[SP | Kingpin] The Gemini (Quest)

[Kingpin 0]

It was time for another adventure in Damon's never ending quest to grow stronger, after all, power makes one King. And he was Kingpin, he needed that power. Right now, he was definitely one of the lowest tier players in the game, having gotten a start behind the competition due to his initial lack of knowledge about these kinds of game. After having read through the available informative sources, only then did he begin knocking out some of the more vital quests that he had found out about. This was the third one, but it was definitely up there on ones to knock out, but the quest did have a twist.

[Kingpin 0]

"So... I have to fight a monster that's the same level as me... That's interesting." So far he had only fought monsters that had around half his health, which meant it only took a maximum of two hits for him to kill. They were pretty easy, even if Damon was a newbie he could tell that, but they were only capable of doing a single point of damage on most of their hits. That was notably weak, meaning that he was capable of taking quite a number of hits before dying, not that he would, but the proof was in the pudding. He accepted the quest that was on the board and began heading off into the woods, where this so-called beast was dwelling.

[Kingpin 0]

After having finally arrived in the woods, Damon began seeking this monster. He wasn't sure what to expect, but it was probably going to be about as big as those zortoads he fought recent. If it was going to have such power, it wasn't likely to be something small like a boar or bull. He had been given a hint by the quest, stating that "Only in the reflections of the woods will you see, the fiendish monster staring back at thee." He pondered over those seemingly meaningless words before figuring out that there was only really one meaning that could be true behind the words, "Maybe it's in the water?"

[Kingpin 0]

He gave up on searching for the beast and tried to recall this section of the woods, which was in or at least near the same vicinity as the last time he was here. After walking through the woods for another twenty or so minutes, he'd finally make it to the lake that had some crystallized seafoam rocks, "Maybe the monster is actually a diamondback zortoad, just a bit stronger than the other ones." It didn't make sense that he didn't encounter this monster the last time he was here searching for the rocks, considering he didn't intentionally show any sign of aggression to all the monsters that attacked him. Maybe he didn't have this figured out after all...

[Kingpin 0]

He kept an eye out as he walked around the edge of the lake, waiting for something to pop out of the water at him. Maybe it was lurking in the woods, waiting until he turned his back. Perhaps it was an aerial enemy waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Hell, it could even be in the ground. He scratched the back of his head, nearly ready to give up before deciding to take the risk of looking into the water. He knelt down and peered into the surface of the water, which reflected back his face, "Do you have any ideas, Damon? I guess I'm all washed up..." He let out a sigh, he didn't sign up for a scavenger hunt.

[Kingpin 0]

The water remained still as if nothing was in the water, which was true for the time being. The quest created a temporary safeguard for the adventurers undergoing it, allowing them to actually find the Gemini with no confusion. The water had absolutely nothing to do with the riddle, but the solution was ever so close to him... close enough that he could reach out and touch it, "Hello, Damon." He stumbled forwards into the four inch deep water, soaking the vast majority of his clothes, "Oh, damn it all. Don't spook me like that, dude." He stood up and began pitifully attempting to dry out his hair with his fingers, "Wait, how'd you know my name?"

[Kingpin 0]

The player laughed a bit, presumably at Kingpin's unfortunate reaction, "Well, I know that you came here on a quest. That's why!" It was by no means a decent explanation as to why he was here so Damon would have to pry a bit more. He took a good look at the player... No, wait, that was definitely an NPC, "Are you an NPC?" The stranger tilted his head a bit as if it was surprised Damon had to ask, "Of course I am, the name is Gemini. Nice to meet you." The character extended his hand towards Damon, which he was hesitant to shake, "What are you doing here? I thought that NPCs didn't exit the safe zones like town and such."

[Kingpin 0]

He smirked, waving his hand as if that didn't matter, "Let's not get down to the technicalities, that's never any fun." Damon didn't seem to understand and really wanted to know why it was out of its boundaries, plus why it came specifically for him, "No, I'm seri-" The NPC cut him off, "Oh, come on now. Let's have a little fun, why don't we?" He tugged at his sheathed sword at his hip, obviously putting his point across, "How about we play a little game? If you can defeat me, I'll give you a reward." Damon wasn't falling for it, "This isn't a game, who are you?" Gemini shook his head, "It's a great treasure, I'm sure you'd enjoy it."

[Kingpin 0]

Damon was getting pretty pissed at this point, he wasn't in the mood for a fight and just wanted to get this quest done, "You know what, fine." He unsheathed his sword, bring it to down to his side, "Bring it on you big mouthed bastard." He wasn't sure of what these so-called 'rewards' were and he didn't really care, the sooner he beat this douchebag into the ground, the sooner he could get on with his quest. Fortunately, this was the next step of the quest, little to his knowledge. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to react to what the NPC would do next. "Hahaha, now that's what I'm talking about. Prepare to die!"

[Kingpin 0]

Damon raised his sword and took a step to start rushing forwards, but before he could lift his back foot, the NPC began to glow, "The hell is this?" After releasing a nearly blinding light, in the place of the NPC would be an exact duplicate of him, "Are you ready, Damon?" It even spoke like him, but the only difference was the lack of armor and the varying weaponry, "Wha... I don't..." He was confused off his ass as to what was going on, which the NPC was more than happy to jump in on, "Oh, I told you that it was going to be fun, now didn't I?" He laughed and the similarity in the laughter made Damon cringe, "What's more fun than fighting your reflection?"

[Kingpin 0]

[5714] 5 Battle | 9 Mob
Kingpin: 13/14
Gemini: 13/13

 

Gemini didn't skip a beat as he dashed forwards, taking the perfect moment of opportunity to strike out at Damon as he was inexplicably confused, "Got you now!" Even though he had on some hella good armor, it didn't soak up all the damage from the strike, "Oh, [censored]." He had to recompose himself, Chill out, Damon. It's just some ordinary monster with some crazy ability. Nothing that can get the best of you. He lifted up his sword, positioning himself for the next attack. Whether Gemini or he was the one that was going to go for the first hit, Damon definitely felt prepared for the best and worst of the situation.

[Kingpin 0]

[5715] 6 Battle | 6 Mob
Kingpin: 13/14
Gemini: 7/13

 

Gemini dashed forwards, sword lunging for Damon's chest. He was quickly able to retaliate, using his shield to deflect the opponent's attack, but he did happen to scrape Damon's armor. It didn't do any damage, but while he was close, the shield unleashed its hidden effect - thorns, "Got you now, prick." Damon struck the back of the clone, finishing off the combo by knocking of nearly half of the foe's health, "You give up?" Half health was generally a rule of thumb when it came to duels like this, but Gemini seemed incredibly excited considering he was losing drastically, "Now, this is what I call fun. No turning back now."

[Kingpin 0]

[5716] 2 Battle | 5 Mob
Kingpin: 13/14
Gemini: 7/13

 

There was no hope for this idiot, but it was quite clear by now that this was fully intended to happen, regardless of how the NPC came across or what it tried to imply. Perhaps this was the "monster" he was searching for, though he had no certain way of knowing. With this victory in the bag, he debated whether or not to head back into town and see if he could find some more details about the quest, but he was cut off.  He raised his sword, clashing it against Gemini's in a flurry of sparks, "Tell me, are you here to hinder my quest or are you a mere stepping stone that I must cross to finish it?"

[Kingpin 0]

[5717] 5 Battle | 10 Mob
Kingpin: 11/14
Gemini: 7/13

 

He laughed and laughed and laughed, hard enough that he raised his hand to signify he needed a moment. Damon was more than willing to oblige, wanting this battle to be over so that he could continue on with his quest and actually progress today. If it wasn't for this prude, he'd probably be done by now. Not really, but at least closer to being done, "Are you so dimwitted that you can't even comprehend the quest?" He dashed forwards while Damon's guard was down, giving him the perfect timing to do some decent damage to the player, "This is all that you need to do. Defeat a monster and that monster is you."

[Kingpin 0]

[5718] 7 Battle | 4 Mob
Kingpin: 11/14
Gemini: 3/13

 

It was pretty unbelievable, the thought of having to fight oneself and being called a monster for no reason whatsoever. This game knew nothing about the players and their active lives on the world outside so what jurisdiction did it have to deem them as one? Damon mentally facepalmed, this game was pretty amazing, but it did have its quirks in the story. It was more or less designed around the gameplay and the storyline was a little lackluster every now and then, "Well, if that is what you are, then I shall defeat you." He slammed his sword into the leg of Gemini, dealing enough damage to bring him down into the critical zone, "No mercy."

[Kingpin 0]

[5719] 8 Battle | 15 Loot
Kingpin: 11/14
Gemini: 0/13

 

The clone, nearly ready to die an orgasmic death from this thrilling battle, gave a big cheeky grin, "I wouldn't expect anything less... from a monster." He tried to strike the off-hand arm of Damon, but he was able to deflect the attack with a flick of his shield, "I might be a monster, but at least I'm not some computer generated monster." He sunk his blade into the stomach of Gemini, wrenched it, then pulled it back out. The health bar fell down to zero and the NPC dropped its sword as it collapsed to the ground on its knees, "You're so very heartless, Kingpin, you know."

[Kingpin 0]

Damon knelt down besides his body double after sheathing his sword, this thing was of no real danger now. Not that he was dangerous to begin with since it hardly did any damage, but it was nothing more than a measly, harmless fly. It looked him dead in the eyes as if it was a mirror, peeking into his soul, "Not many can cope with the thought of harming themselves, even if its a mere mirror image of themselves. This is a world that puts emphasis on risking your life, while maintaining the sense of keeping yourself alive. It's a very difficult world to live in, but it must be understood that without being a heartless bastard like yourself, you will never win."

[Kingpin 0]

Damon was pretty impressed, after having thought that this artificial intelligence was some lackluster fluff for the mission he was on, it turned out to be a pretty good life coach. Well, that is if you consider the world that they were living in now 'life,' but that was a measly matter of perspective. The NPC was still holding strong, quite a surprise to Damon not to see something defeated vanish a few seconds afterwards, "Now, in terms of my reward to you. It is a gift that is highly coveted, one that can only be obtained by those capable of defeating themselves and the demons that reside within their past. I'm sure you understand."

[Kingpin 0]

Gemini seemed to be finished talking, but Damon still had one more joking question, "You are going to disappear right? I can't two of me in this world." The NPC laughed softly, "You really are a monster, I'll be going now." Gemini faded from the world, leaving behind the Heart of Gemini, which was the treasure he had been informed about. This really was one of the oddest things he had encountered so far, but he didn't want to think it over too hard. This game was a bizarre one, trying to kill its players while also trying to teach them a lesson about surviving here. What kind of demented mind made this place to begin with?

[Kingpin 0]

He picked up the Heart of Gemini and started heading back towards town. It was getting late now so he was able to enjoy the view of the sun falling down over the horizon, it was incredible how beautiful this game was. Some people could get lost here, he would think. This place was nothing short of an alternate reality and it wasn't like they could escape until they made it up those one hundred floors of hell, some people will give up. Not everyone would be nearly brave enough or have the determination to keep on fighting to see another day, I guess that's what it means to be a monster. Shortly after, he'd arrive in town and deposit the Heart of Gemini, completing the quest.