Zero smiles before calling out, "Teleport: Abyss Keep!"
Just as the Heavenly Sentinels closed in on the group, readying their glowing blades that gleamed with the impunity of the heavens, the three warped away without a trace.
"Woah—!"
"Ah!"
The two companions to Zero reacted to the sudden arrival to a completely different location: the ominous interior to a nebulous fortress.
"Warn me next time ya pull that crap!" Vangrave huffed, resting his halberd on his shoulder as he looked around, "Where are we, anyway? Looks like a boss chamber."
"Yeah, never seen it," Kiwi added, glancing side to side.
The room they were in had dark-gray pillars on each side with a silver carpet that led straight to an obsidian throne, which Zero welcomed himself into as he sat down.
"Welcome to the Abyss Keep."
Vangrave laughed in surprise, holding his arms out, "So this is it, huh?! I always wondered what the final dungeon looked like! Pretty dreary, though, ain't it?"
"Guess so. I'll probably begin redecorating it at some point," Zero shrugged, looking around.
The blonde-haired huntress waved her hand, coughing as dust kicked up when checking out one of the sable stands, "Err, dirty…Anyway, I'm gonna log off for tonight. Ya' know, life n' stuff."
"Yeah, yeah, do whatever," Vangrave yawned with his sharp teeth on display, lounging back on one of the dusty sofas.
Zero stayed on the throne he claimed for himself, giving a nod to the young woman, "See ya."
"Yup. I'll be back on tomorrow–probably around two…"
As Kiwi spoke, her words trailed as she went silent, staring at the user interface in front of her. The look on her face was as if she had seen a ghost, taken aback by whatever her eyes read.
"Hey, what's up?" Vangrave asked.
Zero stood up, walking over, "Are you lagging or something?"
Kiwi gulped, "Guys…Open your menus. Tell me I'm not crazy…"
An exchange of glances between Zero and Vangrave was made as they were both clueless as to what the young woman was getting at. As his curiosity got the better of him, the black-haired man raised his finger, swiping it to bring up the personal menu.
The interface of his was unique to his class, though it was the first time he witnessed the alterations to it: what was usually a bright, azure hue to the digital menu was instead a sleek silver for him.
A second announcement was found, asserting it to all players at that moment:
[LOG OUT]
Right beneath the usual button used to log-out of the full-dive game was an announcement that forced itself to appear larger, seemingly popping out of the usual bounds of the interface.
[IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: IF YOU LOG OUT, YOU WILL FORFEIT YOUR CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE $1000000 COMPETITION. IN ADDITION, YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE ERASED FOREVER.]
As the three members of the faction that stood against the rest of the server all were caught up to the same information, silence brewed in the abyssal keep for a minute.
"Hold on, are ya serious…?" Vangrave said, scratching the top of his head, "Gotta be some kinda joke by the devs, right? I mean, somethin' like this…"
"Hate to say it, but I don't think this is an out-of-season joke," Zero replied.
Kiwi yelled out in frustration as she gripped her hair, "Uuuuuegh…! You have to be kidding me! Why would they even do something like this?!"
"I can think of a reason, actually," Zero said, swiping away his personal interface as he looked up.
"...Yeah? I'm all ears," Kiwi said, sitting on her knees now as she seemed exasperated.
For some reason, he managed to be completely calm in the face of the information that completely flipped the entire competition onto its head.
"Think about it, Abyss Online from the start has been a game made for the hardcore crowd of players. It's been crystal clear the developers don't have any patience for beginners, as the game just assumes you already know how things work," Zero explained.
"What's that gotta do with this stupid rule, then?" Vangrave asked as his shark-like teeth were bare.
The black-haired man let out a small breath, "This rule to ban anybody that logs out is that embodiment of the developers' philosophy: they want only the most dedicated, confident players that will completely engrain themselves into Abyss Online."
As he spoke about it, there was a certain level of personal belief that the player held in that very same philosophy.
"That's how it is, then? The big-headed developers are basically saying "get lost" to all of the weak players? Makes sense, I guess…" Kiwi said, still seeming displeased with the situation.
"Hah! Sounds perfect to me!" Vangrave claimed with a big smile worn on his face, "To hell with the noobs, I want all the pros–that's what I'm here for!"
Kiwi sighed, placing her hands on her hips as she rustled her cloak, "I guess it's not a bad rule as long as we win quickly, right? If that's possible…"
"Of course," Zero assured.
"It'll be a sweep!" Vangrave confidently claimed with laughter.
It wasn't surprising to see the warrior-class player pumped up as it seemed rather than winning the competition itself for monetary gain, Vangrave sought satisfaction through challenging himself.
Even though it wasn't as if they were all forcefully trapped within the game, it felt like it now. The black-and-silver walls of the Abyss Keep that were tall and ancient like an indomitable mountain, felt almost claustrophobic now.
There was almost too much space in the ominous fortress, though it wasn't as if it was completely devoid of others: the sight of heavily-armored monsters guarding the halls was something he had to get used to.
Zero put his hand to his chin, sitting on the abyssal throne, "...On that note, going forward, there's five players we'll have to look out for."
"Five players? I don't really keep tabs on anybody," Vangrave exhaled, sitting down on the pale steps that led to the stygian throne.
The [Dark Emperor] leaned forward, holding his hands together as he spoke more direly than before while looking at his two, newfound subordinates, "These five players were the ones I considered "closest to clearing the game"--it was honestly anybody's guess who would be the first."
"Just so happened to be you, then? I can't tell if you're blessed or cursed on that end," Kiwi shrugged, fiddling with her blonde braid.
"It wasn't luck. I beat the final boss because of my own abilities…that's besides the point though," Zero ran his fingers through his snow-white hair before raising five fingers, "I'll give you the rundown on the "World's Top Five" to be wary of."
["Maverick Smokes, A.K.A: "Veil." He's a legend in the FPS (First-Person Shooter) genre. Veil singlehandly carried his team "Gunsmokes" to five consecutive Major Championship wins for "Valstrike: World Offensive"--after that, he retired as the undisputed number one to seek a real challenge. Now, he's the top gunner-class player in Abyss Online. Since he came from a game like Valstrike, his roots are in PvP (Player versus Player), and he attacks everybody on sight. Once upon a time, he wiped out one of the top guilds–"Cobalt Scale"--by himself. He usually wears a thin, silver bodysuit and dual wields rune rifles."]
Vangrave didn't look happy to hear about the dangerous player as he ruffled his own spiky, golden hair while clicking his tongue, "Uuegh, I hate gunners! Cowards always fight while hiding in a bush a thousand feet away!"
"Well, if he's a Valstrike legend, then he's going to be the best at that, or in your case, I guess the worst," Kiwi said, "It's not your usual fast-paced shooting game."
"You know your stuff," Zero said with a delighted smile, adding on, "Valstrike is a tactical FPS, so Veil is definitely not the kind of player that will show himself. It's almost guaranteed the only way you'll know he's there is once he's already made his first shot."
"Aeeegh…" Vangrave sighed.
["Ryuna Taka, A.K.A: "Bl0ss0m." There's not much known about her, except for the fact she's from Japan and apparently never leaves her apartment. Even the delivery drivers that bring her food haven't gotten a good look at her. Still, she's a legend in the "Rhythm Game" genre. I've met her a few times in Abyss Online–she's definitely a force."]
"Hold on…" Kiwi said with a raised eyebrow towards Zero after the explanation of the second player, "A Rhythm gamer? How does that play into a game like this? I can understand an FPS geek like Veil, but–"
"Don't get caught up in that logic. Bl0ss0m is the real deal. There's definitely some screws loose in her head, but she's developed a style of fighting with her Bard class that turns the battlefield into a song of life-and-death," Zero warned, tapping his index finger against his head.
"Bards are usually just supports, right? The hell do we gotta worry about this chick for?" Vangrave asked as he tapped his boot against the steps.
There didn't seem to be such a thing as an "inside voice" for Vangrave, who was practically screaming with every word he spoke. Every echo of their words seemed to travel far within the dark, vast fortress.
"That'd be true with most bards, but not her. Moving on…"
["Woong Park, A.K.A: "Ace." Like Veil, he's one of the best to ever touch the FPS genre. He's the best in the world at "Prime Legends." Essentially the opposite of Veil: a master at fast-paced, twitch shooting with incredible talent for exploiting movement abilities in games.]
"Sounds like my kind of player! I wanna duel him!" Vangrave excitedly said, gripping his halberd.
"By the sound of it, you'd be one-shotted, dude," Kiwi said with an unimpressed look as she rested her chin against her hand.
The spiky-haired warrior laughed with confidence, "Maybe! Never know for sure!"
["Shilin Ji, A.K.A: "Crimson." What he lacks in physical skill, he makes up for tenfold in his peerless intellect in breaking down and exploiting the systems of games. He's mainly famous for holding the most speedruns in RPG games—over three-hundred records. He runs a top guild called "Crimson Chains", but I'd hardly call it that."]
"Wait, what do you mean? Crimson Chains is one of the most renowned guilds on the server, right?" Kiwi curiously asked.
"Even I've heard about 'em. Lot of desperate solos dream of joining that group. From what I've heard, it's pretty tight knit, though," Vangrave remarked.
Taking a moment, Zero clarified what he meant as he got up from his throne, looking around the black-and-silver royal chamber.
"You're right that it's one of the highest-respected guilds, but it's not because of it being full of powerhouses. Crimson is the only top player in the entire guild," Zero explained, "He only allows support classes and tanks in: he is the only DPS (Damage Per-Second) in the guild."
It was the sort of thing that seemed unbelievable, but with the presence of the very player who cleared the game by himself right in front of them, the two companions of Zero didn't refute what was said.
"So, he's a total selfish freak? Got it," Kiwi said with a tired sigh.
"That's the way it is for players like them—like me. For some it's about being the best, for some it's about pushing yourself to your limit and accomplishing feats thought impossible," Zero explained as he paced around the chamber, stopping in front of his listening companions, "—There's one more person to worry about, though."
"Who is it? I'm excited already," Vangrave smirked, hitting his fist into his own hand.
Zero looked up, "The best of the best, well to me he's the worst of the worst."
["King." There's nothing known about his real life identity. Kind of a pompous name, really. Hate the name, honestly. Unlike the others, he's not much of a competitor in the sphere of ESports (Electronic Sports) but a myth in the challenge-run communities. He purposefully beats games while placing the most obscenely difficult, limiting challenges onto himself.]
As the explanation of one of the five strongest players came out from Zero's lips, the two that were listening shared the same thought:
'It really sounds like he hates this guy's guts!'
Zero let out a quiet breath before continuing, "…As much as I hate to admit it, if "King" wasn't set on handicapping himself in Abyss, he would've been the first to clear it."
"He's that good, huh?" Vangrave asked.
Kiwi's eyes locked onto Zero, watching him as she sat with her elbows against her knees, "Ya know, I've heard a lot of rumors about "Zero"--mostly bad things."
"Yeah?" Zero glanced over with a raised eyebrow, "Not surprising. I've never done much to make anybody like me."
"Doubt that's going to change considering the whole server is against you now—except us," Kiwi said.
Vangrave chipped in, "I don't know ya that well, Boss, but you're strong as hell—that's all I know. If I'm by your side, I'll have a lot of fun."