Eternal Dream

The streets of Ashenburgh were oddly quiet. All the shops were closed, and the homes had their lights turned off. Besides some occasional drunkards stumbling and singing, there was no one else to be seen. The light of the sparse lanterns illuminating the streets gave Alisa a bit of comfort in the surrounding eeriness. Nevertheless, she wished to return to the tavern as fast as possible.

A feeling of being watched from the shadows flooded through her. She looked around, but couldn't see nor hear anyone. She picked up her pace and her heartbeat sped up. She started to hear footsteps following around her. Suddenly, a shadow appeared before her. The person was dressed in gray leather and his face was hidden behind a black hood. He pulled 2 daggers from his waist, holding one in each hand.

"Leave behind all of your money, and no one has to get hurt," he said. His voice was young and calm, it seemed like this wasn't his first time robbing someone. Alisa used [Analysis] on him and found out his level was 12. She didn't know if she could take him on, for she had no practice with this world's magic yet, and she might run out of mana before his HP reaches zero.

Nonetheless, she wasn't a pushover who would give in without a fight. She had been sick in her real-life since her childhood. Most of her time was spent either in the hospital or in her room. She was already used to pain and misery. Only through virtual reality games could she be freed from the restrictions her sickness placed on her, even if it was just for a couple of hours. Therefore, she would play all kinds of games every day. From role-playing games to shooters, she loved them all. And she was good at it. Fighting for her life was already in her blood.

This is why she managed to stay calm even in the face of danger. Alisa took a look at her spells and tried to figure out the best way to handle this situation. She didn't necessarily need to kill this man. If she could hold on for long enough, guards should hear the ruckus and save her. She could also try to blast him away and escape while he was stunned. Maybe he would even give up on his own if she proved to be a difficult prey.

But suddenly, three more figures surrounded her. Two of them were similarly clad in leather, with a black hood shrouding their faces. One of them held a short-sword, and another had a bow and arrow. The third one was a broad-shouldered middle-aged man, equipped with chain mail and a battle-ax. He didn't even bother hiding his bald head. All of them were level 10.

"Now now, Crow. Don't be so hasty! Just look at her. With that kind of face, we need to at least have some fun with her! I bet she could also fetch us a nice price on the black market," said the bald man.

[Quest: Survive The Night]

[Description: Crow and his gang have you surrounded. Survive their assault and escape their clutches, or death might not be the worst ending awaiting you.]

[Reward: 3000 EXP]

A new system message popped up, and Alisa grew excited upon seeing it. 3000 EXP was a lot for her right now. But she forced herself to calm down again. The situation was still dire, and every move could be her last.

Crow frowned upon hearing the bald man's words. Although he was a thief and murderer, he didn't do it for his entertainment. "No, we don't have time, Baldy. We'll get the money and get out of here!"

"Hey hey, you are not my boss! If I say I am going to have a taste of her, then you can bet you're little a.s.s that I will!" Baldy barked back. He took his battle-ax and swung it at the ground, breaking off some stones off the road.

Alisa was happy about their fight. The longer this plays out, the more likely it is for something unforeseen to happen, which may help her escape. As they were fighting, a low growl suddenly entered their ears.

"Quiet!" hissed Crow. All of them turned tense and looked in every direction. "Heh, what are you guys scared off? Bet it's just some do—" Baldy couldn't even finish his sentence before a large shadow pounced on him. Both of them fell to the ground. The shadow had bitten Baldy on his neck and was hurling him left and right. Blood flew across the street, as Baldy screamed in pain. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU BASTARDS STANDING AROUND FOR?! HELP ME, GOD DAMN IT!"

One arrow was shot and hit the shadow on its shoulder, which just made it angrier. Another robber dashed at the shadow with his short sword and tried to stab it. The shadow noticed his assault though and abandoned Baldy to dodge the oncoming attack. In the meantime, Crow decided to observe the situation first, while Alisa waited for her opportunity to escape.

Under the light of the lantern, the shadow finally revealed its true features. It reminded Alisa of a giant dog. But both limbs and torso were weirdly long; steel-like muscles bulged under its black fur. It snarled at them dangerously, showing its razor-sharp teeth, which were still covered in Baldy's blood. It was a level 15 Elite Worg.

[Quest [Survive The Night] has been upgraded to [Survive The Night II]]

[Description: An Elite Worg has joined the fray. Survive its assault, or you will end up as its dinner.]

[Reward: 5000 EXP.]

Elite monsters are especially dangerous as all of their attributes are usually way higher than normal monsters. Players wouldn't normally engage them on their own and rather group up to take them down. Only the best players would be able to kill them by themselves. Alisa was one of them, but with her current level and equipment, it would be nothing more a dream to deal with this worg right now.

"Damn it! It's actually an Elite Worg!"

"Do you think we can handle it?"

"What choice do we have? It's not like we could outrun it."

"Calm down! Surround it and attack from every direction at once," commanded Crow.

The four robbers moved according to Crow's instructions and tried to surround the worg, but it didn't give them the chance. It clawed at the nearest one, sending him flying. Then it jumped at the ranger in the back. The ranger shot his arrows at the monster while trying to distance himself, but the worg nimbly dodged them and closed in quickly. Crow appeared suddenly behind it and slashed with both his daggers at its back. The worg winced in pain but retaliated instantly.

While they were fighting, Alisa saw her chance to escape and ran away as fast as she could without looking back. She didn't know for how long she had run, but it felt like an eternity. She was slowly getting tired, however, she told herself to hold on.

"Just a little bit more. Almost there. Almost!" she repeated in her mind again and again. A howl suddenly resounded behind her. Her body grew stiff for a moment, but she clenched her teeth and managed to shake it off. "God damn it!" she cursed and ran even faster.

However, she didn't manage to get far, before the worg appeared in front of her out of nowhere. The worg seemed somehow different. There were no wounds on its body, nor blood between its teeth. "F.u.c.k, there's actually another one!"

The beast pounced on her but she barely managed to dodge its attack with a roll to the side. She sprang back to her feet, activated [Walk with Grace], and kept on running. Nonetheless, the worg was right behind her tail and caught up in an instant. Their attributes were simply too far apart. It clawed at her back, but Alisa used [Mana Shield] before she was hit. The worg's claw only scratched her, however, it was still enough to tear through the shield and damage her for 40 HP. A burning pain assaulted her as she cried out. Blood ran down her back, slowly seeping into her shirt. If she had been directly hit, she would be already dead. She wondered if she would truly die or perhaps respawn like in a game. But she didn't care to find out. It was too risky. Too painful.

She stumbled but managed to catch herself. "Help! Someone! Please!" she screamed but received no answer. "WHAT THE F.U.C.K ARE THESE STUPID GUARDS DOING?! SAVE ME ALREADY!" Alisa swore to exterminate every single worg and their kind in the future if she would survive this encounter.

[Mana Shield] costs 100 MP and now she had only 50 MP left, enough for a single offensive spell. She recovered only 1.5 MP per second, and even with [Loved by Mana] she wouldn't be able to survive long enough until she could use [Mana Shield] again. Alisa stopped shortly before a lantern and jumped to the side. The worg charged at her with its full speed and couldn't even react before hitting the lantern head-on, knocking it off the ground. The beast somersaulted once and crashed into a wall. It didn't receive much damage but got stunned long enough for Alisa to cast the spell [Sleep] on it.

Against all odds, the spell actually worked and the worg fell to sleep in an awkward pose. However, it wouldn't take more than 12 seconds for it to wake up. Alisa ran again towards the inn, which should be just around the corner. She didn't know any other place to hide, and going back to the old wizard was out of the question, as the other worg was most likely still there.

The inn entered her sight at last, but to her horror, the beast was blocking her way again. It was covered in arrows and blood from gashing sword and ax wounds. "Are you kidding me? ARE YOU F.U.C.K.I.N.G KIDDING ME?! WHY ARE YOU HERE?! WHY?!" she screamed her lungs out and conjured [Sleep] again, however this time the worg resisted the spell. It seemed to her that the world was keen to see her demise. The monster dashed at her, and Alisa used [Fireball] in her despair. By mistake or blessing, she actually conjured a ball of fire in both her hands at once and shot them at the worg.

[Congratulations! You have learned Double Cast. Since you have learned it on your own, you have received INT +2 and WIS +1.]

Alisa turned dizzy as her MP reached zero. She barely managed to see both fireballs exploding on the worg's head, and the blast seemed stronger than it should be. The worg has turned into charcoal, and the stench of burned flesh assaulted her. "Lass, are you alright?" she heard a voice calling from behind. She turned slowly around and saw the old wizard running towards her before losing conscious.