Fate Online: Shadow

"Kill him! Don't let him get away!"

Lone Sparrow in rage, as he didn't expect that Michael was actually hiding just near them, and that their Assassins and Hunters didn't even had the slightest clue of him being there!

But the most infuriating thing is that, not only Michael took the last hit on the Bandit Boss, he even snatched away the Treasure Map that the Boss' had just dropped under the nose of multiple players of their guild!

And of course, the first to react at the sudden changes was Solitary Tempest, as she immediately darted behind Michael and chased after him through the cave tunnel that heads towards the cave entrance.

But Michael's escape wouldn't be that easy as there are already players from Golden Shield waiting for him to get past the cave mouth.

Two hours earlier, before all of this happened.

Michael had already silently dispatched all the bandits inside the cave, and just as he was about to engage the Boss, players from Golden Shield had suddenly stormed inside the cave after killing the bandits outside of the cave, under the lead of Solitary Tempest and Lone Sparrow.

But Michael wasn't angry at the least that his hunt was suddenly interrupted by a group of mongrels, instead he was a bit happy inside that someone would do all the dirty work for him.

But Lone Sparrow wasn't an idiot, as he immediately noticed the lack of enemies inside the cave, so he immediately ordered their Assassins and Hunters to clear up the way, as he had that feeling that the man they had been chasing for a long time is inside the cave...hiding, and even Solitary Tempest was of the same opinion as him.

But what baffled them is that they didn't find any trace of Shadow, but instead, they discovered the Level 27 Bandit Boss who was busy indulging himself on the bodies of multiple women that they had probably captured and enslaved for their entertainment.

And upon seeing that shameful scene that made the men turn red in shame, the women were instead infuriated that they immediately launched their attacks towards the boss, and even the always cool headed Solitary Tempest wasn't exemption that she also sent a barrage of attacks towards the Boss, which made the latter howl in anger.

And the two sides immediately engage themselves in a fierce battle, while some female players went to rescue the captured women and brought them outside, which earned them praise from Michael who's been watching them from the shadows since they arrived

And just as the members of Golden Shield was about to kill the Bandit Boss after a gruelling one and a half hours. A fleeting shadow suddenly flashed past them and landed the last hit on the boss, whom the suspect quickly made his way towards the exit under the dumbfounded gazes from the players around Michael.

And it was only Solitary Tempest who managed to react in time, but even though she felt at the beginning that something was bound to happen when the Boss was only left with a sliver of its health left, she was still a second behind Michael, and failed to stop him, and could only resort to chasing him again in hopes that she could finally kill him!

And that's how the current situation progress till here.

"Get back here and don't run away like a coward! Let's battle one on one and find out who's currently the best between us!"

Solitary Tempest yelled at Michael while she continued chasing behind him.

"Do you think I'm an idiot!? I know that there's still more or less a hundred of you guys here even after your hard battle with the Bandit Boss! And let's not even count those players outside waiting to kill me when I leave this place!"

Michael yelled back, as he wasn't clearly an idiot and stop. After all, this wasn't the real world where he could wreak havoc even if he faces an entire gang of a hundred men!

This is after all a world that makes the impossible happen! Even Genesis and the others who are practically the Grim Reapers in the real world wouldn't dare to face a hundred players alone!

It was after all a fair world, where even the top experts in the world would be restricted by the attributes and skills of their own class or profession!

Meanwhile.

"Wizards and Hunters, Take your positions! Immediately attack the moment your eyes lands on the prey!"

"Barbarians, make sure the human wall is tight! We can't afford to let the prey escape again!"

One of the two Vice Leaders of Golden Shield is busy instructing his people, as they prepared to welcome Michael with a grand farewell party to send him off to his doom!

All of the players have gloom over their faces, as they knew how slippery Michael is, and that he had already gotten away from their pursuit three times, and walking all alone deep inside Dosier Mountains is already a testament of his abilities as a seasoned player!

*****

Michael is running at the front, with Solitary Tempest and a multitude of players chasing behind him along with their angry roars.

It was like the scene where Natsu was running away from the Army of Fiore after he destroyed half of a port town called Hargeon.

"What are you doing Solitary Tempest!? Stop him!" Lone Sparrow who is running just a few meters behind her, raged! And at the same time, he was shocked to find out that someone could actually make the number one player for a straight five years in the gaming community this helpless!

"Bastard! I'm trying!"

Solitary Tempest was irked by his shouting, as she continued shooting arrows at Michael, whom the latter would just dodge most of his attacks, with a few landing on him.

On the other hand, Solitary Tempest also is feeling surprised as she didn't expect that Michael or Shadow's abilities even exceeded her expectations!

Which made her burning will to fight him one on one burn more brightly. After all, for Amanda, the game is like a short escape for her from her problems in the real world, and only playing the game could make her feel at ease.

So meeting a new formidable enemy excites her a lot, like a kid who had just seen a new toy to play with.

*****

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Micheal had just stepped out of the cave, when a barrage of attacks landed on him, which immediately killing him on the spot!

"Hahaha!"

A faint laughter of victory echoed just before his body disappeared and was sent to the nearest graveyard.

Solitary Tempest halted in her tracks with disbelief in her eyes as she gazed at the spot where Michael had just died, while suffering a multitude of mixed feelings inside.

'Why? You could have dodge those attacks and make a break for it using your unique skills'

She wondered why, not knowing that Michael had already grown tired from getting chased, and he wasn't the least bit heartbroken that he had just lost half of his almost filled experience bar.

At least, the treasure map inside his [Storage] and one of his main equipment didn't drop after his death!

For him, death inside the game isn't a big deal for him, because he could just grind it back again!

And it's not like he was really dying for real!

After all, the quote 'Death is the ultimate form of escape' wasn't quoted in vain!