Chapter 163: Betrayal

Kaisen raised his eyes at the item description of the masks in his hands. It was as if the universe had handed him a Swiss Army knife in the form of a mask.

[Mask of the Mischievous]

[Class: Rare]

[Description: A mask said to be crafted by the legendary blacksmith Grover, granting its wielder the ability to temporarily transform into another person.]

[Requirement: DNA of the target.]

He smirked, imagining all the hijinks he could get up to with such a mask. It was like being given a backstage pass to every masquerade ball ever held.

All he needed was a sample of his target's DNA and he could become anyone.

'Night Shades must've taken Alice's and the others' DNA at night. That's why they prowled around at night.'

He recalled seeing pairs of red eyes outside the cave. At the time, it had been like spotting glowing cherries in the dark—terrifying.

But now, knowing what these night creatures were, he felt foolish. All he had to do was attack them without getting touched.

'This will surely come in handy.'

He thought, grinning like a kid who'd just found the hidden stash of Halloween candy.

He was about to stash the masks into his inventory when suddenly a system message popped up.

[Three Masks of the Mischievous found!]

[Upgrade item?]

'Huh? Of course, of course.'

If the system was offering free upgrades, he'd be a fool to say no. It was like being handed a free ticket to the carnival without having to play any of those rigged games.

'Let's see what you've got for me.'

He thought, eagerly waiting for the transformation.

A golden light enveloped the three masks in Kaisen's hands, making him squint for a moment before it vanished.

When he opened his eyes, the three masks had fused into one.

He had no clue what those ominous messages meant, but a bad feeling gnawed at him.

On one hand, his entire system of progression was as quirky as a penguin in a tuxedo.

Like, seriously, who levels up based on how many women they touch?

On the other hand, he was now four times stronger than the main boss of the first region.

Normally, players would be around Lloyd's or Elfie's level if they had progressed naturally, but him being this OP must've thrown a massive banana peel in the game's balance.

'Damn. Let me just take care of this first, alright.'

The room was now fully opened, and as he surveyed the scene, his eyes widened like saucers.

What he had feared had finally happened. In the vast open field, Lloyd lay sprawled on the ground, blood splattering like a horror movie gone wrong.

He wasn't quite dead, though. In this game, if you wanted to be truly dead, you had to deplete your health bar completely.

Even if you got mangled or had limbs hanging by a thread, as long as you had 5 HP, you were still in the game.

All you needed was a healer or a high potion to patch you up like new.

Back in the field, Elfie was in a similar state.

She had a sword through her stomach, which was definitely not how she imagined her day going.

Though unconscious, she wasn't dead either. She looked like she could use a nap and a high potion, not necessarily in that order.

Besides her, Alice was crying like there was no tomorrow, her tears flowing like a river as she healed the unconscious woman.

Her hands emitted the familiar golden light that made even the ugliest wounds feel like paper cuts.

Vhalla was sitting on the ground near the big red flower, her gaze on the battlefield. Despite the chaos, there was a hint of a smile on her graceful face.

For a boss capable of destroying the land, she had a serene beauty about her.

His eyes then fell on Sable, trembling as she held her sword against the instigator of this whole mess.

Tears were streaming down her face like a leaky faucet, but there was a determination in her eyes that said she was ready to end this once and for all.

"Maximus..."