Hell's Glitch (initial draft)

2:2 New Rules

Why him? Why does he want to fight me?

There had to be a trick to this and Sam wanted to know what that trick was before he engaged.

"I'm fighting you? One on one?"

Milner twirled his knife around in one hand like some movie gangster.

"Yes, those are the terms of the fight."

"If I die here, do I trigger a true game over?"

"This is a testing grounds. For now the rules I set forth for player death are suspended. If you die, the test is reset and you can attempt it again two more times."

Sam held back a relieved sigh.

"Do I get back any of my previous abilities for this fight?"

"As of now we are both limited to starting statistics, gear, and abilities. Now, that's enough questions. Are you ready?"

Good, we're on an even footing.

Sam could see no reason not to do this. If he were honest with himself, beating up Milner would be amusing and would relieve a lot of his stress. He'd knock this bully down a few pegs.

"I just have one more question before we begin, please?"

A.I. Milner gave a lazy smile and returned his hands to his coat pockets.

"You are a curious one, aren't you? Go ahead, ask your question."

"What class are you using?"

Milner's smile broadened and something in his eyes changed. He seemed honestly interested now.

"Clever, Mr. Nagai. Very clever. Did you memorize each class' skill?

Sam just stared at Milner awaiting his answer.

"I see no problem with telling you my class. I'm a Scholar both in and out of the game"

"What, you can use magic in the real world too?" Sam asked, grinning.

Milner actually laughed. It wasn't a full throated belly laugh mind you, but the playful chuckle was a lot more than he'd offered so far. Did this A.I. copy his range of emotions too?

"I seek answers in both planes of existence and that takes me to knowledge that is both hidden and in plain sight. A true scholar never leaves any well untapped."

Sam had no idea what the hell Milner was talking about. He drew the Dagger from the sheath on his chest.

"You're ready to fight, then?" Milner asked pulling his own knife, his pitifully small compared to Sam's and modern looking.

Sam approached Milner slowly with his blade pointed towards him. Sam's posture was defensive. He'd adopted it while farming souls for his Dagger in the Assassin's Forest. He shuffled right in front of Milner, their blades nearly touching. He began by taking a swipe at Milner's face. Milner dodged and returned with a slash of his own. Sam jumped back as the blade came towards his midsection and slashed downwards. Milner smoothly slipped to the side and kicked Sam in his ribs. Sam's HP bar popped up in the upper left and only dwindled slightly. As Sam recovered, Milner sliced his arm. Sam yelled and jumped away. He kept his eyes glued to Milner as he held his knife up in front of him defensively.

As he watched his HP dwindle, he saw something new. A green icon that looked like his left arm had appeared beneath his HP bar and had shaken when he was slashed.

"Limb damage?"

"Yes, a new addition to this build. It adds a touch of realism don't you think?"