that she was the one who discovered the quest.

Spoon offered to take the lead, and rappel down the chute using the rope. He had done this before in real life with his brother. They went to a survival camp which taught them the basic survival skills including rappelling from a height.

“Clear!” Spoon signaled to Sera that it is safe to go down.

Sera was already halfway down the chute when Spoon gave her the signal. She was still struggling with handling the rope, but fared much better than her first descent. As she slowly made her way down, Spoon lit two torches and kept watch for any rats.

“So what is the plan now?” Spoon asked.

“The rats are smart; they will try to surround us using their numbers.” Sera explained.

“They will come to us, including the rat that has the ring.” She continued.

“Basically, we kill all rats we see until we find the ring?” Spoon was not convinced with her plan.

Trying to find the ring-wearing rat in that place is going to be harder than anyone would imagine. It also posed a huge risk, since they are not accustomed to the layout of the place. Even Sera only managed to reach the second chamber before being surrounded. Venturing about may force them into a dead end, cornered by thousands of rats with no hope of escape. Sere planned to make their stand here, near the exit. They will lure them with food, and hoped that the one with the ring will take the bait.

With the plan explained, Sera set down the bait; an assortment of fruits. It was the food she swiped from the kitchen. She crushed the fruits to release the sweet aroma, hoping the rat’s keen sense of smell will pick it up. Sure enough, the sound of rats’ squeak started to echo in the caverns, increasing in volume with time.

They readied their weapons, while carefully eyeing the openings that lead to the chamber. This would be their first real battle, a proper battle. An opponent that can move, attack, evade and kill them. Their heightened stats from the training can only help them to an extent.

“Here they come!”

*****

‘I hope I don’t make a fool of myself.’

Scott tried to remain calm, hiding the fact that he was shaking in his boots. It was a combination of excitement, nervousness, fear, and also the fact that Sera were watching him.

‘Evade their attack and hit them back. Every beast has their attack pattern.’

That was his brother’s only advice, since even Steve has yet to encounter a rat mob.

‘Easier said than done.’

Sweats ran down Steve’s face, down to his chin where it dropped off his face without a sound. He gritted his teeth as his eye spotted glimmers of reds in the darkness. The number kept on increasing, showing no sign of slowing down. Pairs of eyes waited at the edge of darkness, as if amassing their ranks before rushing in a wave of black death.

“Don’t die.”

A voice, so sweet to his ears, coming from behind him. All hesitation left his body, he no longer can afford to fall. He will prevail.

“You too.” Two syllables, it is all that he can muster; but his feelings are true.

A sea of black now begins their true march. Their squeak is deafening, but the two intruders can’t afford to shield their ears.

The battle has begun.

*****

Sera swung her sword low, trying to hit the small targets. The rats were huge if compared to a normal rat; they were bigger than cats. When compared to a normal human, however, they are still considered small, even for Sera’s small frame.

The rats are agile, they quickly jumped out of the path of Sera’s sword. Sera hoped that with their huge numbers, they wouldn’t have the room to evade her attack.

‘This is just a repeat of before! I can’t hit them!’

“Hyahh!!”

Leaving a dull silvery trail behind his sword, Spoon’s attack caught the rats that evaded Sera’s attack in mid air. A single strike, the rat’s number dwindled by three. Not much, but it was a start.

‘That’s it! They can’t evade mid air!’

Spoon’s attack did not stop there. Having experimented with many sword styles in the training hall, he quickly connects his first slash with another. This time, his sword did not meet its mark, the rats it was aimed at jumped aside at the last minute. Only to be skewered by Sera’s sword and reduced to grey flame.

The two exchange look, understanding quickly of how to proceed. One of them would create an opening for the other.

Two torches were planted into the pile of bones and rotten food as their source of light. The two figures worked together, striking one after the other, like a perfectly choreographed dance. Instead of cheering, the sound of shrieking rats is heard. Instead of flowers, loots and coppers dropped all around.

A dance of two, in a dark cave lit by open flame. If you ignore the deaths, its beauty was almost divine.

Still, it is not a smooth sailing for them. It is a battle of endurance. For each rat they fell, another quickly replaced it. Even though they were gaining levels in record speed, they did not even have time to allocate their stats. If they could, the battle might be getting progressively easier.

Almost an hour come to past. Sera felt the strength had left her arms; she couldn’t swing her sword anymore. Spoon, still going strong, had slowed down, sensing his partner’s fatigue.

Both of them had passed the basic training, but Sera took her time; almost over the duration of three months before finally passing. As such, her stamina is far less than Spoon’s; who rushed through the training and completed it in less than half her time.

Sera now only could focus on blocking the relentless attack of the rats with her shield. They showed no intention of letting the invaders rest.

“Focused Strike!!”

Focused strike, a skill that is gained by Spoon during his training is a simple yet devastating skill. In the hands of an expert, a well time focused strike on a weak spot is very deadly. The skill works by chanelling stamina and mana to focus on one mighty blow. This apply on almost all physical strike from any weapons. In a sense, a simple skill which is very versatile can outshine a strong complicated flashy skill when used right. With higher skill level, one can infuse more stamina and mana into a strike, making them a possible nuke skill by power user.

Sharp bones that littered the ground flew as Spoon’s attack struck down. The bones buried themselves into the flesh of nearby rats. The sound of the impact, amplified by the surrounding echoes even stunned the rats.

“Come!” Spoon shouted, grabbing Sera by her waist, lifting her over his shoulder.

Spoon carried her, in a not so gentlemanly manner, to the entrance during the confusion. As he put her down gently, he took her sword from her tired hand. He responded to Sera’s puzzled look with a simple smile.

“Get some rest, I can handle this.” Spoon said, showing his strong back to Sera.

“None shall pass by me.” He continued, while equipping Sera’s sword in his left hand.

*****

‘She seemed tired. If we continued like this, we will lose our life.’

Spoon remembered the skill that he learned in the training hall, capable of destroying a training dummy. He formed a rough plan in his head, and hope that it will work.

“Focused Strike!”

*Boooom!!*

‘That worked better than I thought!’

He quickly turned and grabs the tired Sera, lifting her over his shoulder and made haste for the entrance.

‘Shit, I should at least do a princess carry. I look like a kidnapper carrying her like this!’

When he reached his destination, which is not that far away, he set her down gently. It was the least he could do, after his rude treatment.

‘I can do this! I’ve been planning for this day during my training in the training hall. Be cool.’

He grabbed her sword with a smile on his face. As he slowly turned around to face the oncoming rats’ assault, he said his line.

“Get some rest, I can handle this.”

“None shall pass by me.”

‘Damn, I’m so cool!’

*****

‘He took my sword..’

“Get some rest, I can handle this.”

‘Oh god no.’

“None shall pass by me.”

‘That is so cheesy.’

Sera was not convinced at all.

‘Maybe I can still bash the rats with the shield..’

Always have a backup plan and a contingency plan.

*****

‘Alright, same shit. Disrupt them with one hand, finishing blow with the other.’

Spoon swung his swords one at a time. With the first strike easily evaded by the agile enemies, the second home into the openings created by the first. While the power of his attack is reduced, the speed of his strike is increased. It was thanks to his experimenting in the training hall, he did not feel awkward using two swords.

‘That on is going for my face.’

Non-stop fighting allowed Spoon to memorise the attack pattern of the rats. During the first 30 minutes, he’d gone through all his potion and antidotes. Now he was able to predict and evade the rat’s attack from instinct alone. He simply pointed one of his swords in the path of the rat’s lunge. The rat’s momentum from its lunge is used against it as the sword easily pierces through its body.

*Shrrrreeeeek*

The sword went into the rat’s mouth and exited through its stomach. Barely alive, it’s soon reduced to a gray flame when Spoon swings his sword toward another attacking rat, killing both rats in the process.

‘Hit, and not get hit.’

Waves after waves of rats keep on coming in; gray flames constantly burning in front of Spoon as the pair of swords is never short on rats to kill. While some rats did manage to get near him, they were soon sent flying back by his kick. In VR, everything goes!

‘There is no end to this!’

Something shined which caught his eye, a rat was watching from a distance on top of a rock. It only looked at them, as if mocking them. On its head is a ring, it’s the rat Sera had mentioned to him. He broke eye contact to stomp down a rat that is trying to bite his shin, reducing it to mush. As much as he wanted to break the neck of that arrogant rat, he couldn’t afford to do so.

‘Once she’s rested, we’ll have to make a run for it.’

‘For now, I need to focus on what’s in front of me.’

*****

Spoon was so absorbed in the battle; concentrating hard for survival, he failed to see a couple of rats going past him. They are trying to go after Sera, who seem less menacing.

*Squeaaaakkk!*

*Thump!*

The first rat’s skull is smashed in as Sera swipe it away using her equipped shield. The second rat did not slow down and jumps toward Sera. She had fully expected this.

The rats have a habit of going after people’s face. A fact that Sera has found out, and used it against them.

Sera moved her head out of the way, causing the rat to miss its attack. She then grabbed its tail just as she evaded the attack, and flung the rat hard on the wall.

“Ewwwww…”

Holding the rat’s tail was not a pleasant experience for Sera. She prefers handling rotten food more than handling slimy rats. Sadly, she was in no position to complain. With the two rats taken care of, she pointed the lion’s face on her shield forward, hoping that it would deter any incoming rats.

Sera knew even Spoon couldn’t last forever, she had to do something. All she had with her now is her shield. The first thing to do is allocate the stats she had gained. She had gained an astonishing fourteen levels in the past hour, thanks to the free flow of experience giving rats and double experience bonus.

It was absurd how fast they're gaining levels. With great teamwork; one making a distraction and the other giving the finishing blow, they are killing rats in a very fast rate. At one time, they even manage to kill 5 rats in one swing thanks to the densely packed area. They are killing between forty to sixty rats a minute. A heaven for grinding, if not for the fact that they can't even spare any moment to rest. Not even enough time to allocate stat points earned. I exchange for a record breaking leveling rate, they are slowly drained of their stamina and life. Potions do help, but normally rookies can't afford any at all.

She put 20 point in strength and vitality respectively. 30 points is poured into agility. By the time she was done, there is only 5 points unallocated.

‘I can increase intelligence and wisdom by reading books anyway. Agility is harder to increase.’

The sudden increase in stats was very noticeable. She could feel her movements becoming more limber. It’s way better than her real life body. She was not very athletic in real life, unless you consider running on a treadmill as athletic.

‘This feels good!’

Happy with her increased capabilities, she decided to test it out. Not having any weapon, she were being resourceful and picked up a small bone from the ground.

‘It is all in the wrist..’

Still maintaining her shield facing forward, her right hand flicked like a whip, sending the bone flying towards a rat. The sharp edge of the broken bone dug deep into the rat’s eye, killing it with a critical hit.

‘The game is amazing! There is no way I can do that in real life!’

Surprised at what she did, she began throwing everything around her to support Spoon from behind. It gave Spoon more room to breathe as rats stumbled being hit by sharp bones. Sera’s attack did not kill each time, only those that hit critical spots. Even then, it creates enough opening for Spoon to finish them off.

*Ttring!*

Wrote: -You have learned a new skill : Throw-

A system notification rang, informing Sera that she had learned a new skill. She ignored it, thinking that she can read it later. It’s about throwing, what is there to read? Although she did feel her throw get stronger and more accurate after gaining the skill.

‘I guess it’s about time I switch in with him.’

“Sword!” Sera shouted.

Spoon skillfully lobbed the sword, hilt first toward Sera. She caught the sword and rushed forward to join Spoon.

“Switch. Get back and rest. Allocate your skill point.” Sera instructed Spoon.

Spoon refused, but soon changed his mind as he saw a group of rats were sent flying as Sera sweeps the area in front of her with her shield. Some of them even ended up dead!

“That’s what 20 point in strength can do. I’ll buy you time.”

Today, Sera broke her record of the amount of words spoken in a day. It felt weird, but somehow satisfying. If only it was not due to the fact that they’re fighting for their life against a legion of disgusting, disease ridden pest.

Sera fighting style is more passive when compared to Spoon. She forces the rats to back away with the threatening swing of her swords, and sending those that come to close flying with her shield. The rats, who had never seen a lion before in their life soon learned the terror of such beast. Her shield, adorned with lion carvings, brought death with each strike.

It was not long before Spoon joined her. His face full of worry and guilt for hiding behind Sera’s back. As soon as he allocated all the stat points, he quickly joined back in.

“2 o’clock! The one with the ring!” Spoon shouted, trying to ensure that the message gets through all the rats’ squeaking.

Sera nodded, she already saw the rat before. They needed to act now, before their stamina fails them. Sera thought up a plan.

“Can you do the focused strike again?”

“Twice more with my current stamina.” Spoon answered.

“That’s enough. As soon as you get my sword, execute it.”

“Your sword? What do -” Spoon was cut off as he saw Sera’s sword flying toward his face

“Woah!!!”

Spoon barely managed to catch the sword a few inches away from his face. He saw Sera ducking down low on the ground with her shield up. She looked so tiny in that position.

“Now!” Sera shouted, bringing Spoon back to his senses.

“Focused Strike!!”

Spoon struck the ground as he did before, but this time with two swords. It created a shockwave which killed nearby rats and stunned the others. The effect is greater than before, as his strength is now almost doubled after he allocates his skill point.

“Follow after me!” Sera explodes forward from her position from a crouching start.

The reason Sera put herself down low before was two-fold. The first is to easily shield herself from any flying debris resulting from Spoon’s skill, the second is to easily sprint forward as soon as the skill is executed.

Her shield firmly set in front of her, leaning forward and keeping her center low; Sera plowed through the group of stunned rats making way towards the rat with the ring. Spoon, who quickly under stood her intentions, followed closely behind. He slashed left and right killing any rats that stray to close.

“We’ll end this now!”

*****

The rat, noticing their advance, tried to flee. It jumped down the rock it was on, but before its feet could hit solid ground, a piece of bone pierced its stomach. Instead of a smooth landing, it crashed down rolling in a pile of rotten food.

Still alive, it tried to crawl into the safety of the dark caves. Despair comes as it spies a sword heading its way.

“Squeaakkk!!!!”

The rat said its last word as the sword dug through its body. Where it lay limp and lifeless, a ring was seen. It’s a golden ring, with emerald stone. The ring the two were supposed to find and return.

“Grab it quick!” A female voice rang out, urgency in her voice.

“I got it!” A male voice responded.

“Now we need to fight our way out.”

“No problem, use the same strategy we used to get here. Focused Striaaaaaaaaaaagahkah!!!!!!!”

“What’s wrong??”

“One bit me!!”

“Where?”

“You don’t want to know…”

*****

Steve logged off from Royal Road. He was tired, having to deal with so many things at once.

‘So it’s tomorrow, the first day of the examination.’

‘I should go to bed; I’ve done all I can.’

‘When this is over, I can continue playing normally again.’

Before retiring to his bed, he updated his journal entry for the day. A smile and a sigh later, his room went dark as he silently fell asleep.

*****

Quote:“….with a brief moment of recreation? Or did you forsake me and forces me away from studying?

It seems like the goddess’ smile was not meant for me after all. It was for my brother, he is in love! Finally! I was worried that people thought that he had a twin brother complex.

Hopefully this will work out. He is very clueless about girls. No worry though, he have me. I shall be the cupid! Although this cupid will be busy for his mid terms starting tomorrow. Why did Scott get all the smart genes!”

-Excerpt of Steve Journal-

*****

<

>

Author Wrote: Credits to HikaruMichi for correcting grammars and spelling mistakes. Also to all the kind and magnificent people in chat for giving feedback for this chapter, especially the battle scene.

Tomorrow chapter will be the side story, which I planned to post today. I changed it to tomorrow because a certain soul in the chat said I should at least finish the rat thing first.

Thanks for reading, feedback is highly appreciated. It is my first fanfic, but no need to go gentle on me.