Lone did not say anything to the man who fell before him. But his words resounded and met their mark.
"Bestials lay outside, and I now have to fight to survive," were the words he spoke before moving his arms. The chains binding him were loosened and fell onto the floor. Whatever the man did before passing out allowed the chains to loosen.
Lone stood up, chains falling to the ground, stretching his arms side to side. Moving and flexing his stiff arms and stretching his back as he read the black screen before him.
[Welcome to the game!]
[Warning! Player is in high risk area! If the player dies they will have to restart!]
[Be cautious]
"Death means death. Even in a game as free as this, the meaning of death is still real, even if it's warped," Lone said as he grabbed the spear lying before him, [Slone], and grabbed the man's blade.
[Man of Arms]
The blade glowed a bright white light before transforming into a spear with a curved blade, unlike the blade before. Its shape before was sharp and stiff, as if nothing would break it. But now it was curved, as though it could move with the wind. Yet, its back was jagged like that of a beast's teeth.
[Inspection]
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[Fluttering Maw]- A blade that once belonged to a valiant soldier who used this blade as though it were a part of him, before he collapsed and prepared to answer the question given by the Arcana. Now transformed into a spear, the wandering knight would use to carve a path. Skill: [Bloody Maw]- A skill that grants increased strength and speed the more blood it spills.
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Lone looked at the spear before him before putting it in his right hand and keeping [Slone] in his left. He walked to the doorway and, before leaving, glanced down at the man lying on the wooden ground. His wounded back, once covered in armor, was now gruesome and open. Yet on its surface, he could see the skin and muscle mending. The torn arm was slowly healing, not becoming a stump, but forming into a new arm. On the man's neck was a faint outline. Though it was small, Lone could see the image of a skull with thorns slowly growing out of it.
"A Wielder? No. A soon to be Wielder," Lone thought before walking out. The cold air hit his face, and the smell of metal tinged his nose. His eyes gazed at the world before him, he could see trees and the black sky. The stars above made it seem so real, as if this world were not fake.
His gaze lowered, and before him was a swarm of beasts. The white fur-covered body, their skinny body, their hind beast legs, while human arms with claws, and their wolf face with four eyes holding a red slit gaze. Under them were the bodies of men in metal, all clutching weapons of various kinds.
On the opposite end, he could see a handful of soldiers fighting with what little breath they had left. They were too far from him to even help them.
The beasts roared at him, taking small steps forward. They seemed to be fighting over whether or not they should charge. Well, it was not their choice in the first place.
Lone took a deep breath. He inhaled with all he could, his chest puffed up, and his stomach went deep. For ten seconds, he inhaled and held his breath. The beasts were confused, but their instincts suddenly spiked up. In an instant, they all bolted forward, all trying to stop whatever their instincts told them to stop.
[Warring Howl]
A sudden roar erupted from this small figure and swept through the horde of beasts. The roar swept through them, and their bodies felt weak as their legs quaked and their chest suddenly began to beat heavily. The soldiers from afar stopped their attacks as a sudden weakness swept over them. All gazes swept towards the boy before them. Surprise, fear, anxiety, and dread swept through all their gazes.
"This is a game," Lone spoke as he walked down the steps, the [Fluttering Maw] in his right and [Slone] in his left. Once his foot touched the ground, he once again looked at all the beasts. All of the Bestials slowly backed away, not even listening to their instincts, as they were all scared of the unknown creature before them.
Lone slammed the pommel of [Slone] into the ground, imbedding it deep into the dirt, as he gripped [Fluttering Maw] with both hands, "since this is a game, then let's have fun."
He charged at the horde in a single swing and slashed at five of these beasts. Blood flew in the air as power coursed through his body. The slashed beasts all went wide eyed, but before they could do anything, Lone spun his body around and decapitated them all in one fell swoop.
Five were dead in a single second.
The beasts finally gave in as they all rushed at the figure. Roars and howls rang through the sky as they all rushed him. Lone did not wait for them and met them head on, dashing at them all. He ran, and as he ran, he lowered his body. Though uncomfortable and difficult, he still did it.
He slashed at the legs of the beast before him, watching as it fell forward before swinging the pommel to jab at the eyes of the beast behind him. He then got up and spun the spear in a circle before slashing down at a beast. Its body is cut clean in two.
"Three skills. Two skills are being used to empower me, and one skill to weaken them," Lone thought as he turned around and cut the arm off a beast. Its howl of pain was cut short as its face was slashed at.
Lone tilted his head to the side when one of the beasts slashed its claws at him, almost striking his face. His body jumped away purely on habit alone. Habit that was engrained in his body after dieing many times to Z, "but still, the difference between practice and action is two different things."
Lone swung his spear and used the momentum to turn his body around, his slash cutting the upper head of a beast whose maw was open to crush his arm. He pushed against the dead body and watched as both of them slammed and pinned a beast. He quickly cut at the pinned beast's throat before moving forward.
He felt a sharp pain in his leg. He turned and saw a claw retreating back into the crowd. He inhaled sharply, and his chest puffed.
[Warring Howl]
A second roar erupted from his body. The bodies of the beast jolting as they hesitated once again. This was all he needed as he charged and weaved through the horde, slashing as he did so. He charged towards his assailant and slashed at its body five times before cutting its legs clean off.
He stood before his attacker, his gaze boring down at its weak and pitiful form just before he slammed the pommel of his spear into its head. Crushing it as though it were a grape being crushed by a spoon.
He swept over the crowd, and wherever his gaze went, the beasts recoiled. He then gazed at the blade of his spear before thinking, "this is not enough."
"I need more," he spoke as he charged at the crowd once more and continued his slaughter. Unknown to him, a smile crept on his face. With each slash, a rush of excitement filled his body. With each new drop of blood, a feeling coursed through his veins. Yet in his excitement, he still retained his mind. To him, this was nothing more than a video game.
But to the beasts, it was nothing but a horror show. They killed many and stood on top of their lands before being forced to flee their lands and to enter this forest. Killing any and all who dared set foot in their land. They stood atop and killed powered creatures with ease.
Yet.
Yet before this figure, they had been reversed. Yes, reversed. Those who were killing and feasting were now the ones being feasted on. Those who killed for fun were now the ones being killed for sport. And those who killed because of instinct now battled against their instinct as they tried their best to crush this small beast.
How many? How many has this creature killed?
Too many. Far too many.
Their losses were not worth it, and they would have run long ago. Yet, they didn't or, in truth, couldn't. They tried to run before, but just as they were about to leave. Lone appeared before them and cut them down before returning to the horde and continuing his red dance.
They had no other choice but to fight. But that thing was bleeding and was getting tired. So why did it not fall? Why did it not fall and die like those before it?
A lone Bestial stood and watched its brethren be turned into limbs flying through the air. It watched as the thing jabbed and slashed, ending lives with each movement. It smelled the blood lingering on its body. It heard the cries of its own kind resonating from that thing.
A beast that only listened to instinct for the first time thought, it thought, "How can we kill this thing!"
Yet it would never be granted a thought more as the thing descended onto it. It's falling form had a small smile on its face, and its eyes scanned it as though it were food. The beast watched before closing its eyes.
The sound of flesh being cut by metal rang through the air.