Alexander couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.
What kind of ridiculous statement was that?
Were all members of the Bradford family as brainless as these two?
His thoughts raced, but he wasn't afraid. After all, he had overheard what the female player, Jessica, had said during the chase.
While the Bradford family seemed to have some influence, the family that Jessica belonged to clearly didn't take them seriously at all. This meant that the Bradford family wasn't the all-powerful force they claimed to be in Oracle.
And even if the Bradford family was as powerful as they boasted, so what? Alexander knew that if he laid low, in six months, he could easily raise his talent to SSS-level.
So, what was there to fear?
Yes, he had taken the Dark Crystal, but he had found it lying on the ground with no one else around. When he used it, there were no signs that it was bound to anyone or marked in any way.
In other words, unless the Bradford family could provide concrete proof that they had owned the Dark Crystal, it was a free-for-all. And since Alexander had it now, it was his.
Standing firm in front of the warrior, Alexander's expression turned cold. "You have no right to search my bag. Step aside, or don't blame me for what happens next."
The warrior laughed mockingly. "Laughing my ass off! You're only level 10. What could you possibly do to us?"
Alexander remained silent, his gaze steady and intense.
Suddenly, he felt a shift in the air behind him. Instinctively, he raised his sword to block.
Clang!
The sharp sound of metal clashing rang out right next to Alexander's ear.
"Huh?"
A surprised voice echoed.
Alexander caught a glimpse of a black figure darting away—it was the rogue who had been standing on the right.
He hadn't noticed when the rogue had disappeared, but this sneak attack had instantly enraged him.
"So, you're really determined to search my bag?" Alexander gripped his sword tightly, his voice low and dangerous.
The warrior sneered. "If you don't want us to check, that's fine. We'll just tie you up and check it ourselves."
Even though bags were bound to their owners, rogues had a skill that allowed them to steal items from bags by repeatedly using their Pickpocket ability.
In their minds, Alexander was just a newly awakened level 10 player. How much could he possibly have? At most, he'd be using the 20-slot starter bag that the system gave out for free.
It wouldn't take more than two minutes to steal everything.
Because of this, neither the warrior nor the rogue took Alexander's warning seriously.
In fact, they saw his words as nothing more than a futile struggle.
But when Alexander's first strike took 300 HP from the warrior, both players were stunned.
"That's impossible! How is your attack so high?"
A level 10 newbie, dealing that much damage with a single strike?
Alexander didn't respond. Without hesitation, he swung his sword again, slashing the warrior's arm and leaving a deep gash.
Critical hit!
HP -70.
Bleed effect applied (1 stack): HP -10/s.
With the +20% Attack Speed bonus from his sword, Alexander's strikes came fast and furious.
Before the warrior could react, Alexander had already applied two stacks of the Bleed effect.
Suddenly, a dagger flashed from behind, aiming for Alexander's back. But with a quick flick of his wrist, Alexander parried the rogue's attack.
He knocked the rogue's dagger aside and immediately thrust his Windblade toward the rogue's heart.
Alexander knew that if he didn't deal with the rogue, who could disappear and reappear at will, he wouldn't be able to focus on the heavily armored warrior.
As Alexander pressed his attack on the rogue, the warrior finally snapped out of his shock and roared in anger, "Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson today!"
The warrior hefted his greatsword and charged forward, positioning himself behind Alexander. Together with the rogue, they tried to trap Alexander between them.
It looked like Alexander was in a bad spot, but in reality, it was the rogue who was being overwhelmed.
When Alexander had first charged at him, the rogue had thought it was laughable. He immediately pulled out a small shield from his bag to protect himself.
But it failed.
In the rogue's shocked eyes, Alexander landed another critical hit—two in a row!
The rogue's health plummeted.
Unlike the warrior, the rogue had much less HP. Even though he was level 50, his total health was only around 8,500.
Those two strikes had taken away 15% of his health.
Worse still, he now had two stacks of the Bleed debuff. Under the faint red glow of the effect, he watched as his health ticked down by 20 points per second.
Alexander heard the warrior's sword whistling toward him from behind, but he didn't care. He sidestepped just enough to avoid the blow, keeping his focus on the rogue.
Third stack.
Fourth stack.
Fifth stack!
The screen was filled with red damage numbers.
As a rogue, the player's agility was maxed out, making him incredibly fast. At the same level, rogues had the highest agility of any class.
But to his horror, Alexander, a level 10 newbie, was keeping up with his speed!
In fact, Alexander was slightly faster.
How was this possible?
Alexander stayed on him relentlessly, forcing the rogue to block with his shield over and over. The rogue had no chance to use Stealth.
With the Windblade's attack speed bonus, Alexander's strikes came even faster. He continued to land critical hits, stacking the Bleed effect to its maximum of five layers.
The rogue watched in despair as his health bar dropped rapidly, while he had only managed to deal about 100 damage to Alexander.
A level 50 rogue was being completely dominated by a level 10 Alexander. The fight had only lasted a few seconds, but the rogue's health was already below 10%.
Just then, the warrior finally found an opening and slashed his greatsword across Alexander's back.
Alexander couldn't dodge in time and took the hit, losing 70 HP.
"Damn it, am I seeing things? Why is his defense so high?" the warrior cursed internally, but he didn't stop his assault.
Meanwhile, the rogue saw his chance and activated Flash Strike, disappearing from in front of Alexander and reappearing behind him, ready to strike.
Now, with the warrior in front and the rogue behind, they launched a pincer attack.
But Alexander didn't dodge. He took the warrior's hit head-on, using the opportunity to turn and slash his sword across the rogue's throat.
Critical hit!
HP -490!
The Bleed effect stacked to five layers, and five [-10] damage numbers appeared simultaneously.
With the continuous bleeding effect, the rogue clutched his throat in disbelief as his health dropped to zero. His body collapsed to the ground, turning into a beam of light as he died.
The warrior's next attack was already coming.
Without even glancing at the rogue's body, Alexander turned and blocked the warrior's strike.