The Heart is a Void: Ashes to Ashes

The sound of swords clashing whispered intermittently from the edge of town, and behind it the hissing sound of the draugr gathered strength. Cael got occasional glimpses of small skirmishes between groups of players and the nearby draugr, with suffocating rows of arrows and flashing swords failing to damage the creatures. The draugr eventually disengaged from these conflicts in order to join with a large horde that was starting to form in a ring around the city. Soon, nobody would be able to leave, and the people trapped within the town would have to repel the draugr. Not an easy task when the players were tired, demotivated, and stressed out after finding themselves trapped in the game.

Before fighting draugr, Cael decided to purchase some stronger offensive spells. At the Alchemist's Store, he obtained scrolls for [Magic Missile] and [Dark's Tendrils], two offensive AoE spells, as well as the buff spell [Young Deer's Speed] which allowed him to increase a player's movement speed by 15%. The [Dark's Tendrils] spell cast an array of tendrils made from mana, that sought out opponents and drained their HP, using it to heal the player's own HP. He wasn't able to afford much more yet, but he decided that this should make it easier to fight off multiple draugr at once. He had seen that the draugr had peculiarly low HP, which his new spells could easily deal with, but he guessed that the draugr made up for this with a gimmick of some sort that prevented Mages from just killing them en masse.

Fighting in a large group, like those defending Kruxol, would give much less EXP than he would attain by finding a draugr spawn point and killing them solo. This is because EXP is shared among a group attacking a draugr, while he would be able to keep all of the EXP if fighting solo. He had a good idea of where to look, remembering the strangely abandoned cabins in the woods to the South. Currently, all players in the area around Kruxol received a title hovering above their head which said [Kruxol Defence Force]. While this was active, players would receive occasional mailed rewards for fighting against the draugr for long enough, and would forfeit these rewards if they attacked another player in PvP. It hence incentivised most players to stay within the group fighting in Kruxol, and try to keep fighting. Cael had already seen a loud Guild Leader cynically instructing his Guild's weaker members to hold off the draugr, sacrificing themselves to keep the higher-level members shielded and fighting for longer.

As he scanned the area around Kruxol, he saw that a ring of draugr was already starting to form around Kruxol, and they had already struck a few victims dead. The draugr towards the South were slightly lower in average level, skewing towards level 25 rather than level 30. There were a couple of level 35 draugr towards the North, and probably more high-level draugr Northwards who would arrive later. The draugr's tattered skin had a slightly grey-green shade, and had signs of rot across their bodies. He heard the sound of screaming among a small, strong Guild that had gone to fight the draugr and try to disrupt their horde. Cael noticed that the draugr were each given boss status, increasing the rewards for beating them but meaning that at present they could inflict pain. From trailers for the game, advertising world events, Cael had seen that most special enemies, generated during events, were given boss status and used named skills. Due to these scenes of pain, most of the people assembled in Kruxol were taking a backseat and applauding the fighters, rather than risking a fight with the draugr.

He walked past several warriors putting up a brave fight against the draugr, to loud applause. Their swords swung, landing formidable-looking blows. But Cael saw that as ultimately just idle bravado, since they couldn't actually deal any damage. In fact, he recalled that this actually strengthened the draugr force. He saw that the draugr were mostly seeking out fights with warriors, to increase their own strength, and then returning to the horde once Mages approached. It seemed likely that these warriors, in spite of the plaudits, would just make things more difficult for the town in the long run by strengthening the draugr. This is part of why the draugr, who would typically not be that painful at first, were causing even strong groups of players to crumble. Cael would have liked to tell the warriors to stop attacking the draugr and just function as tanks until Mages could damage the creatures, but due to the audience's positive feedback the warriors would probably just ignore him, and he had decided anyway that he was not his brother's keeper.

Cael edged away towards the South of Kruxol, and saw several players huddled together in groups waiting to defend the city once the draugr horde approached. Finding a small pond, he used the trick which Byron had shown him to enter the walls of the large Archery Store in South Kruxol, and passed unseen through some buildings until he reached a small, deserted alley which had few people nearby. He followed this out of the town, slipping unwatched into the woods South of Kruxol. He estimated that the cabins he had seen in the woods would be towards the West, so he proceeded rightwards through the trees and kept a close look out for anyone nearby.

As he was passing carefully through the dense trees towards the West, he heard a harsh, rasping hiss towards his left. While he tried to step away quickly, he had forgotten that the Mage's Agility and ability to avoid detection was much lower than the Assassin's, and the loud rustling of leaves drew the attention of the level 25 [Draugr] nearby. As the creature approached with a sickly walk, stooped towards the ground, Cael accepted that he would have to fight it. The draugr was carrying a rusty, fragile sword, which could probably not do much damage unless the draugr was strengthened. Casting [Magic Missile], a series of asteroid-like projectiles formed from mana darted from his fingers, glowing a very faint white. These struck the draugr, and reduced it to a mere 20% HP. As Cael had predicted, the draugr's low HP made it highly vulnerable to magic. As it drew closer to him, he struck it with [Flare], and the plume of fire reduced the draugr to only 1% HP.

Cael tried to end the fight quickly, with [Dark's Tendrils]. However, the draugr seemed to shrug off the attack and remain at 1% HP. It lunged at Cael and used [Cliff edge scratch], scraping its cracked nails down Cael's left shoulder as if hanging on for dear life. Cael managed to flinch away and shake the draugr off, but his shoulder still stung from the cracked nails scraping it. However, as he had guessed, the draugr at this stage was still not that painful because he had not attacked it with a sword. He still had 93% HP. Its frail nails had hurt, but it was more of a lingering scrape than a deep, piercing wound. Nonetheless, he was concerned that his spells did not seem to be doing anything to the draugr.

As the draugr approached again, Cael used [Mana Strike] to shove the creature backwards and give himself more time. The draugr went cascading into a tree bark and fell to the ground, but seemingly stood back up without any hesitation, still at 1% HP. Cael realised that the creature had become immune to damage from magic, and he would have to try an alternative. Drawing out a spare [Iron Sword] that he carried in case melee combat was necessary, he struck at the draugr as it bounded towards him. The draugr was repelled backwards, but took no damage. Cael realised with dismay that the draugr was probably more powerful now. As the draugr approached again, he instinctively held up the sword as a defence, but the draugr used [Undead Flail] to deliver a stinging blow to Cael's right hand, effortlessly sending the sword careening across the grassy ground and far away to the right. Cael was surprised at how much power the draugr had gained from the sword's strike. He used [Mana Push] to send the draugr on its way again.

Cael had few options left to try now. He drew out a [Wooden Practice Sword] and wielded it hesitantly. He knew that, if it didn't work, it would risk an even stronger draugr. However, he felt like he should make sure that the solution to this issue was not something simple like using wooden weapons, since forcing players to use alternative or unfavoured weapons on some monsters wasn't unheard of in MMOs. As the draugr approached, he tried to strike with this weapon, but the draugr used a newfound agility to sidestep out of the way. Cael found this strange, since he had seen the draugr going so far as to invite or rush towards melee attacks before, yet now it was trying to dodge an attack that might strengthen it. Swatting tiredly at the draugr, he made a harsh contact with the draugr using his weapon, yet it took no damage. His attempt to shove the draugr away with his arm also had no effect. Rushing him using its superior Agility, it grabbed him by the collar, slashed him with its sword, and threw him to the ground using the [Death's Grip] skill. As he tried to get up, it stooped low to the ground and used [Wish to Fly], a harsh uppercut that sent Cael careening backwards. He found that he had a bleeding wound across his face, from the draugr's nails, and he was now at only 20% HP. The draugr was rapidly gaining strength.

Trying to think through the situation, Cael used [Mana Strike] to delay any further attacks from the draugr. Cael's face stung like bleeding wounds drenched in sea salt, but he tried to go through a basic process of elimination to figure out what options he had left. Using magic could not damage the draugr, and the draugr seemed now to have started trying to dodge physical attacks instead, suggesting that it could be defeated by physical strikes. However, weapons of any type, or even direct strikes with the hand and arm, did nothing and actually strengthened the creature. It could easily kill him in a few blows now. Hence, if Cael needed to use a physical strike, but both his magic and his weapons or fists did nothing, the only seeming alternative present here was the draugr's own weapon. Cael recalled that many undead enemies carried weapons that could be stolen, because the game counted the weapons as having no owner. However, it was difficult to wrench these weapons from the undead's barely-moving skeletal hands.

As the draugr prepared for a final series of attacks against Cael, it raised its sword to the sky and let out a loud, threatening hiss. Cael felt as though he had a snake hissing right by his ear. However, he used [Spark] to fix his opponent in place, and felt the draugr weakening somewhat under the waves of pacifying mana. This gave Cael the opportunity to wrench the sword from the draugr's arms, and using his experience as an Assasssin he quickly plunged the sword into the draugr's chest. He saw the draugr's mouth open as if to let out a loud cry, yet all that came out was a faint whispering sound of exhalation. The draugr's sword disappeared as soon as it had struck the killing blow. The draugr fell to the ground, and Cael noticed a large surge in his EXP from killing the draugr solo. It was enough to take him to level 29.

Cael smiled faintly, then crumpled into a bush near the tree while holding his injured face. Using the [Healing] spell, he healed himself to 50% HP and felt like it was slightly easier to breathe. He gathered his [Iron Sword] and placed it in his inventory. While his weapons had strengthened the draugr, he figured that they at least strengthened the draugr's weapon so that the final blow was easier. Nonetheless, he felt that this wouldn't help much for the people in Kruxol, since their warriors had buffed the draugr so much that they might as well be facing level 60+ opponents. The Guilds of Kruxol were also used to fighting enemies by having warriors attack while mages and archers support, but by now this kind of strategising would only lead to much stronger draugr. A demotivated Kruxol populace, trapped in the game, would be unlikely to fare well against a highly painful, aggressive draugr horde. He figured that he might have to wait out here until the event was over, rather than returning to Kruxol.

Once his HP had fully recovered, he got to his feet. He could see hints of a cabin's silhouette in front of him and to the right, so he slowly made his way there. As he edged closer to the cabin, he heard the familiar sound of hissing. This seemed to be a draugr spawn point. As he tried to walk closer to investigate, he was suddenly set on by a group of two draugr. Cael sighed at the Mage's lack of stealth.

More purposive this time, he fired [Magic Missile] at the two draugr, sending them reeling backwards. Sidestepping to the left, he used [Mana Strike] at a slight angle, sending one draugr careening into the other until they both tripped up and fell. This was enough to get the two creatures to 1% HP. At this point, Crucis waited for one of the draugr to slowly get to its feet, then used [Spark] to weaken it until he could steal its weapon. He saw that the weapon was named [Blunt Cursed Draugr Sword], and it was less rusted and fragile than the previous sword he had stolen. He quickly tried using it to attack the second draugr, who was still on the ground, but it dealt no damage and that draugr was still left on 1% HP. Seemingly it was necessary to kill a draugr with its own sword, not another draugr's. As such, he struck a sharp blow to the standing draugr's left rib, and it fell to the ground dead.

As the second draugr was weakly getting to its feet, it opened its palms and started scratching against the floor to squirm its way up. Cael saw that the draugr's grip on its sword was loosened, and used [Mana Push] to dispossess the draugr. Walking up to the sword, he picked it up and fluidly swung it at the kneeling draugr's neck. The blow dislodged the draugr's head, and the creature collapsed to the ground with no HP remaining. The sword in Cael's hand also disappeared.

Cael realised that these cabins were probably a spawn point for the draugr, so he walked cautiously around looking for the creatures. He heard a loud hissing from the cabin which he had earlier used to hide. Walking up to the window, he saw the half-grey face of a draugr, and quickly cast [Mana Strike] to shove the creature against a wall. Using [Dark's Tendrils], he was able to reduce the creature to 1% HP. The draugr began hissing loudly, and charged towards the open window, but Cael stepped out of reach of the creature's sword and it could not strike him. As it tried clambering through the window, its weak skin lost balance easily and it fell awkwardly on the floor, sending its sword clattering away along the ground. Cael picked up the sword, a [Black Cursed Draugr Sword], and saw that it had no description. Stabbing the grounded draugr, however, he saw that it obtained the rare [Disease] status as it died. This effect led to an inability to heal or recover HP for one minute, and steadily damaged the opponent for this time. If the opponent attacked during the first ten seconds of the effect, then their STR and DEX would reduce dramatically for half a minute. It was mostly used by undead enemies, and was typically not available for players to use on their opponents except for high-level players from some Assassin classes.

Killing the draugr brought Cael to level 30.

Cael heard a loud announcement being sent to all players:

[If your name has been fixed and is not garbled, please do not join the fight against the draugr. The name fix is volatile, and it is safer not to take the risk of fighting in this event.]

Cael had suspected for a while that the attempt to fix players' names early had been premature and erratic, but he wasn't surprised that they had rushed to try and restore big donors' names. After all, how could you have a virtual aristocracy without name recognition? The message was soon accompanied by a further announcement:

[Players of Kruxol, there has been a breach to the North! The draugr are entering the city! All players please join your brave comrades in defending the town, before it is overrun.

Due to their success in breaching the town's defences, the draugr have gained the ability to call on their powerful Mage unit. In addition, this unit will have a doubled spawn rate for the next 10 minutes. The Mages have low MP, and are few, but their spells are powerful. Be on your guard.]

Cael smirked slightly at the news of the Kruxol guard's defences being breached, it seemed fitting after they had strengthened the invaders. However, he was concerned about the news that Mages would begin to spawn. He heard a loud hiss near the cabins, but saw that it was not a Mage, but an ordinary level 25 draugr with a very flimsy, rusted sword.

Cael cast [Flare] at this foe, who seemed to have lower HP than most draugr. It immediately fell to 1% HP, but continued to charge towards Cael. Using [Spark], Cael managed to snatch the creature's [Rusty Cursed Draugr Sword]. However, when he tried to strike the draugr, the flimsy sword was too weak to damage the creature, and simply bent away. The draugr used this opportunity to use its nails for a [Cliff's edge scratch] at Cael's chest, lowering his HP by 9% and winding him. As he staggered back, he tried to strike with the tattered sword again, only for it again to weakly deflect off the draugr. The draugr tried to use [Death's Grip] on Cael, but Cael was wary of the move and used [Mana Strike] to dislodge the grasping draugr. Cael was growing slightly frustrated at the sword's weakness, but then remembered that striking down the first draugr had been easier because his physical strikes had strengthened the creature's weapon as well as the creature itself. He shifted the draugr's sword to his off-hand.

Drawing out his [Iron Sword], he walked up to the draugr and slashed it hard against the chest. He followed this up with a blow to the draugr's legs, causing the frail creature to keel over. However, he saw that the creature was starting to lift itself up more energetically, and seemed to have gained new strength. Cael switched back to the [Rusty Cursed Draugr Sword], and found that it had grown much more sturdy and sharp. Slashing at the draugr as it tried to rise, he saw a deep cut in its skin as its HP fell to 0. The sword disappeared in his hands, but he smiled lightly.