Twelve men in armor bearing the colors of blue and yellow were spread out among a series of flipped and damaged wagons. Trees surrounded the road they were on and seemed to open out into a thick forest beyond. One of them dove forward, narrowly dodging the attack of a creature out of her nightmares. The thing had no face, no eyes, it looked like a store mannequin. Its body was tall, over six feet at least, and its arms ended in long blades instead of hands. At least seven more of the things were spread out along with the men, silently assaulting the soldiers as they fought for their lives. Simone turned back around the wagon, pressing her back against the surface and catching her breath.

“This is insane,” She rasped, trying to calm herself down, “Okay, okay, take stock.”

She looked down at her body, it looked like she was wearing the same armor as the soldiers. That was weird. She pulled up her stats quickly and began going over them.

NAME: UNKNOWN

PLAYERID: SIMONEB

RACE: AZAR

SEX: FEMALE

AGE: 26

[LOCKED]

CURRENT LEVEL: 0 (0/300 EXP / Growth: 100%)

HP: 50/50 | MP: 50/50 | SP: 50/50

REPUTATION: N/A

ALIGNMENT: NEUTRAL

Physique:

12 (0%) [Upstart]

Endurance:

10 (0%)

Willpower:

10 (0%)

Influence:

12 (0%)

Agility:

10 (0%)

Skill:

10 (0%)

RESISTANCES

Physical:

Capable

Nullifies a small amount of physical damage.

TRAITS

[DEMONSKIN]

[TOOLS OF THE WANDERER]

[SPARK OF THE OUTSIDER]

ACHIEVEMENTS

[LOCKED]

Actual numbers, cool. It didn’t say anything about her so-called magic powers though. As if in response to her thoughts the window immediately changed to another screen with a single item on it.

PASSIVE ABILITIES

False Crown [Upstart]

Passive Enhancement

You possess a floating multiplier for your Attributes. At will, you may move your multiplier from one attribute to the other.

Your current multiplier is x1

Her face went stony, “What? What good is that?” She demanded, she imagined that the multiplier would go up over time but at the moment it was basically telling her that she had nothing to work with. She licked her lips and checked her immediate surroundings, looking for something she could use to defend herself. Another loud clash of metal on metal resounded nearby and a man shouted in pain. A glint of steel caught her eye and she dove for it, snatching up a sword. It was a simple, long blade.

Another prompt appeared.

You have acquired: [Katali Longsword]

This standard issue blade is the trusty weapon of the Armies of Humanity.

“Cool, that’ll do,” Simone rumbled, hefting the weapon. It wasn’t a gun, but it would hurt things and that’s all that mattered to her right now. She rolled her jaw and glanced back over the side of the wagon only to freeze when her eyes came level with a pair of pale, almost metallic-looking legs. She blinked a few times and looked up into the nightmarish face of the mannequin thing. There was an inopportune chime in the back of her mind and a prompt appeared beneath the creature.

[War Manikin] - Hostile - Level 6

HP: 55% MP: 100% SP: 69%

It raised its arm and she rolled out of the way, “Oh shit!” It drove its weapon down into the dirt behind her as she scrambled to get to her feet. It turned without missing a beat or taking a breath, bearing down on her with unholy ferocity. She raised her weapon to try to block it and felt the blow rattle through her arm and down to her shoulder. Swearing, she snapped a kick out in the center of its chest and was rewarded with a loud clang and the sight of the creature stumbling back a few feet. She glanced over at the men who were fighting for their lives and made a choice.

She ran.

She darted away from the War Manikin, hustling past a few more overturned carts before stumbling over a huddled form sitting behind one of them. The man in what looked like armor similar to hers snapped his hand out and grabbed at her wrist, he looked up at her with wide and terrified eyes.

“Help me!” He begged, “I have no idea what’s going on! Are we going to die?”

She tugged herself away from him, and glancing towards the Manikin that seemed to be deciding whether not to pursue or help rout the rest of the soldiers behind it. She looked back down at the thin man and his terrified face and a prompt appeared beneath him.

[Lukas] - [Human Adventurer] - Neutral - Level 1

HP: 100% MP: 100% SP: 100%

“Adventurer?” Simone murmured, taking a few steps away from him.

“You’re like me! You’re from Earth, right? Yeah?” He begged, “Get me out of here! I don’t want to die again!”

Simone blanched, that Ianna person wasn’t kidding, there were others who were called. She wasn’t the only one. She looked back at the Manikin that appeared to have made its decision. It started moving in her direction. Simone shook her head, “Sorry bud, I’m not getting dead here either. You want to follow, you can follow.”

She broke into a run as Lukas shouted at her from behind. She heard footfalls that suddenly stopped with a gasp and a sob of pain. She whipped her head around in time to see Lukas’ body impaled by the bladed arm of one of the Manikins. His entire body, even his armor, suddenly turned white and dissolved into a pile of ash. There was a flicker of light and then Lukas reappeared behind the cart he had been hiding behind in the first place, gasping and sobbing.

“Not again! Oh god!” He wailed, curling up into a ball.

We can’t die? Simone balked.

She swallowed and looked again at the Manikin that seemed to be making another decision. This time she didn’t wait for it to chase her, she bolted for the trees. She kept running until the sounds of battle began to fade away, only stopping when she couldn’t hear the sounds anymore. She pressed her back against a tree and gasped for air, her body was covered in sweat and her armor was chafing against every joint. It was like it didn’t fit properly. She scrambled for the straps, tearing them open and tossing them to the ground leaving her in nothing but a thick gambeson, slacks, and leather boots.

“Better,” She breathed before taking in her surroundings, “Where the hell am I?”

A low tone sounded over and over in the back of her mind and she had to stop and concentrate to get it to quiet. A series of prompts appeared in her vision as soon as she did so. That must be the way the ‘game’ or whatever this madness was alerted her she had messages waiting.

Journal Update!

[Arrival in Orum]

You have arrived in Orum amidst a pitched battle between the champions of humanity and the armies of the Demon Lord. Help your soon-to-be allies survive the battle and familiarize yourself with your abilities. Tutorial Protections are in effect until the end of this quest. You will be revived upon death at your initial spawn point.

Reward: Experience, Basic Equipment

This Quest was Automatically Accepted

Fuck That, Simone thought, I don’t know those guys. I’m not suffering for them.

The next prompt made her frown.

Quest Failed!

[Arrival in Orum]

You fled the battle instead of assisting your allies. A new tutorial quest will be generated.

“Go to hell,” She spat.

Journal Update!

[Flight of the Upstart]

You have fled the battle on the main road and entered the dangerous Balthin Green Sea, you are not alone. One of the Demon Lord’s soldiers now pursues you. Survive and make your way to safety. Tutorial Protections are in effect until the end of this quest. You will be revived upon death at your initial spawn point.

Reward: Experience, Basic Equipment

This Quest was Automatically Accepted

She bit her lip, forcing her mouth shut as to not make a sound. The War Manikin had followed her, she whipped her head left and right searching for some idea of where it was. No sign. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves she began to pat herself down. She was supposed to have a compass that could help her navigate, right? A few moments of patting revealed that she wasn’t carrying anything but the sword in her hand. Where was it? She thought about where the compass was listed in her stat sheet. It was under abilities. She experimentally held her hand out and muttered, “Compass.”

There was a quiet pop and the old compass appeared in her palm, the needle wobbling helplessly left and right. She scowled at the thing, remembering that it was described as pathetic. At least it was wobbling in a general direction, she turned that way and started to jog, hopping over fallen logs and crowds of foliage as she made her way in the only direction she could think of going.

It was just as she was beginning to relax a little that a sudden movement from her left sent her diving forward into a tight roll, covering her head as the sound of metal whistling through the air followed her. She rolled to her feet, startled at her own dextrousness, and looked back to see the Manikin standing there, its bladed arm embedded in a tree. It tugged once, then twice, trying to dislodge itself and failing.

She gripped the sword in her hand and glanced down at its free arm, a blade of its own. She pressed her lips together and ran, there was no guarantee she was going to win that fight either. She glanced down at her compass and noted it had shifted a little bit to the right, the wobbling taking her in a slightly different direction. Scowling, she adjusted her direction slipping past a series of trees before almost stumbling over an outcropping of stone. She hopped a few times, stopping herself from falling onto her face just in time to hear a loud crack of timber. That had to be the Manikin.

She whipped her head around, looking at the compass that was spinning frantically now.

“How the hell is this safe?” She whispered angrily, there was nothing here but old pale stone bricks laying all over the place. A few ivy-covered columns jutted out of the ground here and there but otherwise showed very little as far as cover was concerned. She swore, she wished she had her sidearm from home. At least her past life had prepared her for chaotic situations like this. She glanced over her shoulder and started to poke around the woody area, there had to be something here. The compass was insisting that she’d find safety here. It wasn’t like she had much of a choice but to trust the damn thing.

Otherwise, I’m dead, she thought. She stepped forward towards one of the columns and felt the ground give way a bit beneath her feet. Something cracked and groaned and she pulled back, frowning at the unsteady ground. A twig snapped behind her and she spun in time to see the Manikin race out of the trees in pursuit, its arms raised to deliver a deadly blow. She threw herself backward, dodging the attack but landing on the weak terrain. The Manikin landed on top of her only to stumble when the ground beneath both of them gave way.

They fell.