.
.
.
--------------
The seconds passed and the strong light receded, letting everyone recover their sight.
But what lay in front of them was simply unthinkable…
All of the players of the 3 factions, with the exception of one, had all died, dropping a few of their equipped items on the ground as they turned into sparks of light.
Amidst this all, Dale stood in the middle of a sea of items, resting his sword on his shoulder as his expression turned into one of surprise as he looked at the last player standing.
"You survived that?" He asked with a frown as faint smoke was released from his weapon
'Simply... Incredible.'
'I wonder what sort of Skill, Item, or whatever could allow him to outlive that damage burst I just did…'
'It only lasted a moment, but the AOE damage of a legendary weapon while being boosted by a Divine Skill was simply... Astronomical...'
'Unless I am giving too much credit to them.'
'I wonder what were the damage numbers they just saw before being forced to log out?...'
He started to remember what just happened...
...
/A few seconds before…/
[Activating the temporary Skill, Refracted Starlight ???-Star]
[The temporary Skill, Balance of Order ???-Star has activated]
With the sword at its center, a massive ball of light completely engulfed the entire Church, as if the sun had replaced it.
From it, several rays of light burst from within, covering the sky like comets.
These rays eventually curved, quickly making their way toward the many players around Resko like missiles!
It didn't matter if they were hiding below a roof or behind a wall, everyone connected to those 3 factions was instantly wiped out from Resko by those light comets.
Their items were dropped on the ground as they were logged off without knowing what hit them, with only a few being able to scream a little as they saw doom strike them...
"..."
'My ears hurt…'
But while everyone cowered under the tyrannical light, Dale complained…
[DING]
[You've dealt 100% HP damage to player…]
[DING]
[You've dealt 100% HP damage to player…]
[DING]
[You've dealt 100% HP damage to player…]
[DING]
[You've...]
[DING]
[DING]
[DING]
[DING]
…
Over a hundred players, over 300 notifications… All within a very short span of time.
Dale had committed his biggest mistake to date, and that was forgetting to turn off the notification sound effect…
He couldn't hear a thing anymore… And his vision was still covered by white.
And coupled with the pain he was feeling in his body, this became quite the experience... He felt he was going to die.
Even if not, the feeling wouldn't be much different, or so he thought...
[DING]
[Your quest has been updated]
[Eliminate the Bandits!
Eliminate all of the trespassers before they escape outside with the relics! 20/21
Eliminate all of the bandits' companions within Resko: 132/132
]
[You eliminated 152 Level 5 players, +15.2% XP]
[No Karma shall be awarded due to current circumstances]
[Alone, you massacred over 100 enemies without mercy!]
[You have Attained a new Tale! Massacre of 100!]
[In a single strike, you slew over 100 enemies!]
[You have Attained a new Tale! Culling Blade!]
{Ju-Arkesios is requesting you to finish the job in order to receive great rewards}
As the light receded, Dale saw himself in the middle of the Church once more, reading the notifications as his senses returned to normal.
"!"
'Someone actually survived that? And what was that?'
'A God is actually talking with me?... Is this due to the quest?'
'Perhaps this is a hint for further development?'
Dale looked around and soon saw someone kneeling on the ground next to a pile of dropped items.
This person looked completely average, and Dale wouldn't have thought that this person had a powerful Skill like that…
It just came to prove that people didn't need to look fancy to be unique.
"You survived that?" Dale asked with surprise as he looked at the player breathing heavily on the ground
...
/Back to the Present.../
Dale thought for a moment before smiling, opening his mouth to speak as he looked at the fallen man:
"Deeming by your face I imagine there won't be a second time."
'An 100% damage negation for a very short time frame? Or something like resurrection after death?'
'Or was he just lucky and had something like 100% evasion to all damage? Any of these would be rather incredible Skills to have.'
'But… It's time to act though!'
"I'll commend you for going this far, but that doesn't change anything. You're hanging by a thread..."
Dale grabbed a small stone and threw it very lightly toward the player… Just enough to hurt him a bit.
[You've dealt 1 damage to player Mamoca]
[You killed player Mamoca]
[You received 0.1% XP]
Dale looked deeply at the player as his body slowly turned into white light, dropping a few items on the ground...
The player had an unwilling expression on his face as he died, who knew what he was thinking...
'Among some of the disadvantages of being a Standard player is the exact problem of having a value to your total life, and in this scenario, 1 point of damage was enough to end him.'
'It takes at least 1 minute for a player's body to turn into light before it becomes impossible to resurrect him, but in here, they became white light almost instantaneously.'
'This must be the death penalty factor of the Divine Skill...'
'This Skill is very fearsome, a shame it's temporary.'
'It could be a hint for a High-Level Paladin-related Skill...'
[DING]
[Your quest has been updated]
[Special Quest, Eliminate the Bandits! has been completed!]
[Resko Reputation +30]
[Total Reputation = 151]
{Ju-Arkesios is giving you your reward for wiping out the bandits that desecrated his Temple!}
/Shine.../
Suddenly, a small spark was broken off from the white light of the player he had just killed, flying towards Dale...
{You've received the Skill, Desperation 3.5-Star}
This immediately surprised Dale, who understood what had just happened.
'This must be... His Skill?'
'3.5?! That's super high for a Level 5 player who just left the tutorial!'
'This can be comparable to the Skills you can get from a Unique Item!'
'In the first place, how did he get such a Skill?... Unless!'
'Did he start with a randomized character? Starting the game with a random Skill and stats?...'
'That's the only possibility. He was lucky to have received such a strong Skill... But unlucky to have been the one to be chosen in the end...'
'While everyone else died, he lost his Skill... Or not, I just have the impression that was what happened.'
{Your body is not compatible with the Skill, Desperation}
{The Skill, Desperation 3.5-Star has changed to Vital Heart 0-Star}
[DING]
[Your quest has been updated]
[Heretics!
Eliminate all of the heretics so that the balance and prosperity of his church may recover 1/1
Uproot the forces behind them 0/3
]
"Phew..."
'But... This seems like another quest that will likely take a very long time to finish...'
'Does it... Does it want me to kill them all from the root?'
'Will I have to hunt down the organizations behind these players and force them to disband? Talk about overwork...'
'I didn't want to make enemies but I guess the game is leading me that way and now I made one... Or a few all at once.'
'However, that's for the future. I can now rest easy...'
But Dale didn't have a lot of time to rejoice…
"?! Urg!..."
/Clang!/
His body suddenly flared in pain, it may have been suppressed due to the previous events, but once everything ended, he finally started to feel it again…
He almost fell onto his knees, but he was forced to plunge his sword on the ground, creating a large gash as he used it to balance himself.
[DING]
[Your body cannot contain the massive quantity of Mana within it and it's falling apart]
[Because you've spent a large amount of Mana, you've brought more time to your body's inevitable doom]
[Your reformed body is reacting and adapting, changing…]
[Mana Overflow is evolved into a Mana Void]
As he read the notifications with red eyes, Dale thought:
'Just what is happening? Some sort of Abnormal Status effect?'
'Dammit! What a scam! I'm dying to a fucking buff! A power so overwhelming that it kills me!?'
'Isn't this a tad bit too realistic?!'
Having no one to blame but the System, Dale started throwing curses at whoever he could think of...
'Worst is... I could've killed all of them without it, but now I'm going to die because of this overkill use of power!'
'I'll just use everything I can!' He thought as he started activating his Skills
[Stable Emotions 2.5-Star has activated]
[Fighting Spirit 2-Star has activated]
[Fighting Spirit 2-Star -> 2.5-Star]
[DING!]
[The Mana Void has formed!]
[Vital Heart 0-Star has activated]
[For 3 seconds, all fatal damage is negated]
[You have resisted the effects of Mana Void]
[3 seconds…]
[You have resisted the effects of Mana Void]
[2 seconds…]
[You have…]
[Vital Heart 0-Star -> 0.5-Star]
[With the completion of the mission, the Blessing of Ju-Arkesios has begun to dissipate…]
[Vital Heart 0.5-Star has deactivated]
{Ju-Arkesios assures you that you'll make it through…}
But Dale paid no attention as his mind was elsewhere…
The seconds turned into a minute as Dale remained there in silent agony, he couldn't even move his body much less produce a single sound, else he would be screaming his lungs out due to the massive pain.
But he would never give up, not like this.
The Mana slowly dissipated out of his body like whisps of steam as they rose into the ceiling as if there was a hole somewhere...
He held the handle of his sword with his two hands, standing still like a statue as he silently endured the pain of a lifetime...
And eventually...
[You have successfully resisted the Mana Void!]
[The blessing of God may have dissipated, but its effects still remain, your body has changed and evolved, giving birth to a new you!]
[You have Attained a new Tale! Forged Heart amidst desperation]
[Your flesh has been marked by Mana and transformed into something fitter to wield it]
"Haa…"
'Fuck me… My body is all…'
The level of pain he felt was unlike anything he had ever felt before, but right now, it had all vanished...
In fact, he even felt a bit good, as if that pain was all an illusion…
But he is very much aware that wasn't the case.
'I... Can think about this later.' He thought as his eyes regained their focus
"Now that this is over…"
Dale turned his head around, gazing at the players behind him.
'Time to deal with those bastards.'
Under the faint sunlight coming from the windows, Dale's figure looked very imposing to the remaining players as he pulled Caladgolg from the ground with one hand…
…
/Step step…/
One step after the other, Dale made his way to them, some of them were sweating bullets while some were simply in awe...
A few were even fearful...
/Stops.../
Dale arrived in front of them, saying:
"The reason you all still remain here is all thanks to your neutrality."
"Yet little changes as that has only spared you all of a quick death."
"Now, what is your excuse to avoid punishment?"
"M-Me…" Said a voice in the crowd
"Hm?"
'This voice… I should've imagined...'
'I had actually forgotten about him, but he came to me on his own.'
From the crowd of players, one stepped forward.
It was none other than Rodi, with an extremely pale look.
He looked as if he had committed a big mistake, like a child that knew of the trouble it had caused...
"It's… It's all my fault." He said in honesty
'All of this is all due to my pride.'
'When I finished editing my Dungeon Raid video and posted it, I was completely shocked at how successful it became, hitting all of the records I've had…'
'Although I kept the entrance to the Dungeon and a few other things a secret, the video still exploded in popularity…'
'So I thought for a moment, and the desire to post more took over me…'
'Though, thankfully, my rational side overwhelmed me and I stopped myself from posting more.'
'But eventually when I went back home I… I commemorated this by drinking 9 cans of beer… And…'
'I ended up posting the part where I saw his legendary sword and the Altar… Because of this slip these players… Were driven mad.'
Dale gazed at Rodi, losing his patience as the boy looked at the ground in silence.
"... You know, I can't read your mind, nothing will come if you remain silent."
"You seem regretful, so I am willing to listen to you and give you a chance to speak, but only if you do."
'If he were guilty the quest would've marked him for death as well, so it's better to act cool and keep my NPC persona.'
"Really?! Thank you, God!" He said as he prostrated on the ground
"..."
'This guy… Though he isn't too far from the truth.'
'He's alive thanks to God.'
It was really pathetic and even a bit comedic how quickly he went from desperate to thankful…
The people all around had mixed reactions to this, but most seemed happy they weren't going to be eliminated.
"So?" Dale asked with his arms crossed
"I… Because of a mistake…"
'How do I even explain this to the NPC?!' Rodi thought as his eyes moved around quickly
Rodi finally realized a big problem… How was he supposed to explain his editing problem to an NPC?
"I uh…"
Rodi used every single neuron in his mind, his' and his companions' lives depended on his words!
"We're traveling warriors." He said with a determined gaze as he looked up to face Dale
"..."
"..."
/Silence/
/Thud!/
One of the players, a girl with glasses and short dark hair fell on the ground like a log.
…
.
.
.
Notes