Cyberserk

Chapter 9 - Tom of Darkness

The partners came out of the house. Dan was surprised to see a huge crowd at the entrance to the portal. Shouts and offers to exchange game values could be heard on all sides.

"Change the Ice Arrow skill book for a skill for Assassin Sudden Strike!"

"Trading the Fire Arrow skill book for three bottles of wine!"

"Swapping the Earth Shield skill book for a full set of Defense for a mage!"

"Who wants to join the Immortal Assassins clan come to me! We need everyone. Newcomers to the game don't worry. You will get good training and the opportunity to become strong players. Anyone can become part of the great future of the Immortal Assassins Clan."

"Please help. Give a loaf of bread and a piece of meat for a small child."

"Trade the mage skill books for skill books for the Swordsman!"

Dan realized with surprise that people were quick to figure out their benefits in the new circumstances of life. The phantom warned him loudly of the changes on the other side of reality.

"There is a large safe zone on one side of the portal. Several kilometers long and a couple of hundred meters wide," Tom wrinkled his nose and remembered the unpleasant memories of the new monsters. "There are dangerous monsters in the forest. First-level wolves. Their damage is small, only 2 points. But the beasts are fast and agile. They are like normal players. Very dangerous creatures. A wolf bite can cause Bleeding. Then within a minute, you will take damage."

"There are no dangerous fish in the river?" Raven had no faith in the kindness of the Game Creators.

"In six hours I haven't heard of a threat from the river. But no one takes the risk of swimming or going into the river," the phantom said.

"Hey dudes, I remember you," said the short guy in the armor. "I saw you go into the portal first. Would you like to join my guild? We plan to enter the dungeon tomorrow. The military and police have already sent a squad into the dungeon. But the System hasn't made any declarations about the achievements of our city's group of players."

"Thank you for the offer. Right now we plan to master our melee skills," Dan answered honestly. "We're neighbors and will be able to meet each other easily."

"My name is Splitting Sword. I'm level 2. I can already use the game chat. Raise your levels and respond to my offer," winked Splitting Sword. "Don't forget that only Firsts get the best benefits from joining the guild."

Dan nodded his head and entered the portal.

Before his eyes was a view of a real battle between the living players and the undead. Several hundred players stood in a dense wall, destroying zombies and skeletons. Sometimes people left their place in the line and then the dead tried to break through the chain of people. But new players would come to the rescue and prevent the undead from making their way to the portal. It was a real conveyor belt of killing the dead. Most of the players were drunk and laughing with pleasure. Those who recovered their strength drank beer and wine. Pieces of bread, meat, and fish walked in their hands. It was an incredible sight. Dan Raven realized that the new life was able to resonate in the hearts and minds of many players.

Dan noticed that the people were able to push the undead away from the river and the forest.

"The wolves won't leave the borders of the forest. But the players have done the right thing and they are ready for a surprise attack by the wolves," the phantom said. "Let's run along the riverbank. There are places where there aren't many players. We don't need to draw attention to ourselves."

The partners ran along the river. The bright beams of the two suns illuminated the great battlefield well. Dan could see green lights flickering by the grass in the crowd of undead in the distance. The player thought these were the places where new zombies were coming into the world. With this rate of monster destruction, the game restores the number of enemies at a furious speed.

They found a good place to fight. There were no players nearby and they could test their strength.

Dan had already realized that the Phantom summoning skill is a rather dangerous possession. A new phantom could be needed at any moment. The crowd of dead men inspired fear and respect. But Dan only had ten mana points. And he couldn't waste mana on using magical ways to do damage.

"Don't worry about wasting mana. Apply the battle skill once a minute. Learn to instantly cause damage enhancement. It should be instinctive brainwork," Tom said.

"Listen, Tom! Can you summon your phantom? You're a copy of me, after all. You have the Phantom skill! You can strengthen our group!" Raven was delighted at his cleverness.

Phantom laughed and shook his head.

"I can't use the store and Phantom's summoning skill. It makes sense and upsets the balance of the Game. Imagine that I summoned a clone. The first clone summoned a clone, too. The second clone also summoned a clone! And so on to infinity! You don't become the master of a multimillion clone army! This is nonsense and a violation of the harmony of the Game. Accept the presence of the only and unique Me!" Tom swung his katana and took a step toward the dead. "I will cover your side. Don't worry and watch the other side. Don't let the dead men surround us."

Dan stood next to Tom and struck the first blow at the zombies. The stench of a half-rotten body hit his nose. But the player calmly accepted this drawback of the new world. Dan Raven began to gain experience with the sword.

Unfortunately for the player, he could not keep his mind clear. Dead men's attacks caused Dan to react vividly. Raven lost control of himself and began to fight like an unrestrained berserker. To his mind, fighting the dead was a wild unexpected thing.

Tom kept a close eye on his partner and constantly stuck to his partner's left shoulder. Phantom was curious to see how much Dan was losing his mind. Tom had no fear of the player attacking him. Death didn't matter to the creation of the game. Only the experience of fighting alongside a partner mattered. They got to know each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Tom was a fantastic partner. He didn't care about mana reserves. And he constantly used different skills to enhance his attacks and reinforce his actions. Sometimes he used skills from the Curse school.

The skill of Slowing belonged to the magic of the Earth. The grass at his opponent's feet began to grow quickly and enveloped the legs of the enemy who was cursed with the skill of Slowing. Slow zombies could not move. The skeletons, too, began to move like turtles.

"I'm tired! Tom, we need to retreat!" Dan wheezed the request.

"Good work! Got it. Fall back to the river! I've got them! Fall back toward the portal," Tom shouted and started hitting the dead with even more speed.

Dan didn't look at the phantom's mastery. He walked along the river and felt disgusted. The player looked to the upper right corner at the minicard. The numbers glowed under the map and showed the time in the game. Dan grinned and thought he should have Tom determine a man's good fight time.

Raven stopped and looked around. The phantom had managed to kill a few dead men and even grabbed a prize box. Dan remembered that he had collected four boxes during his fight. These memories made the man shiver. He was distracted by the dead men's attacks and took a second to grab the box. A prize cannot be placed in the inventory by the power of desire! You have to grab the prize with your hand. It was a terrifying challenge with the stinking and bony paws of the dead pulling nearby.

Dan noticed that when he stopped the undead were paying attention to him. The player did not provoke his opponents and slowly walked towards the portal along the water's edge. Three players quickly ran to meet him.

"Hi, brother! You're my neighbor, aren't you? I'm Sharky, Sharky the Snake. I know you have a good heart. My sick sister is lying in bed. She needs help. You will help the poor girl, won't you? Buy us three bottles of beer and a good snack," said one of the unfamiliar players loudly.

"I remember you," Dan replied. "You had a street g**g. I don't think your sister feels bad. The game gave everyone the same chance at life. Leave me alone."

"Are you disrespecting the Dragons? Dude, we didn't touch you because you were out of our sight," said the young bandit. "Don't count on our kindness. We're not going to kill you. We're not suicidal. But we can tie you up and then the dead men will eat your brain!"

"Look at these wonderful handcuffs," laughed the short guy. "A legacy from a past life. What will you do when we shackle your hands and feet? Pay the dues and play in peace."

Dan froze at such insolence. It had happened! When he started living in a new neighborhood he was always expecting an attack. He thought a lot and imagined how he would fight the demands of the local young thugs.

Suddenly a loud voice came from behind Dan. The voice sounded hideous and rude.

"I am Tom of Darkness. Who allowed you to speak to my servant? Don't you dare distract my servant from his work!" The samurai with the n***d katana was not limited to words.

Sharky the Snake remembered forever how his buddy was killed.

Suddenly the mysterious player struck Charles the Rat with his katana. The sword struck quickly and pierced the unfortunate Charles' neck. Blood spurted out of his neck.

All the men froze at such cruelty.

The stranger showed no loss of strength. The fearsome samurai struck several more swift blows at the unfortunate player. A string of damage numbers appeared above Charles' head. The numbers flew skyward like drops of blood. -5, -7, -4, -5, -3, -8, -4...

None of the bandits rushed to the defense of their friend. People stood by and watched the evil murder being committed. Everyone was waiting for this vile rule-breaker to fall at the feet of the unfortunate Charles Rat. But the samurai in the horrible mask struck more and more blows. A short, curved sword appeared in the samurai's other hand, and the damage to the hapless player doubled. No amount of armor helped! The bastard was striking exactly at the player's bare neck and face!

Suddenly Charles was dead, he stopped flailing his arms and screaming in pain. The player's corpse fell to the river bank. The terrible killer swung his katana and drops of blood flow into the faces of the two bandits.

"I am Tom of Darkness. Which one of you scum will be next?" Phantom pointed his katana with its b****y blade at the two bandits.

"You're not a player! You didn't fall. You're not punished!" Sharkey whispered the obvious observation quietly.

"I am not a player. I am Tom of Darkness. I am the Lord of this servant! Runaway you miserable worm. Pray, I don't find you in your city," laughed the cruel phantom.

The two players did not wait for a second invitation to leave. They quickly fled in the direction of the portal.

"You got me into trouble! You bastard!" whispered Dan.

"I thought we should get out of town!" said Tom.