Chapter 26 …
In God Ose, there is something called the Arena.
It’s commonly referred to as PvP. While not perfectly equalized, the system applies a certain level of stat correction, allowing players to compete based largely on skill.
Players can also engage in a mutual “duel” out in the field, but that does not apply any stat correction.
Even so, duels were quite popular.
After working so hard to gear up, who would want to fight while being artificially suppressed?
The fact that you could fight anytime, anywhere also helped.
In that sense, God Ose was quite generous when it came to combat.
It allowed players to battle according to their own tastes—how merciful.
But no matter where you go, there are always people who refuse to play nice.
“Duels? What’s fun about that? Real life is all about live combat.”
“Bullying weaker players is the real thrill~.”
Instead of using the legal duel system, there were always players who committed unauthorized slaughter—PK (player killing).
They existed in Demrock.
They existed in other RPGs.
And of course, they existed in God Ose.
Because it’s fun.
Because they want items.
Because they’re annoyed.
Because they want to make someone quit the game…
For all sorts of reasons, quite a few players engaged in PK, and because of that, PK was something most users had either experienced or at least heard about.
Ask them who the absolute worst were, and nine out of ten would answer:
“Smurfs who prey on newbies.”
“Players who PK just for fun seriously need to have their IDs banned.”
“Damn it, those bastards made me drop a rare item. Still pisses me off.”
The worst were the ones who PK purely for entertainment.
And among them, the most despicable were those who deliberately targeted beginners.
They even formed teams and systematically preyed on newcomers.
Despite reaching the graduation level, they refused to move on, instead hunting players who had just entered the city and looked moderately well-geared.
They got items.
They had fun.
And since high-level players couldn’t return, as long as they avoided people tied to major guilds, it was practically heaven.
“Yo, time to make another haul today.”
“I’m kinda getting bored of this… Can’t we find someone interesting? Everyone reacts the same—it’s no fun.”
“Heh, you’re my friend, but you’re seriously vicious.”
AssassinBoy, IfYouMadDoItToo, and NopeCantHitMe.
These three were demons living in that heaven.
All of them had reached level 24—the graduation level—but none of them bothered to complete the graduation quest.
Naturally.
“Why would I?”
“Graduate? What for? If we move up, we’ll just get bullied by stronger players. Why suffer on purpose?”
Here in Raven, they could play king.
Why leave?
It wasn’t like they’d become rankers anyway, and right now they were having plenty of fun—and making decent pocket money.
Picking up items dropped from death penalties was surprisingly profitable.
And—
“I’m rotting here for life.”
“For random PK, there’s nowhere better than this~.”
The moment they graduated, this kind of newbie-farming would become difficult.
In Arde, there was no death penalty and no skills, and everyone formed parties—too troublesome.
From the next city onward, everyone joined guilds and carried three or four skills each—also troublesome.
More rivals.
Harder PK.
Stronger social networks.
In every way, nowhere was as much of a paradise as Raven.
And so today as well, they searched for suitable prey.
But nothing really caught their eye.
They’d been working too hard lately, and word had spread—players were sticking to party play more strictly now.
Occasionally they spotted solo players, but…
“That guy—he’s the one, right?”
“Yeah. The one being backed by the Hero Guild. Skip him.”
“Right. Our luck’s been good lately—getting marked would be a headache.”
Some of them were recognizable faces.
Often rookies already tagged by major guilds or supported by solid mid-sized guilds.
If they messed with the wrong person, things would get annoying.
They were here to have fun—not to deal with trouble.
“Then what about that guy?”
“Hm… don’t recognize the face, but the gear looks kinda meh.”
“You’ve been picky lately. You used to gobble up anyone.”
“Hey, a man can’t live on kimchi stew and soybean soup forever. Sometimes you gotta slice into a steak, right?”
By “kimchi stew,” AssassinBoy meant ordinary newbies with no backing whatsoever.
Then what was “steak”?
“Isn’t there some rich idiot with no backing just begging to be eaten~?”
Watching AssassinBoy hum as he licked the edge of his blade, IfYouMadDoItToo and NopeCantHitMe shook their heads.
In real life he was pretty normal—but once he logged into the game, his eyes went crazy.
Well, it’s fun for us.
It was just a game—who cared?
And following someone who had mastered the art of tormenting others often led to entertaining moments.
Like that last guy—he’d promised to power-level him, gathered a huge mob, then calmly slipped away in stealth.
Just remembering the betrayed player’s furious face made them snicker.
“Let’s seeee~ where’s the steaaak—oh!?”
That’s when it happened.
While humming about steak like a madman, AssassinBoy spotted a player.
Red and black overall.
A man carrying a massive greatsword.
“Holy—jackpot. Isn’t that the Warrior set?”
“What? Where—whoa, you’re right. Must be loaded.”
“Is someone like that in a guild?”
At NopeCantHitMe’s question, AssassinBoy thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“Nope. My contact’s an Arde scout. Heard updates today—no one like that.”
If someone wearing the Warrior set had been recruited, the scouts would definitely be talking.
If not…
“Oh?”
“Then…”
AssassinBoy met their eyes and grinned.
“That’s a clueless rich newbie. Soloing without fear.”
At that single remark, the other two smiled the same way.
A low, vicious, greedy smile.
“Heh… even the design looks delicious. Might crack open some whiskey tonight.”
“What a lucky Friday. I’m booking a room right away.”
“Hey, how much would that sell for? Over 500?”
“No clue, idiot—just know it’s insane profit.”
They were already chatting as if the money were theirs.
Then they froze.
The man who had been resting suddenly started hunting goblins.
But the power wasn’t normal.
Slip—stab.
A goblin died instantly.
Whoosh—slash!
In a blink, he slid and one-shot another goblin.
No matter how you looked at it, he wasn’t an ordinary newbie.
“…Does that look like someone who just graduated?”
“He’s strong, but… no matter what, he can’t be above level 16. What’s the problem?”
“That’s just gear carry. Once we sell it, we’re rolling in cash.”
“Heh, true enough.”
That was the extent of their concern.
At best, he was just a rich newbie punching above his weight with gear.
There was no way he could beat them.
After all, he was alone.
They were three players at the graduation level.
Traits and unique abilities aside, in this low-level bracket, level was king.
“Still, just in case—hit him with a safe opener.”
“Heh, going to coat paralysis poison?”
“This time money matters more than fun. Go.”
AssassinBoy made an OK sign as he walked forward, then activated Stealth.
His skills were Stealth, Paralysis Poison, Moving Slash, and Trip Kick.
True to his name, he had fully committed to the assassin build—arguably the best PvP skill tree at this level.
He even had two rare-grade skills.
[Unique Ability ‘Ambush’ is active.]
[If you successfully attack while unseen, you deal a devastating blow.]
[Trait ‘Fairly Sharp Dagger Mastery’ is applied.]
On top of that, the god he drew was a Hero-grade god.
Specifically, one of the assassination types—the Dread Shadow Dagger God.
It wasn’t the highest-rated among assassin hero gods, but a hero class was still a hero class.
Its unique ability more than compensated for the slightly disappointing trait.
Nothing’s more optimized for newbie farming than this.
Especially for someone like AssassinBoy, who loved stealth ambush PK.
If the ambush failed, the ability was useless.
But if it succeeded, the payoff was massive.
Meanwhile, that guy?
One-trick: Charge Slash.
He probably had another skill from Arde, but since he wasn’t using it, it couldn’t be anything special.
Maybe a buff skill was boosting his damage.
Either way, it didn’t matter.
Stealth in, stab with poison, stack bleed, then gang up. Clean.
This wasn’t a fight.
It was a hunt.
If even one of those items dropped, tonight was whiskey-and-VIP-room time.
He was already happily planning the evening—
Then—
He froze.
…What was that?
AssassinBoy stopped mid-approach.
A chill ran down his spine.
Did… we just make eye contact?
Was he imagining it?
It definitely felt like their eyes met.
Uneasy, he tilted his head, then shook it off.
No way.
The guy had just graduated Arde and was hunting in Raven Plains.
A swordsman.
There was no way he had a skill to detect rare-grade Stealth.
He’d never even heard of such a trait.
Sure, much later you could detect stealth with items or skills—but that was far in the future.
Logically, there was no way his stealth had been seen through.
Yeah. Must’ve imagined it.
See?
He was already right behind him, and the guy was still walking calmly.
AssassinBoy drew his dagger.
Green liquid dripped from the blade.
Rare skill: Paralysis Poison.
Still… better finish this quickly.
He crept forward and moved to stab the man’s side—
Whirl—
“…!”
The man suddenly moved.
In an instant, he turned, knocked the wrist aside, and sent the dagger flying.
Before AssassinBoy could even react—
A brutal hand seized his throat.
“Ghk!—Kgh!”
At the same time, Stealth broke, revealing AssassinBoy suspended in the air by his neck.
Stealth’s one weakness: it was vulnerable to area effects.
If hit, it would cancel.
What the…
But he hadn’t been hit by an AoE.
How had his stealth been detected?
And even more incomprehensible—
The man’s absurd strength.
…I can’t move at all!
No matter how he struggled, the grip didn’t budge.
Like solid bedrock.
He was level 24—even as an assassin.
And this guy—at most level 16—was overpowering him in raw strength?
What kind of nonsense—
“What are you?”
The man finally spoke.
“Wow… I thought maybe, but you’re really a PKer.”
His tone was casual.
Despite nearly being ambushed, there wasn’t a hint of agitation.
If anything, he sounded intrigued.
But his expression was chilling.
That contrast filled AssassinBoy with fear.
“Y-you bastard… what the hell are you?!”
Instinctively shouting, his waiting teammates popped their heads above the brush.
“W-what!?”
“What’s going on?!”
The man slowly took them in and smirked.
“Well, look at that. Professional. Repeat offenders, huh?”
At that cold voice, AssassinBoy’s pupils shook violently.
For some reason, the man seemed enormous—
As if he could crush him effortlessly at any moment.
But in truth, the man—Do-hyun—wasn’t looking at him.
His gaze was slightly above.
[Eye of Truth activates.]
Didn’t expect it to pierce stealth too.
It was an entirely new discovery about the Eye of Truth.
