The Death Seeker's Dance

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Laggy Lagiacrus

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It had been two months, more or less, since the game's creator revealed that the people playing were trapped. Many a person had already fallen foul to bosses, common enemies, traps, and even other players. But, the populace of the game's world pressed on, knowing that to not do so would mean death anyway. It was a grim, desperate existence, but not without its charm. Whatever charm was there, however, was lost beneath a sea of much and filth, both player-generated and a result of the situation. It had brought out the best in people, and the worst in them. And sometimes, it was hard to tell just what was being brought out.

There were rumours of a player, affectionately referred to as "the Berserker." Some say he was seven feet tall, and swung about a warhammer like child's toy. Some said he was not a player at all, but an invincible whirlwind of CPU controlled virtual steel. Whatever he was, one thing was certain: he had no regard for his own life. The Berserker had gained a reputation for exclusively taking missions most would consider suicidal, even with a team. And he cleared them on his own. The word about town was that he was in the area, but obviously, a group of thieving little toerags didn't get the memo…

"So, what do we do with her?"
"Well, numb nuts, we make her fork over whatever cash she's got, and we take it from her. Simple enough?"
"Yes, but what about afterwards? Do we kill her? Leave her for the dogs? Something else?"
A third player snickered, and held his dagger up, saying, "maybe we should toy with her a bit, do something entertaining with her."

The three looked towards the lone player, having managed to back her up against a cave wall. Fighting all three would be suicide – they were well-equipped, and they seemed to have quite bit of experience behind them. However, suicidal missions were one player's speciality. It was a wonder how they didn't hear the clanking of heavy metal armour behind them.
 
Anarchy glared at the players, holding her sword tightly. She tilted her head ever so slightly at the sound. Armor? Crap...someone else to pick on me. She sighed. "I'm right here. Idiots." She growled. "Stop talking like I'm not." Her sword was held diagonally in front of her, a habitual defensive position for her. Her gloves fit perfectly in the grooves of the hilt and the crystal white glinted in the sun. "Just...leave me alone." Even though her voice was unwavering, her eyes portrayed the fear she felt. "Go away."
 
"Gentlemen… I advise that you do as the fair lady says. I'm not in the mood for fighting right now. I just finished sweeping up a room full of Cave Geckos, and frankly, I'd like to go back to a tavern and eat something."

And there, Galahad stood. given that all the armour he had were the clothes on his back, it didn't look like he had much protection. With his shield being nothing more than a small iron buckler, and one of the game's early blades in his hand, it was hard to believe that he had done what he had just said he had. And, as luck would have it, the three miscreants just laughed at him.

"Something funny?"
"Nothing, bub. Just you. I mean, really, and iron war axe, how could you possibly-"
The fiends' guffawing was cut short by Galahad using a backhand shield strike to make him stagger back in surprise. Though pain was not felt in the virtual world, getting hit like that was rarely ever pleasant.
"Told you I was pissed."
The one who had just been struck looked about incredulously, as if expecting something to happen.
"Well, what're you waiting for, an invitation?! Get him!"
Galahad's response to this was to simply shake his head, sighing as they charged at him.

"Idiots…"

One shoved their spear straight through Galahad's stomach – normally, this would be enough to make most players reel back. However, Galahad was not most players. Without missing a beat, he thrust his own sword through his enemy's head, using his foot to push both the spear and its wielder away from him. He ducked below a haphazard mace wing, answering it with a hefty shield bash upside the chin. They were by no means injured severely – if their health bars were anything to go by – but the fact that Galahad was not reacting as he should have done was a little disconcerting.

The scene played out much the same for a while, but in the end, while the three stood a better chance of winning on paper, their morale was being worn down by the fact that Galahad just wouldn't die. In fact, going by his grin, he seemed to enjoy the pain.
"Y.... You're a madman!"
"And I wouldn't touch you with a bargepole. Now, get out. You leave me be, and there'll be no more problems. But, if you interfere with me, or if I see you breaking any rules again, and I will personally ram by foot so far up your respective arses you'll be coughing up boot scrapings for the next thee weeks."

The three ran back with their tails between their legs.
 
Anarchy had moved a little away as soon as they turned their attention. She stepped back again as the battle waged, hiding slightly in the shadows of the rock. When the three ran, she spoke. "Who are you?" she asked quietly. She knew she couldn't fight him. "What do you want with me?" She figured he was like the others, wanting their chance at the prize, and he chased them off to show he was better. "I'm Anarchy." she added, figuring maybe she could negotiate her way out. It was one on one, she was manipulative, and if needed she could run.
 
"Name's Galahad. I'm here to fight. I don't think I've got any other reason... None that I recall anyway."
While Anarchy had it in her mind that she could manipulate Galahad, there were few ways to manipulate the kind of person whose sole interest lay in the heat of battle. Good looks and and innocent demeanour would do little to sway him, in other words. However, he viewed her questions as harmless, so decided to answer her.
"Anyway, like I said, I'm here because I want to fight. More accurately, I heard there'd be fighting, but so far, it's been a bit disappointing. Anyway, never mind that. I don't really have any use for you, but unless you've got some party members nearby, you'd better leg it out of here."
 
Anarchy paused, but nodded. "You're not like the others." She said in a slightly happy voice before turning, her face expressionless as she stepped further into the shadows to walk away. She sheathed her sword, but did not take her hand off, instead, turned again. "And um..thank you, for saving me." She said quietly before turning again and walking.
 
Galahad was about to raise the point that she was actually headed in the direction of some Venomous Cave Spiders, but decided against it. He'd see if she remembered just what was that way before charging through them, and in the direction of the treasure. While he wasn't there for it, he figured it would be nice to get it anyway. A slight smirk on his face, he stood back, awaiting Anarchy's reaction.
 
About halfway to the cave spiders Anarchy stopped. Wait..which way was it? She thought to herself. She glanced around before moving back six steps back and turning right, over past the rock wall she'd followed to this place. She started around it, looking for something, anything. Why is it so empty here? She wondered. She looked behind her, and something moved. "Hey." She said aloud, pulling her sword. "I've seen you. Come out and fight." What she didn't know, was that it was a cave spider. In her own intrest, she did not approach. Instead, she stayed in her spot. "Hello? You're little spy trick has been flushed."
 
Having not explored the part of the cave system that Anarchy had ventured off to, Galahad decided to follow her. Not because he was a stalker or anything – he couldn't sneak behind her if he wanted to. But, because he was just looking for a good reason to fight. He paced leisurely behind her, making no attempt to hide should she look to him. He did, however, grow more wary upon her detecting something. He was sure she knew she had someone behind her, given that he had not bothered to level up his sneaking abilities, so he naturally looked about, weapon drawn and battle-ready.
 
A spider came from the bushes and Anarchy stepped back, turning her sword slightly. "Damnit.." she muttered as it advanced. The backed up a little and swung the sword, hitting the spider and throwing it sideways. "Why did you follow me?" She called at Galahad as she turned to deflect another attack.
 
"I'm not following you, I'm going down the same path as you. Didn't you notice me before?"
A question Galahad genuinely wanted answered, and expected an answer to. In the meantime, however, there was the cave spider to deal with. A slash across its eyes managed to make it reel back, and given its low level and stats, the spider was now near death. however, being near a spider's nest and killing off any nearby arachnids was generally a bad idea, if you wanted to keep a low profile.
 
Anarchy nodded. "Whatever, and I did notice you, but didn't bother pointing it out." She watched the spider carefully as it prepared for another attack. "I went the wrong way." she mumbled to herself.
 
Galahad shrugged making nothing of this. It certainly hadn't seemed that way when he was clanking along behind her, but who was he to judge?
"So, are you getting out, or going in deeper? Because I'm going deeper in. Follow me if you like. Or don't. It's your choice."
 
Anarchy thought about it a while. "Uhh..okay. I guess I'll follow you." She said quietly, honestly curious about what he could do and why he had come this way.
 
Galahad stopped for a moment, honestly surprised that she was so willing to go along, without much convincing. He shrugged this off, however, and simply continued onwards. Unfortunately for him, recent antics had attracted the attention of many a cave spider, and their queen was beginning to stir.
"Anarchy... You might want to stand back a little. I'm going to be doing a bit of pest control."
 
Anarchy hesitated, but obliged, stepping back and watching behind them. She felt almost cornered. Almost. She watched the cave spiders carefully, holding the hilt of her sword tightly.
 
"Oh yeah.... Rock and roll."
With the grin of a madman plastered onto his face, Galahad charged forth, beating spiders into submission left, right and centre. While he continued to suffer damage, he seemed to disregard it, instead destroying spiders like a bull in a china shop. The queen was descending, and he seemed fully aware of this fact, but that didn't stop him from beating the hell out of any spiders within his immediate vicinity.
 
Anarchy stepped back again out of sheer amazement from his actions. "Wow.." She mumbled quietly. One or two spiders approached her and she easily sliced them down with her sword, now used to their movements.
 
The smaller spiders were respawning, and technically, the Queen Spider was capable of it too. however, killing her off would mean nobody else wuld have to suffer her wrath for a good few hours and Galahad certainly needed a challenge.
"Pipsqueak! Take care of the small fry!" He yelled, not actually even trying to remember Anarchy's name. To be fair, he did have more pressing matters at hand - such as the massive, poison-spewing, web-slinging spider he was now attempting to murder.
 
"It's Anarchy!" Anarchy growled, but stepped forwards to help. She seemed very at ease with twisting around to stab various poisonous spiders. It seemed quite gory and unusual for a girl like her, but she had a lot of practice. She drew most of their attention away from Galahad so he would only need to worry about the Queen. "Careful now." She warned.
 
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