Seraphim Online: Afterlife

“Get to work, boys! I had to crawl out of that piece of shit you lot built, now I have to sit around watching this!? Work faster and harder, damn it!”

“She’s a freaking dragon, leader! This isn’t going to work!”

“Eh, it’s the only hope we have. It’s either this or we make a break for it.”

“That fucking sister of yours… I bet she set us-*cough cough*.”

With a speed, strength and frenzy comparable to my companion currently tearing bandits apart, the pink leader drops to the ground, then precedes to wrap her arms around one of her followers neck. Then, pulls out a dagger only to rub the blade across his chin.

“You lot know the rules, only I’m allowed to speak ill of that sneaky bitch of a sister. Now, where was I? Oh right, keep cutting! This doesn’t work, we’ll have to figure something else out.”

Me and Lena are completely unaware of this though, my partner still finds herself with an intruder up on her back.

‘Sometimes you have to hit and hope…’

“My eye, my eye! Ya dare do this to me! Argh!”

Comparable to a miracle, my arrow seems to ignore all logic and reason, flying true and hitting the bandit on top of Lena. Like an over-the-top action movie, blood splutters from his face, like a fountain.

The bandit also flops to the ground, giving Lena a chance to recover and regain her composure. Once she’s shook the sword impaled in her away, she follows it up by literally stomping on that guy’s head! Think it’s safe to say, attacking like that. that guy got a-head of himself, heh.

“Fuck this, you lot can act as bait! I’m leaving!”

“Let’s flee… but let’s take down the elf first!”

‘As if that’s going to happen… fucking perception.’

Whoosh! Another arrow reloaded and fired, of course my luck and aim turns terrible. The shot misses everyone and lands in the bushes.

Thinking about it, I’m sure these bandits weren’t here when we first entered this camp. We started with nine, but judging by all the limbs and bodies scattered about, reinforcements must’ve arrived. We may have to flee if anymore show.

“Sera! Hold on for a little longer, I’m nearly done with these few!”

I have to drop my bow and dodge, even rolling away to avoid the two charging at me, swinging their swords downwards.

I recovery, unsheathing my sword, blocking just in the nick of time for the second round of attacks. Problem is, they attack from both sides.

[HP: 56/165] [-19] ‘Damn… may need that potion in a minute.’

Thankfully, it finally looks like Lena has trimmed most of the herd. Right as my arm is cut, she barges in, throwing both the bandits in my way to the ground.

“No! Not like this, anything but this!”

“Eeeak!” [HP: 0/150] [-57]

One finds his unfortunate end literally getting ripped apart, while the other meets his maker with my blade sinking deep into his throat.

Lena’s kills are messy and chaotic, mine are calculated and mostly unwasteful. Differing styles, yet we seem to be a perfect match. Not like I can take any credit for everything that’s gone on. I’m still being carried.

Still unknown to us is the few that remain. While we have a second to think, something catches my ear. A rhythmic sound playing in the background, almost like a thudding against wood.

“Lena, do you hear that?”

“Erm… not sure what you mean, Ser-, shit!”

With next to no warning, two thin yet high trees begin to topple, heading right towards where me and Lena stand. They fall with such speed and veracity, neither of us have the time to get away.

“Lena!”

I’m tossed aside by my partner, getting me out of the way as she takes the full brunt of the impact, the two trees crashing down on her. Devastated and mentally hurt, my heart begins to pound uncontrollably when the trees hit.

‘Oh no, no no no! These fuckers are going to pay for this, mark my words!’

I collapse to my knees and desperately try to push a log off her unconscious body, neither will move an inch though. She’s effectively pinned down and won’t wake up either. I don’t even think she’s breathing!

“Ha! We finally brought that beast down!”

“We gonna be eating dragon tonight!”

“Attack her now while we have a chance, get her!”

The culprits finally come into sight as sorrow, vengeance and anger clouds my mind. I don’t care what it takes, I’ll disembowel, quarter, castrate all of them. These bandits must suffer to their final breath.

My knees creak as I return to a stand, hellbent on enacting vengeance. Except, my anger disappears completely when a peep is to be heard down below.

“Pshh… Sera? What’s the matter? You really think this is enough to trap me?”

‘Thank fuck she’s okay… nearly lost myself there.’

Already recognizing what Lena intends to do, I change my plan drastically. Instead of slowly and angrily moving forward, I cautiously move backwards a rattle my hands a little. Might as well try improving my speechcraft while I’m here as well.

“Oh no, whatever will I do, now that I’m all alone and afraid!?”

‘Probably could’ve made that sound less sarcastic.’

“Surrender now, elf, or face death! We’re going to destroy you either way!”

“Nah, screw that, we’re taking her down! This is for all our fallen brethren!”

“Yeah, let’s get her… erm. Anyone know where our leader went?”

The half a dozen that remain slowly creep forwards to strike me down, none realizing there’s still a frozen dragon fully conscious. Right as the one with a huge cleaver prepares his swing, looking to cut me in two, my partner pounces.

Lena springs up, the two trees on her back fly like battering rams into half the crowd, then she bites down hard on the buff bandit.

“Fuck fuck fuck! Why did no one check to see if she was still breathing!?”

“Don’t look at me, I wanted to leave! I'm too old for this- argh!”

I take the opportunity presented, sword slamming deep into the back of one of them.

Then I swing again, rapidly pulling the blade out and slicing someone else's chest. [HP: 29/130] [-38]

While this is happening, I can see Lena’s backside in the background and hear the sound of limbs popping and tearing asunder. None stand a chance in hand-to-hand combat against her, all those that dare to defy her will end up in pieces.

The ambush works way too effectively, the bandits not knowing whether to go for Lena or myself. In the end, the panic is too great and they start swinging wildly and frantically, desperately trying to cling onto life.

One frantic bandit I can deal with, two I might be able to avoid. Three? No chance, I hightail it out of there and unfortunately receive a hit to my wrist. An arm oozing with blood is the least of my concerns right now.

‘You had the chance to leave… now that chance is gone.’

Behind those blissfully unaware is a creature now finished with the others, eyes filled with a sinister aura, ready to kill within a moment’s notice.

“Attack the elf, she’s- argh! It’s got me!”

“Help! Not like this!”

The bandits are caught off guard, one swift swipe of her wing and all are on the ground and disarmed.

Lena jumps on those staggered and leaving nothing to the imagination, shows them the face of their God, probably Seraphim. For the sake of my own sanity, I’m looking away from that red mist splashing from her mouth.

‘Phew… think that’s the last of them. Should I care about Lena effectively kill stealing the last few? Eh, I can relate to getting caught in the moment.’

All around us, this forest is a bloody graveyard, the air stinking of blood and metal. She dealt with the other few as gruesomely as these ones she’s currently tucking into, no one receiving preferential treatment to the fangs of the beast. Honestly feeling a little sorry for those, at least the ones I killed would’ve felt less pain. Everyone knows bandits don’t have feelings, right?

Finally finished with our massacre, she spits out what she can, then faces me with that loving yet always dopey smile on her face. At least that means she’s now calm and collected, I think?

“Think we’re safe for now, Sera. That was close! Think I counted fifteen in the end.”

“Heh, sounds about right. You alright?”

“I’m fine, Sera. A dragon that hasn’t seen its own blood every now and then doesn’t deserve scales!”

We may have survived this encounter, both of us are clearly bloodied and beaten though. Fifteen bandits… I think it’s safe to say dragon are slightly OP in this world. Imagine what Lena would be like if she could use magic as well.

“*Coughs blood*… fuck. It won’t stop!”

But wait, not everyone appears to be dead just yet, two still remain breathing with one trying to patch up a dying friend. The other just sits there smiling and giggling to himself.

‘More mercy killing, lovely. It’s cheap… I’m not complaining.’

“Hehehe… have an odd request, dragon. Rather it be you chowing me down rather than a wolf. So, start with my legs and work your way up, if you please.”

‘Is this guy based or does he need to be sent to horny jail? I can’t tell if he’s being serious or not.’

“Eww, no, I’m not doing that! Sera, you deal with this idiot!”

Free EXP is free EXP, after all. I feel like we should call it a day though, keep the bandit killing a minimum otherwise we may build up a reputation. Either way, today has been a good day for levelling…

__________

[Level 10 has just been reached, Sera. Please chose which section you’d like to upgrade next.]

Now safe together while the both of us tend to our wounds with bandages, mostly just mine as the bleeding is hard to stop, a robotic voice beckons from the heavens.

‘Health like usual, Guide. Survival is more important than anything else right now.’

[HP upgraded, Sera, status upgrade confirmed. Please note DEX 20 has been reached, allowing purchase of two additional abilities. Redirecting now.]

[Before Sera commits to spending a point, level 10 has revealed more to the system. Every 10 levels, Sera unlocks an exclusive one time offer, available for purchase, in exchange for 1 skill point.]

I’m pleasantly surprised by how things have gone today. I’ve received two level ups and by the sounds of it, I’ll be spending both of these points. It’s just a shame because I don’t have unlimited ability points to get through.

‘So, it’s like a secret perk? What’s it do?’

[Beginners Odyssey allows Sera to select a focus from P.I.S.S.E.D, effectively doubling how quickly that focus raises. Would Sera like to invest in]

This… is a challenging choice which I don’t think there is a right answer.

On the one hand, if I’m solely focusing endgame here, I shouldn’t get it. Once I’m max level in that focus, this perk would be useless as one hundred is the cap. It’s similar to an EXP booster, they are only effective as long as you can still level.

On the other hand, I still need to survive and levelling faster will increase my chances. I can’t always rely on Lena to hold my hand, especially when she herself is technically weakened.

‘Eh, I’ve got to do this, intelligence is the play. Get twenty-five in that and magic is available.’

That’s the threshold for magic use so the faster I can learn the dark arts, the better. Deep down, Sera is still a wannabee vampire so I might jump for joy if blood magic exists. The little tasters of magic we’ve had up to this point haven’t been all that inspiring though.

‘Also, I’ve got to choose akimbo for obvious reasons. Dual wielding is just too cool to ignore.’

Jet black hair, long trench coat, two legendary blades on my back, there’s a reason why it’s a stereotype, okay?

[Both choices have been selected, Sera. Updating status now.]

Back to the present, all bandaged up with some clean clothes on, it’s only just now I realize that state of how my face looks.

“You done now, Sera? You really got me worried there; your aura went really dark! It’s like you love me or something, right?”

By my side, helping me tend my wounds with a grin as dopey as ever, I can’t help but lose my normal frowning face. This dragon just gets me.

“Heh, guilty as charged. Did the pink one flee or did you turn her into chow?”

Still on the ground, I’m too exhausted to chase after her, mentally I mean. My stamina may be fine, the pain is manageable, might be too much blood on my hands for today. Even Lena isn’t looking up for the task.

“Hrm… she got away. Besides, I’m aching now and I can’t remember her scent, there’s just too many other smells around. Why is it humans always poop when they die?”

“Heh, was trying to ignore that. Got something for you that might help that aching.”

Bringing out the potion from storage, I know it’s a waste when natural recovery is a thing, just I can’t see a situation in combat where we have the time to refill a measly portion of health. We haven’t got the luxury of hotkeys that does the task for us. Also, I never want to see Lena in pain.

“Not happening, Sera, your face is literally still bleeding! You drink it now or we’ll sell it when we get back, I’m perfectly fine!”

I’ve always prided myself on being adaptable and flexible, today I’m changing. For everything Lena has done for me, bleeding a little and a growing headache is the least I can put up with. Besides, I’m not getting anywhere if my means of travel isn’t up for the job. That’s beyond the point though!

“Lena, be a good girl and drink your medicine. You need it more than me… the fact you look unhurt right now is irrelevant.”

“Nope! Not happening, Sera, you need it more! Us dragons are too strong to have to worry about something stupid like pain.”

Flexing a muscle to try and show she’s fine, Lena has to bite down when it’s obvious that arm, or dragon leg was stabbed not so long ago.

‘Thought she might disagree; I’ll have to bring out the big guns. Sorry Lena… I’m not sorry.’

When her hand raises, intending to wipe away some more of the blood from my cheek, I grab a hold of her wrist and stare deeply into her eyes. Within seconds, she’s already flustered.

“You know… those ears are looking mighty nibbly today.”

“F-Fine, I’ll drink the d-damn thing! There a-are areas you c-can nibble, Sera. Anywhere is fine though.”

Snatching the bottle away, Lena chugs it down while I just rest my head on my fist and smile at her. She likes it really; the teasing would be no fun if she wasn’t such a tsun-dragon.

“Eww… yucky! You’d think it being red like strawberries would make it taste nice… tastes a little like blood.”

“Heh, you sure that’s the potion and not that delectable taste of bandit?”

“Hehe, could be, Sera. Oh, that reminds me, you owe me a favour!”

Poof! Once by my side down on the dirt, suddenly a cloud of fog envelops the both of us.

When vision returns, I clock onto what Lena wants. With grizzly teeth, practically dripping in blood, there was a comment she made before we started combat. This is one of the few cons with dating a dragon.

“Aww… Sera? You didn’t forget something, did you? My help comes with a cost, ya dig?”

Towering over me, this sight should be scary to most, I see beneath the intimidating veil to the purple puppy underneath. That’s… pretty difficult to filter out though.

[Author-Notes] I know I’ve done this AI joke before; I’m doing it again and you can’t stop me!

“Hehe, silly Sera, of course not! Twigs and branches work well for getting most of the grime it off… might need to wedge that arm out. It’s tickling my throat!”

‘Heh, can’t believe I’m now a dragon’s dentist. Finish this job, then time for some looting. These bandits must have something decent.’

And so, I get to scrubbing Lena’s teeth while she tries her hardest not to purr. This could be cute if I didn’t just find part of a leg. Heh, and a wing.

‘Huh… would rope work as dental floss? We’ve definitely got some in our packs…’

__________

[Bottles of rum (2x) obtained.]

[111c obtained.]

[Jewelled amulet (low) obtained.]

[Amethyst ring (low) obtained.]