The Heart is a Void: Ashes to Ashes

Three strong enemies materialised in the centre of the wooden floor, each at level 50. They were named [Indecisive Apprentice]. This was the third wave of the Battodo Trial, and the one that Crucis' team was tasked with defeating.

Another figure appeared next to them, a level 40 [Disciplined Youth], and he walked away from the others to join Crucis' team. This allowed for fights to be 3v3, as the emphasis was still on basic swordfighting against one opponent.

Crucis saw one of the [Indecisive Apprentice] figures walk up towards him, preparing for combat. This opponent's sword was centred and pointed towards Crucis. Crucis paid attention to his opponent's movements and their grip on the sword, then used [Warding] to prepare a rising, diagonal [Slash] from a low position. He placed his left leg forwards, and his sword was a short distance behind it with the blade prepared to strike the opponent.

The [Indecisive Apprentice] approached Crucis to attempt a harsh cut near the ribs. Crucis' [Slash] snaked out rapidly towards the opponent's hands, and made a small gash that loosened the Apprentice's grip on the sword. The base of Crucis' sword entangled with the Apprentice's sword, deflecting the opponent's attack. The Apprentice swiftly stepped away, and tightened their grip on their sword again.

Crucis saw that the opponent was still holding their sword out towards him. He used [Warding], and entered the same position as he had last time, preparing for a diagonal [Slash]. As the Apprentice approached for another attack, Crucis guessed that this time would be a feint to catch him out if he tried the same response again. When the Apprentice came up to him to feint a cut to the chest, then switched angles to a diagonal, low strike, Crucis used [Dodge Step] and watched the swordplay from safely out of range.

Crucis held his blade in front of him and pointing forwards, mirroring the opponent, using a ward to prepare for a [Slash] towards the centre of the body. When his opponent approached, he tried a tentative straight [Slash] but was parried, then saw his opponent trying to force the issue by stretching forwards and sliding their sword past Crucis' to attempt an attack. Crucis followed their sword with his, sliding against it to keep it from attacking him, and saw that his opponent was leaning quite far forwards. Using [Forceful Kick], he sent his opponent stumbling backwards on 75% HP.

His opponent regained balance quickly, with their sword drooping low to the ground, so Crucis took up a ward with his sword held high and preparing an [Overhead Slash]. He then made a few threatening steps towards the Apprentice, to feign a coming high strike. However, as the opponent's blade flashed upwards to deflect a coming blow, Crucis dropped his shoulders and brought his sword below shoulder-height, swinging it from left to right instead of downwards. This pushed the Apprentice's sword out of its vertical upwards motion, and Crucis tried to take advantage of this with a [Lunge] against the unguarded opponent, only to find that his opponent had stepped backwards as soon as his sword was deflected and the [Lunge] pierced empty air. Crucis took a few quick steps back, and deflected a fast overhead strike from the opponent. Crucis stepped quickly to the right after the opponent's explosive forwards movement, and let the opponent's sword fall to the left side.

Crucis aimed a quick [Slash] at the opponent from this new angle on the right flank, forcing a sharp parry. Having forced his opponent to block, he easily backstepped away to create distance and end the brief flurry of attacks.

He saw his opponent holding their sword low, dropping to below knee-height. He guessed that they were getting slightly worn-out, but were adapting with a low guard and planning to cut upwards. He hence took up a ward planning a [Lunge], keeping his blade pointed straight ahead from around the hip region. As he approached his opponent, he used [Feint] to suggest that he would use a straight [Slash] at his opponent, anticipating the opponent rising their sword to deflect. He instead struck downwards to keep his opponent's sword near the ground, and the contact caused both swords to deflect to the sides. Crucis quickly backstepped to avoid any further attacks.

This fight was proving difficult, and he glanced briefly at the rest of his party to see how they were faring. The [Disciplined Youth] was still holding on at 70% HP, while DigdugMan was using healing skills and keeping his distance in order to stay above 50% HP. However, they seemed to both be having difficulty with making inroads against their opponents.

Crucis had noticed that the [Indecisive Apprentice] would sometimes take large steps before an attack, forcing them to regain their balance before striking. He decided to use this window as an opportunity to attack. Keeping distance from his opponent, he slowed his retreat and waited for the Apprentice to surge forwards in attack. As the Apprentice began a small charge forwards, and prepared to cut at Crucis' head, Crucis used [Agile Step] right and forwards to intercept his opponent with a combination of an angled [Slash] across the face and a [Forceful Kick] across the legs. The opponent tried to block the strike, but was too unbalanced by the motion and could do nothing as a small gash was torn over their face. The powerful kick to their legs was enough to cause the unbalanced Apprentice to fall to the ground, allowing Crucis to swiftly [Lunge] at their face and deepen the gash until blood was spurring heavily from just above the Assassin's nose.

While Crucis' opponent rolled quickly to their feet, the damage had been done. The [Indecisive Apprentice] was now down to only 40% HP, and was bleeding heavily.

Crucis stood at a slight distance, keeping a high stance with his sword raised behind his head, threatening an attack to the head if the enemy approached. The opponent skittishly stayed at a distance, with a sword raised in front of them. After 15 seconds without any attacks, Crucis made a [Feint] towards the opponent's head and then switched to a downwards [Slash] towards the legs. However, he was surprised when the Apprentice twisted his wrists to the side and let his sword hang down to deflect Crucis' blow, then stepped forwards to attempt a [Rising Slash]. Crucis used [Dodge Step] when he saw his blade deflected, and backstepped out of reach of the Apprentice's sharp slash. He sidestepped to the right and tried a tentative [Slash] as the Apprentice's attack missed, only for his opponent's blade to twist and intercept his strike. Crucis backed off once again.

Crucis watched as his opponent feinted a cut from his right, and he responded with a straight cut that was parried. He stepped away again. The [Indecisive Apprentice] had been reduced to 33% HP by now due the bleeding. Crucis attempted a low slash just above the opponent's legs, but was parried quickly by the opponent's swordas it pointed straight up, and Crucis backtracked to avoid the rising thrust response. However, his opponent did not let up, and after the rising thrust transferred quickly into a downwards cut. Crucis just about managed to stop this by swiftly lowering his horizontal sword under the opponent's to cover the blow, but the Apprentice saw an obvious opening and slid his sword fowards, thrusting it painfully into Crucis' thigh. Crucis grimaced, and quickly slid backwards to avoid follow-up.

However, the Apprentice would not let up, aiming a hard strike at Crucis' legs. Crucis parried it, with his blade hanging down in front of his legs, but he lost his footing slightly due to the fresh wound which he had not yet adapted to. His sword wavered, and the Apprentice managed to direct a firm cut just beneath his chest before he backstepped quickly away to regroup.

Crucis was winded, and now down to just 35% HP. When his opponent came at him with a feint, pretending to strike high but switching to a low strike at Crucis' thighs, he predicted it and countered with a downwards [Slash] that dragged the Apprentice's sword downwards. He leaned down and used a [Rising thrust], and his blade flew up and pierced the Apprentice just below the ribs, reducing the opponent to 15% HP. Crucis then swiftly used [Stealth Cloak] and moved swiftly to the left until he was out of range. He saw the opponent preparing to slash backwards, anticipating the likely attempt to sneak behind him in [Stealth Cloak]. Crucis instead stepped towards the Apprentice and struck a hard [Slash] at their their sword arm just above the wrist, creating a small gash, in order to set up a firm [Rising thrust] at the opponent's bleeding face. As his opponent jerked harshly backwards in a failed attempt to avoid the strike, Crucis used [Forceful Kick] to knock them over to the ground, and the sword dropped from his opponent's injured hand as they fell to the ground. Finally, he once again used the [Toxin gas] from his inventory on the disarmed opponent's wounded face, and it caused several cuts to form around the central wound, which itself started to deepen unevenly. The opponent's loud scream shook the room, as he died.

Crucis had been curious about the fact that many NPCs seemed much more emotional now than before the bug. He took the pained, dying screams of the [Indecisive Apprentice] as a confirmation that the NPCs were becoming more like PCs. So far as he could see, a dying NPC by now was basically the same as a ganked player, except for the latter using more swear-words. Crucis wondered if this phenomenon with NPCs was related to what Vladislav had said about player deaths, that the game was beginning to interact with real information from the world outside.

However, he didn't have the time to consider this more deeply, as he saw that his allies were both in quite dire straits. While the [Disciplined Youth] had been holding his own surprisingly well, he was now down to 30% HP with an opponent that was on 50%. DigdugMan was down to 15% HP, and was carefully parrying blows while trying to heal himself. The [Indecisive Apprentice] facing him still retained 70% HP.

Crucis used [Stealth Cloak] to approach this Apprentice while DigdugMan tentatively tried to strike, and Crucis leant in with a firm [Lunge] into the Apprentice's lower back. As the Apprentice quickly attacked around his left shoulder, Crucis raised his blade upwards and to the left to parry and then struck with a harsh downwards [Slash] at the neck. This connected firmly, and drew a large gash in the opponent's neck. DigdugMan saw this gash, and swung for it with a slow [Slash]. While the Apprentice painedly rose his sword to attempt to parry, this was cut off as Crucis' sword slithered to the left and struck hard at the Apprentice's sword hand, drawing blood and sending it careering wildly to the left. DigdugMan's firm blow widened the gash on the neck, and Crucis saw that the Mage had a determined expression and was indifferent to the whimpering of the [Indecisive Apprentice]. The opponent was now down to 10% HP.

DigdugMan quickly used [Mana Push] on his opponent's bleeding sword hand, and it was enough to disarm the Apprentice. Crucis smiled, and folded his blade lightly around the opponent's wounded neck to keep them still. While the Apprentice tried to squirm slightly, it worsened the throat injury as they slid against Crucis' sword, and they stiffened up and began to vomit blood. DigdugMan delivered a harsh [Lunge] to the Apprentice below the ribs, and laughed as his opponent fell to the ground.

"Thanks," said DigdugMan, "Need healing?"

"Yep, thanks," replied Crucis.

The Mage healed him to 50% HP, and they turned to watch the two NPCs fighting on the far left of the room.

"How is that guy still holding out?" said DigdugMan, who had been expecting their level 40 NPC team-mate to die quickly.

"Both of these AI hold back a lot, and their movement seems to be set as nearly identical. While they're acting slightly irregularly in this fight, their base settings mean that they're both too distant from each other to attack most of the time."

DigdugMan nodded, then started to approach the fray. As the remaining Apprentice noticed him, they launched a feint to drive their level 40 opponent away, then turned swiftly and advanced towards the Mage with a cut to the right shoulder. DigdugMan winced, then slowly stepped to the left and struck at the Apprentice's sword hand. This was deflected, but Crucis used [Agile Step] to approach and [Feint] towards the Apprentice's back. While the Apprentice did slide his blade away to parry Crucis' attack, Crucis snapped his wrist and sent his sword upwards at the Apprentice's hand. This strike left a small, bleeding cut. The [Disciplined Youth] sprung forwards now, directing a powerful cut at the Apprentice's side and following this up with a firm thrust. After DigdugMan landed a powerful [Overhead Slash], the Apprentice fell to the ground.

The [Disciplined Youth] strode forwards, and prepared to strike at the fallen adversary. However, the Apprentice swiftly swept his sword near the floor and struck the [Disciplined Youth]'s feet, sending him falling forwards onto Crucis' waiting blade, as Crucis used a [Lunge] to impale his NPC ally. Crucis held the falling NPC's corpse, and flung it at the Apprentice's sword to deflect it as the Apprentice tried slowly to strike Crucis from below. Crucis and DigdugMan both used [Slash] on the fallen enemy's head and neck region, and the last Apprentice died.

"He died like Caesar," remarked Crucis dryly.

DigdugMan smiled, and said, "Funny you mention that. I was a Shakespeare scholar a few years ago, but I was discharged from my position as an academic after writing a controversial journal article about 'The Merchant of Venice.'"

Crucis laughed, "What about that play?"

"Oh, nothing exciting. It's just that in modern times you're walking on eggshells when writing about plays like that, I probably didn't add enough disclaimers as it were."

"I can imagine. Come to think of it, since we're all trapped here, plays would be an easy diversion. So you could always put your knowledge to some use."

"There are a few people doing performances already, and I checked those out. It seems a bit circus-like, though, mostly for cheap entertainment. If you know of any groups who would be interested, then tell me."

"Sure thing. By the way, are you named after the old game?"

"Dig Dug? Yes."

"Ah, nice to know," said Crucis. The Mage was slightly out of breath after the fight, so Crucis let the conversation end there.

A system message appeared:

[Congratulations, you have defeated the third wave of Trial enemies!

The next wave of enemies will spawn in one minute. You may use that time to rest and prepare for the battle.

Special Note: Since you are here for a training mission, you have completed the objective. Further levels would be too difficult. You may leave the dungeon and return to your trainer.]

Crucis shook hands with DugdugMan, and they walked out of the dungeon to talk to Hiroto.

As he was approached the [Kruxol Sword Training] building, Crucis noticed that the Trial had gained him 30 more skill points to use on sword skills. He quickly unlocked the [Slice] skill which he had seen earlier, and saw that this gave him several new options on the tech tree. This included the [Slicing strike] passive, which he also enabled. He looked at his two new skills, which cost 7 points in total:

[Slice | Active skill, attacks opponent with a slashing move that draws across their skin to cause more damage. Chance of inflicting the bleeding status effect.]

[Slicing strike (passive) | Enhances your ordinary non-thrust strikes to slice more firmly across the opponent's skin, dealing more damage on strike.]

Having the [Warding] and [Rising thrust] skill allowed him to unlock the [Half-swording] skill:

[Half-swording (passive) | When activated, allows you to grip your blade firmly and use it to thrust like a dagger. Effective against opponents in thick armour.]

[Cost: 8 points.]

This gave him access to a part of the skill tree with several grappling moves. He selected to also learn the [Sword hold] and [Parry grapple] skills:

[Sword hold | Active skill, can be used to safely grab hold of the opponent's blade during a clash. Be careful not to grab a blade that is moving quickly.]

[Cost: 4 points.]

[Parry grapple | After your sword deflects an opponent's sword, allows you to grapple with their sword hand to push their blade further away.]

[Cost: 6 points.]

The latter skill seemed valuable, as he could create openings to strike an opponent more easily. This left him with 5 points, which he used immediately on a skill that seemed almost obligatory:

[Uncrossing of Blades | If your blade strikes your opponent's, then you may use this skill. It gives a 50% chance of eliminating all cooldown on your last attack and allowing you to use a follow-up attack.]

[Cost: 5 points.]

This would allow him to continue an attack for longer, by potentially enabling him to string attacks together more effectively. He would still rather be cautious with it, since it would also open him up to counter-attack. However, without it, both his attacks and counter-attacks would be much more predictable, as he would mostly be constrained to using basic moves one at a time.

He saw that Hiroto was waiting in a corner of the Training building, and walked up to the trainer slowly.