The silence stretched. And stretched. And stretched.

  Kage stood in the center of the dusty road, hands in his pockets, listening to the wind rustle through the dying grass of the transition zone. A crow cawed somewhere to his left, sounding bored.

  Ten seconds passed.

  Fifteen.

  It was the specific kind of social awkwardness that only existed in online gaming - the gap between a dramatic call-out and the realization that the other party was probably arguing in a private Discord channel about who should go first.

  Inefficient, Kage thought, watching a digital tumbleweed roll by. I’m burning money standing here.

  "Guys," a voice finally cracked from behind a boulder to his right. It sounded exasperated. "He’s looking right at us. The element of surprise is gone. Just go."

  "Shut up, Benny, I was waiting for cooldowns," a second voice hissed from the tall grass.

  "He's wearing starter gear," a third voice, this one deeper, muttered from the tree line. "We don't need cooldowns. We need to stop crouching in bushes like idiots."

  With a rustle of foliage that sounded suspiciously like audio files overlapping, the hunting party stepped onto the road.

  There were three of them.

  First, the speaker from the boulder: a Rogue with the name [ShadowSlice] floating above his head. He wore a mismatched set of leather armor, dyed an edgy black that clashed horribly with the bright afternoon sun. He twirled a pair of daggers, dropped one, and quickly picked it up, hoping no one noticed.

  Second, the voice from the grass: a Ranger named [Legolas_v2]—because original thoughts were evidently a premium currency he couldn't afford—holding a longbow with an arrow already nocked.

  And finally, the deep voice: a Warrior named [BeefSupreme]. He was the most geared of the three, wearing a partial set of Iron Plate that squeaked when he walked. He carried a two-handed axe that looked heavy enough to give his avatar back problems.

  Kage didn't move. He simply looked at them.

  His Synesthesia washed over the scene, translating the threat data into sensory input.

  [ShadowSlice] tasted like sour milk - low threat, likely relying on cheap stunlock mechanics. [Legolas_v2] felt like a persistent itch - annoying range, low burst damage. [BeefSupreme] resonated like a hollow drum - high health pool, lots of noise, mostly empty space inside.

  "So," BeefSupreme said, resting his axe on his shoulder and stepping forward. He puffed out his chest. "You saw us."

  "You have the stealth rating of a brick," Kage said. "And you smell like cheap copper."

  The Warrior blinked. "I... what? Copper?"

  "Metaphor," Kage said. He glanced at his internal clock. "Are we doing this? The transaction fees on my time are accumulating."

  ShadowSlice stepped forward, sneering. He pointed a dagger at Kage. "Listen, pal. We saw you buying out the Apothecary. We saw the bags. Premium inventory space. That means you’ve got gold."

  "And," Legolas_v2 chimed in, "you’re walking into a PvP-flagged zone wearing..." He paused, squinting at Kage. "Is that the Level 1 [Tattered Tunic]? And... are those [Foreman’s Sturdy Trousers]?"

  "It’s a look," BeefSupreme scoffed. "He’s probably one of those 'ironman' challenge casuals. Look at the sword though. That thing looks weird."

  They all looked at Mumyo. The black blade hung at Kage's hip, a void in the sunlight. It wasn't reflecting light. The red vein along its spine pulsed slowly, a heartbeat of pure malice.

  "We'll take the bags," BeefSupreme declared, falling into the rehearsed rhythm of a highwayman who had watched too many movies. "The potions. The gold. And drop the sword. You do that, and we don't send you back to the graveyard. You know the penalty rules, right, noob? You die, you drop a piece of gear and half your cash."

  Kage sighed.

  He knew the 'math'. Dying meant dropping one level, one random equipped item or inventory stack, plus, usually, 50% of carried volatile currency. That is, if the 50% was actually within the calculated 'limit'. What limit? Noone knew. The devs only mentioned that there's an algorithm in place to prevent extreme cases. It was a severe punishment designed to keep the game's economy deflationary.

  For them, killing him was a lottery ticket.

  For him, dying was an unacceptable deviation from the projection.

  "Here is the counter-offer," Kage said. His voice was flat, devoid of the theatrical aggression they were projecting. "You attack. I defend. You die. I loot you. We save approximately two minutes of posturing."

  The three PKers stared at him.

  "Is he serious?" ShadowSlice laughed, a harsh, jagged sound. "He’s a Level 14... wait." He squinted at Kage's nameplate. "[Kage]. Class... [Poet]?"

  Legolas_v2 snorted. "He's a poet? Is he going to rhyme us to death? Is the sword only for roleplay, then?"

  "Get him," BeefSupreme ordered, lowering his visor. "Easy money."

  The air changed.

  The MMO "politeness" vanished, replaced by the sharp, metallic tang of combat initiation.

  Legolas_v2 fired. The arrow hissed through the air, aimed center-mass.

  At the same time, BeefSupreme activated [Charge], turning into a blur of motion as he rushed forward, axe raised for a [Power Strike]. ShadowSlice vanished into [Stealth], clearly aiming for the flank.

  A classic tripod engage. Tank creates space, Range applies pressure, Rogue hits the crit spot. Textbook. Boring.

  Kage didn't pull against friction.

  He gripped the hilt, and Mumyo complied, its density dropping to that of a hollow reed.

  He snapped his wrist. The blade flowed out of the leather, unburdened by physics or heft. A standard draw required the arm to overcome the weapon's center of gravity, taking crucial frames of animation. This required nothing but the movement of Kage's own arm.

  Fast. Not instant—his Agility stat was still garbage—but frictionless.

  Clang.

  The arrow struck the flat of the blade and shattered. He had simply watched the Ranger's fingers twitch on the bowstring, calculated the flight path of a standard projectile, and placed the blade in the math.

  "What the—" Legolas_v2 started.

  BeefSupreme slammed into him. The Warrior was Level 15, fully plated, bringing the momentum of a freight train. The axe came down in a heavy, cleaving arc designed to break guards and stagger lighter opponents.

  Kage didn’t brace. Bracing relied on Strength, and while his Strength was decent, the Warrior’s was surely higher.

  Instead, Kage side-stepped.

  A single, distinct step to the left, exactly four inches outside the hitbox of the axe.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  The axe slammed into the dirt where Kage had been a frame ago.

  The Warrior grunted, locked in the recovery animation of his heavy attack. Kage watched the axe stuck in the ground.

  Opportunity.

  Kage tapped the mental key for his Verse-Crafting. Form I.

  Title: A restriction of movement.

  "Bind," Kage whispered.

  [-70 Awen]

  The air around BeefSupreme’s greaves convulsed. The concept of restriction applied itself to reality. The Warrior tried to pull his axe free and step back, but his knees locked. For the next two seconds, the concept of movement was simply denied to his lower body.

  "I'm stuck! Glitch! Lag!" BeefSupreme yelled.

  Behind Kage, the audio cue was almost imperceptible. A soft scuff of leather.

  Rogue.

  Kage didn't turn around. He didn't have time. A Rogue's [Backstab] usually dealt 300% damage if it hit the rear arc. At his armor level, that was a one-shot.

  He needed to block his six.

  Kage drove his elbow back.

  In a normal physics engine, swinging a sword backward from a front-facing guard is slow. You have to overcome the forward weight of the blade, rotate the wrist, and struggle against the weapon's rotational inertia.

  But Mumyo had no mass while in motion.

  The black blade snapped into alignment with his forearm. There was no wind-up, no drag, no gravity fighting the tip. It moved exactly as fast as Kage’s hand could move, tracking the vector perfectly without the lag of weight.

  Thud.

  [Parry!]

  There was a metallic squeal as ShadowSlice’s daggers slammed into Mumyo’s blade, inches from Kage’s spine.

  "What the f—" the Rogue gasped, staggering out of stealth, his eyes wide.

  The blade suddenly gained its full weight again upon contact. Kage grunted, feeling the impact shudder through his elbow, the Biological Whiplash of stopping a zero-mass object that suddenly became three pounds of steel to absorb the blow. His rotator cuff burned.

  Limit the torque, he reminded himself. My joints aren't legendary grade.

  Kage pivoted on his heel. He was now face-to-face with the rogue.

  He slashed.

  Mumyo moved in a 'Z' pattern. But it didn't flow like a Z; it appeared as three disconnecting lines of darkness. With each sharp redirection, the blade left a smudge on the air; a static-filled, grayscale afterimage that refused to fade immediately.

  Slash-Stop-Slash-Stop-Thrust.

  [-82 HP]

  [-84 HP]

  [Critical Hit! -160 HP]

  ShadowSlice’s health bar evaporated. The Rogue screamed as the third hit, a thrust, pierced his leather chest piece with zero resistance before solidifying inside his avatar's hitbox. Three distinct shadows trailed the motion, cluttering the visual field like a graphical glitch.

  "Healer! Benny, heal me! His weapon model is bugging out!" the Rogue shrieked, swatting at the lingering afterimages.

  "I'm a RANGER!" Legolas_v2 yelled from the back, fumbling for another arrow.

  Kage kicked ShadowSlice in the chest. It did negligible damage (3 HP) but it pushed the rogue back into the range of BeefSupreme, who was just realizing his legs worked again.

  "Get out of the way!" the Warrior roared, raising his axe.

  Twang.

  The sound cut through the chaos. Legolas_v2 had found his nerve. From twenty meters back, he loosed an ability, and two arrows glowed with a faint green aura, spinning around each other, tracking Kage’s center of mass.

  Kage was mid-crouch. He couldn't dodge. He couldn't parry without exposing his back to the Warrior.

  He needed to rewrite the projectile's logic. One was enough.

  Title: Kinetic Failure

  He composed the poem in his mind; saying it out loud wouldn't make it in time.

  "Upon this Target, speed must fade, / Let force Weaken and be unmade."

  [-100 Awen]

  The green aura around the arrow flickered and died. The shaft, suddenly robbed of its magical reinforcement and momentum, wilted. The wood warped, turning soft and pliable in mid-air.

  The first, untouched arrow hit.

  [Passive Effect Triggered: Unyielding Will]

  [Damage Negated.]

  The second struck Kage’s shoulder as a wet slap of limp wood.

  [-10 HP]

  Legolas_v2 lowered his bow, his mouth open. "It.. it just gave up."

  Kage ignored him. The Warrior was mid-swing.

  "Get out of the way!" the Warrior roared, swinging his axe in a wide horizontal cleave, trying to hit Kage through his own teammate.

  Open World PvP ruleset enabled full collision physics, and, unfortunately for them, friendly fire was the idiot tax.

  Kage smiled.

  He dropped into a low crouch, practically sitting on his heels.

  BeefSupreme’s axe whistled over Kage’s head and slammed squarely into ShadowSlice’s face.

  [Critical Hit! -180 HP]

  [Player ShadowSlice has been slain.]

  "Dude!" the Warrior bellowed.

  Kage exploded upward from his crouch. He didn't use a Verse this time. He just used the opening.

  Step. Slide. Thrust.

  He moved inside the Warrior’s guard while the axe was still finishing its follow-through. Mumyo darted out like a serpent's tongue.

  Throat.

  A fourth shadow joined the trail behind the blade, hanging in the air.

  [Critical Hit! -104 HP]

  Underarm.

  A fifth shadow locked into place. The air around the blade seemed to thicken, the grayscale echoes vibrating with pent-up intent.

  [Critical Hit! -96 HP]

  Knee gap.

  Kage snapped the blade into the exposed joint. As Mumyo retracted, the accumulated mass of shadows didn't. They detached, forming a single, solid phantom that lashed out an instant later, biting into the same pixel.

  [-45 HP]

  [Phantom Strike: -81 HP (Ethereal)]

  "Whoa, double hit?" BeefSupreme stammered, watching the second damage number pop from a single swing. "Server lag is trash."

  The damage numbers scrolled up like a waterfall. Mumyo was dealing nearly 50 damage per hit, and its attack speed was ridiculous. Kage was hitting twice for every one of the Warrior's lumbering animations. To BeefSupreme, it must have looked like Kage was speed-hacking.

  "Stop hacking!" BeefSupreme roared, trying an overhead chop.

  Kage saw the chop coming. A heavy, iron slab. The Rhythm of the attack was a slow one-TWO.

  Kage matched the beat.

  One...

  He composed the verse in his head.

  Title: The Refusal.

  ...TWO.

  As the axe swung toward him, Kage slammed his open left palm against the flat of the axe blade and fired the Verse.

  Strike.

  [-50 Awen]

  [Poet's Lexicon: Keyword [Strike] Resonance increased. (8%->10%)]

  A ripple of force exploded from his palm.

  It wasn't enough to cause damage, but the force of his Strike met the physical momentum of the chop head-on. The forces canceled out violently.

  BeefSupreme’s arm was thrown back as if he’d hit a brick wall. His guard broke wide open.

  Kage enacted a kendo Tsuki - a throat thrust.

  Mumyo vanished into a line of fresh shadow.

  [Critical Hit! -140 HP]

  [Target Bleeding]

  BeefSupreme fell to his knees, his HP bar blinking red. "Hacker," he wheezed. "Reported."

  Kage stepped back, letting the bleed tick down the last few points. "Report away. The logs will just show you got outplayed by a Poet."

  [Player BeefSupreme has been slain.]

  Kage turned to the Ranger.

  Legolas_v2 was standing twenty meters away. He had an arrow drawn, but he was shaking. His two friends had just been deleted in under thirty seconds by a guy wearing starting tunic.

  "I..." The Ranger lowered his bow. "I didn't want to engage! They made me!"

  Kage looked at him. He looked at the distance. He looked at his Awen bar.

  "You fired the first shot," Kage said. "Actions have vectors. You can't recall them."

  "I can drop my gold!" the Ranger stammered, backing up. "I'll drop it all! Just let me go!" He paused. "Also! It's 'Actions have consequences'!"

  Kage tilted his head. Logic check.

  If the Ranger dropped the gold voluntarily, Kage got 100%. If Kage killed him, Kage got 50%. The Ranger was offering a settlement.

  "Drop it," Kage said.

  Legolas_v2 hurriedly opened his inventory. A small leather sack materialized in the air and fell to the ground.

  "And the boots," Kage added.

  "Wh-what?"

  "Your boots," Kage said, pointing with Mumyo. "They look like they have Agility on them. Mine are trash."

  "They're Soulbound!"

  "Unbind them. Or initiate combat."

  "I... I can't unbind them!"

  "Then cut off your feet," Kage suggested, his tone bored.

  "What?!"

  "Just kidding. Share the inventory."

  The Ranger shared his inventory window to confirm that he had no more money, turned, and sprinted toward the tree line. He was gone in seconds, leaving his dignity and his currency behind.

  Kage sheathed Mumyo. The blade vanished into its scabbard with a hungry hiss.

  He exhaled, rolling his right shoulder. It clicked. The biological feedback from the abrupt momentum shifts of the sword was real. He’d need to be careful about long engagements until his stats caught up to the weapon’s capabilities.

  He walked over to the loot piles.

  First, the Rogue.

  [Looting Player: ShadowSlice...]

  [Acquired: 1 Silver, 44 Copper.]

  [Acquired: Thief’s Dagger (Uncommon)]

  "Garbage," Kage muttered.

  Next, the Warrior.

  [Looting Player: BeefSupreme...]

  [Acquired: 2 Silver, 10 Copper.]

  [Acquired: Quilted Huntsman's Vest (Level 8)]

  Kage paused. He picked up the item.

  It wasn't plate armor. It must have been in the Warrior's inventory.

  [Quilted Huntsman's Vest]

  Quality: Common

  Type: Leather Chest

  Armor: +12

  Agility: +1

  Requirements: LVL 8

  Description: Padded with wool and stitched with questionable taste. Smells of wet dog.

  It was ugly. It was a vomit-green color with brown patches on the elbows. It looked like something a goblin would wear to a bad wedding.

  Kage looked down at his Level 1 [Tattered Tunic] (Armor +1).

  Then he looked at the Vest (Armor +12).

  "Efficiency," he sighed, the Operator winning over the Artist.

  He equipped the vest.

  His avatar gleamed. The tattered grey rag was replaced by the bulky, green quilted monstrosity. Combined with his [Foreman’s Sturdy Trousers] (waxed leather stained with goblin blood) and his gloves, he now looked like a homeless murder-hobo who had robbed a thrift store in the dark.

  Kage picked up the Ranger's gold pouch. 8 Silver.

  Total profit: Roughly 11 Silver and an armor upgrade.

  Time expenditure: two minutes.

  ROI: Acceptable.

  "Zero survival instinct," he told the empty road as he stepped past the corpses of his would-be muggers. "And even less taste."

  He adjusted the fit of his hideous new vest, feeling the slight uptick in his Agility, and began walking toward Ashenvale.

  The real game was just beginning.