[Solo, NPC PvP] The First Taste: A Naive "Companion"

[Shroud]

In olden times, it was a necessity to perform a sacred age-old tradition: the hunt. To some, it was a means to get food, clothes, and tools for everyday life. To others, it was a thrill that got their blood boiling and their adrenaline running. This was exactly how Shroud felt. As much as she wanted to go for a more powerful target, she knew that it would be more pointless than fun. She did not want to feel like the helpless prey. At least, if she were to be prey, she wanted to stand a fighting chance. What she wanted to feel was danger, not despair. She knew that she had to start off small... as in, newbie small. Besides, she read somewhere that some species consume their own kin upon birth in order to survive. It was the first taste of blood, the first step towards a life in the dangers of the real world. That was what she needed to do. She was an assassin, after all. From creation, she was destined to kill.

It all started in the town square. Feigning the desire for help, she searched for a party member. She said that she was going to the Windsor Greatwood at night in order to train. Sure, it seemed suspicious at first, but she covered it up by explaining a reasoning behind it. Whenever someone asked, she repeated the same thing in an elegant, flowing voice.

"I'd think that the others are too scared to venture out in the night. Think about it... more monsters for us, and an advantage for an assassin who calls the shadows her home ~"

Finally, someone took the bait. A naive samurai, a newbie like her, saw Shroud as a damsel in distress. "Assassins are like paper, ya know! One shot can tear you apart!", he said. It was a sorry excuse for an act of chivalry. He wanted to be her protector, and maybe he had some other motives as well. She despised him. However, that led her to give him a genuine smile. He was the perfect target for her first taste. They created a party of two and she told him that her intention was to fight monsters as much as they can and grind up the experience. Of course, it was a typical motive for a typical adventurer to face danger. They walked into the woods, and eventually they got far into it enough that it would take some time to get back to the main city. There, the samurai boy started to make preparations in his inventory and he double-checked the single skill he had. He was equipped with plate armor and a nodachi for starters. Of course, his defensive capabilities were far more superior than hers. She had to exploit the element of surprise and the better offense that an assassin possessed. Of course, she did not expect it to be easy. A challenge was what she wanted. To her, it was all a game. If someone died, they went back to life in the cathedral, just like a game. And in this game, an assassin thrived on taking lives away.

"Besides, there's no fun in just killing slimes and boars for experience."

Gathering her thoughts, she began to enact her plan. Opening her menu, she looked at the stats of her party member. With a grin, she clicked his name and left the party. Of course, this left the samurai surprised. He looked at her and wondered if it was a misclick. He spoke in a voice that showed a mix of confusion and concern.

"Um... didn'tya say we were going to hunt together?"

That statement made her laugh. A light chuckle escaped her as she spun her scythe around and assumed a stance for battle. She did not want a chivalrous, overprotective freak like him working with her. No, she wanted something far, far more stimulating than that. Licking her lips, she spoke in an alluring voice and revealed her intentions to him.

"Why of course, darling ~ We are going to hunt together... Let's play a little game, shall we? A little mix of tag... hide and seek... something like that! I'm it. I'll give you ten seconds to run."

"You're kidding, right?"

Hearing that, she giggled and walked back into the shadows. Away from sight, she maintained her vision with the samurai as she ran to his flank in order to make sure that he had little idea of where she was. Confused, the samurai held his nodachi in front of him and tried to reason out with her. However, his cries fell on ears that refused to listen to anything else other than the sweet heartbeat of prey. The stage is now set. In the valley where no one seemed to trek at that time, they were about to engage in a game Shroud really loved to play: the game of life and death, of predator and prey, of excitement and fear. She spoke softly, but loud enough so the samurai can hear her voice as a gentle whisper of the wind under the starry sky.

"I'm counting ~ Ten... Nine..."

He ran as his life depended on it. Of course, after finding that someone he trusted was his newfound enemy, he was in a state of panic and confusion. However, Shroud knew that the samurai will still be putting up a fight. In fact, she wanted him to put up a fight. During their travel, she tried to distract him as much as possible through idle conversation in order to get him lost. That seemed to be the case since as he ran, he started to frantically check his map to see his area. Slowly, she counted down. As the boy's figure began to resemble nothing more than a blur, she finished her counting as she grinned and opened her eyes wide with excitement and lust. It was the thrill that she sought her entire life. She finally will get to experience her fantasy as it is. It will not be behind a screen, it will not be through her daydreams. Although it is nothing but a game to her, everything felt so real.

"I wonder if this is what hide and seek felt like as a child~? Oh, how fun would it have been if I actually got to play like this in the real world!"

She sprinted from within the shadows, the violent rustling of plants revealing her presence to the confused samurai trying to get a grip on what he has to do. With a mischievous giggle, she announced.

"Ready or not, here I come!"