Everything was dark. Nothing could be seen. But after his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out the borders of his world. He was in a completely enclosed space. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of the same material - a smooth stone. Their patterns were identical to the walls of the Uval Cemetery, suggesting that they were made from the same material. He didn't know what was going on, but the feeling of raw, primal fear was definite and tangible. He didn't know what he was scared of, but he was hoping that this hideout would protect him from what was to come.
How long had he been wasting away in this bunker? He did not know. The only thing he knew was that he was being hunted by a very powerful being, and it did not matter how long he was secluded as long as he was safe.
Out of madness, it seemed like he had forgot to prepare enough provisions for himself, and he was currently thirsty and starving. It also seemed like he forgot to secure an exit path, so he was also unable to leave when it was no longer necessary to hide.
And because he was in a small, singular room, it smelled. There was nowhere else to relieve himself but the corner.
However, he wasn't concerned about this. As long as he could shelter himself away from that *thing*, nothing mattered.
Living day in and day out in fear could hardly be called living. At this point, he had lost track of time. Day in? Day out? These terms were meaningless. How much time had passed? It was impossible to tell in what could generously be described as solitary confinement. And due to an indeterminate amount of time passing, his fear had begun to wane.
He sat with his back against the wall, staring at the empty space in front of him.
Though his eyes were looking in the general direction of the wall, he wasn't focused on it. Why would he need to? He had been staring at the same four corners for God knows how long.
His vision would turn blurry, and he would blink. He would blink thousands of times per day and see the same thing for days on end.
However, this time, it was different. He blinked, and a cloaked figure stood before him.
At first, he didn't react. He didn't process what was happening in front of him; his mind was wandering among his seemingly infinite thoughts.
He blinked again, and the figure came into focus. He thought he was hallucinating, but he wasn't. He could definitely *feel* something powerful was before him. Once he realized what was happening, the primal fear that had diminished returned in full force.
Every malnourished muscle in his body tensed up as he tried to push himself backwards. However, there was nowhere to go; his back was literally against the wall.
Along with the fear he felt for this being was an immense pressure that came along with his presence. It was almost as if his brain was telling him he couldn't move at all. No matter how hard he tried, he could only remain in the same locked position against the wall.
He tried to determine the true appearance of this... *thing*, but the cloak that was draped over its body hid all discernable features.
He was at an impasse. He wanted to run; he wanted to fight. But he could do neither of those things as the pressure radiating from the cloaked being gripped him to the ground. He knew it was over.
From within the cloak, where the face would have been, two eyes of a golden color showed themselves and pierced through the darkness.
That was the last thing he saw.
---
Ryozaki's body convulsed and fell onto the ground after striking Shahar's tombstone. Soon, it dissipated into the familiar white mist that Jisha longed for. She hopped off her perch and rolled delightfully through the light. She ecstatically stood up; the same white light that had once encompassed Ryozaki surrounded her. She had collected the essence of two players and her experience bar was full.
*>System message: Level up!*
*>Name: Fae Sol*
*>Class: Ranged*
*Level: 0 -> 1 (+1)*
*>HP: 10 -> 100 (+90)*
*>MP: 10 -> 100 (+90)*
*>Atk: 1 -> 10 (+9)*
*>Def: 1*
In a War Zone, if a player A killed player B, player A would directly receive 100% of the experience. However, in this case, player B had died not at the hands of another player, but rather via a "natural cause". In this case, whoever touched it first would receive the experience.
Jisha was now level 1. This meant that she could wipe the floor with level 0's with absolutely no effort.
This was the reason Bren had wanted to get to level 1 as soon as possible; the difference in stats between level 0 and 1 was massive. As a ratio, it was the largest stock stat gain in the game. Of course, in the later phases, there would be times when your HP would increase by more than 90, but never again would it increase by 10 times.
In addition, you could evolve your class at level 1. You needed to be in a Safe Zone and remain immobile for a few seconds while the evolution took place, so Jisha couldn't do that just yet. However, once she did, it would mean that the skill gap between her and the rest of the players would increase due to the introduction of skills.
Jisha then recalled the manner in which her foe had died.
*Such a sad way to die, especially at level 1. I forgot that these guys are new players and wouldn't be used to Synergy's true nature yet...*
How did she win? In essence, it was another exploit.
In her past life, it was widely known that if Shahar's tombstone were touched, the perpetrator would suffer instant death after being shown a vision. As players discovered this feature about the Uval Cemetery, Shahar's tombstone would become an essential part of why PvP matches here were so entertaining - one wrong move could instantly wipe out one or even several players. Even level 1000 players would die instantly, much less a level 1 player. However, Jisha was immune to this effect due to carrying Shahar's token.
The visions players would encounter could range from slightly alarming to borderline traumatizing depending on the perpetrator's level. It was something that no one wanted to experience. This was the "true nature" of Synergy that most players wouldn't experience for a long time. Not just sensory stimulation, but emotions and experiences of others could be relayed to the player's mind as if they were experiencing it for themselves in the real world. It would be a while before the general public would discover this and acknowledge Synergy as a "second reality".
Jisha hoped that, even though a level 1 vision wouldn't be traumatizing by her standards, the new player would emerge healthy after suffering through that ordeal.
As she prayed for the well-being of her adversary, she noticed 5 bright lights appearing in the distance. Jisha clicked her tongue in annoyance.
*Looks like this won't be as easy as I wanted it to be.*
---
The five remaining Clan members received the same system message almost simultaneously.
*>System message: Level up!*
This should have been good news that gave them hope, but the best thing they were currently feeling was anxiousness.
*>Brent: ...*
*>Allux: What???*
*>Molotov: What the bloody fucking shit is happening?*
*>Adverse: There's no way we weren't careful enough.*
*>Kenshi: How is this possible? There has to be a bug, those shitty developers! Get this game back in beta!*
*>Liuzhi: Either that, or our opponent is way out of our league...*
Ryozaki's name had gone gray in their group chat, indicating that he had died. What was terrifying was that everyone in the Clan was aware of the circumstances regarding Ryozaki's death, but none of them knew exactly how it could have happened.
As Ryozaki was chasing Fae, Bren had told them about the stats of a level 1 player. Once the Clan heard these numbers, they agreed that there was no way a level 0 player, with 10 times less attack power and HP, could defeat a level 1 player.
Yet reality was in front of their eyes.
They tried to deny this reality by suggesting other possible explanations for the events at hand, but it wouldn't change what had already happened.
Now that a level 0 had defeated a level 1, the level 0 *became* level 1. It was common sense that they could no longer win, even outnumbering their foe five to one. At this point, if they could, they would flee. However, their initial strategy of outnumbering and boxing the opposition in had backfired, as they could not flee a War Zone while an enemy still existed within it.
*>Kenshi: Alluuuuuuux! What the fuck do we do now??*
*>Allux: Hell if I know! Just stick together! Everyone, gather around me NOW. Form a circle so that NOTHING leaves our view! Do NOT split up under ANY circumstance! We can't allow the same thing to happen to any of us.*
Nobody had any better ideas, so everyone obediently followed Allux's command. The group formed a circle with everyone facing outward. Everyone was hyper-focused, not letting one blade of grass out of their collective 360 degree field of view. If an observer from another world could witness this, they could be described as defending against an "Avengers level threat".
Unfortunately, nobody could remain in an extremely focused state for very long. And when Kenshi's focus slightly dipped...
*THWACK*
... the side of his arm was struck with a pellet.
*-10*
Everyone heard this and was instantly on alert.
*>Kenshi: What the FUCK! Where did that even come from?*
Nobody had an answer for him. No matter how focused the Clan was, they couldn't prepare for an attack they couldn't anticipate.
*THWACK*
*-22*
Out of seemingly nowhere, another pellet struck Liuzhi square in the chest. They tried to estimate where the attack came from by reverse engineering its trajectory, but by the time they were able to figure it out...
*THWACK*
*-37*
... another one came from a completely different direction and struck Molotov in the neck, sending him into a frenzy.
"What the FUCK! I'm gonna kill that bitch!"
*>Allux: Shut up. Even though we're getting pelted here, it still helps to make less noise.*
*>Adverse: Why are some of them doing so much damage? Isn't our attack power only 10?*
*>Liuzhi: Kenshi received 10, I received 22, and Molotov received 37. Not to mention, Bren received 50, if we scale the numbers appropriately. There has to be something behind it... And I think I've figured it out. Everyone, where did you get hit? I got hit in the chest.*
*>Kenshi: Got hit in the arm.*
*>Molotov: The neck...*
*>Brent: And I basically got full force directly to my temples. That makes sense. Great find, Liuzhi. Also, I just realized that she only started with 50 ammo like the rest of us. You know what that means, right?*
*>Allux: That takes care of that issue. Everyone, keep your eyes peeled. Make sure that you don't get hit in vital areas and DODGE THEM at all costs. If she can't kill us fast enough, she'll run out of ammo. We'll turtle until she has no choice but to confront us directly!*
Unlike the Clan, who originally had collected over 400 ammo, Fae only had 50. The calculation-savvy members of the clan, Bren, Allux, and Liuzhi, were able to come to the following conclusion: There were 5 of them left, and each one had 100 max HP. They had 500 HP in total, and Fae only had 50 ammo that did 10 damage each. All they needed to do was dodge. If they couldn't, they needed to make sure they took shots in non-vital areas. If they could do this, they could run her down.
*>Kenshi: This better fucking work.*