[Sent back to reality!]
Daniel's eyes shot open, and the world around him rushed back into focus.
The familiar sight of his luxurious room greeted him—lavish furniture, expensive paintings, and grand decorations—but none of it brought him comfort now.
His head buzzed with fury, his heart pounding like a war drum.
How had he lost to that insignificant mage? Worse yet, the other's fireball overwhelmed his own!
[You will be able to log back into 'Universal Descent' in 29:54 minutes!]
The message glowed in front of him like a taunt, reminding him of his failure.
"This is... FUCKKKKKKK!"
He began screaming as he broke and smashed everything he could get a hold of in his room.
There were expensive things, but to him it was like a drop of water in the ocean, for now, he just wanted to let his frustration go.
The door burst open, and Aurelia, his younger sister, stepped inside.
She was tall and striking, her long hair cascading over her shoulders and it was hard to believe she was an assassin with those giant mountains on her.
Her sharp eyes immediately scanned the wreckage.
"Brother, what are you doing?" she asked, her tone a mix of surprise and irritation.
For a moment, Daniel didn't respond.
His chest heaved with every breath, his eyes wild with fury.
He grabbed another expensive vase, ready to hurl it, but Aurelia was faster.
With swift, precise movements, she subdued him using a martial art technique she had mastered long ago.
Her arm snaked around his, her legs locked his body in place.
Daniel struggled, but the hold was firm, she had always been better than him at that after all.
"Calm down!" Aurelia demanded.
After a few minutes, Daniel's breath slowly evened out and he finally retrieved his composure as he got up, "This fucker..."
Aurelia raised an eyebrow, puzzled, "What happened?"
"FateBreaker," Daniel spat the name of his now biggest enemy, "I'm going to destroy him."
He stormed over to his bed and summoned his [Guild Chat] panel, and yes, you could use that in real life, the members of your guild receiving the notification both in the real world and in the game.
[MartialMage: This is but a small loss, members. The guy likely used a cheat. We will continue leveling up, but do note that the raid will happen today instead of tomorrow to reach the first city faster. if anyone sees the player 'FateBreaker,' do not engage him head-on. Sneak attacks only.]
But Alice was quicker, and without Alex even asking her, she sent an arrow toward the player, hitting him in the head, causing critical damage.
Poof!
That player vanished in a flash of blue light.
"THEY GOT CASPER! IT'S THEM!"
They immediately rushed toward Alex and Alice, but a few spells was enough to dispatch the three.
'Too bad I can't extract from players yet...'
As players didn't truly die during the first stage of the game, it was impossible to extract anything from them, the only thing he could possibly do is steal items.
"Hey, Alice," Alex sighed.
"Hm?"
"Stay back, they don't know you are with me, and I have something to do."
He planned to kill the [Silver-Skin Chief] today to get the rewards as early as possible, since the questline and first city had been unlocked on the third day of this game, meaning he shouldn't sit around doing nothing.
"O-Oh, alright, I think I'll level up in the forest, then!" she smiled adorably, and he patted her head.
"Alright," Alice quickly ran toward one of the novice village exits, wanting to level up to level 10 to catch up with Alex, "See you later, then!"
"See ya," Alex smiled, but when Alice was out of sight, he dropped his joyful expression, going back to his usual one, "Let's get that guy."
He was determined to kill the chief to get those rewards, as they would be greatly needed for later.
...
Back in the heart of the novice village, Alex stood before the massive stone building where the [Silver-Skin Chief] resided.
The entrance was locked, only accessible to those with 100 reputation point, but Alex had no intention of earning his way in.
With a flick of his wrist, he cast a Fireball spell, hurling it toward the door. The blast echoed through the square as the wooden doors splintered into pieces.
[You have entered the 'Silver-Skin Chief's' building!]
[Knock at the door in front of you to summon the chief.]
Alex stepped inside.
The lobby was dimly lit, dust hanging in the air.
And at the far end of the room, a heavy wooden door awaited him.
Without hesitation, he walked up to it and knocked twice.
"Pizza delivery."
The room grew eerily quiet.