-70
The Warrior stared, dumbfounded. His attacks, even against a fully buffed Knight, should have dealt at least 300 damage. How, then, had his mighty axe only inflicted a paltry 70 points of damage on this Knight wearing a rabbit mask?
"Bullshit. I've been grinding for too long. My eyes are playing tricks on me," the Warrior, whose in-game name was KillKillKill, muttered, shaking his head.
A system notification chimed in Marcus's ear: Stonehaven, you have been attacked by the Warrior KillKillKill. You are now permitted to retaliate.
'So you want to PK me?' Marcus thought. 'Guess you picked a fight with the wrong guy.'
He turned and unleashed a single strike at the Warrior.
-1150
With a critical hit, the Warrior KillKillKill, who had barely 700 health, saw his life bar instantly bottom out. He was one-shot.
"No way. There's no way," KillKillKill insisted after resurrecting in Dragon's Peak Citadel. He stared at his hands, then his axe, utterly bewildered. "What the hell even hit me?"
'Wow, I'm even stronger than I thought.' Marcus was genuinely surprised. Fortunately, the surrounding players were too engrossed in their own battles to notice his freakish power.
'What a complete mess,' Marcus mused, watching the chaotic melee. He activated a Town Portal Scroll and warped back to the Dragon's Peak Citadel Plaza.
He was blissfully unaware that the massive, multi-player brawl had been his fault entirely, triggered by his theft of the Dark Violet Sky Dragon pet egg, which had drawn the wrath of the Double-Headed Raven King.
He was the culprit.
"Lord Drake, I'm back."
"Stonehaven. Tell me, what did you find in Red River Village?"
Marcus relayed the intelligence he had received from Ethan Bright, the reconnaissance team captain, exactly as he had heard it.
With the Double-Headed Raven King driven off by the Five-Clawed Divine Dragon, Marcus felt safe. The Dark Violet Sky Dragon pet egg was secure, and he was relieved. He had come to Lord Drake, the Citadel's governor, to report and complete his quest.
"The Demon Lord is preparing to unseal the Beast Chieftain? And they have the Glacier-Blue Crystal Sword? Andreas's legendary blade? Our intelligence networks are failing us. This is a catastrophic oversight."
Lord Drake's brow furrowed with concern upon hearing the news.
"If this awakening succeeds, it will be the end of the Alliance. I must take this to the King's council immediately. This cannot be ignored."
After a moment of grim silence, Lord Drake turned to Marcus.
"Stonehaven, you've done a great service for the Citadel. I must dispatch reinforcements to Pegasus Citadel at once. If the Demon Lord secures the Blazing Brand and unleashes the Beast Chieftain, all is lost."
"But for you," Lord Drake continued, "such vital information deserves a proper reward."
Finally! Marcus thought, a wave of relief and excitement washing over him. This is the whole point. Don't let me down now.
"Stonehaven, your potential is undeniable. To better serve the kingdom, I can offer you a promotion to the Royal Knights. It is an advanced order, and the path will be difficult, but I believe you are worthy."
"Ding! Stonehaven, Lord Leon Drake of Dragon's Peak Citadel wishes to promote you to Royal Knight, one of the advanced Knight classes. Do you accept?"
"Accept."
An advanced class was certainly better than a basic Knight. He accepted without hesitation.
"Ding! Congratulations to player Stonehaven for successfully changing to the Hidden Class: Royal Knight! Attack increased by 200, Defense increased by 200, Health increased by 500."
"Ding! Congratulations to player Stonehaven for successfully changing to the Hidden Class: Royal Knight! Base attributes have changed: Strength increased by 10, Constitution increased by 10. The basic Knight skills, One-Handed Mastery and Shield Mastery, have been upgraded."
'This is insane!' The attribute boost was a world away from the paltry gains of the basic Knight class. Compared to this, the Knight class felt utterly useless.
"Ding! Congratulations to player Stonehaven for completing the Unique Quest: Red River Village Investigation. Reputation increased by 50, Gold Coins increased by 5,000."
The system continued to shower him with rewards. He was ecstatic.
One-Handed Mastery: Level 1 (0/3000). Basic Knight Skill. Passive. Increases the Knight's proficiency with one-handed weapons. Attack increased by 10% when using a one-handed weapon.
Shield Mastery: Level 1 (0/3000). Basic Knight Skill. Passive. Increases the Knight's defensive capabilities. Defense increased by 10% when using a shield.
"Hey, check the leaderboards! The top spot just changed classes! Royal Knight! Is that a Hidden Class?"
No sooner had Marcus completed the promotion than a loud voice boomed out, causing players to scramble to open their leaderboards.
Top Ten Experts Leaderboard:
1. Level 28, Male, Name Hidden, Royal Knight
Reputation Leaderboard:
1. Reputation: 3520, Name Hidden, Royal Knight
"The number one player is a monster! I'm not even mad, I'm impressed."
"Are you kidding me? How does that guy get all the luck?"
Admiration and curses followed in quick succession. The commotion finally drew the attention of the players still fighting near the crater.
The hundred-plus pieces of epic gear dropped by the Dark Sorcerers had long since been despawned by the system, yet the players were still locked in a brutal PvP war.
'They just don't know when to quit,' Marcus thought. "What are you all even fighting for anymore? Go find a Hidden Class! The longer you wait, the lower your chances!"
Finally, the players began to disperse.
Marcus, oblivious to the stir he had caused, left the Governor's office. Feeling celebratory, he decided to treat himself to a drink at a tavern.
"Stone!"
Who was calling him?
He turned to see SoulSync and his older brother, SoulfireBlade. Only a handful knew his in-game name.
"Come on, let's grab a drink!" SoulSync, ever the generous friend, pulled him toward the tavern.
'Well, there goes my plan to buy my own drink,' Marcus thought with an inward smile.
"Stone, where did you disappear to? I lost you in the crowd."
"Oh, things were getting out of hand, so I portaled back. What's the situation now?"
"It was a total bloodbath for a while. Then the news about the number one player hit, and everyone just... lost interest and scattered."
"Oh..."
"I'd kill to know who actually stole that dragon egg. Not only did they score a divine pet, but they started a server-wide riot. The forums are going absolutely insane right now," SoulSync continued.
"No kidding," Marcus replied, keeping his tone even.
'I can't believe I'm that powerful.' He had caused the fight and then ended it with a single class change notification. It was almost unbelievable.
SoulSync watched Marcus closely, trying to gauge his reaction, hoping to confirm his suspicion that Marcus was the mysterious number one player. But Marcus's expression remained neutral, and the rabbit mask obscured half his face, making it impossible to read him.
'It's you, isn't it, Stone?' SoulSync wondered silently.
After a brief chat, Marcus made an excuse to leave the Soulfire brothers and logged off to check the forums.
'Holy cow!'
The forums were indeed on fire. All ten of the top trending topics were related to the incident. He skimmed the top few:
Who is the Ghost? The player who made the Double-Headed Raven King lose its mind.
MUST WATCH — The full, uncut battle for the Divine Beast in Dragon's Peak!
Pet Leaderboard Shakeup Incoming — So, who has the egg?
A Test of Greed; What would YOU do facing a field of epic loot?
Poll: Five-Clawed Divine Dragon vs. Double-Headed Raven King, Who's the cooler boss?
My Biggest 'Dominion' Regret; Logging off before the invasion.
To the Egg-Thief: Name Your Price. Serious Gold Offer. DM me.
Flipping through the posts, he found mostly gossip and speculation, entertaining but lacking substance. However, one article caught his eye with its depth: An Analysis of the Impact of the First Great War in 'Dominion' on the Current Situation and Future Development.