When Manho said "yes," a brilliant light burst out of the chest, flooding the area for thirty seconds. As the light faded, he began swearing in every language he knew—which, unfortunately, was only English. "Damn it! I forgot about the light that comes out when someone opens the chest. Now every NPC and player nearby is going to come running."
Worry washed over him as he thought about the NPCs. In his first life, players treated them like stupid digital AIs, created by the game developers just to make the world feel real. But that misconception shattered after a major auction in one of the strongest empires. Some well-known players got a chance to participate, but when the auction ended, a squad of NPCs ambushed them, robbing them of everything and then killing them. Those players were unable to log in for a week. After that, no one underestimated the NPCs.
When Manho finally looked inside the chest, a smile crept across his face. Inside was a thief's cape—gold-tier equipment. "Nice. The early-game rewards are so good." His grin widened as he checked the stats.
### **Shadow Veil Cape**
- **Rarity:** Gold
- **Stats:**
- **Defense:** +50
- **Speed:** +40
- **Agility:** +15
- **Class Requirement:** Thief
- **Special Effect:**
- **Veil of Anonymity:** Completely obscures the wearer's face and conceals their name from others. Only special inspecting skills can reveal the wearer's information.
Manho thought, _The stats aren't that great for a gold-tier item, but that special effect is amazing._ In New Haven, equipment that could hide someone's identity was incredibly rare. As he equipped the cape, it made him even more mysterious. Now, no one would recognize him, which was perfect since he planned to do some crazy things.
Lost in thought, Manho didn't notice a group of players approaching from behind. They were all male, and their equipment bore a bull emblem. When Manho saw that symbol, his face darkened. He didn't wait for them to speak—he vanished in an instant and appeared behind one of their healers, slashing them from behind.
**-1000 HP. Critical hit.**
The healer dropped dead instantly. Before the others could react, it was already too late. Panic spread among them as they yelled, "We're under attack! Get into formation!" They quickly snapped into a defensive stance, showing their experience as seasoned players. A big, bearded man stepped forward and spoke. "Friend, why are you attacking us?"
The rest of the group was stunned. Their leader wasn't someone who talked to enemies—especially not those who struck first. _This player is dangerous. He one-shotted our healer in one blow,_ thought Deathstroke, the bearded man.
Manho recognized him immediately. _So, he started the game this early..._ Deathstroke was a key player in the Dominators guild and an internal member. Without hesitation, Manho used his vanish skill again, disappearing from sight. He dashed toward the other healer, but Deathstroke reacted quickly and tanked the blow.
**-500 HP.**
Manho thought, _That's expected from an internal member of a first-class guild._ But inside, Deathstroke was panicking. _This is bad. He took 70% of my HP in one hit._ Trying to rally his group, he shouted, "Snap out of it! Light, heal me!"
The second healer hurriedly cast a healing spell.
**+100 HP.**
But Manho wasn't about to let them regroup. He retreated momentarily before dashing toward the healer again. However, three mages and two archers launched attacks at him. Manho quickly used **Dimensional Rift**, creating a small black portal in front of him that swallowed the incoming attacks. Seeing this, the enemy players panicked, but Manho didn't give them a chance. He unleashed five slashes of dark energy, and five players fell instantly.
Seeing his comrades fall, Deathstroke knew there was no time to hesitate. "Split and run!" he ordered. The group scattered in different directions, sprinting away.
Manho smiled as he began to chase after Deathstroke. He dashed toward him, slashing relentlessly. Though Deathstroke blocked a few hits, he eventually succumbed to Manho's attacks. Before dying, Deathstroke glared at him, and Manho leaned in, laughing maniacally. "Tell Doomking I'm coming for him."
Deathstroke's eyes widened. "So you know what you've done. We will hunt you down to the end of the game..." he said, just before Manho silenced him with a final slash to the neck.
As the fight ended, Manho noticed more players watching from a distance. Someone was even filming him. Unbothered, he activated his stealth and disappeared. The spectators started talking.
"Damn, we've got another maniac in the game," one of the healers muttered.
"Yeah, did you see how he was laughing while killing those Dominators guild members?" another player responded.
A third added, "He's already dead. Anyone who crosses that guild is as good as gone."
Meanwhile, Manho was already in another place, his mind focused on Doomking. Doomking was a Tier 5 swordsman in his previous life, an elder in the Dominators guild, and a significant shareholder in the Black Knights guild. He was also the reason Manho had been banished. The mere thought of Doomking fueled his anger. "I'm going to destroy everything he's worked for in this life. I'll destroy him in the real world, too."
This hatred ran deeper than just being exiled from the guild—Doomking had done something far worse.
As Manho wandered through the forest, he spotted a lone tank fighting against a pack of level 3 wolves. The tank was level 2 and named BrightSmile. He was the shortest man Manho had seen in this life, with short blond hair and big blue eyes, and he wore a huge grin as he fought, seemingly unfazed by the struggle.
Manho smiled at the sight. _He's still as stupid as ever._ BrightSmile, or Luke Smith, had been a friend of Manho's in his previous life. Despite his foolishness, Luke had a big heart and had helped Manho countless times.
Without hesitation, Manho dashed forward and attacked the wolves. Luke noticed and called out, "Thanks for the help, friend!"
"No problem. Why are you fighting alone? Don't you have any friends?" Manho asked, knowing full well that Luke had a lot of friends but no one from his friends are in Starlight Town.
Luke replied, "My friends aren't here right now."
Manho slashed through more wolves until they were all dead. Luke beamed and said, "Wow, you're so strong!"
Manho shrugged. "I'm level 7. Of course, these wolves are weak."
"That makes sense," Luke nodded. Then, he leveled up. Manho didn't gain any EXP since in New Haven, killing monsters below your level didn't grant any experience.
Luke's smile grew even bigger. "Thanks again! Oh, by the way, what's your name?"
"Manho. And you?"
"Nice to meet you, Manho. I'm Luke."
Manho grinned. "How about you join me for some hunting?"
Luke's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really? I'm useless right now..."
"It's okay. I need a tank anyway," Manho said. "Let's go."
When Manho and Luke were moving, the players in the game were in a huge uproar because of what Manho had done. The video of him fighting the squad of players had already garnered a huge amount of views on the game's forum. The video was titled _Legendary Thief Kills 7 Players in Mere Seconds_. The comments on the video were mostly people accusing him of cheating.
**Nightshadow:** "No way he killed a healer with one attack, and he's a thief too? I don't even have 20% of his damage, and I'm already level 5."
**Crazyperson:** "He's obviously cheating. There's no way a player can do this much damage."
**Trollface:** "We need an answer from the developers of the game." . . .
After many of these comments and reports, the company behind the game made a public statement: "It's impossible to cheat in our game." When the other players saw that, they got even angrier, but the company didn't give a damn about any of the complains.