Without loitering around, Livinius departed the village.
With his pocket empty, even the worst mount was far out of reach. Which meant his journey would be painfully slow.
After several hours of suffering, he decided to rest beside a fallen tree.
Under the bright sun, the rolling landscape stretched wide and wild, its grass, weeds, and flowers rippling in the breeze—a sight that brought a strange sense of calm.
Once I crest that ridge, I should be able to see Terrera Woods.
Livinius noticed a few distant specks appearing. It didn't take long for them to reveal themselves as four riders following the narrow path.
They each had blue name tags, clearly identifying them as online players.
Did they notice me?
Livinius furrowed his brows slightly as he realized they were heading straight toward him.
----
----
----
After drawing a circle around him, the four riders stopped and dismounted from their horses.
"A half-elf NPC? This is the first time I've seen one in this land since I started playing," Yeriff muttered.
An Elf Minstrel? I need to be careful. If things get ugly, I'll have to take her out first—otherwise, with her healing, taking down the others would be nearly impossible.
Livinius glanced at the miniature harp in her hand.
"You've only been playing for half a week, idiot!" snarled Stain4u, scratching his tattoo-covered bald head. "But, I thought Elves and Half-Elves especially hated these lands."
The human Paladin, clad in chainmail and wielding a shield, was the most heavily built among them.
"There's no need to overthink it—there are exceptions to everything," Dragonheart said as he spun his axes around his wrists and stepped forward. "But this NPC seems a little off. No mount, no weapon—looks like some loveliest wanderer high on herbs."
Livinius remained silent. He wasn't an NPC, and at first, he feared he might raise suspicion among the players. But then he remembered that in Rings of Alkhen, there was no way to tell an NPC from a real person—at least, he had never been able to tell the difference.
"Why are you here?" Loveroftie looked straight into his eyes.
"I have nothing left here. I'm migrating west," Livinius lied.
In his mind, he was evaluating the potential problems a fight could cause.
Dragonheart was a Berserker. During combat, his Class Trait, [Rampaging Bull], granted him a 10% physical attack bonus for 6 seconds every 1 minute he remained in combat.
With a Minstrel supporting him, he'd become a nightmare to deal with.
"You know, this game doesn't tolerate NPCs, right?" Yeriff scoffed. "Do you think you can pass through the Wasteland Pass?"
As far as I know, NPCs are tend to interact as if they perceive themselves as real individuals. There's some kind of selective perception happening, and they automatically censor the word 'NPC.' I should be careful not to draw attention to myself.
After a brief hesitation, Livinius replied, "I trust my stealth abilities to make it through the Wasteland Pass without drawing attention." He then tried to slip past them, hoping they would leave him alone.
His hope was short-lived.
Livinius caught a glimpse of Yeriff signaling to Loveroftie with a hand gesture.
Realizing he didn't have even a second to spare, he immediately summoned his swords, hoping to catch the attackers off guard. He sent all three swords simultaneously toward Yeriff, Dragonheart, and Loveroftie's heads.
The cold steel whistled through the air, and before Yeriff could react, one of his blades stabbed into her throat, her sapphire eyes wide with shock and horror.
-2359!
Due to the strike hitting a vital area, Yeriff's 850 HP instantly dropped to 0.
The arrogant Minstrel choked as her stocky body began to tremble, and blood gushed from her mouth and nose as she collapsed to the ground. Her bright yellow hair, flowing down to her waist, was stained with her blood.
[You have slain Lv.4 Minstrel Yeriff!]
[You gained 100 EXP!]
[You earned an additional 50 EXP for slaying a player higher than your level!]
Meanwhile, Loveroftie, by sheer luck, managed to escape with only a minor cut on his left cheek from a slash he barely dodged, while Dragonheart parried it with his axes.
As Livinius led his swords back to his side, he glanced at Loveroftie, who had retreated to find a better position, and immediately sent one of his swords toward him.
The Elf Hunter, with his graceful and flexible body, twisted at an awkward angle and executed a somersault in the air, dodging the sword.
That bastard must have poured all his Attribute Points into Agility! Luckily, I finished off the Minstrel right at the start.
Livinius gritted his teeth and shifted his focus from the retreating Hunter to Dragonheart, whose physique was swollen with rage.
The enraged Berserker's skin began to glow fiery red, and he charged like a bull.
Livinius immediately pulled his swords back and aligned them like a shield.
Each strike of Dragonheart's axes landed on Livinius's will like the blow of a hammer on an anvil.
Shit! If this keeps up, I'll lose control of the swords!
Livinius took a few steps back while calling his swords back. They floated menacingly around him before they bolted to the three.
Stain4u raised his shield and blocked the sword. The screeching sound of metal scraping against metal turned into a sharp, thunderous crash.
Dragonheart, instead of dodging the incoming sword, countered aggressively and stopped it with his axes, forcing Livinius to be pushed back by a relentless barrage of strikes.
Loveroftie broke the aim and, with a quick step to the side, narrowly avoided the sword that wanted his head.
Stain4u pushed the sword aside with his shield and leaped toward Livinius, swinging his one-handed mace at his head.
The flying swords formed a trajectory and whirled like a frisbee, slashing the Paladin's raised arm, chest, and legs in the air.
-220
-123
-208
Stain4u lost his balance and collided with Livinius, tumbling several rolls backward.
The Paladin's HP dropped from 1.350 to 772, and his Class Trait, [Whispers of Heaven], activated. As his skin was enveloped in a golden spiritual glow, the Bleed effect on him was removed, and his Physical and Magical Damage Resistance increased by 5%.
Paladins' [Whispers of Heaven] trait is quite unique. Even though the effect removal only occurs once during combat, if the effect's level isn't higher than the Paladin's own, it gets cleansed—whether it's poison, burn, or freeze, just like bleed, thought Livinius, his face set in a serious expression.
Dragonheart lunged forward with great speed, roaring as he swung both axes toward Livinius' head on the ground.
He cursed under his breath and rolled to the side at the last moment. His will had been broken, and he lost control of his swords. He quickly refocused and regained control.
Like a pair of fangs, the swords shot toward the Paladin's neck.
"Shit!" Stain4u roared as he tried to get up and raised his shield.
All three swords slammed into the shield, creating a deafening crash, and the Paladin was knocked sideways by the force of the impact.
As Livinius pushed himself off the ground, a shadow flickered in his vision, followed by a sharp pain in his shoulder.
-60!
HP 550—>490
The arrow had grazed his arm before embedding itself in the ground. After shooting it a glare, Livinius gritted his teeth and pushed himself to his feet.
The flying swords sliced through the air with a sharp maneuver, clashing with the axes of the charging berserker. Whirling swords cleaved through the furious axes, sparks flying as sharp ringing echoes reverberated through the terrain.
With each blow, his will was suppressed, and his control over the flying swords weakened.
Damn it! My willpower isn't limitless; it looks like it's weakening the longer the fight goes on. I need to find a way to finish this before things get worse!
Livinius, feeling every strike on his swords like a knife to his brain, took a deep breath.
With his will, the swords began to trace a narrow circle, spinning around him, forming sharp arcs in the air. As the clashes intensified, the air roared with the sound of metal.
Livinius glanced at Loveroftie, who was aiming at him, before shifting his gaze to Stain4u, who was trying to get back on his feet.
Pulling one of his swords toward himself, Livinius rolled toward the ungainly Paladin trying to stand, catching the flying sword mid-air.
Not so fast with that chainmail, bastard!
He spun his body on the hard ground, delivering a powerful kick to Stain4u's nose and stabbing the sword into his left eye.
-2056
The Paladin's HP instantly dropped to 0, and his body staggered uncontrollably. A flood of blood poured from his left eye, and brain matter splattered into his long red beard.
[You have slain Lv.3 Paladin Stain4u!]
[You gained 75 EXP!]
[You earned an additional 20 EXP for slaying a player higher than your level!]
Loveroftie released the string of his bow. The arrow whizzed through the air, speeding toward Livinius and piercing through his chain vest, sinking into his chest.
-90
HP 490—> 400
[Due to severe bleeding, you will lose 10 HP every minute!]
Livinius' body tensed with the sharp pain as Dragonheart's shadow loomed over him.