MIND GAMES: Guild Tryouts

Epilogue

"What do you want, Cole?" The player asks.

The streets in Spahn were as busy as they ever were. It was an early morning, but everyone was logging on and off depending on their time zone. Some players have been awake for the entire night, and some were just waking up and getting some hours in the game before they went to school or work.

Among the crowds of players seemingly prepping for a fun time, some were frantically spreading across the city with panic in their eyes.

"WHAT?!" The player says, "ARE YOU SERIOUS?! WHERE?!"

This female player who was making calls into their game menu was receiving news that they never thought they would hear. Her long hoodie, covering her silver hair, swayed back in forth as they ran past groups of players, looking for another player in question.

"Over here!" A player calls out to the girl.

The female player turns in the direction of the voice and darts their way. A gathering of players condenses at a scene, which the girl pushes her way to see herself. She spots the player who called her over here and addressed them.

"How recent was this?" The girl asks the player.

The player was a tall man, with an armored sleeve for his right arm and thin plates of scale mail around his otherwise casual wear. The Slayer's Crest was proudly represented on his face as a face tattoo. He also has a tattoo resembling a dragon on the other side of his face, opposite the Slayer's Crest. This player was the same one the girl was calling earlier. His name is Cole.

"Witnesses say around twenty minutes ago?" Cole responds, "I'm not too sure..."

"And it happened here?" The girl asks Cole, "Are you sure they weren't just dragged here after the fact?"

"Dragged here? Why is their body even still here is the bigger question!" Cole says, pointing at a player's body slumped over near a wall.

When a player dies at any point in the Nexus, they disintegrate and respawn somewhere in true game-fashion. This player looked dead, and their body was still present in the game.

The Slayer's Crest was located on the dead player's pouch as well.

"It matches the other descriptions I've been getting recently as well, bodies of dead players that are all Slayers..." The girl says.

"Hate to make you come all this way for this. I'm sure you're busy with the whole tryouts thing that happens in like a week," Cole says, "I just thought I'd want you to be here to see this case in particular!"

"It's alright. We just have to figure out how someone's killing in a safe zone like this." The girl says, walking away from the strange scene, "See ya, Cole."

"You too, Rayna!"

Rayna walks away from the crowded area, trying to come up with a reason as to why Slayers around the game were getting targetted like this and why their bodies were still present even after their HP lowered to zero.

'Maybe this is an act of aggression from a rival clan...' Rayna thinks, 'But that doesn't explain how someone could kill in a safe zone!'

The main cities around the game, along with other points of interest in the Wilds, act as a safe haven from PVP. The only way a player can kill another player in the safe zones is by taking up assassin missions, which means the person responsible for these strange killings is either exploiting that assassin mission concept...

Or is doing something else entirely.

As Rayna contemplates every outcome, she is approached by a player.

"Hey, uh, I have a question?" The player asks Rayna.

She turns to the player asking her a question, seeing a male player with icy blue hair awkwardly standing close by.

"Yes?" Rayna asks the boy.

'I didn't get recognized, did I?' Rayna asks herself, 'Hopefully, he doesn't ask for an autograph or something weird.'

"Uh, How do you think I can train my sword skills in Spahn? Do you know anyone I can see that'll help?" The boy asks.

Rayna stands still, completely out of energy and processing power for this player's request.

"W-what kind of question is that?" Rayna asks in a tired tone.

The player looks away from Rayna as she addresses him, almost as if he was nervous or something.

"S-sorry, I've just been stressed out..." He says.

"Stressed out? About what?" Rayna asks the player.

"Well, me and my friends have gotten ourselves in these tryouts for this big Guild, and I have a week to train before I have to try out for it..." The player says to Rayna.

Immediately, Rayna realizes that this player was referencing the tryouts for the Slayer's Pack, which she then is intrigued by this player's stance more.

"Ok, so what's your Aspect? You should train that before you train sword skill." Rayna says.

"U-um... That's an issue for me." The player says to Rayna.

"I-I don't have an Aspect..."

Rayna's taken aback by what this player is saying to her. She's never heard that one before, but after seeing another attack on a fellow Slayer, she really isn't in the mood to question this player that much. Cole's been working nonstop on these strange reports, which is something that's also confusing to her, so she simply plays along with what this player's telling her.

"So you're trying to compensate for your lack of power?" Rayna says to the player.

"Y-yea, but you really believe me when I say I don't have Aspect?" the player awkwardly says, shuffling back and forth.

"Sure. There's a lot I've seen but can't explain." Rayna says, remembering the dead players reported across the game.

Rayna then gives the player a stern look. He had a blue zip-up hoodie on, some black sweat pants, and some sports shoes on. He was of average height but had some potential in him.

"In fact, maybe I can help you train your swordsmanship." Rayna says to the player, extending an offer to shake hands, "But in return, You have to pay back the favor later on. Deal?"

The player looks at Rayna, and back down at her hand.

"Really?" He asks.

"Sure," Rayna replies.

The player grabs hold of Rayna's hand and shakes it.

"Deal!" He says, "Hey, What's your name anyway?"

"You'll know later," Rayna replies, letting go of the player's hand, "For now, I'm just your temporary teacher. What's *your* name?"

Rayna has some spare time in her hands. She can help this player out now, and in return, recruit him for the Pythons if he gets to the final section of the tryouts. She can just train him to be good enough to win his way through everyone until Cole of the Dragons has another report on their killer.

"Oh!" The player says, "My bad for not introducing myself first..."

"My name's Jay. Jay Corvidae!"