Even though he stood with four walls comfortably around him, it fell as though all eyes in the vast, virtual world were on him; a target had been placed on his back.
"Get it now?" Kiwi asked, still bound as her wrists were kept close to her knees, "The World Hunters got that announcement early–I happened to see you pass by earlier when you checked in, that's all."
He took a moment to take in everything that was just announced, calming himself as he thought for a moment.
'With how Abyss Online works, one death means your account is erased for good. You have to start from zero. The developers are crazy for putting an event like this in–but, I'm in. Problem is, "logging off" is going to be a problem–in this game, when you log out, your avatar still exists, it just goes to sleep. That's bad–real bad,' he thought.
Looking up at him the whole time, the youthful girl yapped, "Are you going to PK me or what?! Get it over with!"
"Thinkin' about it," Zero responded.
Though there was another idea he had in mind, remembering one of the things that the ethereal assistant told him upon his evolution into a [Dark Emperor].
'He said I can bring players to my side. She's not a bad level, and she's a World Hunter–that faction gets access to a ton of exclusive information. It might not be bad to bring somebody like her in,' he thought.
"Hey, you," Zero said, looking down at the captured player.
The blonde-haired girl huffed, "It's Kiwi. What is it?"
"Well, Kiwi, how about joining me?"
"Huh?! Why would I do that? You have a million dollar prize on your head, ya know." Kiwi told him.
He nodded slowly before looking to the side, looking through the window at the bustling city, "That's true, but you'd never beat me in a million years. My defensive stat would make you deal less than one damage a hit. Even if you did damage me, my passive regeneration would heal faster than you could attack."
"You–ugh…" Kiwi clicked her tongue, seeming to know that it was the truth.
He squatted down in front of the huntress, looking at her, "But, I'm willing to make you a pretty nice offer, instead of PK'ing you right here: I'll give you a cut of the prize once I win. How does ten thousand sound?"
The offer made the cloak-wearing girl's eyes glisten as she gulped, "T-t-t-ten thousand? Did I hear you right?"
He nodded, "Yup. You don't even need to do anything crazy–just be my scout: get information for me when I need it."
Kiwi was quiet for a moment, thinking it over before finally nodding, "...Sure. I'll do it."
"Great."
[Abyssal Contract] [SSS]
Summoning the unique skill granted to him as the [Dark Emperor], he summoned a nebulous contract from the Abyss that extended itself to the huntress. The bindings were released, breaking into particles of darkness as the girl rubbed her wrists afterwards.
"A contract…? Oh, I get it," Kiwi read it over as she ran her finger along the fine print, "It's like a faction. Never thought they would let players join the Abyss, though."
"Pretty neat, huh?" Zero asked, "You're not one of those players that is totally loyal to the main kingdom, right?"
Kiwi sighed, "I've never cared one way or the other about that kind of stuff. I'm the kind of person that will choose the side that seems the most fun–and well, it seems like that's with you."
'That's right. I can't act as just a solo player anymore. If I'm going to be the "Final Boss" and win that prize, I need to act like one. That means building a force capable of combating the entire server,' he thought.
Though as he waited for the blonde-haired young woman to sign the contract, something was off to him–a subtle vibration met his ears as if the wind had begun to quietly hum. It was thanks to his [Enhanced Senses] that he was able to detect it, no matter how minuscule the odd sound was.
Kiwi finished signing the contract as it transformed itself into a diamond-shaped, black tattoo that etched itself onto her hand, "Well, guess it's official now. I have class in the morning, so I'll need to log out soon–"
Zero was still looking at the window, silent as the noise continued meeting his ears, reaching a crescendo as he finally realized what was happening as a flash of orange appeared in front of the glass.
"Get down!" Zero warned.
Just then–BOOM.
The window shattered as an explosion collided with the side of the inn, causing the curtains to rip off of the walls and the wood to peel from the force.
Just in time, Zero had raised his hand, summoning a spherical, dark barrier around himself and his newfound companion: [Black-Lock Shield]
"How did they find me already?!" He asked, yelling over the explosion of fire.
Kiwi held her arms up as the entire building rattled, wincing from the sudden shock, "It's probably another World Hunter!"
It was certainly something that wasn't normally allowed in cities, which were treated as "No-Combat" zones for the most part where players couldn't use magic or skills, outside of controlled instances. However, it seemed Abyss Online was shifting its rules with the new event.
The entire wall had been blown off by the eruptive fireball, leading into the rest of the bustling city below as Zero looked down at the crowded streets. All eyes were on the inn now, with most players looking confused.
However, one stood out: a man dressed in an olive uniform with a feathered cap, with smoke exuding from his palm.
[Sleuth]
[Blaze Blake] [Level: 82] [Class: Mage] [Affiliation: World Hunters]
"Should've hit me with that one. Bad move," Zero said, speaking directly to the hunter within the crowd.
The player–"Blaze Blake" grinned, adjusting the hat that stood on his curly, brown hair, "I felt like giving you a proper warning."
Seeing the man that, without warning, initiated an attack against him, Zero felt himself furious, slowly breathing out as he stood on the ledge of the blown-open room, standing on the second story of the inn.
"He used destruction magic in the city?..."
"That's allowed?"
"Hey, I think this new event might be the reason."
"Why'd he attack the building, though?"
"Hold up, check your statuses! That's him!"
"Zero!"
–All at once, the eyes of the hundreds, if not thousands of players within the major hub city were on him as they all recognized the name that appeared on their statuses: "Zero."
'Well, this changes things,' Zero thought.
Smoke still filled the shattered room of the inn, with Kiwi coughing as she stood up, waving her hand to dispel the invasive gas, "Hff…What's going on with this game today? I mean, this is totally crazy…"
"Hey, you said you had to log off soon, right?" Zero asked.
"Yeah. Why?..." Kiwi asked.
The black-haired man summoned his abyssal greatsword into his hand as it emerged from the bowels of the void, looking towards the now hostile crowd that filled the city, "I wouldn't recommend it. Things are about to get wild."
Seeing just how many players were readying themselves in the city now, who summoned their main equipment as they all seemed ravenous to get a try at Zero, Kiwi gulped, "Erm, we should run, right?"
Even though that question was asked, Zero remained standing there with a confident smile forming across his lips, looking down on the city of Marudawn.
"A Boss doesn't run away. This is the perfect opportunity, really," Zero said.
"Perfect opportunity? For what? Are you crazy? It doesn't matter what level you are–with this many players, it's impossible to win!" Kiwi tried to reason with him.
Zero smirked, "It's the perfect stage to show the world of Abyss who the new boss is–I'll establish myself, right here and now!"
"Hold on–!" Kiwi said.
Just then, a horde of players began rushing the inn, with some climbing the rooftops of nearby buildings as they raced towards the open building to reach him.
"I'll get that prize money for myself!"
"It's mine!"
The proclamations of the motivated players echoed through the city with countless footsteps sounding like the march of drums.
Zero responded with his sword resting on his shoulder, raising his free hand as a malevolent energy swept through the area. All at once, the air became cold and dry; a violet seal with a six-pointed star manifested itself above the inn, looming over the city like a cloud.
"What's that?"
"A Spell?"
"That's a big one…!"
"No, that's a–!"
Before the hostile players could fully react to it, Zero smiled as he got to test out his new abilities granted to him as the [Dark Emperor], invoking the ability with a commanding shout:
"Activate Summon: Infernal Lord, Dragix!"
[SSS-Rank Summoning Spell Activated.]
A dark cloud quickly swept in over the once bright, prominent city before a colossal figure descended from the nefarious portal. The charging players all stopped in their tracks out of fear and disbelief of the sudden arrival.
"Hold on…Is something like that even possible? I mean, an ability like this for a player…?" Kiwi muttered, looking up as the ceiling rumbled.
Arriving in the city, a demonic colossus of pitch-black skin with a mane of fiery-red hair landed, towering over the nearby buildings, wrapped in abyssal chains. The giant slowly exhaled through his underbite, breathing out purple flames as he grumbled, looking down upon the crowd of players as a storm brewed.
[RAID BOSS] [INFERNAL LORD, DRAGIX] [LEVEL: 90]