Chương 1: An Unexpected Assailant

Elise Shadowspill timed her spell perfectly, slipping into the shadows before her opponent's attack could land. She melded into the darkness, hearing the other player click his tongue.

"You're quite an annoying opponent to face," Leon said. The game filtered the words he spoke into his microphone, making them sound more like his player character. The voice was slightly higher pitched for a man, sounding somewhat like an anime protagonist. The player character for the sanguine queen didn't respond. During battle, she preferred to focus on only her skills and spells. Perhaps that was why she'd reached the summit of the ladder?

He smiled and looked towards where she was, finding her amidst the shadows with his own holy skill. Leon, the holy knight, lunged with his sword into the darkness.

"Too bad it is not enough." His sword stabbed into a pool of blood that mimicked her shape. The puddle fell around his sword and splashed onto the ground.

"A substitute?" It was true that Elise didn't speak that often in combat, but this situation was laughable. He'd challenged her to player versus player combat after she'd defeated many of his guild mates. Though, he doesn't even deserve to challenge me. Let alone being a top player, falling for this low level spell is criminal. A key on the keyboard, and Elise's hand rocketed forwards, stabbing through his back with a dagger made of blood. Behind the screen, Leon coughed up blood dramatically.

The player who controlled the sanguine queen whispered into her microphone.

"I am death." She watched his body become a bunch of particles, fading away, and leaving loot for her to pick up. Naturally, she pocketed all of it into her inventory. Too bad this is all a game. Even this low leveled loot would be worth so much more otherwise. Elise Shadowspill existed only in the world of Green Emerald Online. To many, she was the pinnacle of godly players. She was an avatar of skill, ranking towards the top of the ladder in all metrics.

Endless threads were made about her, and she was a beacon among role players for her vampiric character. And the person who played her? Other than being a skillful denizen of the game world, she had nothing else going for her in life. Bags and dark circles hung beneath her eyes. Her long black hair was tangled and strands of it sprouted in all directions. She chugged a juice box on her desk. This one was a simple apple juice, but it mimicked a blood pouch.

She was pretty sure the company had put red food coloring in it just for people like her. In the dark of night, when most other apartment dwellers were asleep, she clicked keys on her keyboard. Each one of them controlled the woman known as Elise Shadowspill, commanding her to walk. Apartment complexes were nothing compared to the splendor behind a screen. By simply pressing a key on her keyboard, she ordered the sanguine queen to teleport back to her own castle.

She reveled in her small victory, even though it was against someone relatively nameless. Rows of NPCs stood at attention, looking towards their queen with an empty gaze behind their eyes. Such primitive programming in this department. If you were going to give me the ability to control such a majestic character, at least make my subordinates more lively! Though, she couldn't curse the game designers.

Not when she'd spent countless hours decking out her vampire queen with all of the best gear and items she could find. The obsidian robes coating her body alone would make other players want to kill her for them. That was even before one considered the value of the staff in her hands. And if that wasn't enough, she'd spent her own meager amount of money and time on making the character look pristine. She bought all of the packs for character creation, leaving nothing out of the equation.

The infamous queen maintained her persona. She'd kill all who stood in her way, and there were no questions asked. She controlled one of the rare races, since the game's launch. Naturally, there were different kinds of vampires, but those who pre-ordered got special treatment. Her sanguine queen was part of a race of progenitor vampires. They obtained their own special bonuses and had much better late game scaling, along with less of a sunlight debuff. Though, there was a small problem.

If one was killed even once with that character, it was treated as a permanent death. Elise Shadowspill is a risk taker. She is a bastion of pure darkness, radiating shadows and blood from her every breath. The woman sitting in her chair smiled, despite her tired eyes, and pressed a laugh key. Inside of the screen, the vampire queen laughed darkly as she walked through the long hallways of her castle. Darkness crept around every corner, reverberating with her laugh like an obsidian song.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. It all painted the world black. Her world. The player breathed a sigh after her character sat on the throne. She looked down at her own shirt, much lamer than the black robes radiating malice behind the screen. This one was a black shirt with a white skull and bones resting on the chest.

"Very menacing..." She stood up and stretched her arms. Then, she logged out of her account. There was no way for her to die in her own castle after all. GEO'd had systems to prevent such pointless player killing. Within your homestead, you were invulnerable to damage outside of raids, but raids could only be conducted with that player being online. The woman cracked her knuckles, leaving her gaming station behind her. The RGB system whirred in the background, acting as nothing but another noise in her apartment.

She could hear banging sounds against the wall next to her, along with accompanying soft moans. She rolled her eyes and opened her apartment door, leaving into the darkness. This midnight traipse was nothing to her vampiric self. If she pretended to be Elise in real life, then there was no problem with acting like the darkness had no effect on her. She imagined herself retaining a night time buff while she moved into the shadows of the hall.

Dim light of street lamps shone down onto the parking lot beyond a glass door. Several beat up cars sat in spaces between lines. It's all so wonderfully drab. What kind of life are these people living anyway? She groaned and entered into the night properly. No stars remained in the night sky, due to the presence of the full moon. It was on full display, shining its whiteness down to the roof of cars. The smell of soot reached her nose, a remnant from a recent fire started in the street.

She reached into her pocket, feeling several crumpled up dollar bills in her trousers. She took a deep breath of the cool air and continued along the sidewalk, heading towards her usual destination. She could even see the billboard sign in the distance, illuminating its surroundings. Wall-supps sat in the distance like a beacon for people similar to her. Though, I doubt there are many people like me in this place. Most likely, they're just going there for late night cigarettes.

The closer she got, the more her eyes lit up. The parking lot was playfully absent of cars. The only one belonged to the store worker, parked in the back like a good salary man. She pushed the door open, and the bell above her chimed. The store clerk greeted her with a worried smile, seeing her state. Yeah, I know. My clothes have seen better days, and my face is pale. That happens when you don't go outside! She quickly strolled into the chip aisle, taking a gander at all of the items.

I also need to refill on juice. Too bad they don't have that apple juice here anymore. Damn promotional events never last long enough. Her fingertips gripped the corner of the bag of spicy chips, and as she hoisted it into the air, the crinkly plastic made her grit her teeth slightly. I always hate that sound, but why does opening them make it sound more pleasant? She imagined that it might be a combination of the smell of a fresh bag and the relief that they are now open.

Either way, she made her way towards the cold refrigerators next. Sure enough, all of the juice boxes were reverted back to their normal boring state. I can't believe I will have to settle with normal juice this time... She sighed and grabbed a can of pinkish red juice. It was close enough to the color she wanted. Besides, I've yet to try this strawberry apple one. Though, as she turned around, a man entered the store. He wore a long trench coat that went down to his ankles and black boots beneath that.

He had on shades to hide his eyes, and the neck of his coat came up to cover his lips. Wow, so spooky. You surely take the cake for weirdos. She looked down at her own outfit for a second, spotting a hole in her pants. Ahah... I guess I can't be one to talk. Though, once she looked back up, she noticed the man hadn't moved since he entered. Moreover, the clerk narrowed his eyes towards him and reached a hand beneath his desk hesitantly.

"I already told you, I will need to see your face. It's too late for you to be running around like that." The trench coat man spoke in a low voice.

"If I showed you my face, I'd have to kill you. I hope you understand."

"You have 5 seconds," the clerk said.

"After that, I am going to press the red button under my desk, and police will rush here. Don't even think of trying anything. I have a 12 gauge beneath the counter." Are you serious? What kind of charade is this? This guy is acting all edgy at a random gas station! Not even my delusions would carry me that far!

"3... 2... 1..." She imagined that nothing would happen when the clerk finished his countdown. She thought that perhaps the man would simply leave or show his face to appease the worker. The trench coat man lifted both gloved hands towards his face. One of them pulled down his collar. The other pulled off his sunglasses. What in the world!? Her eyes widened on seeing his face. Glowing red orbs sat where his eyes should have been, and his mouth looked like it had been burned by something fierce.

The skin looked like it was barely holding it together, and when he opened his mouth, several canines showed themselves. His voice came out raspier.

"Well, I never say I didn't warn you." In the next instant, claws tore through the end of his gloves, and he stabbed them into the clerk's chest. Blood splattered on the desk, the clerk looking down at his own state in disbelief. The woman clutched her juice box as her eyes widened. She dropped low behind a shelf and crawled along the floor.

"Where do you think you're going, miss?" The trench coat man asked from above her. He stood on the shelf unnaturally. He was more like a predator than a man. Much like a wolf standing at the edge of a cliff, looking down on game. His red orbs pierced into her, and he smiled, showing his sharp canines.

"That deal was also for you." Claws pierced into her eyes and entered her brain. Her can and bag of chips fell onto her lap and rolled off of her. In less than a second, her life was snuffed out from her. Those eyes that had beheld dull streets succumbed to infinite darkness. In a sense, she'd gotten what she always wanted. Darkness entered her mind, becoming the only thing she could see.