10 Touch-Me

The lance struck the newly arrived figure dead-on, causing a burst of light and fiery dust to envelop it completely.

"Another PKer?" Lucian took a step back, his guard up, as he wondered if another player-killer had shown up.

When the figure was finally revealed, Lucian was a bit surprised to see a player dressed in shining platinum-white armor with a helmet obscuring his face. He held a silver shield that blocked the attack, and a crimson-red and gold cape draped over his left shoulder.

As soon as the attack animation finished, the new player turned his gaze toward Lucian.

"Are you alright? Did you take any damage?" The player asked, and a visual effect appeared beside him, proclaiming 'Justice has arrived!' while big red words appeared behind his back before quickly disappearing.

"What kind of idiot is that?"

"He looks like a creep. Let's get away from him, Masao."

"No, no! I'm killing that vampire! It's the last one I need. And that player is only Level 63; he can't do anything to us."

The two players talked among themselves as Lucian looked at the new player who had arrived.

"Are they trying to PK you, buddy?" asked the hero in shining armor, with his red cape waving behind him.

"Well, duh! What do you think they were doing with two humanoids and one heteromorph among them?" Lucian said with sarcasm as he looked at the player's profile.

[Touch-Me]

[Heteremorphic]

Race : Insectoid

Level - 63

HP - 63

MP - 32

Looking at the player's level, Lucian assumed he had been playing the game for longer than him, at least.

"Don't worry, my friend! I'll make sure justice is served on your plate!" said the shining player as he turned around and looked at the two Humanoid players.

"Are you sure you can deal with them?" Lucian asked, looking at the player's confident demeanor. Even he felt a little dazed because the player's confidence was shining through, even without armor, just through his voice.

"Yep, no problem! Watch me!" said Touch-Me as he jumped towards the two bickering players without giving any notice.

"[Shield Bash]!" His shield shone golden as he glided through the wind and landed right where the players were.

"Tch!" The warrior player quickly backed away as he sensed the incoming attack, but the Mage girl was caught off guard and took the brunt of of the skill head on.

[-6]

Touch-me was about to follow up with a sword attack to stack more damage on the magician; however, she suddenly activated "[Dimensional Move]" and vanished, retreating behind the lancer player. The lancer, wielding his lance, lunged forward and activated a skill.

"Eat this, bitch! [Piercing Lance]!" The player's green lance glowed blue as he lunged it towards Touch-Me, expecting it to connect. However, he was surprised to see Touch-Me effortlessly dodge it by moving back with his foot. In response, Touch-Me lunged forward, this time wielding his silver sword, and slashed it towards the player.

[-5]

Unexpectedly, the player took much more damage than he expected and became fearful of Touch-Me's attack power. He attempted to back down, but Touch-Me didn't let him escape. Touch-Me used a recently learned magical spell that complemented his build. He shouted,

"Where are you going? Come here! [Loopsided Duel]!"

The magician attempted to use teleportation on her friend, but she couldn't as she saw the effects of the [Loopsided Duel] taking place in her interface..

"Tch! Buy me some time; I'll cast some 10th-tier spell," the mage shouted towards her friend.

"This guy has too good reflexes; I can't buy too much time," the player said as he engaged Touch-Me, who was dealing him minor damage with each attack, albeit in lower quantity.

"Tch! I'm doing my best!" The female mage player immediately brought out her hotkeys as she chose the most optimal spells and started to cast them. However, before she knew it, she suddenly saw a new notification before her eyes:

[-10]

[You have been Inflicted with «Frostbite»]

[–10]

"What? What the hell!" When she turned around, she was greeted by the player they were going to PK. Lucian stood behind her and swung the Blue Crystalline Dagger he was holding towards her one last time.

"You little bitch!" She cursed in frustration as she pressed her Teleportation spell hotkey. However, she found that she was unable to teleport!

[-5]

When she checked her hotkey again, she noticed that it was greyed out.

"What did you do!?" She shouted as she tried to run away, but Lucian was too fast, instantly appearing behind her and swinging the dagger once again.

[-5]

"It's just a simple trick," Lucian muttered, and that was the last thing she heard before she found herself dead.

[–10]

[You have lost all Your «HP»]

[You have Died]

The player vanished into thin particles as she lost all her HP.

Lucian observed his EXP bar and was surprised to see a series of notifications on his interface.

[You have been penalized for Killing a humanoid character]

[Due to your Job Class, your penalty has been revoked]

[The players who attacked you have been penalized]

Lucian was surprised by the turn of events. He hadn't expected his penalty, which included negative karma and restrictions on entering cities, to be revoked. Instead, it had been placed on the players who had attacked him. This turn of events was certainly unexpected.

With a sense of amusement, Lucian observed the platinum knight battling the other lancer player.

"Damn you, basta--" the lance warrior shouted as he swung his lance with all his energy at Touch-Me. However, he wasn't able to finish his attack or words as Touch-Me beat him to it.

"Kids shouldn't be cursing around! Be a good boy now!" Touch-Me scolded as he swung his Silver Knightley one-handed sword towards him and immediately cleaved the player in half, turning the entire player into data as it started to vanish.

Lucian found himself rather impressed by this player. Not only did he possess great reflexes, which Lucian admired, but he also had a finely min-maxed build that he utilized exceptionally well, thanks to his excellent reflexes. Truth be told, Lucian felt a touch of envy toward this individual.

Lucian observed as Touch-Me sheathed his sword and approached him, expressing his surprise,

"Oh! You've also finished up! I honestly didn't expect a newbie to have such a great gaming mind!"

Lucian replied, shaking Touch-Me's offered hand, "I also didn't expect to encounter a player with such incredible reflexes, and you're my first heteromorphic player I've met."

"My name is Touch-Me. What about you? I can't see anything but your Race, which is pretty weird," Touch-Me said as he shook Lucian's hand, looking at him suspiciously.

"Well, I have my reasons for that. Anyway, my name is Lucian Aeternus. You can just call me Lucian," Lucian decided to introduce himself with his first real name and a made-up last name he came up with.

"Well, Lucian, it's a pleasure to meet you! Now, why am I the first heteromorph you've encountered? Have humanoid players been harassing you with spawn-killing? Do you need any help?"

Hearing Touch-me's enthusiastic questions, Lucian found them a bit too straightforward for his liking.

"Well, it's not because of bullying from humanoid players that I haven't met many Heteromorphic players. I've been playing solo," Lucian explained.

"Oh, you're going solo? That's not the best decision for a beginner. As a newbie, you should consider joining parties and leveling up before going solo." What Touch-me said made perfect sense. For a regular player, teaming up with others at the start was a wiser choice, as it lowered the risk of getting attacked by humanoid players. Plus, parties offered various benefits like faster leveling through challenging bosses, party bonuses, and more. However, for Lucian, these considerations were irrelevant since he could achieve everything he needed through Cash Shop items..

"Haha... Well, I didn't have any difficulties, and I would've been able to deal with those players too, even if you hadn't shown up," Lucian said confidently, giving a small chuckle.

"Hahah! You sure are confident, my friend!" Touch me laughed as he praised Lucian, which made Lucian also giggle a little.

The two players continued to talk a lot as they made their way through the Ignis Platinum forest, out into the safe zone. Their conversation was rather pleasant to Lucian, as it was the first time he was having a discussion with another player in the game. The first encounter with players can't be counted, because they were just trying to PK him.

"It was really nice talking to you, Touch Me-san," Lucian said, as during their conversation, he learned that Touch-me was older than him, so he wanted to show basic respect, following the customs he knew from Japan.

"You too, LuciLuci, Haha!" Touch-Me giggled as he made a joke about Lucian's name. Lucian could only scratch his cheek and feel a little embarrassed.

When Touch Me sent him a friend request, he discovered his name, which made Touch Me laugh. He never thought he'd see anyone with that name.

"Stop making fun of my name! Like your name is any good, Touch Me? What does that even mean? Do you want people to touch you? Are you some kind of weird pervert?" Lucian said as he used a disgusted emoticon before his face to show his reaction.

"No no no no! I'm not some kind of exhibitionist! My name, Touch Me, indicates that no one can touch me. That's why Touch Me, it's a challenge to all who want to defeat me," said Touch Me with such confidence that made Lucian wonder just what does this guy eat for breakfast to have so much confidence and energy in himself.

"You are weird," Lucian said, giggling.

"Says the one with the name [LuciLuci]."

"Hey, my name wasn't available, okay! That's why I chose it!"

Lucian and Touch Me continued to bicker as they finally arrived at the edge of the forest next to the safe zone.

"Well, it's about time to log out for me," Lucian said as he looked at the time, which was 9:50. He knew for certain that he was not going to have a pleasant time with his maid, who would reprimand him for not eating his medicines and food on time.

"Yeah, well, I'll play for a while before logging out. My wife will be waiting for me," Touch Me replied with a grin emoticon.

Hearing Touch Me's words, Lucian showed a shocked emoji beside his virtual face as he asked, "You are married!?"

"Haha, not to brag, but I have a beautiful wife! And we are planning to have a child too!" said Touch Me, crossing his arms and displaying a proud expression through the emoticon.

"Aghhh, I get the normie energy from you. No wonder, you are the protagonist!" said Lucian, pointing at him.

"Haha, so do you want to party up, LuciLuci?" Touch me asked.

Lucian considered the option, however.

"I think I'll refuse for now. I have a lot of leveling up to do, and besides, I'm leveling up for the World Tournament that's going to happen in a month." Lucian mentioned that he had two reasons for leveling up before: one minor and one major – the major reason being the World Tournament scheduled in a few months.

"Really? I'm also planning to participate in the world tournament," Touch Me said as he approached Lucian. "However, to enter the world tournament, you need to be at least level 90."

"I understand, Touch Me-san. That's why I'm power-leveling, grinding through story quests to level up quickly," Lucian explained as he created some distance between them. Touch Me was an incredibly energetic guy, and Lucian needed some space.

"I see, no wonder. I'm doing the same, but I would love to have a party," Touch Me replied.

"Well, maybe after I win the World Championship, then we can think about it," Lucian said as he opened his menu and tapped on the log-out option.

[Do you want to log out]

[Confirm]

"We're already in each other's friend list. I'll inform you if I have any plans for a party after the World Championship. Maybe then we can have a match? Good luck, and you should also level up,"

[Yes/no]

With that, Lucian pressed "Yes" and vanished, logging out of the game.

Left behind was the shining knight, his red cape fluttering through the digital, burning wind of the forest.

"Looks like justice isn't able to create a party yet," Touch me muttered to himself. He decided to return to his home world, Alfheim. However, before he could do that, he noticed some players chasing after what appeared to be a heteromorphic skeleton player.

"Looks like justice needs to be served once again," Touch me declared, as he ran straight towards the group of players.

This moment would mark the beginning of the Nine's Own Goal.

___________________________________________________________________

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