"Nononono this can't be right!"
His eyes widened, the usual composed Hisgard was gone, replaced by a panicking one. He was relentlessly scratching his head. What could he do?
"Log off!"
______________________________________________________________________________________________
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: There seems to be an issue with user software. Please try again later.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
"Log off! Log off! Log off dammit!"
______________________________________________________________________________________________
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: There seems to be an issue with user software. Please try again later.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
As Hisgard became increasingly desperate, is shouting attracted the attention of nearby onlookers. After all, Soyo was incredibly silent in the evening.
"..Hisgard? Is that you? What are you doing out so late? And stop shouting!"
The man who appeared before Hisgard was none other than his master, the man looked a bit disheveled, and fear could be seen in eyes.
"M-Master?"
Hisgard had never been so distraught in his life. He was stuck in a game. A game. The one thing that kept him going his whole life was the feeling of going home and playing games, and now, he was stuck in one of them.
Tears were swelling up in Hisgard's eyes, at barely 19 years of age, he was faced with something none had ever faced before. Was he overreacting? Was it only a slight issue that would be fixed later? No, that couldn't be right, after all, Balkye and Aida could both log off just a moment earlier.
"Master.. I..I don't know what to do! I was nearly killed by slimes earlier and.. and..!"
The veteran butcher, looking at Hisgard now felt a sense of duty, his apprentice was clearly in a panic, how could he let him in such a state, alone, in a dangerous city like Soyo?
"Hisgard, look at me,"
His master put his hands on Hisgard's shoulders, Hisgard was looking down at the flood, disheartened, his legs bouncing up and down, while he was fidgetting with his hands.
"Look at me, Hisgard."
Hisgard slowly tilted his head up, now meeting his master eye to eye. Tears were now streaming down Hisgard's face.
"Hisgard. It's going to be alright."
The butcher slowly took in Hisgard in a hug. Patting his back, Hisgard could do nothing but quietly sob in the broad man's shoulder.
"Now, let's go back to my house and get you some well needed rest, alright?"
Hisgard quietly nodded.
...
During the walk to the butcher's house, Hisgard slowly regained his usual composure. This wasn't like him. He had never faced such a difficult situation before. After all, his whole life Hisgard was the uncontested number 1 in the games he played, he worked tirelessly for that, fighting thru his unprecendented bad luck.
Now he had to fight just to log off a game.
...
"Here, use the room down the corridor on the right, it has a bed and some accomodation."
"..Okay."
"Get some rest now, alright?"
"Hm."
Glancing around the room, it appeared to be a shabby bedroom, unused in some time, due to the dust accumulating on the dresser.
'..What's that?"
Hisgard looked to what appeared to be the portrait of a young woman, about his age. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and a surprisingly beautiful face, the figure next to hair was a man Hisgard recognized, his master.
'That's weird.. A photo? This world looks medieval though? Oh, magic.. right.'
Hisgard deducted that the girl in the photo couldn't be anyone else but Marie, his master's daughter.
'This must be her room..'
...
Hisgard slipped into the bed sheets, his peasant attire still on, and his weapon laid on the side of the bed.
'Well.. I should still meet the pair tomorrow.'
He thought, looking blankly at the wooden ceiling. His eyes remained scruffed from wiping his tears away.
...
As Hisgard fell asleep, speech could be heard from his window.
"This is the right place, right?"
Asked a hooded man.
"Of course it is! The boss is never wrong!"
Answered another hooded figure.
"Don't talk so loudly you idiots!"
Warned yet another.
Hisgard, having upgraded his senses slowly woke up from the commotion. Wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, his hair still ruffled.
'Hm..? What's happening?'
"Okay.. Three..Two..One.."
Hisgard's bedroom window was violently smashed with what appeared to be a iron mace.
Hisgard, quick to react, picked up his knife as the first hooded figure climbed into his room. The man acted as if not taking notice of Hisgard, he didn't know he was there.
"Damn glass.. Ripped up my clothes a bit."
'Chop.'
The knife landed a clean 'chop' onto the man's neck. Hisgard deducted that they must be part of the same organization as the two burglars from earlier this morning.
The man shouted, no screamed for help, however, with his own blood gurgling in his throat from his carotid getting ruthlessly chopped, all that came out was gore spat out from his mouth.
Hisgard suddenly felt the urge to vomit as the ichor sprayed everywhere, 'this is way too realistic.' he thought.
He hadn't paid attention earlier when he killed the two burglars, but he could remember the clear details of the head that he split in half, the inside of it. The brain, the skull.. he didn't dare to think about it further. Less he would see what he ate this morning on the floor with the blood of the now agonizing man.
"Hey, Carl, are you alright? What was that sound?"
Hisgard immediately took his stance, ready to act.
"What the.. Carl? Carl!"
As the man jumped thru the window to help his comrade, he noticed Hisgard standing there, his feet barely stepping in the moonlight.
"So it was you.. The boss hadn't warned us about another one being here."
The man took out his weapon, a dagger with.. something coated to it. Hisgard couldn't discern what it was exactly, but he could assume it was poison.
"Rick. Get in here. This bastard killed Carl."
As the last man entered Hisgard's room, holding an iron mace, stepping onto his own comrade's blood, all Hisgard could think of was '..I'm done for.'
Hisgard needed to devise a plan and fast. Scream for help? It could work, his master had to have some combat skill right? Could he face the two himself? Maybe, however he wasn't sure of himself fighting unprepared opponents or non-sentient slimes was a totally different thing to an actual fight. Especially when Hisgard didn't have the number's advantage.
"Now what are you gonna do? Huh? Scream for help? Cry like a little girl? Hah!"
The man licked the back of his dagger, seemingly unwary of what was coating it.
"I will kill you, better yet, torture you."
The other man that Hisgard assumed is 'Rick' stayed silent, Hisgard could however feel the threat the man posed.
Hisgard remained on the defensive. Waiting for an opportunity to strike.
The dagger user swiftly made his way to Hisgard, rushing at him with the intent to kill.
In this small of a room, Hisgard didn't have much room to dodge, he could only repel the attacks, and he certainly did not want to be slashed or stabbed by that dagger.
As the first strike of the dagger arrived, the door suddenly burst open.
"What's with all the commotion ?!"
The veteran butcher appeared.
And with renewed hope, Hisgard called out to him.
"Master!"