Level Up

Level 1 (II)

"Pretty good fight you put up." She said, pointing her sword at him. 

"What the fuck was that?" He yelled, his arms held up in protest. 

She ignored his question, her sword still pointed at him. 

"What did you kill them with?" She asked with a serious tone. 

"An item I got at the demos. Fangs from scorpo — venom." He replied. 

"I've never seen a player do that before. Most have weapons, not this." She said. He was surprised.

"There were players before me? Wait. First, you bail on me after setting me up. Now, you reveal I'm not the first player. What the fuck is wrong with you?" He yelled. 

"Did the Dark one send you?" She asked. 

"Dark one? What the hell are you talking about?" She wondered. 

"You're brainwashed. Sorry, David." She said then struck him. 

Immediately, he blocked the attack with his sword. He broke free then jumped back.

"What the hell is wrong with you Colleen?" He asked. 

She attacked again, striking at his head, he blocked the attack again and she immediately kicked his belly. Before he could regain his stance, she spun a kick to the back of his skull, causing him to fall forward and she struck her sword against his neck. To her surprise, the sword bounced off his neck and her hand. 

"Resistance — 100%." The interface on his mind read. He was surprised. 

"Wait." He said to her but she struck him in the side, causing him to fall. 

"I don't know how the hell you did that, but I'm not letting you carry out the Dark one's mission." She said. 

"Just when I thought you were my guardian Angel." He said, getting up.

"You fuck up." He continued, then charged at her. She also charged at him and delivered a quick punch to him. Upon contact with him, a blue light radiated off his body and she found herself being repelled by a strong force. 

"Oh, I can repel kinetic energy. This is cool." David said excitedly. His excitement was cut short by a punch from Colleen to his face, throwing him off balance. She was incredibly strong. 

As she made to attack him again, he swept her legs off the floor with a kick, then held her down with his hands.

"Colleen, what the hell is wrong with you?" He asked. 

"Leave me alone. You're working with the Dark one." She yelled. 

"There's no Dark one, just me." He replied, leaving her. She immediately got up and made a defensive stance. 

"You claim to be a player, yet you have venomous fangs stored somewhere in you and your armour glows. These are abilities only the Dark one can gift you." She said. 

"Wait, you say there were previous players. They were probably just test running the game and had not added these to player avatars recently." He explained. 

"Everything about me has been genuine, one hundred percent, I swear." He added. 

She scoffed as he stopped back. 

"So, you're really a player?" She asked, unsure of what to make of him. 

"Yeah." He replied. She sighed, she did believe him.

"I believe you." She said and stood up. 

"Good. Now, why the fuck did you set me up?" 

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"We'll do our possible best to find him Mr. Hart. Take it easy." The police officer said as he left the house which had now been checked out. 

Mr Brett Hart had informed the police about his son's disappearance and and investigation had immediately kicked off. 

The police had their usual routine of filing a missing person's report, dusting for prints at the victim's home, checked out all CCTV footage, including the victim's apartment's and found nothing suspicious. Even the doorman didn't see him leave the house. With zero results for their efforts, all they could do was assure the man that's they would find his son. After all, it was their duty to do so. 

Brett Hart sat in his son's living room, his head between his hands. He was saddened and frustrated. This was a time he wish he had been much closer to his son and not watch him drift away from him. 

"Maybe he would not have disappeared." He wondered in despair.

"What do we do?" Sarah said, walking in. She had asked all of her friends and David's, yet none could confirm his location. 

"We'll find him, I'm sure of that." Brett said, getting up. He looked on the wall and saw the frame of his wife's picture hung on it. A woman he missed. 

"I'll always love you, Jasmine." He said, then walked into the bedroom once more.

He glanced around for anything unusual, but couldn't find a thing. Frustrated, he turned to leave. 

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"Good. Now, why the fuck did you set me up?" He yelled. 

"Was I supposed to help you fight the beast to level up?" Colleen asked in response. 

"You could have just told me before leading me into the bar." He groaned. 

"And have you chicken out before you face your challenge? Hell no." She responded, laughing.

"You're mean." He grumbled.

"So, who's the Dark lord?" He asked, breaking the growing silence between them as they journeyed. 

"Don't bother about it." She dismissed. 

"The dark fucking lord." He pressed. 

"Okay. He's a mage. He's someone you're to meet later on." She replied. 

"You have a history with him." He said. She shot a mean glance at him, then looked ahead. 

"Sunset in a bit. You need some rest." She said and turned to the next street. 

"And watch you set me up against Mercenaries or armed robbers? Hell no." 

"Just shut up. That was a one time thing." She scoffed. 

"Will there be more of that in the future?"

"Maybe." She grinned as they entered the next town. 

On a far hill stood a giant Wolf. It was watching David and Colleen from afar as they proceeded to the next town. 

Hurriedly, it dashed off the hill into the forest, then stopped before a cave. It knelt, morphing into a man. The man walked into the cave and knelt before the darkness in front of him. 

"Speak, my servant." A voice rumbled from the cave. 

"Dark one. The player is here." He spoke. 

"Player one. We await his progress." The Dark one said. 

"My Lord, the girl is also with him.…The anomaly." The man added. 

"Get them and kill the girl!" The Dark one Roared, causing the cave to tremble. 

"Player one, you'll be damned."