Board Thread:What Would You Do?/@comment-35898511-20181208003638/@comment-28718853-20190817133016

Fifteen of us and fifteen mamono. Of the fifteen men present with me right now I only know four of them.

Georgi, a thirty-one year old man from Kilburga who runs an alchemy store.

Isam, a twenty-six year old lumberjack who mainly works in the forests of Crest.

Butch, a twenty-year old man who is working as a barber in the small town of Dumaido.

Hammett, a fifty-five year old retired mercenary who is looking to settle down in the tundras.

Then there's me, Gilen Vatter, a thirty-three year old farmer working the fields in Omscadd.

These four are just people I just met in this game, but the men were simply chatting then, so I figured I may as well join in. I'm unsure if I'll become a longtime friend of any of these four or if we'll never see each other again. For now I prepare myself because we are about to be teleported into the arena.

The Witch deploys her teleportation spell and I feel my feet leave the ground as the scenery around me is obscured by a powerful white light. A couple seconds later the light vanishes and I find myself in a stone structure standing on a wooden walkway. A view down shows several floors of a complex network of pathways.

"Your one hour starts now! Good luck everyone!" Patricia announces.

Down below I spot a man cautiously navigating across a stone bridge, his head monitoring for any signs of danger. Silence is all I can hear right now, and that is both relieving and terrifying. Relieving because I know I'm not under threat right now. Terrifying because that could change in an instant.

Not wanting to spend another second standing on the bridge, I trek across to a wooden chest at a left turn. To make sure I'm not about to be pounced, I peek around the corner. The adjacent hallway is clear for the time being, so I pop open the chest and find a DRS war axe.

My hand retrieves the blade from its home and I swing it around. The only combat I've seen was against thieves trying to steal livestock, but those encounters were few and far between. I doubt I'll last long if I go up against a mamono who is skilled in combat, so my best bet is to steer clear of fighting if possible.

"Emerald catches Cletus with an incredible jump!" Patricia declares.

Alright, one down, fourteen to go.

I proceed down the hall with windows on each side. The windows on the left reveal more of the interior of what I assume to be a castle. The glass panes on the right show an immense forest. My brain is already advising me to stay away from the forest, so I will happily oblige.

At the other end of the hall is a stairwell leading down to a wooden door. I glance back down the hall to make sure that I'm not being followed, then proceed. The door is cracked open and I peer in to find a room loaded with crates and barrels. I open the door wider and creep in, my heart skipping a beat on hearing the voice of Isam say, "By the gods, you spooked me!"

Isam is hiding behind a stack of barrels armed with a crossbow.

"Glad it's you and not a mamono," I reply with relief in my voice.

"You recently have an encounter with one?" Isam asks me.

"Nope," I respond with a shake of my head, "You?"

"No, I've been lucky so far," Isam replies.

I peek around the crates and spot a door on the opposite side of the room. Isam most likely came from there, so there's a good chance that it's clear. I make my way toward it, but stop just short of the door handle to ask Isam, "What will you be doing for now?"

"Probably just hang out here for a bit. Scope the place out," Isam answers.

"Okay, see you," I say as I open the door to another hall and step through, being sure to close it behind me.

Nothing impedes my walk and I come to an open door. Inside is a small, dark room with a chest that already had its lid up. Common sense says to keep moving, but curiousity overwhelms me and I step in to take a look in the chest. As expected, empty, but I do notice a panel inside with golden lettering that reads, "Potion of Invisibility".

Does Isam have the potion as well?

As I wonder about this looting I hear Patricia say, "Looks like Isam has been outplayed by an invisible Chelsea the Cheshire Cat! Clever girl!"

With that question answered I exit the room and continue on as Patricia announces, "Fifty minutes, and so far no one has found either the orb or the vortex! Plenty of time for a husband ladies!"

I come upon a window and glare out to see a man standing on the castle wall. He is carrying a wand and is using it to shoot frosty bolts of ice at a Black Harpy that is circling over him. I press on, wondering if I should try to leave the castle or continue to search it. The orb or the vortex could be anywhere in this arena.

The next corridor is empty and as I stroll through it the Harpy announces, "Excellent shot by Subaru on Beatrice. That Black Harpy's gonna be grounded for a while!"

That announcement somewhat raises my morale.

These corridor are quite confusing in that they always seem to twist around, but I eventually come outdoors to a bridge that moves across the castle's courtyard. The air surrounding me is a tad chilly, but it's no bother to me. Thus far fortune has smiled on me, but fortune alone won't get me to that exit.

Speaking of fortune it appears that I might finally be tested as the doors at the other end of the bridge spread open. My heart rate speeds up as a Blue Oni clutching a DRS war hammer steps out. She makes a calming gesture to me and says, "Look, I don't normally rape men when I'm sober, but in this case I don't have a choice."

Wonderful.

I stand ready with an idea in my head. She can easily overpower me with her strength, but perhaps I can slip past her and break the pursuit that's sure to happen. The Blue Oni raises her eyebrows at me and says, "No words huh? Well then, let's get this over with."

She runs at me and swings within distance of me, but I manage run by her and flee through the doors.

"Hey!" she shouts and I can hear her giving chase.

I race down a spiral staircase with my heart beating like a drum. Worst case scenario is that I run into a mamono that is much more ferocious than the Blue Oni, but I try not to dwell on that right now. I come to another hallway and continue full speed with the Blue Oni behind me yelling, "You're not getting away from me!"

My stamina is decent, but it's nowhere close to a match for a Blue Oni's. I need to lose her somehow, but that is especially difficult considering a mamono's innate ability to sense nearby men. As the chase continues I get an even greater feeling of dread that the only way to get her off of my tail is to take her out.

A left turn is coming up, so I brace myself to strike. I stop dead in my tracks and jump to the side. The Blue Oni moving too fast is unable to stop as effectively and I take the opportunity to leap at her and attack. A blow to her head is struck by the blade of my axe and she tumbles onto the floor unconscious.

"Well, looks like Gilen has defeated that giant for now!" Patricia announces.

I continue to jog until I come to the foyer. There are two large doors that lead outside, one of which is broken in half. The other side contains an open chest and a doorway into what is labeled as a kitchen.

"Ah, while Subaru was able to take down one bird, he wasn't able to overcome the might of Kyrie the Ogre!" Patricia calls.

Twelve men now, and that number is sure to drop soon.

I enter the kitchen and a musky smell reaches my nose. Claw marks cover several cabinets. The room is empty of consumables, but I do find an unopened chest. I open it and uncover a sabre.

It's tempting, but I decide to hold on to my axe as it's a weapon I'm more used to on the farm anyway.

"Ouch! What a nasty slash onto Borislav from Storma! That Jinko was out for blood today! Good thing her claws only tear apart spirit energy or our boy Borislav might not be here right now!" Patricia yells.

At least Storma is out of the picture.

With eleven men left I leave the castle and head down the cobblestone pathway toward a town.

"Dang! What a precision shot from Chuntao! Geoff's going to be feeling that one in the morning! Ten men left ladies keep it up!" Patricia announces.

I reach the town and Patricia states, "Thirty minutes! Half an hour left and no man has found either key home yet!"

Hopefully I can change that.

Several of the buildings have their windows shattered and doors either hanging off of their hinges or are completely ripped off. Just down the road I spot Georgi passing by being chased by a Hellhound. I doubt he'll last longer and sure enough Patricia declares, "Georgi boy tried to escape the hound of Hell, but failed! One nice treat for Nisha though!"

The pressure builds as I enter the first building to my right, a dark green two-story house. I search high and low, but find no chests or a vortex. There is a bakery across the street, so that's where I go next.

Inside the shelves are clean of pastries and wheats. Claw markings cover the wall to the right. A chest is found behind the counter, but it had already been looted. I move to a kitchen in the rear and find an open chest. Inside it is a foggy orange potion that is labeled as a "Potion of Strength".

I take the strength potion without hesitation, knowing it would serve me well in the competition.

"Darlene the Cursed Sword has taken down Eric! The tension continues to build!" Patricia announces.

Upstairs there is nothing of use. I return downstairs and peer through the front windows that there are no mamono in sight. Satisfied that the current area is clear, I leave the bakery and make my way to another house that is two stories tall.

I search the house while being careful of any unwanted guests and the same results are yielded as the last house. Nothing. I can only exit the house and hear Patricia announce, "Good catch on Gerrard from the Blue Oni Hattie."

Just down the road is a gardening store. My scavenging adventurer growing more and more bleak I stroll over to investigate it. The interior houses a plethora of pots and plants. A few of the porcelain green holders lie in pieces along the floor with dirt painting several sections of the walkways. There is a strong scent of daisies that wafts through the air.

In a rear corner of the store is a desk that has an unopened chest behind it. I check my surroundings to make sure I'm alone, then I lift open the lid to find it completely empty. A frustrated sigh is let out from me when I hear rattling metal above me. My heart thumps against my chest as I peer up.

There is nothing there, but that only serves to build up my paranoia. The hanging bush next to be shivers and I notice a brown spiked bulb sticking out from behind it.

"Crap!" I mumble as my heart leaps and I back up, quickly realizing who the bulb belonged to. My boot steps in an empty ceramic pot and it causes me to trip. The Girtablilu jumps at me from the bush, taking advantage of my misstep. I swing at her and miss, resulting in me getting tackled against the table that causes several of the plants to fall over onto the floor, their pots shattering on contact.

She loses contact as I back away, just as her tail zips past. The Girtablilu's eyes glare at me and I bolt out of the flower shop. The scorpion no doubt gives chase, and I'm forced to take some evasive maneuvers to hopefully shake her off of my trail.

I race between houses with my adrenaline on overdrive. Sweat flies off of my face and my eyes are wider than dinner plates. All this time I'm praying that I don't cross paths with another mamono. The scuttling of my pursuer's legs convinces me to pick up the pace. My body cranks itself up to high-speed trying to keep me ahead of the curve.

A small structure with an open window is coming up, so I leap through it and find myself in a tidy administrative office. The Girtablilu flips through the window after me and I'm nearly stung by her organic dagger. I try to run out front, but end up slamming into a set of bars.

My opponent's stinger shoots for me again, and I manage to dodge it. Time is running out for me though as I know I can't dodge her forever. I desperately search for a way out and find a window on the opposite side of the room, but it's closed. The only open one is the one that we just came through.

I evade her weapon again, but this time she lands a punch on my torso and I can feel some of the wind getting knocked out of me. Despite the blow, I rush toward it and jump back through. The landing is a tad more painful than before, but I work through it and get to my feet just as the Girtablilu is climbing through.

The chase is on again, and I maneuver around several more buildings. At one point I glance behind me and find that the Girtablilu isn't chasing me. My run slows to a walk and I grow suspicious. I don't know if I lost her or she simply gave up. Either way I have to keep moving, so I stick to stealth.

Time ticks down and three more men are captured. Fifteen minutes left and I'm standing in front of another two-story house. No sounds coming from inside or out, and it doesn't appear to have any signs of damage, at least from what I can see outside peering in.

I decide to search the establishment on the slim chance I find either the orb or the vortex to safety. However, right as I'm at the door I feel something pierce my lower right leg and almost immediately paralysis sets in. My body collapses onto the porch and my axe falls away from my limp hand. To my right I see the Girtablilu from before approaching me and I curse myself for failing to be more observant.

As the scorpion woman gets on top of me I hear the voice of Hammett from inside the house shout, "Tasukete!"

Several seconds later, Patricia announces, "And we have a winner! Hammett Ducasse is the winner of this year's Sexually Starved Games! Sorry to the rest of you guys who didn't make it! Oh well, hope you enjoy your lives with your new wives!"

"Your perception needs work," the Girtablilu comments with a hidden smirk.

"No kidding," I groan as a ring of white light appears around us and teleports us newlyweds away.

Ufaq, the Girtablilu's name, is a decent lady, though she can be a bit sadistic at times. Still, I endure.