The players around Rael shifted slightly, their eyes growing excited.
The ranking had not been checked since leaving the dungeon. Passing Jayden and getting close to Helen had already happened, but that fact was still unknown to him. Rael, however, knew, and that knowledge had completely swallowed his caution.
With those points, victory in the entire event felt within reach.
A few seconds passed in silence.
Rael's smile widened. "Nothing to say?"
Slowly, Zich raised his head. His gaze met Rael's directly before he spoke.
"No. All of you hand over your points instead."
Confusion spread across the group. Weren't they the ones doing the robbing? With the number advantage on their side, his confidence made no sense.
Rael's smile began to fade. Fury twisted his face as he stepped forward.
"You think you're funn—"
"Blood Arc."
Fwish!
Before Rael could react, a red slash shot forward.
His eyes widened.
Slash!
Both arms flew off instantly.
Blood sprayed across the ground as his weapon dropped beside him.
Rael stared at the empty space where his arms had been, his mouth opening without sound. Behind him, the other players went pale, their faces turning white.
"R-Rael?"
"He got taken down in one hit?"
Without rushing, Zich stepped forward, his expression calm.
The injured leader dropped to his knees, trembling as blood poured from his shoulders. The pain blanked his mind, pushing him close to collapse.
Seeing that, the others finally snapped out of their shock.
"Run!"
Several turned at once but dark figures appeared around them.
From the left, Blood Leech stepped out, its proboscis twitching. On the right, the Silverback Grunt blocked the path with its club resting on its shoulder. Above them, Slimy dropped from a nearby rock, its body wobbling as poison bubbled inside.
Their movements stopped immediately.
Facing the creatures surrounding them, no one dared take another step.
Zich lifted his sword and pointed at them, his voice cold. "Form a straight line. Submit your points. I don't have all day."
Pale faces stared back at him, frozen in place.
A glance toward Blood Leech was enough. The creature took one slow step forward, its claws scraping against the ground.
"I'll do it!" one player shouted, raising his wrist. "Don't kill me!"
Another followed right after. "Me too! I'll submit!"
One after another, they stepped forward with shaking hands. Fingers trembled as they tapped their wristbands, transferring their points to Zich.
Rael knelt on the ground, breathing hard through clenched teeth. His eyes burned red with anger as he watched his followers submit to the person he had mocked just moments ago.
"You cowards. You useless cowards," he hissed.
One player glanced at him before quickly looking away. His hands shook too much to even tap properly.
Standing before them, Zich kept his sword at his side, his expression unchanged as each transfer came in.
[Ding! Points received.]
[Ding! Points received.]
[Ding! Points received.]
Across the eastern plane, the ranking board shifted again.
[Ding! Announcement!]
[The Eastern Plane ranking has been updated.]
[Top 5 Players]
[1st Place: Zich — 294 Points]
[2nd Place: Helen — 200 Points]
[3rd Place: Jayden — 187 Points]
[4th Place: Rael — 161 Points]
[5th Place: Liora — 144 Points]
"Fuck, he's first now!"
"He jumped above Helen!"
"This is only the second day. How is he already that far ahead?"
Some players looked excited, while others looked afraid. The name Zich, which many had ignored before, now stood above everyone else.
"It's still early," one player muttered, trying to steady himself. "The event isn't over yet. Rankings can still change."
His friend swallowed, staring at the board. "Yeah… but that gap is crazy."
Elsewhere on the plain, Helen stared at the ranking. The smile on her face was gone. The speed at which Zich was rising through the ranks unsettled her.
Back near the mountain, the last player finished transferring his points and stepped away.
Zich glanced at his wrist, satisfied.
Relief spread among the players, small breaths escaping as they thought it was over.
That feeling shattered the moment the white haired youth turned his head slightly and spoke in a low voice, his expression dark.
"Get rid of them."
Rael's pupils shrank.
From the ground, he roared, fear and anger mixing in his voice. "You can't kill me! I'm a smith! Do you know what that means? If you kill me, your life will become a living hell! The RedSword Guild will hunt you down!"
For a moment, Zich paused. Then he walked forward and crouched in front of him. Rael's breathing was rough, blood dripping steadily from his missing arms.
"Wasn't there no rule in the mountain that stopped one player from killing another?"
Rael froze.
Those words felt familiar.
Zich tilted his head slightly. "You said that, right?"
Color drained from Rael's face. The anger in his eyes shattered, replaced by fear as tears ran down his cheeks.
"Wait," he whispered. "I was just—"
Zich stood up.
Without arms, Rael tried to crawl back, dragging himself across the dirt with his knees.
A foot lifted.
Then it came down.
Crack!
His head burst against the ground.
That was all the signal needed.
Blood Leech pounced on the nearest player and drove its proboscis into his neck. The Silverback Grunt swung its club, crushing another player's chest. Slimy spat poison at two more, making them claw at their faces as they collapsed.
Chaos filled the area within seconds.
Soon after, Zich stood alone in the middle of the blood soaked ground and inhaled slowly.
Small glowing orbs rose from the corpses and flew into him one by one.
His eyes narrowed slightly as the energy entered his body.
With the fight over, his summons were quickly dismissed. After adjusting his backpack, he began walking away from the mountain path before anyone could notice him.
Right at that moment—
ROOOOAR!
The ground shook beneath his boots. Small stones jumped as if something massive had just moved. Trees in the distance rustled violently, leaves breaking free and falling as the pressure spread outward.
A thick, suffocating aura rolled through the area, pressing down on everything. It felt wild… unstable… like something powerful had just woken up.
Immediately after—
[Ding! Emergency Notice!]
[The Eastern Plane Event Has Been Terminated.]
[All players are required to return to the designated shelters immediately.]
[Failure to comply will result in full responsibility for any consequences.]