Cyberserk

Chapter 10 - Skeleton Warriors

Dan Raven watched as the two players quickly ran away. He found no words to express his outrage.

"You set me up. You killed a man. Have you gone mad? I'm not like you! Where are you going to leave town? Look around you. There are only monsters around. Now those bastards are gonna tell everyone that there's a killer. The police and military will find you. We're screwed," Dan whispered at the end of his stream of indignation.

"You're not a murderer. Calm down. I'm part of you but I'm a special part of you," Tom said quietly. "You're lucky. You got a special skill at the very beginning of the game. We can't let others take over for us. I know scum like that. You know very well how dangerous they are. They threatened you with death. I heard everything. We don't negotiate with terrorists! No one dares threaten you."

Phantom crouched by the river and looked intently at the group of dead men who began to approach them.

"We have to move. Let's go toward the mountains," the phantom stood up and held out his hand to the player. "You heard the new information. The military and police have found assassination specialists in their organizations. Dan I didn't expect people to learn the rules of this game so quickly myself. People are already starting to act like drunken savages. They kill zombies with ease and have enough experience points to eat and buy themselves a drink. This is not going to end well. We have no future in this place."

Dan Raven walked beside the clone and listened to his partner's suggestions. There was no way he could accept the fact that Tom could be so free to make crucial decisions. The phantom is out of control! But Dan clearly understood that the clone had done the right thing. The scum wanted to kill Dan. The Phantom was, for the first time, the real savior of the player. But Raven could not easily accept that there was a ruthless killer at his side.

Tom made some interesting suggestions. Dan didn't think there was anything special about the city. He was comfortable with the idea of traveling through a new world.

But the player was intimidated by the danger. There is no Resurrection in the game.

"You go fight skeletons with weapons. They're level 2. I need to level up," Dan said suddenly.

"Take your time. I'll test the abilities of these skeletons first! You're not risking anything. I'll try to fight at the limit of my abilities. Level 2 monsters don't have much superiority over a level 1 player. Their main superiority is the mastery of their weapons. And we need to be careful! Skeleton archers and skeleton mages are particularly dangerous!" Tom paid no attention to the crowd of zombies and skeletons who slowly took a few steps toward the players.

"I understand the danger from fighters with ranged weapons. We have the skill of an archer. We can buy a bow and arrow at the store," Dan suggested.

"You don't have to distract from the mainline of development. Bows and arrows will come in handy. But not now." Tom winked at his partner. "Let's run! It'll take us about an hour to walk. People got enough place to not feel restricted."

They ran along the river toward the mountains. Dan looked with interest at the new features of the place. He noticed that the mountains were very high. No vegetation on the surface of the rocks was visible under the bright sunlight.

Soon the partners changed to a step. Dan asked to slow down. He felt tired.

"Great. You're holding up well. Physical activity is necessary for you," laughed Tom. "I can already see our dangerously bony friends."

Dan noticed the figures at the foot of the mountains, too. Soon he was able to get a closer look at his new adversaries.

"I'll be honest with you. These skeletons are great! They don't smell like dumpsters. And I'm sure there's one nasty theory. Do you want to be the best? Learn from the best!" Tom swung his katana and picked up his step.

"Take your time dancing with the Lady of the Grey Boundaries," Dan grinned.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for You are with me!" whispered Tom.

Dan Raven began to hum an old song softly.

"As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

I take a look at my life and realize there's nothing left.

Cause I've been blasting and laughing so long that

Even my momma thinks that my mind is gone."

"Oh yeah, bro!" the phantom began to dance in motion and snatched his second short blade with his left hand. "Look at me. Be ready to be attacked. No need to worry. My death is not a waste. It is new gains and discoveries. I am ready to die and I am not afraid!"

Dan Raven shook his head. He thought that this strange clone was unable to feel fear.

Tom approached the first opponent from the riverside. He tried not to attract the attention and aggression of most of the skeletons. He did not notice the archers. This was good news.

"I really hate to trip but I gotta lob," the phantom chanted and quickly approached his first opponent.

The skeleton was wearing scraps of old rusty chainmail. There was no helmet on the skull. The skeleton held a sword and shield in its hands.

[Skeleton Warrior (Undead).

Level 2.

Brutal dead creatures only seek to kill their victims. Skeleton Warriors, move faster than zombies and have intelligence.  These bony troops are found with swords, clubs, bows, and even armor and shields. Dangerous are the skeletons who have the same weapons with which they died. Even more terrifying are the Remnants of Wizards. They can prove that even the dead can wield the powers of magic!]

Phantom did not expect the skeleton to be the first to attack him! The dead warrior struck with his sword. Tom easily dodged the blade and struck with his katana. The skeleton put his shield up to the blow.

Boom!

Tom jumped back and grinned. He noticed that there was a c***k in the shield.

"I'll shatter your defense into little pieces. Not even a little bone will be left of you, my dead friend," Tom whispered.

The skeleton grinned his teeth and launched another attack. Tom fended off the sword blow with his short sword and kicked at the skeleton's shield. Just then the clone struck the dead man's skull with his katana.

-4, the amount of damage inflicted drifted toward the clouds.

"Got it!" Tom began to strike more actively. He could have happily continued this exciting dance. But the clone felt strangely calm and aware of the situation. He was not experiencing any negative emotions from the game! What stressed him out was the fact that two other skeleton warriors were paying attention to their fight.

"Dan, cut off the zombies and simple skeletons from us!" Tom asked his partner for help. In this fight, the level 1 monsters were an annoying minor disturbance.

Dan watched the fight closely. He was surprised to see that the skeleton warrior moved with normal speed. But the enemy was inferior in speed to Tom. Raven did not notice much mastery on the skeleton's part. Of course, the sword in the dead man's hand twisted several times like a propeller. Dan had seen such a trick in the movies. Was it a warm-up for the hand? But why would a skeleton want to warm up his bones? It looks very attractive and even threatening. But the young man knew it was impossible to scare Tom. That crazy clone could scare anyone.

Dan Raven quickly jumped up to the simple skeleton who had outpaced the three zombies and approached the edge of the battle between the clone and the warrior skeleton.

"How slow and funny you are," muttered Den. He quickly and quietly destroyed the four opponents and continued to watch the main battle.

Tom was doing fine! Now the clone didn't allow himself to be distracted by talking to his opponents. The phantom dodged the blows of the three skeletons and quickly struck back. Damage numbers were flying to the sky.

Dan noticed an important feature of the warrior skeletons. They knew how to handle weapons. A skeleton with an ax was particular trouble for a clone. But the skeletons did not want to act as a team. Each skeleton was intent on fighting the enemy. These dead warriors even clashed and prevented each other from inflicting damage on the clone.

After a while, the first skeleton disintegrated into bones that fell to the grass.

"Death aint nothing but a heart beat away. I'm living life do or die, what can I say," Tom laughed and attacked the two weakened skeletons.

"I'm 23 now will I ever live to see 24? The way things are going I don't know," Dan smiled and suddenly pounced on the skeleton closest to him.

Shik. Vwum.

Rusty rings of broken chainmail sprinkled on the grass. Dan's sword looked much more powerful than the graceful blade of a Japanese katana.

"Yeah!" Dan shouted in delight into the skeleton's grinning mouth. The player felt very good.

The saber's blows were hard to dodge. The skeleton was fast and slick. But Dan tried to fend off the saber blows with his big dagger. Several times the blade of the saber struck the player's arm. At these moments, Dan felt pain. It was an unpleasant sensation as if he were plunging his fist sharply into hot water. But it was a tolerable feeling! He didn't even scream out in pain.

Dan also felt that around these skeletons he didn't want to be too insolent and play the role of berserk. That feeling of cold-blooded mind pleased Dan. He didn't want to turn into a mindless thug with a sword in his hand.

Dan delivered two precise blows to his enemy's skull. He tried to master the skill of delivering a swift stabbing blow with his sword. His opponent had no shield, but his body was covered by almost an entire piece of chain mail. It was foolish to poke the edge of a sword into a protected body. Dan aimed at the skull. He'd bounce off the enemy. Then he'd take a stance with his left foot in front. He struck the sword with a quick step of his right foot forward. Just three strikes were enough to finish off the enemy.

"Practicing the thrust? Fine," Tom praised his partner loudly.

"The thrust of the sword is struck only with the arm straightened. First, the arm is straightened and the tip of the sword is aimed at the target. Only then is there an additional short step toward the enemy. Such a move lengthens the strike as a whole by the length of the step. The main thing is that you control the necessary accuracy of the thrust or sword strike," Tom said softly.

"When did you become a fencing sensei?" Dan looked at the phantom with surprise.

Tom was confused and made a strange gesture with his hand. His fingers scraped the air several times.

"I traded a full set of Level 1 skill books for a Kendo master book," the clone said quietly.

"I've never been an otaku! I didn't even watch Naruto all the way through," exclaimed Dan.

"You saw Shigurui: Death Frenzy," whispered Tom. "I have a great sense of memory. Gennosuke Fujiki is the coolest."

Dan stepped back to the shore and began to try a new method of piercing with the point of his sword. Tom watched intently as the skeleton warriors approached.

"It's hard to know when they're going to die. It takes three or four hits on an unprotected body. Defense makes a difference," said the phantom. "But I like these guys!"

Tom enjoyed looking at the two skeletons who were walking toward the partners.

"I liked them, too," admitted Dan. "You turned out to be right. These are good opponents. The armor helps keep me alive. I like controlling myself. Retreat!"

"Why?" Tom looked at his partner with surprise.

"i***t! They're being respawned somewhere. All monsters are respawned. If those knuckle-draggers rise up behind us they'll surround us. Let's wait and see where the defenders of this specific position come from," Raven said calmly.

"Great idea," agreed Tom. "We can thin out the ranks of the regular zombies! Experience never is out of place."

"You go have fun. I'll watch and restore my energy," Dan offered.

After a minute the player realized that the skeleton warriors were reviving somewhere far away from the riverbank.

It was an unpleasant discovery. Somewhere out there in the rocks, there is an entrance to a dungeon.

Wouldn't the strength of two players be enough to break through to the dungeon?