The Player's System

Chapter 22 - Slaves

Slaves

They decided to gather at the end of the first street and entered from different paths. When the team dispersed the slaves got confused; they also split and chased after them. This action temporarily scattered the slaves. The onslaught might have brought them under danger and cornered them. 

The slaves were of all forms and races of creatures. All of them possesed different skills and they were attacking the disheveled players of the opponent team . The common and visible similarity was their devastating appearances. They were the last two players of the opponent team. The first team had been eliminated and the reason was not hidden anymore. 

Even if they had understood that the whole district was filled with poison. They miscalculated the true effects present in everything of this district. Some were attacked with the poison and others had accidentally inhaled it. The last two were struggling with their life. 

There were multiple broken and tiny walls spread across the whole colony, telling the whole background scenario. Decaying structures and destroyed cottages stared back at them; most of them were silent but not empty. The players were running and jumping from the structures hiding from the slaves. They also killed many slaves on their way. 

Their first priority was to gather at the end of the first street and then decide how they would get rid of these creatures. The slaves were given the last chance to kill the players so they could not back down until every single player of them got eliminated. 

Albert and Orin were killing the slaves while Sashi and the Gofer were leading toward the first street. The hammer boy was with the team head. "Look at this bulky one." Junan voiced the hammer boy to tackle the bulky creature. The player used his weapon and crushed the bulky head of that creature. 

The guesstimate of the efficiency of the player was easy. The way he used controls along with the weapon brought a better sense of compatibility. It was the basic and perfect coordination that helped all of them to carry on their journey toward level one. The minute perfection brought a sense of belonging to this district making it essential to clear it at any cost. 

Jake was moving with the team head. He was leading in fact. 

The other side of the path was clear; the slaves were rushing from the opposite sides. The slaves saw that the direct attacks were not bringing any change and the players were much hard to defeat; half of them had split. 

This, erroneously, let the players think that they were no more interested in chasing. However, that was far from reality. The slaves were pretty clever themselves. They had gone to hide in the broken structures for the time being. The players saw the decreasing numbers. 

"Finally, we can get rid of these remaining nagging creatures." Orin critically looked at them. They came from the opposite side, however, they did not leave the colony. 

"Perhaps the creatures have planned something else. Whatever it is we will find out. I am sure they will attack in the dark." Orin voiced out his thoughts in his usual tone. 

"If they are going to attack in the dark then I am going to kill them in the dark." Albert ground his teeth. He was constantly slaying monsters as if it was his most loved job. 

"Haha, I am thinking to send you an invite to my friend's list. You are interesting buddy." Orin was getting familiar with the player called Albert. He was also very much intrigued by him.

They were collaborating to win level one. It was also helping them to understand the nature and methodology used by each other. A team couldn't keep continue the game if there were some opportunists or schemers within the team. 

For now, they were very cooperative in every way. "Sure but don't ever tell anyone that I hate snakes." Albert raised a fist in the air as a sign of the beginning of their friendship. 

This brought a new wave of enthusiasm and they slaughtered the remaining creatures while heading toward the first street. Near or far, no more creatures could  be sighted anywhere. Cautiously, they kept a look at the back. Junan and the hammer boy both were perfectly doing the same slayer mission. 

"I wonder why these creatures are acting so strange." Junan was keeping a strict eye on his surroundings. He was sure that the boss must have sent them to create trouble. 

A few of the creatures were still left behind but they did not chase any of them. This scenario brought a sense of uneasiness among all the players. Half of the ogres were hiding in the broken parts of the colony waiting for the right time to attack. The team gathered at the end of the first street. 

They could no more hear the creatures or their screams. "Our concern is to clear this colony, however the ogres are still around us." He gestured in the air, " They can attack anytime. Two of you should always be ready with your weapons to pounce. None of the players should get injured or attacked because of some kind of irresponsible behaviour." Junan strictly ordered and selected two fast players for this purpose. 

He was the team head and could not neglect such an important aspect

 "This colony is bigger than the previous two. Are we going to start clearing from this very place? Also, shall we remain gathered and slowly make forward or should we split?" The hammer boy asked with vigour in his voice.

Earlier, he was not even sure whether they will be able to make it toward the third colony.

Now that he found that the team head was capable and could lead the team very well. The hope of making this level was increasing ; he was willing to render full efforts. 

"All of us are one team and every team member possess some kind of special profession. Splitting this team would shrink the chances of winning. Together, we can tackle every problem whether big or small. In case, we split we might be lacking the right player at the time of crisis." Junan explained the reason why they should not split the team members. 

They understood. Two players took charge of protecting the team from any sudden attack. Junan looked toward the first cottage of this colony. It looked like a little hut with walls and a straw roof. The entrance was built with a wooden wall. Anyone who wanted to cross the small  cottage could open the wooden wall and then enter the courtyard. 

Five of them proceeded and entered. Two were giving cover from the back, high on wishful spirits.