Tang Ron had just finished his late lunch. It was almost five when he returned to the café. When he asked for an available seat, Little Tang recommended one on the first floor in Area A. There were only a few people around, and since Ron didn't mind the place, he never considered that she might have arranged it deliberately.
For now, his goal was simple: assassinate a player from Glory's Tenth Server named Thousand Creation. He was an ace player from the famous Blue Brook Guild, known for stealing kills and annoying other players.
The client clearly had bad blood with Thousand Creation but couldn't deal with him personally. There were many possible reasons—perhaps they lacked the skill to take him down, or guild restrictions prevented internal conflicts. Either way, that's where the mercenary came in.
Ron logged into his Tenth Server account and searched for the player name Thousand Creation. He had already reached level 20 and chosen the Battle Mage class.
That could be troublesome since Battle Mages could buff their attacks with magic—Chasers—and had plenty of crowd control skills early on, like Sky Strike and Falling Flower Palm. Fighting them head-on wasn't ideal.
But Ron knew his business. With his opponent's class and level in mind, finding and assassinating him wouldn't be hard. The first thing he did was check for achievements and records: first boss kills and dungeon clears. If Thousand Creation was one of Blue Brook's aces, he'd likely join boss raids and dungeon runs. But since his name wasn't listed in those records, it meant he was either a reserve player or someone who preferred soloing.
As for his location, that wouldn't be difficult to guess. He was probably leveling in the Bone Yard.
Players were always focused on efficiency. As a reserve player, Thousand Creation had to keep his level up in case he was needed. The guild was probably preparing for the Bone Yard boss next—interesting. Since that area was nearby, Ron skipped the Frost Forest and Graveyard and headed straight to the Bone Yard.
By coincidence, Lord Grim was also clearing the Bone Yard. Few players were there—only the experts could handle level suppression, and only a handful had reached the required level. Ye Xiu casually guided Lord Grim through the area, killing monsters efficiently. He took short breaks only to recover mana; as for his health, he could avoid every attack flawlessly, so that wasn't a problem.
While resting, someone noticed Lord Grim—it was Ron's target, Thousand Creation. He watched Ye Xiu closely, planning to steal his kill and later use "comparing notes" as an excuse. But since Ye Xiu was still recovering, he decided to wait.
Little did he know, Ye Xiu had already noticed him but didn't care. He only wanted to level up. Meanwhile, Thousand Creation was also being watched—from behind—by Tang Ron.
When Ye Xiu had recovered enough, he approached an idle monster. But before he could attack, Thousand Creation used Sky Strike, knocking the monster away from him.
"...Senseless," Ye Xiu thought. There weren't many players around—there was no logical reason to steal kills. This was just attention-seeking and showing off.
M
No wonder someone had hired a mercenary to kill this guy. He was talented but obnoxious.
M
Thousand Creation activated his only available Neutral Chaser. Battle Mages had five Chasers, each lasting thirty seconds as a temporary buff. Depending on the level, they could even increase movement speed.
After knocking the monster up, he followed with Dragon Tooth.
Ye Xiu sighed. "What a show-off." He didn't expect to run into such a player. Thousand Creation then stood still, clearly mocking him. When Ye Xiu tried to leave, the man spoke.
"Are you Lord Grim?
"Yeah, and you are? Ye Xiu replied. He wasn't surprised—he didn't know who this was. But to confirm, he checked his friend list, just in case it was someone from the café.
"I heard you're quite good. Want to compare notes? " Thousand Creation asked.
Ye Xiu ignored him, not seeing the name on his list. He simply turned his back and walked away.
"Hey, don't leave! "He shouted, but the monster he had aggroed earlier returned to attack him.
At the same time, Tang Ron's character, No Name 2, rushed in from behind and struck Thousand Creation's blind spot with Triple Slash, followed by Double Stab, Leaf Strike, and Side Kick, knocking him toward the monster.
Ye Xiu turned back just in time to see a familiar name appear on the screen.
"Oh? It's you! " he said.
"Yeah, nice seeing you, Lord Grim," Ron replied through chat. Despite maintaining a complex combo, he still managed to type—his APM was ridiculous.
Thousand Creation, still under crowd control, was pushed perfectly into the monster's attack range. The monster's high-level slash took a huge chunk of his HP, leaving him desperate. He gritted his teeth—he only wanted to duel Lord Grim. Who was this guy interfering?
"Just wait! Once I'm done, I'll finish you off! "He cursed as he prepared to recover.
But no one cared.
Ron anticipated his actions before he could trigger Quick Recover. Ron uses Heart Thrust, followed by Cut Throat and Face Slap, finishing him off cleanly.
Ron's timing was perfect—each skill triggered additional effects like armor reduction and bleed. The Face Slap skill in the end wasn't necessary but still dealt damage.
Seeing his character die, Thousand Creation slammed his keyboard.
"Fuck! "He screamed.
His death meant losing experience points—bad timing before a guild boss run.
"Damn it! I'll pay you back for this! "He growled before reviving.
Ye Xiu approached. "That was an impressive assassination, but was Face Slap really necessary?
"Thanks for the compliment," Ron replied. "The client asked me to humiliate and kill him."
"I see…" Ye Xiu nodded. The mention of a *client* explained everything—someone Thousand Creation offended had simply hired help.
"Did you visit this server just for him? Ye Xiu asked, amused. It was rare for someone from the Heavenly Domain to enter the Tenth Server just for an assassination.
"Not really," Ron said. "I'm also here to test my new silver weapon. Killing him was just a side quest."
"Oh? Another silver weapon, huh… how enviable," Ye Xiu said. His Thousand Chance Umbrella was only level 15, while Ron's silver weapon had already reached level 20. Where did he even get the materials? From a guild? Unlikely. Maybe he was the son of Glory's creator.
"I got a tip that the Blood Gunner, Yagg, is being targeted by several guilds. Want to check it out? Ron asked.
"A wild boss? "Ye Xiu muttered. He knew the boss well—and it dropped the material he needed for his weapon upgrade. "Are you planning to steal it? Quite ambitious."
"Not really. I got a task earlier to assist in killing it, but I'm not interested. It doesn't drop what I need," Ron explained.
"I see... Still, I'm tempted," Ye Xiu said.
"Alright, let's head to these coordinates." Ron shared the location. It wasn't private—many players already knew about it. Ye Xiu just didn't have a wide network yet.