The Heart is a Void: Ashes to Ashes

Chapter 7: Altitis! The Strike of the Condor!

Magic soars through the air with the carefree ease of an albatross, or a comedy play's denouement. But not every play is like this, not every game. In a tragedy, only the vulture's gaze discovers the path to victory.

Yet even the vulture can soar, though on ragged wings.

Crucis levelled quickly, as he was already familiar with the game's early quests. The Agility of the Assassin meant that he could quickly navigate Kruxol to complete quest objectives, sometimes bypassing the intended challenge. Early in the game, players were herded from one quest to another as a form of hand-holding. This was to prevent players from getting confused or stuck early on. He took advantage of this 'all roads lead to Rome' situation, by taking the easiest route - not the 'proper' one - in the assurance that the quest's end-point would still be made easily accessible.

The early game was like a rubber-band: even if you pulled it lightly, it would snap back into position. He was surprised at how much time would have been wasted by following the quest-givers' instructions verbatim.

On reaching level 7, he returned to the Assassin trainer NPC, who he found easily due to having often seen them skulking about near the Alchemist's Store. The NPC, whose face was difficult to make out under his black hood at night-time, said, "Congratulations, you have shown your ability to wield basic Assassin skills. As you grow, further options will open on your character's skill tree. I have a further task for you, that shall test the skills that you have learnt so far.

"This town contains several Novice Guards. When guards see you kill a player or friendly NPC, they will attack you. As such, they are a hindrance to an Assassin. These novice guards are within your level range, and are a good opportunity to hone your skills. Kill 5 of them. Use stealth when doing this, and be sure to avoid being noticed by more powerful guards. Also, take this talisman, wearing it will allow you to attack the guards without provoking them first."

Crucis accepted the [Enmity Talisman], and held it in his palm. It was a small glassy, purple stone with silver lines running across its cold surface, attached to a small band that could be wrapped around the wrist. To activate the talisman, it had to be worn around the right arm near the wrist, next to the band which allowed players to open the Settings menu. Usually, a player could only fight guards after committing a crime in front of them such as killing other players. However, with the [Enmity Talisman] in use, an Assassin could fight guards without having to trigger the guards' ire with a crime first. Most guards were too strong to be attacked successfully, but the Talisman also allowed players to attack wandering soldiers in areas outside of the towns, and the few players so far who found weak enough injured soldiers to target reported that they had good drops.

Crucis hadn't encountered this quest before. The Novice Guards had seemed strange to him when he played as a mage, as he wasn't sure what purpose it served to include these weaker guards. Seemingly, one of their purposes was as targets in an Assassin-class mission. Crucis did recall that, while strong guards manned each path into the town, the novices often took up more menial tasks such as securing the spaces saturated with markets from thieves. Since the bug had activated, the NPCs often seemed to be more realistic, and, while they still acted as programmed, the novice guards often appeared slightly bored with their tasks.

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Based on his recollection, Crucis visited the area of Kruxol which housed the popular Weaponry and clothing stores. These stores were built close to one another, with a few more stores and buildings beside them, but there were a few small paths between the complex of buildings which an enterprising thief may have taken. Thieves near here were generally a low-level NPC whom players were often asked to kill, so only novice guards were appointed to monitor them. Slipping into a small alley to the right of the Weaponry Store, while using [Stealth] for three seconds of invisibility, he found himself in a slightly claustrophobic maze between buildings. As he came to a right turn and heard motion, he cautiously peeked past a high wall into an alley that ran to the right. There was a level 5 [Novice Guard] pacing the alleyway.

With his Talisman equipped, Crucis knew that he could attack if it was opportune. However, even a level 5 novice could be difficult, since as a guard they could hit hard and pursue the player quickly. When aggroed, guards would fiercely and single-mindedly pursue the player. If the guard had the initiative, then Crucis could be in a tight spot. Cautiously, he waited until the guard was near his location, then used [Stealth] to approach the guard. He followed the guard for one pace, then drew a [Weak Dagger] that he had been given at the beginning of his training, and stabbed the guard on the back of his left shoulder.

Since it was done with a [Weak Dagger], the blow didn't deal much damage. However, as the guard turned around leftwards to face his pursuer, Crucis had already used his [Agile Step] ability to step rapidly to where the guard was originally facing, almost disappearing due to the speed of the movement. The [Agile Step] ability was not yet something that he could use by itself, rather it was something that he could append to an attack in order to swoop in for it at speed. When the guard turned himself around to fight his attacker, he found that his attacker was once more behind him. Crucis had chosen to use [Stunning Dagger], and so once his [Agile Step] ended he drew out his more powerful [Initiate's Dagger] and stabbed the guard powerfully once more in the left shoulder, using the dagger's grip to hold his opponent in place. The guard was paralysed for 1 second as an effect of the blow. For most classes, that was an insignificant time, but for Crucis' Assassin it was time to prepare another attack. He used [Dagger Twist] to exacerbate the wound, causing the guard's posture to fall as he hunched his back due to the pain, and followed this up quickly by drawing the dagger out of the wound and placing a [Chokehold] using his right arm. With the guard's body starting to droop after the dagger's wound, the chokehold found little resistance.

As the guard brandished his sword with his right hand in a last display of bravado, Crucis sidestepped towards the guard's left and used the chokehold to drag the guard towards the ground. The guard's face fell onto the ground, and Crucis pressed it further onto the dusty alley floor. The guard had only 15% HP remaining, and Crucis knew that it was time to end the fight. When he tried to stab the guard's neck for an easy execution, the guard responded by writhing furiously and forcing Crucis' dagger away. Crucis knew that he had to adjust, so he slammed a knee down on the guard's head and used a left-handed [Stunning Dagger] stab on the guard's upper back to hold it down. He kept the dagger firmly in position, forcing the guard's chest firmly flat onto the ground. While doing this, he began pulling his chokehold arm upwards with the guard's neck in its grip, as the rest of the guard's body was pinned down. The guard choked to death while seemingly spitting out blood, and Crucis quickly rose to his feet. 1 down...

Typically, new players had taken this quest by fighting novice guards around the outskirts of the town by day, when a few Guilds near common Novice Guard spawn-points were generally on hand to supply buffs and healing to new players both out of goodwill and in the hope of recruiting some. This was generally not that difficult a fight, because there was a lot of support and often a few burgeoning Assassins in the area to chat with. This sort of mission had enthused several players on the game's first day, because it was both relaxing and exciting at once. It had also provided an early source of growth to a few big Guilds. However, since the Guilds couldn't recruit right now and were busy due to commotion about the bug, as well as it being night, Crucis hadn't seen any such gatherings of players and mostly remembered seeing novice guards when they were guarding these alleyways. Besides, if he didn't know where precisely to look around the outskirts of town, then he would risk fighting novice guards next to a spawn of more powerful guards. At night, guards patrolled more extensively, so this would create additional complications.

As Crucis looked through the rewards dropped from the novice guard's corpse, he heard a sound to his right and quickly scurried in that direction. The alley he was in led to another one, where he saw another Assassin struggling with a level 11 [Novice Guard]. Crucis was reluctant to fight this guard, as the guard's high level would probably prove too difficult for him. The other Assassin, whose name was garbled, was already down to 10% of their HP and had dealt little damage to the guard. This player's level was also 7, so Crucis was unlikely to fare much better. While Crucis first thought that the two might stand a chance against the guard together, on calculating further he decided that the player with 10% HP remaining was unlikely to offer help for long and would probably die soon and leave Crucis alone with the guard. Since he hadn't yet attacked or provoked the guard, he wasn't in any danger unless he got involved, since guards weren't hostile to players until triggered.

Since he realised that the guard wouldn't target him, he decided to ignore his guard-killing quest for now. Instead, he saw another way to take advantage of the situation. He was still upset about Cael losing his inventory for the day, and was determined to make up for it by regaining as much as possible of his lost rewards, between the two characters. Temporarily taking off the Talisman, to avoid accidentally triggering the guard, he strode into the alley where the fight was going on. His fellow Assassin had finally caught a break, by kicking the guard to the ground, and was kneeling over the guard wrestling with him with dagger drawn. He managed a few weak dagger strikes, but only took 3% of the guard's HP. Crucis walked up to the action swiftly, and saw the kneeling Assassin turn his head slightly, hoping for support. However, Crucis grabbed the other Assassin in a [Chokehold] with his arm, easily dragging the kneeling and weakened Assassin to the ground. He noticed the Assassin gasping in pain, and realised that his move would be causing some amount of pain to his adversary.

Crucis decided to end the fight quickly, in order to kill the player before the guard could. While the [Novice Guard] was still locking down the injured Assassin's arm, the guard hadn't yet managed to pick himself up off the ground. The Assassin was swearing loudly at Crucis, and calling him a 'bully.' Crucis stabbed the Assassin with a [Stunning Dagger] move in the shoulder of the arm that the guard was holding down, knowing that the grounded Assassin couldn't resist or struggle against the stab because of the arm being pinned. This caused 8% damage, and Crucis put a foot over the Assassin's neck to keep him down. The Assassin let out a strained, weak scream as his mouth was muffled by the ground, and started flailing at Crucis with his free arm and legs as soon as he could move. Due to having fairly high Strength at this low level, instead of focussing on Dexterity like Crucis, he pushed Crucis back slightly, though he couldn't get a clear strike at Crucis who was crouching over the stab-wound on his immobilised right arm. Crucis finished off his victim with a [Dagger Twist], and his victim let out a hoarse, rasping noise as he choked on a pained cry for help. Crucis had made his first Player Kill.

Crucis looked through his loot, and found that he had gained 2400 gold, as well as a few items and an [Initiate's Dagger]. He now had two versions of the same dagger. The guard nearby wouldn't attack him for killing the player, as killing criminals was permitted and guards were programmed to consider anyone who they were fighting as criminals. However, Crucis knew that the player would return to collect his remaining belongings. However, this could also work to his own advantage. With travel being risky at the moment and the quests in other towns being too difficult for a level 7, it was likely that his rash opponent was also stuck in Kruxol, and Crucis might get the chance to strike again and take a further cut of rewards. Looking at his new, spare dagger, Crucis noticed some text in the description:

[Original Owner: Marky Woods.]

That must have been his opponent's name. He may have been a difficult fight normally, but due to the guard he was vulnerable. While the victim's gold quantity might suggest that he had a few high-level friends in Guilds, Crucis's nametag was garbled and it would be difficult for those Guild members to target him. However, it was likely that Marky would bring some friends when he came to collect the corpse, so Crucis decided that he should avoid this alley during the next hour. He made his way back towards the Weaponry store, then followed an alley beside it until he was behind the store. There, he saw a thief being attacked by two guards, and looking closer he saw that they were both Novice Guards. One was level 2, the other was level 4. They were in a very narrow, small passage behind the Weaponry store, and the thief had no real way to escape the guards in this claustrophobic place.

For Crucis, fighting both guards at once might be more difficult than their levels suggested. He was a low-level Assassin unit, and hence somewhat fragile, and he was likely to get hit and grappled if he just rushed in. It would be easier to attack the level 2 on their own, but he wasn't sure how to split them up. Regardless, he decided that he had to turn the fight 1v1 as soon as possible. He decided to try an uncautious approach this time. When he saw the level 4 guard crouch down to inspect the thief and recover stolen goods, he ran up to the level 2 guard while using [Stealth] for invisibility, and tried to deal as much damage as possible before the other guard could intervene. Grabbing the weaker guard with a [Chokehold] using his dagger-wielding right hand, he used [Stunning Dagger] in the guard's chest to paralyse his foe so that he wasn't thrown off. The guard would usually have had high enough Strength to push him away, but when stunned could offer little resistance. Once he had the guard mostly immobile, he slashed near the guard's neck with [Ripper], a crude wide slash with the dagger which tore a thin gash above the guard's chest. The level 4 guard had by now reared himself and drawn his sword to strike, but was unable to do so because Crucis had wedged the level 2 guard between them like a shield in this narrow passage.

The level 2 guard still had fairly high Strength for his level, and began to push and elbow Crucis away. One particularly firm elbow sent Crucis hurtling to the left, but he maintained his chokehold while perching his legs on the back wall of the Weaponry store. From there, he slammed the level 2 guard into this wall, leaving him dizzy. The level 2 guard was now at only 8% HP. However, the guard turned his shoulders towards the wall and tried to use their strength to shove Crucis into the wall. Crucis leapt away from the wall, but was elbowed hard as he did so and lost his grip on the guard. Both guards now bore down on him. When he tried to use [Ripper] on the level 2 guard to finish him off, he was interrupted by a strong grip on his shoulder from the level 4 guard, and found himself hurtling backwards. Falling hard, he lost 20% of his HP, leaving him at 70%.

Leaping back to his feet, he found both guards standing over him, one on each side, blocking any escape down the passageway. He jumped towards the right wall to avoid a powerful sword strike by the level 4 guard in front of him, but felt his shoulders being grappled from behind by the level 2 guard. The sword grazed him for 10% of his HP, and he took a powerful blow as the guard shoved him hard against the wall on noticing that he had avoided the sword strike. He was now down to 40% HP. Strangely, the NPC guard had seemed frustrated by Crucis' attempt to avoid the sword.

Crucis could barely attack the level 4 guard now, as the injured guard behind him was loosely gripping his shoulders and not letting him move forwards. The guard in front of him was standing a short distance away and using his long sword to strike, meaning that he could reach further than Crucis' dagger. Crucis decided that the guard behind him was a weak-point because of the low HP. He half-leapt forwards with his legs, kicking them up until they were both perched around the left knee of the guard in front of him, and then pushed off the guard and used the momentum to fly horizontally backwards and stab the guard behind him. The level 2 guard died, leaving Crucis with a 1v1 fight.

Crucis drew his dagger back out of the corpse, and prepared for a renewed assault by the stronger guard. While a level 4 guard alone shouldn't be a difficult fight for him, he was cautious by this point, especially after the guard cried out in anger over his fallen comrade. As the guard lifted his sword to strike, Crucis used [Agile Step] to approach and struck with [Stunning Dagger] in the chest of the unsuspecting guard. His Stealth skill had finished its cooldown time, but he saved it for later and stepped quickly backwards away from the guard. He checked if he had looted any healing materials from the fallen guard, but found none, although he did notice that he had looted the guard's sword. It might not be that useful for him, as it was mostly for Strength-based combat, but it would be a powerful weapon for a low-level Strength-based warrior.

As he moved backwards, the remaining guard began to charge towards him. He used [Stealth], and flattened himself along the wall to avoid the path of the charging guard. As the guard ran past his position, he delivered a sharp clothesline and kicked at the guard's legs until he fell to the ground. On the ground, Crucis knelt over the guard and used [Ripper] as his invisibility faded, slashing hard across the guard's neck. The guard was now down to 12% HP, and severely weakened by the strike. Crucis smiled lightly, then drew the level 2 guard's [Frail Novice Guard Sword], and brandished it. He grabbed the level 4 guard and dragged his corpse on top of his fallen comrade's, then stabbed at him with the sword. As Crucis didn't have highly developed skills with the sword, the stab was slightly messy and didn't pierce cleanly through the guard's skin, but Crucis hacked at the wound until he tore a bleeding hole in the guard's chest. Both guards were dead, and Crucis's quest was nearly over. He had also grown to level 8. His low HP meant that he would have to find somewhere safe to recover, however.

Looking through his inventory as he walked back towards the crowded area near the Weaponry Store entrance, he noticed that he had recovered what the thief had stolen. It was an elegant light sword, named [Silver Wasp Sword]. At first glance, it looked quite powerful. Its original owner field was displayed in red text:

[Original owner: STOLEN from Kruxol Weaponry Store.]

If an item was stolen from a store, then it could be returned to the store for up to 10,000 gold. While this gold would be useful, the sword seemed like it might be more valuable than that. While most of its description was garbled, he could see that it required a Dexterity of 350 to use, and had an ability which gave users a chance of +5% Agility for 1 second if they hit the opponent successive times. Assassins tended to resort to light swords when engaged in formal combat, and since Crucis had a high Agility stat he decided that he would keep the sword around for later use. Right now, he didn't have sufficient Dexterity to use it. As he walked past the store, he smiled that he had obtained this item when he couldn't even afford its store price.

Checking the Miscellaneous tab of his quest log, he saw that he had fulfilled a quest called 'First Player Kill.'

The tiger's black stripes are like stars of the void, they sparkle with a nothingness that hides the tiger's sturdy body. The tiger breaks itself into pieces, and the prey's vision of it dissolves away. The leopard's rosettes stare out like crazed eyes, just as they hide from the prey's watching eye. The predator is not camouflaged because it seeks an even fight. It seeks prey, it seeks the dead. It is like the vulture's eyes, reflected upon a sea of mirrors.