Chapter 7
Authors Note: This has gotten a lot more attention than I expected. Good!
November 27th, 2023
Lisbeth and I walked the streets of Lindas. She'd been complaining about the frontline players being unwilling to travel down to the lower floors to visit her shop anymore, so she wanted to move to a higher floor, namely the frontlines on floor 48. But it was late, and we were tired from searching. I was about to suggest we head back to Taft, when Liz started hitting her forehead with her fist. It definitely wasn't enough to hurt, but more than enough to show she was aggravated. "It's no use," she said.
"C'mon, there was that one place you liked," I said, recalling the riverfront place on the edge of town. It had a water wheel, which was highest on her list of priorities, but it was also the most expensive place we'd looked at.
"Yeah, but we'd never be able to afford it. I just want to relax now. Let's go home." The word relax triggered an idea, and I remembered a spot I'd found when we got to this floor.
"Can I show you something?" I asked.
"I'm too tired," she groaned.
"I'll carry you," I said. She gave me a weird look, as I had never offered a transport service before. "I think you need to see this."
"People will notice," she said.
"So?"
She grinned. "Alright then." She walked behind me. "So how do I…" I bent at the knees, crouching down.
"Hook your knees around my torso, and your arms around my neck, and squeeze." She did as I said, and we were soon up and moving, her resting her head on my shoulder and neck.
"How do you know how to do that?"
"My family doesn't like to walk."
"You said once you were an only child."
"My cousin used to visit us over the summer. When we were younger, she'd make me carry her around like this all the time."
"What was her name?" It wasn't an unreasonable question, at least not to me, but just thinking of the other world gave me head and heart ache.
"…Amy."
"That's a nice name." I chuckled. "What?"
"That's what she told the people who teased my name."
"She sounds like a good cousin."
"Is that a thing?" I asked as I left the town, but stayed just inside the safe zone, walking around the wall. "Being a good cousin?"
"Of course. Family is family, no matter how distant the relation."
"We're close. Shut your eyes," I said, keeping out of the agro range of a crab monster.
"Do I have to?"
"Yes." She groaned.
"I can't see anything," she said, nuzzling into my shoulder a little deeper. "You're in the way."
"You say that like it's my fault."
"You're the one who offered to carry me."
"Just shut your eyes."
"Yes sir!" she shouted tiredly, giving a half-hearted salute. We left the edge of the wall, but I knew from experience that no monsters spawned on this path. I walked up a hill, coming to the edge of a cliff face as I lowered my hood and bandanna.
"Alright, Seth Express letting off. Please disembark, and we request that you keep your eyes closed." She groaned again, feeling her way through the process of getting back on her feet. I turned her towards the cliff, and said "Open up." Her eyes creaked open, then flew wide.
I didn't blame her. The path was a bit out of the way…but you couldn't deny the view. The hill gave us a perfect view of a distant lake, and the setting sun bathed the sky in gold, reflecting off the lake, and framing the city in scarlet rays. "I thought you'd like this."
"Oh, Seth…It's beautiful." She stepped towards me, her eyes glued to the horizon, and wrapped her arms around my arm, pulling herself to me and resting her head on my shoulder.
"I thought you'd like it."
"I wish we could just stay like this. Don't you?"
"More than you could imagine," I said, feeling her move a little to get comfortable on my shoulder.
(X)
I woke up on the 28th of November, the sun streaming through the window of the inn. 'It's amazing how detailed this game can be, Death Game or not,' I thought as I noticed the sunlight catch on the dust in the air. I stood up, opening my menu, and casually checking the in-game news over a small cup of tea. The front headlines? "Heathcliff announces his status as a beta-tester."
WHAT. THE. FUCK. I had been taking the blame for the rest of those guys for almost a year, and NOW he decides to come forward? And…WHY? I needed to talk to this guy. Now. I sent a message to Liz, informing her I might be late that afternoon, and headed for the teleport gate.
(X)
I stalked across the small field on floor 39, heading for the farmhouse that was the base of the KoBO. The two guards that were standing in front ordered me to halt and state my business, an order that I ignored. They rushed forward, both armed with broadswords. I drew my scythe, knocking the right one's sword to the side with the pole, and slamming the flat of the blade into the side of his head. He staggered off behind me, and I dodged under the swipe from the left, slamming the pole into his stomach. I walked up to the front of the home, kicking in the front door. I'd interrupted a meeting.
The four sub-leaders of the KoB were sitting around a table, staring blatantly at their intruder. Heathcliff was at the head of the table, his eyebrows raised, almost like he'd been expecting me. "Is that-?" asked one of the leaders, whispering to his colleague.
"I think it is," the other replied.
"I thought it was an NPC!" he whispered hurriedly. I almost chuckled, noting the amount of times I'd joined the boss fights. This one must have been new.
I sheathed my scythe, entering the home. Two of the leaders rose to their feet, reaching for their weapons, but Heathcliff silently called them off, Asuna staying sitting. "Did I interrupt?" I asked, pulling up a chair, dropping into it and propping my feet up on the table. "Go ahead, don't mind me," I said, grinning like a madman under my bandanna.
"Is there something you'd like, Reaper?" asked Heathcliff.
"Yes, actually. As much as I love to visit, I need to talk with you. Alone. Now."
"You don't actually expect our leader to-," said one of the leaders, rising to his feet and slamming his hands on the table.
"Of course," said Heathcliff, rising from the table. The other four leaders stared at him in shock, and I rose from the table to follow him to a back room. He turned, looking over me at the table. "Go on, you don't need me to coordinate scouting parties," he said, opening the door and gesturing me inside a small office. I sat down in front of his desk, and he took his spot behind it. "I'm sorry about them, they can be quite protective."
"It's fine. I wouldn't trust me either."
"So, you said you wanted to talk? What about?"
"You know." He nodded.
"A man can hope, but…yes, I announced that I was part of the beta test."
"Why?"
"I couldn't allow you to continue shouldering that burden."
"I've been shouldering it just fine for almost a year now. Don't give me that moral bullshit, Heathcliff. What's your real goal?"
He smiled, sagging his head. "I was hoping to eventually invite you to join the guild." I scoffed, a small laugh escaping my hood.
"I don't pla-."
"Play well with others, yes. That's the excuse you've been giving for a year now. But think about it. Two Beta Testers-."
"Beaters," I said, interrupting. "Joining a guild isn't going to change their view of me."
"Fine, two Beaters leading the game's strongest guild. They would sing songs of our exploits."
"Yeah, well…"I said, rising from the table, "Red and white aren't my colors."
"Perhaps you'd be up to some competition?"
"I'm listening."
"A duel. I win, you join the guild. You win, I'll give you whatever you want."
"Whatever I want?" I asked, turning back. I could get access to their armory. I could get backup against the yellow guilds that stalked the middle floors, at least against one of them. I could…I could get a house.
"Anything."
"There's a property in Lindas. I win, you buy it for me."
"Deal."
"It's a duel, then?"
"Give me an hour. Read or something, while I send some messages. I want everyone to watch you lose," he said jokingly, opening up the message function on his menu.
"Good luck, old man," I said jokingly, leaning against the wall. I lowered my head, slid down the wall, and took a catnap.
(X)
I woke up, and the alert function in the corner of my display was flashing. I opened my menu, and noted 17 messages from Liz. Shit. I opened one, and read the all caps "WHAT THE HELL?! YOU'RE DUELING HEATHCLIFF?! MESSAGE ME BACK, DAMMIT!" I didn't bother to read the rest. I noticed Heathcliff was still sitting at his desk. "Is it all set up?" I asked.
"Just finished cashing in a favor to get the arena on floor 27."
"Shall we leave then?" He nodded, and I rose from the floor.
"Will we be using Unique Skills?" he asked.
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
(X)
I was under the crowd area of the Arena, waiting for the signal to leave and confront Heathcliff. I'd seen him fight a thousand times. He fought by waiting for you to come to him, blocking all attacks with that shield of his, then counter attacking. If I could prevent that counter attack…I'd have him on the ropes. 'Okay, Seth. If you lose this fight, you'll be forced to join a guild, work among those who secretly hate you, and will never trust you. And if you win…You can do this. It's not like his health has never fallen into the yellow- OH WAIT. Why did I agree to this?' Suddenly, I was wheeled around, and a mass of pink hair slammed into my chest. "You idiot!" shouted Liz. "What are you doing?"
"Heathcliff wanted me to duel him."
"Yeah, and if you lose, you have to join him."
"Would it really be that bad? I'd get to work with Asuna."
"You'd hate it, and we both know it."
"Then I better not lose."
"The news didn't say what you get out of this."
"Yeah?"
"So why?"
"Would you believe the thrill of the fight?" I asked dramatically.
"No."
"Darn." The bell tolled. I gave Liz a tight hug before walking through the gate.
We stood 10 meters from each other in the center of the arena. I opened my menu, selecting the anonymous option before challenging Heathcliff. He chuckled. "What? I don't get your name?"
"Maybe if you win, I'll tell it to you," I shouted back.
"First strike alright with you?"
"Go for it." I adjusted my hood as the countdown began, and I drew my scythe. He drew his sword from the sheath in the shield, and readied his guard. I crouched into my combat position as the countdown hit five. When it hit zero, we dashed forward at each other.
I slammed my scythe into the shield, stepping back as if to ready a downward swing. He pressed the advantage, swinging his sword into the intentional gap. I slipped my scythe into one hand, sidestepping the strike and getting in close. I grabbed the handguard just above his fingers, giving an unnoticeable wink before using my strength factor to rip the sword from his grip. It was then that I activated my disguise skill, the sword shrinking to the size of a ruler in my hand. I squeezed, knowing that a democratic leader like Heathcliff doesn't get upgrades often, usually just before boss fights. So his gear probably had low durability, tired from clearing the fields of 48. Sure enough, the weapon shattered soon, and my hand clasped empty air.
Glancing back at Heathcliff's shocked expression, I slammed my scythe's pole under his shield, and, using my knee as a fulcrum, launched it into the air, the straps on his arm carrying him with it. He was flying through the air, about a foot higher than me. I took my scythe and swung it down to finish him in mid-air. The point was about a foot away from him…when he turned in midair.
This is not as easy as old video games make it look. It takes training, precision, timing, correct air conditions, and more than a fraction of a second in which to perform it. In this case…It shouldn't have been possible.
But he spun in midair, blocking the strike with his shield. But the force of the strike still drove him back. Normally, his leg muscles would have absorbed the shock, but he was 16 feet off the ground. He slammed towards the ground, driving into the dirt, his health bar going down a fraction of an inch from fall damage. First strike. I won.
The system caught up with me a second later, counting the strike and putting the congratulations message above my head. I deactivated the skill, shrinking back to normal size, flipping my hood up midair and raising my bandanna as I stood. I walked to Heathcliff, offering him a hand up. He clasped my hand, and I dragged the guy to his feet. "That was an impressive strategy," he said. "I expected you to just pick me up and throw me."
"Nah, you would have just cut my hand."
"Well, a deal's a deal. A messenger will track you down, and you just have to show him the property you want him to buy."
"Great. Actually, send him to Lisbeth's Smith Shop in Taft at midnight."
"That'll work."
"Thank you, Heathcliff. That was a good fight."
"I'll have to find a counter for that strategy."
"You do that," I said, turning and giving a wave, completely ignoring the crowd. I guided Liz to the side of the tunnel. "We're going home," I said, pulling out a teleport crystal.
(X)
I eventually coaxed Liz to go to sleep, promising to tell her about what I got from the duel in the morning. After traveling to Lindas with the messenger, he gave me the Col required to buy the house, and I travelled back to Taft.
I walked in the front of the shop, being one of the only people allowed to enter it after hours. I walked upstairs and knocked on Liz's bedroom door. There was a sleepy "Who is it?" from inside.
"Seth," I said.
"Oh. Come in," she said, and there was a poof as I imagined her hitting her head back into the pillow. I opened the door, and came across the exact image I'd imagined, her laying on the bed, her head shoved into the fluffy pillow. "Why are you messing with my sleep?"
"I want to show you something."
"But I'm tired…" she groaned.
"I'll carry you again. Hell, you can sleep on the way. But you'll want to see this." She groaned, sitting up in bed.
"If you promise never to wake me up at," her eyes flicked to the corner of her display, "1:54 AM again, you can carry me to wherever." I walked over, chuckling, and she got onto my back again. I didn't even finish getting down the street before she was asleep again.
I got to Lindas without her waking up, and went to the front of the shop before jostling her awake. "Huh? What…" Her head raised, and she noticed where we were. "Why are we here?"
"I thought you'd like to see your new home." She gasped, and her grip slipped. She fell off my back, and I raised her to her feet. She practically sprinted inside, her eyes absorbing every bit that she could look at, each part and the knowledge that it was hers increasing her amazement. I stood in the doorway, my hood down, smiling as I watched her laugh and spin around in the middle of the store.
"She's like an angel," I thought. She stopped and gave me a weird look. 'Shit, I said that out loud.' She walked over to me, grinning and raising an eyebrow.
"An angel?" she asked. I couldn't help but smile. "Well, I think this angel's been banned from heaven."
"Oh? And why's that?" I asked. She leaned up and in, giving me one of her rare but coveted kisses.
"She fell in love with Death," she said, smiling as tears welled up in her eyes.
Did she just…She did…She said the L-word. The word I'd been thinking for a few weeks now, but never had the courage to say.
"And he loved her," I said, stealing another kiss. I opened my menu off to the side, conjuring an item from my inventory. The item Carmine had given me after I rescued Greg. It was a ring. A blank ring, which meant…It could be used for marriage. "And he stole her away…and asked her to marry him." Her jaw dropped a bit, and her hand rushed to cover it. The tears started to flow.
"And she said yes."