Game’s Dogma

Danting scratched his head and downed a potion. “It’s just sparring… Not like I’m really going to die…”

“Gonna talk back, huh?” Zephyrwolf pulled Danting up and dragged him back.

Tripurity who wasn’t too far away overheard their conversation and froze. This kid… He held back? Right, that legendary sword! He didn’t use its special powers!

Tripurity returned to his seat in a daze; the battle just now had kicked him off his high horse. For so long, he had too much of a smooth sailing. Even though he had failed to assassinate Mask a long while ago, he attributed his failure to Danting’s betrayal. This time, however, he had no excuses.

Chau Yu didn’t console him either. He calmly explained, “Before you used Swordsplosion, he teleported behind you. The earth barrier blocked your sight and put you into a blind spot. Well, that just goes to prove Danting’s battle instinct. I’m sure it was intentional rather than a fluke. Tripurity, you’ve been too full of yourself lately. If you continue to stay complacent, you’ll stagnate and see no improvements. Spend some time to reflect on yourself.”

The Tripurity before the battle would certainly have dismissed Chau Yu’s advice right away. Now, he appeared deep in thought as he nodded with a “Mhm”.

The patio went silent again, and no one stepped up to challenge others anymore. Almost five hours went by since the start of Stage 2; most who intended on fighting had already done so. Others either thought their chances of obtaining an inheritance were low, so they didn’t bother participating. Some weren’t interested in obtaining an inheritance in the first place.

The more the better didn’t apply on inheritances. Like Sasaki who already had Sasaki Kojirou’s swordsmanship inheritance, having another inheritance would only hinder his progress and make it difficult for him to master anything; biting off more than one could chew had its downfalls.

Knowing such, Drako Yau didn’t compete for an inheritance, nor did Idyllic Poet, Windstrider, Zephyrwolf, Greenstone, and Dumbgirl. Danting was the only one who fought because he was challenged by Tripurity. Drinking the Divine Tea alone was worth the trip, not to mention that they got to see the elite players that had always laid low in action.

Just when everyone thought things were coming to a close, a crisp voice resounded throughout the patio.

“Alliance master of Dragon Alliance, King of Yoda, Mask! I challenge you to battle!”

Everyone was stunned. Almost everyone in the game knew how powerful Mask was in battle without tasting his skills in person. In fact, they had been relieved that Mask and his companions didn’t participate in the fights, and they saw it as Mask conceding the inheritances to others, which garnered him good opinions. 

Players who were selfish would take part in the fights despite having powerful inheritances already. Their goal wasn’t the inheritances themselves, but rather to seize the inheritances to prevent others from gaining strength; one less player who had an inheritance meant one less potential powerhouse, and that was one less competitor. Cruel, but the reality was often that way.

They all thought, Why’d anyone challenge Mask?

As soon as the person issued the challenge, a slender figure walked out in a confident stride. Her tight-fit clothes fully displayed her bountiful body and curves. To all Empyreon players, the sexy lady was a familiar one—Pulchriture, second-in-command of Roaring World and Tigeroar’s woman.

Although she was a woman, no one present dared to look down on her because of her gender. It was widely acknowledged that she was the most terrifying female player in the game. The title of “the most powerful female player” was often debatable, especially with players like Idyllic Poet, Man Hing Yau, Firefly, Collis in the fray. However, no one contested Pulchriture’s title of being the most terrifying.

To serve as a deputy in the guild that once ranked second was no easy task either. Tigeroar’s role was to gather players and reign over the guild, while the shady work such as annexing other guilds, setting up baits, and threatening others was up to Pulchriture. Many guilds had been shattered from the inside by her dirty work and the power of money. She never shied away from those tasks nor felt a tint of guilt. After that went on for long enough, her horror tales became known by all.

Even though plenty of male players found her extremely sexy, none really found her charming—for her notorious reputation had been established long ago.

“I’ve heard Tigeroar hasn’t shown up in a long while.”

“Yeah… There are rumours that he deleted his account. But why’d he?”

“You know, Tigeroar was the one who bought the Divine Martial Sword. Now… Heh, it fell into Dragon Alliance’s hands. That alone isn’t anything surprising, but with Tigeroar gone for so long and the rumours that say he deleted his account… Now that’s intriguing, no? Ahem… Don’t ask me who my sources are.”

Those who took part in the quest could roughly guess what happened. Even though they wouldn’t know anything about Mavericks, they certainly knew Tigeroar’s disappearance was related to Mask. 

Even Yim Ho and Man Hing Yau glanced at him; they did take part in the quest, though they were dead before Hagrid appeared. Florate, Godmage, and Pulchriture also died instantly to Hagrid, so they were clueless as well. If anyone knew the true story, it had to be Chau Yu, Greenstone, and Drako Yau.

Pulchriture had no idea why her lover was suddenly gone either. Considering how consequential it’d be for Mavericks to let others know they only had one life, Tigeroar naturally didn’t tell her about it, just like how Drako Yau kept it a secret even from his closest companions. Still, she knew Mask had something to do about it, and she was going to force it out of his mouth.

Everyone’s stares landed on Mask. Although the rules stated that players didn’t necessarily have to accept a challenge from another player, Mask’s position put him in a tough spot. He represented Dragon Alliance, and more importantly, Yoda. If he refused, others would certainly make a big deal out of it, claiming that he rejected it out of fear. He didn’t have any choice but to accept it.…

Unless…

“What makes you think that you’re qualified to challenge brother Mask?” someone stood up as he spoke.

While many guessed that Mask could let someone else fight for him, none expected this particular person to fight in his stead. The person wore an ancient Chinese outfit, had a headband tied on his head that fluttered in the breeze, and hung a sword on his waist.

Even Hades and Bloodless Bladester were taken by surprise. The person who stood up was the guild master of Red Flower Society, Chan Ka Lok.

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