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Volume 4

Chapter 08: The Competition

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It only has been a few hours on the day but Siva was already feeling like it’s been a whole.

From the dawn of their escape up to the Bar Fight that lasted until afternoon, the hours went by so fast and yet it’s so dismal that it was annoying.

Just how did he even enjoy that fight?

Is this how video games should appeal on him?

Now that he thinks about it, from the very beginning of his player career until now, he does not remember a day that he did not engage in a fight.

Even if this place is supposed to be a place for the people to relax and relieve their stress, to use your own body to charge vehemence upon others in this world and its current condition is just so real it was scary.

What if those people carried this violent tendencies to the outside world? Is there even a scientific method or a safety net in this device that makes sure that that does not happen? If so, then perhaps his parents’ invention is more frightening than he had initially believed.

Just the thought of your emotions being controlled by this machine… unthinkable! It’s like inviting terrorist groups to use this machine to brainwash their hostages.

Is this really what games should be like?

Now that his blood cooled off and his tension from the unconventional series of unfortunate events, starting from his escape from the forest, meeting with the guard knights of the city, then the brawl earlier, and now this sudden realization of the things that had occurred…

What is this, a manga?!

Unknown to Siva, he found himself staring up while he laid his back on the back rest of his ironwood chair.

The noise of the crowd vanished, there was just him and his fleeting thoughts. Thoughts of the things that happened thus far, people that he came across with, and most especially those he punished with his fists.

He shuddered as he realized —a sudden sense of dread on the thing that he understood, this is the exact same thing that those Protesters claimed his family did.

They incited a change among the people, especially to those who gave up everything they had to maintain and improve their online careers.

This game is a complete underworld.

Closing his eyes, he tried to calm his thoughts. What good is it for him to ponder over it? It’s already been too late to stop this world for not continuing.

It’s been released, it’s been established. RPG: Terroa is a global sensation that completely changed the course of the history of mankind’s technological advancement.

Where he is right now is a complete world that he is not prepared to leave yet.

No. Not when he’s still to complete the deal.

Not when he’s yet to deliver the promised items. And speaking of items, the news he carried also posed as another thing to discuss.

He failed to meet the required standard of his promised dealing. The item of his hardship, The Excalibur, lost, and the people who took it is till free. He didn’t notice that he was clenching his fist from anger and the silence of the crowd bade him to realize what was going on.

The patrons stopped cheering, people began to look here and there, searching for the perpetrator of this one sudden outrageous burst.

“He’s here! It’s happening again!”

“That mother fucker!”

“Son of a bitch!”

“He’s really picking a fight with us!”

“Where is he?”

Siva’s thoughts run, he realized he activated the Killing Zone from being agitated and so he tried to act cool, trying to be as one of them as possible to hide the fact that he was the one doing it accidentally.

“Where is that bastard?!” He yelled and slowly stood.

He didn’t know that the Killing Zone doesn’t have a restriction, unlike most skills and abilities. Normally, skills and abilities would be locked once you enter the safe zone but perhaps the Killing Zone is not bounded by this restriction since it was a Unique Ability. Maybe.

But just after he stood up, one of the eye patched twins, Nero, hammered his fist on the table, almost toppling the table wares over.

“I swear, I’ma gonna kill that Destroyer!”

“Easy,” Neo, the left eye patched one, said and he was also telling it to Siva with a finger. Perhaps his cover was full and effective as he was out of blame, but perhaps it was too effective as he caught his attention instead of using it to escape. “His time will come.”

“Blast it, he got ahead of us bro.”

“I know it’s infuriating but we can’t let it get on our heads. Remember that he’s still an adventurer like us, but the only difference is that we’re playing it safe as he risks his career every time he has an adventure.”

These words made Siva ponder. He was wondering just how they see his alter ego, the one he originally just created out of impulse to hide his avatar’s real name.

So he listened to Neo, the more mature of the twins, or if they were really twins, as he prompted.

“Playing it safe,” And Siva drank his bitter ale. “Aah, I don’t think there’s anything abnormal with his quests.”

“You said it.” Said Neo and he hit Nero’s muscled right arm with a finger’s flick. “Unlike a certain hot headed brother of mine here who only knows how to get cheap missions, the guy really knows how the system works.”

“The system?” Siva’s curiosity was piqued. “What do you mean? Did he understood something?”

He wondered for a moment if there really is something in the system that he doesn’t know about. No answer came to him. Instead, he caught Neo’s respect.

“Ah, I see you’re a supporter huh. I don’t blame ya, the guy’s really a handful. Especially when he defeated that Cramer in the War of Two Powers.”

“But that was just luck, bro!”

“Shut up, Nero. —as I was saying, he actually proved something during the War of Two Powers. The first one he proved is that there are the existence of the Unique Abilities. Did you know that only last month, there was a rising rumor of a new found guild whose members are comprised of people using Unique Abilities?”

“What?! I didn’t know that?” Siva was utterly surprised and shocked to learn that there was actually a guild who managed to unlock the secret he first thought he was going to monopolize.

“Figures. You may have been out for a mission the whole time.”

Siva didn’t stop his tongue for uttering. “B-Rank one I got from Maria.” and this single line made Neo’s eyes wide in astonishment.

“Well, I’ll be damned, B-ranked mission? Perhaps you already knew the secret on how to get multiple titles and rare missions.”

“Secret? What secret? I thought it was chance?”

“Chance? (GULP) Bah! You’re lucky you don’t have to chase over dead-end legends and rumors. As I was saying, the secret to the system is to chase over a legend or a rumor that has never been posted in the forums before. That’s the secret!”

“Huh? That’s it? It sounds simple enough to do.”

“Simple?!” This time, Nero slammed the stein on the table, turning the wares upside down. “You really are one lucky man, are ya? Do you even know how many rumors and dead-end legends are generated in this planet every second? Thousands. Thousands, I tell ya! I personally chased over a hundred or so of ’em useless pile of junk info, consuming our time for nothing and bringing us here for a drink of fortune.”

Siva’s brows were knit and if he could only make them see his expression now, he might actually looked like he was pondering over it seriously.

“Aye,” Neo’s expression soured. “’Tis true we chased dead-end legends about things we heard and saw from the net. One most memorable is that legend in Hagonoy about the Map in Clemente’s Demise. You know it?”

Siva could only nod microscopically. Slowly.

“The damn Destroyer got ahead of us of a few days!”

“But if he hadn’t, then we would have been goners by now. I still can’t believe a Dragon would appear in the middle of the mission. An’ that’s the system I was talking about.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Aye, you’re right lad. But there was something more in there. You see, the game does not give out certain quests and missions to no one nor to just anyone who discovered them first. High priority missions and quests only pops out around those who had two important things in them.”

Curiously, Siva gulped and leaned closer as the gen he was about to hear sounded like a top secret information.

“Go tell him, bro.” prompted Nero, guarding, eyeing all directions around them. And then Neo leaned closer to them and pulled up his hand to a whisper.

“The first one is mettle.”

“Mettle?” Siva was lost and he leaned back.

“Aye, Mettle. Have you been to the Guild Hall Building in the center?”

When asked the question, Siva remembered that one and only instance when he first and last remembered himself visiting the Guild Hall.

It was on his first day in the game and was looking for a lead to his goal. He entered the Guild Hall but saw a line of people there, looking for something that until now he did not as much as spend a few time to know.

Also in that same Guild Hall is the place where he was chased out by Swordsmen who wanted to meet with the Guild Master NPC.

Now that he think about it, he actually never knew any important game functions and information aside from the fact that you gotta fight to eat and you gotta eat to live in this game.

He had no idea about other things aside from fighting to survive. He may even be considered still a beginner.

“Once.” He said.

Neo tilted his head in a cocking motion to acknowledge his honesty.

“Don’t blame ya. The Guild hall is always crowded and a lot of them are melee Swordmages. But anyways, in the guild hall building, if you talk to the NPC girl in the right corner of the Information Booth, she will present you a brochure for a certain price depending on your rank and that’s where you’ll see your total number of monster kills.”

“Like a booklet?”

“No, like a review pamphlet.” Nero corrected and drank his ale.

“That booklet lets you review your career path. From your first day up to your current standing, everything is recorded there. Even including the people you met in order of you meeting them.”

“That’s sleek.” Siva was impressed.

“Aye, it is.”

“So how does that connect to mettle?” It was here that Neo smiled at him while Nero kept on consuming the barrel they have on their table.

“Aye, at first glance it may be far, but in fact, it’s the first real key to actually getting rare missions. Because you see, if your career path reads as a real hunter, the system considers you as worthy to entrust difficult tasks for you to complete.”

“By reading your career path.”

“Exactly.”

“So if my record says I battled a lot of monsters and won, then the system will grant me luck with the hard missions and quests, is that it?”

“Not quite but yes. Because being in a Hunting Party is a rather difficult task because the one who deals the killing blow gains the monster kill count.”

A nod of understanding came from Siva. It basically makes sense. Ever since he can remember, he exploited the effects of his Killing Zone and killed a lot of mobs on his early days. And even now, whenever he gets time to wander, he hunts monsters and stuns them, stacking them inside his spider cargo truck’s freight container and selling them alive for more money.

“The higher the number of your kills…”

“The higher your percentage of accessing rarer quests.”

Siva leaned close to Neo, not minding if his cover is in the verge of being lifted. As he had removed his mask and relied solely on the dim lighting of the bar, the dark skin inside his hood remained unseen.

“Mettle.”

“Yes.” Neo smiled, nodding at Siva’s keen grasp. “For Monsters and Predators aren’t easy prey, one needs to have strong mettle to continue on the dangerous path the rarer quests and missions will give you.”

“Eh what if you hunted stronger and rare monsters like Lapis Lazuli or something? And not just once, but three or four times?”

Nero who was busy with his beer choked and Neo who the question was directed at, blinked.

“Lapis?” Nero chuckled haughtily. “Impossible. Have you ever fought the C-ranked monster Heron?”

Heron. Siva slightly titled his head and tried to recall the look of that monster. And when he remembered, he hit the palm of his hand in realization. He fought them on his early days as a newbie.

Almost the same as the Lapis, Herons charge at their enemies blindly like a bull. Or perhaps it was just his Killing Zone’s effect to attract monsters, he didn’t care to take down their habits and behavior as they all just try to eat him whole each and every time.

“From the looks of it, you did. Now imagine Herons’ size to be twice as well as twice the violence tendencies with wings, and the nasty ability to stun you for four to five consecutive times with their «Pose of the King».”

Siva recalled again. Never had he felt being stunned by «The Pose of the King» ability of S-ranked monsters.

Even with the upgraded version of the Dragon he had fought in Hagonoy, he didn’t see this ability as an actual threat to him. Not even before, not until now.

The expression of Neo’s face was serious. It was a look that said that Lapis Lazuli is a serious deal.

He wasn’t able to answer as he don’t know how.

“Lapis Lazuli had this habit to use it consecutively that makes all efforts to dodge it or even try to avoid its range of effectiveness null. It can smell you like a shark smells blood in ten thousand gallons of sea water and will eventually find you if you choose to run away.”

“I can imagine.” To his words, the twins exchanged glances momentarily. After that, Neo smiled at Siva.

“What I want to say is that no one has yet to kill or hunt down a Lapis, not much less a Dragon except for that guy, The Destroyer.”

“Making them impossible to hunt down in this game.”

With the twins’ complimenting comments, the silence he felt bordered to thinking. He was pondering over the fact that he was actually a unique case of a player.

Because he defeated high ranking monsters, the system granted him access to rarer quests and missions. Maybe it was the reason why he was coming across those very rare missions and informa… ah!

A sudden realization hit Siva.

Information!

A smile drew on his lips as he thought of something.

But in the next moment, as he was in the middle of his joyous trans, Neo’s words, “Not until a month ago.” actually made him consider the gravity of his situation.

Not until a month ago. The rise of that new guild that had all its members get Unique Skills.

In short, competition.

And not mere pushovers for these people are going to prove be as strong as he had been.

But as per Siva’s experience with his unique skill, as much as it has its large advantages, the disadvantages to the user are also as big as much.

Perhaps all Unique Abilities are like that.

Or maybe it’s just him and his unique fighting style. A style only available to daredevils who chose to numb out the pain on their system using traumatizing ways such as pulling strength from his goal.

Even now, remembering that detail, it never ceases to renew his will and give him strength to move on.

Not all had the same desire for their goal. Not all can pay the price of what they desire.

Disadvantages.

In his case, the LARGE disadvantage of his [KZ] is the fact that it calls upon large hordes of monsters all at the same time. So in order to get strong quickly, he had no choice but to fight them or die trying.

So far though, he only succeeded on surviving because he abandoned his safety nets and pushed himself to the limits of his mental boundary.

“Is it the Alcides?” He asked seriously, although he was convinced it wasn’t them. Alcides Guild was a stylish player guild who valued their looks and operated in the highest level of discretion.

Again, the two exchanged glances and they shook their heads as Neo smiled.

“No. This guild’s name is Riddler’s Guise.”

Although the mention of the name made the nearest patrons glance over their shoulders, what made them all look over is the chuckle they heard from Siva.

For one, it looked like a direct insult to the name of the rising guild but in fact it had a rather more profound message. The knotted browed men raised their steins of beers and a loud laugh escaped the twins’ mouth.

“You really are something!” Neo repeatedly patted his shoulder. While Nero held on to his stomach.

“I really like this guy, bro!”

“What? Did I say something funny?”

“Gyahahaha… and he thinks it’s not funny. Hahaha…”

“Haha, listen, Riddler’s Guise is a really funny name the first time you hear it but their strength is no joking matter. Hearing you laugh at them is like a song to our ears since as fellow adventurers, their flashy selfish playing style is infuriating.”

“More infuriating than that Destroyer!”

“Hmm! In fact, they’re beginning to be feared as much as the Alcides Guild, only their difference is that they are more open that the Alcides.”

“How?”

“How? Well, for one, how do you think the world got to know of them? The internet, boy, the internet!”

“I see.”

“You see? Hmm, and I suppose you’re strong as well as you wouldn’t be here if you’re not. This place isn’t one for the weaklings.”

“Oh, bro, he’s one alright. My belly’s tingling.”

Siva glanced over at Nero in wonder what the reference to his belly is for. But he gave after a second and he just looked down on the front of his table’s side.

After a moment more of pondering over it, Siva looked back at Neo and into the topic of his pure interest.

“I wonder what’s their real connection to the discovery of this system to get access to rare quests and missions is? You said so, right?”

“Bah! What of course, it’s strength! The stronger you are in battle, the more appealing you are to the quest NPCs. And they clearly proved it with their videos!”

The last part did interests him.

Siva remained silent as he let Neo drink his ale with his bro. He pondered over the facts he heard and referenced it to himself, measuring, calculating, thinking of ways to exploit this new discovery.

So the reason he was able to access those missions is because of his massive number of kills and the fact that he hunted down five rare monsters already.

But if that’s the case, then perhaps it really is a sense of luck. It may not even be too farfetched that there are others more who had discovered that B-ranked mission in Hagonoy but just doesn’t have the qualification to gain the trust of the Eclaires.

He then remembered what the dying man had said to him. He reminded the old man of his old master.

Proof of strength, Siva remembered.

If including those even rarer monsters he killed during the coliseum battle in that S-rank mission, then all the more the reason that the Chalice of the Blood Dragon God’s quest was triggered the moment he took it.

Or it may even be just a system prompt, right after he won the duel, the quest must begin immediately.

No matter what it is, he doesn’t know.

He wasn’t sure.

What he’s sure, however, is that he learned something valuable today. But then again, there was something that was bothering him.

There are others more qualified in terms of strength if it was only about the case to get rare quests.

Volt’s group, for example, are pioneers.

They certainly have more kill counts than him because of those one and a half year of career time difference. If this is the fact, then there’s the third rule to get an even rarer mission such as an S-rank one. One proof of it is the Dragon’s intervention in the fight in Hagonoy.

“No, I think there’s a third prerequisite to getting rare quests and missions.” The two men stopped drinking and they put their mugs down to lean closer at Siva.

“Come on,” Nero prompted as his face grew curious.

Siva noticed the ears around them but he had no plans to keep this information a secret from them. After all, what he’s going to say needs not only courage and guts to accomplish, it also needs one’s own confidence to his own skills.

So he said it with as much seriousness to his voice in the dark veil of his grey cloak as possible.

“Perhaps there’s a third reason why The Destroyer was able to get rare missions to himself.”

The twins looked dumbfounded.

“Unique Ability.” He said and the two nodded in their understanding. “It might also be that H-ranked missions requires a ticket as rare as a Unique Ability to be unlocked.”

But of course, Siva thought to himself, this is still a theory and the only way to prove it is experiment on the results of the things that will happen from now.

So a dark plan sprouts in his head and he plans to use this two’s reactions to know if his doubts are true.

After all, this place doesn’t entertain weaklings.

…and the twin’s battle hungry attitude is something he’d already solved in day one with a mirror.