Chương 54: Greendark

"Really?" Lucy brightened.

"Of course. When has your big brother ever steered you wrong?" Ryan thumped his chest in assurance.

"Berry likes animals too! Can Berry become a Summoner as well?" At some point, the well-behaved Berry had appeared in the backyard, lollipop in hand, looking up at Ryan with curious, hopeful eyes.

"Of course! If Berry likes the idea, I'll take you along when the time comes!" Watching her, a thought stirred—this little girl had the gift of communing with animals, perfect material for a Summoner.

"Yay! Berry's going to be a Summoner too!"

"And she is…?"

"Her name's Berry. While I was on a quest…" Ryan told Lucy about Clearspring Village.

"Berry, you're so brave!" When Lucy heard how, at the brink of death, Berry had shoved her own grandfather—shielding her—out of the way, she couldn't help praising her.

"Big sister's the brave one—and so pretty!" Sweet-mouthed and adorable, Berry had Lucy beaming in an instant. The two soon fell to playing together, the air bright and merry. Girls really are strange creatures. Even meeting only once, for some reason they'd fall in together fast, becoming inseparable sisters who told each other everything.

"You two play; I'll head off," Ryan said—only to find, awkwardly, that neither Lucy nor Berry paid him the slightest mind, lost in their own little world.

"This… no love left for me." He sighed, shook his head, and left, deflated. … Bounty quest! Bounty quest! Bounty quest! Ryan spent the whole afternoon grinding bounties. Since killing monsters earned no EXP, apart from killing players, quests were his only route to level. Phew— Ten bounties done, he slumped to the ground, half-drained. Killing monsters would've been one thing—but these quests ranged far and wide, and just running the maps wore him out.

In one afternoon he'd crossed more than half the regions around Dragon Blood City; if he claimed he wasn't tired, that'd be a true ghost story. Level 14, 78% EXP. Still a stretch from his target of Level 15.

"This is too hard…" he griped. If killing mobs gave EXP, he'd be near Level 20 by now. But under the Heart of Heaven's Punishment, he couldn't level the normal way. Even killing—it couldn't be mobs; it had to be players.

"What to do?" he mused. Maybe arrange a few players? Slaughtering random passersby for no reason was bad for his reputation—but he really didn't want to run that far for more bounties. One afternoon, and just map-running had nearly made him vomit. Besides, even if he didn't kill players now, he'd have to later—he needed to pile his Killing Value past 10, 000, which gave a chance to summon a hidden NPC; kill it, and there was a chance it dropped its backpack—the very thing Ryan dreamed of. Love this story?

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"Might as well find a few players nearby…" He shrugged, gathered the loot, and set off to find targets. …

"Listen to me—get me a set of Gold gear!"

"Guildmaster, that's not realistic…"

"Then that's your problem—your responsibility. Find a way to solve it yourself!"

"But we can't beat Gold Bosses…"

"Buy! Buy it all! If you can't beat them, buy!"

"Problem is, no one's selling… I think maybe—""I don't care what you think—I care what I think! When I say buy, we buy! No discussion! I decide, and I alone!" In a hundred-man squad, a short-haired man in a Bronze set jabbed his finger at the players around him, face dark. His game name was Greendark; in the real world, the small-time boss of a company, worth over a hundred million, now eyeing Heaven's Descent's market to skim some profit.

But the moment he touched the game, it utterly captivated him, and he sank in, unable to pull free. He'd fallen completely in love with it—and poured all his passion into Heaven's Descent. Yet his ceiling for play doomed him to be a noob; clumsy controls left him dying before monsters again and again, denying him any decent experience. So in a fury he'd spent a fortune to hire a hundred-man studio team to escort him in-game, and his journey grew a little smoother.

Still, he didn't want to be a noob, so to boost his combat power, Greendark fixed his eyes on powerful gear. His skill ceiling was what it was; to grow strong, he could only rely on outside force.

"Roar—!" Suddenly a monster's roar carried from afar, and Greendark perked up.

"Quick! There's a Boss over there! Let's go kill it!" At his command, the group rushed toward the sound—only for the sight to stun them. In the distance, a lone figure stood and traded blows with a Boss, beating it without effort until, with a final wail, it crashed down and dropped a spread of loot.

"This…" Greendark gaped, disbelief on his face. If only I could be that good! The man was decked in silver light—and if mere Silver gear made him this strong, a full Gold set would let him bully Bosses at will. The thought set Greendark's heart racing.

"Come, let's go take a look!"

"Guildmaster, we can't beat that guy…"

"What are you thinking? I'm no fool—why would I offend someone who can solo a Boss? Murder and robbery? Absurd." His squad let out quiet breaths of relief; they'd feared their boss might lose his head and order a charge—pure suicide. Hm? Someone? Gathering his loot, Ryan frowned at the approaching group, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. By the look of them, they want murder and loot? Well—a pillow delivered the moment I felt sleepy.

He'd just been thinking of finding players to level on, and here a whole batch came to his door. His eyes swept over them like a hunter eyeing prey, itching to begin.

"Brother, do you sell gear? That set of yours looks potent—how about selling it to me? We can talk price!" Greendark said earnestly. Ryan, about to strike, was stunned by the man's words. This… that's not the script. A hundred-odd people surrounding him, and not to gut him? Instead, so courteous—talking business?

"Brother?"

"Sorry, my apologies." Ryan offered an apology and stepped closer, one hand behind his back, already gripping his sword hilt.

"No matter—I was only asking. If you won't sell, that's fine." Greendark sighed and made to order a retreat—then his vision blurred, light flashed at his neck, and the next second he stood at Dragon Blood City's Resurrection Altar. System: [Ding! You were maliciously attacked by player "Big Gunn"!] System: [Ding! You have died!] System: [Ding! You have a new message!] [Big Gunn: Sorry, man. If you want gear, check out the "Panda Bun" shop near the central plaza—I'll give the owner a heads-up to get you 20% off!] Swish, swish, swish! Then, at the altar, a hundred flashes of white light: every member of Greendark's squad sent back by Ryan.

"…" Greendark's head spun a little. What… just happened?