"So, this is the shitty reason why everyone is chasing me?!"
Kane scratched his head upon realizing what happened back at the village. He realized while looking at the thread on the game's forum page that Dreyer was the one who instigated the scuffle.
Dreyer initially posted what happened to them, but Malloy, Rafter, and Birthos also went with the flow. They even showed that they didn't receive any reward, and Kane hoarded all of it. The post spread like wildfire, and fake news about Kane spawned everywhere. They even said that he was actually a high ranking guild official.
[A guy named Kane exploited his newbie teammates and took all the loot.]
'They're not newbies! I'm the one who is a newbie!'
[Beware of a guy who called himself Kane. He's an exploiter]
'That's fake news!'
[Newbies, beware of a dude named Kane in herald city. He'll party with you just to take all the loot alone. Don't party with this guy.]
'The fuck? This is just so... wait a minute...'
Kane looked closer and saw the author.
[Newbies, beware of a dude named Kane in herald city. He'll party with you just to take all the loot alone. Don't party with this guy.]
[Author: Dreyer]
Kane shouted,
"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
Suddenly, it echoed.
"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Kane covered his mouth with his hands because Kane was actually in the stomach of the Massive Crocodile that ate him. Kane managed to somehow survive the attack thanks to his quick thinking in using RABAUM'S WILL. But it will only work once per battle. Meaning, if the Crocodile decided to attack him again, he can't be protected by RABAUM'S WILL anymore.
Kane250 LVL 5 HP: [210/210]
It has been hours since Kane was eaten that his health regenerated. He spent all of those hours searching through the web about why people were chasing him.
Eventually, he found out that some guild placed a massive bounty on his head. Everything went overboard when a rival guild found it suspicious that they put a large bounty on a newbie that they also placed another large bounty. And then another rival guild also placed a bounty that Kane ended up having a very large bounty under his head from multiple players and guilds.
'How long do I have to wait for this? Can I quit?'
[Quit]
[Do you want to quit?]
Yes
[You're not in a safe house, your character can be killed during the time you are out, do you still want to quit?]
No
'Aaaaaahhhhhhh, shit, I'll just eat and rest for a bit.'
Kane removed his VR set from his body and took some expired foods from his fridge. He didn't quit nor disconnect. He jumped down on his bed while eating. He saw that time, and it was 1 AM past midnight.
'Hmmm, let's just rest for a few minutes.'
Kane fell asleep for a few minutes. FOR A FEW MINUTES. Those few minutes became 30 minutes. Those 30 minutes became an hour. And that hour became hours.
Little did he know, his character was already going to cloud nine.
[Warning: Your level is too low for this area.]
[You entered a new area – The Dark Depths Of Heraldian Ocean.]
[You entered a new area – The Destroyed City Meteria.]
[You entered a new area – The Trench Of Razhok.]
[You entered a new area – Razhok's Hidden Lair.]
[You entered a new area – Ardanos Beach.]
[You entered a new area – Ardanos Wasteland.]
[You have broken a world record.]
[New milestones achieved: you have traveled more than 7000 meters (4000 miles) in a span of 6 hours by foot without using fast travel.]
[New title acquired: Fastest traveler on Arcadia]
*TINGGGG*
*yaawwnnnn*
Kane finally woke up after his phone rang.
"Holy, shit, I fell asleep."
He took his phone and saw a notification from the bank.
"Holy... shite!"
[Current Balance – 30,454 Gak Dollars]
"Huh?! Where did I get this money?"
[Transactions:]
[Yesterday – 10,000 Gak Dollars From Arcanos Corp.]
[Today – 20,000 Gak Dollars From Arcanos Corp.]
"What? What happened?!"
Kane quickly wore his VR set. He was about to click the notification button, but his character was flung over the edge of the Crocodile's mouth.
Kane250 LVL 5 HP: [70/210]
[Warning: Your level is too low for this area.]
'What is going on?'
Kane had just woken up from a deep sleep. He was still not in the right mind to grasp his situation.
KAPOW!
A loud, slapping sound was heard. The crocodile was being attacked outside. Kane was tossed over to the other edge of the Crocodile's mouth.
Ugh!
Kane250 LVL 5 HP: [65/210]
The light seeped the Crocodile's mouth as it slightly opened.
SHINGG!
'Ahhhh! My eyes!'
Kane was nearly blinded by the light. But he was surprised at the sight of a 3-Headed Red Giant Ogre in front of him. Suddenly, large health bars appeared.
Heraldian Horrors Lvl 300
HP: [?/?]
Guardian Of Ardanos Lvl 500
HP: [?/?]
'What the hell is this?! Two major bosses fighting each othe—'
The Crocodile opened its mouth wide and tried to bite one of the Ogre's heads. But Ogre swung its club and smacked the Crocodile's head.
KAPAK!
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!
Kane was hurled up in the sky. He was tossed so high that both of the gigantic bosses became small. At some point, he reached up the sky, way above the clouds, and saw something.
He saw a bunch of floating islands with broken temples built on it.
[You entered a new area – Indarian Sky Fortress.]
All of the islands were connected by something. He focused on it and realized that it was a sleeping Gigantic Black snake. The Snake woke up, opened its eyes, and glared its cunning yellow eyes at Kane. Suddenly, another large health bar appeared.
#*%&@#>?<! LVL ???
HP: [?/?]
"THE FUCK WAS THAT?!?!?"
But Kane stopped going up and started going down. As soon as he went under the clouds, the large health bar was removed.
[You managed to survive and escape from a battle against a Deity]
[New Title Achieved: The One Who Survived A Battle Against An Undefeatable Deity]
'This is literally... this is just too much... Ughhhhh!!'
Kane fell from sky-high and dropped to the Ocean.
PLOOK!
Suddenly, Kane's character floated, but it was not moving. His character was not even stunned. It could move but was not moving. The current was too strong that it carried Kane's character and dragged Kane away.
[Status: Cold]
[Status: Severe cold]
[Warning: Your level is too low for this area]
In reality, Kane went to the bathroom and started vomiting. He wasn't used to skydiving.
'Damn, I'm sure it wasn't the expired foods. I've been eating them for years! This must be because of that damn freefall! Everything in this shit feels so real!'
Kane crawled out of his bathroom and wore his VR set while lying down.
[Status: Extreme cold]
[Warning: Your level is too low for this area]
Kane finally stood up and realized that he was dragged to the beach. He looked in front and saw a world that was frozen. Cities, monuments, Fortress, and even some monsters all of them were frozen. At that point. Something surprised Kane once again.
'I thought nothing would surprise me anymore... this game...'
[Status: Extreme Cold]
[Warning: Your level is too low for this area]
[Status: Freezing]
[Warning: Your Level Is Far Too Low For This Area]
[Y0u J*&T E$T3red An $&#*#*@^&!^]
[Error]
[Warning: Your level is far too low for this area]
[Error]
An annoying red warning notification kept on appearing every second despite Kane already dismissing it.
[Warning: Your level is far too low for this area]
Kane250 LVL 5 HP: [41/210]
Kane250 LVL 5 HP: [35/210]
Kane took out BULGONG'S STAFF and scratched it on the ground. He managed to create a fire. He took a few frozen sticks of wood nearby and lit it on fire.
Kane250 LVL 5 HP: [33/210]
Kane250 LVL 5 HP: [31/210]
Kane250 LVL 5 HP: [29/210]
Suddenly, the ground started shaking. A whole group of ice spiders suddenly came from the ground.
"Oh, Shit!"
Kane immediately cowered away. But the spiders kept on chasing him.
Seeing that, Kane immediately ran away, but they all chased him.
Kane250 LVL 5 HP: [23/210]
Kane250 LVL 5 HP: [21/210]
"Not! This! Again!"
[Status: Fractured – Movement Speed Is Reduced]
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!"
The ground started shaking once again. An avalanche occurred because of Kane's shout. The rocks fell down on Kane, but Kane managed to dodge all of them despite his slow movement speed. Suddenly, the rocks started moving. They were actually sleeping golems.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH, what is it nowwwwwww!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!"
KANE250 LVL 5 HP: [13/210]
Suddenly, Kane felt that a yellow beam of light went passed him.
*CHING!!*
*BAGAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMM!!*
The moment he looked back, all of the monsters were split in half. Suddenly, the light came back, and it stopped in front of him. It was actually with a man wearing chainmail under his white cape. Kane was too flustered to talk. The man looked at him instead.
"It seems... you're fractured?"
"Huh? Ah, yes."
The man snapped his fingers, and then a mystical green flame was formed in his hand. Suddenly, Kane's health stopped decreasing and was even regenerating.
"Wohohoho! What is that? It's beautiful?"
"It's a basic Narlin flame. It totally nullifies the cold, perfect for this kind of place."
"Woah! How can I get that?"
"I don't know if you're trolling me or what, but I'll answer that. Just find a Fire Celestial. Celestials are basically the Gods in this game. Find a Fire Celestial then finish one of its quests."
"Oh, so you found one?!"
"It's a secret. I'm not gonna tell you."
The man continued walking forward. Kane followed him.
"Then, at least, tell me about the quest. Give me tips."
"Ah, there are a hundred of quests that a Fire Celestial may give. But the easiest one is to just challenge him or her."
"What? Challenge? You mean, fight them?"
"Yes."
"So... did you?"
"I did. Some of the quests are unachievable, or you'll take years, but if you just fight them, it will take a few intense hours, and then you win."
"You defeated a Celestial?! You're making it look easy."
The man snapped his fingers once again, and a textbox appeared.
[BASTION – THE DRAGON ASSASIN]
LVL: 3,803
TITLES ACQUIRED:
[USURPER]
[TITAN SLAYER]
[STRONGEST DRAGON SLAYER IN THE WORLD]
[THE FLASH]
[THE ONE WHO SURVIVED A BATTLE AGAINST AN UNDEFEATABLE DEITY]
[CELESTIAL SLAYER]
Kane was surprised at the level. But he was also surprised at one thing.
"Wow, Level 3,803. But can you explain this to me... I also have this."
[KANE250]
LVL: 5
TITLE:
[FASTEST TRAVELER ON ARCADIA]
[THE ONE WHO SURVIVED A BATTLE AGAINST AN UNDEFEATABLE DEITY]
The man suddenly burst out laughing.
"Buhahahaha! I can't believe you're really level 5!"
"... yes?"
The man raised his hand and offered a handshake.
"My name's Bastion. You might not know me since you're level 5, but you probably will. It's an honor to meet you."
"No, it's my honor!"
Kane has never thought a worthy opponent ever in his life as he felt that he was the strongest person that ever exist. He never admired nor looked up to anyone before.
But for the first time ever, he admired Bastion as he was both strong and didn't have any prejudice for newbies like Kane.
"My name is Kane. As I've said... it's my honor."
"No. It's my honor. Is this fate? To think that the guy who just removed my title just came here."
"Removed your title?"
Bastion flashed another textbox and showed him a few of his other titles.
HIDDEN TITLES:
[FORMERLY FASTEST TRAVELER ON ARCADIA]
Kane had his mouth opened wide.
"What the hell?"
"Did you really did that, or you cheated?"
"Ummm... I didn't even know I had that."
"Because I had to run so fast and even break my own record over and over again just so no other people could break my record. But here you are. You totally skipped all of my records. How did you do it? My record was 1.5 km per two hours."
"Mine was... I don't even know what happened. I was sleeping in my bed in the real world when this happened. And my character is in a Crocodile's mouth!"
"Crocodile's mouth? No wonder why it took that fast. You're swimming through oceans. But is that Crocodile that big?"
"Yes. I think it's a boss. It's called... aaahhhh I remembered it. It's Heraldian Horrors."
"Oooohhh, it's a boss located between the newbie island and the Miranda Kingdom. But how did you get eaten? You can only fight him on a ship. And then it will crash land into the continent."
"I swam."
"You swam?! Hahahahaha! Why did you do that? You can cross the Ocean by ship?"
"I was being chased. I didn't know there were dino crocs under that ocean."
"At what part are you already? Did you finish the Royal Knight's storyline?"
"Uhhhh, no. Never heard of it."
"What about Night of Herald questline?"
"Nope. Still haven't got that."
"What about the Debt Collectors?"
"I heard about it. But it was never activated on me."
"Hahaha!! So, you've just basically started."
"Yes. I started yesterday."
"Why are you level 5 then?"
"I cleared the Fruit Eye Cave."
"By yourself?!"
"No. Someone helped me."
"Oohhh, so you were boosted. It's fine. But you have to take care of yourself later on."
"I'm planning to quit this game after I crafted my late friend's dream armor."
"What is it?"
Kane was suddenly delighted. This guy was a professional with a level of over 3000. He could probably help Kane make the armor faster.
"You probably know it since your level 3,000. It's called Moonwrath Armor."
"Moonwrath Armor??"
"Yes! Ever heard of it?!"
"Nope."
Kane's delightfulness disappeared in a second.
"What the hell? It has a built-in ability to manipulate gravity."
"Nope. Doesn't ring a bell."
This was twice now. When Kane searched it online, nothing came out. When he asked a professional, they never heard of it. Kane was starting to doubt the stories that were told to him.
'Did he lie to me? No... I doubt that.'
Suddenly, Bastion grabbed his head and scratched his hair.
"Hey! Don't quit the game! We owned the title The One who survived a battle against an undefeatable deity. I can say that out of over 5 billion people playing this game, only around a hundred people had that title. And you're one of those!"
"What is it, again?"
"It means you met a being you shouldn't have met. Since you're oblivious, you're even luckier. Other's would've shit themselves already upon seeing those beings."
"I did feel the creeps all over my body when I saw that serpent."
"Serpent... Black Serpent?"
"Yeah. How did you know?"
"So, someone did find her..."
"She's way up the—"
But Bastion stopped Kane from saying it by waving his hand.
"I wanna know more about her but not this time. We're chasing another Titan this time."
"Yeah, right!" another man said.
A man equipped with a shiny Knight armor was leaning on the icy wall, waiting for them.
"I've been waiting for you, Bastion! Who's this guy?"
"Just someone who broke my record."
"What? The record that you were crying about earlier?! This guy?!"
Bastion and the Knight walked forward while Kane followed. This was the start of the story about the Freeloader that I narrated earlier, except that this time, that Freeloader was no longer a freeloader. He was an arrogant player called Kane. The same Kane that will cause an enormous uproar in the future. The legendary player...