Eternity 27

  Eve barely had time to move to the side when the Cherub Dagger Master charged forward to meet Ben.

  Her face burned red not out of bashfulness, but out of sheer frustration. Ben was once again throwing himself into a situation he knew he would lose. And she knew he would get seriously injured while doing it. In a way, the healing that the world of Eternity provided was a double-edged sword. It meant that players could fight almost endlessly if they wanted, but the cost was excruciating pain and exhaustion, as long as the pain-setting was set to max.

  Eve saw the elated expression on Ben’s face while he battled the Cherub Dagger Master. Ben was clearly having the time of his life, even while he was being overwhelmed.

  “Men,” she thought.

  Eve sighed and readied her healing spell. It wouldn’t take long for Ben to need it.

  The additional 25% boost to the cherub’s attributes made a huge difference in the fight. Ben could hardly keep up. In fact, he could barely even see the cherub’s strikes. They were almost too fast to track with the naked eye.

  The few attacks that Ben managed to block were done so by mere instinct, skill, and combat sense. The fight pushed Ben to his absolute limit because of the gap in skill. He took a series of glancing blows that he barely managed to dodge. However, each strike hit harder and caused notably more damage and pain than before.

  The fight wasn’t for nothing. Ben could feel himself getting slightly better at defending. It was a small difference, but notable. He played a game with himself. He tried to predict the cherub’s next attack before it even came. Even when he was right, his body couldn’t keep up with what his mind comprehended. It was a harsh reality that ultimately led to his swift defeat.

  The first round against the Dagger Master lasted about 5 minutes only because the three cherubs were collectively absorbing damage that Ben took. Now, Ben lasted about half that time before he was knocked on his butt in defeat.

  Bloody gashes littered Ben’s body. He sat on one knee and wheezed with every jagged breath. Blood leaked out of his mouth, but he never stopped grinning.

  The Dagger Master pulled away from its final strike and stood at attention. Eve approached Ben with a look that was a mix of worry and annoyance.

  “Are you happy now?” She texted.

  Eve didn’t heal Ben right away. She let him linger in his pain in an attempt to teach him a lesson. Ben was too busy replaying the battle in his mind to notice.

  Before Ben responded, a notification drew both of their attention.

  [Congradulations. Your Small Weapon Defense Proficiency has increased to Advanced]

  Ben couldn’t hide his elation. He certainly wasn’t expecting that but he was pleasantly surprised. As a summoner in his past life, his fighting style allowed him to avoid direct combat more than most people, so he rarely got the chance to train his defensive proficiencies, relative to his other proficiencies.

  That wasn’t the purpose of his sparring session with the angels, but it was a welcome bonus.

  Ben gave Eve a toothy grin. His teeth were stained red but he couldn’t have looked happier. Eve sighed.

  “Congradulations,” she texted.

  Eve engulfed Ben in a few healing spells and moved back to a safe distance as the Cherub Warrior stepped forward.

  Eve was slowly accepting the type of man that Ben was, even if he frustrated her to no end.

  The fight with the Cherub Warrior went about as Ben expected. That 25% boost really made a huge difference. It wasn’t just that the cherubs were 25% stronger, faster, and tougher, it's that their strikes were that much more difficult to defend against in multiple ways.

  Ben’s halberd rattled with every impact, even when he successfully parried an attack. He felt like he was trying to stop the advance of a pick-up truck with his bare hands. In fact, the cherubs were so strong that blocking actually dealt significant damage to Ben. He barely managed to maintain the grip on his weapon. He was almost disarmed several times. Ben was too stubborn to let go of his weapon, even when he felt his bones protesting.

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  Without the player protection that Eternity provided, Ben’s hand and fingers would have probably been broken from the force of the impacts he blocked. Maybe even his entire arm. Ben knew this and took full advantage of the protections that the game provided. He knew he would lose those protections when the game merged with reality, so he took advantage of his time in the game to push his limits further than he could during his time in the apocalypse.

  Once again, Ben lasted about half as long as the first fight. He took a blow straight through the stomach. To add insult to injury, the cherub shield-bashed Ben in the face before Ben could tell it to stop.

  Eve shrieked in alarm and frantically bombarded Ben with healing. She ran over and dropped to her knees to inspect him. Ben was curled into a ball, holding his stomach. Tears trickled down Eve’s cheeks.

  “Please stop this. I’m begging you,” she texted.

  Ben could hardly see the texts through his blurred vision. He felt a drop hit his cheek. When his vision cleared, he saw Eve hovering over him. Her tears fell atop his face.

  If Ben was alone, he might have gone a few more rounds with his cherubs. Despite the pain, he was encouraged by the level of challenge and the perceived progress that he was making. Seeing Eve’s distress made him rethink his approach.

  He reached up and gently wiped a tear from her cheek. Eve was too distraught to be embarrassed. She leaned into his touch and cradled his hand against her cheek with both of her hands.

  “Ok. Just…one more, then I’m done,” Ben said.

  Eve looked back at the Cherub Halberd Master. The cherub stood at attention with its weapon readied. Eve felt a sense of deep dread. She looked back at Ben and shook her head in protest.

  “I promise to stop it before it goes too far. I just have to see what they can do,” Ben said.

  Eve bit into her bottom lip.

  “One more time, then you’re done right? Remember, if you die, that will really hurt your ability to get to rank 1. Now that you are level 10, when you die, not only will you be booted from the game, you’ll also lose a level. And you’ll have a penalty when you return,” Eve texted.

  Ben nodded. Ben knew that of course. The higher level players became, the harsher the penalties for death. It was one way to control the progress of power gamers. The system encouraged players to take their time instead of rushing through the game. That allowed casual players to not be so outpaced by streamers and other players who would normally dedicate an ungodly amount of time to the game.

  Those that took it slow were rewarded with bonuses, buffs, and lack of penalties. Those that tried to speedrun the game had opportunities for massive benefits in the form of first access to good gear and racing achievements, but at the risk of being punished heavily if they died. High risk, high reward.

  Ben stood up on shaky legs. Eve watched him warily. She felt helpless. Ben was clearly still in pain, despite her healing. Even though he was at full health, she couldn’t stop the phantom pain.

  Ben was fascinated by the pain. He wasn’t a masochist. He just had a heightened pain tolerance from his time during the apocalypse. And this pain had a purpose. He was learning. Learning his own limits, and learning to exceed those limits.

  Ben glanced at Eve out of the corner of his eye. Despite wanting to push himself further, he also wanted to be reassuring to the girl that stayed by his side. He forced himself to temper his urges.

  Ben let out a calming breath and refocused on the Cherub Halbert Master. He would have to make this last fight count.

  “Come,” he said.

  Time seemed to slow as the cherub approached. Ben gripped his halberd tightly and readied himself for the first strike. He wasn’t ready.

  The Cherub Halberd Master brought down a strike that wasn’t intended to do damage. Instead, it used its overwhelming strength to hook Ben’s weapon and force Ben to stumble for a brief second.

  Many halberds had a hooked blade on the opposite side of the axe portion for just this type of maneuver. Ben knew this of course, but the difference in attributes made the attack uncounterable. The power and speed of that maneuver was beyond what his body could deal with. Without Eternity’s player protection, his wrists might have snapped from the way the force was applied.

  Then came the follow up strike which was aimed at Ben’s neck. There was absolutely no way to defend himself. It was simply too strong and fast.

  “Ben!”

  Eve spoke!

  She shouted his name in alarm as the blade neared Ben’s neck. The blade stopped as it hit Ben’s flesh. It was enough to draw blood but not enough to penetrate deeply. Ben gave the cherub a silent command just in time. Ben had no intention of knowing what it felt like to almost be beheaded. Even with the protection of the game system, he knew that would be excruciating.

  The Cherub pulled back and gave Ben space. Despite not being heavily injured, Ben was frozen. He wasn’t replaying the battle like he normally would have. There wasn’t much to replay. He saw the maneuver clearly. He’d done it to the Eagle players. He simply had no way to defend himself against an opponent that was equally skilled, and so overwhelmingly strong and fast.

  If Ben was faster, he could have potentially avoided it. If he was stronger, he might have been able to resist the pull. As he was now, even when he saw it coming, there was nothing he could do about it. He understood, so he didn’t dwell on the defeat.

  The thing that kept Ben frozen in place, and which caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up, was the recognition of a familiar voice. He looked at Eve as if he’d seen a ghost. The sound of her voice echoed in his mind.

  “Sarah?”