Elysium

Level 4

MAREN

Four

The sound of roaring laughter from the lower floor jerked me awake. I looked over to the bed on the other side of the room. Aethan seemed to have been awoken by the same noise. Drial, on the other hand, looked freshly bathed and was already lacing his boots.

“’Morning,” I greeted.

No response.

Okaaaaay, so they’re not morning persons. Or Aethan isn’t. Drial is simply unsociable no matter what time of the day.

Later, after we’ve freshened up, we headed downstairs for breakfast. Stam notified us that the trip to Cheval City will take at least six hours considering our pace so we have to leave early if we don’t want to get caught in the darkness again. This time Aethan wouldn’t be making a flashlight anymore.

The waitress had barely set down our food when our table was overturned. Somebody had crashed onto our table with a sword unsheathed.

“Woah! You alright, man?” Aethan rushed. “Here.” He offered his hand to the stranger.

“I’m good. Thanks,” the stranger replied and took his hand. “I can’t say the same for her.”

We all looked toward the direction he was pointing at.

Just across our table to the right, a group of players surrounded a girl who looked about ready to cry any moment. It appears that they want to take money or whatever possession she has.

In an instant, we were on our feet and heading toward the uncouth group. Aethan was first on the scene. He grabbed one of them by the shoulder. In his Aethan-like manner, he tried to talk to them politely. But the one he was holding shrugged his hand off then seized him by the neck then lifted him off the ground.

This time, the stranger held his sword to the brute’s neck.

“Let him go,” he growled.

But another of the five thugs also held a dagger against his neck. This was fast-becoming a game of dominoes. But it has to end soon because Aethan’s face was losing color.

The girl who was currently being ignored took out something from the sleeves of her dress.

“Oh no, you don’t.” One thug took hold of her hands then secured them behind her back.

The bow appeared in my hands the moment I saw the injury being wrought upon those innocent people. I let loose two arrows – one quickly after another. The first hit the thug restraining the girl and the next hit the arm holding Aethan’s neck.

Aethan dropped onto the floor in a gasping heap.

“PvP,” I announced. Why I did that, I have no idea.

“Fine by me,” Aethan gasped.

I looked at Drial who himself was being held against sword point. The look he gave me was enough to confirm what we all wanted.

“I’m in your team,” the stranger who crashed onto our table stated. “I have a score to settle with these guys.”

“You think you can defeat us, you small fry?” one thug mocked. “Just because you took a lucky hit you think you’re already that great, huh. Fine then. PvP it is.

“Lady Maren,” Faith whispered. “How do you want to go about this? You initiated the formal battle so you must choose the mode in which you will fight.”

“Mode? What mode?”

“Do you want it to be a single player versus single player battle? Or team versus team.”