“Shit,” Scribe Ein says, watching from behind cover as Bright-Solemn retreats with a squeaky cry back into the passage. “I missed.”

5L4Y, also behind cover and with the crimson power of the Dragon Scythe in hand, peeks over the outcropping of the alter he’s using as protection. “So who are these guys, exactly?”

Ein chuckles. “Recall that you’re a special PvP class tasked with suppressing game progression, he is a special PvE class, super-powered for finishing all the raids in record time.”

Clark squints an eye, now glowing with the same red as the dragon scythe as the weapon surges him with power. “Well the game came out today, so how far could they be?”

Ein calmly leans out of cover as he readies himself for his next shot. “The Dragon Scythe is a unique one-per-realm weapon that’s required for the last boss. These guys had to get through eighty percent of Aydoss' raids to get here.”

Clark hisses in a mix of disgust and envy. “Some people really have no lives. How could they have done it this fast though?”

“Unique class, like I said. The other untargetable is also a developer, so you need to use your non-target skills to damage him, or your realfeel collision.”

There’s short pause as the two wait for their targets to make an appearance.

“So, as long as we keep the scythe away from them, they can’t progress in the server-wide events you told me about?”

Ein nods. “If they get the scythe they’ll kill the first legion boss.”

“Whoa, legions are those three hundred player raids?”

“Yeah. If they succeed the world tree will grow and open up the second echelon.”

“Wh- Wait, so there’s multiple worlds?”

“Right. Aydoss has seven continents, Aygant has five, and Ayon has three. Each one has a… They’re moving. Get ready,” Ein says, pressing lightly into his trigger as his scanners pick up movement.

In a flash, a midnight-black cloak connects through the air from one point to the next in a nigh-instantaneous flourish of speed. Ein opens fire on the hooded Kell and Bright-Solemn, which is already blinking to attack.

“Go, Midnighter! I’ve got this one!” Ein shouts as he opens fire on the shockingly fast Kell, dashing through the room in mid-air evasion.

“On it!” Clark dashes from cover and to the tunnel, the thin outline of a blond-haired lad in view.

In but just a second and gamer fueled prowess Clark sizes up his opponent. Unlike most MMOs where an avatar's face is a soulless embodiment of the player, Hero looks just as real as one of Clark's bullies at school.

He does not mind the extra immersion.

With a visceral forward slash, Clark scarcely misses Hero, who barrels to the side.

"So you must be one of the Dragon servants," The blond haired lad asks as he readies for fast movement.

"Role-playing a little hard, aren’t we?" Clark says, grinning viciously as he rears in for another strike.

Without focusing on the other two Clark in hero exchange fast, fatally-quick blows, but Hero is faster. Making good use of his hysterical levels of dexterity, Hero throws forward his fist, barely scraping across Clark's backside. While in most cases it would be a glancing blow, because of Hero’s immense strength and speed, it slams Clark into a spin, flying through the air and into the wall nearby. The assassin takes nearly 20,000 damage, cutting a heavy tenth from his now-gargantuan HP total.

As [dazed] pops over Clark’s head, Hero leaps in for the kill. Clark can feel the immense draw of air from the sheer force of Hero’s fist rearing back for the punch.

"Meet your end, evildoer!" Hero exclaims with a tone of immaculate righteousness.

Even though his vision is wavy, Clark can still see enough to focus his target. He smiles.

"The only one logging out today is you, friend!" Clark screams with a grin as he activates smoke bomb.

While smoke bomb would get most players off his tail, Hero as far, far more intuition than most. Hero doesn't miss a beat when he again barrels to the side and lands alert and ready for Clark's approach.

Clark readies the Dragon Scythe, the weapon’s spirit shaking Clark to his very core with mad fantasies of ultraviolence and glory through combat. Clark pops off ambush and teleports behind hero.

"Pssh... nothing personal, kid," Clark says, for a moment thinking that such was a cool thing to say before killing someone. To his great surprise Hero is just a little more spry than the average human with common reflexes. Clark only realizes too late that he teleported right into Hero’s extending leg, jutted out purposefully to catch Clark at the onset.

"What the hell!?" Clark gurgles as he spits up some blood from the strike. If his stats weren't multiplied to freakish proportions, Clark would have been utterly shattered by the strike.

"I'm far too keen to be bested by your magic tricks, boy-knave," Hero says as he turns around and lifts his leg for another powerful blow.

Clark's not done, far from it; however he's got got to think of something faster than his opponent, and his opponents sickeningly fast.

In the slight lull of combat, Clark inspects Hero and brings up his character sheet. Hero has stats comparable to an entire top-tier dungeon party, combined. What's even weirder is that his stats are increasing in real time, as if he has a million stat points unspent. Perhaps even stranger though, is that this person has no class to speak of except for the generic beginner. Clark mulls on what that could mean for a moment, and realizes there's one technique that hero couldn't possibly counter.