Anti-Hero: Journey Of Fear

"Get changed, go!" I shouted. We were already all racing out of the bath and tossing on our clothes and armor.

Michael walked in just as we had finished. "I apologize for the interruption, but a large number of players are attacking."

"Do you require our assistance?" I asked.

"Appreciated but no. Our soldiers are well trained and can use the experience. You may either leave now through the rear entrance or you may remain and depart tomorrow morning as we agreed. I will note that the large explosion you felt was one of our mage units."

"A combination attack, interesting." Michael's jaw twitched at my guess, so it was probably right.

"We will go to sleep now and depart tomorrow. After what I paid, I plan to use the entire time." I said.

"Very well, the dining room is prepared. Please follow me." Dinner was enjoyable since there was a wide range of food and drinks. Worth every gold coin that it had cost me.

"So Michael, what do you know about food magic?"

"A tricky subject we are still looking into. Perhaps when you return you can taste the fruits of our progress?"

"What is the big deal about food magic?" Three said while ripping a chunk of meat off a drumstick.

"Food production is plummeting. The players are wiping out the NPCs, and over time this means the tedious tasks like food production will collapse." I said.

"Indeed, inflation is already rampant. But I believe we will have this area well in hand. We are already enslaving players who cause trouble. With their auto-pilots trapped, they will be unable to respawn and hopefully we can secure this area." Michael took a sip of the fruity wine.

"It will be troublesome if they log on again." Tor said.

"Indeed, but we already have developed countermeasures. Unfortunately those are a trade secret of Solid Steel. I will say that your videos Kenji were the inspiration for many people to actually set up their mental log out." Michael gave a small chuckle at his observation.

"I mean really, was I the only person to read the instruction manual for set-up and to listen to Legal Bob?" Everyone but Michael looked a bit embarrassed at that. I let out a small sigh. "Really people, information is power."

"I will say that after the snakes, I definitely set up mine." Two said.

"But think about the experiences you miss?" Everyone stared at three who went back to eating.

"Well then, I shall see you in the morning. Have a restful sleep." Michael said.

We went to our room and looked at the one bed. "Why one bed?" Tor asked.

"I kind of forgot to put an order with Solid Steel for more. Also this one is fairly big. No snoring Two."

"I don't snore…" He said. But by then we were all dumping our weapons and hoping on the large feather bed to go to sleep.

The next morning I was the first one up. I took a piss in the chamber pot and began stretching. I then shook One, Two, and Three awake leaving Tor to sleep. No need to risk her morning wraith. Food was brought in by a couple of servants and we had a nice breakfast of fruit, bread, jam, and some light beer. I swear the booze was what got Tor up as she greedily started chugging it down from one of the pitchers. Wisely, none of us said anything.

A short time later Michael came by. "Ah it is good to see that you are all up and ready. Follow me." We set off behind him through the dimly lit stone halls of the fortress. "Your wagon is ready and a barge has been arranged at the river about half a day's journey. They have agreed to drop you off at any point of the River Str you d.e.s.i.r.e."

"Thank you for your hospitality." I said.

"You are a valued Class A customer, Kenji Shadowen. I hope we can have many more profitable meetings." Michael replied. We reached the courtyard and there was our new wagon. It was the same size as our last one, but various pieces were banded or made out of metal. The construction was far superior to any I could have hoped for.

The best part was the locking braking system and a tarp covering over the back and driver's seat. The fact that it could be taken up and down was really important. I hated the rain with a vengeance, and wanted to stay dry.

"Looks out something out of the old west." Two said.

"We are going to the Wild Lands." Tor replied.

"Sweet." One said.

"We should paint it red." Three said. I rubbed his head. He let out a yelp.

"Let's get going." I said. Michael had two large horses brought out and hitched to the front of the wagon while my team checked to make sure everything was in the back. We were off just as the sun was coming up over the horizon. What was distracting was the scene outside the fortress.

There were at least fifty charred corpses and the land itself had been blackened. "Damn that is some serious fire power." One said.

"I bet they had a bunch of mages calling on fire and the other's air. See how the charred ground sweeps outwards. It looks like there was a fire twister." I said.

"Do you guys feel something?" Two asked. I closed my eyes to focus my senses as we continued down the road towards the river.

"I feel it too." One said. Two gave an affirmative as well. "It is like something is pressing down, like your fear aura Kenji."

"Everyone hold on, we are getting the hell out of here. YAH!" I snapped the reigns and the horses took off down the road.

"There is no way…not all the way here." Tor said.

"Everyone, keep an eye out for anything terrible and try not to puke." I called out. They probably thought I was talking about the bumpy ride.

"I see something, back down the road. Sun's in my eyes, but there is definitely something there. It seems to be turning back and forth from us to the fortress." Two called out.

"GO HORSES! GO!" I snapped the reigns again and they went from a fast trot to pulling the wagon all out.

"Slow down!" One called out.

"You see the video of the thing I took the scythe from. That's it." There was a moment of silence from everyone on the cart.

"Shit! FASTER, FASTER!" One called out.

"It is turning towards the fortress." Two said.

"We keep going like this for a bit. No way I am fighting that thing again." I shouted out. "No way I am looking at it again either." I muttered under my breath. We slowed down after five minutes but I kept the horses moving down the road quickly.

Off to my left I could see the river and the road slowly moving towards each other as we circled around the base of Str Mountain. The city was off in the distance, but that was a place we wanted to avoid. No need to start fighting players for no good reason.

"I am sure we could have taken it." Three said.

"What level are you?"

"Three."

"Level not name."

"I mean level three."

"That thing is over level one hundred seventy. It would rip your flesh off in some horrible way."

"But wouldn't it be-" I handed the reigns to Tor. I then reached back and rubbed his head.

"None of that. It is evil, vile, and reminds me of certain female body parts with teeth. So hell no, if you want to go be my guest."

"Nah, but it would be a great weapon."

"Why do you think I got rid of the cloak and the scythe? Remember."

***

"Thank god they are finally gone. Did you see the mess from Black."

"Yeah, that was shit, but she was always a c.u.n.t."

"Well, we never did…what is that?" One of the soldier's manning the wall asked.

"Look there, coming up the main road to the fortress."

"Hard to make out, but it is emitting some sort of aura." The soldier reached out and pushed the large bell that rested on the wall above the gate. CLANG, CLANG, CLANG. Soldiers began rushing out of the keep getting dressed and Michael hurried over.

"What is it?" Michael asked.

"Something down the road, moving towards the fortress. It is sending out some sort of aura."

"Alright, Commander Rass, deal with it." The Solid Steel organization was built around the concept of combat units headed up by a Combat Leader. These units would range from ten to fifty people depending on their specialty and number of people assigned to the unit. Leaders managed each of their units differently.

Above them were Commanders, they were in charge of important sites that the Solid Steel organization had taken. They had anywhere from two or more units under their command and their own body guards, which also acted as their personal unit. Finally there were the Administrators who managed entire regions, both combat and non-combat actions. They focused on boosting Charisma and handled the customer interactions.

While the Administrators had almost no combat ability, they had the ultimate authority over any Commanders and Combat Leaders in their region. There were also Director positions for the non-combat side of the organization, but those individuals were rarely seen by anyone not in Solid Steel.

By handing the current situation off, Administrator Michael had made it clear this was a combat situation. While they had been hoping for a large response to test and showcase their group tactics, these one off stragglers would be a continual annoyance.

"Alright men, you heard the boss. I want two rows of archers right now! I want melee along the wall at ten feet intervals. The rest get your asses down to the gate. CL Miriuel, what is the status of your mage unit?"

"Just about dry after last night. We won't be able to contribute much." She said.

"Fall back then, I don't think we should have any issues. Send out your unit to boost the watch at other points." Commander Rass said. He turned and looked back at the figure that was now approaching. He saw a cloud of dust in the distance from Rain of Blood's wagon. "Interesting." He muttered. The thing began approaching closer and closer.

Two of the soldiers lost their stomach contents and Commander Rass couldn't blame them. "Stay strong! Archers stand ready!" The archers all began to notch their bows. "Fire!" About eighty arrows were loosed. The creature kneeled down and then jumped. Where it's pace had been slow and steady, the jump was quick and shocking.

The arrows sailed under the monster and it landed about ten feet from the gate. Oh god, this was that thing in Rain of Blood's videos. "Keep your distance and don't stop firing!"

***

"So do you think that Solid Steel can handle it?" Tor asked.

"No idea. We can only wait and see. If it crushes them then there will be videos and an announcement online probably." I replied. We reached a small village that was pressed up between the road and the river. There was a barge docked and I drove the wagon up to it.

A older middle aged man stepped up. "So you are the folks we were hired to take down river. Big wagon, but it should fit. Roll it on and get those horses tied off. I am Captain Abe, if there is a problem talk to me. Don't go bothering my crew." We all got to work. I noticed there were at least nine other men on the boat, all of them had swords. I walked over to the Captain.

"What were your instructions?" I asked.

"Drop you off somewhere down stream. Where do you want to go?" He asked me.

"How long to reach Romana?"

"At the coast, shit. That would take about seven days if we don't run into problems." He leaned over the rail and spat out a huge glob of mucus.

"We might not go that far, depends. Let's get going and I will think on it."

"You are a creepy little blighter aren't you?"

"Yes."

***

Arrows began to rain down on the monster as it took a couple of steps forward. The first few arrows to reach it bent around the horror as if space itself was curved. The Commander drew his sword. "Don't let this thing grab you!" It leapt again and the soldiers on the wall panicked as it landed next to the bell stand.

It landed on top of a soldier and his body burst like a ripe melon. Blood and guts went everywhere, which just made the situation a lot worse. Soldier's panicked as they all tried to get away. The archers couldn't shoot since the arrows would curve around the monster and hit their comrades.

Suddenly a small pillar of flame engulfed the creature. Unfortunately it disappeared a second later. Commander Rass couldn't tell if the mages had run out of MP, the creature resisted, or some combination of the two. There would be no magical help with their exhaustion.

The creature leapt off the wall and in the middle of the melee fighters. It grabbed two, one with each hand. Their screams were raw and primal as the horror slammed them upon its body and its many orifices filled with teeth.

The Commander didn't know why but he felt the urge to look up and saw a number of thin wires drifting above the monster. The Leader had come, thank god. The wires fell down around the monster and its two victims. A moment later they snapped taught, cutting through the helpless soldiers and then into the creature.

The Commander thought how clever the Leader of Solid Steel was since he had waited for the monster to lower its defenses to grab onto victims before he acted. He would only get one chance at finishing the creature with his mana reserves. The space warping ability was incredibly over powered. That thing probably had a massive amount of MP to keep it up like it had. The wires wrapped around the nearby blades of that the soldiers were holding.

"Pull men, like your lives depended on it." Soldiers grabbed onto the blades the metal wires had wrapped around and pulled for all they were worth. The monster was surprisingly resilient, but was finally cut apart as the wires dug into it.

"Archers, get to building a bonfire. Pull out our wood stores."

"It appears the scythe and cloak will have to go." Michael said. The Commander looked over, he was no longer surprised at the way the man always seemed to appear at just the right time.

"Yeah, I will have Combat Units Three and Six go. What about that thing?"

"Burn everything. If that doesn't work get a forge built and encase the body in solid steel."

"Shit, that will use up our entire stockpile."

"Well I am sure we can sell it to someone and recoup our losses. A personal Reaper of Skulls would be sure to fetch a large price. If we do cast it, try to leave the head free. It appears to only use innate magic around it, based on what I have observed."

"Hmmm, we will try. That thing is brutal." The Commander looked over the splattering of the soldier who had been on the wall. Michael looked over as well.

"Indeed, good job rallying the men. While we lost three this should go a long way to boosting moral. Can you send the recording over to PR as soon as possible?"

"Yeah, not a problem."

***

I gathered by team at the front of the barge as we coasted down the river. "Alright it is time to discuss stats and skills. I will start to show you what I want to know."

STATUS

Name Kenji Shadowen

Level 80

Constitution 38

Strength 53

Dexterity 125.4

Endurance 53

Wisdom 10.6

Intelligence 11.2

Charisma 0

Luck 0

Fate 582.98

Fire Resistence 90%

SKILLS

Blunt Weapons-1

Piercing Weapons-1

Cutting Weapons-5 MAX

Power Slash-4

Throwing-5 MAX

Rapid Throwing-2

Light Archery-3

Riding-1

Trap Making-5 MAX

Trap Detection-1

Ambidexterious-4

Tactics-4

Wood Carving-1

Running-4

Swimming-3

Light Conditioning-5 MAX

Medium Conditioning-5 MAX

Hard Conditioning-2

Climbing-2

Stealth-5 MAX

Conceal Presence-1

Basic Biology-5 MAX

Intermediate Biology-3

Torture-5 MAX

Fear Aura-3

Deception-5 MAX

Misdirection-2

Poison Immunity-3

Types: Spore, Bug, Plant, Death

Meditate 5-MAX

Mental Defense-2

Identification-3

Observe-3

Leadership-2

Murderer-500 MAX

Depraved-16

Army of One-5

Enemy of the People-5 MAX

Massacre of Willhelm-1 MAX

Battle of Gloommore Forest-1 MAX

Burning of Breckley-1 MAX

Raid of North Salrin Mine-1 MAX

Murder of Merchants-1 MAX

Player Killer-10 MAX

Cannibal-3

Holy War-1

Demon Slayer-1

Demonic Blood Corruption-3

Curse of the Goddess Tafe-1

Constitution Focus-1

Strength Focus-1

Dexterity Focus-2

Endurance Focus-1

ONE

STATUS

Name <One>

Level 18

Constitution 16.6

Strength 10

Dexterity 19

Endurance 10.1

Wisdom 10

Intelligence 10

Charisma 15

Luck 0

Fate 40

SKILLS

Cutting Weapons-2

Light Archery-3

Running-1

Light Conditioning-4

Meditate-2

Murderer-34

Depraved-6

Player Killer-3

Demonic Blood Corruption-1

TWO

STATUS

Name <Two>

Level 23

Constitution 20.6

Strength 29

Dexterity 20

Endurance 20

Wisdom 10

Intelligence 10

Charisma 0

Luck 0

Fate 30

SKILLS

Blunt Weapons-2

Cutting Weapons-1

Running-2

Light Conditioning-5 MAX

Medium Conditioning-2

Meditate-2

Murderer-27

Depraved-3

Player Killer-3

THREE

STATUS

Name <Three>

Level 3

Constitution 6.44

Strength 7

Dexterity 7

Endurance 7.14

Wisdom 14

Intelligence 7.14

Charisma 0

Luck 0

Fate 68.24

SKILLS

Blunt Weapons-1

Cutting Weapons-1

Ambidexterious-1

Light Conditioning-2

Stealth-2

Basic Biology-4

Poison Immunity-2

Type: Death

Meditate-1

Murderer-37

Depraved-20 MAX

Cannibal-2

Demonic Blood Corruption-1

TOR

STATUS

Name <Tor>

Level 76

Constitution 22.6

Strength 20.2

Dexterity 20.6

Endurance 20.2

Wisdom 52

Intelligence 119.18

Charisma 10

Luck 10.1

Fate 79

[tr]

SKILLS

Piercing Weapons-1

Cutting Weapons-4

Throwing-5 MAX

Rapid Throwing-2

Light Archery-5 MAX

Medium Archery-2

Cooking-2

Light Conditioning-5 MAX

Medium Conditioning-3

Stealth-5 MAX

Conceal Presence-2

Basic Biology-2

Meditate 5-MAX

Mental Defense-1

Onciontituts Focus-2

Xyiterted Focus-1

Murderer-59

Depraved-10

Army of One-1

Escape from Galmore-1 MAX

Player Killer-10 MAX

Wisdom Focus-1 Intelligence Focus-2

We all finished running through our stats and skills and looked at each other.

"I knew you were boss, but that is insane." One said.

"Yeah, shit, I think the highest reported level is ninety six at the moment." Two said.

"Shit, all my dying really screwed me up." Three said.

"Good news and bad news. The good news is that most of your stat points are in the right place. Though why you put fifteen into charisma One I will never know."

"The ladies…"

"Anyways, we have good builds forming. I do want everyone to work on meditation when we aren't doing anything. Yes, it is boring, but it is important. And One and Two can take the time to stare at people and use observe on them. Three you need to work on that fire magic."

"The bad news is that we need levels and to kill a bunch of people to get player killer up to max. I am thinking we are going to go all the way up the river and stop at Romana. From there we get a ship and sail around the coast to the edge of the Durrunian Desert out on the western edge of the continent. From there we will see."

"Didn't you say something different back in the fortress?" One asked.

"Yes, in case they were listening. I trust Solid Steel as far as I can throw them. Which means not at all for those of you not picking up."

"The big problem will be Romana. There is sure to be players after us once we arrive." Tor said.

"Good news, I am slowing down my video production a bit so as to not lead people towards us. By the time they see the boat they will have no idea where we are and most won't be able to act on it."

"Alright, but do we really want to retrieve this book?" Tor asked.

"Well we can always back out. Personally I want to take it, read it, and then make a copy for the Mystery Man."

"Smart, but won't he catch on?"

"We have weeks and weeks to plan something out. I put our collective thought power above his any days. Like I said, take a look and then decide. Heck we can go to another continent. But, I prefer to get the book and return. It would nice for a in game vacation and resting period. Especially since this is going to be a long journey. Oh and we take turns with the desert info book. Who's first?"

***

"Ding, ding, ding, you have a visitor." I turned from my editing console and stood up.

"Name?"

"BigSis." I let out a long sigh.

"Allow her through to the guest level and inform her I will be there shortly." I finished up what I was doing and ordered my wardrobe to switch out from relaxing to casual. I then made my way to the guest level of my atrium.

"Hello big sister."

"Hello little brother, long time no see." Her avatar looked almost the same as the last time I had seen her. She was probably using an older rented capsule to place this call.

"So why are you paying me a visit?" I asked. I sat down in an armchair and she did as well.

"Mom, she isn't doing well."

"Hmmmm, what is the problem?" There was a long moment of silence.

"She gave you clearance to look. MedCor file 231-291-28102." I called up the file and got a processing notification.

"Should take about a minute. So how are you?"

"Can't complain, at least I have a job. Most people aren't that lucky."

"Hmm, what are you doing now? Still servicing capsules?"

"Yeah, pays half decent, but they always want you to take one more call. Especially after those terrorist attacks, the whole system was swamped."

"Well Omnitrek sorted them out well enough."

"Maybe…. Anyways I am enjoying your videos."

"I try. Dad still drinking?"

"Yeah, ever since he lost his job with Apple after it went bust, well, it has been tough on mom."

"I offered her a place if she moved out but…."

"She told me.

"Ding, ding, ding, the medical report is ready. Do you wish to view it?"

"Yes." I said. At least twenty screens exploded. I ignored all of them and stared at the three dimensional wire frame of my mom. While most of it was blue, in the center of her head was a large red mass. "What is that?" I whispered out.

"Stage four brain tumor. She has a month left brother. You should pay a visit."

"Treatment?"

"The only thing is nanite and gene therapy. Problem is that it is still listed as an elective."

"….how much?"

"One million up front, twenty five million total." My mind short circuited at that.

"Twenty five million? We are talking dollars here?"

"Yeah, so right now she is saying all her goodbyes. I came to ask you to spend some time before the end."

"What about dad, doesn't he have anything saved up?"

"Most of it gone with Apple. It had invested everything in stocks. Got pennies on the dollar."

"No one else?"

"Brother, you are actually the ric.h.e.s.t person in the whole family." There was a long moment of silence. "I didn't mean it like that. Just, no one can pay for the treatment and none of us have the collateral. I didn't come here to ask you for a hand out. Just to visit her. I know that there was fighting at the end, but please, for me?"

"What about putting her in a capsule?"

"The tumor is interfering with the neural lock. Her brain would cook if she connected."

"…." I sat back down.

"I have to get going, I only bought a couple minutes. I know I can count on you. Disconnect."

I sat there for a couple of minutes in silence. "F.U.C.K!" I yelled. I cursed and cursed and then broke into tears. A minute later I wiped my eyes and stood up.

"Please connect to Omnitrek Financial Services."

"Ding, ding, ding, please wait one moment while your request is processed." I began pacing. "Your request has been approved, please stand by for a portal." A doorway appeared off to one side. I stepped through into a brightly lit atrium.

A male voice spoke. "Please head to Conference Room Twenty Three, orange glowing beacons have been provided for your convenience." I followed the beacons to the room. Inside were two people who stood up as I entered.

"Welcome to Omnitrek Financial Services. How may we assist you?" I pulled up the medical file and sent it over.

"I want to take out a loan to pay for the treatment."

"You currently have three hundred and forty seven thousand dollars in liquid assets. One hundred and twenty is tied up as per the full time capsule contract, leaving only two hundred and twenty seven thousand dollars. Base on you job of Video Entertainer and current market predictions a twenty five million dollar loan is too risky."

"How much then?"

"Ten times, so two point two seven million dollars."

"Is there any way to get the money?" The man at the head of the table looked over to the one sitting next to him.

"Sir, as I am sure you are aware we cannot loan out money to bad investments. Ten times is more than generous especially considering the risk your job entails. We have just estimated that if you perish in FEAR your income will drop more than 70% as viewers leave. Only your constant survival has kept people engaged."

"What if I increase content release?"

"Possible, but your earned income still would not be enough."

"It is my mother, there has to be a way?"

"Well you can loan out one million dollars and then make the monthly installments of half a million dollars for the treatment. Unfortunately if payment is not received this experimental treatment cannot be provided. In addition you would have to pay the rate of ninety thousand a month to pay off the loan."

I sat there and thought. I had no idea if I should take the risk or let my mom die. She was only forty seven, and she had always been great despite the arguments I had with dad. It would mean a lot more broadcasts. I would be much easier to trace.

The people out there weren't idiots. They used the position of the sun, stars, and shadows to accurately determine my position. Despite staggering the casts back by a week, it wasn't good enough to keep people off my trail. A sea adventure would be boring. I would have to head overland and literally fight my way through everyone in order to push up the view count.

They were right as well. Most people only watched in anticipation of my death and to hunt me down. Once I died, I would lose a massive chunk of my fan base. I had been saving up as well for a retirement of some sort.

I gathered up my courage and said, "I will