The city gate in front of me is enormous compared to the previous ones I've seen, though it is to be expected for a major city like Lallias. Surrounded by walls on half of its part and water on the other, the city is a majestic sight to behold. It is guarded by NPCs that take offense in the sight of red players or PKers (Player Killers). Starting from this city, players can now kill each other through PK since players have already gotten past the beginner territories. There are severe punishments for red players such as getting chased by NPC guards, being unable to party in dungeons, getting killed without repercussions by other players, and many more disadvantages. That is why there are not that many red players, only those foolish enough or confident enough in their skills to survive CoA alone do PK.
Players go in and out nonstop in the city. There are plenty of players around especially on a Sunday. As for why I was here in front of the city port gate, I was waiting for Clarissa to arrive at our agreed time.
As I was getting bored waiting, there was suddenly a commotion near the gate. I got curious so I went to check what it was about. I caught a glimpse of someone fighting when I got near enough surrounded by many onlookers with the same curiosity as me. One was a swordsman with a knight set you would commonly get in this stage of the game, the other though had a rugged rogue kind of look. He has twin claws equipped in both of his hands. His clothes are in tatters and he's wearing a hood so I could not quite see his facial features at this angle. I identified the rogue.
Dravyn
Hp: 100%
Mp: 76℅
Lvl: 95
Guild: Ravenhide
Duel wr: Hidden
Team Rank matches wr: Hidden (rank 921)
1v1 Rank matches wr: Hidden (rank 872)
id#:***********
intro: Duel me if you want to test your skills!
"Hahaha, weak! So very weak! You haven't even done any damage to me!" the ranker taunted with a high shrill voice.
Krane
Hp 21%
"Tsk! Crazy bastard!" the knight exclaimed.
I see what's happening here, the knight must have challenged the ranker. A pretty bold move considering he is only level 51. The ranker is toying with him. There are plenty of those kinds of people who want to prove themselves by challenging a ranker like this guy so it's all his fault that he is being humiliated right now. Though that ranker is quite a trash-talker.
"You're so weak that I don't even need my weapon to beat you!" he taunted.
He drops his weapon to the ground, a form of disrespect to your enemy, many would even call it the ultimate BM (bad manners) move. You can do it freely in this game since other players cannot pick up the weapons or equipment drop from another player unless they specifically unequip it. This is made so that even if you accidentally dropped a useful item or got disarmed by a powerful blow from an opponent, your weapon or armor set would not be lost instantly to any looters. Unless you got PKed (Player killed) of course, then your killer will have the right to your loot.
The BM move went viral on YouTube when 2 popular streamers had a conflict that lasted for weeks. It started with trash-talking, then their fans came to join the fight so the situation escalated and it got a little bit overblown. PKs started to go rampant and unconcerned players got caught up in the clash. The 2 streamers eventually both decided to have a PVP match to settle the dispute once and for all. The match started fairly even, but Kaeneth, one of the streamers got the upper hand eventually. Before he finished his opponent, he tossed his main weapon on the ground and pummelled his rival to death using his bare hands. He then stated after the fight in his stream that he didn't need a weapon to beat someone as weak as him. That notion went on to the community as the ultimate disrespect you can do to your opponent. Many say that your opponent dropping his main weapon in front of you would be the most humiliating experience you'll ever have in PVP. However, I haven't experienced it yet because I'm not that weak to be defeated by someone without a weapon.
As the two were about to resume their bout with the ranker dropping his weapon, an angel caught my attention.
"There you are, Novo! What are you doing there?" Clarissa called out to me.
"Oh, nothing, ready to explore the port city?" I said as I immediately went to her.
The match was pretty one-sided so there's no point in seeing someone get humiliated, and I also don't want Clarissa to watch a match with that much toxicity.
"Yeah, let's go!" she said excitedly.
We explored the whole city while I taught Clarissa the things that came to mind. Such as where to find the blacksmith and weaponsmith, the guild branch for the quest, and other basic necessities that she would benefit from learning.
We arrived eventually in the town square, we bought many things. Some decorations and accessories and some food that can affect your taste receptors, though you do not get the satisfaction of filling your stomach after eating it so it's quite a strange experience. An experience I would never get used to no matter how many times I tried it.
After a while of traveling around the city, something caught my attention. I might be wrong about it but my intuition tells me otherwise. Still, it is better to be cautious so I stopped for a bit.
"What's wrong?" Clarissa asked curiously.
"Ohh sorry, stay here for a bit I forgot something. I'll be back soon so don't go anywhere or we might miss each other."
"I'm not a child you know," she pouted... how cute.
I left her at the LVL 90 guards. They might be NPCs but they still have raw stats so one hit from them would be fatal for players at this stage of the game.
I walked to a back alley in the small part of the city where there were seldom any players and no NPC guards in sight to confirm my theory. After a while of waiting, 3 players approached me.
At the center of the trio, I spot someone familiar.
I identified him.
Gurand
Hp: 91%
Mp: 84%
Lvl: 39
Guild: none
Duel wr: 96%
Wins: 27
Matches: 28
Team Rank matches wr: N / A
1v1 Rank matches wr: N / A
id#:***********
Introduction: Add me and I'll carry you. I'm a PVP veteran here in CoA
"You again?" I said exasperatedly.
"Hehehe time for a payback for ruining my 100 percent win rate. I told you before you'll pay for this right? Now beg if you don't want to be farmed out of your set like a useless mob! So, apologize to me if you don't want that to happen hehehehhe." he did his signature creepy laughter.
Ohh, if an apology is the only thing he wants then it's fine. It's more troublesome to kill them all here and become a red player.
"I'm sorry I ruined your win rate, it won't happen again so let bygones be bygones, and let us get out of each other's hair," I said politely.
"Oooh, you seem tame now, where was your bravado when we fought last time? Teach me more of the moves you said I was lacking. You're so good in the game that you can even tell me how to swing my sword, ain't that right, bitch?!" he spat out his words.
I remained silent. That's constructive criticism, not even trash-talk. How will he improve if he ignores his weakness and doesn't take advice from others who are more experienced than him? He's so prideful that all my suggestions and teachings went for naught... how disappointing.
"Ohh I know, get down on your knees and lick my feet, then maybe I'll let you go heheheh." He smiled manically.
You know, I could just log out and all your posturing will be for nothing, right? We're not in some death VR game or something similar where logging out is not allowed.
I sigh.