ã€ŠThe Bounty Hunterã€‹


 Prologue

    ¡°Excuse me, do you wanna team up?¡±

    I turned around to look at the speaker and was surprised to see a low-level assassin. The assassin was a young boy of around fifteen, judging by his appearance. His white hair and blue eyes made him look almost angelic. Usually, lower level players aren¡¯t courageous enough to ask for help from a veteran like me. It was quite saddening really, as I liked to mentor new people in the ins and outs of this new world that we had been introduced to. And this world had already been live for six months.

    The sheer amount of dungeons to explore and artifacts to collect was the main objective of everyone in this world, after all. A game-like world that had completely replaced the normal world over six months ago.

    ¡°Sure, what would you like to do?¡±

    The assassin seemed to hesitate while asking for my help. Maybe now that he had finally summoned the courage to actually approach me, he found the prospect of asking for my intimidating? I took this moment to look at his basic character sheet using my ¡®observe¡¯, which to my immense pride was level 47 which was among the top ten percent in the whole world.

    The character sheet came up with his basic stats:

    Name: LowlyAssassin

    Lvl 2

    Class: Assassin

    Guild: Not affiliated (Maybe associated but observe not high enough)

    ¡°No need to worry. You can ask me for any info or help and I will be happy to provide it. I have nothing better to do anyway.¡± I tried to ease his worries so that he could ask for my help freely. I am of the belief that it¡¯s the duty of the older veterans to support the newbies so that they stick with the tough profession of an adventurer and the number of adventurers can grow faster. After all, the adventurers were now the main sources of resources in the world.

    That¡¯s one of the reasons I was hanging out in the village of Aldon in the first place. Aldon was the starting point of all the adventurers who chose to begin their career as adventurers, exploring dungeons in the hopes of obtaining fame and fortune. I always tried to reach out to groups of newbies just so I could teach them the details of this path they had taken. Only six months had passed since the world had changed but quests for higher-level players like me had become essentially nonexistent.

    It was just because the newly discovered dungeons and quests that were available right now were just beyond the means of even the highest-ranked players. Quests generally required groups, which was encouraged by the existence of guilds in the world. But sheer numbers wouldn¡¯t do the trick. No, numbers with a sufficient level of power were required for the player base as a whole to progress in this new order and uncover all the mysteries it had to offer.

    Guilds throughout the world were looking for new talent to blood and then recruit said talent into their guilds. I was a part of the ¡®Roaring Dragons¡¯ guild, the seventy-eighth ranked guild in the whole world before I had been encouraged to form an offshoot guild to serve as a feeder guild of sorts.

    Thus, with the encouragement of the leaders of the ¡®The Roaring Dragon¡¯ guild, I had formed my own guild, ¡°The Flying Mambas¡¯. We just had three members at the moment, all of whom had been previous members of the ¡®The Roaring Dragon¡¯ guild but we had many prospective members we were scouting. We only wanted the best, after all, seeing as we were a feeder of a very prestigious guild.

    The assassin finally let go of his hesitation as he said, hand behind his head, ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just that I am a new adventurer and can''t seem to get the hang of this class I have chosen to undertake. I looked at your gear and assumed that you were a high-level veteran. Can you help me with the beginner¡¯s cave? As soon as I enter it, I am ambushed by the ravenous rats. I can¡¯t seem to kill them and am stuck at level two.¡±

    I just shook my head and said, ¡°This game encourages group-building, especially in the beginning stages of the game. That cave is too high-leveled for a single level two player. You should have a group of at least three players.¡±

    He gained a despondent look on his face as he said, ¡°I am aware of that. But all my friends had already begun their journeys a long time ago. Now, they are higher level players while I am stuck at this low level. They seem unwilling to help me, seeing as they get calls from all over the world to perform missions or join groups. Now, I find myself wondering whether I made the right choice in choosing this profession after all.¡±

    I was quite astonished to hear what he had to say, especially the tidbit about his friends. Getting called all over the world meant that they must be among the higher echelons of the population on this planet. Even I, a veteran from the earliest days of this world, didn¡¯t yet have the opportunity to respond to requests from other nations or governments. I was more of a local hero, tasked to take out dungeons and monsters from the lower level towns or villages.

    I tried to soothe his worries, not wanting him to change course so soon in his path. I also wanted to see if helping him would aid me in contacting a few of his friends so that I could benefit from their association, maybe even recruit a few of them for my guild or even the parent guild. Contacts in this world were of paramount importance. Higher-level heroes had better gear and just one or two of such gear that they gave out of sheer generosity would help any low levelled players to scale better dungeons.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about those rats. I¡¯ll help you if you want to. It¡¯s a beginner level cave that I can easily help you scale. You can even have all of the loot, seeing as I already raided that dungeon a long time ago.¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    LowlyAssassin nodded gratefully at me before asking, ¡°That¡¯s awesome. Can I get your name? I don¡¯t have the ¡®Observe¡¯ skill at the moment.¡±

    ¡°My adventurer name is Scarlet Emperor. I chose the paladin class. What about you?¡± I already knew his name and info of course but I didn¡¯t want to seem rude. Also, the ethics of using ¡®Observe¡¯ on humans rather than monsters were still being debated in the major forums throughout the WorldNetwork.

    He replied, his tone eager, ¡°My adventurer name is LowlyAssassin. As the name suggests, I belong to the assassin class. Do you have any tips on how I should progress in my selected class?¡±

    I thought about that for a moment before saying, ¡°You can follow the template that the top assassins in the world are following. Assassins are generally fast and stealthy. I would invest a lot of points into speed and agility. Also, focus on expanding your skill tree in the ¡®stealth¡¯ branch. That¡¯s all I know, really.¡±

    The assassin gained a thoughtful look after hearing my words before nodding to himself, probably having come to a decision. We made our way to the beginner¡¯s cave, with him asking questions throughout the journey and me doing my best to answer them.

    It wasn¡¯t long before we were at the entrance of the beginner¡¯s cave. People were milling about but the cave wasn¡¯t busy itself. It wasn¡¯t too much of a popular cave anymore, now that most beginners generally knew a veteran and fought in groups consisting of high-leveled people who took them to more difficult caves right off the bat, thus helping them skip some steps.

    We entered the cave and almost at once I could sense that something was off. The entire place was silent, almost eerily so. There wasn¡¯t a trace of any players and more offputtingly, any rats. I wasn¡¯t too worried though, chalking this up as an unusual occurrence that was ironically, very usual in this world. We delved deeper into the darkness of the cave.

    I activated my watch, prepared to take out my sword at a moment¡¯s notice. The watch, you ask? A unique contraption designed to hold all your gear. Every person on the planet had one, no matter if you were an adventurer or not. It was the only gift we received from whatever deity had decided to ¡®upgrade our world¡¯, so to speak.

    Once you lost your watch, your life was forfeited for good. It contained information about all your stats and the gear and artifacts you had accumulated. Without it, you were as good as dead. There were no replacements. As soon as you lost your watch, you became a relic stuck in the new world, destined to be a bottom-feeder. You lost everything, not only gear or artifacts but also your class and levels and you could not get it back unless you had your original watch back.

    It was listed as the number one crime, stealing or taking in any form someone¡¯s watch, punishable by execution.

    I was suddenly greeted by a cacophony of noises, indicating that the rats we had come to hunt were near. I took out my longbone sword, one of only a hundred in this world, prepared to take on any onslaught of rats that may come our way. It was slight overkill but damn it, I wanted to show off to the newbie.

    No sooner had I taken out my sword were we greeted by a group of rats, who were seemingly in a frenzy. Their behaviour struck me as odd, almost as if they had been provoked even before we had come here.

    The rats gained a menacing red glow in their beady eyes as I was alarmed for the first time today. I barely swung my sword in time as a rat practically flew through the air towards me, its fangs bared, eager to finish me off.

    I retreated a little, on my guard against these ravenous beasts. Before I could catch my breath and position myself however, the rats all moved towards me at once, intent on devouring me. I managed to hold them off just barely, using my longbone sword to great effect.

    I had had enough of this adventure for now. I turned around and told the newbie, ¡°We have got to get out of here! These rats seem to have been provoked before, through some potions or something, I am not exactly certain. Eradicating these particular group of rats isn¡¯t a task for just the two of us. Let us go back and come back with a group.¡±

    The newbie nodded, fear etched on his face, as we turned around, intent on finding our way out of this cave as soon as possible. But before we could move back too much, we found ourselves surrounded on all sides. I held my longbone sword in anticipation, prepared for an attack from all directions.

    The rats showed an alarming amount of intelligence as they inched closer to us as one. Before I could concentrate on any one particular direction though, I felt a sharp pain in my left arm as my sword dissipated right out of my hands.

    I looked towards my arm to see what had happened and to my horror, all that greeted me was a stump in place of where my arm should be. I also understood the reason for my sword vanishing, as my watch had separated from my body since still attached to my left arm.

    Turning around, I received the greatest shock of my life in this new world as I looked at the newbie with an obsidian greatsword in his hands. It was a legendary item, one of only seven in the world. His appearance had changed too. White hair had been replaced by hair of the pitchest black and the blue eyes had turned red. But the most shocking aspect wasn¡¯t the sword or his appearance. No, it was the menacing look on his face, ill-fitted on his visage which had displayed so much innocence and fear just a few moments ago.

    Before I could so much as say a word, he had swung his sword in a wide arc at my left leg. My left leg separated from my body without my resistance and I fell over in a heap, my mind reeling from the pain and shock. I looked up to see him and wanted to ask him the reason for his actions when his appearance changed altogether.

    Instead of the young child who had accompanied me to the cave, this was a grown boy out of his teenage years, similar in age to my own twenty-one years. I couldn¡¯t comprehend what was happening or what sorcery he had used.

    That was when he spoke and his words sent a chill down my spine. ¡°For what¡¯s it worth, I am sorry. I am just doing my job. Blame the one who put a bounty on your head, if you want to blame someone that is. I don¡¯t think you have much time left to do anything, in fact.¡± His tone was so callous, as if he had just stepped on an ant, not killed another human being.

    Without so much as a glance at me after that, he just picked my left arm from the ground before taking my watch from it. Swinging my watch in his hands, he turned and moved towards the exit of the cave, whistling a merry tune.

    I looked at his back before I felt a bite on my still intact leg. To my utter horror, the ravenous rats all moved towards me, fangs still bared and hunger in their eyes that would haunt the nightmares of the best of the adventurers. I could only scream in despair as the rats finished me off, with only my heart-wrenching screams for company.

    Outside the cave, the young man not named LowlyAssassin sent a photograph of his target¡¯s watch to his client. He then put every item in the watch on sale in the black market, having no use for them, before shutting off his own watch.

    ¡°I hope the client sends my payment soon. I don¡¯t think he would welcome a visit from the bounty hunter, after all.¡±

 Prologue II: The Bounty Hunter always collects his dues

    I stood looking at my watch, still unable to believe the image that had been sent over to me, almost a day after it had been sent, in fact. This was so surreal! The fact that an adventurer was parading around as the ¡®Bounty Hunter¡¯ in this new world, where everyone had superpowers, was pretty hard to believe.

    Even harder to believe was the fact that he advertised his service on the forums. Granted it was in the black market section, but still, you get my point. If nothing, I had to admire the balls on whoever this individual was.

    I had no intention of paying him, of course. What could he possibly do? Complain to my guild that I hadn¡¯t paid him for his services when the said service was murder? He would be a fool to believe that anyone would pay him for what he was offering.

    His actions also had an additional advantage for me, of course. I had a ready-made target for when the ¡®The Roaring Dragon¡¯ inevitably came snooping around. After all, Scarlet Emperor was one of the few they favoured, having granted him the resources to form his own feeder guild. I couldn¡¯t help but grit my teeth at the thought. That na?ve fool, getting such favour from one of the most powerful guilds in the world when he wasn¡¯t better than me.

    Helping newbies? I couldn¡¯t help but snort at the thought. The cream would always rise to the top. It didn¡¯t need any help. I would lead this guild in a much better direction, I was sure of that. I would recruit only the best and the most talented, those who were actually worth investing in. In due time, the ¡®Roaring Dragon¡¯ would recognise my efforts and duly reward me.

    I was broken off from my thoughts when my partner called out my name. I had been waiting for him for a few minutes now in front of ¡®The Drunkard¡¯s Tale¡¯, a very popular bar in this part of the world. My partner was one of the two guys the guild had sent with Scarlet Emperor to form this feeder guild, the other being me. He, too, had been bitter about the leader¡¯s position not being given to him but he didn¡¯t have the stomach to do the necessary thing.

    ¡°Hey, Death Lord. What took you so long?¡± I greeted my partner, looking at his flustered appearance. He looked as if he had run the whole way here.

    ¡°Got held up, man. There¡¯s a sale going on in the Bree Market for exotic potions and the crowd is huge. I had to come through the longer path. Where¡¯s Scarlet Emperor? Is he late too?¡±

    I had to struggle to keep a grin off my face as I replied, ¡° I don¡¯t know myself, man. Haven¡¯t heard from him since yesterday. I was hoping he had contacted you or you knew something.¡±

    He just shook his head, saying, ¡°Nah. I also haven¡¯t been in contact with him for a while. Reckon he¡¯s sick or something?¡±

    I shrugged noncommittally, ¡°Maybe. Wanna check out his house?¡±

    He nodded, acquiescing to my words, before saying, ¡°While we are here, let¡¯s just pick up some beer. Maybe that will cheer him up.¡±

    I mumbled, ¡°Sure¡±, thinking that nothing would cheer him up much after his migration to the afterlife. But I had to make a show of it, of course, and so promptly followed him into the bar, thinking about buying my own favourite brew, since Scarlet Emperor wouldn¡¯t be consuming it anyway.

    The bar was crowded, as usual, meaning we had to wait. Having nothing better to do, we got to talking again.

    He started it up with a conversation that was becoming increasingly familiar and somewhat irritating, ¡°We really have to recruit people into our guild soon, Raven. Our parent clan grows restless for results. They want to see some growth.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help muttering tiredly, ¡°I know, I know. But hadn¡¯t we all decided that we would only allow the ones with the most potential to enter?¡±

    He nodded at that. ¡°We did, yes, and I am not saying that we should change that train of thought. All I am saying is that we have already scouted a few promising recruits. Maybe, it is time to make them true members. How about that Moth guy? He looked particularly strong to me, for his experience, that is.¡±

    I grew puzzled at that question. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that he had already joined a guild three days ago? Once a person joins a guild, no one else can recruit him unless the guild releases him. You know that, right?¡±

    Hearing my response, he just laughed awkwardly, probably embarrassed at his memory, or lack thereof. I just shook my head ruefully at him before ordering what we had come here for. We were asked to wait as we would be called when our order was ready.

    We proceeded to move towards the notice board, trying to look for any interesting jobs or any requests for group formations to perform a quest.

    Death Lord pointed towards a notice and excitedly remarked, ¡°Look, ¡®The Roaring Dragon¡¯ guild and ¡®The Saturn Clan¡¯ guild are collaborating, looking to challenge the eleventh level of the Hermes dungeon. Can you imagine the loot? Do you think our parent guild would let us join?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but grin myself. ¡°Sure they would. Any adventure needs competent people. And both of us can actually hold our own against stronger monsters! We should go and ask the recruiter for the guild. He¡¯ll surely allow us to join this expedition.¡±

    ¡°Can you imagine the number of adventurers this would require? When you calculate the amount of loot the leaders and their confidants will take, do you think guys like us at the bottom rung of the ladder will get much?¡±, he asked me in an uncertain voice.

    I replied almost immediately in a confident voice, ¡°I am sure whatever we will get will be much better than what we currently possess. After all, this is a dungeon level that hasn¡¯t even been explored yet. We are just lucky that guilds from outside of our nation haven¡¯t yet come to explore. Even if we don¡¯t get the exotic items, we will get some rare ones. Don¡¯t you worry.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    ¡°Yes, of course, the foreign guilds aren¡¯t coming yet. The Guild Union of our country has to invite them for them to be able to step foot on our turf in any official capacity, right?¡±

    I nodded at that, confirming that it was correct. We found ourselves in pretty high spirits at the prospect of the rewards that awaited us. This would also likely help us in getting stronger members in the guild, as our reputation could only skyrocket after this.

    By this time, our order was ready and we took it from the counter before moving towards Scarlet Emperor¡¯s house. I felt kind of irritated, knowing that this was just a futile task, a waste of effort but keeping up appearances was important if I wanted to get away with what I did.

    We reached our destination before seeing that the doors were locked and the windows were bolted. My companion knocked at the door for a long time before giving it up as a lost cause. He turned around and asked me, ¡°Do you think he went on a quest by himself?¡±

    I pretended to think about it for a moment before replying, ¡°Could be. You know how he likes to help newbies who are new to the life of an adventurer, right? Maybe he took a group and went to beginner level cave or dungeon?¡±

    Death Lord nodded at that before saying, ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s more than likely. Could have invited us though. The more, the merrier I say.¡±

    I chucked at that before asking him what he wanted to do, now that we didn¡¯t find Scarlet Emperor here. We couldn¡¯t very well go to The Roaring Dragon guild carrying alcohol while asking permission to join the exploring group. So we decided that it would be best that we went to my abode first before consuming some food with our drinks and then make our way to the recruiter.

    I plopped down on my favourite lounger as soon as we reached my place, sighing in contentment. Death Lord only snickered at me before proceeding to lie down on the floor himself. I stayed in that position for a while before I resentfully moved towards the kitchen to get something to eat with our beers.

    We popped open our beers, taking a sip each and then proceeding to let out a burp and bursting out in laughter. I finished my bottle pretty quick and bent down to take another one when my watch beeped, indicating that someone in my friend list had contacted me.

    I opened my watch and scrolled to the personal messages section. I couldn¡¯t comprehend what I was reading for a moment before it hit me and the blood froze in my veins.

    On the screen of the watch, the message sent by Death Lord read: ¡°Where are you? I am still held up in the market. Man, you won''t believe some of the potions and pills here. I will be by the bar in twenty minutes. Sorry about the delay.¡± I was vaguely aware of the bottle in my hand crashing to the floor and breaking into shards and pieces.

    I only had eyes for the man sitting in front of me though. He was looking at me with a sly grin on his face. I felt myself shaking in fear as he said, ¡°My, my, looks like the game is up! It¡¯s a pity, really. I was quite enjoying it if am I to be honest.¡±

    I could only stutter in dismay as I asked him, ¡°Wh..who are you?¡±

    He gained a look of mock sadness on his face and pouted, ¡°I am hurt, Raven, I was sure you would recognise me, seeing as you were the one who contacted me.¡±

    I thought about it for some time, my mind feeling sluggish due to the fear I was experiencing when the answer hit me like a ton of bricks. It couldn¡¯t be! It just couldn¡¯t!

    Nonetheless, I asked him, ¡°The Bounty Hunter?¡±

    He only grinned in response, ¡°Bingo. The Bounty Hunter. The guy you didn¡¯t pay for his service.¡±

    I tried to put on a brave fa?ade, ¡°This won¡¯t end well for you. I have connections.¡±

    The infuriating smirk didn¡¯t leave his face, however. ¡°So did your leader, didn¡¯t he? Look where it got him.¡±

    I asked him, looking to buy some time to summon my hammer, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    The smirk left his face at that, his demeanour serious all of a sudden, ¡°What I am owed, what else. My due. I have just one business motto, you know. A cardinal rule, if you will. The Bounty Hunter always gets his dues.¡±

    That was all the time I needed as I summoned my ivory hammer and swung it at him with full force. I failed to hit him though, as, in a blaze of speed, he dodged my attack. With the same agility, he moved behind me before sweeping my legs from under me, making me let go of the hammer. Before I could so much as react, he had lifted my hammer without breaking a sweat and swung it casually at my foot.

    The impact was enough to overload my brain with pain as I went numb, unable to comprehend the state I was in. He spoke without a trace of emotion, ¡°That should keep you from moving.¡±

    I was vaguely aware as he took my watch off my left hand. He spoke once again, a trace of the apparent amusement he felt seeping into his voice, ¡°I didn¡¯t like your choice of beer, man. At least it will be good for something.¡±

    He then proceeded to open one of the bottles and put some weird pill in it. He knelt beside me and said, ¡°Have a drink, mate¡±, before proceeding to force the entire drink down my throat. He moved towards the mirror after that and then to my utter horror, his appearance changed right before my eyes to impeccably mirror my own current appearance.

    That was when whatever poison he had put in my drink kicked in. My insides felt as if they were on fire as I shouted, ¡°Please stop this. I will pay you, I promise.¡±

    He just looked at me for a moment before saying, ¡°The deadline has passed, Mr. Client. I require interest after the deadline.¡±

    ¡°Please, whatever you want, I will give you.¡±

    ¡°What I want, Mr. Client, is everything you own, including your life. And I have it. That¡¯s my due. Goodbye, Mr.Client.¡±

    I could feel my organs melting as I prayed that I met the sweet embrace of death as soon as possible. Just before my final breath, I cursed the Bounty Hunter¡¯s name and his very existence, wishing I had never heard of him.

    ¡°Man, I really got to stop killing my clients. That¡¯s the second one already. This way my business won''t grow as the only advertisement I can rely upon is word of mouth. I have gotten just two favourable reviews on the forum. These kinds of clients suck! Cheap, the lot of them. Underestimating the Bounty Hunter.¡±

    The house I had just left was still burning as I put all of my former client¡¯s items on sale before moving towards ¡®The Drunkard¡¯s tale¡¯ once more. I had to get out of there fast, after all. Couldn¡¯t be seen at the sight of my own burning house now, could I?

    There was Death Lord, waving at me. I waved back at him cheerfully.He asked me, ¡°Hey, Raven, where were you?¡±

    I could only smile at him, ¡°Just sorting out some business.¡±

    He looked at me curiously at that but I just nodded at him with a grin. As I followed him inside the bar, I thought about killing him before deciding not to. Maybe, I would join the quest to explore the eleventh level of the dungeon after all, as Raven of course. Plus, it was fun being a part of a guild, especially one at its initial or expanding stages. I would know, as I was already part of seven such guilds. Not by the same alias, of course.

    Don¡¯t tell anyone that. If you do, you would owe me. For betraying me.

    And The Bounty Hunter always collects his dues.

 Class Unlocked!

    I was beyond exhausted. This whole hiking trip had been a disaster from the beginning. It wasn¡¯t my kind of trip anyways. The fact that I had been coerced to come on this excursion still made me froth in rage.

    ¡°It will be fun!¡±, they said. It totally wasn¡¯t. I had never been involved in such a tedious undertaking in my life.

    ¡°The place we are going to is beautiful!¡±, they exclaimed. I still failed to grasp the idyllic charm of this sandy hill that just blew up dust when a breeze passed through.

    ¡°It will help you become more social. You always say how you feel you don¡¯t belong in a group with your classmates. This will help you make friends.¡± I totally felt unwanted in this setting, as the various cliques had totally excluded me from their groups. It wouldn¡¯t have surprised me if the only reason I was there in the first was to make up some sort of cost difference that might have been holding up this trip. After all, these so-called ¡®friends¡¯ had gone and convinced my father to part with some extravagant amount of money for me to go along with them on this stupid trip. Curse of having rich parents, it seemed to me right now.

    I trailed behind the group of twenty-seven other people while they were busy making plans about what they were going to do when they reached the summit. One of the boy¡¯s uncles had a cabin that had been granted to him for use and he was busy describing the cabin¡¯s beauties to some girls who were hanging on to his every word. I could barely contain my self from rolling my eyes when I heard about the ¡®jacuzzi that had been installed just this summer so we didn¡¯t have to bathe like savages¡¯.

    We had been walking for more than two hours and the cabin was nowhere in sight. It wouldn¡¯t have surprised me if the cabin was just a figment of imagination that was being used to get into the girls¡¯ pants. We stopped for a break near a large oak tree and the group set up blankets and chairs to have some sort of a makeshift picnic.

    I noticed a weird pattern while the food was being distributed. I was the last one to be given any food item. It wasn¡¯t because I sat at the end of an imaginary line or arrangement or anything but I was given whatever was leftover, the bad apples of the lot if you will. And some items, I wasn¡¯t getting at all. It seemed as if they had prepared food only for twenty-seven people. I just hoped that the items I didn¡¯t get to sample gave them food poisoning.

    After what seemed to be like an eternity, the picnic was done and everyone gathered all their belongings quickly, excited at the prospect of finally reaching the cabin. Although I didn¡¯t share their enthusiasm, I also couldn¡¯t wait to finally have a roof over my head and probably lie down somewhere. Needless to say, ¡®connecting with nature¡¯ wasn¡¯t something I was going to be able to do that day.

    It was just after dusk that we finally got a glimpse of the mythic cabin. I had to grudgingly admit that the place was beautiful. One by one, people began to filter into the cabin. Only when about a few boys were left did the host for the evening announce that the cabin would be out of space and some of us might have to spend their nights outside in tents and sleeping bags.

    And wouldn¡¯t you know it? Only I was the one deemed ¡®unlucky¡¯ enough to have to sleep outside due to lack of space. I could tell that he was lying through his teeth because it was apparent that the cabin could house many more people. He just threw the supplies for the tent at me and with a cocky smirk on his face proceeded to close the door in my face.

    I felt myself burning with indignant rage and humiliation as I stared at the door that had just been slammed. The cacophony of noises that I could hear from within the cabin made it even worse as I could only imagine them ridiculing me. Any laughter I heard seemed to be aimed directly at me, at least in my head. I wanted to smash open the door and kick the guy¡¯s ass. But I knew any such effort would be futile.

    I proceeded to set up the tent based on what I had seen in the movies and other media. As expected, I ended up doing a terrible job of it. It was only when I entered the tent did I realise that they hadn¡¯t left me any supplies for the night, no food or amenities at all. The rage I felt bubbling at my chest seemed to be clawing out, desperate for release.

    Like always, I tried to bottle it down. Any outward display of emotion would only provide more ammunition to the group to continue my humiliation. I was beginning to regret every moment of this trip.

    The worst of the night wasn¡¯t yet over though. Oh no, there was much more to come because of course, there was. I hadn¡¯t been in my tent for more than fifteen minutes before lightning started to crackle in the sky. The first sound of thunder startled me to my soul. Before I could begin to comprehend what was happening, rain began to pour heavily and strong winds began to blow, taking whatever was left of my poor excuse of a tent with it.

    There I was, wet and shivering all over from the heavy downpour all around, cursing whatever deity was responsible for my fate. That was when a red lightning bolt streaked through the sky, colouring the mountain red. I almost pissed my pants due to the proximity of the thunder, remembering something about lightning striking high places. ¡®Nothing higher than a hill¡¯, I thought.

    Another streak of red lightning adorned the sky as I ran to the cabin, too distraught to ponder the absurd phenomena. I struck the door with all my might, begging them to let me in. All I got in response was some snickering from the other end of the door. I would have continued knocking nonetheless if a series of characters hadn¡¯t appeared before my eyes.

    ¡°Tutorial Complete! Humanity has gained the right to enter the GRAND ORDER!¡±

    That was when the door to the cabin finally opened. It was the host himself, looking at me with the same cocky smirk on his face before his face gained a puzzled look. Before I could enter the cabin though, a bestial roar tore through the air and the cocky smirk I had just been witnessing morphed into a terrified gasp.

    I turned around to look at the cause of such a reaction and I felt my heart give way when I saw a creature that could only be likened to a hairy minotaur, a creature from Greek mythology. I rushed to enter the cabin but found myself reeling when I hit solid wood. The bastard had closed the door on me. Before I could recover from my dazed state, the minotaur was rushing towards me.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    I tried to get up but it only served to serve up my entrails as targets for its horn. Before I could so much as react, I was impaled by the horn of the minotaur. That wasn¡¯t the end of my predicament, however.

    I hadn¡¯t come unstuck from the horn and the minotaur just turned around and ran at a breakneck pace, not paying me any mind. I was only mildly aware of the pain I was feeling in my abdomen as my brain was completely overtaken by shock and pain. The minotaur just ran through a boulder but I was too overwhelmed to notice the pain when my vertebrae pretty much turned to dust.

    The minotaur swung its head around for a little bit before I was finally thrown off him and he just ran away into the night, leaving me on the ground, resigned to my fate. I could feel my life slipping away when one after another, messages began to appear, floating in front of my eyes.

    ¡°Critical Hit! Dead in 3¡­.2¡­..1¡­..¡±

    ¡°Title Unlocked! First one dead!¡±

    ¡°Title Unlocked! First one betrayed!¡±

    ¡°Title Unlocked! First one killed!¡±

    ¡°Congratulations! You have completed the first requirement of unlocking the unique class: ¡°PROTEAN¡±. Would you like to continue?¡±

    ¡°Remember! Choice once taken cannot be reversed! Should you reject this opportunity, no one else on planet Earth will have access to this class!¡±

    I could only stare at the characters dumbfounded, unsure of what to think. If the messages were to be believed, I was already dead. At the hands of a mythical creature, betrayed and left to die alone.

    I wondered whether choosing ¡®Yes¡¯ would mean another chance at life and choosing ¡®No¡¯ would mean forfeiting my life. Not wanting to take any risks and not having options really, I chose yes. which led to another couple of messages to appear out of thin air.

    I rose about two feet in the air before I realised I was floating in the air. My wounds sealed themselves completely and I felt rejuvenated as I had never done before. I landed on the ground with a dull thud when another couple of messages appeared out of thin air.

    ¡°Congratulations, you have chosen to undertake the final quest to gain the unique class: ¡°PROTEAN¡±. ¡°

    ¡°Final quest: Kill a single human being.¡±

    ¡°Rewards: 10000 XP, PROTEAN Class, Unique Title, four additional appearance slots.¡±

    ¡°Tools provided for special quest: One appearance slot.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t for the life of me fathom what any of those statements meant. Was I in some sort of game world? Did I gain some sort of power? And what are ¡®appearance slots¡¯? To my utter surprise, the system or AI or whatever was at play here answered my questions.

    ¡°Humanity has progressed enough in its evolution that the current resources on planet Earth will fail to sustain the existence of humanity. To compensate for this, the entire system on Earth was replaced by an upgraded system, the next level, if you will.¡±

    ¡°Through our observation of the various spheres of your society, we found that video games were the popular and universal means of entertainment while also providing a way to quantify strength within some parameters. So, the current system aims to mirror those game type dynamics.¡±

    ¡°Class: PROTEAN is a unique class that allows the user to change his or her appearance on will while also providing numerous other benefits, which will be illustrated once you completely unlock the class. But there are limits on the number of forms the user can change into. These forms are held in virtual slots which only the user will be able to access. Information on methods to acquire more slots will be available once you completely unlock the class.¡±

    While the answers had certainly been illuminating in its own twisted way, it left me with more questions than answers, questions I couldn¡¯t even begin to frame in my current state of mind.

    I looked at the quest in question. ¡°Kill a single human being.¡± To my utter surprise and a little self-disgust, I realised that I didn¡¯t have any major problems ending a person¡¯s life. It seemed as if my conscience was still lodged on the horns of the minotaur because I couldn¡¯t find any trace of it within myself.

    I found myself a little disturbed that I was looking forward to the deed quite a bit. To little surprise though, I already had the ideal candidate in mind. The douche who had denied me entry into the cabin. For two consecutive times. Once when I was in mortal danger. The gracious host of today¡¯s trip.

    If what the system said was true, I could take on the appearance of any one person, for now. I pondered on this dilemma for a moment before choosing to take on the appearance of a beautiful girl I had met on a vacation a while back.

    To my utter amazement, I felt myself going through the change for a little while before my body fixed itself to a form. I didn¡¯t have to think long to realise that my power had worked. The floating words hadn¡¯t just been a delusion of a dying mind.

    I slowly walked upto the cabin once more before shouting in a completely different voice from my original one, which I had already instinctilvely felt would be the case.

    ¡°Excuse me, please help. I don¡¯t know what''s going on and I would like a place to stay. Please help.¡± My voice was honey, if I may say so myself, conveying the right amounts of anxiety and fear.

    The door opened almost instantly after I finished my plea for help and lo and behold, it was the aforementioned douche who opened the door, his face adorned by an assured grin.

    I started rambling, not giving him a chance to speak, ¡°Can you please let me stay? I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on and all I hear are roars and shrieks from all around. My cabin is west from here but I seem to have misplaced my keys. Please let me stay while I figure out what is going on!¡±

    I was met with an innocent smile and an assuring pat on my shoulder before he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You can stay here. There¡¯s plenty of room available.¡±

    I released a visible sigh of relief before saying, ¡°Can you please help me carry my belongings inside? I left it there at the edge of the cliff so I don¡¯t forget where it was kept.¡±

    It was a lame excuse, I knew but the douche didn¡¯t think on it before replying, ¡°Rest assured. I will bring it. Just tell me where it is!¡±

    I put on a grateful smile on my face before saying, ¡°Let me show you,¡± before leading him towards the edge of the cliff. ¡°I kept it somewhere around here.¡±

    We began looking for the imaginary luggage, searching in all directions. Only when was he close to the edge did I move up to him and changed my appearance back to my normal self and asked in my usual voice, ¡°Did you find it?¡±

    He turned around to look at me, saying, ¡°What happened to your voi¡­..¡±

    His face was covered by a mask of sheer terror as he looked at me. He seemed to be frozen in his place, unable to say anything before I remarked, ¡°You know what, maybe I left my belongings at the bottom of the cliff.¡±

    As soon as I said that,I kicked him with all the force I could muster and sent him flying over the edge, dooming him to his demise. I watched as he fell, his face overtaken by a myriad of emotions: rage, shock, confusion and hatred before finally all that was left was resignation and fear as he closed his eyes, preparing for the inevitable.

    ¡°Congratulations! Quest completed: Kill a single human being!¡±

    ¡°Congratulations! You have completely unlocked class: PROTEAN!¡±

 The Minotaur

    ¡°Congratulations! Quest completed: Kill a single human being!¡±

    ¡°Congratulations! You have completely unlocked class: PROTEAN!¡±

    The two messages flashed before me for a moment before a myriad of consecutive messages followed it.

    ¡°Quest rewards rewarded: 10000 XP, four appearance slots!¡±

    ¡°Congratulations! You reached level three!¡±

    ¡°Level up reward: One appearance slot!¡±

    ¡°Level up reward: One appearance slot!¡±

    ¡°Title Achieved: Avenger! You got your due revenge. Which fool said revenge is best served cold?

    Reward: You can completely assume the identity of anyone you kill. Including taking on their identity on the OrderWeb.¡±

    ¡°Title Achieved: First Leveller! You were the first one to level up. Isn¡¯t that just fantastic? Take two more level-ups for your trouble.¡±

    ¡°Congratulations! You reached level five!¡±

    ¡°Level up reward: One appearance slot!¡±

    ¡°Level up reward: One appearance slot!¡±

    I couldn¡¯t take anything further than that mentally. The constant barrage of messages made my head hurt and I mentally signalled to close the tab or whatever this was. The messages stopped as ordered and I came face to face with a menu that had options like ¡®Stats¡¯, ¡®Titles¡¯, ¡®OrderWeb¡¯ etc. I closed them too, not wanting to get into the technicalities of what this weird system had to offer.

    I stood on the edge of the cliff, thinking about what I had just done. I had just murdered a person and to my utter surprise, I found myself feeling no remorse. There was no self-justification on my part, trying to prove that I was innocent. I knew I wasn¡¯t. The thought never crossed my mind. Instead, the most prevalent emotion I was feeling was acceptance. Acceptance about what I had done. And that the victim had deserved it!

    After all, the system had said I was an Avenger. I only got my due revenge. My due justice. There was a hollow voice behind my head that suggested that I was only believing what the system had said because it served my purpose and cleared my conscience, giving me some semblance of innocence. I pushed that thought to the depths of my mind, never wanting to hear it again.

    I walked back to the cabin and stood in front of the door, ready to knock, when I realised that I probably wouldn¡¯t be allowed to enter. There was a simple way around the problem though. I just visualised the appearance of my recent victim and within moments, I was the perfect replica of him. I knocked on the door and waited for a moment before the door was opened and a girl whose name I couldn¡¯t quite place peeked from behind the door with an unsure expression on her face.

    Her face quickly lit up with a smile on seeing me though. I was quite startled by her reaction before reminding myself that I had taken on the form of the douche and the reactions I would get weren¡¯t meant for me.

    ¡°Hey, Brad, why did you go out?¡± The girl asked with a curious look on her face. Looking around, I saw that few of the other people in the cabin were also listening in on the conversation.

    Before I could answer though, one of the other boys in the cabin asked boisterously, ¡°Hey, Brad, you find any sign of that loser?¡±

    I struggled for a moment, trying to place who the said loser was before realising that he must have referred to me. The real me. Cold rage filled my veins as I wanted nothing more than to go over him and knock the stupid smirk off his face. Some of the emotion must have shown on my face because he asked, ¡°Hey, man, you ok there?¡±

    I shook my head and said stiffly, ¡°Yeah, man. Just thinking of that loser sends my blood boiling, you know.¡±

    The smirk on his face grew wider as he said, ¡°Tell me about it. I was afraid that bringing him on this trip would spoil the whole experience. You did a good job of phasing him out, Brad.¡±

    ¡°Can we talk about what¡¯s happening to us right now instead of wasting our breath on that weirdo? This whole Grand Order or something. I am looking at my screen and I see my stats and stuff. Doesn¡¯t that strike you as remarkable at all?¡±, one of the other guys spoke up.  I really needed to associate these guys with their names or else my jig would be up pretty soon.

    ¡®Or you could just kill them all and get rid of the hassle. You know, they deserve it as much as the douche.¡¯

    I shook that thought out of my head as soon as possible. I was concerned by the fact that I was hearing voices in my head but didn¡¯t ponder on it too much because it was disconcerting to the extreme.

    While I was literally trying to sort out the voices in my head, the others had a wild discussion on what course of action to take. I found myself unable to deal with all of this and loudly suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t we go home and take stock of what is happening? If the system is right, then whatever we are experiencing is happening to everyone else on this planet. Let¡¯s meet up with our families and then see what¡¯s going on.¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Everyone unequivocally agreed with me and we all decided to leave for our houses at the earliest. It was still quite early in the night and based on whatever was going on, we decided that leaving in the night was a risk worth taking.

    We gathered all our belongings and began to leave the cabin. I waited for everyone to exit before getting out of the cabin myself. As soon as we exited the cabin though, the cabin began to change its shape. We could only stare on in shock as the cabin transformed into some sort of a shrine. A plate adorned the entrance of the shrine, where the words ¡®The Minotaur¡¯s abode¡¯ was engraved in gold letters.

    Those words brought back the memories of the Minotaur I had died at the hands of. I had a bad premonition that I hadn¡¯t quite seen the last of the Minotaur. We started moving down the hill when suddenly a message flashed before us, ¡°Welcome to a new dungeon!¡±

    ¡°Dungeon: The Minotaur¡¯s abode¡±

    ¡°Required level: 25¡±

    ¡°Recommended party members:7¡±

    As soon as I saw the message, I knew that we were screwed. If the dungeon boss was the same Minotaur I had the unfortunate meeting with, we might as welcome death with open arms.

    There were confused whispers all around me, each wondering what the message meant for them. Nonetheless, we started walking down the hill, with me in the lead. It seemed that everyone considered the douche their de facto leader and trusted him to lead them out of this mess. We had barely walked a few minutes before there was a startled scream from behind us.

    We quickly turned around to see what was going on. What followed were hysterical screams from our group as we saw one of the boys who was bringing up the rear in the Minotaur¡¯s grasp. He casually tore through the body with one of its claws before tossing the remains towards us before staring us down.

    That was all the motivation the group needed to scatter in all directions. The group was broken and before I could even suggest that it was probably the aim of the Minotaur, I found myself standing with the obnoxious guy who had repeatedly called me a loser and one other girl.

    The Minotaur soon focused on us and began rushing towards us. I turned around and ran down the hill as fast as my leg could carry me. A scream from behind me suggested that the Minotaur had gotten hold of one of the other two but I couldn¡¯t care less over the fate of the others in the party.

    I kept running and soon found the obnoxious guy beside me. It seemed that the girl had been the one who had unwillingly sacrificed herself so that we could live, although I didn¡¯t think that was her intention. I didn¡¯t give it much thought though, too occupied with the thought of getting out of here.

    We were leaving the forest behind us at a rapid speed. The sound of screams that would periodically tear through the silence of the forest was chilling and seemed to make our legs work faster. It was clear that the Minotaur was picking off our group one by one. I just didn¡¯t want to be in this forest or dungeon or whatever it was called when it finally ran out of all the prey and concentrated on me.

    Before long, the base of the hill was within our sights and I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. The guy who was beside me had fallen a little behind and was panting hard, but his determination to live seemed strong enough to carry him through.

    With our escape in sight, he started laughing hysterically. I looked towards him, puzzled regarding his behaviour. He must have seen my look because he said, ¡°Do you realise what this means? We are the best, man. The elite.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    He replied, the grin still on his face, ¡°There were twenty-eight but only we will survive. Doesn¡¯t that tell something? That we are better than them. If everything we experienced today is true and not just some hallucination, then together we can achieve great things. This is the beginning of something special, man. I can feel it.¡±

    I wondered if all the running had finally made him crack and lose his mind. I didn¡¯t pay him anymore mind. Another scream tore through the silent night, although one thing was different about it and it made me very anxious. It sounded like the latest victim was in close proximity to us. Too close for comfort, in fact.

    No sooner did that thought cross my mind than we heard an ear-splitting roar from the Minotaur. Against my better judgement, I turned and saw the Minotaur barrelling towards us with inhumane speed. I was ahead of my companion but not by much.

    I found myself feeling tired and some doubt crept into my mind regarding whether I was going to make it. The destination was very close and it was sheer desperation that was making me move my legs. Legs that felt like they were made of cast lead due to the fatigue.

    ¡°We will make it, Brad. It¡¯s destiny. It¡¯s fate.¡± My companion was jubilant, an emotion that should have been alien in this situation. It seemed as if he had firmly believed that he would escape the clutches of the Minotaur on our tail.

    I don¡¯t know what came over me after listening to his words. I just changed my appearance back to my original one and turned back to look at my companion, a smirk adorning my face. He caught sight of my face and his whole demeanour screamed shock.

    Getting the expected reaction, I just halted in my tracks and time seemed to stop for a split second. I just stuck my foot out and he tripped over it and fell, having had no time to react.

    ¡°Sorry, man. I am not Brad. And there¡¯s no fate at play here. Just the luck of the so-called loser.¡±

    I just started running again, determined to reach my destination. I didn¡¯t stop for anything, not even when my former companion¡¯s anguished cry reached my ears as the Minotaur inadvertently caught up to him.

    There was no trace of remorse in my emotions. I had survived, he had not. His noble sacrifice had bought me a few precious seconds. Seconds that were enough for me to escape this dungeon.

    ¡°Dungeon exited!¡±

    ¡°Title Unlocked: Discoverer! You were the first one to discover a dungeon and exit it unscathed. A pity you couldn¡¯t defeat the boss though. There¡¯s always the next time, coward. ¡±

    ¡°Title Unlocked: Survivor! You survived a dungeon way above your paygrade. You might be a cowardly cockroach but remember, only cockroaches are capable of surviving nuclear explosions.¡±

    I didn¡¯t pay the notifications much mind. I just turned around and found myself face to face with the Minotaur. We stared at each other from across the imaginary line that must have separated the dungeon from the rest of the world.

    To my surprise, my former companion was still alive in its claws. It just tore him apart with full strength, its gaze focused on me the entire time. I wondered if it was sending me some sort of a message. I didn¡¯t imagine that the Minotaur was too pleased with one of its prey escaping.

    I didn¡¯t care though. I just turned around and walked back in the direction of the city, mentally preparing myself for the changes that must have obviously shaped the new world.

    It was the dawn of a new age, one I had ushered in by stepping over the corpses of my so-called ¡®friends¡¯. ¡®And there was no better or more satisfying way to do it¡¯, the haunting voice in my head remarked, frightening me more than the Minotaur ever could.

 The Strongest!

    The world had changed. Completely!

    The skyscrapers which used to adorn the skies of my city were now replaced with rustic buildings made of wood and brimstone. Before this event, any person would have been hard-pressed to find a building with less than fifteen stories. Now, you would be hard-pressed to find one with more than three.

    Concrete roads had changed to ones from medieval times. The best ones had some semblance of stone used. The worst ones were essentially tracks left behind by people who had used the path before.

    No vehicles roamed the streets anymore. Modern medicine had been replaced too, replaced by potions with fancy names and hard to find ingredients.

    Man had been the unopposed conqueror of the planet for the past few millennia. Man had never been as physically imposing as the apex predators of the planet but that had never hindered him. A combination of necessity and cunning had catapulted human beings right to the top of the food chain on the backs of innovation and development.

    Now? We were back near the bottom. We weren¡¯t inherently in danger, with harmless animals roaming the wilderness most times. If you were unlucky, you might come across a monster who, by some weird twist of fate, had managed to escape the confines of its dungeons.

    No, the dungeons served as the prison for the truly dangerous creatures. Creatures that were only the stuff of legends and fantasies before this age rolled around. Humans were pretty safe from the monsters that filled the dungeons.

    There was just one issue, though. Everything necessary for the survival of the human species as a whole could be found only in these dungeons. Thus, humans had to be brave enough, or insane enough, depending on which adjective you favoured, to willingly enter these prisons that were designed to hold these monstrosities.

    It had been two weeks since my adventures with the Minotaur and my ¡®friends¡¯. I was currently sitting on a beautiful hillside slope with a perfect view of the setting sun. But I was too preoccupied with my watch to see it.

    There, written in small letters, at the bottom of the information about my class were the words, ¡°It is highly recommended that you assume appearances straight from your imagination. Taking on the appearances of acquaintances or public figures may lead to some overlap in personality. This may lead to severe tendencies like narcissism, sociopathy, lack of empathy, psychopathy, lack of moral judgement, emot-¡±

    ¡°Hey, you coming?¡± My attention was swept away by the question directed at me. I looked up to see ¡®MightyMach¡¯ sauntering towards me, an amused expression on his face. I just nodded at him, not wishing to engage in a conversation with him.

    ¡°You really don¡¯t like to talk, huh?¡± I just stared at him with a deadpan expression. ¡®MightyMach¡¯ was an average looking guy with a stocky build, the kind of build one is likely to see in a construction worker. I had one major issue with him. He liked to talk. A lot. Not in a condescending ¡®I love my own voice¡¯ sort of way. He was interested in people. He wanted to know all their joys and all their woes. An admirable trait, all things considered. But a trait I, personally, didn¡¯t find worth admiring.

    He was also too trusting and far too na?ve for my tastes. An Achilles¡¯ heel in this new order, if there ever was one. His trusting nature extended to everyone, with no regard for the nature of the person in question. He wasn¡¯t plain stupid though, as evidenced by the fact that he hadn¡¯t yet divulged his real name outright to anyone.

    Our real names, the ones which we were born with and not the ones we had chosen for ourselves in this system, were downright sacred. I didn¡¯t yet know the repercussions of someone¡¯s real name falling into another person¡¯s hand but it wouldn¡¯t be pleasant. That was one of the cardinal rules the system had hammered into us right at the beginning. How this system would work for children born after the invasion of this new order escaped me completely.

    I was broken out of my thoughts by a chuckle from ¡®MightyMach¡¯. ¡°Man, you really need to learn how to talk. It¡¯s quite essential to the gathering we are going to, you know?¡±

    I just gave a non-committal shrug in response. He took the hint and just shook his head before leading the way to our destination.

    In quiet contrast to my demeanour, I was looking forward to the event I was going to be a part of in short order. I had a feeling that the upcoming event would be a big factor in the future, important enough to shape the very fabric of this new world.

    We soon found ourselves in ¡®The Drunkard¡¯s Tale¡¯, the most popular spot for hangouts and meetings. It was the only bar in this town, Aldon, making it very popular and always chock full of people, no matter the time of the day. Aldon was the town that was connected to most of the low-level dungeons of this country. This made it a very popular destination, especially now when no one in this world had figured out the mysteries of this world or cleared a dungeon, for that matter.

    My companion looked at the barmaid for some sort of signal and received a nod in response. The owner of the bar just pointed towards a direction in the bar and we made our way to the room which had been booked for us by the host of the evening.

    I couldn¡¯t help but look at the barmaid and the owner once more. Human beings generated by the system, their entire existence only two weeks old. Once again, I couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the system and how it completely flipped every belief human beings had in science or religion.

    I entered the private room and was almost immediately confronted by the stares of the occupants, most of which held nothing but curiousity, although some did display hostility. Chairs were strewn around the room, mostly unoccupied. I went to the back of the room and leaned against the wall, giving me the view of the entire room. No chance of a backstabbing this way.

    The man who stood at the centre of the room just flashed an amused smile at me, probably having gauged some of my thoughts. Judging by the confidence he displayed and the fact that most occupants were now looking at him after the brief gawking in my direction, I presumed that he was the host of this evening.

    A girl entered the room shortly afterwards, prompting the host to close the door and bolting it shut. Making his way over to the centre of the room, he loudly exclaimed, enthusiasm lacing his tones, ¡°Welcome everyone!¡±

    He received some half-hearted greetings in reply but that didn¡¯t seem to deter him in the least. He continued, ¡°You might be wondering why you have been invited to come here today. The reason is simple. In this room, eleven of the strongest human beings in this country are currently present, all at the same time.¡±

    This caused everyone to exchange looks. Everyone seemed to involuntarily size each other up as if they would be asked to prove their strength right then and there. I was quite surprised to hear that I was amongst the strongest in this new world. But to receive concrete proof was a pleasant surprise. Of course, circumstances and strength had played a huge role in my gaining of said strength.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    ¡°How do you know that?¡±, one of the other occupants asked.

    ¡°Through a neat skill that I was recently able to acquire. And no, I am not telling. We have all got to have our secrets, right?¡± His exuberance wasn¡¯t lost but his words had definitely led to the tension rising in the room.

    This was a problem. A person who could keep tabs on other players was a major player in this system. But most importantly, it provided me with the motivation to never remain in my original form for too long. I was already seeing this meeting as a mistake. An oversight on my part as I had come here in my original appearance. Especially considering the fact that ten other people now knew what I really looked like and my relative strength.

    I subtly used ¡®Observe¡¯ on him. I was sure it would work on him, seeing as there was no way for him to have scaled me in levels with my huge headstart.

    ¡°Name: JadedDragon

    Lvl 8

    Class: Warrior

    Guild: Not affiliated (Maybe associated but observe not high enough)¡±

    I breathed a sigh of relief after looking at his stats, glad that he was of a lower level than me. Other people too were subtly checking him out, although I couldn¡¯t be sure if they were using the same skill as me.

    Silence permeated the room for a few moments. I know it sounds clich¨¦ but you could literally cut the tension with a knife. Finally, a gruff-looking, middle-aged man spoke up, ¡°Why are we here then?¡±

    JadedDragon spread his arms wide and said, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, we have fallen behind. Although we have some of the strongest people on this planet right now in this room, our country, as a whole, has lagged behind. Our country has yet to scale a dungeon, which is a shame considering the levels of some of the occupants of this room.¡±

    A girl who had seemed mildly irritated since the beginning of this meeting, spoke up at that, ¡°How is that any concern of mine?¡±

    In response, JadedDragon only raised his hands in an appeasing fashion before saying, ¡°It is a matter of concern to us, miss. You see, the more dungeons of a country are beaten, the more dungeons are unlocked. You know what this means. Better loot, better equipment. It¡¯s high time our country gained its rightful place in the pecking order.¡±

    The guy could give a speech, I had to hand him that. Even an antisocial pariah like me found himself getting somewhat swayed by his words.

    ¡°Guilds are being formed all over the world, as we speak. More and more groups are being formed. Humanity, as a whole, has begun to understand that scaling a dungeon can¡¯t be a personal endeavour, after so many people valiantly sacrificed themselves on the altar of this discovery. They might have been foolhardy to venture into the dungeons alone but their deaths were not in vain.¡±

    His words certainly held truth in them. I had already been approached by no fewer than a dozen people just today with their intention being me joining their guild. Guilds were going to blow within the next week or so. Adventurers not in guilds would soon find themselves to be outcasts, with second-degree loot and equipment. No one could afford that.

    ¡°Turkey was the first country where a dungeon was defeated, requiring the manpower of an entire guild which was composed of twenty-two people. Of course, those twenty-two idiots were slaughtered for their pieces of equipment not long after but they were pioneers nonetheless. With that in mind, I have two proposals that I wish to present before you.¡±

    I found myself mildly interested in his ideas. It was true that better equipment was required to survive in dungeons which would grant better equipment. This whole system was a vicious cycle, that much was evident right from the beginning.

    He continued, ¡°First of all, I would like all of us to form a group so that we can scale the Golem Dungeon on the outskirts of the town.¡±

    He was interrupted rather loudly after he said that. Everyone voiced their protests at his proposal.

    ¡°I ain¡¯t joining a guild with you as its leader, kid.¡±

    ¡°Damn right!¡±

    ¡°Who do you think you are? You are not better than us.¡±

    These loud rumblings of discontent would have been enough to shake the confidence of most people but not JadedDragon. He just smiled at all of the protesting people before saying, ¡°I am afraid you are misunderstanding my position on this.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡±, I asked.

    ¡°Well, I am just floating the idea of forming a group just for the purposes of defeating one dungeon. After that, we go our separate ways. We are the strongest people in this country. It¡¯s only right that we take on the responsibility of clearing the first dungeon. I am sure none of us in this room would like to serve anyone. Everyone in this room has the ambition of forming their own guild, of course. I am not getting in the way of that.¡±

    I nodded in understanding at that. Everyone else seemed to grudgingly accept his proposal, too.

    The acceptance of his proposal merely caused JadedDragon to smile as he said, ¡°In the same spirit, I would like to propose a truce. A treaty, if you will.¡±

    Now, I was really interested. If he was really suggesting what I thought he was, I wanted to see how he would achieve it, if he could convince the others.

    ¡°What treaty?¡± The same gruff man from before asked.

    ¡°Simple. All eleven of us stay out of each other¡¯s way for a period of six months. After that, everyone is fair game.¡±

    ¡°And why would we do that?¡±

    ¡°Because it would give us the opportunity to maximise our potential. And give all of us a fair chance. No offense but some people here might have been lucky to gain their strength as it stands right now. But six months is enough of a time period for luck to no longer have a major contributing factor to one¡¯s strength.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but ask him a question to see if we were on the same page. ¡°Why not call a treaty for eternity? Wouldn¡¯t that serve us better? I mean, the stronger the people of our country, the more opportunities for us all, right?¡±

    He smiled knowingly in response as if he understood my intents once again. ¡°That would be correct but for one thing. Everyone here wants to be the undisputed number one. That means our paths have to cross one way or another.¡±

    ¡°Th forums are filled with articles about how this system can only be beaten if humans stick together. But in this room, we all know that¡¯s lunacy. This system is all about the survival of the fittest. The right to be known as the best. The strongest. To achieve that, we need to stay out of each other¡¯s way for a bit before we go all out on each other. So, what do you guys say?¡±

    I nodded at his response. There was no way I was making peace with all of humanity, not when I couldn¡¯t trust most people as far as I could throw them. Most of the others agreed, albeit reluctantly. One guy though got up and left. But not before saying, ¡°I don¡¯t need this. I am stronger than all of you cowards. Now that I know who you all are, I am coming for all of your asses.¡±

    He stormed out of the room, leaving behind an air of awkwardness. JadedDragon just coughed trying to hide his embarrassment before stating, ¡°Since all of us that are still present agree with our arrangements, let us meet tomorrow at the entrance of the Golem dungeon at noon. Loot will be divided equally, of course.¡±

    Everyone just grunted their assent as they shuffled out of their chairs. I walked out of the bar and caught sight of the man who had stormed off during the meeting. I followed him discreetly without changing my appearance. It was better to know more about him and his accommodations if he posed a threat to me. That is if his threats held any weight.

    He rounded a corner into a deserted road in the less populated part of the town. I too reached the corner but only peeked at the road from out of the corner. I saw him entering a building and before long he was on the roof.

    I stood there for a moment, making sure to commit him and the building to my memory when something happened that scared the living daylights out of me.

    The guy just fell down the building, lifeless, a knife embedded in his chest. Before I could decide what to do in that situation, I felt someone place a hand on my shoulder. Startled, I turned around, only to be shocked by the owner of the hand.

    JadedDragon stood there, a calm smile on his face as he looked at me. Before long, he spoke up, looking towards the now dead body, ¡°Shame about him. He was a strong guy. He just had a tendency to make poor decisions, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡±

    I could only nod numbly at him. He let go of my shoulder before saying, ¡°The moment I saw you, I knew you and I were alike. Not just in the matter of strength, you know?¡±

    He leaned conspiratorially towards me before, ¡°You are the strongest right now, you know. In the whole world. Not just this country. And I am number two. I can''t help but wonder why that. Nonetheless, you certainly are fascinating.¡±

    He just sighed and said, fake lament filling his voice, ¡°I just hate it when people fail to show good sportsmanship. It just grates on my nerves.¡±

    Saying that he turned around and began walking away. My horror had passed by then and I watched on in mild fascination as he rounded a corner and disappeared from my sight.

    Taking one last look at the dead body, I just shook my head and began walking towards my current abode.

    There was no doubt in my mind that tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.

 The Raid

    ¡°So, you came too, huh? I was sceptical about anyone showing up at all.¡±

    I was pulled out of my inner musings at those words. I had come to the designated meeting spot an hour early, wanting to be the first one there. I wanted to keep a lookout for the guy who had organised all this, ¡®JadedDragon¡¯. I couldn¡¯t help but feel some apprehension when I thought of the blatant murder I had witnessed last night. Although just beneath my skin, I could feel a tense excitement. I couldn¡¯t quite fathom the reason behind it until a familiar voice in my voice whispered, ¡°You are just glad someone might be just like you!¡±

    Looking up I saw one of the participants of the previous night¡¯s meeting staring at me with an impassive face as if judging me in some way.

    I got up and extended my hand in greeting, expecting him to shake it. It took twenty seconds of him just staring at my hands blankly before I finally gave up on that particular endeavor. ¡®Rude¡¯, I thought.

    Having nothing better to do, I began assessing my companion. He had been one of the background characters in the meeting, content to watch and listen without contributing anything meaningful to it, except for some useless mutterings and grumblings. I used my ¡®Observe¡¯ skill on him, eager to find out some information on him.

    ¡°Name: Hayabusa

    Lvl 11

    Class: Warrior

    Guild: Not affiliated (Maybe associated but observe not high enough)¡±

    The atmosphere became awkward after that. The place was engulfed in silence for a few minutes before the rest of the team members began pouring in. No one made any moves to introduce themselves to one another and some even went so far as to display outward hostility towards the others. All in all, there was no doubt in my mind that this was no more than an alliance of convenience, composed of people who would be happy to tear each other apart in just about any other given situation.

    Finally, all members had arrived and as per my expectations, JadedDragon took the lead. ¡°Brilliant, all of us are here at last. Alas, one of the intended members declined the offer to be a part of history. Well, his loss.¡±

    Loss indeed, I thought, picturing his corpse falling off the roof of his own quarters.

    ¡°We still have the ten strongest adventurers in the country with us at the current moment. The dungeon we will raid today has a recommended level of 15 and party strength. I think the ten of us are sufficient to rise to this challenge.¡±

    He didn¡¯t receive any reaction to his words at all. He didn¡¯t let that perturb him in the least though as he carried on, his ever-present exuberance still in place. How much of it was real and how much a fa?ade, I wondered?

    The company started to make their way towards the dungeon. The conversation was stilted amongst the members as everyone couldn¡¯t wait to reach the destination.

    We arrived at the entrance of the dungeon in short order and were greeted by the sound of a crowd. A crowd that had gathered for the purposes of wishing us luck, as if we were sacrificing ourselves for a great cause. It seemed as if our venture had been well publicised. Everyone couldn¡¯t help but send a pointed glance towards JadedDragon¡¯s way as he just sheepishly rubbed his head.

    Before we could actually make our way into the dungeon however, JadedDragon stopped us at the entrance. In a serious tone unlike his usual demeanor, he said, ¡°Last chance to back out now. Remember, this is not simply about clearing a dungeon. As soon as we enter, we agree with the commitment that not one of us is going to harm anyone else in this group for a period of six months. If you can¡¯t agree with that, you are welcome to leave now.¡±

    The said group just gave non-committal shrugs but no one actually left. Like me, they must have felt that the commitment would be non-enforceable because, frankly, who would punish any violation of the said commitment?

    Seeing that no one was separating themself from the group, JadedDragon just clapped his hands together before saying, ¡°Brilliant! Since no one is leaving, I am assuming that no one will hesitate to sign the binding contract that I have sent over to your inboxes.¡±

    As if on cue, my watch blinked, indicating that I had received a message. Looking around, I saw that the others too had received messages at the same time, indicating that this was what JadedDragon was talking about.

    The message opened up to show a contract of some kind, titled ¡®System-Bound Contract¡¯.

    ¡°What the fuck is this?¡±, Hayabusa shouted out. Although I would have put it less eloquently than him, I also had the same thought. Anything that mentioned the word ¡®System¡¯ had me on edge, ever since the fateful night of the inception of this system on the planet.

    ¡°It¡¯s a contract, whose executioner is the system governing the Grand Order itself. It¡¯s mighty expensive, I am telling you. Cost me a pretty penny.¡± JadedDragon was nonplussed by the hostile looks being thrown his way after he stated the intricacies of this contact.

    Hayabusa wasn¡¯t finished asking questions though. ¡°And what happens should we violate this¡­¡­contract?¡±

    ¡°The terms and penalties are plain and simple. You violate this contact, your watch and thus, essentially your life becomes forfeit.¡±

    If looks could kill, JadedDragon would have been six feet deep beneath the ground. He didn¡¯t let that perturb him though, merely looking on with an encouraging expression, urging everyone to sign the contract.

    I gave the contract a once over. As far as contracts go, it was fairly simple and precise, with no complicated terms or loopholes that I could see. Just two lines stating that we couldn¡¯t attack the other members of this group for the next six months, as he had previously stated.

    Eventually, everyone signed the contract, albeit reluctantly. No one wanted to be left out of the raid after coming so far. The prospect of better equipment or loot and levelling up was more than enough to sway the opinion of those who would have hesitated to sign otherwise.

    After all that, we finally entered the dungeon to the loud cheers of the onlooking audience. We hit a bump as soon as we entered the dungeon though. No sooner had we entered the dungeon than we were greeted by the sight of five doors. The aim of keeping the doors at the mouth of the dungeon was clear. Divide and conquer.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    All the excitement that seemed to be present in our hearts was dashed immediately. Our hope of clearing the dungeon quickly seemingly washed down the drain and everyone began looking at each other, waiting for someone to take action to or suggest a plan solve this obvious dilemma.

    ¡°Seems like we have to separate into different groups, guys. No other choice if we are to fully explore this dungeon, I am afraid.¡± JadedDragon was as cheerful as ever. It was mighty irritating in moments such as these.

    There was some discussion among the group and I was stuck with JadedDragon himself. The bemused look he gave me after the formation of the group suggested to me that me being partnered up with him was no mere coincidence.

    We entered our assigned door after everyone had already gone through theirs. We walked in relative silence, barely exchanging a word other than to make some decisions along the way. Our first encounter with any type of monster was a group of hungry-looking, fang baring goblins who seemed intent on tasting our blood.

    And that¡¯s when we got the message that typically signified the beginning of an adventure in a dungeon.

    ¡°Welcome to a new dungeon!¡±

    ¡°Dungeon: The Goblin¡¯s lair¡±

    ¡°Required level: 15¡±

    ¡°Recommended party members:2¡±

    I readied myself for the upcoming conflict, thinking that the road ahead would be one full of hardship and suffering. Quite contrary to my expectations, we faced little resistance from the first group. Not only that, we eased through the rest of the dungeon quite effortlessly, cutting through whatever opposition faced us like a knife through butter.

    It was while we were meandering through the dungeon like that I finally asked JadedDragon about something that had been bugging me for quite a while.

    ¡°The contract was your real play, right?¡± I asked him with conviction in my voice.

    All I received was a ¡°Hmm?¡± in response. So, I repeated my question without hesitation, not wanting him to squirm out of answering my question.

    JadedDragon grew silent for a moment before answering, ¡°Yes, that would be correct. But also, I wanted to know my opposition, my rivals, if you will. I am sure you of all people appreciate the chance of scoping out of your competition.¡±

    I nodded in reply, wondering how much he really knew about me. ¡°Why the non-hostile relations for six months though?¡±

    ¡°Simple, I figured that would be the amount of time it would take for me to surpass everyone.¡± He had so much confidence in his voice that even I found myself believing him, despite me being one of the ¡®everyone¡¯ he was mentioning.

    ¡°What if someone new emergences as a potential rival from the remaining  rank and file?¡± I asked him, curious to see why he invited only ten more people.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be na?ve. I know you are better than that. By this time, all ten of us know something conclusively. This system isn¡¯t fair. The strong will continue getting stronger and the gap between us and the rest of the population will only continue to widen. I predict that in six months, our only opposition will be ourselves and the cr¨¨me de la cr¨¨me of the other nations.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t disagree with what he had just said at all. After all, being the strongest meant access to opportunities that were simply not available to others. That, in turn, meant that the strongest would only get stronger while the weaker remained just that, weak.

    I was interrupted from my inner monologue by JadedDragon. ¡°You know, you and I more alike than most would think.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°How so?¡±

    ¡°We are both stronger than everyone else in this group. Not out of necessity but by choice. And I have a feeling that we both know what it means to be weak. And most importantly, we have both got a propensity for killing.¡±

    Again, I found myself having no words to refute his statement, especially after he spoke the truth.

    ¡°I have got a proposition for you if you would hear me out.¡±

    I was curious at once. ¡°What would that be?¡±

    He replied, ¡°Not so soon. Just know that I will do you a favour today, right in this dungeon. And you will owe me one. And I will collect within this week.¡±

    ¡°And if I don¡¯t return the said favour?¡±

    ¡°Why would you hurt your friend so? We are friends, right?¡± All of this was said with a childish pout but I couldn¡¯t help but find a vague inkling of a threat beneath his words.

    We made it to what seemed to be the final boss room pretty quickly. Welcoming us was a goblin who seemed to be a troll if we were to look at just his size. He had a broadsword in his hands that seemed to sparkle when light reflected off it its edge. I knew that I wouldn¡¯t want to be hit by that.

    Without much ado, we just charged at the boss. I kicked it on the back of his right knee and it collapsed, kneeling on the floor. Before it could even gather its bearings, JadedDragon just took its head off its shoulders using a sword of his own.

    ¡°Achievement Unlocked!.....¡±

    ¡°Achievement Unlocked!.....¡±

    ¡°Achievement Unlocked!.....¡±

    Before I could look through the notifications, the other gates around the room opened simultaneously and the other members of our expedition party filtered out. Just then, there was a flash of light and the goblin¡¯s body disappeared leaving behind the gold and his weapon, the broadsword.

    Everyone gathered around the loot in a flash, most of their attention focused on the sword, their eyes displaying some greed. Hayabusa shouted as soon as he caught sight of the sword, ¡°I am taking the sword.¡±

    There were murmurings of discontent at that statement before JadedDragon took control of the situation.

    ¡°Now, now. Let¡¯s not be hasty and undo the good work we have done here today. The gold will be divided among the nine of us who don¡¯t get the sword, as I think the sword easily equals that portion of gold in value.¡±

    Hayabusa nodded in agreement, ¡°That¡¯s acceptable. I want the sword and not the gold then.¡±

    JadedDragon just shook his head at that saying, ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s fair, Hayabusa. Our team killed the monster. Hence, we get the sword. And I think my partner should have it since he had a bigger role to play in the boss¡¯ demise.¡±

    I immediately realised that this was the favour he was talking about earlier. I nodded subtly at him, indicating I understood what he was doing. He merely smiled in response before asking everyone else if they agreed with his suggestion. Although there were still rumblings of discontent, everyone agreed with what he had proposed and had to be content with their share of the gold.

    Hayabusa hadn¡¯t let go of it though, judging by the nasty glare he was sending my way. He was helpless to do anything about it though in the face of the others agreeing. I just knew that he would try to pay me back somehow after six months. I just smirked at him, which seemed to infuriate him even more.

    We exited the dungeon soon after to raucous applause and cheer. We stood there for a moment to soak in the adulation of the awaiting crowd.

    After some time, we began to shuffle away in separate directions. But before everyone could depart, Hayabusa spoke out aloud, ¡°I will be forming a guild soon. Every one of you is welcome to join. The stronger, the better.¡±

    Then, he came face to face with me directly and said, ¡°But not you, brat. I will be seeing you in six months. I hope that you are ready to pay for your insolence when the time comes. I don¡¯t forgive. And I especially don¡¯t forget.¡±

    With his piece said, he departed with heavy footsteps, leaving me in his wake. I, too, began to depart but not before receiving a glance from JadedDragon, indicating that we ould be meeting soon. I just nodded at him before going my own way.

    <u>The Next day</u>

    ¡°Sorry, I heard that a guild was being formed here. I was wondering if I could join?¡±

    ¡°Sure, kid. Just fill up this form here.¡±

    As I took the form from Hayabusa¡¯s hand, I couldn¡¯t help but allow a faint smirk to come over my face. Hayabusa must have noticed as he asked, ¡°Something funny?¡±

    I just shook my head in denial. ¡°No, I am just happy to be here, you know. I think we are going to have so much fun. It¡¯s an honour for me to join a guild formed by one of the ¡®Ten Swords¡¯.¡±

    As I watched him laugh uproariously at my response, I couldn¡¯t help but feel my skin tingling in anticipation for the day, the moment when I could wipe that infuriating smirk off his face.

    Forever!

 The Favour

    ¡®This is the kind of place you get mugged, or worse, murdered in.¡¯

    That was the thought running through my head as I walked through the downtown area of Loathrun, the town neighbouring Aldon, the beginner village. Now that this system had been in place for a month or so, people, especially the adventurers new to the profession were finding it difficult to find boarding and residence in Aldon.

    The result of such a dilemma was the large scale migration of the not-quite-beginners from Aldon to the neighbouring cities. Aldon didn¡¯t hold anything of significance for the somewhat experienced players, especially now that the beginner dungeon had been defeated around a dozen or more times after the initial raid by the top ten adventurers.

    Truly experienced players still hung around Aldon though, in search of promising and talented recruits for their guilds that seemed to be sprouting up every day. Every adventurer worth their salt had tried to establish their own guild, either venturing out on their own or doing it under someone else¡¯s umbrella.

    I was looking for such a guild myself. A new guild that had just been formed in this very town, Loathrun. I heard that they were tentatively named ¡®Dragon¡¯s Demise¡¯, although they were open to better suggestions. Or at least that¡¯s what it said on the recruitment notice.

    It took some searching for me to find the restaurant I was looking for. The ¡®poshest¡¯ restaurant in the surrounding area, an article on the forums had suggested, going so far as to say that this was the closest thing they could find to a five-star hotel of the previous world. Players with a bit of coin to spend had graced this restaurant with their presence as soon as they could.

    What these people hadn¡¯t figured out yet was that the restaurant was a front for all the illegal activities that had started happening now that the system had firmly taken hold in everybody¡¯s lives. The crime rate was bound to go up with people becoming acclimatized to the system. The system didn''t replace anyone¡¯s moral compass, after all.

    This locality had become popular, serving to attract people from all facets of society. Thus, this hotel had begun to attract the less favorable elements of the society, resulting in a neighborhood that had become the hub of criminal activity in the area. People fashioning themselves as crime bosses or even guild leaders usually invited recruits and employers to this hotel, hoping to gain a good impression.

    I reached the restaurant within the specified time. I had to ask a few people for directions along the way but all in all, I had arrived with little to no difficulty. The flashy lights at the entrance of the restaurant proudly announced that I had arrived at my destination, ¡®The Plaza¡¯!

    The line in front of the restaurant covered the expanse of the street lengthwise. I went to the entrance directly, where I informed the guard at the door that I was here for the meeting in the private lounge. A quick confirmation of that fact through my watch made me the recipient of quite a few envious gazes as I made my way inside the restaurant.

    The man in charge of the reception had already received the news of my arrival here, as he led me to the private lounge without my asking. To say the lounge was impressive would be an understatement. I felt out of place, after having lived in a one-bedroom apartment and eating noodles for most of my meals since the dawn of the system.

    I was greeted by a chorus of ¡®Hi¡¯s from the three people currently occupying the lounge. I returned their greeting without much fervour and took a seat near them, waiting for them to speak up.

    ¡°We are waiting for just one more potential. We are usually only trying to talk to two people at once, so as to make sure that no one feels ignored. I hope you don¡¯t mind waiting.¡±  I just nodded at the words which had been spoken by the blonde guy, mentally assessing him but did not bother using ¡®Observe¡¯ on him.

    All three of the guys were wearing blue jackets with black pants. I wondered if that was some sort of uniform or dress code. All of them had some sort of short sword strapped to their backs. They were too engrossed in their own conversation to be paying too much attention to me.

    I had been sitting there for twenty minutes or so when the other guest for the night turned up. It turned out well for him that he did turn up when he did because the others were getting quite irritated by all the waiting and form what I could catch from the bits and pieces of their conversation, they would have rejected the latecomer outright if they had shown up any later.

    The latecomer removed the hood covering their face to reveal a female. She greeted everyone with a smile before plopping down on a cushion near her. She was dressed in a standard adventurer jacket and shorts and her bubbly personality served to lighten the mood around the room.

    The guy who had addressed me before stood up to take charge of the meeting.

    ¡°Now that we are all here, let me introduce ourselves. We are the co-founders of the guild, ¡®Dragon¡¯s Demise¡¯. We can do names later, if and when you sign up to be a part of this guild.¡±

    ¡°This guild was created with a sole purpose. To bring about the downfall of one of the ¡®Ten Swords¡¯, JadedDragon. The man responsible for bringing the ¡®Ten Swords¡¯ together.¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    The wall behind him suddenly turned into a screen, displaying the picture of the ¡®Ten Swords¡¯ after they had exited the dungeon. The image soon shifted to concentrate on the face of JadedDragon, the supposed target of this guild.

    The girl who had been cheerful up to that point looked unnerved after that revelation of the purpose of this guild. She voiced her concerns, her tone displaying her discomfort with the whole thing, ¡°But why? Didn¡¯t he do us a service, assembling that team to clear the dungeon?¡±

    That question led to a dry chuckle out of our host as he replied, ¡°You would think so, wouldn¡¯t you? But don¡¯t be fooled by the fake saintly image he portrays. He¡¯s no hero.¡±

    The image on the screen shifted again. This time displaying a picture of a man who seemed to be of a similar age as that of the three co-founders of the guild.

    ¡°This man here was supposed to be our leader. One of the strongest adventurers in the game. So strong, in fact, that he was invited to be a part of the ¡®Ten swords¡¯.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±, he said, noticing the look of surprise on the girl¡¯s face, ¡°The ¡®Ten Swords¡¯ as you know it was supposed to be the ¡®Eleven Swords¡¯. Doesn¡¯t have the same ring to it, I think.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± I asked meekly.

    The speaker turned to me immediately before saying, ¡°What happened was he made a mistake. The mistake of declining JadedDragon¡¯s invitation. A mistake he paid for. With his life.¡±

    A short gasp emanated from the mouth of the girl as he continued, ¡°That¡¯s right, miss. The saint, JadedDragon, killed our friend and leader just because he didn¡¯t agree with his purpose. Is that action of a hero? You tell me!¡±

    No reply was forthcoming from the girl as the speaker released a deep breath before continuing, ¡°That¡¯s why we have only one aim. To avenge our friend and pay back JadedDragon for his crimes. The only thing we want to know is, are you with us?¡± He looked at both of us with expectant expressions and I recognised that as my cue to speak.

    ¡°I was quite touched by your sob story, all things considered, but I have to refuse your proposal of joining your guild. You see, your aims align exactly opposite with my current aim.¡± I said, my voice cold and emotionless.

    The three hosts looked unamused by my declaration as the speaker asked, ¡°And what would your aim be, pipsqueak?¡±

    I rose from my seat while replying, ¡°Quite simple, really. I was tasked by JadedDragon to kill anyone who wanted to end his existence, you see. And you, unfortunately, fall into that category.¡±

    While I was speaking, I had changed my form back to my original body. Everyone else gained a fearful look on their face as the girl exclaimed, ¡°You are another one of the ¡®Ten Swords¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Correct, miss!¡± Before anyone could say anything else, I had drawn my broadsword and cut down the speaker f the evening. The others were startled by my actions and rose from their own seats to try and combat me. Sadly for them, they were no match for me and were struck down quite easily by me.

    Turning around to face the last living occupant of the room, I said, ¡°I am sorry. I hope you weren¡¯t too excited by the prospect of joining this guild.¡± The girl just shrieked in response, her pretty face marred by anguish as I just shrugged before saying,¡± You should leave. Trust me, you don¡¯t want to be found alone with these corpses.¡±

    That was all the impetus she needed to flee the room. I strolled out of the lounge at a leisurely pace after taking their watches and walked to the exit of the restaurant, assuming the form I had come in. I was about to exit the restaurant before the receptionist came up to me and said, ¡°I hope you enjoyed your experience, sir.¡±

    I nodded at him and said, ¡°You should send someone to clean the room, you know. All the red doesn¡¯t really go with the pristine white walls.¡±

    The receptionist looked puzzled while muttering , ¡°Red? I remember the drapes and carpets being gold.¡±

    I just shrugged in response before exiting the restaurant. I was satisfied. It had been a good day¡¯s work.

    Sometime later

    ¡°You can keep those. I have no real need for them.¡± I stopped midway through my action, startled by those words.

    ¡°Really?¡±, I asked. ¡°There might be costly pieces of equipment and a decent amount of gold in here.¡±

    JadedDragon just laughed at that and said, ¡°As I said, I don¡¯t need them. you can have it.¡±

    I just put the watches of my three victims in my pocket while saying, ¡°So that¡¯s the favour done, right?¡±

    JadedDragon nodded in reply and said, ¡°That it is.¡±

    I was about to turn around and go on my merry way when he interrupted, ¡°Did you enjoy the task?¡±

    I stopped in my tracks and thought about it for a moment before nodding and saying, ¡°I must confess that it did have a certain charm to it.¡±

    JadedDragon smiled and said, ¡°You should think of that as a prospective career, you know. As I said before, you and me? We are alike. This comes naturally to us. Use it to your advantage.¡±

    I turned around without replying and made my way out of the room. I had no interest in continuing this conversation. Not when I had already completed the favor. I had a feeling this would be the last time I was seeing JadedDragon, at least for six months.

    Away from JadedDragon though, I gave his suggestion a good thought. I mulled over his words for a long time before arriving at a decision.

    The next day, anyone surfing the forums, the underground sections specifically, would be greeted with the following notice:

    ¡°Want to rid this world of annoying pests that exist only to hinder your plans and ruin your life? Look no further. Contact the Bounty Hunter and he will get rid of anyone for you. For the right price, of course.

    * Watches retrieved by the Bounty Hunter on his bounties become the sole property of the Bounty Hunter

    **Prices depend on the task involved, the number of people to be killed and other factors. Discussions in personal messages only.¡±

    ¡°Ping! New message received!¡±

    That was quick. It had only been an hour since I posted the notice on the forums. Opening up the inbox I saw the message, ¡°Do you really get rid of people? I would like to employ your services if that is truly the case.¡±

    I chuckled mirthlessly before replying, ¡°Of course. But first, let us be frank in our discussions. Let¡¯s call this what it really is. This isn¡¯t ¡®getting rid of¡¯ people. Call it what it is. You are employing me to kill someone.¡±

    I didn¡¯t receive a reply for quite a while, leading me to believe that I had lost my first prospective client when my inbox flashed again.

    ¡°You are correct, of course. I want you to kill someone for me. Can you do that?¡±

    I replied gleefully, happy to secure my first customer, ¡°Of course, sir. For the right price.¡±

    I had a feeling that this was the start of a long and prosperous business.

 Anna

    Anna woke up groggily, the effect of last night¡¯s slosh fest still weighing heavily on her. Her unwillingness to get up from the couch was only aided by the fact that her head was throbbing, almost as if all the fluid in her brain was dying to burst out.

    Anna tried to gather her bearings as best as she could, wondering how she would go through the rest of her day. The rest of her life even. Any purpose she had in life seemed to have been lost. She got up from the couch, stumbling over the furniture in an attempt to get to the kitchen.

    That attempt proved futile, however, when her sight came across the picture on the mantle. That was all the impetus she needed to break down in sobs. Soon, her heart-wrenching sobs were accompanied by screaming, which was filled by curses and tirades.

    ¡°Fuck this world. Fuck this system. I want to go back to my life. My real life. Not this warped existence¡­ where I am so powerless, so weak, so utterly incapable of exacting revenge on people who have wronged me, people who killed¡­.¡± That was all she could get out before her sobbing intensified at the thought of what she had lost.

    Time stopped for no one though. Nor did hunger let go of anybody. And it was hunger which finally forced Anna to finally get up and fetch some food for herself. And it was while she was at the medieval restaurant, eating food that her stomach was ill-equipped to handle when she heard something strange.

    ¡°Can you believe this idiot?¡±, a man was saying to his companions who were sitting with him in their booth. Despite herself, she found herself listening to their conversation, just because he was too loud to ignore, really.

    One of his companions replied, his tone equally boisterous, ¡°Yeah. Right? The Bounty Hunter? I bet you this new system has addled with at least some people¡¯s brains. There¡¯s no other explanation for most of the bizarre things happening around here.¡±

    The only lady sitting with them spoke up at this point. ¡°You have to agree on one thing though. The ad is catchy. It draws attention. And that¡¯s remarkable, especially on the dark, underground part of the web, where people literally beg for attention.¡±

    The one who had started this whole conversation replied, ¡°I guess. I mean it does have a certain horrific charm to it. ¡®Want to rid this world of annoying pests that exist only to hinder your plans and ruin your life? Look no further. Contact the Bounty Hunter and he will get rid of anyone for you. For the right price, of course.¡¯ Nice, concise and clean. To the point, really. I wonder¡­.¡±

    That was all Anna heard as she got up to exit the restaurant. That sounded like another fool with delusions of grandeur. Bounty hunter? Just another selfish, entitled human being who wanted to step up in this world after walking over others¡¯ corpses. Just like¡­¡­them.

    Anna went home, the desolate dump that it was, looking to get some sleep which would hopefully cure this headache that had afflicted her. She fell on the same couch she had vacated just an hour ago, looking to sleep and escape this world once more. Maybe, in her dreams, she would finally see him again.

    Her brains, though, had other plans. Sleep evaded her. Her mind kept replaying the scene of that day. To take her mind off the matter, she found herself on the forums, looking for something to distract her.

    That was when the conversation from the restaurant came back to her. In spite of herself, she found herself curious regarding the mentioned advertisement.

    Getting to the dark side of the forums was no small feat though, especially for a person like her, who hadn¡¯t yet had any cause to trudge through that section of the forum before. It was after a good half an hour that she finally found herself able to access the underground section of the forums. It was yet another fifteen minutes after which she found the advertisement posted by this rumoured ¡®Bounty Hunter¡¯. It seemed like others too had dismissed his ad as just another player blowing his trumpet and offering services way above his pay grade.

    She had to admit that the advertisement did have the desired ring to it. Just reading the advertisement brought her mind back to the dreaded events her mind kept going back to. Against all odds, she found herself curious. And dare she say it, a tad hopeful.

    Could this be the thing she was looking for? Could this¡­..Bounty Hunter¡­actually accomplish what he claimed? Could this be her opportunity for vengeance? For closure? A way for her to move on in life?

    Rebelling against all the voices in her mind that were saying that this was stupid, she found herself clicking on the link provided by this self-proclaimed Bounty Hunter and sent him a message.

    <hr>

    ¡°Interesting!¡±

    That was the reaction I had when I read the request that I had received in my inbox. Only my third employer ever. Potentially. The request was particularly specific and also wanted me to violate one of my personal commandments regarding my¡­¡­¡­. business.

    The case sounded interesting though. And work was slow since my business was fairly new. So I was willing to hear this potential employer out.

    Looking through the message once more, I tried to decide how to proceed with it.

    ¡° I don¡¯t know if I should be doing this or if your advertisement even holds any merit to it. But you might be literally my last hope. So, I have a request to make of you. I want you to destroy a guild. A fledgling guild, still in its infancy. It has only three members at the current moment. I would like you to do this as quickly as possible as they are actively recruiting new members. I don¡¯t want any innocent party to come to harm because of my personal vendetta, just because they were recruited by this guild.

    P.S.: In case it isn¡¯t clear, when I say destroy the guild, I mean I want you to kill all of its current members. And I know this goes against one of your rules but I would like to take back one of my possessions from their watches.

    Contact me if you can accomplish this. Else, delete this message and forget this ever happened.¡±

    Those last few sentences of the message had me in splits. Although the message said it was a request, it had made more demands than actual requests. If nothing else, I had to respect the gall of this person. In my mind, I had no choice but to reply.

    ¡°I am interested. Let¡¯s talk.¡±

    The reply was almost instantaneous, almost as if the person had been waiting for my reply with bated breath.

    ¡°Do you agree with my stipulation?¡±

    I replied, ¡°That depends. On what you want from the watches.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    This time, I had to wait for a few minutes for a reply. It seems like the person was undecided about whether to divulge the information to me.

    ¡°It¡¯s not equipment or a weapon. What I want is a plain platinum ring. Nothing more. If you can''t agree to this condition, I can''t employ you.¡±

    Hmm, interesting. A personal artifact, holding emotional value perhaps. I could live with that. I replied quickly, giving my consent to the stipulation.

    I wrote, ¡°Now that we are agreed on the condition, why don¡¯t you tell me your name? It would be nice to know the name of my employer, after all.¡±

    Again, the person took some time to reply. And it was a short one.

    ¡°You can call me Anna.¡±

    That had my eyebrows raised. That almost sounded like a real name.

    ¡°My, my. Am I needlessly excited or di you just give me your real name? Are you that na?ve, Anna? You do know what happens should anyone you don¡¯t trust know your real name, right?¡±

    She replied much quicker this time. ¡°You are right. That¡¯s my real name. And I don¡¯t care. In fact, I am hoping you can make use of my real name and finish me off too, once you have completed my task.¡±

    That dampened my excitement somewhat. A suicidal employer. And here I was hoping for some fun. I just sighed to myself before replying, ¡°So, the name of the guild?¡±

    ¡°Ark raiders.¡±

    What a completely unimaginative name. even my victims were losing their appeal now that I was gaining more information.

    ¡°It will be done, Anna.¡±

    Before I could switch off my watch though, I received another message.

    ¡°What about the payment?¡±

    I thought about it for a moment before replying, ¡°Word of mouth.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°I want you to post a positive review on the forum. In the early stage of any business, it must establish itself. So, word of mouth. The watches I take will be profitable enough.¡±

    I switched off my inbox after that, wanting to get on with my task as quickly as possible. I scoured through the forums and found myself on the recruitment board, searching for any recruitment notices from the ¡®Ark Raiders¡¯. It was almost too easy to find them, as they had been promoting themselves every other hour in an obnoxious manner. Memorizing the address of said guild, I switched off my watch and set off towards my destination.

    Soon enough, I found myself in a room apartment that had been modelled to look like an office. There was even a guy sitting at a table near the door, acting like some sort of receptionist. I went over to him to converse and find out if I was in the right place.

    ¡°Hey. Is this the headquarters of the ¡®Ark Raiders¡¯? I have come here after looking at the recruitment notice.¡±

    ¡°Are you looking to join?¡±, he asked back. Wanting to confirm the fact once and for all, I asked him again, ¡°So this is the ¡®Ark Raiders¡¯ right?¡±

    ¡°Of course it is¡­ Now¡­¡± Before he could say another word, I had drawn my broadsword and severed his head from his torso. It landed on the ground with a gentle thud, making enough noise to alert the other residents of the apartment.

    The other residents looked up from their tasks before gaining a horrified look on their faces, seeing the beheaded corpse of their comrade. Faster than they could react, I was upon one of them and made sure he met the same fate as his fellow guild member.

    I turned towards the last occupant of the room with what I hoped was a menacing grin on my face. He stared back at me, his whole fa?ade reeking of fear. To his credit though, he got up and rushed towards me in a show of false bravado, his arms raised in an attempt to punch me. All that earned him was the loss of the raised limb as he collapsed to the floor with an ear-piercing scream, looking at the stump which used to hold his arm.

    ¡°Who are you? Why would do this?¡±, he asked me amidst sniffles and sobs.

    ¡°My identity isn¡¯t of any consequence. What I am interested in are some facts. And your death can be very painful or painless, depending on how quickly and truthfully you can supply me with these facts.¡±

    The man just sniveled in response to this. not bothering to hide disgust for his state, I asked him, ¡°Know of any Anna?¡±

    ¡°Aaa¡­nna?¡±, he asked, ¡°What does she have to do all of this?¡±

    ¡°So that answers my question. My next question is, why does she want you guys dead?¡±

    This time he didn¡¯t reply, just holding his arm desperately and looking everywhere else but at me. In an attempt to speed up this ordeal, I took out a potion from my inventory and showed it to him.

    ¡°See this, right here. Know what it is called? ¡®Repentance¡¯. Aptly named, in my opinion. Also, highly illegal. Even though this world is new, it still took no time for everyone to arrive at a consensus that this should be illegal. You know why? Because it wards off death and life in equal measure.¡±

    ¡°Three drops of this and you won¡¯t die till I will it. But the bleeding and pain will never stop. Neither will hunger or illness, all of which will be inflicted on you in quick order. Believe me, when I say this, it is a fate you truly want to avoid. For it¡¯s a fate worse than death.¡±

    My victim just shivered after hearing my proclamation before finally opening his mouth to satiate my curiousity.

    ¡°We found Anna pretty soon after this system took over. She had been looking for her fianc¨¦e, who had been separated from her due to the ¡®Isolation rule¡¯.¡±

    Ah, the isolation rule. A weird quirk of this system. The system ordained that every human being on this planet should be given a fresh start. In order to achieve this, every person was separated from their loved ones almost as soon as the system took over. When the geography of this world changed, so did the position of its inhabitants. You could quite literally have turned up on the opposite corner of the world to their most loved one and you wouldn¡¯t know.

    I, of course, knew of this firsthand as I still hadn¡¯t been able to find my parents, the only people I remotely cared about before this whole fiasco with the system. Not that I had tried too hard to find them, mind you.

    ¡°Then?¡±, I asked.

    ¡°We had already formed this guild by then. We being myself and the two guys you¡­¡­Anyway, we asked her to join the guild so that we could assist her more ably in her quest to find her husband. But then our leader, Andrew, fell in love with Anna. Or at least that¡¯s what he said. He didn¡¯t want to find her fianc¨¦e anymore. ¡±

    ¡°But pretty soon, reports reached our ears of a guy who was looking for his fianc¨¦e. Without much effort, we found out that he was the man Anna was looking for. In a weird twist of fate, he had been separated from Anna only by a town. We identified him from the fact that he was wearing rings that were identical to the one worn by Anna. He had also quite an affluent adventurer by this time.¡±

    ¡°Andrew couldn¡¯t handle the thought of losing Anna. So he hatched a plan to murder her fianc¨¦e without her knowing. He thought that given time, she would come around to love him instead of her fianc¨¦e. We were lured into this plan by greed. Being a somewhat rich adventurer, he was sure to have good equipment and loads of money. So we agreed to assist him.¡±

    ¡°The plan went off without a hitch. We had scouted him and knew where. We waited for an opportunity when he came out of his building and ambushed him. He was strong, yes, but not strong enough to overpower all three of us. We did what we set out to do. We killed him.¡±

    ¡°What we didn¡¯t know was that he had come down to meet anna. He had found her through someone on the forums and asked her to meet him near his building. To confirm their respective identities and finally reunite. So, it happened that we found out that Anna had witnessed the murder of her fianc¨¦e. When we came back to our place, we found her belongings gone. Andrew had been searching for her ever since.¡±

    He finished his story by breaking down in sobs and started muttering ¡°Sorry!¡± I couldn¡¯t find it in myself to pity him, only feeling disgust at the sight of his snivelling face begging for forgiveness.

    ¡°So, what I am doing today is getting rid of the scum of this world. This will be my good deed for the month. That gladdens me. Don¡¯t worry, I will hold up my end of the bargain. Your death will be painless.¡±

    Saying that I slit his throat using my sword and stood up to exit that place. But not before collecting their watches, of course. it really did feel good to do something to better the world. Now to see if I can find this ring!

    <hr>

    Anna hadn¡¯t heard from the Bounty Hunter after their conversation earlier in the day. And frankly, she wasn¡¯t hoping to. She assumed that he had passed upon her request, simply because he wasn¡¯t able to take on three men at once.

    Just when she was about to turn in for the day, someone knocked on the door. Carefully walking to the door on her tiptoes, she opened the door just a little to see who was the one who was knocking. To her surprise and anxiety, she saw no one.

    As she was about to dismiss the knock as some sort of harmless prank, her eyes fell on the envelope on the floor. Bending to pick it up, she saw something scribbled on the envelope:

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget. Word of mouth.¡±

    Her hands were shaking as she opened the envelope and a ring fell onto her palms. A ring identical to the one she was adorning on her ring finger. She turned around to look at the picture of her fianc¨¦e, tears rolling off her cheeks. Finally, she had her vengeance and he could rest in peace. Finally, she could move on.

    It was while she was in her bed and just before the warm embrace of sleep welcomed her, a wave of fear passed through her.

    How had the Bounty Hunter known where she lived?

 Wanted

    Chaos. That¡¯s what reigned in this universe. Or at least, that¡¯s what the books said. Personally, he didn¡¯t care for it.

    Order. That was his calling. The arena where he thrived. When it came to choosing between order and chaos, order triumphed for him every time. He craved order, especially in this new world where chaos reigned supreme.

    This latest conundrum had all the signs of being a very chaotic event indeed. For a person as obsessed with control and details as him, these latest events were nothing short of a puzzle to which he had lost all the pieces. It put him out of sorts, not having all the information in his hands that is. He hated knowing that there might be a new variable out there that he hadn¡¯t yet discovered.

    He was broken out of his reverie by a voice that demanded his immediate attention.

    ¡°Jordan. I have been calling you for the last five minutes. What has gotten you so worried, mate?¡±

    Looking up he saw his closest aide, Scott looking down at him in concern. Gathering his bearings, Jordan said, ¡°Oh sorry. I wasn¡¯t paying attention. I was just thinking about this recent disappearance. Can you repeat what you said?¡±

    Scott just shook his head as he said, ¡°There¡¯s no sign of Scarlet Emperor to be found anywhere. I had his house searched and sent a few people to his usual watering holes as well. No sign of him anywhere. It¡¯s like he vanished into thin air.¡±

    Jordan could only grit his teeth at that piece of information before coming to a decision to find out who or what was behind this. People don¡¯t just disappear off the face of the earth for no apparent reason. Especially people who were known to be close to him and under his protection, the leader of one of the top three guilds in the nation. Something diabolical was going on behind the scenes, something he wasn¡¯t aware of. He vowed to get to the bottom of this whole affair.

    ¡°Bring Raven and DeathLord before me. This has gone on long enough. If they can¡¯t even keep track of the whereabouts of their own guild¡¯s leader, then perhaps I was premature to hand them the responsibility to establish their own feeder guild.¡±

    Scott nodded as he said, ¡°I will get to it right away. You don¡¯t think this is a cause for concern, do you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know yet, Scott, I just can''t figure it out. ScarletEmperor was strong and sensible enough to not seek out something above his current reach. He was also kind and compassionate. Which makes his supposed disappearance even more mystifying.¡±

    Scott turned around to carry out Jordan¡¯s instructions when Jordan called him back.

    ¡°Scott, do one more thing. Put out notices stating that any information on the whereabouts of ScarletEmperor will be rewarded handsomely. I want him found as soon as possible. I just can¡¯t shake this feeling that something dreadful has happened to our friend.¡±

    Jordan just looked out of the window of his office as Scott walked out of his room. If something had happened to ScarletEmperor, there would be hell to pay for whoever was behind it.

    Scott couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the efficiency of money. Even in this new world, the inherent nature of human beings shone through. Money reigned supreme. It had been less than two hours since he had posted a notice regarding the reward for finding ScarletEmperor¡¯s whereabouts and he already had a solid lead.

    Scott looked at the man in front of him, his name having something to do with crows. He honestly didn¡¯t remember nor did he care enough for it. He was inconsequential in the grand scheme of things after all, just like most of the population.

    ¡°So, you say you have ScarletEmperor?¡±

    The man fumbled for a bit before replying, the action irritating Scott more than he would care to admit. ¡°Yes, sir. I keep in touch with every message passed down by this guild¡¯s hierarchy, seeing as I want to be an officer in this guild someday.¡±

    This rambling was beginning to get on his nerves, so he interjected, ¡°ScarletEmperor?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir, sorry. I found him in the rat cave. You know, the one which beginner groups like to venture into and try their luck in. I have to warn you, sir, the state of his body isn¡¯t pleasant to behold at all.¡±

    Scott merely nodded at the man before saying, ¡°That will do. Your reward will be forwarded to you later today at the office.¡±

    Just as the man was about to leave though, Scott said, ¡°By the way, good job. Our guild could always use more people like you.¡± The man smiled back at him, seemingly pleased with the compliment. It was important to scatter little crumbs of appreciation every now and then, just so they could herd the mindless sheep. The things he had to do for the guild!

    Scott assembled a few of the lower rung members for scouting out the provided location. The eager to please members were all too happy to follow Scott¡¯s every whim and desire. Pretty soon they reached their destination where Scott asked a random member of their group to enter the cave first. He, after all, had no intention of facing whatever it was that had led to ScarletEmperor¡¯s demise. ScarletEmperor had been strong, not as strong as him, of course, but strong enough that whatever killed him could do serious damage to Scott.

    Except the member returned, alive and unscathed, reporting that the cavern only housed measly rats, as it had always done. That report surprised Scott, to say the least. A group of mere rats killing one of his guild¡¯s stronger members wasn¡¯t something he thought possible.

    He led the group into the cavern and was almost immediately assaulted by some sort of lingering smell that stung his nose. A smell he thought he should be able to recognise but couldn¡¯t quite place yet. Looking around, he saw that the others in the group didn¡¯t show any indication of having experienced the same smell like him.

    Scott looked towards the member who had entered the cavern ahead of them and asked, ¡°So, where is the corpse?¡± The member promptly led him to the location of the dead body. The sight that welcomed them was gruesome, to say the least. More than one member rushed to find some corner to empty out their stomach.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    Scott ignored all of this in favour of examining the body and looking around to find something that would give any sort of a clue as to what had occurred here. The smell seemed much more prevalent in this area and that was enough for Scott to realise what odour he was picking up.

    ¡®Berserker¡¯s sweat.¡¯

    That realisation gave him pause as he realised that this was no mere accident. This whole ordeal was a product of the machinations of an individual or a group who targeted ScarletEmperor with the intention to kill him.

    Berserker¡¯s sweat was a potion that was enough to drive any sort of monster crazy with bloodlust. A faint whiff of it and the creature would lose all sense of control for a few hours. This was accompanied by a temporary boost in strength.

    The potion, while not illegal or even monitored by the various guilds, was extremely rare to come across. The mere thought of ravenous rats that had been artificially powered up was enough to send a shudder down Scott¡¯s spine. He had to admit that even he would struggle against such an opposition.

    Examining the corpse itself, he realised that it was missing a few of its limbs. And the separation didn¡¯t seem like something the rats would be capable of, no matter their temporary boost in strength.

    The whole situation was quite clear to him now. ScarletEmperor had been the target of an ambush, plain and simple. Someone had clearly targeted ScarletEmperor with the sole intention of killing him. His watch was also missing, possibly in the possession of his killers.

    Scott could only sigh as he realised that the task of getting to the bottom of this would probably fall at his feet.

    Why couldn¡¯t things ever be simple?

    Scott made his way back to the headquarters after his investigation of the cavern was over. Entering Jordan¡¯s office, he saw that DeathLord, the best friend of the now confirmed dead ScarletEmperor was being interviewed by Jordan. Jordan looked impassive while DeathLord looked intimidated, probably wondering about the repercussions of ScarletEmperor¡¯s disappearance.

    Jordan addressed Scott as soon as he saw Scott entering the room, ¡°Ah, Prometheus. You are back. What did you find out about our mutual friend¡¯s disappearance?¡±

    Scott replied, his gaze now focussed on ScarletEmperor, replied, ¡°The only thing I found were the bones of ScarletEmperor, I am afraid. And it was no accident, Atlas.¡±

    Atlas and Prometheus. Those were the names chosen by Jordan and Scott for this system and they were particularly proud of it. After all, they hoped to represent the same prowess that their namesake titans possessed.

    That news made DeathLord pale significantly. His whole face took on a vacant expression as if he could see the reaper staring back at him. He stuttered over his words as he said, ¡°I a-am af-afraid I don¡¯t know anything about that, leader. Just yesterday, we were supposed to be having a meeting but ScarletEmperor never showed up.¡±

    Jordan¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change as he asked, ¡°And who was supposed to be present at this meeting?¡±

    ¡°Sir, it was supposed to be me, Raven and ScarletEmperor. We were supposed to discuss our recruiting strategies and decide on potential members of the new guild you asked us to form.¡±

    All he received in reply was a nod before Scott asked him, ¡°And why didn¡¯t Raven turn up here when we specifically asked for both of you to show up?¡±

    DeathLord replied, acutely aware of his own heartbeat, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just saw your message and hurried over here, fearing that this summon was of utmost importance. I didn¡¯t think of checking up on Raven.¡±

    Jordan took the lead once more as he told Scott, ¡°Prometheus, go to Raven¡¯s residence. Take DeathLord with you. Bring Raven to me, dragging and kicking if you have to. I will get to the bottom of this whole matter as soon as possible. If a few heads have to roll for that to happen, then so be it.¡± The last words were said while Jordan was directing a glare towards DeathLord, which made the recipient of the glare almost pass out from the fear.

    Jordan looked contemplatively at the backs of Scott and DeathLord as they exited the building, failing to shake off the feeling that, as dire as all this seemed, it was merely the calm before the storm.

    It was two hours before Scott finally returned from Raven¡¯s house, his expression even grimmer than the one he had worn when he was walking out. Jordan asked him, almost dreading what he was about to hear, ¡°So, any reason Raven isn¡¯t with you?¡±

    ¡°I think being dead is a pretty good reason.¡±

    Jordan took a moment to absorb that fact before asking, ¡°Another dead member. You think this is a concerted attack against us and our guild?¡±

    Scott nodded his head in the negative as he said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. Look what I found at Raven¡¯s apartment.¡±

    Saying that he passed over a piece of paper to Jordan. Jordan quickly read through the note which simply said,

    ¡®The Bounty Hunter always has his due.¡¯

    ¡°The Bounty Hunter? What¡¯s this new mess?¡±, Jordan asked, perplexed at this new turn of events.

    ¡°From what I have been able to gather, this is an individual who is offering his services in exchange for payment. I am forwarding you his payment. Tell me what you think.¡±

    Jordan quickly opened the link, which was to The Bounty Hunter¡¯s advertisement.

    ¡°Want to rid this world of annoying pests that exist only to hinder your plans and ruin your life? Look no further. Contact the Bounty Hunter and he will get rid of anyone for you. For the right price, of course.

    * Watches retrieved by the Bounty Hunter on his bounties become the sole property of the Bounty Hunter

    **Prices depend on the task involved, the number of people to be killed, and other factors. Discussions in personal messages only.¡±

    Jordan¡¯s perplexity only grew as he finished reading the advertisement. He asked with a slight chuckle, ¡°Is this some sort of a joke? A scam? I don¡¯t fully comprehend what I am seeing here.¡±

    Scott though wasn¡¯t laughing when he replied, ¡°No, Jordan. From what I have been able to understand, this whole deal is completely serious. With real ramifications. And I think Raven got in this individual¡¯s crosshairs.¡±

    ¡°How did he manage to do that?¡±

    Scott hesitated for a second before he replied, ¡°I can think of only one scenario. Looking at the note left in Raven¡¯s apartment, I think Raven employed The Bounty Hunter for some purpose. And then failed to pay him for his services. Which led to his own gruesome end.¡±

    Jordan could only shake his head as he said, ¡°What could Raven possibly want with such an individual?¡±

    This time Scott took even more time to answer as he said, ¡°You may not like what I am to tell you right now. But it¡¯s the only thing that makes sense to me right now.¡± He then paused, looking at Jordan¡¯s face to see if there was any negative reaction.

    Jordan couldn¡¯t take it any longer as he said, ¡°Well, don¡¯t keep me in suspense. What is it?¡±

    ¡°I think Raven hired The Bounty Hunter to assassinate ScarletEmperor. I think he was miffed when you offered ScarletEmperor the responsibility and power to form the new guild, overlooking him. He probably wanted the resources and prestige for himself.¡±

    That threw Jordan for a loop. He was dumbstruck, wondering if Scott¡¯s theory held any merit. He just couldn¡¯t fathom the thought of his inner circle turning on each other.

    Silence permeated the room for a few minutes before Jordan said, ¡°I want to find out the truth of this whole matter.¡±

    Scott wasn¡¯t optimistic when he replied, ¡°And how do you propose we do that? In case you missed it, the only person who knew anything about it is dead.¡±

    Jordan was quick to reply, ¡°That may be true. The employer is dead, sure. But the employee isn¡¯t. I will have an answer. One way or the other. I also want a message sent. That whoever targets even the lowliest member of this guild should prepare for the inevitable ramifications.¡±

    Scott nodded at that and got up to leave the room, all the while wondering if they weren¡¯t getting into a storm more perilous than the one they were currently in.

    The next day news rippled through the entire country of a new wanted poster that had been posted on the forums at midnight. By one of the top three guilds of the region. ¡®The RoaringDragons¡¯, themselves/

    ¡®Wanted: Alive.

    The Bounty Hunter

    Rewards: 100,000 gold.

    A rare set of equipment.

    Any information regarding The Bounty Hunter will be rewarded with 5000 gold.¡¯

 Being wanted isnt all that bad

    As I walked away from the two corpses at my feet, I couldn¡¯t help but sigh. This was already the third attempt at such a trick this week. I just wished that people would be innovative in their attempt to kill me. Sadly, that wasn¡¯t to be. Everyone had more or less had the same trick up their sleeve.

    You would guess I would be tired of such tedious attempts at my life almost every other day but you would be very wrong.

    I loved it. The shot of adrenaline that burst through my veins when someone rushed towards me with the intent to kill, unaware of their own impending demise a few moments later. The exhilaration I felt when their blood struck my face, warming my being for a few brief moments.

    The prey was coming to the predator and I was loving every moment of it. no longer did I have to wait for those pesky clients to satiate my ever-growing need for action and blood.

    Being wanted was fun. To the others, it might seem a flipping of the tables, a reversal of roles if you will. The hunter had finally become the hunted and should be wary of the sheep that it was feasting off of just yesterday.

    There was never such a problem with me. after all, being wanted had led to many advantages for me. People were actively looking for me in a desire for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I was literally the golden hen, destined to give my captor wealth and power that they could only dream of in this archaic world.

    They ran into a snag pretty quickly though. No one had seen hair or hide of me. no one alive that is. There wasn¡¯t a confirmed picture of me out there. In fact, forget a confirmed picture, there wasn¡¯t a rough sketch of me to be found anywhere.

    That was a dilemma that some people took to solve the only way they could. If you cant reach the prey, you make the prey come to you. They began hiring me with the intention of luring me into a trap. It was a sound idea, mind you. The only problem was it would literally take an army to take me down. An army that no one except the guild had.

    The constant trail of blood that I was leaving in my wake was making an impact. People foolishly advertised their quest to hunt me down, only to turn up dead a few hours later. That gave me a reputation and credibility that was almost ironclad.

    I was gaining notoriety and fast. I was the literal boogeyman. You didn¡¯t see me, you never heard me, some didn¡¯t even know if I existed or was just a myth perpetuated by a group of people to further their ends. The only thing people knew was that if you came in the crosshairs of the Bounty Hunter, you¡¯d better say your last prayers.

    Pretty soon, I learned that notoriety was good. Any kind of publicity was good. There¡¯s no such thing as bad publicity, after all. no amount of word of mouth could have ever helped me build a client base as expansive as a simple wanted poster did. In a way, I was thankful for the guild, ¡®The Roaring Dragons¡¯. They had contributed to my now booming business in a major way.

    The most significant help I had gotten by virtue of finding myself a wanted individual was the gain in strength. Anyone who was foolish enough to chase me and incur my wrath, all for the prospect of some riches was of a high enough level to contemplate capturing me. Plus, the loot and the equipment they invariably left in their wake only added to my power and riches. My life was near perfect, all things considered.

    I was beginning to hear the noises of the now gathering public at the site of the fresh bodies. I wondered if they would figure out that it was my doing. Maybe I should get a memento or something, to place at the spots of my escapades, just so people know I was there. It might make it more fun for me and more disconcerting for the others. Hmm, I wonder what it could be?

    Jordan was perplexed at the report he was hearing. He could feel that he wasn¡¯t alone in feeling this way as he could hear the abrupt snorts of disbelief that Scott was emitting from just beside him.

    Thirty people already dead but still no one could give a concrete answer regarding the Bounty Hunter¡¯s real appearance. Not only was this turning the Bounty Hunter into an urban myth, but it was also resulting in a steady shift in public perception regarding the reputation of their guild. And not in the desired direction.

    Some people had begun seeing this whole exercise as nothing but a way for their guild to serve up guinea pigs to test the might of the Bounty Hunter and reveal their identity. The lack of direct action on the part of the ¡®Roaring Dragons¡¯ had people turning away from them. Already, reports were filtering in of applications to their guild being withdrawn. No one wanted to be cannon fodder after all, even for a popular guild like theirs.

    Jordan could take it no more as he spoke up, stopping the woman giving out the report mid-sentence, as he said, ¡°That¡¯s enough. I can¡¯t take this anymore.¡±

    ¡°This whole fiasco with this Bounty Hunter incident has resulted in a loss in all facets for us. I had thought that the world had a few adventurers left who were competent and could take on this endeavour. Obviously, I was wrong. It¡¯s firmly apparent that the top echelons of the adventurers have already joined guilds or worse yet, formed some.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    Scott continued, ¡°Yes, within just a week, the number of people trying to bring the Bounty Hunter to us has taken a nosedive. I suggest forming some groups from within our own members whose only task will be finding and apprehending the Bounty Hunter. Our reputation can¡¯t afford to take more of a hit. We might be one of the top guilds in the nation right now but we must not forget that there is no lack of guilds willing and able to take our position away from us.¡±

    Jordan nodded and said, ¡°Yes, ask someone to get to that right away. And put all of our members on alert. If I have got any measure on this Bounty Hunter, I think he will retaliate in some manner. Tell our officers that their lives might be in danger and to look out for any suspicious members hanging around the guild.¡±

    The woman who was giving the report left the office promptly and Scott proceeded to follow him before he was stopped in his tracks by Jordan.

    ¡°Scott, I have a task for you. Gather a few people you trust with your life and start checking the backgrounds of every member in the guild. Even the officers, if you must. I don¡¯t want us to alert the whole town only for the Bounty Hunter to be in our own household.¡±

    Scott laughed derisively at that and replied, ¡°Your assumption is sound, no doubt but there is a problem.¡±

    Jordan asked back, his eyebrows raised, ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t trust anyone with my life, except you.¡±

    Jordan shook his head in amusement at that. ¡°Very well. You better do this whole background check thing on your own then.¡±

    Scott could only sigh as he was faced with the prospect of what promised to be a humongous task. Jordan stood up and said, ¡°Ask my bodyguards to come here as soon as possible. I am going out. It¡¯s time we had some help with this whole fiasco.¡±

    ¡°And who do you think will be capable and gracious enough to aid us in our somewhat ego-driven endeavour?¡±

    Jordan grinned as he replied, ¡°Only a guild on our level can help us, my friend. I am asking one of our competitors and another of the top three guilds in the region. ¡®The Wandering Phoenix.¡±

    ¡°And they will help us out of the goodness of their hearts?¡±

    Jordan couldn¡¯t help but laugh at that. ¡°Of course not. If they did, they wouldn¡¯t be our competitors. I am thinking of offering them the right of the first conquest on the Minotaur dungeon.¡±

    Scott was astonished at hearing that. ¡°That¡¯s a heavy price to pay for what might turn out to be a fruitless endeavour. You sure want this guy, huh?¡±

    Jordan nodded. ¡°Yes, I do. The Minotaur¡¯s exclusive loot is a small price to pay for that if it gets us this Bounty Hunter. His very existence proves to be a nuisance to me.¡±

    Seeing Jordan so determined to catch the Bounty Hunter made Scott realise that no words could pursue Jordan to leave this matter alone.

    ¡°Well, you are the leader. I will gather up your four bodyguards. Then I will get started on these background checks of yours. Although I am not too optimistic about finding something there. The Bounty Hunter doesn¡¯t seem like a person to make rookie mistakes like leaving tracks.¡±

    ¡°I know. I would still like to keep all my bases covered.¡±

    Jordan was out of the guild building as inconspicuously as one could with four bodyguards hanging around, surrounding him on all sides. One was ahead of him on the lookout while two were flanking him on either side. The last and the strongest of the bodyguards brought up the rear.

    They walked in the direction of the ¡®Wandering Phoenix¡¯ for about fifteen minutes before something with a pointy end struck Jordan on the back. Instead of penetrating his armour and skin though, it just stayed there, its threat lingering and ever-present.

    Jordan made to turn around before an unfamiliar voice made itself known.

    ¡°Nuh, uh. No turning around, leader.¡±

    ¡°You are not my bodyguard! I am not your leader.¡±

    The voice behind him lit up in a snicker as he said, ¡°Right in one.¡±

    Jordan tried to voice his situation to his other bodyguards but found the knife travelling a little further into his armour, making him stop.

    The bodyguard ahead of him turned around at that very moment. ¡°Is everything alright, sir?¡±

    This time Jordan felt the cold steel against the skin of his back as he replied, his voice strained, ¡°Everything¡¯ fine. Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    As soon as the bodyguard turned to face the front once again, Jordan asked his attacker, ¡°Who are you? And where is my bodyguard?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­..your bodyguard¡­now, where did I leave him? I remember killing him but after that, it is kind of hazy. Well, not my concern.¡±

    ¡°I have to say I am a little hurt that you don¡¯t recognise me. After all, everyone knows that you are looking for me. Am I wrong?¡±

    ¡°So, you are the Bounty Hunter! Nice to finally receive some confirmation.¡±

    ¡°In the flesh, leader. In the flesh. You wanted me, so here I am. Are you pleased?¡±

    Jordan was anything but pleased. ¡°I must say I am impressed. I don¡¯t often say this¡­.. but your balls must clang.¡±

    There was a moment of silence before Jordan received a light laugh in reply. ¡°Now I see. Because my balls are made of steel. Sorry, it took me so much to catch up with your joke. I don¡¯t have much experience with humour. Although, I guess humour is important in my line of work to maintain some semblance of sanity.¡±

    ¡°Your line of work?¡±

    ¡°You know. Making sure others can''t laugh in the future.¡±

    Jordan couldn¡¯t help but release a snort at that. ¡°You won¡¯t survive this. But I could use someone like you in my ranks. Join me and this will all be forgotten. I will even promote you to a top five position within my guild. You deserve it.¡±

    Suddenly, the voice lost all trace of its humour as he replied, ¡°Thanks but I will pass. As for my survival, I am not the one seeking help from other guilds. Which reminds me, you have arrived at your destination. I don¡¯t think you require your bodyguards anymore.¡±

    Before Jordan could grasp any control of the situation, his knees buckled under him.

    ¡°Poison! The knife must be laced with some sort of poison!¡±

    He tried to warn his bodyguards of the impending attack but words wouldn¡¯t come out of his mouth as he found every single part of his body paralysed. He could only make out some noise there were three gentle thuds as he guessed that his bodyguards had met their end.

    He heard footsteps approaching and he prepared himself for his inevitable end before he felt warm air striking his ear.

    ¡°Prepare yourself, leader. Next time, I will attack from the front. Your guild is counting on you.¡±

    That was the Bounty Hunter said as he left with resounding laughter which would haunt his nightmares for some time.

    As he lay on the ground, he couldn¡¯t help but curse his powerlessness. He felt something wet pooling nearing and soaking his clothes.

    ¡°My bodyguards¡¯ blood¡±, he vaguely realised as he felt his consciousness abandon him.

    He heard shouts and noises all around him but he found himself too sluggish to care. The last thing he felt was someone lifting him as the sweet embrace of sleep welcomed him with open arms. He couldn¡¯t help but hear the haunting laughter within depths of his mind as he cursed his own weakness one last time.

 Broken

    Anna closed the door behind her as she entered her apartment after her daily ritual of going to visit the local bar for breakfast every morning. Life had finally gained some semblance of normalcy and routine once the whole affair of the Bounty Hunter was over. She thought that whole episode to be over as she had finally found closure.

    Of course, the Bounty Hunter knew her real name but she didn¡¯t think he would bother with her. From what she had heard on the forums, he had his own share of problems to deal with now. Like being wanted for a huge bounty by one of the topmost guilds in the region.

    Anna went to her kitchen to put down some supplies she had bought before she had to head out again. She had recently joined another guild and even went on the occasional dungeon runs with her preferred group. She might not like that new aspect of her new life, sure, but a lady had to eat to survive.

    Anna had just taken a gulp of water from the bottle on the counter when a voice scared the life out of her.

    ¡°Hello, Anna.¡±

    Anna could only sputter and cough as the water went down the wrong pipe and she struggled to catch her breath. When she managed to gain control of her faculties, she asked the voice in a fearful tone, ¡°Who are you? And how did you enter my apartment?¡±

    The voice was quick to reply, dripping with mock sadness, ¡°That question hurts me, Anna, it really does. Why do people keep asking who I am even after having met me? Do I make that less of an impression? I must admit, I had always thought that I was a remarkable man, you know, hard to forget and all.¡±

    Anna felt her breath leaving her as she said, her voice wavering, ¡°The Bounty Hunter!¡±

    The now identified Bounty Hunter released a gleeful laugh. ¡°Indeed. I am glad you didn¡¯t forget me, Anna. That would not have been good news for what looks to be a long-lasting relationship.¡±

    Anna was perplexed and frightened for her life. ¡°What do you want? I thought that our business was finished. Don¡¯t take this the wrong way but I really don¡¯t want anything to do with you. Please leave.¡±

    And that¡¯s when she caught her first glimpse of the man. The enigma that the whole world was seemingly looking for.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to brag, Anna, but congratulations are in order. You are the only person in the world who knows what I look like. You should be proud of yourself.¡±

    Despite the situation, Anna couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes. ¡°Forgive me but I am too busy feeling terrified for any feelings of pride to well up within me.¡±

    ¡°Sorry if I make you feel that way.¡±

    ¡°What do you want? You have a got a large price tag on your head, you know. What¡¯s stopping me from collecting?¡±

    The Bounty Hunter let out a chuckle at that as if he found the absurdity of that threat amusing. ¡°You could. But you won¡¯t. And the fact of the matter is, you simply can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°As for what I want. This whole situation has made me realize that I need to recruit some people to work for me. You are my first port of call.¡±

    Anna could only shake her head in vehemence as she said, ¡°No, I won¡¯t join you. I don¡¯t care what you do. I won¡¯t be complicit in any murder.¡±

    All she received in response was an unnerving stare before he replied, ¡°Ah, but you don¡¯t really have a choice here, do you, dear Anna? Don¡¯t forget what happens when another knows your name.¡±

    Anna felt herself slump in defeat as she murmured, ¡°So that¡¯s it then. You will force me to be in your servitude. In the end, you are just the same as the guys I tasked you to kill.¡±

    The Bounty Hunter replied with a stern note, ¡°Forced servitude? I am afraid that you haven¡¯t quite got the measure of me yet, Anna. With time, it will come, I am sure. No, I prefer to operate with finesse.¡±

    ¡°What I am offering you is an incentive. While my knowing your name will make you loyal to me first and foremost, you will want to work for me of your own volition. Don¡¯t worry, any work you do for me, I will be the one taking responsibility.¡±

    Anna shook her head once again as she said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing that will make me work for you voluntarily.¡±

    ¡°Again you underestimate me. Who said anything about something from this world? Think bigger, Anna. I will get you the thing you want most. The one person who you still can¡¯t get over.¡±

    The implications of those words shook Anna to her very core. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    The Bounty Hunter leaned in as he replied, ¡°Your fianc¨¦. I am giving you a chance to get your old life back, which was so cruelly snatched away from you by the machinations of the system.¡±

    Anna couldn¡¯t believe what she heard was correct. ¡°You are lying. He¡­..he is dead.¡± Those words had opened up old wounds and Anna found her eyes watering once again as she thought about her dead lover.

    The Bounty Hunter didn¡¯t stop just because his audience was crying. He needed to get his message across after all.

    ¡°Yes, you are quite correct. He is dead. For now. Believe me when I say this. The state of death of any individual in this system is not as permanent as we would like. Think about everything we have already witnessed since the dawn of the new order. Do you really think resurrection is such a tall order?¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not possible. Death is the natural order of things. No one can interfere with it, not even this system we live in. And you. Your words are only for enticing me to do your bidding. I don¡¯t believe you. These are just like the words of the devil. Tempting but false.¡±

    ¡°How na?ve. Let¡¯s get one thing straight, for I don¡¯t like misunderstandings to fester between co-workers.¡±, he ignored the squawk of protest from Anna as he continued, ¡°My words aren¡¯t of the devil. I am the devil! And I deliver on my promises.¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    ¡°And I promise you, by the end of this conversation, you will be a participant in my team. So should I force you or shall you join of your own free will?¡±

    Anna could only release a despondent sigh as she said, ¡°You make it sound as if I have a genuine choice. When there is no other path for me but to join you. Pity though, I was enjoying myself at my current guild.¡±

    ¡°Well Anna, you don¡¯t have to revoke your membership to your current guild. Consider yourself a freelancer when you are working for me. At least, for the time being. I am not forming my own guild after all. Too much hassle, you know.¡±

    ¡°Now that you have agreed to join me, our first adventure awaits us.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what adventure?¡±

    ¡°Anna, do keep up. I have signed us up to join a team for a dungeon run.¡±

    Anna was perplexed. ¡°I didn¡¯t sign up for anything.¡±

    All she got in response was a wave. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I did that part for both of us. After all, I was quite confident in my ability to get you to join me.¡±

    Anna could only roll her eyes at that before receiving the shock of her life as the young boy in front of her turned into a pre-pubescent kid right before her eyes. And just like that, she was reminded that this man was beyond her plane of ability and strength in all ways possible.

    ¡°Whaaa¡­ what is that? How did you do that?¡±

    All she was an impish grin from the child in front of her as he said, voice full of childish innocence, ¡°Well, you haven¡¯t seen anything yet. Hang around with me enough and you will witness things that others might just consider a figment of someone¡¯s imagination.¡±

    ¡°You know, like resurrecting the dead.¡± The boy in front of her broke into laughter after that. Laughter that just didn¡¯t fit with the innocent face in front of her. Once more, Anna failed to fathom what she had gotten mixed up in.

    ¡°Big Sister, are we going to be safe? I am suddenly feeling afraid in this dungeon.¡±

    Anna couldn¡¯t help but cringe as she heard the Bounty Hunter speak to her in such a manner while being in the avatar of a small child. She still couldn¡¯t get over how he had just shapeshifted to take on another form. No wonder no one had been able to find him.

    Just then, a boy of about her age put a hand on the supposed child¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Big brother is going to take care of you.¡± All of this was said with a bright smile on the boy¡¯s face. Anna wondered if the boy would appreciate the irony of assuring the most dangerous individual in the dungeon, monsters included.

    After reassuring the child, the boy looked upon her with another smile, hoping to gain some brownie points for his behavior with her apparent brother.

    Anna hadn¡¯t bothered to remember the boy¡¯s name as she didn¡¯t expect to need it much after this dungeon run, one way or another. She was projecting a cool and unfriendly demeanor for much of their time together but that hadn¡¯t stopped the others from trying to strike up conversations with her. She couldn¡¯t help but get irritated whenever she spotted an amused smirk on the Bounty Hunter¡¯s face when she was busy rejecting the advances of the other members of the group.

    The group found themselves exploring a level eighteen dungeon. A dungeon that was frankly beyond Anna¡¯s strength at the moment. Only the quiet reassurance that she was being accompanied by one of the strongest individuals in the region was able to make her even dare to venture into this dungeon.

    Unfortunately for her, said companion seemed to be enjoying his act a little too much.

    ¡°You must be really strong then, big brother?¡± The fact that such a childish expression could adore the face of the most notorious killer at the time just didn¡¯t sit right with Anna.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say so. I am only just strong enough to conquer this dungeon without much difficulty. With my companions, I am certain that we can finish the boss of this dungeon without much difficulty.¡±

    Again, Anna could sense that the man was trying to be as humble as he possibly could, not for the child¡¯s sake but for her sake. Beside him, his companions preened at the praise from their supposed leader. The three boys seemed the type to be followers of their leader, self-assured of their place in the grand order. She couldn¡¯t help but wonder if they would become more knowledgeable of their place in this world by the end of this adventure. After all, sheep walking with a wolf in sheep¡¯s skin never met glorious fates.

    To their credit though, the leader wasn¡¯t exaggerating when he spoke of his team¡¯s ability. They easily ran through the dungeon filled with ogres before they arrived at their destination. The Boss room!

    To their collective disappointment, the boss ogre turned out to be a mindless berserker, with no idea of tactics. It just charged at their group with thought or planning and was promptly met with a swift end by their group¡¯s hand. Anna finally understood why this dungeon had one of the success rates and lowest difficulties in the forums despite the recommended level of the dungeon.

    It seemed like luck was shining on them though when they got the rare drop of this dungeon, in addition to the coins which were to be shared equally among them.

    Anna checked to see the properties of the rare drop which wasn¡¯t the usual equipment or weapon.

    ¡°Heracles¡¯ Blood: A drop of blood from the legendary adventurer, Heracles. It contains the strength and the divinity of Hercules the great.

    Immediately increases the level of the drinker by 1. Can be used by a person only once.¡±

    The atmosphere within the dungeon became chilly within the blink of an eye. No one had assumed that such a potent resource would come into their hands. This wasn¡¯t a rare drop after all. It was an accursed legendary drop.

    Anna couldn¡¯t help but groan at her misfortune. She could guess the inevitable outcome of this scenario. The tense air between them was broken by her partner¡¯s childish voice cutting through the air.

    ¡°Big brother, can my sister have this? I want my sister to grow strong so that she can protect the both of us!¡±

    All he received in return was a strained smile from the leader of the other group as he replied, ¡°I am afraid that that¡¯s not possible, kid. I need this more than your sister.¡± As soon as he finished saying that, he along with his companions took out their weapons, preparing for any sort of resistance from us.

    During all of this, the Bounty Hunter had gained an impassive look on his childish face. ¡°That¡¯s too bad. I guess we are out of options then.¡±

    Before anyone could comprehend what was happening, he was behind the leader with unfathomable speed. Without giving them the time to react, he twisted the neck of one of the lackeys, resulting in him dropping dead to the ground in a dull thud.

    The other two lackeys rushed him and swung their swords at him in a coordinated fashion, making Anna fear for her companion for once. As this was happening, the leader had managed to gather his bearings and rushed towards her companion with a sword of his own.

    Due to all this, Anna found herself rushing towards the leader with her own short knife out. Sooner than the leader could reach the Bounty Hunter, Anna had stabbed him the back. The leader fell to the floor before her as Anna twisted the knife for good measure before looking towards the direction where her companion was fighting.

    Only to notice that two more corpses had been added to the pile and the Bounty Hunter was nowhere to be found. Before she could look around to search for him, she heard his voice behind him, startling her out of her skin.

    ¡°So, did you enjoy it? Taking his life from him? I especially enjoyed the unnecessary twist at the end, just to ensure that the job was done.¡±

    And that¡¯s when Anna realised it. ¡°You left him for the last on purpose, didn¡¯t you? You wanted me to kill him.¡±

    All she received in response was a laugh, a curious mix of amused and understanding.

    ¡°You are broken, Anna. Just like me. I didn¡¯t just recruit you because I knew your name, after all.¡±

    ¡°It takes a special kind of person to work with me, after all.¡±

    And as the Bounty Hunter handed her the vial containing the blood of Heracles, she couldn¡¯t quite figure out whether to take his words as a compliment or an insult.

    She was broken out of her reverie soon enough though, when her companion said, ¡°Come now, Anna. There¡¯s much scheming to be done, after all. I have got a guild to take on, after all.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s gonna be so exciting!¡±

 Refusal

    Bright light assaulted his senses almost as soon as he opened his eyes, forcing him to shut them once again, for fear of getting a migraine. He struggled to gather his bearings as he tried to recall where he was. He opened his eyes once again, slowly this time.

    Looking around, he found himself in unfamiliar surroundings, making him wary almost immediately. The room he was in resembled a hospital of the old world. He wasn¡¯t aware that such a place existed anymore. Whatever this room was, it was clear looking at the apparatus and arrangements that a lot of care and resources had gone towards this project.

    ¡°So, you are finally up, huh, Atlas? I am glad to see that our notification system for this room is working! And what better first beneficiary of the system than the leader of ¡®The Roaring Dragons¡¯!¡±

    Jordan looked towards the source of the sound to find the leader of one of his rival guilds, ¡®The Wandering Phoenix¡¯ staring back at him with a smile. That alone caused him to grow wary of the whole situation.

    ¡°Why am I here, Osiris?¡±

    Osiris¡¯ face lit up with his trademark smile, exuding the charisma that had enabled him to become the leader of one of the top three guilds in the region.

    ¡°Forgive me, Atlas, but when the leader of one of my rival guilds turns up half-dead on my door, the least I can do is take care of him and nurse him back to health!¡±

    Jordan couldn¡¯t help but let out a snort at that. ¡°Really? I find it hard to believe that you did anything with my well-being in mind.¡±

    Osiris could only shrug nonchalantly at that, ¡°Meh, you are right, of course. You dying near my guild headquarters would have aroused a lot of my suspicions from the member of your guild. And a turf war at this stage of development of our respective guilds isn¡¯t something we need.¡±

    Jordan nodded at that. ¡°I agree. Especially when the situation within my own guild might be more tenuous than ever!¡±

    Osiris couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at his rival¡¯s misery. ¡°I heard about your latest bounty. Bitten off more than you can chew, I think.¡±

    Jordan gained an angry look on his face at that, ¡°No, that¡¯s not true! You don¡¯t know how this man operates. He is a coward, choosing to strike his opponents in the back. A coward who uses poison to cover up his own failings and weaknesses. A coward who chooses to dwell in the shadows rather than shine out in the light.¡±

    A raised eyebrow was what he received in response. ¡°Touched a nerve, did I, Atlas?¡±

    ¡°No, I am merely stating the facts for what they are. The Bounty Hunter is nothing more than a menace, a man who has got ideas above his station.¡±

    Again, Osiris shrugged as he said, ¡°Say what you will, but he did take out four of your elite bodyguards. In fact, I was envious of your protectors myself. He took out three of them all at once. The video capturing the demise of your final three bodyguards is live on the forums for everyone to see. He may strike from the shadows but he always seems to draw blood when it comes to the reputation of your guild.¡±

    Jordan felt his ire rising with every word that came out of Osiris¡¯ mouth.

    ¡°Look, Osiris. I didn¡¯t bother coming here just to argue with you. I came here to ask for your aid in this matter. And I promise to provide you with equal compensation.¡±

    ¡°And what is this aid you speak of, Atlas? I¡¯d like to hear the words if you would oblige.¡±

    Jordan could merely grit his teeth at the fact that Osiris was forcing him to voice his desperation for his own selfish amusement.

    ¡°I would like your help to take out the Bounty Hunter. I would like the help of your vast network and resources to aid me in this quest. And I truly believe that it would be mutually beneficial for both of us. It will help foster better relations between our members while taking out a common threat. After all, who is to say that the Bounty Hunter won''t turn his attention to you and yours once our affair is over?¡±

    Osiris turned around so all Jordan could see was his back. ¡°You must really think me a fool if that¡¯s all you have to offer, Atlas! Mutual benefits? Taking out common threats? Last time I checked you were the one who kicked the hornet¡¯s nest. Not me. So get out of here with that. You know as well as I do that I can take care of myself and my own without your help.

    He paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°Now, unless you have something actually valuable to offer, I suggest you prepare for your departure. I have already alerted your guild. Someone will be arriving pretty soon to escort you back.¡±

    After saying his piece, Osiris started walking towards the exit of the room when Jordan stopped him.

    ¡°Wait! I have one more thing to offer. The first crack at the Minotaur dungeon. It¡¯s yours! Just help me and I promise that neither I nor the members of my guild will enter that dungeon before you have a go at it. What do you say?¡±

    Osiris turned around to face Jordan once more before staring him in the eye as if he was looking for something.

    Then with a smirk, he replied, ¡°Your offer is very tempting, Atlas but I am afraid that I have to decline. The risk outweighs the reward. I hope that you understand.¡±

    Jordan couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. ¡°The risk outweighs the reward? How? Don¡¯t tell me you are actually fearful of the Bounty Hunter?¡±

    All this while, Osiris hadn¡¯t stopped staring Jordan in the eye, which was unnerving Jordan a little bit, much to Jordan¡¯s chagrin. To add to that, the infuriating smirk hadn¡¯t yet left Osiris¡¯ face.

    ¡°It¡¯s not fear that drives my decision, I am afraid. Rather, it¡¯s temptation. As a guild leader yourself, I think you should understand that.¡±

    Jordan looked at his fellow guild leader with perplexity written all over his face. He had lost any hope he had had of recruiting the aid of Osiris¡¯ guild with those final words.

    ¡°You wish to recruit the Bounty Hunter? A common thief, a murderer, a man who would sink to unknown depths just for money? I thought you were better than that. Any respect I had for you as a guild leader before today has been lost today.¡±

    That wiped the smirk off Osiris¡¯ face immediately, much to Jordan¡¯s satisfaction. With a steely expression, Osiris replied, ¡°He¡¯s strong. Strong enough to take out three of your bodyguards. Strong enough and skilled enough to poison the guild leader of one of the topmost guilds in the region without the target having even a whiff of his plans.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    ¡°So, tell me if I am wrong in desiring such a valuable asset for my guild? I have to look out for the best interests of my guild, not yours.¡±

    Osiris was practically frothing at the mouth after the disrespect shown to him by Jordan. Reining in his emotions once again, he turned around and said, ¡°And even if he refused to join me, I¡¯d rather not have him as my foe.¡±

    Before Osiris could leave the room, Jordan shouted through gritted teeth, ¡° ¡®The Roaring Dragons¡¯ won''t forget this refusal, Osiris. I won¡¯t forget how you turned me away in my hour of need. There will be hell to pay, Osiris. Mark my words!¡±

    Osiris didn¡¯t bother turning around as he walked towards the exit once more while saying, ¡°I will send someone in to check your health. I would like you to leave as soon as someone from your guild arrives. Best of luck, Atlas!¡±

    All Jordan could think through the rage building up in his veins was the manner in which he would make Osiris pay for his refusal to help him. But first, he had to deal with the Bounty Hunter and make an example out of him.

    No one crossed him without paying their pound of flesh! No one!

    ¡°So, it went that bad, huh?¡±

    Jordan couldn¡¯t help but glare at Scottie after he asked that question. His already poor mood plummeted even more if that was even possible. Looking around, he saw the mess that he had created as soon as he had entered his office. At that moment, he couldn¡¯t help but admire the restraint Osiris had shown in a similar situation.

    ¡°All of my hand-picked bodyguards dead, an adamant refusal of my plea for aid from one of my competitors and now the word on the street is that the Bounty Hunter is stronger than me, capable of beating me in broad daylight without anyone even realising it. So, tell me, Prometheus, was it a bad day?¡±

    ¡°Ooh, Prometheus! You never call me that! Now I can say for certain that you are pissed.¡± All Scott received in response was another glare, causing him to raise his hands in mock surrender.

    Jordan could only sigh in response to Scottie¡¯s laid back attitude, not willing to engage in an argument with him so soon after returning to the guild.

    ¡°Man, I am tired. Did we find out what poison the Bounty Hunter used on me? I want to know if there will be any lasting effects on my health or abilities.¡±

    Scott shook his head in response, ¡°Nothing yet. It¡¯s not like you are making the task any easy by refusing to give your blood.¡±

    ¡°No one is taking my blood. Not unless we gain a good understanding of this system and the various mechanics within it. I mean, who knows if there is an artifact or potion out there that can help manipulate people through blood, or even kill them.¡±

    Scott nodded at that, having no reason to refute that statement.

    ¡°That¡¯s true, I guess. Anyways, it¡¯s just come out that one of the adventurers in our nation has finally reached the coveted level 20. There was a notification from the capital, stating that we have the capability to form our own government now. Our region will be expected to send five representatives to take part in the process to decide the members of the government.¡±

    Jordan couldn¡¯t help but raise an eyebrow at that, ¡°I have to admit that I am surprised. I didn¡¯t expect that we would be just the fourth nation to have a member reach level 20. The top three nations haven¡¯t been exactly forthcoming about the changes in the system once they assigned their government within the system.¡±

    Scott replied, ¡°Can you blame them? I mean, why give up the advantage you have?¡±

    ¡°True, I guess. The world might have changed but humanity does not. Power is still king, even in this new order.¡±

    Both sat in contemplative silence for a while, various thoughts running through their heads before Jordan broke the silence.

    ¡°So, any idea who the level 20 adventurer is? It¡¯s a feat worthy of appreciation. I assume he is already being heralded as the greatest thing this side of the ¡®Change¡¯. Is it a guild leader from one of the regions?¡±

    Scott shook his head at that. ¡°That¡¯s the weird thing about all of this. No one in the entire country has come out and claimed the feat. It¡¯s almost as if they want their strength to remain hidden. Of course, gossip hasn¡¯t ceased and speculation is strife in the forums.¡±

    Jordan couldn¡¯t help but scoff at that. ¡°Hiding your strength? I just hope that it¡¯s not because of a false sense of humility. Humility might be the greatest weakness in this world! Anyways, what do the gossip mongers say?¡±

    Scott replied, ¡°You know, the same old. Must be one of the ¡®Ten Swords¡¯. There are even betting odds that have cropped up on the forums, speculating the identity of this strongest adventurer. You have the fifteenth best odds. So, I guess congratulations are in order.¡±

    Jordan let out a wry smile. ¡°That¡¯s a sucker¡¯s bet then. Who do you think will be asked to go as representatives of our region?¡±

    ¡°Hayabusa is a lock, as expected. Osiris and you are also almost entirely certain, although you might face some minor opposition in the face of today¡¯s debacle. The last two names are up for contention right now but there is a name that is saturating the forums. Many people seem to think that ¡®he¡¯ would be an ideal representative.¡± Scott couldn¡¯t help but send a curious look towards Jordan after saying that, just to gauge his reaction, knowing that Jordan would catch on to the meaning behind his words.

    Jordan just shook his head and scoffed, ¡°The Bounty Hunter?!¡±

    After a moment, he continued, ¡°As much as I hate to do it, I have to admit that he is strong. But tell me something. How is anyone going to find him? No one has seen hide or hair of him till now. That¡¯s a major obstacle in trying to get him to be a representative, I would assume.¡±

    Scott shrugged at that before looking at Jordan and saying, ¡°Leaving that aside, do you think I have a legitimate shot? Of becoming a representative from our region?¡±

    Jordan could only sigh at that, wondering whether he should voice his own opinions on the matter.

    ¡°There¡¯s always a possibility, Scott. But I think it will be difficult for you in the face of the stronger players in the region. Most people would classify you as a top 10 adventurer in the region. I think you will narrowly miss out.¡±

    Scott could only nod at that, his face betraying no emotion as he got up to leave.

    Scott looked at Jordan and asked, ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan now that plan A has failed?¡±

    Jordan looked out of the window in the direction of a now famous hill while saying, ¡°We need a trump card. I think the reward from Minotaur¡¯s lair could be that if the rumours about similar dungeons in other regions are true. We need to overtake the other two guilds to become the foremost guild in the region, sooner rather than later. I want to take down the Bounty Hunter and Osiris before the meeting of the representatives.¡±

    Scott whistled out loud at that. ¡°We are at least a month away from challenging the Minotaur, mate. The meeting could be happening within a month. No one in the guild is strong enough to be part of such an expedition. Plus, no offence, you need to get stronger too, if you are to lead us on the raid.¡±

    Jordan replied, his tone weary, ¡°Don¡¯t you think I know that? The past few hours have made that abundantly clear for all to see. Contact the guilds who you have a good relationship with. Tell them that we need their strongest members. I don¡¯t want news of this getting quiet.¡±

    Scott replied, ¡°Understood. What should be the time frame I give them?¡±

    ¡°Two weeks. Tell them that we will be mounting an attack on the Minotaur in two weeks.¡±

    Scott couldn¡¯t help but gape at that. ¡°We aren¡¯t ready, man. No one in the guild is. Hell, no one in the region is, believe me. This might be too unrealistic of an expectation, even for you.¡±

    Jordan turned to face Scott before replying, ¡°You are wrong. Osiris is ready. Hayabusa must be too. Osiris wouldn¡¯t just ignore my offer for first shot at the Minotaur just because he coveted the Bounty Hunter. That might have played a part, true. But I think he didn¡¯t need the offer.¡±

    Jordan''s face turned grave as he continued, ¡°I have a feeling, Scott. That the balance of power in this region will completely shift once someone conquers the Minotaur. It will be a statement of intent, I believe. The intent to capture the throne of this region. And I am not letting anyone else do that.¡±

    Joran continued once more, his voice suggesting that he would tolerate no arguments, ¡°Make the preparations. Offer additional rewards if you have to. Out of our own coffers. I want the conqueror¡¯s loot from the Minotaur¡¯s dungeon.¡±

    Scott could only stare at Jordan before saying, ¡°As you wish¡± and leaving the room, leaving Jordan alone with his own thoughts.

    ¡°There is going to be a competition in our guild. To determine who will participate in the dungeon raid of the Minotaur¡¯s lair organised by ¡®The Roaring Dragons¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that nice? Do make sure you win, Anna. It¡¯s a wonderful opportunity, after all.¡±

    ¡°Will you be there?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I will be. Don¡¯t you worry! After all, I and that Minotaur have some scores to settle.¡±

    ¡°For now, leave me alone, Anna. Let me enjoy this moment before I take things into account. It¡¯s not every day that one reaches the coveted level 20 after all!¡±