Ch. 8 Zachary

(Sorry we're going to have Zach be our main guy for two to three chapters. Time needs to pass before our pal Rui comes into play.)

{Zachary's Point of View}

-October 3rd, 2041-

[Status of the Game so far]

Top Player of the Current Chapter: LowePlays

Gender: Male

Age: 18 years old

level: 72

Class: Field Commander

Weapon: (Super Rare)Excaliburn and Divine Cross

Skills: 47

Guild: The Sacred Blood Oath

Guild Leader: Vexal

Quests completed: 1082

Players left in the Game: 1.73 million

Players that have Died: 861,432

Floor Bosses defeated: 39

Highest Floor Achieved: 32

My name is Zachary... or it used to be... Now I'm called ZK The Meat Shield... It's been 7 horrid months since this game came out. My best friends have died... My brother... has died... It was all my fault...

-Months Earlier-

When the game first started... me and my brother created our characters together. Somehow the game knew we were both playing. It recommended two classes for us, big brother and little brother. The class presented bonuses exclusive to us as long as we are together. When we found out about the death game we were trapped in, my brother wanted us to stay on the first floor. I said we couldn't because we all needed to work together in order to survive. My friends were trapped in the game as well and the ten of us made our own guild. It was so stupid, we called ourselves The Heaven's Harp. For three months we worked hard to level up in order to be useful... In the end, we lost each other before we even reached the front lines.

"Brother... I want to see mom."

I looked at my little brother, a seven year old child that's done nothing wrong. He's only 3 foot 6 inches with short blonde hair and brown eyes. His avatar wore a tanned shirt with brown wool pants and sandals. His pale skin shone brightly in the sun with a very fragile build. As the big brother, the game makes me carry him on my back no matter where we go.

Me on the other hand, I'm 18 years old with blonde hair and blue eyes. I was lucky to get the blue eyes, and they made my brother so jealous. I stood at 6 foot 4 with a fragile build like his but my skin was slightly darker. My nose and mouth were a bit smaller than average but I didn't mind since I had big hands. I wore leather armor that completely covered my torso and legs with metal shoes. Straps crossed over my chest with a carrier bag on my back. When we traveled, my brother would be protruding from the bag, hanging onto me. A lot of the female characters and players thought it was adorable.

I pat my brother's head as he sat on our inn's bed, "I know you do little buddy."

My brother frowned, "How long until we can finally see our parents again?"

I looked down, shaking my head, "I don't know little bud. The top players have barely gotten to floor 13, let alone 100. We're going to be trapped her for a long time..."

My brother looked so sad as he looked down, "Are... we going to die..?"

I flinched, gripping his shoulders, "We're not going to die!"

My brother flinched, looking down, tearing up, "But Charlie died yesterday! We almost died too!"

I shook him slightly, "There is no way I'm letting either of us die!"

My brother wouldn't stop crying, "How do you know!? Charlie fell in a hole! You wouldn't even let me see! All I heard was his yells!"

I smacked him, "Stop acting like everything is hopeless!"

He held his cheek in shock, "But-"

I cut him off, "No buts! Charlie was unlucky! We still have everyone else and they won't abandon us for anything! We're level 27 now, we can take care of ourselves! You're a good little brother, you've helped save me and our friends! You can't act weak right now because you need to be strong. Steven, you're an important gear in our machine, your smile helps everyone. We need you to stay happy to make everyone else happy. We'll get home one day, you just need to be patient."

My brother wiped his eyes, "Okay bro... I believe you."

I nodded, patting his back, "Come on, we're going to meet everyone at the bar. Our leader found a new cave to explore."

He climbed onto my back, "Okay bro, let's go."

With him on my back, I got up and let our room.

[Floor 5]

(Ricard's Bar-Town of Drunkard)

The rest of our gang waited for us at the bar, sitting at a large round table. Our leader, Skiel, had a map out showing the entire floor. Skiel is a level 39 Marauder known for his destructive power. He uses heavy weapons that commit to guard breaking and damage. I don't think I've seen an enemy or player that's been able to block him yet.

He began telling us what our mission today is, "Team, I've got word of a secret dungeon on this floor. It's full of enemies higher leveled than the others on this floor but we're still higher."

Our asian friend, a girl named Janessa, asked, "What's important about this item?"

Skiel smiled, "Rumor has it, it can resurrect dead players."

My friend Kyle asked, "Are you sure about this man? That sounds too good to be true."

I had to agree with Kyle, "Yeah, this sounds fishy."

Another girl, Kathy, said, "C'mon guys! This may be our one chance to bring Charlie back!"

I frowned, "But they said that when you die in the game, you die for real. How can he come back if he's already dead?"

Kathy scoffed, "How do we know if we really do die?"

Kyle replied, "If we wouldn't die, we'd be out of the game by now."

Skiel nodded, "Right. Plus, even if the item doesn't bring Charlie back, we'll still be able to use it the next time one of us dies."

My little brother poked his head out, "Are you sure we'll be fine?"

Skiel nodded, "Positive. The enemies there are only level 25 or lower, we'll be fine."

I scratched my chin, "Maybe we should ask some of the top players for help."

Skiel shook his head, "We can't, they'll try to take the item for themselves."

I bit my lip, "Yeah... you're right..."

Our friend Richard spoke up, "If we're just careful, we'll get the item no problem. I can detect some traps with one of my skills, if anything, I'll give you guys a warning."

Kathy glared at him, "Like how you warned Charlie?"

Richard got a little defensive, "Hey! I wasn't there to warn him!"

Kathy rolled her eyes, "Oh yeah? Then why did you conveniently arive two seconds later?"

Richard slammed his fist on the table, "I was busy fighting a group of pokemon!"

Kathy kept her glare, "Apparently so busy you weren't there to save your friend."

Richard was livid, "You're only butthurt because you loved Charlie with that sandy vagina of yours!"

I yelled, "Guys! Shut the hell up! Charlie's death was no one's fault!"

Richard and Kathy both turned their heads yelling, "Hmph!"

Skiel facepalmed, "Guys, we can't fight amongst ourselves now. We need teamwork like we always have."

We all agreed, having one last meal at the bar before heading out for our mission. Along the way, my brother kept his eyes open for anything dangerous. As a little brother, his field of vision is increased by 50% with enemy's mark in red. If he spots anything, he'll let us know. The walk there wasn't dangerous at all, not even evil players were along the way. Richard walked beside me with an angry expression. He's a taller dark skinned male with black curly hair. His eyes are brown with dark patches of skin making a leaf on his left cheek. His arms were muscular like they were in real life. His character is a level 31 trapper, allowing him to not only make traps but detect them based on his level of expertise. However, he's still at an amateur level so most traps are still beyond his sight. He wasn't allowed to wear armor because of his class so he only wore a black shirt with brown pants. A large backpack was strapped onto his back, allowing him to hold a lot more items. Using items, he can craft his weapons and traps.

I decided to talk to him, "You okay?"

Richard answered quickly, "No. Kathy got under my skin."

I pat his back, "Don't worry about it, she was just blowing off some steam. Charlie's death hit her the hardest you know?"

Richard looked aside, "Tsk, I know. That dumb broad is always bitching about it."

I put my hand up for a fist bump, "I always got your back man."

He bumped fists with me, "Yeah I know, me too brother."

My little brother tried to join in, "Me three!"

Richard smiled, bumping fists with Sam, "Keep those eyes peeled little man."

My brother grinned, "They're always open."

We arrived at the cave to find a player sitting near the entrance. He eyed us suspiciously with a black straight sword in his right hand. He didn't have a shield equip but wore a set of black leather armor. His black spiky hair extended down to barely graze over his eyes. His name was Murloc_Rampage and he was level 52.

Skiel approached him, "Murloc, what are you doing here? I thought you were on the front lines."

Murloc_Rampage got up, "I was going to explore the cave but it seems you will beat me to the punch."

Skiel questioned him, "You could have easily solod this cave, why didn't you?"

Murloc_Rampage looked aside, tilting his head, "I'm not sure. Something doesn't feel right, now if you'll excuse me, I have seven hours of sword fighting practice ahead of me."

Skiel shook his head, "He always was an antisocial person."

I decided to ask, "He practices for 7 hours?"

Skiel laughed, "That's not normal for him. I hear he usually practices every waking moment."

I looked at Murloc_Rampage as he walked off, "Wow... he must be an amazing swordsman."

The nine of us walked into the cave, immediately finding ourselves in pitch black darkness. Richard quickly used some materials to create torches for us to use. With our paths now visible, we were able to venture deep into the cavern. At one point, Skiel stepped on a switch as a wall came down from the ceiling. We all jump forward in surprise but only Richard got caught underneath. His torch was still lighting up the area, revealing his twitching arm before it shattered with the rest of his body.

I screamed, "Richard!"

Kathy was in absolute shock, "He... can't be dead... right?"

I shook my head, crying, "I can't believe he died that quickly from a trap!"

A loud siren suddenly rang as the entire cave lit up, "Trap activate, now sending in Nidokings and Drapions."

The 8 of us clumped together in a defensive stance as we were surrounded by level 40 enemies. They attacked us Relentlessly, causing all of us to either get fatally wounded or poisoned. Eventually, Skiel broke a whole through their lines, allowing us to run through.

Skiel yelled, "Everyone! This way!"

All of us ran in his direction, trying to get away from the overleveled enemies. My little brother hugged me tightly, scared for what will happen. As we ran, a Nidoking busted through the wall from my right. My back hit the wall hard and I barely got out of the way. I was surrounded again and watched as my friends were leaving me behind.

I blocked an attack from the Nidoking and tried to counter but it blocked, "Ugh..."

My little brother cried, "What do we do now brother!?"

I watched with my brother pressed against the wall as hope began to fade, "I... I'm so sorry little brother..."

Then, a blast of air blew past me as the nidoking in front of me was cut in half. I stared in shock as Murloc_Rampage ran past me. It was like in slow motion as he effortlessly sliced the Nidokings and Drapions apart. He ran along the wall jumping off the ceiling and walls as he held off the pokemon.

He yelled at me, "What the hell are you doing!? Run!"

I flinched from my brother hitting me, "Big bro, he's telling us to run."

I shook my head, "I can't just leave you! There's over 50 of them!"

Murloc never looked back at me, he just held a thumbs up at me, "I'll be fine. Trust me. I've faced worse. I'm not letting you die."

I stared at him in awe as he fought all of the enemies alone. His swordsmanship far surpassing mine as his level began to increase from all the exp he's gaining.

I began to run, "Thank you!"

I looked back to see him crack his neck and say, "Okay, time for some extreme training."

Throughout the cave, sounds of battle rang from Murloc destroying those pokemon. When I caught up to my friends, they were all panting from running.

Skiel said, "Thank god you're alright."

I panted, "I was saved by that murloc guy."

Janeesa asked, "Why did you abandon him?"

I crossed my arms angrily, "Like how you guys abandoned me?"

Janeesa flinched before looking down, "Sorry..."

My little brother popped his head out, "Don't worry, we forgive you, right brother?"

I sighed, "Yeah, we're alive so that's a plus."

Skiel looked past me, "Alright, Murloc is going to be fine so we need to keep moving."

I asked, "How did he even find us? I thought he left?"

Skiel shrugged, "I don't know, he's a good guy so maybe he just couldn't leave us alone."

I sighed, "I hope that's the case. He saved my life without a second thought."

The 8 of us ventured deeper into the cave, ready for anymore traps. Thanks to the light, we were able to see everything properly. More pokemon attacked us but they were no match for our teamwork. Eventually our persistence paid off and we arrived in a large white room.

A male voice rang throughout the room, "My my, I've been so bored."

We looked at a large throne to see what looked like a Hybrid between a Banette and a Human. He's 6 feet tall wearing a cloak that looked like it was made out of a banette. It mouth is a yellow zipper with it unzipped to the left. His skin is a mixture of white and black that seemed to move on its own. He sat on the throne almost in a fetal position before sitying up. His hands are all black with sharp purple claws. The cloak completely covered his feet and legs. The cloak open up to reveal his stomach and chest that have white and black patches.

Skiel asked, "Who are you?"

? was over his head with a green health bar, "Who am I? Hm... I think you should wonder what I am, don't you think too? Hah~ Hah~ Hah~"

The way he laughed was borderline creepy. His eyes are a deep yellow with a black demon slit. He grinned at us with his zipper mouth before disappearing. When he reappeared, he grabbed another one of our friends and bit his neck.

The rest of us were frozen as blood was drank from our friend as he yelled out, "Help me you guys! HELP ME!"

All of us stared in shock, frozen, unable to help our friend as his hitpoints reached zero. His body slumped to the ground and shattered.

All of us gasped, letting the hybrid wipe his zipper lips, "Ah, how refreshing, hah hah hah~"

I readied my weapon, "What are you!? Heyah!"

I ran at him, attacking him with a forward strike, but he caught my attack. I stared into his eyes in shock as he grinned in my face.

He said, "I'm a demon, what else could I be?"

I pulled back trying to attack him again. The hybrid jumped back disappearing and reappearing behind me. He grabbed my little brother for a moment until my ability threw him back.

He backflipped over my friends and landed a few feet from them, "I see, that's an interesting ability. There are seven of you left and I'm still thirsty." He gave us an insane look, "Who's up next to feed me? Hah hah hah hah~!"

Skiel ran in, "Do not mock us!"

Skiel attack quickly with his Ax, slamming down with all his brute force. The hybrid easily dodged it, jumping aside before thrusting forward to kick Skiel's stomach. Skiel screamed in pain as he was thrown into Janeesa. I went to help as Kathy tried to kill him with three of our friends. The hybrid just laughed at them, dodging their attacks, effortlessly toying with them. I watched, feeling a sense of despair as he began killing them slowly. Another one of us was grabbed and bit by him. their body spassing from theur blood being drained until they were dead. Wasn't... wasn't this just supposed to be a game? What kind of sick twisted monster would put this in a game!?

The hybrid wiped his lips, "Ah, that was quite refreshing. Now, what to do with the rest of you."

Then I heard Murloc_Rampage's voice, "Enough!"

All of us turned our heads to look at him, earning a, "Oooh?" from the hybried.

Murloc walked in with him sword extended, his level increased to 54, "Demon... You're not the one I'm looking for... but I'll kill you."

The hybrid grinned, "Ah, what a higher level compared to these livestock."

Murloc opened his menu taking out a potion, "With this, I'll end your game demon."

Murloc drank the potion, releasing a burst of air as all his stats increased drastically. The hybrid seemed to widened his eyes in excitement. His grin grew as he was ready for his next battle.

He yelled, "Yes! Show me what you got demon slayer!"

Murloc threw aside the empty potion, "Demon slayer? No, I'm the solo black swordsman and you're going to learn your manners today."

They both ran at each other, clashing a sword against claws. Their battle looked elegant, Rui's movements were perfectly timed with no excess movement. Backrolls, jump slashes, vertical cuts, special attacks. All were blocked or dodged as they fought with a level of skill tiers above ours. Skiel stared in shock from their titantic battle.

Skiel whispered, "How can they fight like this?"

I watched in awe as they suddenly fought along the walls and ceiling. That's a level of only the top 1% of players in the world can use. They fell back to the ground and clashed, trying to overpower one another.

The hybrid spat in his face, "Ah ha! Is that the best you got!?"

Murloc looked down, "No... I have so much more."

Suddenly, Murloc began overpowering the demon using one hand. The demon's face went from excited to concerned as he used two hands to push.

The hybrid wasn't laughing anymore, "How... there's no way you're this strong!"

Murloc grinned, revealing a much sharper tooth before laughing, "Of course I'm this strong you idiot!"

Using his free hand, Murloc slammed his fist into the hybrid's stomach. The hybrid choked in pain, falling to his knees coughing. With a swift kick, Murloc hit the side of his head, sending him sprawling into a wall to the right.

Murloc tapped his sword on his shoulder, saying, "Come on, come on, I just finally loosened up. You can't give up that quickly."

The hybrid got up, his hp suddenly in the red as he struggled to look at Murloc, "Two punches... and..." he coughed blood, "Is this... bleeding effect?"

Murloc smirked, "Of course it is. I am a one handed swordsman with a rank of 6. Each time you block a sword strike, bleeding effect is activated, building up inside you. This whole time you've been harming only yourself."

The hybrid collapsed forward, looking up at Murloc as he walked forward, "You... you can't be a player!"

Murloc smirked, "Unfortunately for you, I am."

Murloc stood over the hybrid, he looked like the most evil player I have ever seen. The hybrid tried to say something else but Murloc stabbed him through his neck.

Murloc chuckled darkly, "Hush now, no talking."

The hybrid finally died, exploding into a cloud of black smoke. Murloc turned his head towards us, grinning more.

I shivered, "Please don't kill us."

Murlic shrugged, "Wasn't planning on it. I must go now."

Murloc started leaving, all of us watching him with wide eyes. Shocked was an understatement.

Eventually I mustered up the courage to ask, "Who are you?"

He stopped, looking at me, "I'm Murloc. Tah tah."

With that, he left. The six of us that remained were too stunned to do anything. There's... only six of us now...

I looked at Skiel, "What... what should we do now?"

Skiel looked conflicted but said, "We keep going, I need to find that item now, we can't let our comrade's deaths be in vain."

All of us agreed and followed him down a secret path behind the throne. I began to wonder if what we're doing is right... or if it matters at all. Also, is murloc really a player or a monster in disguise?