Game Transcendence

7: Camp

7: Camp
Date Written: October 3, 2019

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The world of Sylis had become a war zone. Everywhere, sounds of fighting and screams of people dying could be heard each second. An invisible cloud of negativity seemed to be permeating every place giving the feeling of suffocation to anyone.

Nighttime at Phantasm Forest was especially scary. The ghost and mist type monsters inside would double at this time and illusions would randomly appear and make a person lose his way inside. However, a safe sanctuary was located deep into the center of the forest.

In this sanctuary stood an encampment for players. Although rather than players, the most fitting term for the current them would be refugees.

There were at least a few dozen huge tents set up and large numbers of houses set up atop the trees. These were hastily built up just a week ago by the players who had escaped from the Excelcis race. There were other encampments like these across the world but so far, it was the safest place for players hiding from the alien forces.

At the center of the tents stood an especially larger one. It's used for meetings by the guild leaders in their stay here.

There was a huge round table on he center. There was only Vanish inside who was reading some reports from his subordinates. His stern and grim face was present as usual.

The cloth that acted as the door was suddenly slightly pulled open. A man entered the room. He said some greetings to Vanish and handed him some more papers before he nervously left.

When Vanish read the newest reports,  he couldn't help but sigh and massage his temples. With a groan, he stood up from his seat and left the tent.

The cold night wind blew past his face as he strolled along the thick purple grass. His fingers ran across the thin mist that moved like fluid on the air. This mist was the whole reason why Phantasm Forest was labeled as one of the most dangerous areas inside the game.

Before, it drove away players from visiting this place but with the high leveled players accompanying them, no monsters nor illusions was able to hurt them in their journey inside. At the same time, the mist also had the ability to block the mysterious detector that the Excelcis used to hunt the players which made it the best place for hiding.

Just as he entered the darker areas of the forest, his eyes suddenly narrowed and fell upon a tree branch. Without letting out as much as a simple grunt, he materialized his sword and with a leap, his sword made a huge arc towards that area.

"Woah!" A surprised voice suddenly sounded out.

The tree branch was cut but no one was there. Meanwhile, a young man with dark smoke around his body appeared below the tree. It was Kian whose face was pale as ever. Cold sweat dripped along his forehead and back. If not for his high agility then he would've been dead meat by now.

"How did you find me?" He couldn't help but ask Vanish. He was already a Cosmage and a high leveled one. Vanish seems to have not used a skill but he was able to detect him while he as covered in Haze.

"Instinct." Vanish answered, his voice dark and his eyes filled with hostility as he glared at Kian. He remembered this guy. If not for him then he wouldn't be hit by the Excelcis race member back then.

Kian didn't buy his answer but remained silent. He was trying to think of possible escape plans. It was not his intention to show himself after all.

After the attack by the Excelcis at Boreas City, almost no safe places existed in this world.

BothbKian and Keiko can use a certain technique to conceal themselves with their Psyche Energies but Amy, George, and Alexa could not.

If not for the fact that they already ran out of Psyche Crystals (the name of the eye crystals on the Excelcis' forehead) and that hunting Excelcis people right now was too dangerous, Kian would've wanted them to become Halflings as well.

Thus, they had no choice but to hide in Phantasm Forest. However, they made sure that the other players didn't know their existence.

Bright red particles of light surrounded Vanish. It was the manifestation of his Fighting Spirit. With a speed that was supposed to be impossible with his heavy armor and huge sword, he was able to instantly arrive next to Kian and release a flurry of slashes.

Kian anticipated this and used his high stats to dodge. While doing so, he was also moving towards an area where the trees were thicker.

After he took his pistol out, he casually fired off some bullet coated with psyche energy to affect Vanish's mental state. Of course, almost all of his attacks were deflected with only a few getting through but this was enough to buy Kian enough distance to make a run for it.

Vanish felt his head aching from the young man's attacks. Although it wasn't as painful as the Excelcis from the other day, it was still able to stop him from making accurate hits. Furious, he screamed and swung his sword in a 180° motion.

The trees which served as Kian's blockade were easily cut down. They made loud noises as they fell to the ground and broke the silent atmosphere of the forest.

"What's happening over there?" Voices from players who were attracted by the loud commotion.

Kian's expression changed. There were more players coming. If they surrounded him then all his escape routes would be gone. Once that happened then he would be goner so while still feeling tense as ever, he used up all the strength he could muster and sprinted as fast as he could.

However, what he feared had arrived.

Players that numbered in dozens appeared. They thought that the enemies had found them so they were a bit panicked but also furious. When they saw Vanish who was still chasing the cheetah-like Kian, the agility based players quickly did their best to catch up.

It was no surprise for Kian to find himself surrounded by more than ten players dressed from head to foot in high levelled gear.

"Get out of the way!" He screamed, his throat a bit painful.

Kian fired multiple Distort skills coated with psyche energies. He thought they were enough to scare them off and he was right.

The players watched in horror as a huge part of their health were shaved off and their minds became more susceptible to the thin mist around them that had illusion-inducing capabilities.

After a few seconds, he was able to escape their encirclement. However, it wasn't long before the attacks from head archers arrived. With their help, Vanish was finally able to catch up with Kian.

With a huge evil grin on his face, he slashed his sword towards Kian. It wasn't the tip nor the blade that he used however. Instead, he used the flat part to use the sword as a hammer.

Before Kian knew it, he felt a huge impact on his head and his ears ringing before he slowly wandered off to wonderland.

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This book is about to end but I'm having second thoughts in doing so because of someone's persuasion. Should I add another one or not?