Chương 7: The Charging Wolf Set

"Everyone, clear off! This area's been booked out by Slaughter the World!" Over by the old well, Slaughtercharge had already led his men to ring off the spot, sweeping a hostile glare across the surrounding players.

"Why are you being such tyrants? We're all playing the same game—what gives you the right to keep us off this well?"

"What gives us the right?" Slaughtercharge sneered.

"Being tough enough, that's what!" At that, his men brandished their weapons, the picture of menace. The surrounding players instinctively stepped back. They were just a scattering of loners—even if banding together gave them the upper hand now, the day they ran into these people again, they'd suffer for it. Watching the players seethe in silence, Violet's brows knit, and she made to step forward and speak.

"Wait. Let the fool play his game. We've got other things to discuss." Ryan reflexively caught her by the hand—and at that single touch, Violet's whole body gave a faint shiver. She hastily drew her jade hand back, her composure slipping into something flustered.

"Uh… sorry. I acted on impulse…" Ryan was embarrassed, realizing he'd overstepped.

"It's fine…" Violet drew a deep breath and steadied herself. Now it was her companions' turn to be astonished. Was this still the big sister they knew? In the past, if a man had dared grab her hand like that, she'd have had him ground to dust on the spot. To shake off the awkwardness, Ryan changed the subject and began laying out the coming battle plan. Meanwhile, having seized the well, Slaughtercharge stood beside it preening.

He pulled out a coin purse and tipped in over a hundred gold—what was left after buying gear and supplies. Not as much as Ryan had thrown in, but a good half of it. Aping Ryan, he pressed his palms together, shut his eyes in a show of devotion, bowed to the well, and silently made his wish. The crowd held their breath, watching, waiting for the System prompt that would signal his success. Ten seconds passed. Nothing happened. A minute passed, and the well stirred not in the slightest.

"I don't believe it!" Veins bulged at Slaughtercharge's temple, his face dark. Over a hundred gold—had it just gone down the drain? Maybe it wasn't enough? He dimly recalled that Ryan had thrown in a great deal of gold.

"Quick! Hand over all your gold!" His gaze hardened as it swung to his men. They started, hands flying instinctively to their pockets. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Stop dawdling! Put the gold on my tab—I'll pay you back after!" Slaughtercharge snapped, and finally pried gold from the other Slaughter the World members. Two hundred members, one gold each—a total that more than matched what Ryan had thrown in.

"That should do it, right?" he muttered, dumping it all into the well and resuming his devout prayer. Ten minutes passed. The silent well stirred not at all. The proof was plain: every gold coin Slaughtercharge had thrown in had gone straight down the drain.

"See? This is what they mean by the wicked getting their due. Slaughter the World hogs the well, and look—they just flushed their gold away."

"You said it."

"Serves them right. Most satisfying thing I've seen all day." The lone players murmured among themselves, and Slaughtercharge's whole face went green. His gaze swung to find Ryan, smiling at him from over by the gate—and rage boiled up from nowhere. As if he'd been ambushed, he heaped all the blame on Ryan in an instant.

"You wait, kid! This isn't over!" Slaughtercharge panted, eyes fixed on the smiling Ryan. Ryan paid him no mind at all, simply turning to chat with Violet. I'll lose my mind!!! Slaughtercharge was livid, his heart bleeding. He'd just wasted over 300 gold—and it would come out of his own pocket. Over 300 gold! That meant roughly 70, 000 Azure Coin to cover the loss. And his monthly salary was only 50, 000.

Outplayed, and out a month and a half's wages in one stroke—it gnawed at him; he wanted to charge forward and grind Ryan to powder, scatter his ashes to the wind. But he couldn't. He couldn't make another mistake. There was still a Boss to fight; do well in the Boss battle, and he might yet redeem himself. So he forced down his fury, telling himself again and again to stay calm.

"What on earth just happened?" Violet was deeply curious.

"Wishing at the well is a matter of chance. Put bluntly, it's pure luck—and for the unlucky, that well is a bottomless pit." Ryan smiled. Violet nodded, but recalling his earlier "feat" at the well, she couldn't help wondering. Since he wasn't telling, though, she didn't press.

"Everything's ready—we just need the wind. Now we only wait for the siege!" Ryan said, finally finding a moment to check his rewards from the well. Three hundred gold had earned him five rewards in total: a Black Iron set, a passive skill, +1 level, +4 Charm, and +1 Luck. Ryan was now Level 5, his Charm up to 5; adding the 4 free points from Levels 4 and 5 to Luck brought it to 15. [Second Nature: Passive skill. You may equip gear up to 5 levels above your own.] The skill paired perfectly with the Charging Wolf Set. [Charging Wolf Cuirass: Black Iron grade. Defense +20, Constitution +5, Strength +5, Attack Speed +5%. Equip Level: 10] [Charging Wolf Greaves: Black Iron grade. Defense +20, Agility +5, Strength +5, Movement Speed +5%. Equip Level: 10] [Charging Wolf Boots: Black Iron grade. Defense +10, Agility +5, Strength +5, Movement Speed +10%. Equip Level: 10] [Charging Wolf Mask: Black Iron grade. Attack +10, Defense +10, Constitution +5, Strength +5, Attack Speed +5%. Equip Level: 10] [Charging Wolf Bracers: Black Iron grade. Attack +20, Agility +5, Strength +5, Attack Speed +5%. Equip Level: 10] As a Black Iron set, its set bonuses were naturally stronger still. [Set Bonus: 1. HP +200, Stamina +100; 2. Attack +20, Defense +10; 3. Charging Wolf: active skill—on activation, Attack Speed +25% and Movement Speed +25% for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour.] Swapping into the Charging Wolf Set, Ryan looked over his transformed stats, the corner of his mouth lifting. System: [Ding! The monster siege is about to begin! All players, prepare yourselves!] System: [Ten… nine… eight… seven…] A deafening System prompt rang out over Sunward Town's sky, and a charged, knife's-edge tension rolled across the field.