Nitish looked toward the guard and asked politely,"Is something wrong, sir? Is there a problem?"
"No, sir. It's just that the Mayor has requested your presence. I thought you might want to meet him once," the guard captain replied respectfully.
Hearing the Mayor's name, Nitish's eyes widened. He clearly remembered—it was the Mayor's son whom he had killed. Then why would the Mayor want to see him now? Could it be that he was planning revenge?
"Goodness… who is this man? Why would the Mayor summon him?"
"He must be someone really important."
People had more or less forgotten about Nitish's involvement in that incident with the Mayor's son. It had happened quite a while ago, and no one had even properly noted Nitish's in-game ID back then.
However, as soon as people read Nitish's ID, their expressions turned to shock.
"Wait—this is that same guy! The one from the dungeon!"
"YES! HE'S THAT SMIGHT!"
Now the crowd was visibly stunned. Just how incredible was this person named Smight? First, he cleared that dungeon, and now the Mayor himself had summoned him!
Without saying a word, Nitish began following the guard captain. He wasn't in the mood to argue.
The guards seated him in a horse-drawn carriage and swiftly took him to the town hall, directly to the Mayor's office. Nitish was starting to feel nervous now, and his grip on his sword instinctively tightened.
"Don't be nervous… nothing will go wrong," he told himself silently.
As soon as he entered the Mayor's office, he saw the Mayor sitting calmly in his chair. The Mayor looked at Nitish and smiled warmly, then gestured for him to take a seat.
The Mayor was an elderly man of mature age. His build was slightly heavy, and his face exuded authority and responsibility. In fact, he had a large, white mustache that added to his imposing presence.
"How are you, Smight? Would you like something cold or warm to drink?" the Mayor asked in an extremely polite tone.
Nitish was stunned by the Mayor's tone. He couldn't believe this was the same man whose son he had killed!
"No, no sir, I don't need anything," Nitish replied nervously.
"Oh come now, son—don't be shy. Butler! Bring a fine cup of coffee for Nitish," the Mayor said with a warm laugh.
Nitish was confused by the Mayor's tone. To clear up the confusion, he quickly asked his question.
"Ah… sir, I just wanted to ask—why have you called me here? How can I be of service to you?" Nitish asked, still a little nervous.
"Hahaha! You're asking because you think it's about what happened with my son, right?" the Mayor said with a chuckle. "If that's what's worrying you, then don't stress about it at all. Hamil may have been my son, but he was responsible for his own death. He chose to side with dark forces. In fact, it's shameful that I wasn't even aware of my own son's intentions."
"Then… why did you summon me, sir?"
Just then, the Mayor's butler handed Nitish a cup of coffee, and without hesitation, Nitish began munching on the cookies like he hadn't eaten in days. After all, he had been forging for hours—he was starving.
"To put it plainly, I need your help. A kind of help that only you can provide," the Mayor said directly.
"Help? But with what exactly?"
"You must already know how damaging it's been for my reputation after it came out that Hamil was possessed by a demon. I want to fix that reputation… but I have no idea how! The city council is relentlessly after me—they think I'm just like Hamil. Now you tell me… how can I convince them otherwise?" the Mayor explained, visibly troubled.
"Hmm... is that all? Then the solution is simple—you need to raid and destroy a Dark Soul cult camp in the Valleyside region. That camp worships demons too. If you personally lead the charge against it, it will prove once and for all that you have no allegiance to demonic forces," Nitish suggested, his mouth still full of cookies.
Honestly, why are chocolate cookies this good?
The moment Nitish shared his plan, the Mayor sprang to his feet in excitement!
"I knew it! I just knew you'd have an idea—and look at that, you figured it out in seconds!" Overjoyed, the Mayor opened a cupboard and pulled out more cookies for Nitish.
"Here you go, son—have some more!"
Nitish eagerly accepted the extra cookies without hesitation.
"Now listen, son—how about you lead this mission? I'll even give you a reward! And trust me, you won't be disappointed. I promise!" the Mayor said, locking eyes with Nitish.
"I can do it… but it'll take a little time. I'm currently busy, and to be honest, I'm not strong enough yet. Once I'm ready, I'll take care of it for you. Deal?" Nitish replied with a confident smile.
"Of course, deal! Once you're ready, just come see me here in my office," the Mayor said, placing a reassuring hand on Nitish's shoulder.
With that, Nitish stepped out of the Mayor's office. After all, he had his own matters to attend to.
He wandered through the market, surveying the current situation. Most players were still buying and selling common-rank weapons, although a few had begun to carry bronze-rank gear.
Nitish was pleased to see that bronze-rank weapons were still in decent demand.
"Hmm, I guess it's time to go meet Aaryan and the others. Let's see what they've been up to without me," Nitish muttered to himself as he quickly headed toward the place where Aaryan and the rest of the group were waiting.
Just as he stepped outside the town gates, a group of players suddenly surrounded him.
"Finally! I thought you were hiding like a coward. But look at you—shamelessly walking around out in the open!" From within the crowd, Raging Alpha stepped forward with fury in his eyes.
Everyone else in the outer area was taken aback by the sudden confrontation.
"Oh my god… who's this poor soul who managed to piss off an entire guild?"
"Who knows what he did to make them this angry?"
From the looks of it, people thought Smight didn't stand a chance now.
"Oh, Raging Alpha... I didn't think you'd have the guts to show your face after the beating I gave you last time. So, come on, baby—how would you like to get thrashed today?" Nitish said in a low, taunting voice.
"Hah! You know what I love the most about you?" Raging Alpha sneered. "It's that filthy arrogance of yours. No matter the situation, you always stand tall in your own twisted way. I love it!"
The hatred in Raging Alpha's eyes toward Nitish was painfully obvious.
"But tell me… how exactly do you plan to fight me now? We're forty strong—every one of us a professional-level player! And you? You're just a lowly insect! You think you can take us down?" Raging Alpha laughed mockingly and raised his hand in signal.
Around fifteen mages launched a devastating fireball attack at Nitish all at once—a strike so powerful, it could have seriously injured even a dungeon boss like Stuart.
"Goruden Healing—activate," Nitish muttered, triggering the skill embedded in his breastplate. He also activated his Defensive Blade technique.
Out of all fifteen fireballs, only about six managed to hit him—and even then, Nitish remained standing.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Raging Alpha was losing it. He had waited so long for this moment—for the chance to catch Nitish alone, outside the safety of town. And now, even after such a brutal attack, Nitish still wasn't down.
Furious, all forty players charged toward Nitish in a full-on assault—but suddenly, a voice rang out:
"STOP!"
"WHO THE HELL THINKS THEY CAN STOP US FROM FINISHING THIS?!" Raging Alpha roared, turning sharply in the direction of the voice.
His men also turned their attention toward the source. But the moment they saw who had spoken… every single face in the crowd went pale.
"Killshot?" The name echoed in everyone's minds like a thunderclap.
Killshot stood there, flanked by his own men, dagger already drawn. He was staring directly at Raging Alpha—with such intensity that Raging Alpha felt his stomach churn.
"Don't even think about laying a hand on Smight. He's my friend!" Killshot shouted, issuing one final warning to everyone present.
"THIS IDIOT… IS KILLSHOT'S FRIEND?!" That was the only thought racing through Raging Alpha's mind now. His hatred for Smight was boiling over.
"Killshot, you don't know what this guy did to me! He humiliated me and disgraced my entire guild!" Raging Alpha growled through clenched teeth. "I have to settle the score today!"
"Revenge?" Killshot tilted his head and pointed his dagger straight at Raging Alpha. "I already told you—anyone who even thinks of laying a finger on Smight will be considered a direct enemy of the Assassin Creed guild."
Everyone present was stunned. Killshot was a well-known figure in the game world, and seeing him openly side with Smight made people question everything. If Killshot was protecting him, that meant Smight wasn't just some average player. But then… why had they never heard of someone so powerful until now?
Raging Alpha's expression darkened. His jaw tightened, and his pride took a massive hit. To make matters worse, Red Wolf, another assassin from his team, tugged at his arm, trying to pull him aside.
Red Wolf understood the situation well. As an assassin himself, he knew exactly how dangerous Killshot was. If Killshot wanted to, he could easily take out six or seven players alone—and that too, brutally.
Raging Alpha listened to Red Wolf's advice. Grinding his teeth in frustration, he finally muttered,"Fine, Killshot. We're leaving."
His eyes were still filled with rage, but he had grasped the situation. He signaled his team to back off.
"Much appreciated," Killshot said calmly.
As Raging Alpha left with his people, Killshot walked up to Nitish and grinned.
"Didn't expect you to cause this much attention, man! What the hell did you do to those guys?"
"Nothing much, bro. They're just obsessed with me—think of them as my overly passionate fans." Nitish smiled back. "Anyway, thanks for the help."
"Help? I wasn't helping you—I was saving them from you!" Killshot chuckled.
Nitish laughed too.
"Wow. And here I thought you actually cared about me."
"Nope. Not one bit," Killshot replied with a smirk. "By the way, what's up with your armor? You took that much damage and still your health's back to full? Don't lie to me—that's definitely not bronze-grade, is it?"
Killshot narrowed his eyes, staring directly at Nitish's armor.
"Well, to tell you the truth… no, this armor isn't bronze," Nitish said with a mischievous grin.
"But hey—if you like this kind of breastplate so much, I can make one for you. But, not for free," he added with a smirk.
"Seriously? You've got more of these?" Killshot was genuinely surprised.
"Yeah, but they're not Iron-rank. Just bronze. And you can't tell anyone about them," Nitish whispered discreetly.
"DEAL, BRO! You have no idea how badly my knights and damage-tankers need something like this. Just name your price!" Killshot grinned from ear to ear.
"The crafting cost is zero… but you'll have to give me 1.5 times the required materials—plus a few other items I need," Nitish replied coolly.
He didn't want coins from Killshot—what he needed was more material so he could craft additional pieces.
"Really? No coins? Man, you're a legend! What a friend," Killshot said, flashing a wide smile as he shook Nitish's hand.
"Have the materials delivered by tomorrow morning. I'll connect directly through the town hall and craft as many breastplates as I can in one day," Nitish said. With that, he turned around and began walking away.
Unbeknownst to him, this entire exchange had already spread like wildfire across Pink Blossom Town. Smight had become the talk of the town—everyone knew his name now.
"Bro, did you hear about that guy Smight? I heard he made Raging Alpha and his forty men run away by himself!"
"Isn't he the same Smight who was the first to clear a hell-mode dungeon?"
"You two don't know anything! I heard it wasn't forty—it was four hundred! Raging Alpha brought four hundred men! And Smight didn't even flinch. I heard over 150 mages attacked him at once, and he didn't get a single scratch! And get this—he's apparently eight feet tall!"
And so the rumors continued to spread, growing wilder with every retelling. Smight had officially become a hot topic across the entire town.