Red players have no sanctuary.
It was a common saying among players of Godpath. This didn’t mean they couldn’t log out in a safe zone, but rather that they could still be attacked there—by NPCs and other players alike.
Kael’s name, a stark, blood-red against the night, was impossible to miss.
The moment he zoned in, a five-man City Guard patrol spotted him. Without a word, they drew their greatswords and charged. One of them, an archer, immediately drew his bow.
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A damage number floated over Kael’s head. The surrounding players noticed the guards’ sudden aggression and followed their line of sight, their eyes landing on Kael.
“Is that Dawnbreaker?!”
"Haha, I think I see five hundred thousand dollars."
“He’s got the Ascendant weapon on him.”
“Get him!”
The normal hum of the safe zone died. Players who were setting up stalls, turning in quests, or just chatting all stopped what they were doing. In unison, they drew their weapons and surged toward Kael.
Kael didn’t dare hesitate. He bolted. Luckily, players couldn't physically block each other in the safe zone, otherwise he would have been trapped instantly.
Lila and her group could only watch, powerless. They couldn't attack other players here. Only Rena was able to follow behind him, casting heals.
“Someone’s healing him! Who is it?”
“Use CC! Don’t let him get away!”
“He’s heading for the teleport nexus!”
The nexus was close. It took Kael only three seconds to reach it. Thankfully, his red status didn't prevent teleportation; it just made it more expensive. After taking three hits from the guards and more than a dozen from other players, Kael finally zoned back into the starting village.
The other players, of course, knew exactly where he’d gone and began to follow. Several started spamming the world channel.
“Dawnbreaker is back in the starting village! Everyone come get his Ascendant weapon!”
“The bounty from Ashveil is still active! Five hundred grand, guys!”
Kael didn’t stop for a second. The moment he materialized, he shot out the eastern gate of the village, making a beeline for the Shadowcrag Mountains.
Outside the village walls, newbies were locked in life-or-death struggles with wild rabbits and dogs. Suddenly, a roar of hundreds of voices made them turn. They watched in awe as a massive mob of players chased a single red-named figure, their faces a mixture of greed and fury.
Shouts echoed from the back of the pack. “The red player is Dawnbreaker! Anyone up ahead, stop him!”
Faced with the stampede, the newbies stood frozen, watching as Kael sprinted past them.
Kael glanced back at his pursuers, his patience worn thin. He was already fuming after Nyxar had stolen one of his chests in the Hidden Realm, and now he had to deal with this swarm of flies.
Suddenly, Kael stopped running.
He turned, his gaze cold and sharp, and faced the oncoming mob. He drew Galeharrow, his new Ascendant bow, and pulled the string taut.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Phantom Barrage!
A torrential rain of arrows blotted out the night sky before descending upon the charging players.
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In an instant, a 225-square-yard section of the crowded path was wiped clean. Everyone within the 15-by-15-yard area of effect was dead. Not a single one was left standing. All that remained was a field of faintly glowing equipment and dropped items.
The pursuers at the back screeched to a halt, their bloodlust turning to ice. The scene before them was surreal and utterly terrifying. It was like standing on a crowded subway platform one second, and the next, everyone in your car had simply vanished. A primal fear gripped every player who witnessed it.
In the dead of night, the glow from Kael’s Heart of the Ocean illuminated a 40-yard radius around him as if it were broad daylight. His every move was perfectly visible. He stood there, bow held loosely at his side, perfectly still.
The other players remained shrouded in the darkness just beyond the light, not daring to advance.
Then, Kael took a slow step toward them.
The front line of players scrambled backward in a panic. No one dared to enter the 45-yard space that now separated them from him.
Kael stared them down, his silence more menacing than any threat. Then, he turned his back on them and continued his walk toward the Shadowcrag Mountains.
The only way to deal with people blinded by greed was to beat the reality of the situation into them—some people were simply not to be fucked with.
The horde behind him remained frozen, watching his figure recede into the darkness, too terrified to move a single step.
On the world channel, the peanut gallery was still waiting for an update.
“What happened to Dawnbreaker? Did you guys get him?”
“Uh… why did everyone go quiet?”
“I thought someone was gonna give a play-by-play?”
“Don’t tell me they all got wiped…”
“…”
Kael switched the Heart of the Ocean back to its night-vision mode and changed his active identity back to Ullr.
He strode into the Blackwind Brotherhood’s stronghold, the scent of damp stone and woodsmoke filling the air. In the main hall, Malcolm, the steward, was tending a steaming kettle over a low fire.
“Malcolm,” Kael said, accepting a warm mug of tea and letting its heat seep into his hands. “Any word from the other chieftains?”
The steward turned, offering a brief nod of respect. “Not yet, my lord. They’re still away, deep in their councils.”
“Anything noteworthy happen today?”
“Nothing of consequence. Although, we did catch someone attempting to sneak into the stronghold this afternoon.”
“Oh?” Kael raised an eyebrow. “What happened to them?”
“He managed to escape,” the steward replied.
Kael nodded. The average player was around level 15 now. They might be strong enough to take on the level 20 mobs on the slopes of the Shadowcrag Mountains, but infiltrating the Blackwind Brotherhood’s main base was pure fantasy. The bandits inside ranged from level 20 to 25; no ordinary player could handle them at this stage.
Returning to his private quarters, Kael checked his character sheet. Seeing his Infamy score was over 900, he let out a long sigh.
When is this number ever going to go down?
Logging off, Kael awoke in his bed. His stomach rumbled; he was hungry. He reached for his phone and saw a new text message from his bank.
[Bank of America: A deposit of $1,000,000.00 has been credited to your account ending in xxxx. Your new balance is $1,700,033.10.]
A memo was attached to the transfer.
[Dawnbreaker, 1M for today’s carry. -Lila.]
Kael chuckled and shook his head. That Whitmore family heiress was way too formal.
He opened TikTok, hoping to unwind. The app icon showed 99+ notifications. He tapped on them and realized they were all from his comment on his sister's video—the one where he’d posted a screenshot of his Ascendant ring.
“Bro, how much for the ring in the pic?”
“Is that screenshot real?”
“This is such a bad photoshop! Obviously just trying to scam some girl.”
There were thousands of messages; he couldn't possibly read them all. He closed the notifications, not thinking much of it, but the next few videos on his feed were all about him.
“LVL 18 ASCENDANT RING IS COMPLETELY BROKEN!” The video used the screenshot of his [Signet of Celerity], highlighting the +100 stats to Strength, Constitution, and Agility.
At level 18, a player’s total base stats were only 90. A single ring that gave 300 had shattered everyone’s expectations.
Another video was a screen recording of the massacre he had just committed. The title read: “THE STONEHAVEN REAPER STRIKES AGAIN IN SENSELESS SLAUGHTER!”
The creator had even edited together footage from all three of his major player-killing sprees. The comment section was a warzone.
Some people called Kael a monster who killed for fun, an affront to the gaming community.
Others argued that the players got what they deserved. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. They blamed the victims for their own greed.
The two sides quickly devolved into hurling insults at each other.
Kael’s supporters called the other side "white knights."
His detractors called them "heartless sociopaths."
The arguments were fierce, with some people even arranging to meet in-game to settle their differences.
Kael, of course, stayed out of it. He’d wanted to relax, but scrolling through all this just made him more annoyed.
Forget it. I’m going to sleep.
