As Apophis walked around, searching for four partners to invite to his Nightmare Dungeon party, he noticed a PvP duel about to begin.
Both players were LvL 5. One was a female Hunter named White, and the other was a male Warrior named Scarlet.
The event seemed to have drawn many spectators, most of whom were obviously cheering for White, a beautiful woman in her twenties with blonde hair and blue eyes.
A local server notification popped up, a message which would only be visible to those in the immediate area.
Server: The duel between the players "White" and "Scarlet" will begin in 5…
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Server: The duel between the players "White" and "Scarlet" begins now!
The Hunter immediately summoned a white wolf and drew her heavy gun!
The white wolf threw herself upon Scarlet, who was already charging at full speed towards White.
Scarlet was clearly not accustomed to PvP, especially against Hunters. With his high defenses and HP, he should have simply allowed the combat pet to attack him while getting into melee range of his opponent.
However, Scarlet's distraction allowed White to finish setting up her attack, and then the battle's outcome was decided.
White finished using her ~Tunnel Vision~ Skill, giving her a huge rate-of-fire increase and an impressive damage bonus, but dramatically reducing her reaction time and her field of vision. It was perfect for attacking a subdued target, but one that would leave her helpless to melee attacks.
The Hunter aimed and fired one precision shot after another. With each successful hit, Scarlet lost about 20% of his health bar.
The Warrior realized what was happening after the second shot, and he tried to close the distance so he could disrupt the Hunter's Skill.
However, White's combat pet had latched onto his leg, reducing Scarlet's movement speed to nearly zero. Scarlet spent several more seconds killing the white wolf…
…But by then, his HP had reached 1%, triggering the end of the duel.
Server: Congratulations to the player "White" for defeating the player "Scarlet!"
Everyone watching shouted in excitement! Players began arguing among themselves whether White had found a very rare gun, much more powerful than those available in the starting towns, or whether all her power came from her class.
The two duelists had bet 100 GC on the fight, so Scarlet picked himself up off the ground and handed over the money.
"Congratulations, Big Sister!" said Scarlet. His voice was full of admiration. "Do you want to join my party? We're going to try the Normal-level Dungeon."
White didn't bother answering. Scarlet hadn't even managed to inflict a single hit, but claimed he was good enough to fight alongside her in a Dungeon? At least he wasn't a sore loser, but that wasn't enough to earn her respect!
But while everyone was discussing how well White had fought, another notification appeared. This time, it was a full announcement which all players on the planet would see.
Server Announcement: Congratulations to the party led by the player "Ceasar" for being the first to clear the Dungeon "Gravedigger Tower!" A reward of 1 level and 5 Skill Points has been awarded to each member of the party.
Ceasar was there?!
Apophis was a huge fan of this player. It was largely because of Ceasar's popularity in the media that he'd started playing Horus in his first life.
Apophis approached the huge portal which led into the Dungeon, a three-meter high gate swirling with energy. Rather than being part of the normal world, Dungeons were instanced. After entering, players couldn't leave until either they beat the Dungeon or the whole party wiped.
As Apophis watched, Ceasar appeared through the portal, accompanied by four other members of the SuperGuild called Renovatio Imperii.
While the five party members were recovering from the excitement of victory—while being applauded by the surrounding players—Apophis threw a stone at Ceasar!
It did no damage, but immediately drew the player's attention.
The four other party members drew their weapons, ready to engage in some open PvP against this insolent person, but Ceasar gestured for them to stand down. "Who are you?" he asked, "and what do you want?"
Apophis replied, "I want to beat the Dungeon on Nightmare mode... and you're gonna help me, Ceasar!"
Ceasar stared at this stranger in puzzlement. "Nightmare mode? Help you? I'm sorry, do I know you? Is this a joke?"
Apophis gave a light smile.
"What, are you afraid? I guess you've just got a good marketing department and a bunch of minions who'll do everything you say… but at the end of the day, the great Ceasar's got no balls!"
All Apophis's words seemed to be simple, stupid jealousy, and Ceasar drew his huge hammer. He'd teach this fool a lesson!
But before he could attack in open PvP, which would result in the defeated player dying and losing a level, a duel request popped up in front of him.
Apophis smiled. "I currently have three Skill Books for your class, as well as 1,023 GC."
Apophis linked these items in the duel request.
"If you beat me," he continued, "I'll give them all to you. Even if you kill me in open PvP, remember you only have a random chance at one of my items. But if I win, you'll join my party and obey my orders as we beat the Dungeon on Nightmare difficulty."
Ceasar was skeptical. He was no fool and understood that Apophis thought he had some secret weapon that would grant him victory.
Moreover, the fact that Apophis did possess three very powerful-looking Warrior Skill Books meant that he was no ordinary player. He'd somehow found treasures far beyond what almost everyone else had gained so far.
Ceasar searched his memories, trying to remember if any other SuperGuild had an elite player named Apophis… but nothing came to mind. Nor did he recognize Apophis's appearance.
Eventually, though, Ceasar decided to take the risk. He'd just passed LvL 6, after all, and probably understood Horus better than any other player. Just as in his World of Warcraft II days, he'd risen right to the top with his genius ability to understand the systems and mechanics that even other players like Lord Of War's Lucifer and Hyrule's Zelda were struggling to figure out.
As in WoW II, other players would likely surpass Ceasar with time…
…But for the moment, he was king!
There was no way this Apophis person could come even close.
The Warrior Skill Books barely entered Ceasar's consideration, since, as a star player, he already had his pick of all items his SuperGuild's low-ranking players discovered. The real prize would be beating this arrogant bastard into the ground, proving to everyone watching that finding rare treasure didn't mean you were good at the game.
Ceasar didn't respond to Apophis with words, but only clicked "accept."
Server: The duel between the players "Apophis" and "Ceasar" will begin in 5…
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Server: The duel between the players "Apophis" and "Ceasar" begins now!