The general gist of our plan: I am armed with a short-sword and the priest has a daughter. "It's the one with the silver hair!" In three short leaps I am standing above her. I train my sword on her throat.

That stops the priest. "You let her go right this instant." I grin, "Nope." I've seen a fair bit of violence in my time but this is the first time I've had to take a hostage.

Ake is still in his martial-stance. "You have nine needles. Reform them!" Tensions are running high through the room. Ake and his brother count the needles and observe as it turns into a metallic ball.

"Take off your armor now, old man!" If only the old man could manipulate his metallic armaments in a faster speed or at a greater range. None of us would be his match. That limited range was crucial as it allowed me to use my short-sword.

My thoughts stop in their track as pain blooms in my abdomen. I've been stabbed right there! In a fit of rage, I move my short-sword and slice open my hostage's throat. Or at least, that's what should've happend.

Instead, my sword is not budging. It's not the priest since Ake's moved him into a corner and tied him up. He's even furhter out of range.

The dagger twists in my abdomen. It's my hostage. She knows how to use magic as well. Why was she allowed to stay down here and not fight up there!? Not cool, dude.

She turns around and I'm struck by her eyes, they are pure silver. It is strange. Ake is rushing over but the old man's metal ball is floating up now. My short-swords been ripped out of my hands. It is floating in mid-air pointed at him.

I stumble back and fall down. I was just given a new chance at life a few hours ago and here I am, back where I started: bleeding out on a filthy floor.

Her back is exposed to me, this is a mistake on her part. I look around at the women around me and Ake's sister- she's too old to be his mother -throws over a piece of wood.

I grab it and stab it straight into the silver-woman's thighs. The needles are rushing back at me but this is all we wanted. Ake rushes over and grabs the priest head. "I'll snap it right off woman! Try me!"

She stares at him, for a moment. I get up, and have no intention of pulling out the knife in my abdomen. I put the woman in a choke-hold. The priest moves forward but Ake just holds him still.

The silver-woman is choked out and her body goes limp. She's not dead, she's just unconscious. I can tell that she was inexperienced with fighting. She left her back wide-open and didn't give her father some metal as soon as possible.

However, how logical could you expect someone to be in a situation like that? I choke out the priest as well. Shouldn't this be the martial artist's job? His body lies down and the only thing I can think to myself is: this is a mess.

Things should never have gotten to this point. Before, I can even start listing out the dumb things I'd done to get here, I have to deal with dagger in my stomach.

Ake grabs me and helps me take off my shirt. He sends his brother up-stairs to grab some holy wine. They splash it onto my stomach. I brace for impact but a searing pain courses through my body.

They dress my wound in some clean clothes. The adrenaline was pumping back there and I hadn't been feeling the pain. I feel it now. Getting yourself stabbed in two different lives, leave it to me.

The room starts shaking all of sudden and people start despairing. One of the walls is shaking and a zombie bursts through it, splashing dirt and rock everywhere. "Hello, boys!"

It is a something much stronger then a zombie. I can tell that by the fact that it's face is a huge gaping maw and it's flesh isn't rotting.

Ake grabs his sister and we start climbing up the stairs. I'm the first one and through the trap-door. There are screams beneath us but I ignore it. Ake and his family are up here now along with one extra person. She has striking yellow hair.

Her first action is to through the trap-door down and pull some furniture over it thereby, trapping everyone else down there. She's interesting.

"We have to get outside!" I grab some of the furniture we'd stacked against the back-door. I sense some hesitation. "That thing crawled in through stone, it'll rip this door apart easily!"

The hesitation is gone now. I ask the new woman's name. "I'm Kogo." I want to say my name but what do I call myself now? I can have a brilliant new name. I'm interrupted by a notifcation:

[Title Acquired: Vein's Wrath]. I look over at Ake and I think he saw the exact same thing as me. "Did you get it as well?" He asks me. I nod, "What does it mean?"

"Check your status." Status? Status! Of course, this is a game! I should've figured that out on my first notification. Does that mean I can level up? My heart is beating in my ear-drums.

Status. I think and a screen pulls up in front of me. I scan through it jumping down to the heading with with [Titles] on it. I look over at Ake and he is tapping away. I tap at a plus sign.

[Vein's Wrath]

[You have contributed to the killing of a Vein Priest. Vein Priests will be able to see your title. Hostile Action might be generated against you!"]

I groan. This is not good. How am I supposed to walk around with this thing floating around me. I'm guressing it floats above my head like a game.

"How do we get rid of this?" I ask Ake.

"I don't know how. It's possible but I just don't know how!" He sounds flustered.

"Let's get out of here first!" That ghoul should be getting done by now. The though sends a chill down my spine and we open the back-door.