Mikado

The city itself was laid out like a rose, the masses of buildings angled in towards each other in the circular structure, mimicking petals of a flower. In the centre of the city great glass buildings rose in intricate patterns. From the sky, it appeared as if a giant rose was blooming. In contrast to the medieval town of Vale, Mikado was a metropolis. A rising city with modern glass buildings, arches that must have been built by magic littered the city. The buildings ascended into the sky as high as skyscrapers. The sun shone down, and a gentle freeze fluttered the green grass.

Aine and I had set ourselves up in an apartment in the heart of the cities garden district. It was a large two bedroom, on the top floor of one of the skyrises. It was much more spacious and luxurious than I was used to. Thinking of my apartments with Emily, sleeping on Vane's couch. This was the first time I had something that was mine. We had spent the last couple of weeks getting settled in the city, establishing our base of operations. Soon we would head out into the outskirts of the city and begin training against the harder enemies.

I tried not to think about Vane, his smile, the expression on his face when he was exasperated with me. I tried not to think of the sting of betrayal finding out that he was related to THEM. He reaches out via message every once in a while, but as of yet I haven't responded to him.

I stared out the large glass window of our apartment, sighing as flower petals descended from the skies and fluttered in the air. From our place you could see in all directions of the flower fields in the distance. I could see players running about, fighting enemies, wandering between merchant stalls that were set up in the streets. My sword leaned against the wall in the far corner of the room. Aine had gone out to perform some fetch and carry quests in town, to boost her levels. I stared at the icon in the corner of my screen that indicated I was now level 25. The level recommendation before attempting the boss of Mikado is Level 36.

Sighing, I strode to my sword and strapped it onto my back. I was itching with restless energy, I needed to fight something. I walked through the apartment to the front door, not bothering to lock it behind me, as the residences were protected by system programming. You needed our retinal scan to enter the apartment or be an approved guest. I strode down the corridor and entered the clear glass elevator that descended to the main lobby.

As I strode through the streets of the city, I kept to myself, avoiding contact with the other players. I couldn't help but resent the easy smiles on their faces, the laughter and joy I hear from parties wandering about. Guild houses throwing parties in the streets, day long events. This city was bustling with activity and the social scene, but I felt like I couldn't be part of it. I couldn't relax and enjoy myself, knowing what was at stake, knowing what was done to me to end up here. Taverns opened and guests poured out of them, music and dancing and revelry lined the streets. I kept my head down and continued forward, avoiding contact. Heads turned to me as I slinked through the alleys, some admiring my sleek dragon scale armour, others intimidated by the side of my sword that now glowed with an ethereal black mist when I was touching it. The sleek black metal resembled a slab of iron with its massive size.

On the far side of the vast flower fields, there was a dense wood made up of oak trees. I strode with purpose into the woods, leaving behind the easier levelled monsters that hang out in the flowers. The area around me became darker, ominous branches crackled nearby. I swung around, keeping on the alert. I heard footsteps behind me, I stopped and took my sword off of my back, turning around.

"Come out, I know you're there." I held my sword in a firm grip. Trees rustled; multiple figures emerged from behind the trees. They were wearing guilt colours, all black. An insignia was sewn into their cloaks that looked like crossed sickles. The men smirked, one had a long bow with a quiver filled with arrows on his back, the other had a sword strapped to his waist. The third individual carried a whip on his hip.

"Drop your gear" The leader snickered. He swaggered forward, pulling out his sword and holding it pointed toward me. His gaze raked down my body, his sneer overtook his face, I shuddered in disgust. I sighed and examined their levels in the corner of my screen. They were level 17. Orange cursors hung above their heads, marking them as criminals. They were likely in the game serving their sentence, competing for the win as well.

"No." I stood my ground and placed my hands on my hips. The leader of the group turned to his buddies and laughed.

"No, she says! Well, we'd better teach her to keep her pretty little mouth shut and do what she's told." He begins to circle around me, the men flank, and they attempt to surround me. I back up so my back is facing a line of trees, one of the men is directly in front of me, the others to my right and left. The second man pipes up.

"We don't want to hurt you, just drop your gear and we'll let you off with a warning." He was trying to sound pleading. I scoffed. The third man pulled his whip off of his waist and snapped it in the air threateningly.

"I said no." I planted my feet apart to steady myself. I watched them for movements, I saw the leader take a quick step forward as he began to run at me. As he ran, I spun swinging my sword in a wide arc, I slashed down, severing his arm from his body. He screamed and a red glow emitted from the area his arm used to be, the severed limb fell to the ground and exploded. He fell to his knees. The third man drew his hand back with his whip at the same time as the second man strung his bow. I took a deep breath.

The man flicked his wrist and the whip snaked through the air towards me. I raised my arm and hissed as the whip wound its way around my wrist. I gripped the rope and yanked, the man flew toward me through the air and I aimed my sword upward, stabbing through his stomach. He grunted and sunk to his knees on the ground.

I heard the hiss of an arrow flying through the air. I turned and raised my sword in front of me, slashing the staff of the arrow in half. I felt a sting in my side, and I looked down. He'd released two arrows at once, and one of them had pierced into my side. Blood seeped from the wound, I groaned and gripped the shaft of the arrow, yanking it out. I threw the bloody point to the ground. I applied pressure to the wound, stumbling forward I leaned against the trunk of a tree. My health was slowly depleting. I noticed a small status effect in the corner of my screen, a flashing purple icon.

"Poison…" I muttered. Great. It was at least an hour's walk back to the apartment, and Aine was likely out questing. I sat on the ground and leaned against the trunk of the tree. I just needed to rest for a moment. My eyes fluttered shut. Leaves cracked before me, I cracked open one eye to see a large silver figure with a halo walking toward me.

"We really have to stop meeting like this…" A deep voice mused. I groaned aloud.

"Vane." I gave in to the darkness.