King urged his horse forward, the rhythmic gallop steady as the landscape continued to shift around him.
The changes were more pronounced now.
The empty highway and dry grass were gone. A few hours ago, the road was clear; now, it was choked with crumbling stone walls, tall pillars, and thick vines. Deep woods stood where there used to be nothing. The ALLGoDS digital layers were leaking into the real world, dragging a strange new land along with them.
King's eyes scanned the environment carefully.
In his experience, this meant more creatures had entered their world.
Most of them were docile for now. Their triggers hadn't activated yet. They wandered aimlessly, ignoring players unless provoked. But you could interact with them. And if you did, they'd respond.
Usually violently.
King kept his distance, guiding his horse through the center of the highway, keeping his distance from the tree line. He could hear the rustling of leaves faintly in the ditance, something was tracking his movement but not actively pursuing.
King remaind at alert.
"HEEEELLLPPP!"
King's head snapped toward the sound.
A voice called out desperately, cutting through the still air from a cluster of trees to his left.
THUMP!
RoOoOORGHHH!
CRASH!.
Something big had been triggered.
King pulled the reins, slowing his horse to a stop.
"AAARRGHH!"
That was clearly a human voice. He dismounted quickly, tying the reins to a low branch, and moved toward the noise.
As he got closer, the sounds got louder, giant feet hitting the ground, wood snapping, and rough, uneven breathing
And then he saw it.
A 'Rot Troll'.
It was massive, easily six meters tall. Its body was bloated and grotesque, flesh hanging in sagging folds that oozed dark, putrid liquid. Its skin was mottled green and gray, covered in fungal growths and patches of exposed bone. Its arms were disproportionately long, ending in clawed fingers that dragged along the ground as it walked.
And it was relentless
Two players were running, scrambling, really.
One was already badly injured, limping heavily, blood streaming down his leg. The other was ahead of him, glancing back with a mixture of guilt and panic. They were trying to escape, but failing at it.
"I TOLD YOU WE COULDN'T TAKE IT!" the uninjured one shouted, his voice cracking. "YOU SAID YOU FOUGHT ONE BEFORE!"
"I FOUGHT ONE IN THE GAME, YOU IDIOT!" the injured player screamed back.
The Rot Troll lunged.
Its massive fist came down in a devastating downward punch, aiming to crush the injured player into paste.
TUFFFF
King moved in a blur.
His increased speed stat kicked in as he crossed the distance in an instant. It was almost as if the world around him slowed, but in reality, they were all just too slow to notice him.
He circled to the troll's blind spot, staying low and quiet.
And just as the troll's fist began its descent
King reappeared beside it, his palm placed flat against the creature's heel.
[RUIN'S TOUCH]
The troll paused mid-puncj
And then...
BURST!
Its massive form destroyed instantly, scattering into chunks. Flesh, bone, viscera, all of it exploding outward in a grotesque spray. Blood and rot rained down like a crimson storm, bathing both players in a thick, dripping layer of filth.
The two players froze.
They stood there, wide-eyed, trembling, covered head-to-toe in gore.
And when they finally looked up.
They saw a figure standing in place of the Rot troll. Draped in a mage's cloak, the black fabric flowing gently in the wind.
His hood was pulled low, shadowing his face. His left arm was outstretched, the gauntlet still glowing faintly showing the remnants of a superior magic power.
The injured player wiped blood from his eyes, blinking rapidly, as if doubting what he was seeing.
A human had just one-shot a Rot Troll.
They both froze in relief and yet, fear.
King turned to leave, his cloak billowing behind him as he moved toward his horse.
"Wait!"
The voice came in a rush of breath.
King paused, half-turning.
The faint moonlight caught the lower half of his face, illuminating his cold expression.
"Who are you?" the uninjured player asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
King gave a slight smirk.
"No one important," he said quietly. "Just consider me a shadow you were lucky to meet."
And then 'PAFF!'.... he was gone.
The two players shook their heads
And when they looked again, the cloaked figure had vanished into the darkness.
King's horse galloped steadily through the night, sounding with the rhythmic thud of hooves against dirt.
DING
[You Have Slain A Rot Troll]
+800xp
He dismissed the notification and opened his Friend List.
There were now three names.
[VI]
[ELIJAH]
[BARLAN THE ARCBEARER]
King tapped on Eli's chat.
KING: Mr Eli, you good?
KING: I'm on my way back.
The reply came a few seconds later.
ELI: Yes I Am, Sir.
ELI: I shall be returning as well.
King sighed in relief, Eli was fine.
-
He switched over to the World Chat, curiosity tugging at him.
The moment the interface opened, he was hit with a wall of messages.
As he expected, thousands of them flooded in faster than he could read.
But one name kept appearing over and over. Someone was spamming the chat.
Adry_crow: SOMEONE JUST ONE-SHOT A ROT TROLL
Adry_crow: SOMEONE JUST ONE-SHOT A ROT TROLL
Adry_crow: SOMEONE JUST ONE-SHOT A ROT TROLL
The replies that followed were frantic.
[Jaimey: WHAT?? HOW??]
[Hunt_Starbuster: No way. That's impossible.]
[Pantheon: Did you see it yourself?]
[Adry_crow: YES! I WAS THERE! A cloaked figure just appeared and destroyed it with one touch!]
[8rico: one touch?, That's cap bro, how long have we been here?]
[Adry_crow: I'M COVERED IN BLOOD RIGHT NOW.]
[Tagr: Sounds like BS to me.]
[Azul_Cross: If it's true, then whoever that was is a monster.]
[KillShock9: Or maybe they just know how to play the game.]
[The_Table_Turner: Either way, I want to meet them.]
King scrolled through the messages, he noted the name, Pantheon, and starbuster, they were gamer tags that looked familiar, well no one said anything worrying, yet.
He closed the World Chat.
The mansion came into view as the first light of dawn began to creep over the horizon.
King rode into the compound, looking around carefully if there was any trespasser, he spotted no one yet. But deep down he knew, it was only a matter of time, raiders would begin forming.
He arrived at the building itself and dismounted, tying his horse to the post, then he unlocked the door and l stepped inside.
The halls were quiet, exactly as he'd left it.
He moved through the corridors until he reached his room, pulled off the cloak, and collapsed onto his bed.
His body was exhausted, but his mind was still replaying the events of the day.
One-shotting the Rot Troll had been a test. A confirmation of his thoughts.
The Gauntlet of Ruin was everything he'd hoped for. And more.
But it also meant he had to be careful.
Words had already spread about a cloaked figure one-shotting monsters at the start of the game, people would soon start asking questions. And some will even go as far as hunting.
However he wasn't worried, he wasn't going to ask for trouble, but if any did come for him, he'd be ready.
King stared up at the ceiling as his thoughts drifted to the countdown.
The third day had gone.
It was Seventeen days now.