Yocantes Online [Hiatus/Discontinued?)

Chapter 13 - Without the Lady

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 Reeling into the table, Trevor threw up middle way to it. His cough cracked, blood and phlegm mixed together as he spat. Part of his greaves were singed—black patches wrapped  the ornate designs. Earlier, his cloak was magnificent but it was now  tattered with holes; ranging from dots to the size of a pebble. Forced by the insufficiency of air, his eyes were almost bulging out. I couldn't stand it anymore. I stood up and tried to assist him but a staff barged to block my way.

"His regeneration should not be disturbed," the little girl warned. Amusingly, her hair was frigid and her eyes were meek. The funny thing was, she talked like an adult but her voice was so soft; a little more than a decibel. Above her head, the name Alisha riffled.

Trevor cringed with his hand squeezing his chest. More blood hauled out from his chest. Breathing was scarce. Watching my best friend in torment was the worst crime that I could have ever done. Before I made any other sign of action, the girl held me back on my spot.

"There is no need to worry. He is just under the influence of a high-ranking healing spell. Comrade Trevor had given me the order that he wants to be cured as soon as possible. Give him some time to settle up."

"You're a healer? Like Ka—LadyV?"

Her eyes shot at me, irises partly confused, partly amused. Instead of providing me an answer, she turned away to continue attending Katherine.

I was just about to ask her a couple of questions when Trevor stood; his diaphragm heaving with a bit of difficulty. He pulled off his busty sword and leaned against the crumbling wall. "Dammit. That shielder was tough as rock. bro. Your girlfriend's lucky though. Chances of being alive after that skill are grim."

I felt sorry for Katherine. It was my fault right from the beginning. It would have been best if I hadn't partied together with her. Perhaps, she wouldn't be in such a critical state as this. "By the way, she's not my girlfriend, man."

"Okay.Hell's Light. The name of that attack. Acquired by only those who were able to defeat the Archangel of Troia. Supposedly, one blow from of its kind will disintegrate your HP to zero."

"How come that V's still in one piece?"

"There are times when the damage is not at its peak or maybe your friend applied a buff on herself." Trevor then dropped his sword, approached me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "You need to level up, bro. Not sooner, not later but now. Who knows, other players will hunt you down. I don't want my best bud dead."

It was surprising that my best friend's persona was so serious. Not  like the usual glasses-wearing, smiling genius. "What do you mean?"

He picked up his sword. Crusty pieces of rust fell off. "Long story but to put it simply, players on higher levels have been killing newbies recently."

"Why?"

"Bigger exp gain than slaying major bosses."

"Man, I really don't get this death game. Brutal and insensitive as shit. Extinction is right where we are all heading," I stated, slouching on the doorway. Alisha was chanting something while pointing her staff to Katherine. Green orbs drifted around them.

"Do you know the sole goal in order to escape this world, bro?

Escape this world. The idea hadn't really condensed in my mind.  Is it even possible?Anyone of us would probably be corpses even before the feat could be done. What are the risks? How much will we sacrifice? How much bloodshed?

"No." my reply was scarce.

"The first player to reach level ninety-nine will be the only person to be brought back into the real world."

"How about the rest?"

It took him quite a while to reply. Obviously, he was trying to gulp down his words. The weight of it must be hard to let loose and to spit might sting. "Trapped here forever. Will be forced to kill each other. Feed off on each other's flesh until none of us is left breathing."

Killing is a horrible sin.  Making a sword go through somebody's body was the last thing that I wanted to do. But still, I didn't want to get myself murdered either. Kill or get killed. The message of the game was clear. Absolute obliteration for us was its only objective.

The atmosphere became bleak because of the topic so I diverged away the talk. "Anyway, how's life, man?"

"It's good. Three months of journeying throughout the world is fine, though."

"Three months?!" I exclaimed. Trevor was startled and almost hopped off the floor.

"Why? What's wrong. Haven't I been away for months already?"

"A week. You've been away for a week. Never three months."

"Maybe the time and real life and time in here run at different rates since this is a whole new dimension. It can—"

"Excuse my presence, comrade Trevor and his friend," Alisha butted all of the sudden. Her hands were brawling with the lunchbox which was unpredictably a laptop in disguise. "I've already finished checking this woman's condition. I have both good and bad news."

My heart immediately thumped, pounding violently inside my ribcage. Bad news. Just two words but they brought dread into my mind. I would have been more comfortable if Alisha had said, I have both good news and better news. Too bad, she hadn't.

"Tell us the good news first." Trevor was acting calm.

"She is going to be fine." I let out a loud sigh of relief. I didn't realize but cold sweat had been dripping down my face the whole time. "Her vitals are intact, pulse rate is calm. There is no crucial harm to her life apart from a small gash in her system interface," she added.

"System interface?"

"It's the technology that runs our body in this world." Trevor explained. "The moment we got sucked into our computers, our genetic construction were altered to fit into the factors governing the domain of Yocantes."

"Isn't this magic?"

"Nope. Magic is too surrealistic. Everything  has a logical explanation. Considering our situation as caused by voodoos or super powers is ridiculous.

Every information that Trevor was inducing confused me. What kind of tech will be able to alter your genetic construction and such? Trev has a point. Magic is too unreliable to contemplate. I tried not to think much about it. After all, the fact that we were brought here was already mind-boggling.

"How did you know this kind of information, man?"

"I have some connections with the Cyborgs."

Fine. Then I got back to Alisha. "The bad news?"

"The small gash in her interface initiated a temporary breakdown in some parts of her brain, particularly the cerebrum. Because of that, your friend is undergoing a semi-coma process. It might take a few weeks to retrieve her consciousness."

"Will she be okay?" I wanted to be assured. Katherine was my responsibility now. She had always been.

"Do not worry. Her state is excellent. All she needs is rest and a couple of medication spells."

"Well then," Trevor walked out the door. His sword hung on his back like a huge paddle. "Time to gear you up, bro."

"What?"

"Let's grind your level until LadyV comes back."

"But what about V? Are we gonna let this kid take care of her."

"Yeap. Alisha is a trusty person. I swear."

Alisha smiled. Her staff was flapping its wings as if to bade us a safe trip. A few moments of uplifting my spirits and glancing at Katherine. Then, we went downstairs.

"What are we gonna do first?"

"Buy you some bad-ass equipment and skills." Trev's smile was wicked. Without doubt, he got a surprise in store. And I am fond of surprises.

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