*>Quaterniana: I've spotted a player with a name and level concealment method; they've just entered from the eastern gate. I couldn't get a good look at finer details, but it's likely a female avatar.*
*>Stein: Continue following them for now. Keep me updated.*
"Yana just sent me some news. There's a chance we've found the target. But keep up the good work, we're doing well."
"Yes, sir."
Stein led his team members through the sparse forest. The members of Asunder followed behind him and took out various mobs with ease.
*>+10 Copper*
*>+12 Copper*
*>+12 Copper*
...
This party was not only individually skilled but also cohesive as a group. The beginner-level ordinary mobs didn't pose a threat in the slightest to Stein and his cadres.
*>System Message: Level up!*
...
*>Name: Stein*
*>Level: 6*
*>Name: Arcadia Black*
*>Level: 5*
*>Name: Cargo Biscuit*
*>Level: 5*
...
The members of the club guild Asunder had all reached level 5 at the very least. They hadn't wasted a moment since logging in; these ten individuals had been grinding for XP since minute 1. There was a good chance that they were among the highest-leveled players in the game right now.
"Hm... Looks like there's some level 7s. They must have gotten lucky," Stein complained as he checked the global leaderboard. He was certain he'd done everything he possibly could have to secure as much XP as possible, but there were always some anomalies in the gaming world.
"Ah, someone hit level 8. Oh, well."
Especially since Synergy had just been released and not much was known about it yet, players who did well early on were likely to fall off in the later stages of the game. With a bit of luck, it was possible for anyone to reach a "high" level in the early game. And since this leaderboard was global, all players on planet Etmos were competing for the top spot. The Northeast was but a small region...
If one thought about it like this, Stein and his crew were doing incredibly well. He couldn't do anything about others in some distant land leveling up rapidly. He could only try his best.
However, there was something nagging him at the back of his mind.
*That player... What level is she?*
Over an hour ago, Dharr, who was stationed in the Covan Hamlet, sent him information about the player he'd kept in mind since the incident in Uval.
And what he saw was...
*>Name: Fae Sol*
*>Level: 7*
If he didn't see this information for himself, there was no chance he'd believe it. However, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.
"Hitting level 7 within the first two hours of gameplay isn't... impossible. It just requires an unreal amount of luck..." Stein muttered to himself.
However, something that seemed impossible to him was the battle footage he had seen from the Uval Hamlet. In a fight against 7 players with no skills and rudimentary weapons, Fae Sol had emerged victorious. And it wasn't even close. He watched the battle footage again and again, but he failed to understand how it was possible.
"What level of combat is it? 8th degree? Could it even be... 9th degree?"
Those who hadn't played Virtual Martial Arts wouldn't understand, but a 9th degree black belt was the highest achievable rank. Stein, who played the game regularly, was ranked at 4th degree. With his knowledge, he could tell that the team of 7's coordination was also roughly around a 3rd to 4th degree black belt level, though their individual skills were lacking.
They were roughly in the top 0.5% of players, yet they were still crushed. Knowing this, it wasn't unlikely for Fae Sol to have the skills of an 8th or 9th degree black belt.
With that skill, she would easily top the leaderboards, especially given her insane luck.
The problem was... Fae Sol never appeared no matter how much he checked! She obviously chose to hide herself, so it was impossible to determine her current level.
"And that madman Brookie left us for her..."
The feral dog that would only obey pure strength had become as tame as a puppy in front of Fae Sol. Stein had heard all about it from Dharr, who wouldn't stop complaining. Brookie was Asunder's most valuable asset, and he was gone in an instant. It was for this reason that Stein had placed a kill order on her!
"Why? Alacai won't forgive him."
For some reason, Brookie determined that following Fae Sol was more worthwhile than being faithful to his home country, the Alacai Covenant. In fact, Asunder was an undercover experiment sponsored by the Covenant itself. Even by Northeastern standards, Alacai had extreme militarism and harsh punishments for lawbreakers. Leaving Asunder just like that was treasonous and punishable by death!
Since this was the case, Stein wasn't going to report the matter right away. However, he couldn't contact Brookie within Synergy anymore...
"Gonna have to ask him in the morning..."
As Stein muttered to himself, he and his crew kept sweeping through the mobs in the area. And after several more minutes, he received another message.
*>Quaterniana: I've confirmed that the player is indeed a female avatar. She's just walked out of the frontier shop and is most likely headed out to solo grind.*
*>Stein: Good work. Keep me updated on her whereabouts.*
From Ivonna to Dharr, Stein had a general idea of Fae Sol's location since the very beginning of the game. Stein needed Brookie back, and there wasn't any other way to do it than to kill Fae Sol and make her submit. That was the Alacai way - it always worked.
And even though the opponent this time was strong, Stein was confident in his victory.
Stein was a 4th degree black belt, and the other 9 members he was power leveling with were all at least 3rd degree black belts. This number might not be enough to take down a transcendental grandmaster, but there were more than 10 people in Asunder. And everyone was at least a 1st degree black belt.
*Well, everyone except those four...*
All he had to do was send messages to everyone.
*>Stein: All members of Asunder: Come to Inkling Village as quickly as possible.*
He had to get to the bottom of this; he and Fae Sol were fated to meet!