I looked around, after the short meeting with June I had come back to my apartment and had eaten a full meal, and had gone to the bathroom one last time before laying down. The chair was cleaned automatically every time I got out of it by a nanite solution. It was a ten-minute cycle thankfully and kept the chair clear of sweat and dirt.

I laid down pulled the helmet on and quickly initiated Endless Online. When I opened my eyes, I was back in the square with people all around. Night had fallen on Vindomora but with it being a city, traffic was still a constant. I pulled up my waiting notifications as I headed for the northern gate.

So, dancing around trying to avoid getting blown up and casting all those spells was helping me out, but the backlash of constantly using up my Spirit Pool was a pain. A loud chirp in my ear as an envelope icon appeared on my HUD, I concentrated on it and a message appeared. I noticed that it was from Ruby, and I was tempted to delete it but after some consideration, I opened it.

I considered her plea, could he have manipulated her...yes. Did she deserve a second chance...fuck my life, yeah? With everything on the line, I was not certain I would trust her with everything so I would play it close to the chest. I quickly sent her a message telling her to meet up outside the city when I spotted Rob and Penny waiting near the gate. "Come, we need to talk," I told them as I lead them through the open gate and outside the city walls.

I thought it odd that with it being so late the city gates were still open, but I wasn't going to complain. The guards did eye us but said nothing as we passed through the checkpoint and outside the city. "Find anything interesting?" Rob asked once we were beyond the gates of the city.

I turned and smiled at him as I watched our backtrail, "I found what I found. How did Jarome and Aaron like your tryout?" I asked them and Peny got a huge smile on her face.

"We are in if we want, we just got to come up with the gold. We got about half of it after the last run, Jarome wanted to offer you a slot as well, but Aaron vetoed that." the Warden replied, and Rob rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, what is that guy's problem with you? Do you two know each other back in the real world?" the archer asked.

I snorted and shook my head, "My social life has stagnated since I got out of college, too busy working. No, this has to do with in-game content. You guys noticed the flaming helm and spear tattoo on his neck?" I asked them and Rob nodded his head while Penny looked slightly confused. "That is a mark for someone who follows Ares from what I researched. He is trying to become a Champion, but it takes time to get there and since the game just released, he isn't there yet." I explained.

Rob got an 'oh yeah' look on his face while Penny looked like she still had no idea what I was talking about. "Ares is part of the Pantheon of the Light, I am a Dark Magus and considered an initiate of the Dark Pantheon by those that follow the Pantheon of the Light. We won't ever get along. Now, I brought you two out here because I have another high-profile Quest, I need help on it, but if we do this it could have some blowback on you guys." I told them as I stopped in the middle of a small clearing with trees all around.

"How high profile?" Rob asked and I shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't know but it's going to piss some people off. We can minimize that by killing everyone, but still, there might be some exposure not to mention I have no clue what the system will do if we succeed." I told him earning a frown from the Ranger while Penny just nodded her head like it was ok with her.

"That doesn't tell us much man, you got to give us some sort of way to measure this," Rob replied and Penny frowned but kept her mouth shut.

I studied him for a moment, I was ready for this but was hoping I wouldn't have to. I looked around as I pulled the sword from my Inventory and held it in my hands.

The blade was pitch black and seemed to exude darkness, it was only illuminated by purple and black runes etched into in running along the length of the blade and the silver edge. "This is how serious I am being," I told them, and Rob's mouth dropped open as he looked at The End. He started to reach for it, but I jerked back, "Don't, I can only hold it because I am a Dark Magus, any uninitiated would be killed by it!" I snapped causing him to freeze.

"Ok, look but don't touch instant death sword. Is that what I think it is?" Rob almost whispered as I shoved the blade back into my Inventory.

"If you are asking if it is a weapon forged by a God for a God, then yes. As far as the next Quest we are on, it is just as important as the sword if not more so." I told them as I looked around and nearly froze as I heard the faint snapping of a branch behind me. "The question is, are you in or out?" I asked them and thanked the deepening darkness around me for hiding the Shadow magic that started to coalesce around my hands.

Penny looked at my hands and frowned but remained quiet as she stepped away from me while Rob raised an inquisitive eyebrow, "It's like that?" he asked, and I gave a small nod.

"What did you expect, when Aaron showed up it was only a matter of time before he stuck his nose in my business. So, what is your choice?" I softly asked as I finished up readying Bog of Darkness but didn't cast the spell yet.

Rob looked at his sister and they nodded in unison, "In!" Rob called and I dropped to the ground as I turned around, once I was facing back the way we had come in, a large red reticle appeared in my sight, and I finished the casting.

A large pool of darkness burst from the ground, trees, and brush enveloping the area. Three figures were dragged from stealth as they shouted in surprise, Penny darted towards the nearest Rogue as Rob sent a constant stream of arrows at the three figures. I finished my next cast, and three needle-like appendages darted from my extended hand as I cast Shadow Touch.

The clash of steel and screams soon filled the small glade as the Rogues recovered and fought back. The Rogues were quick and looked like they had Levels on us, but the Bog of Darkness spell enveloped a large area impeding their efforts to flee and maneuver around Penny. Then I staggered as it felt like a white hit knife was driven into my side and my Health Bar nose-dived.

<<<Battle Alert>>>

Debuffs Added...

Rogue's Poison: 5 Poison Damage per Second (Duration 30 Seconds)
Bleeding: 3 Damage per Second (Duration 1 Minute)
Weakened Vitality: Decrease Health Regeneration by 20% (Duration 30 Seconds)

<<<Battle Alert>>>

I cursed myself for forgetting the simple fact they would have encircled us and clawed at my Inventory and grabbed a Health Potion as my head was yanked back. My kick drove my foot into the man's balls causing him to scream in agony as he dropped to his knees.

I downed the Health Potion in one gulp, it tasted like strawberries and brought me back to nearly full Health as I turned and drew my dagger. The Rogues' eyes bulged as I lined it up on his eye and drove the Ebony Sacrificial Blade into his brain. He convulsed once as the Sacrifice effect kicked in, killing the man instantly. "BEHIND US!" I roared as I stood and conjured a Bolt of Darkness and shot it at a Rogue that dropped out of Stealth behind Rob.

The bolt of energy slammed into the Rogue's chest, blasting the man off his feet as another Rogue appeared in front of me. I jumped back and hit him with Shadow Touch, before the Rogue could pursue me Rob shot him in the throat causing the Rogue to stagger away.

I turned back to see how Penny was doing, surprisingly the tank was at full health, and I could see dark tendrils of magic wrapped around the tank. I followed the magic lines back to see Ruby hidden in some deep shadows between the trees chanting.

From what I could tell, the spell Ruby was using was constantly healing the Warden while the Rogue's tried to kill her. Thankfully two of them were down and Penny had crippled the last. "WAIT!" I snapped halting the sword before it could cut the Rogues head off.

I walked over to the Rogue, I could see multiple gashes over his body and his Health Gauge was blinking indicating he was at or below 10% Health. "Who sent you? Why did you ambush us?" I asked him.

"FUCK YOU!" the man spat some bloody phlegm towards me.

I looked at it, then to Ruby. "Can you heal him a little?" I asked her and she nodded her head and cast a spell causing his Health to jump to about 50%. I leaned over him, grabbed his hand, and held a finger against the blade of the dagger, "Who sent you?" I asked him but he remained quiet.

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders as the dagger easily sliced through flesh and bone. The scream of pain was quickly silenced as Penny kicked him in the mouth. The man spewed blood and teeth as I moved the dagger lower towards the man's dick and balls. "Next thing I cut will be more precious than a finger. Tell me!" I snapped and the man cradled the wounded hand to his chest.

"You can't do this; you can't torture another Traveler!" he snapped at me.

I rolled my eyes, "You should read the Terms of Service and warning they give you before you jump into a game. Paramount is playing hands-off dipshit. Last chance, who sent you?" I asked him as my knife started to slice through his leather pants.

The man tried to move away but Penny drove her sword into the ground stopping him, "ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT!" he snapped, and I stopped the knife. "It was some big guy, Berserker wielding a large double-bladed ax. I didn't get a name, we got paid to track you and find out what you were doing. We thought we could PK you, get the information, some extra Experience, and maybe some loot if you dropped any." the man replied.

I studied him for a few moments and moved the dagger away from his nutz causing him to sigh in relief. "When you respawn, tell Aaron he fucked up," I told him, and I slashed the blade across the Rogues throat. The man convulsed and tried to staunch the flow, but it was a death blow.

I looked at the others, "Sorry to bring this down on you two, I have no idea how Jarome is going to react to this or even if you want to pursue joining their company, but it's up to you." I told Rob and Penny before looking at Ruby and nodded my thanks. "Ruby, thanks for the help. I won't forget. Ruby this is Penny, she is our tank if you haven't guessed and her brother Rob." I introduced them.

"How do you know Arthur?" Penny asked as she moved to see if the corpses dropped any loot. Unlike Citizens and monsters, Travelers only had a small chance at dropping money or equipment upon their death.

I quickly checked my Inventory and sighed in relief as Ruby responded. "We are distant cousins, and we grew up together after his parents died. He has been looking out for me since I was six years old, so it feels good to save his ass for once," she replied, and I caught a wink from her I tried not to blush.

"Yeah, well you can tell them embarrassing stories as we walk, with Aaron gunning for me I won't go back to the city and we got a lot of ground to cover," I told them as I turned and headed northwest.