After passing through the forest riding Polly, Broken arrived at a massive tree in the middle of a lush meadow, having left the forest behind.
Near this large tree was a small shrine that granted players quicker Health and Mana regeneration if they drew closer to the area. This place was usually bustling with players and merchants, but today, it was eerily empty.
This was highly unusual since the area near the Shrine of Regeneration was the most comfortable place to rest and camp. Given that the ancient forest nearby was a prime spot for monster hunting, there should have been many players of the appropriate level in the vicinity.
Broken dismounted from Polly, who reverted to her smaller form. She then frolicked through the grass, rolling around and sniffing flowers, clearly enjoying the area.
"This is really strange," he said to Polly, who responded by staring at him with her wide eyes. "It's odd that there are no merchants here. It looks like we'll have to make the journey to the nearest town," he sighed.
Polly remained silent, observing Broken closely as he spoke. "We can go to the nearest town, Master…"
Just then, Broken received a private message from the only friend listed on his friend list.
"It's from Booba."
[Booba: Hey, Broken, have you secured your contract with the spirit? Hahaha. I'm on my way to your location. Wait a few minutes. I want to see just how pathetic the spirit you contracted with is.]
Broken checked the map and saw that Booba was indeed close to his position. Did he really come all this way just to find out what spirit Broken had contracted with?
Booba was a player he had met early on in Immortal Legacy. He was very loud and forced his friendship on Broken, who eventually accepted his friend request.
From what Booba had told Broken, he came from a wealthy family, which explained why all his armor and weapons were so eye-catching. He leveled up very quickly and had already reached level 155, while normal players were still around level 100.
In fact, Broken had learned about the rare quest to form a contract with a spirit from Booba. Booba provided everything, from the requirements to helping Broken progress with the quest. He liked to go the extra mile for those he considered friends and was willing to help.
A few minutes later, a figure flew in from the distance on a large bird, or more precisely, a wyvern. The wyvern swooped down, its wings flapping powerfully, causing the grass to sway. Atop the wyvern was a man in swordsman armor with an Asian face, black hair, and a height of 188 cm (6'2").
"Hey, Broken. Hahaha," Booba walked towards him. "You're still leveling up so slowly. Why do you even bother playing this game?"
Broken only smiled in response to his words.
Booba then turned to show off the wyvern he had ridden to meet Broken. "Do you see this magnificent creature? It's grown so large now, hahaha... I can go anywhere riding this wyvern. Isn't it amazing? I made a contract with this Epic-Grade wyvern. Isn't that incredible, Broken?"
Broken observed the wyvern, which looked back at him with a menacing gaze, similar to the looks he often received from others. It was true; having a flying Spirit Beast like Booba's wyvern was incredibly practical in Immortal Legacy. It was highly coveted because it allowed players to travel more easily and quickly.
Booba truly had an exceptional privilege with his Spirit Beast.
"But…" Booba continued, "I think my sister is even luckier."
He often talked about his little sister, who was also a top player in Immortal Legacy.
"She managed to secure a contract with a Unique-Grade Spirit," he sighed. "That's why she's climbing the ranks to the top 100 players so easily. But I'm confident I'll catch up to her soon, with my talent and the money I have. Hahaha," he continued.
Broken listened and nodded as Booba spoke.
"So, have you secured your contract with a spirit? Come, show me," Booba said.
Broken then glanced at the little white fox playing nearby. "That's my spirit beast."
Booba turned to look at the small fox. "Hahaha, what can this little fox do? Are you looking for a battle companion or a pet? Hahaha."
"I suggest you send it back to the spirit world right away. I'm afraid my wyvern might get hungry and swallow your cute fox, hahaha."
He then turned back to Broken. "What's its grade?"
"A Unique-grade."
"Okay, not bad," Booba responded casually, but then he seemed to realize something and turned back to Broken. "Unique-grade?! Are you kidding me?!"
He looked at Polly again. "This little fox has a Unique-grade? You're not joking, show me its status."
Broken smiled and then explained, "So, Polly is actually a combat fox. She has a larger form, so I can ride her. And she has a set of skills that are very good in battle too. I believe she has a lot of potential to grow in the future."
Booba glanced back at Polly, who was now sitting and gazing at him with her round eyes. Polly then seemed frightened by Booba's intense stare, and she ran behind Broken's feet, hiding there.
Broken shared Polly's status with Booba to convince him.
"Damn, it really is a Unique-Grade. You're so lucky, Broken… I want a Unique-Grade spirit beast too."
A few minutes later, Booba noticed something as he looked around the unusually empty area near the shrine.
"What are you doing here, Broken?"
"At first, I was looking for a merchant, and I planned to go to the nearest town as well."
"Do you know this place is deserted because there are a lot of player killers around here?"
"Player killers?"
Broken had not heard about this, but if what Booba said was true, it made sense why the area was empty. They both immediately became more alert.
"We should leave here quickly. I'm not in the mood to deal with those stupid player killers," Booba explained.
"What are they after? Doesn't the kingdom usually crack down on player killers?"
"They're just a bunch of idiots trying to be edgy, thinking it's cool to join some dumb cult and hunt players for fun. They make it worse by killing Yunatea natives too. They have no brains, hahaha. Maybe they're just broke and can't think of anything smarter to do."
Booba then headed back to his wyvern.
"I need to go, my sister is insisting on meeting me. I'll see you in town. And hey, if you need my help, just let me know… You should focus more on enjoying the game and not worry so much about real life. Look at me, I'm having a blast here without a care in the world. See? Haha."
"Shut up, rich kid. You can just play games all day and still have your parents' money to fall back on."
"Haha, it's not my fault, Broken. It's not like I chose to be born into a wealthy family," Booba responded with a laugh.
He added. "But don't worry, if you quit your job, you can make money from playing this game."
"I wish it were that simple. I was actually forced to quit my job."
"Ah, that sucks. Well, I'll catch up with you later. Gotta go," Booba said, dismissing the conversation.
Booba then climbed onto his wyvern, and the creature flapped its wings powerfully and took off.
Broken sighed, intending to log out from the game, as Lily was probably waiting for him. But then, glancing around, he noticed movement among the bushes.
Soon, one, two, three, and finally, five players emerged from the foliage. Each one was dressed in a different class. None of them had red game names, so they might not be player killers, but it was clear they had been hiding, waiting for Booba to leave.
There was definitely something suspicious about their actions.