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nekodog>: yo check out the top player global rn

Killer072498>: bro the hell? rogue with a merchant subclass? how tf did he even reach top 10?

Killer072498>: WTH??? not only is his level maxed out, but his balance is twicr the amount of the 2nd richest player...

Mechmeinster> He's 100% a multi-boxer... There's no other way...

Killer072498>: twice*

PrincessTinaXOXO>: dont be impressed

PrincessTianaXOXO>: last week he scammed me out of 120k gold >.

nekodog>: fr????

Killer072498>: yooo thats not even funny

Mechmeinster> What a scumbag. Players like him ruin Battleshift's community. Sad that he has the number one spot.

nekodog>: yea ikr

nekodog>: ppl like him only care abt gold, not abt other players

Killer072498>: also what kind of a name is lorenzo?????? sounds like a shampoo brand lmao

nekodog>: LOL

Mechmeinster>: Haha... well said...

Mechmeinster>: His guild is also quite abhorrent. TradingJacks? I've heard of their scummy practices. Nothing but a bunch of goons.

Killer072498>: YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

nekodog>: ?

Mechmeinster> What's wrong?

Killer072498>: his guild just put a 2k gold bounty on me WTFFFFFFFFF

nekodog>: omg

Mechmeinster> You've got to be kidding...

nekodog>: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

nekodog>: I just got a bounty on my head for 2k!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(

Mechmeinster> As did I...

Mechmeinster> It appears as though his comrades have been listening to our... little conversation...

Killer072498>: im done with this game

Killer072498>: just got pk'd by someone

Killer072498>: istg

nekodog>: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

nekodog>: I WAS CARRYING AROUND MY UNCOMMON WEAP FFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mechmeinster> Jesus... thank god I'm in spawn. Though... if I ever left I'd probably die...

Killer072498>: imma head out now

nekodog>: yea me too

Killer072498>: battleshit has the worst community istg

Mechmeinster> Indeed. Little point in staying now. I'll log out as well.

Killer072498>: cya

nekodog>: bye dude

[System] Killer072498 has disconnected.

Mechmeinster> Au revoir..!

[System] nekodog has disconnected.

[System] Mechmeinster has disconnected.

---

I let out a deep sigh.

Sat on a computer chair, I pushed myself away from my desk towards the other side of my poky apartment room.

The place was cheap but definitely too cramped for my liking.

Cube-shaped and roughly a foot and a half wide. Walking inside was pointless when I had a mobile chair.

Opposite to my working space was a small kitchen—though, in reality, it served as a beer storage. I hadn't even touched the gas stove.

I rolled my way over to the mini-fridge at the corner of the room and opened it, enjoying the subtle chill that radiated from the inside.

My eyes were still fuzzy from pulling an all-nighter and the lights were off.

I stumbled in the darkness, guided only by the radiance from the monitor. Finally, I grabbed hold of that familiar cold cylinder.

I rarely drank, but today I felt particularly melancholic. Cracking open the can, I swiveled back to the PC monitor on the other side of the room.

「Lorenzo huh..?」

As I took a sip of cheap beer and leaned back on my chair, I silently pondered to myself.

「I'm the highest-ranking player globally in Battleshift and yet...」

I briefly looked around to see a pigsty.

Empty beer cans, a stack of takeout boxes, and dirty newspapers. It didn't exactly exude the wealth and eminence I possessed in the virtual world.

Though, to be fair, I was only a 22-year-old college student—majoring in economics no less. I wasn't exactly versed in the art of housekeeping.

The light emanating from the computer screen bathed the room in a faint yellow tint. It was a color I was used to.

Seeing that warm glow from the LCD had always filled me with comfort, but for some reason, today it filled me with existential dread.

「What am I doing with my life?」

I thought to myself out loud. It's a question many ask themselves.

Yet in my case, it was a completely necessary reality check.

Ever since I became the top player, my days only consisted of making more virtual money and posting bounties on players who badmouthed me.

I had pretty much become the unofficial main antagonist of the game. A role that was further solidified by my half-assed attempts at roleplay.

Community forums would frequently refer to me as the "bona fide villain" of Battleshift—as though I were a living cliché that had stumbled into the game world.

Five years into my stardom and I inevitably begin asking myself that same old question:

What am I doing with my life?

Graduation was just around the corner and I was already casting around for jobs. My carefree days in Battleshift were reaching their final chapter.

Yet here I was, still whiling my time away in this fantasy world I'd already conquered. To think in a few weeks, I would be saying goodbye to it...

The emotions welled up with every gulp of beer I took.

It was probably why I decided to go for another can.

And another can.

And another.

Until finally, I emptied the fridge.

A few hours had passed—nary a single bottle of water in sight.

「I'm... gonna hurl...」

I lay flat on the ground having finished more than a dozen cans of booze and on the verge of vomiting.

I couldn't even recall when I fell off my chair.

The cold wooden ground felt nice on my cheeks. Nothing else mattered anymore.

I was just about to pass out until suddenly...

Knock, knock, knock!

「Pizza delivery!」

「Hn..? Pizza..?」

I didn't remember ordering any pizza. Then again, I couldn't remember a great deal of things. Being an inebriated mess tended to leave holes in your memory.

「Mr. Lorenzo? Your pizza's here!」

Upon hearing that name I instinctively flinched. Even three flags to the wind, I knew hearing my in-game name in real life was a bad sign.

「H-how do you know my name..?」

I clumsily got up only to be hit with a terrible headache—a horrible ringing pain situated in both my temples.

It was hard to hear whatever the man was saying.

「That's the name you used during the order, sir. You can check the receipt if you're unsure.」

I stabilized my footing by holding onto my computer chair. I was simultaneously drunk and hungover.

An awful combination to behold.

Using the chair as a walker, I lumbered through my narrow entranceway.

My sense of balance was a bit off, but I could still manage myself as I reached the door.

「S-sorry... um... when did I order this pizza..?」

I looked through the peephole and was met with a normal-looking pizza boy.

Strangely enough, he wasn't holding any pizza, but the uniform was enough to convince me he wasn't otherwise.

Although perhaps my sense of judgment was slightly hampered by my intoxication.

「You ordered a couple of hours ago, using the name Lorenzo. Large pepperoni supreme, extra cheese.」

「Two hours ago...」

I quietly leaned against the door.

Two hours ago was around the time I blacked out. The timing checked out, but the order still made no sense.

Why would I use my in-game name instead of my real one? Why would I order a large pizza for myself?

And why the hell would I order extra cheese? I was lactose intolerant!

I saw little point in arguing with myself though. Why would a pizza boy lie in the first place?

Taking a step back from the front door, I took a deep breath. My headache grew worse the more I thought about it, so I simply chose not to question it.

「Alright, hold your horses... I'm coming...」

I unlocked the door and clenched the doorknob tight—as if to brace myself for what was to come.

Of course, I had no way of knowing.

I slowly pulled the door open and...

Schlink!

The sound of flesh getting skewered vibrated through my whole body.

It was a strange sensation—as though a shockwave rattled my bones to the core.

It then occurred to me.

I looked down and witnessed my plain white t-shirt slowly being consumed by a moist crimson red.

At the center of it all—deep inside my abdomen—was a sharp blade. A kitchen knife the length of my forearm.

The hand holding the knife belonged to none other than the pizza boy, who flashed a crazed look of murderous rage.

No... this isn't the pizza boy, it's someone else entirely.

「H-holy shit! I did it! I actually stabbed one of the Seven Stars! Ahahaha—the top dog no less! How do you like that huh?! The Supernova Syndicate sends their regards!」

Catching the guild's name, I came to register what had just transpired.

「Don't take it personally Lorenzo! Your stinking guild owed us a lot of money! Oh man, crossing us was the biggest mistake you've ever made haha!」

「aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!」

He pressed the blade deeper into my gut, eliciting a bloodcurdling scream.

He didn't seem to mind though. The bastard was probably planning to get caught anyways.

His putrid mug contorted in glee—he didn't even try to hide his enjoyment.

「With the death of the Seven Stars, Dark Lord Niro will finally claim the number one spot for himself! Aaah, and I'll be named a martyr for our cause... "Killer of the Accursed Merchant of Battleshift", carved into my gravestone hahahaha!」

An otherwise cringe-worthy line sent chills down my spine. It was then that I knew, I was a goner.

I was losing a lot of blood fast, and no one was coming to help. Gradually, my eyes closed as the damp warmth from the bleeding rapidly faded.

In a single blink, I found myself on the ground, laying back in a pool of my own blood.

The killer's muffled cackles pierced my ears as my consciousness faded away—only a biting cold remained.

No drama, a few petty theatrics, and not even a chance to say my last words.

That was how I—Lorenzo—champion of Battleshift, perished to a knife wound.

Killed by a nameless figure; one of many who begrudged me my endless wealth.

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