VRMMO: World's First Glyphborne-Chapter 8: Welcome to the Slaughterhouse

"Wha- Where did she go? She was right in front of us."

"Ugh, You idiot! I thought you said you were good at these games! You better not be wasting my time, because that would definitely not be very ’Tier four sub’ of you."

"I-I uh... I’m sorry Miss Lox, I swear she was right there. I don’t..."

A woman flipped her bouncy and perfectly curled hair over her shoulder and tutted in annoyance as a man stuttered over his words before her. She was LusciousLox, another one of the streamers invited to the beta test. Just another sign of her undeniable popularity and unbelievable charms. To align with her natural beauty, she chose the ’Wild Blood’ race and took the feline subrace. All so she could have a pair of adorable cat-ears sprouting from her head.

She could already hear the donations rolling in when they were finally able to stream this game.

Naturally, the majority of her popularity came from an almost exclusively male audience, who were very generous with their tips and utterly devoted to worshipping her. As they should. Two of those simps... I mean, devoted fans were with her now. A pair of game journalists who also happened to be madly in love with her - Although who could blame them - and had vowed to help her with the game.

She never bothered to learn their names, so she just called them Dee and Dum in her head. Dum was the one in front of her, while Dee was lingering behind and no doubt staring at her ass. They had been led into an alleyway by the woman they had been following, but now they stood at an intersection within the alleys, with no target in sight.

Rolling her eyes and stomping her foot like a toddler having a tantrum, LusciousLox whined like a petulant child.

"Well hurry up and find her! You saw how much loot she had, that’s supposed to be my money! If you lose all that money, I’ll be really sad, and you don’t want to make me cry, do you?"

She put on big puppy dog eyes, pouting out her lips which were trembling ever so slightly. She sniffled slightly and a single, well trained tear dripped down her rosy cheek.

"N-no Miss Lox. Right away Miss Lox! Come on you idiot, we have to find her before she..."

Dum’s words trailed off and at first LusciousLox thought that he was simply enchanted by her looks, but for once he wasn’t looking at her. Frowning softly, she whipped her head around and let out a stifled scream.

The woman they had been following was behind them, standing right next to the useless Dee. She pulled the dagger from his throat, causing Dee to let out panicked gurgles as fresh crimson spurted from the wound.

His hands clasped at his throat, desperately trying to stop the profuse bleeding, but every time he tried to ask for help it just worsened his condition. His eyes bulged in sheer panic, and remained like that even when he slumped backwards and life drained from his desperate eyes.

"Wow... Fatal Strike works really well. I have to thank you guys for giving me a chance to test out my new skills right after I finished the quest."

The pale skinned woman flashed them a cold, sadistic smile. Her crimson eyes flashing with murderous glee as she looked at them like she was a true predator, and they were nothing but prey.

"You have a skill already?! Q-quick! Kill her while it’s still on cooldown!"

LusciousLox screamed out in panic, scrambling backwards as she hid behind her simp shield, pushing him forwards at the same time.

Like a valiant knight trying to protect a fair maiden - even though a maiden was far from what this girl was - the man known as Dum stepped forward and drew a sword from his hip. An actual, honest to god Iron sword. It even had a scabbard on his hip, very fancy.

Clearly their thievery gig was working out well for them. But as he stepped forward and drew back his sword, Belladonna simply smirked to herself as her eyes gleamed wickedly.

’Gotcha.’

Of course she had no skills, and certainly not something called [Fatal Strike], that’s just what happens if you stab someone in the throat. But they didn’t need to know that. They would work it out eventually... probably.

She leaned backwards, letting the first wild swing sail harmlessly past her face, and took a few steps back. The balls of her feet lifted as she bounced on her toes, her hands raised up in a defensive in front of her face, mimicking that of a boxer with the bloody dagger held in her forehand.

Although she might not have much experience with beta tests or MMO’s, she wasn’t a total noob. VR games had existed for a few years, just not on this level of immersion, and Valerie Ashcroft was very well versed in martial arts even before she dominated the combat arena games when her condition started to take away her real legs.

She bounced from foot to foot, dodging and weaving passed the wild swipes with practiced ease, as she tried to shake the rust from her system. It took a few seconds for her to fully get used to this new body.

Once she was fully ready, she ducked under another pathetic swung, letting it embed itself into the alley wall with a dull Thunk as she burst forwards like a viper.

Light exploded behind the man’s eyes as her fist slammed into his nose. His sword stuck in the wall, the man had no choice but to lash out with his arm. A predictable response, as by the time he was moving Belladonna was already weaving under it and spinning behind him.

She hooked one foot around his, firmly grabbed the back of his head, before sweeping his foot out from under him and slamming his face into the ground. He let out a few muffled groans, before going still.

Pulling the sword from the wall, Belladonna gave it a few test swings before looking at it in disappointment. Just as she thought, she really wasn’t a sword girl. She spun it in her hand before plunging it downwards, straight through the back of the man known as Dum, piercing his heart and stabbing into the earth.

As the crystal on the back of her hand pulsated softly, to confirm her kill, she left the sword sticking up out of his corpse, like it was Excalibur in the stone, as she strolled over to the panicking ’LusciousLox.

"H-how do you have skills already?!"

"Wait... You don’t? You haven’t met the skill trainer in the forest? I thought everyone had already. Man, what have you three been doing?"

The colour drained from Lox’s face completely, her teeth grinding as she mentally cursed her useless companions. Terrible thieves, awful bodyguards and even worse reporters! They couldn’t even find something so basic that everyone else had found.

When they respawned she would make them take her to this trainer, squeeze them for their every last drop of usefulness and toss them to the side once they were done. It was what they deserved for letting her down like this.

"Is... is there really a trainer in the woods?"

No.

"Yes."

"You’re... you’re not lying?"

She was.

"Why would I bother lying to you? It’s like a tiger lying to an ant. Pointless."

"So... Why are you telling me all of this? Is it... Oh, that’s it. I see. You’re a fan too~ Just wanted me all to yourself did you? Hehe, Well if you ask me nicely I’ll forgive you and let you take me to this-"

PAP!

She started to brush herself off and stand up, only to be thrown back onto her plump behind, holding her face in absolute shock. Her self assured expression was replaced by one of absolute shock and bafflement, as her cheek was red with a fresh hand mark and pulsated with stinging pain.

"I would rather die a million times, in real life, than help you."

Now that, was the absolute god damned truth. Belladonna tightened her fist, her knuckles cracking, as she brought it down onto the pretty, stuck up face that was cowering before her.

***

Ladiesman217 rushed into the alleyway, his noob dagger waving in the air as he rounded the corner.

"I heard a lady’s screams. Fear not fair maiden, for I am here to-"

His dashing smile melted away as his eyes landed on the scene before him. Two corpses lay at his feet, while a pale skinned woman with hair as black as night stood over a wretched monster with a swollen, blood covered face.

The pale woman’s knuckles dripped with blood, her mouth open and shark-like teeth bared as she was frozen just before she could take a bite out of the beaten monster’s throat.

A shiver ran down his spine as he made eye contact with the blood soaked, pale demon. One he recognised as the same woman from the spawn room. Taking one last glance over the slaughter in the alley way, Ladiesman217 gulped slowly and gathered up all his courage... before turning on his heels and walking away like he had never seen a thing.

Belladonna watched the man go as she held the beaten and broken body of the streamer girl in her hands. She had her fun, but her simps were already on their way back. So it was time to end this.

She shrugged at the antics of the strange man, before she lunged forwards and sunk her teeth into the peachy, smooth throat of the girl. Her teeth easily pierced through her throat, her heartbeat rapidly fading.

Yet Belladonna could feel every pulsation, every quivering beat of her failing heart, as it pumped fresh Sanguine delight onto her tongue. Her mouth was salivating as she hungrily gulped it down. Lost in the delightful, heavenly taste so much that she didn’t pay attention to the crystal as it pulsed with not one, but two new messages.