Off Limit System

"How to kill..."

Ethan stopped to finish his words. He immediately pulled Dane away from the battlefield. For the enemy infantry was already marching in. Fire from the sky and arrows, spears and stones from the ground attacked the troops where Ethan was.

The only heroic or stupid way to die was to join the war.

It was okay for Ethan to be called a coward for that second; he was looking for a strategy. If Ethan was careless and reckless, the game would end there. He would have to go through the same experience again.

"How do you kill this thing?" Ethan asked again after they were a little safer on the edge of the battle.

The two paused for a moment. Near the towering trees. They had little time to think; it wouldn't be long before an enemy noticed them 'lounging around'.

"Just a second," Dane seemed to think.

"Hurry, Dane!!"

"I'm thinking!! Oh, God!!"

Ethan's eyes stared at the battle in front of him. There were OFF PLAYERS participating in the war, some even dying instantly and being eliminated. The leader's troops were being trampled by large orcs.

Ethan felt sick at the sight of blood splattering here and there, and the sound was like water being squeezed out of laundry.

"I'm not sure, these are mythical creatures," Dane squeaked. "No silver weapon made by elves or dwarves can kill them," Dane said.

Ethan widened his eyes. "Elves? Dwarves? That's fantasy!"

"Harpies are also fantasy creatures, Ethan!"

"Then what?"

"Great magical power, great fire. Those two things can kill Harpies."

"OFF LIMIT is a game of logic weapons, not magic!"

"OH, DAMN IT...!" shouted Dane.

A large Orc ran up from the direction in front of them, brandishing a weapon. Ethan immediately blocked the attack with his shield. He was pulled back by the immense force of the attacking creature.

The orc continued to batter Ethan's shield mercilessly. Where Ethan struggled to keep up, he couldn't defend himself. Dane froze where he stood, in a state of shock.

"Shoot him, Dane!" shouted Ethan.

Ethan tried to push the orc away with his shield. Dane moved to Ethan's side and attacked with his pistols. The seventeen-year-old fired a bullet into the orc's body, aiming for the head. A crack sounded, accompanied by the splitting of the orc's head.

Then the monster's body fell to the ground, its black blood dripping onto the floor.

"I think I peed my pants," Dane whispered, his body shaking.

"That's okay. I'm sure in the middle of a war, someone must have pooped," Ethan said.

Dane didn't respond to Ethan's rhetorical statement.

Ethan scanned the area; who knew how long the war would last? It would be a waste of time and energy to stay there. He remembered that the leader had said that the enemy was the Wizard's army.

But all this time there had not been a single figure that looked like a wizard.

Ethan was sure there must be a castle or a tower.
Their mission was not to destroy the Wizard's army, but to destroy its leader. And Ethan had to find out where the Wizard was.

"We go from here, through the forest, and run ahead," Ethan broke off.

"Go where?"

"To find the Wizard."

"What?" Dane looked confused.

"Hurry! Follow me!!"

The two ran through the trees, trying to stay out of sight. From behind, Ethan heard the sound of footsteps following him. It was Ulrich and his companion.

As they approached the edge of the forest where the enemy army had appeared, an army of goblins came from there. The black-green creatures immediately turned their attention to Ethan and the herd of humans behind him.

There was no way Ethan and the others could dodge; they stopped and prepared for the oncoming goblin attack. Ethan continued to protect Dane behind his back, fending off the dagger and spear attacks.

The others were busy defending themselves, but Ulrich continued to advance with Chloe. Ethan glared at them angrily.

"Run, Dane! Go after them!" Ethan ordered.

Ethan knew it was cruel to leave the other players behind, but he had to. He and Dane ran after Ulrich and left the battlefield. They entered a dark forest with trees whose trunks looked black.

Without slowing down, they continued into the forest and saw Ulrich's figure with Chloe a few feet ahead of them.

A deafening scream came from the sky. Ethan looked up to see the flapping wings of the Harpies in pursuit. One of them swooped down and Ethan knew what was coming.

"Get out of the way!!" Ethan yelled.

It immediately shoved Dane's body hard, and Ethan crouched down to cover his body behind the shield. A burst of fire erupted, destroying several fallen trees around Ethan. And he felt an overwhelming heat.

Ethan quickly stood up and approached his partner, pulling on Dane's arm as he lay on the ground.

"Get up quickly! Hurry up!!" Ethan ordered.

The two of them continued to run in zigzags, dodging the fire attacks from the Harpies in the sky. Even Ulrich and Chloe were overpowered, being chased by the same creatures.

Sweat poured down Ethan and Dane's bodies. They were exhausted, but the forest seemed endless. I didn't know where the witch lived, but it felt like I had been running for so long.

"Ebony!" blurted out Dane.

"What do you mean?" asked Ethan with a gasp.

"Harpies can die with a stab of ebony!!"

"What's ebony like?"

Dane pressed his temples, searching for data that might help him. He even stumbled, busy scanning the types of trees they passed. Where the shapes were nearly identical.

"Over there, one o'clock!" Dane pointed.

Dane ran as fast as he could and picked up the fallen branch. They kept running, for the Harpies were on the hunt as well.

"With this," Dane said, showing a foot-long ebony twig. "This wood must be impaled on the leader of the herd of Harpies," he added, breathing heavily.

"They're in the sky, Dane!" Ethan howled desperately.

"Go after Ulrich and Chloe! I think the girl can shoot with that twig!"
Just as Dane finished speaking, a sudden fireball was hurled at Ulrich and Chloe. They both bounced off, but seemed to survive. Ulrich let out a soft groan, then got to his feet and ran. Leaving Chloe a bit behind.

Of course, this startled Ethan and Dane.

They immediately rescued Chloe. Dane dragged the girl's semi-conscious body while Ethan blocked another fire attack with his shield. The rest of the Harpies went after Ulrich.

Only one remained, hovering in space.

More important than the other Harpies, its body was a fiery red with orange, the exact color of fire. It was a beautiful creature, but deadly. Ethan was sure that the one floating in the air was the leader of the Harpies.

"God, why don't you just go after Ulrich?" Ethan complained.

"Stay away from the Harpies, Ethan! Chloe's not even awake yet!" pleaded Dane desperately.

"Ah, damn it!" Ethan cursed.

Ethan immediately ran away from Dane and Chloe, waving his shield to get the Harpies' attention. Looking confused, the Harpies flapped their wings in the sky as if deciding which prey to hunt first.

Dane stared at Ethan in disbelief after leaving him with an injured girl.

"Ethan!!" cried Dane.

"I'll be back!! Wait!!" Ethan yelled back.

At that moment, Dane could only believe Ethan's words. If Ethan had been as bad-tempered as Ulrich, he would have followed the example of the tall man. Keep moving forward.

But instead, Ethan ran in the opposite direction, toward the area where the battle in THE FIELD had taken place.

The Harpy leader chased after Ethan, no longer paying attention to Dane and Chloe. Ethan looked up, searching for the Harpy figure. He had to keep the creature in pursuit.

With a gasp, Ethan monologued, "I guess I should show you around."