Keeping their voice low, someone excitedly exclaimed, “Burn! Yes, burn them all to hell!”

  Other players were equally excited, their hearts pounding with anticipation. Even Sean couldn’t conceal the grin that spread across his face. It wasn’t that they were all lunatics or arsonists; rather, they saw an opportunity to claim an abundance of merit points by eradicating the bandits with the flames in one fell swoop.

  Each captured or slain bandit would reward them with a substantial five hundred merit points, which was a far more lucrative prospect than dealing with arachnids. Furthermore, elite bandits offered at least double the rewards. Although the players weren’t sure about the classifications beyond identifying them by their appearances, the scarred middle-aged man leading the bandits likely held a high rank. He might even be the bandit boss, which might give them even more merit points!

  As the flames kept spreading, Sean’s enthusiasm was cut short. He noticed a sudden rush of water gushing from the bandits’ location, extinguishing the fire blocking them. Despite the fiery barrier separating them, they were not retreating back into the valley. Instead, their silhouettes began to move with haste, circling around the edges of the fire. With each passing second, it became clear to him that the bandits were moving toward their location—it seemed they had been found out.

  “Oh shoot, they’re coming here! Our location is compromised!” Sean cursed.

  “What? How?” asked a nearby player. “I wasn’t even that loud…”

  It didn’t make sense. Somehow, they had zeroed in on them!

  Sean shrugged. “Beats me. I bet they have a magic tool or something to track us,” he speculated and then smiled cynically. “Or maybe what we deem quiet is just too darn loud for them.”

  Panic sparked among the players as they scrambled to their feet, ready to escape at a moment’s notice. While all the players here were those with the distraction missions, only a fraction of them were Initiate Attunement acolytes. As for those who dug the trenches and holes, they were already returning to the academy.

  Patrick, however, maintained his cool demeanor. “Well, magicians of this world sure do have some tricks up their sleeves. So, what should we do now, leader?”

  Sean got to his feet and suggested, “We should get out of here. Quick!”

  “Don’t be a chicken. Let’s face them right here.” Chicken cracked his knuckles, ready for some action.

  Butterfly rolled her eyes and mocked, “Hmph. Are you really that stupid?”

  “Mhm, it is indeed wiser to strategically retreat in this situation,” Patrick concurred.

  Chicken blinked in confusion. “Why?”

  Realizing that Chicken needed a more logical explanation, Sean clarified, “We're completely outnumbered. Judging by their movements, it seems the fire didn’t really thin out their numbers much. We could ask for reinforcements from other players, but high-ranking players have their own roles to play and are all too far away. Either way, let’s move out!”

  Thus, they all immediately evacuated the site, urgently retreating in the direction of the academy as fast as they could. Even though there was compensation for dying in missions, none of them were willing to throw their lives away willy-nilly. When it was time to retreat, it had to be done without a shred of hesitation.

  Unfortunately, it became painfully clear that they wouldn’t be able to put much distance between themselves and the pursuing bandits. Despite their geographical advantage and head start, some bandits displayed an unsettling agility, closing the gap with an almost inhuman speed—these bandits were definitely not normal people!

  “This is a dead-end. Either we’re hunted down one by one, or some of us become bait to let the rest escape… Although, that would lure them straight to the academy,” Sean urgently proposed as he ran. He was considering this option, knowing that the headmaster was at the academy, and he would surely vanquish all these bandits… Though, even then there could be unwanted consequences and nobody would want to sacrifice themselves. He had to think of another way.

  “Hmm, at least only a fraction of their group is chasing us here. If the bandit boss and those mages were the ones pursuing us, I bet we’d be long dead,” Patrick analyzed.

  “Damn! They’re underestimating us too much!”

  Desperation set in, and the gravity of their situation weighed heavily on them. Even though the top-tier enemies weren’t the ones on their tails, it felt like they were being toyed with. Most likely because they were too weak.

  Sean’s thoughts raced as he contemplated his next move. I should do something… It’s better than all of us dying here. He then thought of a plan and came to an abrupt stop, catching the attention of the players behind him.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “What are you doing?! Keep running!” one of the players right behind him shouted, still sprinting.

  “No.” He raised his palm in firm rejection. “Go! I’ll hold them off!” Sean shouted, his voice laced with resolve.

  “What are you, nuts?” The player who had shouted earlier finally slowed down and looked back with an expression of disbelief. The others also came to a halt and stared at him as if observing a suicidal person.

  “If you stay, then we’ll stay too!” Chicken stepped forward.

  The rest of his party followed suit. At least his friends were loyal enough to not leave him to face this dire situation alone.

  “If you people stay, then our party will fight alongside you.” A tall and handsome blond-haired player joined in. He was known by the username “GiveMeTheNuclearCode” or NuclearCode for short. If Sean hadn’t known better about some of his questionable comments on the official website forum or the true meaning of his username, he would have taken him as an upright individual.

  “We’re staying as well.”

  “Let’s fight them together!”

  As it became clear that everyone present was committed to standing their ground and fighting back, the player who had initially urged Sean to keep running clenched his fists. “Damn it. It would look uncool if I were the only one to run away with my tail between my legs.”

  “Alright! It seems that we’re on the same page here.” Sean smiled. This was the best option, after all.

  All he needed to do now was to give these bandits one “last surprise” and show the world that newer players like themselves could make an impact in this game world.

  “You listen to me, and you listen to me good…”

  ***

  Exactly twelve elite mercenaries—all of them Ki-Warriors—chased after the perpetrators responsible for setting the forest ablaze and nearly blocking their escape route. They were told to simply trail them to find out the real culprit behind the trap they had fallen into. Leading this formidable group was Rylan, the buff Ki-Warrior with a mace. He was known as the “Mighty Minotaur” due to his legendary strength, capable of downing bulls with a single punch. Among mercenaries, his name struck fear into the hearts of many.

  All of a sudden, he stopped in his tracks and scanned the ground. The trail they had been following was abruptly cut short. “Did they catch wind of us? Figures. Probably got a few acolytes among ‘em.”

  He found the situation puzzling. There were many subtle signs of these people being amateurs, but that didn’t explain how they had repeatedly fallen for their tricks. A bad feeling washed over him as he thought of a possibility, and he turned to address the other mercenaries.

  “Ya three, scout ahead for me!”

  The chosen trio were only Ki-Initials, which were two ranks below him. As such, they didn’t dare defy his command and advanced cautiously to investigate.

  Just as one of the mercenaries stepped on a peculiar patch of ground, he tumbled into a concealed pitfall. “Agh!”

  “What happened?”

  “Uargh!” Another one screamed as a vine snared his leg and hoisted him up into the branches of a tall tree.

  Then, the last one, distracted by the two traps triggering, tripped on a thick tree root and fell to a pile of mud. It was truly the cherry on top.

  “Shit! Ya three fell for such basic traps! Utterly useless!”

  As Rylan’s yelling echoed, the surrounding bushes rustled, and the ground trembled slightly, revealing small trenches. Roughly two dozen people emerged, encircling the elite mercenaries from every direction, weapons in hand. They spread out, positioning themselves strategically behind the natural barriers offered by the terrain. With the crazed expression on their faces, it felt as if the hunters had suddenly become the hunted.

  “Surprise, motherfuckers!” The one leading them smiled sinisterly.

  “Bastards!” That word escaping Rylan’s lips became the cue for these “monsters” to attack.

  ***

  The players stood at the ready. Their faces set in grim lines of determination as their hands firmly clutched an assortment of weapons.

  This was it—the final surprise that Sean had concocted.

  “Time to rock and roll!” Sean declared.

  With faces locked in unwavering resolve, they raised their weapons high, ready to fight till their last drop of blood.

  “Everyone, attack! Attack! Show ‘em what we’re made of!” Chicken’s rallying cry echoed as he charged ahead.

  “Charge!!”

  “Call the ambulance! But not for me!”

  “Who let the dogs out?!”

  “Shazam!”

  “…!”

  As usual, the traditional and eccentric war cries reverberated through the forest as the players charged headlong toward the startled bandits. It seemed to have boosted their courage several times since the close combatants’ speed became so much faster than when they were running away, causing the bandits to flinch in a bewildered mixture of confusion and fear.

  Spells were cast, arrows were nocked, and swords were drawn as they braced for the impending clash. Soon, the clash of metal on metal and the crackle of magic spells filled the air. Seizing the momentum, the players were able to push back the bandits with their superior numbers, inflicting injuries and even claiming the lives of a couple.

  One of the players at the forefront, who had just slashed down a trapped bandit, winced slightly as blood splattered across his face. “Damn, did you see that blood and gore? It all feels way too real! What those players said on the alpha version 0.2 is true!”

  “Huh, I feel like I should be a little more disturbed by this game’s realism.”

  “In any case, this works in our favor. Let’s finish them off!”

  However, the bandits were not giving up without a fight. Most of the ones they managed to injure or kill were those who had fallen into their traps, while the remaining bandits fought back fiercely—similarly inflicting damage to their ranks. Unexplainably, these bandits exhibited extraordinary powers akin to Initiate Attunement acolytes and even displayed weapon techniques that looked similar to RPG skills!

  “Die! Piercing Slash!” A bandit wielding a longsword swung downward toward a red-skinned player. “Hahaha! You hafta pay for what ya did— Wh-Wha? How?!”

  The blade that was supposed to cut the flesh of the player was abruptly halted by her enormous hand, unable to move even an inch further. The bandits witnessing this were left in stunned disbelief, especially the wielder. Of course, the player in question was none other than ButterflyWingsAreDelicious; she was the strongest combatant they had among them.

  “M-Monster!” Sean could hear the teeth chattering in the bandit’s voice.

  “Am I a monster?” Butterfly’s expression was unchanged as she delivered a fast, devastating punch that shattered the bandit’s head into a gruesome mess of blood and brain matter. His body tumbled to the ground like a rag doll.

  https://youtu.be/UebSfjmQNvs