A giant glowing mace destroyed the last ghostly figure. I desperately scanned the battlefield in search of my ally. The mounting fear beckoned my mind to dark corners. Not sure why I was so concerned, I had only met the lady. Perhaps her loss didn't bode well for my survival; yeah, that made sense. But it was all for naught as a familiar shape emerged from the hurricane of blood and sand.

  "Shit!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, out-pacing a pissed-off troll.

  Time was of the essence; we couldn't let him heal. With a thought, I activated my new skill, aiming it like a mental cannon. It popped off and sent a bit of strange-looking energy across the arena to disappear into the sands of time. The moment I shot off the skill, I felt a decent amount of my energy drain away.

  "That was unpleasant." I groaned, feeling empty.

  "Run, you fool!" she yelled just as she passed by in a flash.

  No wonder, as a giant shadow descended onto the arena, I looked up at a troll, his wounds half healed, looming over. His eyes, burning crimson orbs of hate and malice. A mace at his side, already rising to squash me like a bug. Instead of pissing myself, I drew upon every ounce of energy at my disposal. Funneled it into this next attack and blasted the sky like I planned to split it.

  The tremendous power I wielded ejected from my cupped palms and affected the descending mace. Stopping the weapon halfway to pummeling me. Straining to keep the energy up, I stood stock still, hands raised to the sky and barely keeping a giant mace away using the power of the Force. I could feel my veins bulging, the sweat on my brow and down my back. This was not a feat of physical power, but a force of will against immense strength.

  Every moment was a near thing, as the mace descended lower and lower. Each second was an eternity as the force I could muster, waning. I could sense my stamina reaching its limit and grew wary. I would need to call upon other energies to survive. Power that was best left for other matters.

  The system in all its glory was merely energy affecting reality. And to throw that power away carelessly on such mundane actions. Even if that action was to safeguard my life. It would have dire consequences. The lucky, the blessed members of this world's system could afford the expense of their energies. They could draw upon mana, stamina and health to fuel their powers. While I drew upon whatever scraps I could steal.

  Blood boiling in my chest, a heat beyond my control. I pushed my limits and demanded more! This was my chance; he couldn't heal. I could defeat him. But I was weary and about to die. Legs buckled, knees went weak, and the faint sound of an undead singing his heart out. But none of that mattered in the face of a higher level and the strength earned by a true player of the game.

  We used to call these people NPCs, mere background characters of no importance. Meant to give the world some vitality so the gods could play. The gods were real, while the rest were just constructs. Much like us, if you think about it. But as I stared into the eyes of this troll, hell-bent on my death. It came into focus. Their ancestors may have been mere pawns to be moved, but now I knew. Just as the rumours said, the system worlds had become all too real as the ages went by.

  "Die, little man!" the troll boomed, blobs of spit exploding from his maw.

  I barely registered it as my last leg was about to break. Just as death loomed, I felt an extreme shiver run down my neck and throughout my body. It felt like being frozen for a fifth of a second before returning to warmer temperatures. An incredibly odd sensation ran through me as a figure emerged from my torso and arms.

  Familiar she was, her entire body ethereal and transparent as she launched herself forward, blade in hand. Thrusting the weapon where no sharp implement should ever reach. A place every man knew was their weakness. In simpler terms, she stabbed him in the crotch with a sword. Only a second went by, and the strength bearing down on me let up.

  I was free and quickly side-stepped away or, more accurately, leapt away, stumbling like my legs didn't work. Just as I left the shadow of death, the booming howl of suffering made itself known. It wasn't exactly a squeal, more like a manly shriek. Had to give him some dignity since I felt for him and his nuts, if he still had them. Instinctively, I checked if I still had them, not sure why.

  And just as ghost girl stabbed his balls, she vanished in a blur of movement. Basic hit-and-run tactic, respect for the genius. Given running seemed wise, I drew myself up and felt I was weak as hell. But despite that, I ran as fast as I could. Because the troll stopped screaming and clutching his balls. Now he was spouting curses and declaring we would all die.

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  "I will kill you!" he screamed, all rationality gone.

  "Only if you catch me, asshole!" she replied with two middle fingers.

  Well, guess that gesture made its way into this world's culture. Probably one of the gods did that, the more earth-savvy ones. No doubt they ended up as legendary heroes and began flipping off bad guys. Thus, it became so embedded in their culture. Well, we'd best get to it; this troll will not kill itself, and no matter how much sympathy I have for my dickless brother. Some things are more important than respecting another man's junk.

  The troll, bounding after the source of his ire, forgot his lower-body troubles. With metaphorical steam coming out of his ears and murder in his eyes. He was very intent on smashing her, and that's not a sexual innuendo. Mace high in the air, rushing after his prey, faint dribbling of blood down his crotch. I would be angry if that happened to me.

  What made it worse was her cackling. She laughed like a mad witch, running off to drop his private parts into a cauldron. Dude completely forgot about me, and so I just stood there watching him rush past. Stunned into silence, I could only gape at the crazy turn of events. Which lasted for only a few seconds before the priority kicked in.

  "Need to kill him, tactics moron," I chastised myself.

  Rushing after them, I began blasting with everything I had. Palms thrust forward, I aimed every force blow at his ankles and thighs. Trying to blast apart his legs, just to slow him down. Took so many hits before it tore flesh from the bone. Screaming at the top of my lungs, heart was beating so fast it nearly leapt from my chest. But I held on and kept up the barrage with all my strength.

  Eventually toppling the giant as he lost his footing and tumbled to the ground. Which was a bad idea as the impact practically created an earthquake, and I was pretty close to the crash. Losing my footing as well, something that was the highest form of irony. I fell face first, meeting dirt with all the exhaustion hitting me all at once.

  This was becoming a habit, and so I needed to get out of it. Quickly rising to my feet, I found the downed troll. He was puffing up a storm, grunting as his mounting wounds refused to heal. He was likely trying to activate his skill right now, with zero effect. I casually wondered what he could be seeing. Dismissing that line of inquiry, I drew my blade and ran at the downed enemy with everything I had left.

  "What is happening!" the troll screamed in frustration, his breathing heavier by the second.

  "System powers, dude!" I explained to him as my sword sank deeply into his back.

  With a roar of unbridled pain, the troll, I mean Mash. I really need to stop dehumanising him and say his proper name. But despite all the injuries and his disabled skill, which should come back soon. I did not give up and kept stabbing. Slice after slice, I tried to make his back into sliced ham. Blood and other stuff spilled forth and splashed against my face. I just kept stabbing, so full of adrenaline and fear.

  Again and again, I attacked his undefended back while he was in a weakened state. I would have felt guilty, but it was him or me. After a good sold minute of carving up bits, I felt a sudden gust of wind and an oppressive impact to my side. The sky was a lot closer as I ascended before abruptly dropping. I was not sure what had happened, but I could hazard a guess. Pain in my side, barely blocked by my shield, eyes swimming in stars. He bitch-slapped me away, despite all the damage I caused. Knocked me back like I was an ant.

  "Oh, shit!" I heard Xynthia yelling as she flew overhead and landed hard next to me.

  Both of us sprawled across the ground, so winded that it was damn near impossible to get back up. Just stuck in the fetal position, clutching my chest and heaving like Jeremy with a fur ball. Glancing over at Xynthia, I saw her in a similar predicament, only her suffering didn't last long. Transparency slowly seeped over her body, rendering her ghostly once more. Somehow that allowed her to duck all the damage as she quickly got back up. Only for a giant hand to come down and futilely try to grab her. Pasing through her spectral form as if she weren't even there.

  I was easy to grip and raise up. Giant fingers the size of logs curled around my disabled form. Gripping so tightly, my barrier was getting a lot of work in. Luckily, it didn't crack, but that only prolonged the inevitable. The next thing I saw was an open maw ready to chomp down on a tasty treat. The breath stank horribly, like shit and rotting corpses. He really needed to go to the dentist and to floss. Given the leftover meat stuck between his teeth. I was pretty sure that was an animal, but I couldn't be sure.

  Death loomed only a short distance away. And I wasn't keen on dying today. I guess it was trump-card time. With that in mind, I activated my ultimate skill, dumping half my system energy into it. This was a bad idea — truly a horrible decision. But death was pretty shit, and so horrible a decision it is.

  "Eat this!" I screamed just as my whole body erupted.

  Activating a skill I meant to be a last resort. This seemed like a last-resort type situation. All the force I could muster exploded outwards in every direction. In an instant, it reached the peak and crossed the threshold. I could feel my body being torn asunder, and I screamed like death was at hand. The next thing I saw was red. It splashed across my vision, coating my body in sudden warmth. I tasted metal, but the absolute destruction wreaked havoc on my body. Muscles tearing, bones all but snapping. A body pushed to the limit of what it could endure. I could only wonder at the state of the world around me. Just as darkness descended.

  "Oh, crap..." I whispered as the lights went out.

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