"ROOOARRR!"
One of the Drakon caught up to Lily's party of Brownies, as its venomous, miasma-covered claws got near, clashing over the floor right behind her and her friends, making a hole and crumbling the ground beneath their foot, making them trip over!
BAAAM!
"Uwaah! Help!"
One of the Brownies began to cry as the Drakon got closer, openings its jaws to devour him.
"GRAAARRR!"
The monstrous high-level creature was about to devour Lily's new friend, as Lily screamed, pointing her small hands at the monster.
"NOOO! CLAY WALL!"
TRUUUUMMM…!
Suddenly, the spirits of the earth and the very soil itself responded to her call, shapeshifting into an enormous wall made of Clay that cost over half of her total MP, impacting the Drakon's jaws and filling them with dirt!
"GRAHH… KAHHAAA…!"
The Drakon began to cough the dirt as it struggled to do as it had originally planned.
"Now, RUN!!!" Lily cried, as her Brownie friends panicked.
"But come with us!"
"Lily!!!"
"W-What are you planning to do?!"
"I am a Player! I… cannot die. I'll stay here and hold them off somehow, you go away and close the mines before it is too late! Protect your village! Protect those beautiful gardens you've made!" Lily said, as tears flowed through her eyes.
"Lily…!"
"Damn it! Let's go!"
"Uuagh! No wait!"
The bigger Brownie grabbed the other two as he forcefully carried them away from Lily.
Lily saw the tiny people run away, as a group of sorcerers stood in the entrance of the mine, mostly gnomes and old brownies, touching the ground as they unleashed an incantation using Geomancy and Green Magic.
"Oi, what about the one that stayed behind?!"
"Wait, don't close yet!"
"I'm sorry, but we cannot let the monsters get closer!"
TRUUUUUMMM!!!
The mine closed behind Lily, as she saw the Drakon throwing away the Clay Wall and shattering it into pieces with ease using its sharp claws… the ferocious monster glared at her with its sharp red eyes.
"You're a rather brave little one. But it makes no difference."
The voice of that young man she heard before echoed once more, his entire body covered in a black cloak, but she noticed his red eyes and blue hair beneath the cloak.
"W-Who are you?! Are you controlling these monsters?" Asked Lily desperately, slowly stepping back, but quickly realizing that if she leads the monsters to the wall made with magic, they might end up destroying it.
"Who am I? Well, I shouldn't be telling this to a mere lowly creature such as you… But seeing how you're going to die; I don't see why not comply with your last wish." The man spoke viciously. "Lowly creature, you're in front of Jeremias Arc Crux, the greatest apprentice of the Ancient Wizard of the Luminous Kingdom. Due to my recent revelation, I've decided to come and conquer your damned forest!"
"The what… of what?!" Lily asked, feeling completely confused, she didn't knew whatever these things were.
"Hmph, as if a being such as you could understand a single thing." He said with a smile. "The great Miasmic Core is pulsating with new life. This entire forest shall become the sacrifice to restore the Demon King of Miasma from his recent damage taken! Feel honored, you shall become the first of his victims!"
"Eh? D-Demon King?!" Lily wondered. "Are you his friend?"
"Friend? I am his servant! A Warlock that has channeled his divine power! I have been enlightened!" Laughed Jeremias. His name was rather simply for an evil sorcerer. "This morning he finally gave me an order, after years of silence!"
"Wait, we could talk things out, you don't really have to kill people, you know? This is just a game; can't you calm down? We could discuss things perhaps and-" Lily tried to talk things out, but Jeremias's cold red eyes didn't had any intention to listen to her.
"Kill her."
"ROOOARRR!"
His black staff shone with a black aura of Miasma, which seemed to shape itself as strings controlling the Drakon, the one in front of Lily pounced forwards towards her with a speed she couldn't even keep up with!
"Clay Wall!!!"
Lily cried, generating another wall right in front of the Drakon, only for the monster to use its brute force and weight to destroy the wall with ease, reaching up to her in an instant!
CRAAASH!
"Ahhh…!"
The monster's claws reached her body, crushing her and shredding her into pieces.
SLAAASH!
Her body fell into the floor, blood and guts.
"Heh, that was so easy, these little creatures are really just ants…" Sighed the blue haired man.
Lily's mind suddenly dived into pure darkness, she felt a slight sensation of pain all over her body before she was torn apart and died. For a few seconds, it felt like she was falling asleep, finding herself in her soul form, the form players took after their deaths in the game.
"Huh? I… died?" She wondered, looking at her body torn to shreds. "Ugh, this game is really realistic, isn't it?"
She suddenly noticed a counter in front of her eyes.
[You have died!]
[Due to being a Player below Level 10, you are not penalized and can revive in ten seconds after death.]
[Reviving in 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0…]
Jeremias quickly looked around, finding the wall the people at the village built. It was reinforced with powerful high-level magic and even spiritual power; it was tougher than he thought it would be.
"A powerful Wall reinforced with high level magic…" He said, but then suddenly smiled. "Even for the Drakon that's going to be tough, but well, we can always just force our way- Eh?"
However, he suddenly noticed that Lily's body suddenly turned into particles of light melding together magically through a power he had never seen before, until her body was completely restructured.
"What the...?!"
Lily quickly stood up, opening her eyes wide open in surprise.
"I-I was revived… Amazing, so this is really a game at the end…" Lily sighed in relief, everything was so realistic that for her it felt like it wasn't truly a game.
And that wasn't all, Jeremias's scream of surprise was just the beginning.
[A new implementation to help beginner Players below Level 10 has been activated.]
[Every time you die, all stats increase by +10% with a max of 400%, only lasts until you're Level 10. Additionally, MP and HP recovery is tripled and Skill Damage Dealt is increased by +50%.]
Apparently, the game had implemented a new system to help beginners that struggled in the game and died too much at the beginning, helping them get through Level 10 with ease in the latest patch.
And for Lily's current situation, it was perfect!
