"Dash!" Ren moves in a blur and appears right next to me. "Quickdraw!"

Two cutlasses, slightly curved single edge swords, are in his hands in a flash and are already close to cutting into me. My bracers deflect them as I bring my claws up to strike back. I can tell he's relying on the innate speed of his skills to make up for the lack of his own natural Agility.

Mine is almost twice as high as his. However, that isn't to say that his attacks are inaffective. With his Strength, there's still power.

I still have to watch his every move. I still take damage in the teens from just the glancing blows, and if the amount he deals from just those is any kind of sign then I should probably not take a direct hit.

"Is that the best you've got, bitch! You're just some chump who got lucky against some NPCs and nobodies!"

His words come at me faster than his swords, "Let's see how you can handle a real champion! Deadly Combat champion seven years in a row!"

Now I know he's all talk. He may have won the first one seven years ago, but he's counting the second tournament that I won against him as his own!

His Armor and Strength are enough to block my attacks, but I finally manage to knick the skin of his under protected neck. The best part of Shadow Toxin is it remains active until my first successful attack no matter how low the damage is. All he has on are an iron breastplate, greaves, bracers, and the cloth stuff underneath it all, so targeting the neck, face, or even his fingers are my only options.

[You deal 3 slashing damage!

[You inflict Poison! 36 poison damage every 2 seconds for 16 seconds]

"You fucking shit!" He growls as he Dashes back and downs a Minor Antidote and two Minor Healing Potions as his HP rapidly dwindles. "You know what I had to do to get those potions? I can't wait to kill you and take your gear!"

His moves feel very familiar to me as he aims mainly for my head and tries to kick at my legs to knock me off balance.

I finally know what he's doing!

He thinks no one will notice that he's basing his fighting style on his favorite character from the Deadly Combat series! He must have chosen his races in order to get what he wanted in stats and skills. Not a bad strategy. The only catch with his strategy is it would only work against people who've never faced him before.

I activate Assassinate, but as he turns to intercept me I reappear in my original position, and Critical Stab his back as he finishes turning around.

[You deal 52 slashing damage]

From 89/137HP to 37/137HP in one big hit, he's reeling from the pain, scrambling away from me as his mind deals with the pain sensors, "Shit shit shit! Stupid fuckin pain sensors!"

He guzzles down two more health potions, before turning back around to face me, "Now then-"

But I'm not there.

Ren is actually a fierce and intelligent competitor, always has been. His tehnique in game is near flawless, studying what it takes to execute unstoppable combinations so his oppenent doesn't get a chance to fight back. He does have a weak point though…

I dismiss Stealth by summoning my bedroll at him from my hand, startling and blinding him for a moment. He slashes at my sleeping gear as I teleport behind him, Roundhousing him into the bedroll and then a tree. He falls over with the bedroll on top of him. I jump on top, driving my claws into his chest.

"What the f- Aaaahhwwk!"

He has no imagination.

Anything strange or drastically different from what he would plan for and he locks up. That's how he lost to me, not believing all the hype of a person glitching around the battle arena like a poorly coded character. And what would probably be the last thing he'd expect to see in the middle of a fight?

He starts coughing up blood as he pulls the bedroll off of his face, "Who… the hell are you…?"

I lean forward, a wicked grin behind my mask that I know he can't see, but I know he will be able to hear, "I'm the monster under your bed, tucking you in, little Ren. Sweet dreams."

I twist my claws and send him for a respawn.

[Congratulations!

[You have won the Duel Challange!

[You received: 200XP, 1*Simple Iron Bracers, 1*Simple Iron Greaves, 1*Simple Iron Breastplate, 2*Simple Iron Saber, 85*copper, 17*Silver, 11*Basic Ration, 1*Minor Healing Potion]

My prizes hit the dirt, not enough room in my storage. Looks like the party doesn't share the XP from the duel, even though it's only ten percent instead of twenty, and I get everything he had excluding his plain clothes and the Bracelet of Storage. But, it looks like I do get everything that was in the bracelet, another thing different from killing him normally. It really isn't much and it makes me start wondering. How much harder is it to be in the city?

Everyone that's faced us so far has junk for gear and weapons. Ren tracked us down and had such confidence in beating me even though he was only using plain iron swords. Not only that, but he relied so heavily on his skills that he probably drained his points in the hopes of a quick win. Granted, I don't have the typical look of a mage, more like a tank rogue. Normally someone who likes to be in the mix like me wouldn't drop stat points into Arcane or Faith just for the sake of a little magic. I call Serenity, asking for a rucksack so I can finish digging. She and Kona arrive shortly after.

"Would you like some help, Sir Ardacen?"

Serenity is sweet, of course she would ask. I look her in her lone smiling eye and shake my head, "I got this. Thank you, ladies."

"Hey, Ardy," Kona catches my attention as she slowly ascends towards the top of the trees, "Did he freak out because you told him what you and Victoria do on those bedrolls?"

With her cackling and pointy hat she is the poster child for wicked witch. I playfully chuck an Arcane Bolt at her. She dodges but at the cost of almost losing the Infernus overboard. They take off, leaving me alone, her laughter echoing in the forest.

I consider digging seperate holes for each body, but eventually they evaporate anyway so I convince myself to make one big hole. I try really hard not to think of the phrase that rhymes with "sass shave" even though I know that's what it is. I look around again, making sure I'm still alone after digging out the pit, and use the rucksack to scoop the bodies and pour them out.

I'm crossing my fingers, eyes, and toes hoping they don't put this on TV, especially after my bad ass moment with Ren. I ask Arc's gods and goddesses to watch over these poor souls or whatever it is they do for them. By now, the sun is setting and I scoop up the remaining loot into the rucksack and head inside.

We're all in the Mess Hall, the amazing breakfast only sating our hunger for twelve hours. Of course, the way the food is coming out I wouldn't wait for the notification.

"Well well well, look at'choo. Ain't you done well so far?" Mika appraises me, scratching at her stubble. "Guess I picked the right person to deliver the potions that day."

I swallow a mouthful of the new food, "Just trying to be helpful!"

[Buff Gained: +1 Strength, +1Dexterity, +2HP Regen for the next hour. Hunger is sated for the next 12 hours]

They managed to slow cook the Boar Meat for most of the day and it is a delicious way to cap everything that’s happened so far.

Roasted Potatoes and Chopped Salad accompany it and I struggle to remember the last time I had a meal like this IRL.

"So," I wiped my mouth on a cut out patch of canvas that I've been using as a table napkin, "You'll be joining us on our little expedition?"

Not having anything else nearby, the older dwarf woman uses her sleeve to wipe the grease from her face, "Aye. Sold the store and stock for a pretty coin, but I kept all of my crafting tools." She pulls a flask from a Storage Necklace and takes a deep swig.

I gather up all the empty plates from everyone, "Have you checked out the Alchemy Lab and the other workshops?"

She wipes her mouth on her sleeve again, "They're not bad, boy. We leaving soon?"

I look around at everyone else, some of them shrug, but the rest just stare at me waiting for my answer.

I sigh, "Well, we should head out soon. I get the feeling that more and more players will be coming this way. We're really not that far from the city, its just nobody seemed to want to come out east until now. Sonny, do you have a course plotted yet?"

[Indeed I have, Ardy. Though I'm afraid that the Traveller Vanishing is scheduled to occur sometime during the trip]

"What the-" Mika is understandibly shaken by the sudden voice/notification having only recently experienced something like this. "Dimitria, you're gonna have to give me a while to get used to you, girl."

[My apologies, Lady Mika.]

"And what did I tell you about addressing me?" She's raising and eyebrow and grinning up at the ceiling, not knowing where else to look.

Victoria shakes her head and playfully growls, "You better not, Sonny…"

[My apologies, Grand Mistress of the Workshop, Concocter of All Things Good, Enchanter of the Mightiest of Items]

There's an audible groan from everyone at the table as I cock an eyebrow at the smug looking dwarf, "Enchanter? Hold on, before I add another log to my fire, I want to check out the Trade Center. We've been putting it off for too long. I say everyone relax tonight, we've had a pretty action packed day already."

"No way, Jose!" Rachel scoffs, getting up along with the others, "After, like, being back in the city, Richter and I realised how advanced everyone's gear is here. We're so not losing ground if we can help it!"

"Richter, come with me then. You can fill me in on the details of city life. There's something that's been bugging me."

Victoria pulls up next to me and kisses me full on the lips, "You were fantastic in the duel. Hope you saved some moves for me…" She winks as she joins the others on their way to the workshops, giving her hips an extra swish.

Richter puts an arm around my shoulders, practically leaning on me like a bar counter, "Too bad you can't take her out of the game, eh bro?"

We both laugh, "If only."

We make our way to the Town Hall, Richter filling me in on daily life in Kes Rentas, "It was tough, dude. They were stingy with everything, you name it! Reputation, rewards, XP! I think they even raised the prices of stuff, but only for players!" He clicks his tongue in frustration, "I couldn't even get a friendly smile from any of the ladies no matter what I did…"

"How much was a set of armor? A lot of our attackers seemed woefully under prepared."

He pauses for a moment to think, even slowing his steps, "A full set of simple leather came to about eight to ten silver depending where you get it. That's chest, hands, arms, legs, feet, and a cap. For simple iron weapons, they could be found between one to two silver depending on what you want."

He smiles at the suprise on my face, "Yeah, bro, like I said, they really ripped us all off. And forget about buying any kind of potions. They think just cuz we respawn we don't feel pain, or whatever." He runs a hand through his impossibly slicked back blonde hair.

"That's crazy," I'm reeling from that bit of information. Here we are, crafting higher level gear from the creatures roaming around our backyard for free! "Didn't anyone get a crafting class? I'm sure some entrepeneur could've created a lucrative side business?"

He shakes his head as I open the door for him, "Thanks. Just the simple logistics of gathering material, getting to use the equipment in a smithy or a workshop, and then trying to sell stuff without a permit is enough of a turn off for people to not even bother."

"What's stopping everyone?" I ask as I lead him past the main hall and through the west wing.

"Dude. Jail time. And you're stuck in there like, for real. From what I've heard, its a mini map, like seperate from the regular dimension that we're in now. There's no escape."

We both stand in front of a mirror the size of a door. Richter puts a hand on his hip and cocks his head, "Is this, like, a dressing room?"

I snort out a laugh at his unexpected joke and use a hand to access it. A small blue menu screen appears in front of us. "Okay," I mumble, "Starts out simple enough."

[Inter-Dungeon Trade Center

[>Buy Options

[>Sell Options

[>Auction Options

[>Cancel]

"Well, bro? What should we do first?" Richter crosses his arms, and I unconciously copy him. I select Buy Options and the menu changes. It becomes a running list of all the items up for sale from other dungeons and cities with a similar Access Panel. "Whoa, that's a lot, dude. Is there, like, a filter?" I spot it in the top right and press it.

I muse the options, "Let's see. First, let's sort by price instead of alphabetical." He nods his head in agreement. "Then, let's limit it to accessories… below one silver." The menu becomes blank. I didn't really expect to see anything , but it means accessories are not cheap.

[Ardy, the ladies are requesting permission to open the Chests from today's battle.]

"Hm? Yeah, of course," I respond dismissively, clearing the filters. Thinking about it for a moment, I select [Wonderous Items] and [

He searches with a smile and starts laughing, "Dude! Click on that one!" I start chuckling as we both read the description.

[Small Ass Statue, Wonderous Item]

[A small stone statue of a donkey, painted gray. When the owner of this statue speaks the command word, it transforms into a normal size, magical beast of burden, capable of hauling 300lbs, slightly higher than the limits a regular donkey. Moves at a typical human walking speed. Lasts 12 hours or until dismissed/destroyed. Requires no food, water, or regular maintenance. 25HP, 0Armor

[5g, 13s]

"Oh man," I sigh, still giggling a bit, "I'm so glad it wasn't what we thought it was!"