Chapter 12: Life on the Line

​​​​​​​‘Just think of the game as… No… Logging in with brainwaves, it’s all bullcrap! Eating, drinking, sleeping, taking a dump, everything that happens here is no different from the actual world.

‘Here, you are an actual existence. To you, this is the actual world. This is the only way for you to not slip up.’

The old geezer looked at the young man like he was his son. ‘Fight and grow stronger. When your strength reaches a certain degree, you’ll be able to leave this cursed place.’

‘Old geezer… What are you saying?’ Drako Yau had never feared anything, but the old man’s words were shocking enough to make him feel afraid. ‘You mean, my soul is trapped in the game?’

The old geezer didn’t answer his question and simply shook his head. ‘I can’t say anything more. I already took a big risk just by coming here today. Grow stronger, then escape from this world.’

His silhouette gradually faded away into the distance, albeit his legs were not moving at all. The white dimension also seemingly followed the old man as they disappeared together.

‘Don’t go! Mad geezer!

‘You crazy old man!

‘Old geezer…’

His voice gradually dwindled out of existence within the dimension.

Sasaki held the Starter Longsword in his hands and ran over to the forest beyond the city walls. At that moment, the phone in his item bag beeped.

‘Hello?’

‘Young master, it’s me. The meeting will start in ten minutes.’

Sasaki grinded his teeth. ‘The meeting, cancel it!’ Leaving such words behind, he immediately hung up.

The old butler was baffled. The young master… He’s never been like this…

Although Sasaki was just Level 3 in the game, he radiated an unstoppable aura as he sprinted. As he recalled the person who stood in front of him in the fight, Sasaki gripped the longsword in his hand.

‘Perhaps, it’s time for me to do the things I truly like.’

‘Boss, what’s this?’

The three party members stood beside Zephyrwolf, their eyes glued to the pillar of white light.

Zephyrwolf was unsure what had happened either. ‘Maybe that guy has some sort of treasure that can save him from death. Those sort of items will certainly enter cooldown upon use. We’ll kill him and see if he drops it, and even if he doesn’t, we’ll still earn some coins if he drops the spear.’

No sooner had he said so than the white light dissipated. The pillar of light was gone, revealing Drako Yau whose eyes were shut tightly while showing a calm look.

Over half of his wounds had been healed, but he could still feel the lack of strength in his body. In gaming terms, he had probably recovered half his health…

Ah, scratch that. The old geezer had told him not to view this world as a game. If I die here… I’ll actually die.

Drako Yau then snapped his eyes open.

‘Go!’ Zephyrwolf grunted and charged in with the rare longsword in his hands.

Back when Drako Yau had been under the protection of the white light, Zephyrwolf had received the longsword from his underling through the trade system.

Equipment in the game were not bound to players, so it was almost certain that a player would drop an equipment or two whenever they died. Naturally, Zephyrwolf could equip them now then unequip them later to sell them. Might as well experience the thrill of literally holding 5,000 dollars in his hands before selling it.

Drako Yau’s gaze was completely different now. It wasn’t that his strength had suddenly changed; instead, it was his mentality.

Drako Yau, he was still the same person. He did not suddenly learn some hidden legendary martial arts just from meeting the crazy old geezer, because his spearmanship was already worthy of the word legendary right from the start.

It was a battle of life and death. If dying in the game meant he would actually die, then the people confronting him were people who were trying to murder him. The mentality of simply playing a game and fighting a battle with his life on the line were polar opposites.

‘So you’re the ones who want to kill me?’ Drako Yau’s voice was as deep as rumbling thunder in the skies.

‘Dumbass! Yeah we’re gonna kill you alright!’ Zephyrwolf responded with an insult and swung his sword, casting Crescent Slash as he did.

‘Understood.’ He jabbed his spear at the incoming blade.

The spear tip landed precisely on the sword and made a loud ting as they clashed. Shifting his body sideways, he dodged the four arrows which flew towards him.

‘Then come at me knowing that you’ll all meet a certain death!’

Sasaki hurried back to the forest, but there was no one to be seen. The arrows that had pierced through the soil and the splashes of blood that the players had splattered were still there. For the sake of realism, blood stains would remain for three hours before the system refreshed the terrain.

‘Why did you hurry back, kid?’

A voice reached his ears from behind. Sasaki quickly turned around and readied his sword. There, he found Drako Yau, drenched in blood and leaning against a large tree. The man looked at him with dubious eyes.

‘You didn’t die?’ Disbelief was written all over Sasaki’s face. Right after he had died, the man had to fight against four players all on his own!

Drako Yau sighed and glared at Sasaki. ‘Whose side are you even on? Do you want me to die so badly? Anyways, come give me a hand so we can leave this place. They’ll be back soon, and it won’t be just five of them this time.’

As he spoke, he turned off the timer he had previously set on his phone.

If asked whom he trusted the most, his answer would surely be the old geezer. The pain he had experienced in the near-death situation also led him to believe the old man’s words without any doubts. He had truly entered the game’s world.

In that case, the timer was meaningless.

Sasaki nodded to his words and hurriedly lent Drako Yau a shoulder as they left. However, Sasaki had not considered why he had to give him a hand, when normal players could regain their health just by drinking potions and resting briefly.

After a good while, the two reached a cave under the Drako Yau’s instructions. The entrance to the cave was narrow, and only one person could enter at a time. He had no intention of entering it though, so they simply rested next to the cave entrance.

The cultivation method the old geezer had taught him was activated within his body. Strength and vitality gradually recovered as they circulated throughout his entire body. While health potions couldn’t immediately heal him like it would for normal players, it could increase the rate at which his wounds healed.

Using his current condition as an example, Drako Yau could feel that his body was in tatters. He was covered in bruises, his nose ridge had fractured, and he also had plenty of arrow wounds and sword cuts. It would have taken him at least a month to heal if not for the health potion.

‘Seeing that you’ve got a good heart, here. I’ll return it to you’, Drako Yau said as he tossed the expensive longsword onto the ground.

Sasaki picked it up and asked, ‘You don’t want it? Didn’t they set their eyes on me because of this?’

Drako Yau simply kept his eyes shut. ‘I’m not short on money.’

Having sacrificed himself for the sake of his employees by selling his company, Jubilant Games, not long ago, he was indeed not short on money at all. It had once been the leading company of the gaming industry in the Tenth Eastern City after all. Despite having fallen from its former glory, selling the brand name alone was enough for him to lead a well-off life for several lifetimes.

Yet the bitterness he had felt had led him to the game. Who would’ve expected that he couldn’t log out of it afterwards?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that an invisible hand was controlling everything from behind the scenes.

The game had the same name as the one he made…

A large portion of the map was the same…

The Encounter system…

A game which he could not quit…

A game where he would actually die if he died in-game…

And the old geezer who had gone missing for the past seven years…

Thinking about everything only gave him a headache, but at least he was sure of one thing now—he couldn’t die in this game.

Meanwhile, Sasaki was staring at Drako Yau, his admiration towards the spearman rapidly rising. He had read countless martial arts fiction, such as the ones written by deceased famous writers like Mr. Gum and Mr. Gu, and he was engrossed with every one of them. It was also the reason why he had started learning swordsmanship. However, when he had reached the point that he could defeat his instructor, Sasaki lost interest and motivation.

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Sasaki’s eyes were glued to Drako Yau. Wasn’t this exactly the scene that he had always longed for, where the main character would encounter a master and become his apprentice?

Warrior

Description: Only the most decisive and brave fighters can become warriors. Apart from being the trusty tank in the team, they also serve as a powerful melee fighter, making it an all-rounded class.

Skill type: Warriors have great strength, making them a powerful assault force. As warriors gain greater understanding of the weapons they wield, their attack will also increase until they learn of the true essence of their weapons.

Class progression: Berserker, Weaponmaster.