Sword Art Online: A New Beginning

[Mega90]

The creature reared up once again and shot a net of sticky silk in the direction that Eve had come from.  

[Mega90]

The spider attempted to dive to the side, but the large size that served as one of its greatest weapons was also one of its greatest weaknesses. The blade plunged deep into its side, and the creature writhed back in agony.

The sword still stuck in its side, the spider violently swung Eve around until at last the blade lost its purchase and slid its way out of the now blood covered arachnid.

The monsters eyes burned with a new intensity, and it began jabbing at Eve with aggressive strikes.  

[Mega90]

The spider, being several levels lower than Eve, staggered with the damage that it had taken. Its footing looked unstable, and as it stuck unsuccessfully at Eve, she could see it was wearing down. The wound that she had inflicted caused bleeding damage and the life bar that floated above its head was growing dangerously low. Giving one final attempt, it lunged forward, striking with four of its eight legs, covering as many directions as possible.  

[Mega90]

The spider held out for a moment longer before falling to the ground, collapsing into a pile of limbs. The forest air fell still, and even the chirping of the insects and birds had ceased as the final moans of the conquered monster silenced. As Eve stepped away from the creature, she noticed that the body was not vanishing into the shards of crystallized light as they normally did. As she was still considering this phenomena, all the color from the body seemed to drain, turning the previously purple and silver body into a monochrome mass of limbs. The creature began to rise again, its angry eyes staring right into Eve’s. It let out a gargled roar, the sound of which was reminiscent to the panicked screams of a drowning human. Its health bar was still visible, though instead of its current hit points, the bar was red and crossed over with diagonal striped lines. Its name was also glitched, appearing to be written backwards.

It raised one of its massive legs to strike, but before it was able to, a powerful blast of fire magic stuck the side of the creature, knocking it down and igniting its flesh. Its screams were sickening, as they almost sounded human, and the effect that they had on the surrounding area was noticeable visibly. The air seemed to shimmer and tear, and Eve’s vision became polluted with static. A few seconds later, the spider once again fell to the ground, this time vanishing into the customary energy shards.

The fireball had come from Eve’s right and as she turned to look, she saw two people walking towards her; a male and a female. She couldn’t place from where she knew them, but they seemed somehow familiar to the young girl. The first was a tall man with long green hair, a black cloak, and a glaive like staff in his right hand. The second was a teenage girl with white hair and a near-maid outfit.

The man gave a smile as he neared. “Well, well, that was lucky timing. Are you alright, young lady?”  

[Mega90]

The man with green hair smiled and politely waved the young girl off. “Who, us? Oh, we’re nothing special. Just a couple of travelers. As for what that thing was, I believe that’s what they call a Necrotic Creature. It’s a new EMIA event that has been spotted lately. I read about it in an article from the Rumor Mill, and I just had to see if it was true.” A dark smile came over his face and he lowered his gaze slightly so as to look out of the top of his eyes. “Quite the nasty glitch.” The two stepped away from her and took a step back in the direction that they had come. “But, in any case, I best let you get back to your business. Do be careful, I heard that there’s a dangerous PK that likes to hunt at the center of this forest.” He gave a quick wave with the back of his hand. “Have a good day, Eve.” He took another step forward and seemed to melt back into the thickening mist, followed closely by his companion.

In another moment, Eve was left standing alone once more.  

[Mega90]

It took Eve another several minutes to reach the center of the forest, and as she drew closer to her destination, she heard a distant whimpering. As she came nearer to the sound, she could hear a low, raspy laugh resonating underneath the terrified cries. Rounding the corner she saw a massive man standing over a crumpled player. A titan of a man, his large, muscular frame was adorned in a barbaric garb. It was composed primarily of furs and leather, leaving large portions of his skin exposed to show off his rippling physique.

In his hand, he carried a massive broad sword, and he lifted it high into the air, bringing it down and slaughtering the cowering player below him.

A twig beneath Eve’s feet snapped, and the man spun on the sudden sound. Standing at roughly six and a half feet, he towered over her, and his dark eyes and scruffy beard curled upwards as he saw the girl.

“Well, well. What ‘ave we ‘ere?”  

[Mega90]

The man took a step forward and extended his hand, reaching for the young girl.

“Now, now, there’s no need to rush off. Why don’t we ‘ave a little chat and talk ‘bout what just happened?” There was a dark smile on his face, and a hint of sadism in his voice, and his eyes burned as he took a few steps closer to Eve.  

[Mega90]

The man reeled back bringing his hand close to his chest. An angry scowl covered his face and he shook his arm against the stinging.

“Now, why’d you ‘ave to go un do ‘dat?” He raised himself to his full height, and Eve was swallowed in his shadow. “Do you have any idea who I am, little girl?”