Brok, Silas, and Elara were resting in the safe zone corridor, eating bread.
"That was close," Brok laughed. "Did you see his face when I threw him?" "He bought us time," Silas shrugged. "Cheap sacrifice." "We lost the loot though," Elara sighed. "The Hulk is still alive."
Footsteps echoed from the darkness. They stood up, drawing weapons.
Kaelen walked into the light. His clothes were torn, dissolved by acid. His skin looked pale. But he was alive.
"You..." Brok's jaw dropped. "How?"
"I hid," Kaelen said softly. "The Hulk wandered off."
"Bullshit," Silas raised his staff. "You're a glitch. Or a spy."
"We should kill him," Brok said, gripping his mace. "If he reports us to the Guild for PK (Player Killing), we'll lose our licenses."
"Agreed," Elara nocked an arrow. "No witnesses."
They were going to kill him again. Kaelen felt zero fear. He checked their levels. Brok (9), Silas (8), Elara (8). Kaelen was now Level 8. But his stats were... wrong.
[Name: Kaelen][Strength: 25] (Boosted by Fluidity mass) [Agility: 30][Corruption: 8%]
"You're right," Kaelen said. "No witnesses."
Elara fired. Kaelen tilted his head. The arrow grazed his ear. He moved. Fluidity made his movements unnatural, like a frame-skip in a video game.
He appeared in front of Silas. "Burn," Kaelen whispered.
He touched Silas's face. [Decay]. Silas screamed as his face aged fifty years in a second. He collapsed, clutching his withered skull.
Brok roared and swung his mace. Kaelen caught the mace handle. His hand turned to liquid, wrapped around the handle, and solidified again. He yanked the weapon from Brok's grip.
He smashed Brok's knee with his own mace. Brok fell.
Elara dropped her bow. She was trembling. "Wait! I didn't want to! They made me!"
Kaelen looked at her. He remembered her sighing about the lost loot. He released a cloud of Paralysis Spores (his new skill).
Elara choked and fell, unable to move.
Kaelen stood over them. "The System says I can't kill players in a Safe Zone," Kaelen said.
[Guide: That is correct. However, you can 'Disconnect' them.]
Kaelen placed his hand on Brok's chest. He didn't use Decay. He reached into the Code of Brok's avatar. He found the connection between the soul and the System.
And he severed it.
Brok's eyes went blank. His body didn't die, but his mind was ejected. He was now a vegetable. An empty shell.
Kaelen did the same to Silas and Elara.
[System Note: 3 Players Disconnected due to 'Network Error'.]
Kaelen picked up the loot bag. "Thanks for the run," he said to the empty bodies.