Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Seven: I Can Hold My Own

Christina's Arc: Bend or Break

Shadow Song started toward the door.

I can't miss this! This will be my only chance to see what combat looks like in this game. Not to mention, JT didn't teach me a damn thing about my class.

"Hey, sword woman, I'm going too."

Shadow Song stopped in the doorway.

She looked me over.

"You fight well? I'm gonna let you know now; I ain't responsible for your life," she said.

I shrugged.

"I can hold my own, okay?"

The waiter boy ran over to me.

"Knox, you shouldn't go; it's dangerous."

Holy shit, I know it is; that's why I want to go.

"Listen to me. If I don't go and that ronin woman gets killed, then who's going to protect this place?"

He rubbed his arm.

"We could always hide until the Oathsworn return from their hunt. You could hide with me," he said.

This guy needs to cool it before the ronin starts talking shit again. And what the hell are Oathsworn? Damn it, JT didn’t teach me about them, either!

"Just give me one second," I said to the waiter.

I turned to ask the ronin about the battle, but she was gone.

"I-I've got to go!"

I bolted out of the door.

Sunlight blinded me for a moment. Then the village came into focus.

I knew there was a world beyond the tavern, but JT had started me inside it. I didn’t know the layout.

Rickety old wooden buildings lined the dirt road like something out of an old Western—if the set had been built by a blind man. One stone building stood to the left of the tavern. Its well-kept walls and bell tower made it look important. Still, the village felt cozy enough.

Who the hell raids a shithole?

The bell in the stone tower rang.

A stranger carried a boy into a building.

A woman ran down the dirt road holding a spear.

"Raiders are here! Hide your sons! Protect your daughters! Hide your—ugh!"

The woman ringing the bell fell from the tower.

Oh, shit! Is she dead? I should check… but what the hell could I do for her?

I walked toward her motionless body, but every step felt like wading through water.

My fist clenched.

Whoa. I haven't felt this way since I survived Shizuka. I need to run so I don't get left behind. So, why am I dragging my feet?

"Make sure she’s dead!"

My legs stopped working.

Dead?

I looked back at the tavern.

It's not too late; I could turn around and hang out with everyone else.

I grabbed the collar of my shirt… jacket…

What the hell was I even wearing?

Whatever it was, I knew I was unarmed. Did I lose common sense when I woke up, too?

I turned back toward the tavern.

I'll check out the next fight.

Someone else would help her. Someone who actually knew what the hell they were doing.

Quick footsteps closed in behind me.

I stopped and turned around slowly.

An axe-wielding woman and an archer approached me.

The axe woman marched in front, wearing an oversized black shirt and tattered brown pants. The archer’s clothing hung from her in shredded rags.

When they reached me, they stopped.

I wanted to laugh at these two clowns, but no sound came out.

"Well, well, well. Someone left this little lambkin to the slaughter," the axe-wielding woman said.

My body tensed with every word. I stared at her feet.

She isn’t wearing shoes, either.

Although I stood taller, she seemed larger than any opponent I’d ever faced.

“Damn, you’re a mighty clean one at that.”

“I-I only look clean. I assure you that I’m filthy underneath these, um, robes,” I said, taking a step back.

She grabbed me by the collar and hoisted me until my boots left the dirt. She had the strength of a Kokiri woman.

I grabbed her wrist with both hands.

“Oh, hell. You ain’t even learned him yet, and he’s already jumping when you grab him. I wanna make one do that,” the archer said.

Some things never change.

“Don’t you worry. Bet they’re hiding all the tasty samples. We’ll find you one so you can be just like me,” the axe woman said.

Well, I’m probably going to die anyway, so I may as well have some fun before I go.

“Okay, I can’t do this anymore. Ladies, I'm asking for a lot right now, but we need to speak with a little more clarity. You with the bow. I would pay to hear you complete your freaking thoughts,” I said.

The woman with the axe laughed.

“Hey! Don’t laugh. Don’t pick at me! I’ll kill ya both for it!”

…

"Say it again!" The axe woman let the axe head drop, sliding her grip down the shaft.

The archer nocked an arrow and aimed it at her.

They stared at each other.

…

Screams echoed in the distance.

They're just standing here… At least put me down so I can get a better view of the standoff. Maybe… just maybe, she wants to use me as a shield. It's what I would do.

They started growling at each other.

"Alright, I'm not doing this," I said.

They both looked at me.

"Put me down right now."

The axe woman lowered me until my boots touched the dirt, then released my collar.

"While death is a scary prospect, being stuck here, watching you two make googly eyes is scarier. Get over there and kill the woman with the bow, or fire your arrow and kill the woman with the axe, but don't make me wait for it."

They looked at each other again. Then the axe woman looked at me and smiled.

Game Master: Roll for Persuasion—4/10. Persuasion failed.

"Well, fuck! Didn’t mean to make ya wait," the axe woman said, raising her axe.

She planted her free hand against my chest and shoved me onto the dirt.

"What the hell?" I shouted.

She stepped closer to me.

"You'd like to see me kill my kin, wouldn't you? Well, I'd kill you before that ever happened," she grunted.

The archer lowered her bow.

"You said I would learn him first!" the archer shouted.

"There ain’t no learning a mouth that sharp. Besides, you can learn a corpse well enough."

Her axe rose above her head.

It crashed down.

Game Master: Armor Class—5. Raider attack—12 + 5 Strength modifier. Successful hit.

I rolled to the right.

The axe caught my upper back. Pain exploded through me.

I screamed.

"Well, that’s that. I could finish you quick, but you’re gonna bleed out, boy."

I rolled onto my stomach and buried my face in the dirt.

I cried.

My arms wouldn't move.

"He's got life in him yet, so learn him before he's dead," the axe woman said.

"How? He’s screaming and bleeding. Shit, he won’t even get there."

A foot pressed into my side and rolled me over.

"Now, now. I’ve seen it plenty. Give him a while. Boss says their bodies want to pass on kin before they die or some shit. Stop crying already!" the axe woman shouted.

The archer tossed aside her bow and pulled at my clothing.

"Infernos, I don’t care about the snot and all that. I just wanna learn him. Maybe keep him?" she asked.

The axe woman waved her hand.

"No, no. If he were quiet-like, maybe. But men like this one here? Death. I promise you."

A scream tore out of me.

Blood soaked through my clothes.

Game Master: Seed of Final Bloom has absorbed your blood; blooming in progress.

The archer covered my mouth with her hand.

"Shut it, boy…"

The earth shook.

Game Master: Seed of Final Bloom is being corrupted by your dark affinity.

"Do you feel that?" the archer asked.

Something shifted underneath me, scraping my shoulders across the dirt. Pain shot through my back.

"Is the guild riding back? Naw, it's too soon," the axe woman said.

"I ain't—"

Game Master: Seed of Final Bloom's corruption is complete.

Roots shot out of the ground, piercing the archer’s neck.

"Fucking shit!" the axe woman screamed.

Then she lifted her axe.

Something soft and purple closed around the archer and me as she clawed frantically at the roots piercing her neck.

She reached for me, but more roots emerged, wrapped around her wrist, and pinned her hand to the ground.

The roots pulsed. Her cheeks sank inward, and the burning in my back eased.

Her hand shriveled against the roots. My fingers twitched in the dirt.

"You fucking Bloomwarden piece of shit!" the axe woman yelled.

The roots drained the last of the life from her body. As she went limp, the pain in my back vanished.

I flexed my hands, then bent my elbows. They worked.

I rolled onto my side and realized my cloak was stuck to whatever held me.

Oh my God! This shit is crazy… That five-letter word killed me. Like, actually.

The archer’s corpse reminded me of a dried raisin.

"Okay, okay. How do I get out of here… and do I want to?"

"Get your fucking ass down here, so I can avenge my sister, you fucking lying piece of shit!" the axe woman screamed.

Get down? But I was on the ground.

I tugged at my cloak until it came unstuck.

The thing opened like a blooming bud.

Huh. It's a flower. I get it: Bloomwarden.

The flower shook.

I tumbled onto a petal. Below me, the axe psycho was hacking at the stem.

"Wait! Stop!"

I was higher than any rooftop in the village.

Bright red and black flames flashed in the distance.

Ronin?

My world tilted as the flower began to lean.

The tilting flower flung me into the air.

The wind rushed past me, then something pulled at my upper back.

Below me, the flower struck the ground, sending the archer's corpse flying into a building.

I looked up. A second flower had unfurled above my shoulders, catching the air like a parachute.

This is wild! Oh, I'm floating down to the nut job with the axe.

The woman furiously whirled her axe above her head.

Shit, shit, shit.

The wind picked up, and I drifted toward the bright light show.

"Get your ass back here, petal pusher!"

Then she came running after me.

Wish I'd gotten both of them. At least she was following me away from the tavern. Not that I was worried.

Another flame erupted.

As I got closer to the light show, more people came into focus. The ronin was surrounded by several raiders.

A bandit attacked her from behind.

Shadow Song slashed at the raider in front of her. A sliver of darkness swept behind her, cutting the approaching bandit in half.

The raider in front of her stepped back, avoiding the blow.

Two raiders flanked her.

Shadow Song spun with her blade extended. Fire traced a ring around her.

Both raiders recoiled from the flames.

She slashed again. Fire flashed along her blade, but the strike caught empty air.

…

Did she misjudge the distance or something?

A woman carrying a crossbow approached from behind Shadow Song.

That looks bad…

"Hey, there’s a crossbow behind you!" I shouted. The raiders looked up at me. Shadow Song didn’t.

She stepped forward, vanishing into thin air.

The woman aimed her crossbow at me.

The other women frantically swung their weapons.

What the hell is going on? Why the hell is she aiming at me?

"Wait! Don't shoot!"

Black flames erupted in front of the crossbow wielder.

The women around her panicked, then charged.

Three cuts struck the crossbow wielder. I still couldn’t see Shadow Song.

Three fiery blades flashed through the charging raiders—one from shoulder to stomach, another across a neck, the third straight down.

I caught sight of Shadow Song again as five more raiders charged her.

She spun again, then drew her sword back, resting the flat near its tip against her left palm. She thrust forward.

Her blade pierced a raider who dodged too late. Fire trailed behind the thrust.

Another raider swung a longsword at her side.

Shadow Song performed a two-handed parry, knocking the raider off balance.

A club came down from the other side.

Shadow Song raised her left arm to block. The impact sent her staggering back.

She tucked the injured arm against her body.

My boots touched down and skidded through the dirt.

"Leave her alone!" I shouted.

Game Master: The Goddess of Light has taken notice of your valor. Perform one more charitable act to activate your light affinity.

"He's one of them blooming bastards. Kill it before he starts healing!"

Can I do that?

The woman with the club charged me.

I turned around to run, but the nutjob with the axe was heading my way.

Come on! Why did she have to catch up now?

I backed against a building with boarded doors and windows, then bent down and scooped up some dirt.

"Kill him before he gets you, too," the axe wielder shouted.

The club wielder charged me with her club raised high.

I threw dirt in her face.

She closed her eyes and turned her face away.

Game Master: Armor Class—5 + 5 Dirt modifier. Raider attack—5 + 4 Strength modifier. Dodge successful.

She swung the club down.

I jumped to my left and landed on my side. I scrambled to my feet and ran back toward Shadow Song.

The club wielder frantically wiped the dirt from her eyes.

Shadow Song sidestepped the sword wielder’s thrust.

Shadow slashed horizontally.

The raider caught the slash on her sword.

The raider kicked Shadow Song’s injured arm into her chest.

Shadow Song cried out in pain.

I tackled the raider from behind. She barely moved.

Game Master: The Goddess of Light has witnessed your charitable act and found it amusing. Light Affinity activated: Overloaded with light.

Soothing warmth emanated from within me down to the roots beneath the soil.

I could feel Shadow Song's pain, the pulsating heartbeats behind the wooden walls, and the faint heartbeat of the woman who fell from the tower.

I couldn't feel the raiders, and I didn't want to.

The sword wielder turned and raised her blade to strike me. Then she stopped. She just stared.

I closed my eyes, and euphoria consumed me.