Vol. 3: Chapter 34
After bidding farewell to Alaric and Sophia, Kael headed directly for the wilds northwest of Crescent City.
The quest Alaric had given him was a notorious pain in the ass for three reasons.
First, just triggering it was a nightmare. The player had to be a flagged criminal with a Red Name and an Infamy score over 20.
For most red-named players, simply surviving the city guards long enough to speak with Alaric in Crescent City was a challenge few could manage.
Second, the target, Roderic, was a beast. His level was dynamic, always scaling to be exactly five levels higher than the player. That level difference meant a significant portion of a player's skills would be less effective.
On top of that, it was a solo quest; no help from teammates was allowed. If Roderic took even a single point of damage from another player, the kill would be invalid, and the quest item wouldn't drop.
But the third reason was the real killer: the quest was only offered once a month. This scarcity bred a special kind of toxicity. Players who arrived too late, finding the quest already taken, would often throw a fit and follow the quest-holder into the cave.
All they had to do was land one hit on Roderic, just ‘tag’ the boss, and the other player’s attempt was ruined for the day. Since Roderic only respawned once every twenty-four hours, it was an incredibly frustrating setback.
Kael wasn’t worried about the first two points. He was more than capable of taking down a boss five levels above him. What he was worried about… was exactly what he saw when he arrived at the mouth of a cave in the northwestern hills.
A ten-player team was clearing spiders at the entrance.
As they fought, their chatter drifted over.
“Dude, the GL’s totally got this.”
“For sure. After those gear drops from the invasion event, there’s no way we fail this time.”
“It’s still weird, though. Why is a human officer the final boss in a spider cave?”
“Right? That’s what makes it so interesting.”
“Too bad the tunnels are so tight. We can’t all fit inside to help.”
“Wonder if they’ve found him yet…”
The sight of them sent a jolt of anxiety through Kael. If one of them so much as breathed on his target, he wouldn't get the quest item and would have to wait until after the midnight reset.
Not wanting to delay, Kael re-enabled his Dawnbreaker title and walked forward.
The players at the cave entrance spotted him approaching and one shouted out, “Hey, man! This cave is claimed by the Frostfall Syndicate. You’ll have to find another spot.”
Kael continued walking, intending to get closer and talk to them. But as soon as his crimson-red player ID came into full view, their tone changed from assertive to panicked.
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“Holy shit, it’s the psycho killer, Dawnbreaker!”
“Fuck, what do we do?”
“Don’t look at him! Just look down!”
“Yeah, yeah, the three-second rule! If you lock eyes with him for three seconds, you’re dead!”
The ten of them immediately snapped their heads down, furiously attacking the spiders at their feet, only occasionally daring to flick a terrified glance in his direction before looking away.
Kael was too focused on the situation to bother correcting the ridiculous rumors. He walked right up to them. “Hey guys, I have a quest in this cave. Is anyone else inside?”
Their bodies tensed. Their guild leader and his elite squad were inside hunting a boss, and now Dawnbreaker shows up wanting to go in? Was he targeting their leader?
As they stared at the blood-red letters of his name, another infamous rumor surfaced in their minds: Dawnbreaker hunts guild leaders. He especially loves wiping their entire party.
The list of victims was legendary: Ashveil of [Aegis Prime], Magnus of [Sovereign], Gorgon_Viper of [Gorgon], Dreadfang of [Serpent’s Coil]… and countless other unlucky leaders who had died to his arrows before even seeing his face.
His reign of terror spanned from Crescent City to Stormhold, from the Ironclad Citadel to the Oasis of Zafira.
They all arrived at the same terrifying conclusion.
The Guild Leader is in danger!
Someone typed frantically in their party chat. “You guys stall him! I’ll warn the GL!”
“What if he just forces his way past?”
“We fight him?”
“If you have a death wish, don’t drag me into it.”
Kael watched them stand there, frozen like statues, completely oblivious to the frantic debate happening in their minds. Just then, he noticed three spiders skittering silently toward a female priest standing in the back. He tried to warn her.
“Watch out!”
“Huh?”
All of them looked up at him. At that exact moment, the three spiders lunged, sinking their fangs into the priest.
-1802
-1656
-1972
Her health bar evaporated. “Ah!” she cried out, her hands glowing as she tried to cast a heal on herself. But before the spell could complete, a purple damage number popped over her head from the poison.
-1500
With a final scream, she collapsed.
Kael shook his head with a sigh. What a sloppy team, he thought. Letting three mobs gank their priest? So unprofessional.
To them, however, what had just happened was something else entirely.
“Holy shit, Dawnbreaker has Hunter skills!”
“That Beast Mastery is insane! He can command mobs from that far away? And three at once?!”
“That son of a bitch!”
“I’m gonna kill him!”
“Who cares if he’s famous? Let’s get him!”
The priest had been the only woman in their group, the heart of their team, and they’d all been protective of her.
The idea that this legendary player-killer had targeted her first—a sweet, defenseless girl—sent a surge of testosterone-fueled rage through them. The fear they had felt moments ago was completely forgotten.
“Get him!” they roared, charging forward as one.
Kael was completely baffled. It was their fault for not protecting their own priest. Why were they taking it out on him? He sighed again, raised his bow, and began to return fire.
…
Infamy score +9.
He glanced at the loot scattered on the ground. A few pieces of level 25 rare gear, nothing valuable.
I’ll just leave it here, he thought wryly. They can come back and pick it up later. I’m just too damn kind.
Forced to defend himself, Kael didn't have time to award himself the Nobel Peace Prize. He ducked into the cave.
After a few steps, the cavern plunged into darkness. Kael activated the Heart of the Ocean, its power shifting his vision to a clear, monochrome landscape. The tunnel was narrow, barely wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side.
He hadn’t gone far before he noticed something was wrong. There were very few spiders. The path had clearly been cleared.
Someone’s ahead.
The thought spurred him on. He ignored the few remaining spiders clinging to the walls and broke into a sprint, pushing deeper into the darkness.
This cave has a lot of branching paths, he tried to reassure himself as he ran. Hopefully, they don’t know Roderic’s exact location.
He had no way of knowing that they had scouted this entire cave system weeks ago, long before the Burning Horde invasion.
They were here for one reason and one reason only: the strange, human boss hiding at its heart.