New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

"Wait!" Came Astaroth's voice from the side.

"Stay out of this, shrimp!" Konnor yelled at Astaroth.

"Shut the fuck up, you impulsive moron!" Astaroth snapped back at him.

He then turned to Kloud.

"Sir. Let me fight him in your stead. No need to dirty your hands on such a fool." He said, giving a martial bow to Kloud.

"Son, you could die. What about your progress?" Kloud asked him, a worried look on his face.

He didn't want the boy's training to go to waste with a nonsensical death.

"Don't worry about me, sir, I won't lose." Astaroth replied to Kloud.

"Please trust me." He added.

*Sigh*

"Fine." Kloud said, after sighing loudly.

He turned to face Konnor again.

"I invoke the right to a champion." He simply said to the raging man.

"Are you refusing to fight me? Be a man!" Konnor said, his hatred and disdain leaking through his words.

"I am not refusing. Simply that the kid wants to beat you senseless himself. Who am I to refuse his request?" Kloud said, tauntingly.

Konnor almost spat blood at the words. The captain was clearly disregarding him.

He then redirected his hate to Astaroth. This was the second time this pipsqueak taunted him into a fight.

He would regret it today.

"This is a fight to the death, shrimp. Are you ready to accept that?" Konnor spat.

"Only you will die here." Astaroth replied, walking to face the man.

"Your funeral!" Konnor yelled, running straight at him.

Astaroth had already been prepared for that move. He had already cast 'Mana Skin' on himself.

He was also already casting 'Spirit Melding' to boost his stats to the max, before teaching this goon a lesson. He was going to vent for taking a beating in the real world on this dumb guy.

He felt his whole body become heavy again, then lighter than ever. The rush of feeling stronger was exhilarating, and he almost forgot the situation he was in for a second.

But he quickly snapped his focus back to the man running at him at full speed.

As Konnor punched out, aiming at Astaroth's head, Astaroth ducked to the side, and delivered a right hook of his own, smacking the man squarely in the jaw.

*-675!*

The hit sent Konnor reeling in pain. The action happened quick, fast enough for him not to react.

That one hit took away almost a third of his health!

'When did the kid become this strong?' He thought.

That was when he noticed Astaroth's hair had turned white and he looked more like a beast than a man suddenly.

Astaroth dashed at Konnor, fully intending to finish this fight quickly. He still had some leveling to do, after all.

The speed at which he burst forth would frighten most players right now, even the ones that focused on agility. Only players at level 22 that had put all their points in agility would be as fast as him right now.

His agility stat right now was at fifty-nine, making him run at 53.1 Km/h or 33 Mph. That was faster than Usain Bolt by almost a third of his fastest speed!

And since his strength was even higher, there was almost no delay for acceleration, making him burst forth like a bullet out of a gun.

Astaroth ran straight at Konnor and delivered another two quick punches to his stomach.

*-338* *-338*

Konnor kicked, aiming at Astaroth's head with a roundhouse, trying to push him away. But Astaroth blocked the attack with his arm, before sweeping Konnor's legs from under him.

Konnor fell to his back, the air leaving his lungs. Astaroth would not let his chance slip.

He immediately jumped on Konnor and grabbed his throat. Konnor started punching his face, but with his high constitution and defense boost from mana skin, the attacks were negligible.

Annoyed by the man's attempts at dislodging him, Astaroth punched Konnor's face again, taking away another huge chunk of his health.

*-675!*

Konnor barely had any health left, and he almost passed out from the last hit. Astaroth still held a tight grip on his throat, feeling exhilarated by the feeling of dominating the man.

He felt the breathing slow down until there was almost no breath left.

Suddenly, he let go. A look of slight horror found itself on his half-wolven face. He didn't recognize what he was doing as right.

This wasn't him. Had he lost his mind?

From within his mind, he heard White Death speak.

"Finish him! Make him pay for affronting you! Show him who is truly strong between the two of you! Kill him! KILL HIM!" He howled.

"No! Shut up! What is wrong with you?!" Astaroth responded, panicking.

'Was he losing control over himself? Was he going to end up a passenger inside his own body, with White Death at the helm?' He thought.

A quick chop to his nape rapidly stopped his thoughts, and he lost consciousness.

"Bring him to the barracks and monitor him. If he hasn't turned back to his normal self in ten minutes, put him down." Kloud said, holding Astaroth in his arms.

'I hope you take back control, son.' Kloud thought, looking at Astaroth's face with worry.

Inside Astaroth's mind was a jumble of thoughts belonging to him, but also to White Death. He was getting lost in those thoughts, slowly slipping away.

It scared him, but he couldn't let go. He had to pull through!

Astaroth remembered his parent's laughter. Their full support to him, over his smallest victories.

That was his anchor. And that was what kept him from slipping away forever.

From inside the gaming pod in his apartment, red lights were flashing. His heartbeat was currently shown, and it was through the roof.

There was also a display showing mental activity, and one could clearly see two distinct lines on it, like two minds were working in his.

But it eventually calmed down. His vitals stabilized, and slowly the second line on his mental activity chart faded away.

His breathing calmed down, but he was sweating buckets.

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