part0008

Pain. I groaned, and flipped over. My eyes fluttered open a fraction of a second, and then nothing. The pain returned, now in my other hip. It took a moment, but my sleeping mind figured it out.

"Stupid piece of crap bed," I grumbled, back fully awake. I flipped over onto my back, which relieved the stabbing pain. "It's too early for this crap."

The window above me was open, pre-dawn light and a cold breeze coming in. So cold. But my blanket kept me warm. The blanket covering my straw pallet was equally as warm, but the straw beneath it gave no joy. Whether it was my tossing and turning, or mine and Ronan's amorous activities, the bed came part. Basically, I was lying on hard flooring under the blanket. And there seemed to be a sharp stick involved, too.

"Oooh, what a day," I moaned. That's when I realized another problem. "Ronan?"

He wasn't in bed, keeping me warm. Sitting up, I looked around the small, dark room. I lay there all alone. Then I remembered he was a player. Since the city gates wouldn't open until sunrise, he probably just logged out once he'd enjoyed my company. Also, most states had laws and regulations about how much time someone could stay in a VR MMORPG per session.

"Well, that sucks," I said.

Ronan banged me all day, with only short breaks at lunch and dinner. And then he stayed well into the night. I swear, that bastard had to have a charm or something to screw that much. That was the first time a man wore me out. And I mean passed out from exhaustion.

Yeah, it was amazing.

"Bet I earned some XP for all that," I said with a grin as I pulled up my HUD.

Health was down five percent, but I earned one point toward Health every hour, so I'd be one hundred percent well before noon. Then I scanned my Skills, all still at 1. Except one.

"Sex? Since when is sex a skill?"

My top Skill was sex, with two points? I stared at it for the longest time. Sex might be a Skill for someone playing a courtesan or common prostitute, if those were even options.

"I have a warrior class, and I…" I stopped as my eyes settled on my displayed Class. Battle-maid of easy virtue. Easy virtue, which was game code for SLUT. An easy lay. For some it was synonymous with prostitute. "Fuck me."

I realized those three extra words attached to my Class was part of Artimus' curse. The game would "influence" me to act according to my class, too. I never was a paladin of virtue in the game, but now would every Tom, Dick, and hairy son-of-a-bitch seduce me effortlessly?

"Oh my god, that's how Artimus seduced Carly into being his minion," I said, eyes huge. "He literally seduced her! That bastard!"

Figuring out how and why Carly betrayed our guild didn't help me in my situation. Apparently, the wizard sent me to the other side of the world with a super-charged libido. Men, both players and mobs, would take advantage of me unless I was very careful. If the innkeep figured out my vulnerability, I could easily end up one of his serving wenches and lover.

Since my session was only four hours, the hotel gaming center probably disconnected me from the game. And if Artimus caused another glitch, then the game and authorities knew there was a problem. Not that it helped me any.

Despite the cold, I threw off the blanket and struggled to my wobbly feet. It took a second to catch my balance. Yeah, it was totally weird getting up off the floor instead of having a proper bed. Then I found my tunic in the dark. It being white helped. I felt a lot better once I slipped the sleeveless garment on, but I was still freezing, so I pulled my boots and armor out of inventory. They instantly appeared on my body.

"That's better," I muttered, still rubbing my bare arms. The steel bracers didn't help in the least. "I need to buy a cloak."

That wasn't going to happen right away. All I had was that single copper crown Ronan gave me. It might look like an oversized penny, but it bought a lot more in that world. Yet, it wouldn't get me through one day. I needed to earn some money. I had no marketable skills, but I had experience dungeon diving, despite being level 2. Experience had to account for something, right?

"I need to assemble a team to go out and win some loot," I whispered, smiling at the thought after removing my helmet. I started braiding my hair, to keep it out of my face while fighting. "If I'm stuck in this game, then I might as well do what I do best."

That's all I did up until I joined the guild, and then it was just battle, drunken celebration, battle, drunken celebration, ad nauseam. Okay, most of my time in-game involved beer and "good times." Fun, but not necessarily the best way to level up quickly.

Then realization struck.

"Nobody will follow a level 2 Battle-maid," I said. "I doubt anyone will allow me to join their company until I level up."

That meant just going out and challenging myself, all alone. I had to go fight monsters, earn XP, and level up. But where could I find monsters someone of my diminished level could fight and win? So I expanded the HUD map. It showed my location, in the Haven Inn, on the corner of Cobblers Street and Goblin Alley.

"Goblins! Even a level 2 Battle-maid can kill the hell out of goblins."

I had a plan. Kill the goblins! Even better, the game was generous with XP through the first ten levels. I could very easily reach level 10 in a day or two of goblin slaying. Of course, that course of action would only help me in a handful of Skills. Better than nothing.

But first, Ernest owed me another breakfast.

I heard the common room as I neared the stairs. People got up early in that medieval game world. Only lazy-ass players and nobles slept past sunrise. I joined some traders and travelers at the long table. To one side of me sat a family of elves, all platinum blonde, blue-eyed, and gorgeous. They all wore dirty yellow travel cloaks. I figured the three kids, two boys and a girl, to be around ten, eight, and five. The little girl sat on her daddy's lap, giggling while he hand fed her. Mother had her hands full keeping the two boys focus on their food, and not fighting with each other.

On my other side sat a bevy of elderly witches. They whispered among themselves, passing magical items back and forth as they ate, and mostly drank beer. I did my best to keep my eyes averted, since I could really use a few magical items. They cast frequent wary looks my way, like they could sense my desire for their property.

A drunken dwarf sat across the table from me, mostly burping and farting.

The dwarf leaned forward, catching my eyes. "You got pretty lips."

I froze, while others snickered. I waited for the banjo music, but heard nothing but the clatter and murmur of the common room crowd. I smiled and thanked him, and returned to shoving food into my mouth. The faster I got out of there, the sooner I could start grinding away and leveling up.

Winged helmet back on my head, I headed out onto the mean streets of Jeddia. It was full daylight when I turned off Cobblers Street and onto Goblin Alley. It wasn't an alley by 21st Century American standards, but a much narrower street. It was also filled with trash, with poor, wretched looking goblins standing and squatting along the walls. More goblins watched the street from windows, and none of them looked happy.

"What is this?" I muttered. "Some kind of goblin ghetto?"

Predatory expressions filled every goblin's greenish-gray face as they studied me. I saw their dark eyes darting up and down my body, checking out my arms and armor. My empty purse drew few eyes, but my weapons could be pawned off for a tidy sum. A sword cost as much as a motorcycle in the real world. And my steel armor was worth as much as a horse in that world, which was the financial equivalent of buying a car IRL.

I frowned. I wouldn't earn much loot fighting them. They, of course, thought they'd score big time by killing and robbing me. Unfortunately for them, all my arms and armor were part of my avatar, so I wouldn't drop them upon death. You know I paid a lot of money to make that possible.

Spotting a rather large goblin with a short sword already drawn, I stopped and glared at him. He stared contemptuously at me. He stood about five feet even, but heavyset, not skin and bones like most of them. A goblin warrior, though he only wore a dirty blue, very tattered loincloth.

"What are you staring at, punk?" I asked.

I might be there to slaughter them, but I couldn't bring myself to start the fight. Well, I had no problem flinging insults to ignite their ire. My conscience needed one of them to take that first swing. Then I would unleash hell on them.

"Human," the goblin sneered. "I am feeling charitable this morning. Lay down your arms, strip off your armor, and I will allow you to leave unmolested."

"Unmolested?" I repeated. "What a shame. I so enjoy a good, rousing goblin molestation."

His jaw dropped, before anger spread across his sharp, ugly little face. He nodded, and goblins all around picked up knives, staffs, and cudgels. He remained the only one with an actual sword, though one elderly looking goblin had a rusty, broken saber.

My HP bar showed me at 97 percent. I smiled and dropped into a defensive position behind my shield.

"That's a mighty nice sword you have there, little fellow," I said to their leader. "It will pay for my room and board for a few months after I pry it out of your cold, dead fingers."

A little bravado always shored up my resolve. I needed it, because a lot more goblins were coming out of doors to join their brethren. They outnumbered me fifty to one.

One of the little monsters behind me attacked first, swinging a cudgel at my back. It bounced harmlessly off my backplate, but that sharp crashing sound set everyone into action. Spinning around, I chopped him in two, head to crotch. Mobs didn’t fade away, or "drop" items per se. But after you killed them, you could loot their bodies, so I reached down and yanked off his purse. I had to fend off three more goblins before I had a chance to inventory it.

"I'm a level 100 Battle-maid," I lied. "And I'm going to slaughter you all!"

Only three of the goblins chose discretion over honor, and retreated into nearby doors. The rest continued to dance around me, constantly lunging and retreating. I kept moving, mostly turning around and around, to keep them all at bay. Then I caught their leader's eyes.

"Look at you, all safe behind your poorly armed rabble," I taunted him. "Let's settle this, mano-a-mano. You and me. Winner takes all. When I win, you and all the others give me your purses. If you win, I'll submit to anything you want."

I understood exactly how those male goblins would take that. If he agreed to my proposal, then I'd be committed to doing lots of unnatural acts with goblins if I lost. But, if I won the fight, then I'd be able to walk out of there with a shiny short sword to hock.

He looked me over with lusty eyes. "After we finish playing with you, in a few weeks, I will sell you to slavers."

Yeah, I cringed. Being trapped in the game meant I was much more susceptible to enslavement. I knew other female players that were captured, enslaved, and sold to brothels. They had to log out, delete that character, and start over with a new character. I didn't have that option.

"Like I said, if you defeat me, I will be yours to do with as you please," I replied. "But I don't intend to lose, and I will take your sword."

He shrugged. "If you win, then I'll be dead. What do I care what happens to the sword?"

The goblins fell back to form a large circle. I watched the goblin warrior confidently push through them to face me in the circle.

"I am Isobelle D'Arcy, a battle-maid from Ankor," I declared, and bowed to him.

He returned my bow. "I am Paarcha, Champion of the Narka Tribe."

Paarcha pulled his belt knife. I nodded, sticking with my shield. If I hadn't been dropped back down to Swordfighter (Lvl 1) , I might've inventoried the shield and faced him with sword and knife as well. My objective wasn't to be fair, but to score XP and loot.

Since he was a mob, I had no way to know his fighting skill. It just said Goblin warrior above his head. Likewise, as a NPC Paarcha couldn't see my pathetic level. I had to assume he knew how to use that sword, and fought at an above average level for goblins, since he was their Champion.

All I had to do was win, or die trying. They couldn't enslave me if I vanished into thin air. And even if killed, I'd earn valuable XP.

The goblin struck first, attacking my feet. That was a common tactic for those little guys, so he didn't surprise me. I danced out of the way, and swung my shield at his face. I hit him with a grazing blow, that made him look more wary.

"Shields are not just for defense," I taunted.

"You must be a player," he sneered. "Players talk too much to boost their own pathetic egos."

That made me pause, and he attacked. Taking me by surprise, the goblin thrust his foot against the lower edge of my shield, driving its sharp edge into my knee. Pain lanced up my leg, and I fell back as Hit Points scrolled off before my eyes. Limping, I backed away as I glanced down at my HP bar: HP 94 . Not too bad.

Paarcha pressed his advantage, pounding on my shield with his sword. The little bastard proved fast and agile. I struggled to keep the shield between us. Then he caught the edge of my shield, and yanked it back to expose my left flank to attack.

I swung my sword at his neck, forcing him back a step. Spinning on my heel, I hit him in the head with a reverse roundhouse. He fell to his back, but rolled to his feet before I could finish him off.

Charging him, I pounded away at his defenses. Paarcha proved much more skilled, but I was still bigger, heavier, and stronger. My longer sword and arm gave me another advantage he struggled to overcome.

"Time to die!" I cried, putting all I had into my attack.

The goblin warrior retreated step by slow step, and I could tell he was starting to weaken. My size and strength were proving too much. I grinned at him.

"Stupid human," he snarled. "I defy you!"

He charged recklessly at me. I thrust at his heart, which he parried a second before slamming into my shield. Then he stabbed me in the thigh, his sword going all the way through. The pain was exquisite. I barely had the wherewithal to thrust my blade into his bare chest.

I fell to one knee, huffing and puffing. My leg screamed with pain, but I won.

As I reached for the dropped short sword, another goblin moved up behind me and placed a rusty knife to my throat. I froze.