The burst of electricity hit me hard, right on my chest above my stone heart. The impact sent me spiralling many meters away and my health levels were slashed by half.

I was in excruciating pain. I could hear my heart beat effortfully. As I lay on the ground, looking at the clear blue sky of the game world, I wondered if this was the end. Perhaps my heart would cease beating, and my health would plummet to zero.

Another bolt of electricity, but this veered aimlessly skywards. The player was cursing.

“You pesky little beings,” he was saying furiously. “Get off me!”

The Littlefuts were doing their job well. A zipper was pulled. The player was getting rid of his pants in a desperate attempt to escape them. Kiara came running to where I lay. She looked inquiringly at my face, searching for signs of life. I was very still. Maybe she thought I was dead.

“It’s okay,” I whispered to her, and some hope returned to her cheeks. My heart resumed normal beating, and thankfully my health levels didn’t fall as I had expected. I sat up. All the while I ensured that I was between Kiara and the invisible player. He could attack again.

I turned towards the corner where the invisible player had earlier held Kiara. The sword lay discarded at the spot. There was some blood scattered on the ground. To my dismay I realized that it was the blood of a number of dead Littlefuts. Those alive were grieving over their fallen companions.

But where was the player?

I climbed to my feet. I picked Kiara and cradled her to give her maximum protection.

“Where are you?” I asked aloud. “Show yourself! Don’t be a coward.”

No reply. The silence was unsettling.

My eyes scanned the neighborhood for any indication about the location of the player.

“Is he gone?” Kiara asked me in a low, fearful voice.

“Maybe,” I said. “Maybe not.” The latter felt as the more likely possibility.

I weighed my odds quickly. The player was unarguably powerful. But he could only do minimal harm to me in my stone giant form. However, with an accurate aim, he would hit Kiara.

I had long, powerful legs. Should I just leap away from the scene?

The main objective of the attack was to find and save Kiara. Conquering the town was only secondary. Plus, my monsters would still carry on the invasion. It was important that I get Kiara to the real world. The player could sneak into the palace again and kidnap her a second time.

“Hold on to me tight,” I whispered to Kiara, whilst locating a potential route out of the locale. “We are getting away from here.”

With a massive effort of my legs, I took to the air. Maybe the player had fled, maybe we would escape without facing any further assault…

Merely a second later, I saw electricity flash in the corner of my eyes. I failed to maneuver out of its way. I was violently thrown off course and I crashed into a house. I wrapped my arms tight around Kiara, even as the pain seemed to rip apart my very being.

When the noise of walls toppling died down, I grunted and asked Kiara if she was all right. She was clearly in pain, but she hushed me.

“Listen carefully,” Kiara said in an undertone, her breathing shallow and rapid. “I think I can hear his footsteps.”

I strained my ears. Yes, I could hear light footsteps too.

I remained motionless. Did the player know we could hear him? The moment he realized that we did he might go very still, becoming even more dangerous.

Quick! Think, Vicky, think!

I studied my surroundings. Was there anything I could use? The small chunk of a wall lay within hand’s grab. Could I hurl it at the player? But what if I missed? Observing the film of dust covering my body, an idea took shape in my mind.

“I am going to do something,” I told Kiara. “I must let go of you. Do not look towards him by any means, is that clear?”

Kiara nodded.

I slowly pushed myself up, careful not to turn in the direction the player was approaching us. I held the wall block. With a massive effort of my hands, I began crushing it. I maintained all the silence I could.

Within a minute I had successfully grounded the chunk into a fine powder.

I waited and listened. The footsteps were still audible. He had slowed down a little, perhaps seeing what I was up to.

I inhaled. If I messed up, this might cost Kiara’s life. And that was unacceptable. My execution must be perfect.

I gritted my teeth.

I wheeled around and flung the power into the air.

I watched in triumph as the dust settled on the player. His form was clear to the eye now.

He was a lean young man wearing a thick necklace that seemed to be made of animal—or monster, teeth. Was it some special artefact elevating his powers? It looked like an ornament collected from the elven bazaar.

The player beat himself up, trying his best to shake off the dust. He was only minimally successful. The powder had even entered his nostrils and he was coughing severely.

His unproductive effort made anger crisscross his face. He spoke his special word. An outburst of electricity followed. But this time, I was quicker.

I picked up a brick, and as I leapt to avoid the electricity coming at me, I shot the brick at him. My aim was precise. The brick hit the player square on the face, knocking him down like a cricket stump.

He writhed, clutching his face and groaning pitifully. I was upon him in a second. I pinned his arms to the ground. At the same time I put my foot over his chest. I was going to squash him to death.

But before I could proceed, the player surprised me with more electricity. I had thought that simply by keeping his hands away from me, I could prevent him from attacking me, but I was wrong.

The electricity simply transferred from his hands to me as I was touching him. I shuddered and went rigid, but I was unrelenting. I needed to kill the player and this was my only chance. I let out a howl, even as I pushed down with my foot. The player cried out. He was in pain too.

“Enough with this,” he moaned. He ceased inflicting the electricity on me, and he deactivated the invisibility spell.

His face was bloodied from the brick’s kiss. His lips widened in a cocky grin and I realized that although I was pressing down on him, it wasn’t having much of an effect.

“Can’t do anything, can you?” he asked, spitting out blood.

I focused on him to get his stats.

General Information:

Name: Muckie The Trickster

Affinity/Inclination: Player

Level: 1

Health/Strength: 100 10,000

Stamina:43/100

Mana:57/100

Spells/Abilities: Necklace of Power

I was correct. That weird necklace was the root of his powers.

I smiled back, so that he stopped grinning.

“Nice necklace,” I complimented. “Did you get it from the bazaar? Congrats, you picked something that actually works.”

“You bastard!” Muckie yelled, realizing I knew his secret. He wriggled his hand free, pointed at my head and was about to shoot electricity, but I transformed.

Into a Littlefut.

I fell on his chest, right on top of his precious necklace.