Fantasia Et Gloria: THE WICKED PLAYER (ENGLISH)

3 - THE DEMON LAIR

ZERA'S jaw dropped when Kin touched the “Decline” button of her invite and shoved the window aside without a second thought. The window vanished.

“Oh, come on!” Zera sent him an invite again. “I will not leave you alone until my questions are answered.”

He sighed in frustration. “You’re persistent. I have to finish a task here so I’ll play along with you. However, I don’t have answers to amuse you.”

“Really? We’ll see that.”

She smiled widely at him. She didn’t know why, but she felt at ease with him even though this was the first time they met. Maybe because she didn’t feel threatened by his presence. He was cold but he was not scary.

That and another reason—her curiosity overlapped with her logical decision-making.

“Huh...” he huffed doubtfully.

He touched the “Accept” button of her invitation.

“So, Kin… nice to meet you.” She held out a hand.

He ignored it and continued walking.

“Just as you know. I plan on fighting demons underneath this cave. If you wanted to tag along that badly, restore your life and mana,” he commanded.

“There’s a demon lair underneath this cave?” She was amazed. “I didn’t know that.”

He didn’t reply.

She just shrugged to his indifference and followed his advice while keeping up with his long strides.

“So, back to my question. What is your classification?” she asked her interrupted question before the Grypho appeared.

“That is none of your business.”

“You’re a Knight, right? The only class who can use a broadsword are them. What I wanted to know is your second classification. You said it isn’t Black Mage... though only that class can use lightning magic. Do you have other elemental attributes other than lightning?”

He didn’t answer. Some monsters appeared and he nonchalantly defeated them.

“Is there a lightning Fairy? Or Fairies that can use other attributes except wind and plants? I haven’t heard of it though. Maybe this will be my first time hearing other attribute Fairies.”

“You’re noisy.” He glanced at her after defeating a fresh batch of monsters.

She gaped at him with amazement again.

“I’m curious.”

He sighed. He looked like he regretted allowing her to come with him.

“So...?” she nudged.

“I’m a Dragon Class.” Finally, he answered her question knowing that she wouldn’t stop. Then he walked ahead of her.

They were now in a path that led down to the bottom of the cave. Darkness was becoming thicker.

“A Dragon Class?” This was the first time she heard of that. “Am I hearing it correctly? There’s a Dragon Class in—”

“Sshh,” he hushed her. He was looking around the place, particularly at the dark ceiling of the cave. The blue of his iris was glowing. She could only guess that it was a night vision lens or spell. “We are now in the threshold of the demon’s lair. If they were disturbed, they would attack at once. It can be messy and it’s harder to defeat them. And since we don’t know how many and how strong they are here, we should be careful.”

She opened her mouth to ask something when he talked again.

“And be quiet,” he added, eyeing her with a warning.

She had no choice but to shut her mouth. She could question him after this… and she would.

She noticed his ice blue and now shining eyes. The glow in them was like a peculiar color of a beast's eyes hunting in the dark. Focused, dangerous and beautiful… like clear blue ice gems shining and trapped in a thick ice.

“Do you have a night vision spell?”

She blinked. She only realized that she was studying him again. She couldn’t help it. Aside from the mysterious air surrounding him, his avatar was also handsome. His raven avatar hair was longer compared to the usual boy hair-cut, some of it covers his face. His eyes, his nose and his lips were just like other virtual characters in the game… perfectly programmed graphically. He was handsome. All the avatars in the game were beautiful but he was different. Maybe it was because of the look in his eyes.

She silently shook her head when she realized the flow of her thoughts again.

“Uh… yes. I have.”

She searched her mind for that spell. Then cast it on her.

The area they were in became clearer to her. There were dark figures hanging like bats in the ceiling. She just realized that the ceiling was higher than the cave rooms above. It was like she was teleported in another dungeon.

The cave was still damp and there was a pool of water in the uneven ground. But the dampness here flows from the ceiling and walls. Water was dripping from above. She could virtually smell the rotten thrash as they moved closer inside the demon’s lair.

“Aren’t we going to attack?” she whispered to Kin.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Those are low-level demons,” he also said in a hushed voice, pointing to the ones in the ceiling that she saw. “However, their bite was poisonous and the damage was high. Better not to mess with them this early. Anyway, they won’t attack unless we create a loud noise.”

She just nodded. He seemed like an expert.

They continued walking. The narrow path was now being illuminated by glowing red stones that were embedded on the walls. The lights were so weak that without their night vision, they wouldn’t see the two gray three-headed dogs that appeared in front of them. It said “Lvl. 60 Kerberus” on its top.

“Stay back,” he halted her when she posed to attack. His sword was in his hand. “Your light magic will attract enemies.”

She was used on fighting and surviving dungeons alone. She knew she had the ability to defeat them, even if their level was slightly higher than hers. And it annoyed her a little having someone stopping her from doing her usual stunts.

“Are you insinuating that I’m just an extra baggage here?”

“Literary, yes.”

The Kerberus demons leaped towards them. Kin posed and activated a sword skill. It only took him one strike to defeat the demons. He was not using his lightning attribute but he was strong.

“What do you mean, ‘Literary, yes’? Are you underestimating my powers? Just so you know, I’m a White Elf. Attacks and strength are not my strong points. But...”

“Exactly.” He tucked his sword in his back and proceeded to walk down the path.

She was left pondering on his reply. Her eyebrows furrowed as her forehead wrinkled when she realized what he said.

“Are you saying I’m weak? Well, yes. I’m weaker compared to you but I can fight demons, too, you know?”

He looked over his shoulder with lazy eyes. “You’re not making any sense. Hurry up.”

“I’m serious.” She caught up with him. He was so tall and she was just at the level of his shoulders. She had to raise her head to see his face. “Don’t underestimate my power.”

“I’m not underestimating anything, especially your perseverance.”

“That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

“Because I’m not complimenting you. And please be quiet. I’m not used to continuous buzzing in my ears.”

“I’m not a bug! Why don’t you just answer my questions so I can move on?”

“I already answered.”

“I have a lot of questions!” She calmed herself. She didn’t know why she was arguing with him. Well, she was offended but... She dismissed her thoughts. There were more important matters at hand. “What is a Dragon Class? How to obtain it? Is it a combination of three or more classifications at a certain level? Or—”

“There is information in this game that doesn’t concern players like you. You should stay out of it.”

“What?” She was even more puzzled. So, there was information that only chosen players were allowed to know? “What do you mean?”

“Stop being excited for everything new to you.”

Wha— Did he notice the glimmer of excitement in her eyes? She couldn’t help it. Aside from unlocking new towns, tasks and dungeons that she knew very well, now there was a player saying there were still things in the game that remained hidden to her.

Like this new classification.

Besides, what did he mean by saying “players like you”? Like her? She was becoming more and more interested in this game and this man.

“I’m not.” She looked away from him to hide her thrill.

“Yeah, right,” he sarcastically said.

Another demon appeared in their way but Kin defeated them single-handedly. She did not fight but she had a share of the rewards and drops—items or equipment that was left behind by the defeated demon or monster. She felt guilty about it, but Kin didn’t want her to fight. Same reason as he said before. Her light magic could attract demons.

Surprisingly, Kin didn’t take much damage. One of the demons just scraped him once and that was his only injury. It didn’t affect his HP meter.

“You’re really strong, aren’t you? What level are you now?” she asked. She wondered how long he was playing this game.

“There are lots out there who are stronger than me.”

“Really?”

She asked her question on how long he was playing. He didn’t reply. His eyes became more distant than how it looked moments ago. As if he was in a deep thought. That just added to the mysteriousness that was already surrounding him.

She was curious but she shrugged it off. She didn’t mean to pry but… she also didn’t know why she wanted to know more about him. She was interested in this mystery. She just hoped that for the next time they met, he would answer all of her questions. She just had to be more persistent.

Kin suddenly stopped. He became more watchful to their surroundings.

She mirrored him. She felt an irregularity in the dank air. Then, her night visioned eyes saw a pink smoke rising from the ground.

As a White Mage for many months, she knew what that was.

“Poison. Come on!” Kin spitted and ran fast towards the destination of their track.

She followed him. “It’s not poison. It’s pink acid!”

Just as she said, their boots that were exposed to the pink smoke, fumed as if the acid was boiling it.

“We have to find a higher ground,” she added.

Kin was already looking up, searching for a safe platform.

“There!” He pointed to an opening of a cave in the high wall.

However, before they could jump towards it, tentacles grasped their feet, encircling their legs and body. They could not see the ground because of the smoke, so they didn’t notice the demon that was following them.

A giant demon octopus lifted them in the air with its massive arms. Its mouth was producing pink acid. “Lvl. 70 Cthultu” was written above its head.

“I can fight now, right?” she asked Kin.

The acid was still boiling Zera’s boots and the end of her knee-length white cloak. Her HP was decreasing faster. It was alarming.

“Yeah. Use some protective spell.”

She did.

“Sepio.” A white glow of light acted as a second skin on her and Kin.

“Dragon Lightning Bolt.”

She was shocked when he produced a lightning in his body striking them both. The Cthultu’s arms were toasted from the power of the spell. It freed them. They landed in the nearby large stone.

“Please, warn me before you strike me with lightning,” she said, annoyed. She was still feeling the tingle of the tiny currents of electricity in her avatar body. She was using a protective spell but it still passed through it.

“I did,” he said, pointing out what he said before he cast the spell.

“That is an understatement of the word warning! I thought I’m going to be fried! And by the way, do you really have to strike me, too, with a powerful lightning spell?”

“We’re in a team. My attacks will not affect you... that much.” He indicated what he did to the demon’s arms. “Besides, you will not lose HP.”

“Yes, that is right! But still...!” She sought for words to say back to him. Well, she damned well knew he was correct. “I panicked!”

“This is not a game for you if you’re that jumpy.”

“You—”

The octopus’ arms interrupted her. It shaped its arms like a lance and the eight long limbs punctured the stone they stepped on as it attacked.

Zera was busy arguing with Kin that she didn’t react fast to the first attack. Kin seized her with his lightning speed and dodged the limbs. If it wasn’t for him, she would be pierced. He was now carrying her in his arms like a child as he jumped towards the cave opening he saw. She automatically encircled her arms around his shoulders to fight the fear of falling in the pink acid on the ground. She was also afraid that he would drop her out of irritation.

“Thanks,” she said wide-eyed as she looked up to his face, realizing how close they were. This was the first time someone, a male particularly, carried her in his arms and came this close to her. Even if this was only a virtual reality, she still felt his virtual body’s warmth. It was reassuring.

“Focus on the enemy.”

His baritone voice was suddenly so cool in her ears. Of course his voice was cold and bland but… there was something there that she couldn’t explain.

She blinked as if waking from a long sleep. What was she thinking?

“Y-yeah. Of course.”

He put her down when he landed and faced the enemy. The Cthultu was so huge that its head was levelled in their platform. It glared at them with its menacingly hostile single eye. Its mouth was still releasing pink acid.

She observed that Kin’s HP was also decreasing little by little from the acid on his feet and legs. She could see her ally’s HP and MP together with hers in the meters on the corner of her eyes.

“Don’t go too far from me. I will stabilize the acid.”

He glimpsed at her. Then nod. “Stay behind me.”

Zera did not protest this time. She cast a healing spell while he dealt with the demon. She also increased their resistance and attack. White Mage had a lot of supporting spells. The Fairy’s attributes strengthened those and added attack spells on her list.

The demon was stronger than those they had encountered. But their clumsy teamwork effectively defeated it. Kin gave a finishing blow of his sword skill, and then the demon burst into pixels and vanished.

“Nicely done!” She congratulated him when he returned to her side.

“Yeah. Thanks for the support.” He didn’t look pleased though. There wasn’t even a small smile in his mouth. “Let’s proceed.”

She just sighed at his coldness and followed him.