Game’s Dogma

Drako Yau looked at Soulsmith who disappeared below the walls, then turned his gaze to Hades with a somewhat surprised look on his face. Hades acted calm and cool, but he was actually over the moon on the inside.

Finally! This guy is actually surprised!

Drako Yau’s usual demeanor which made it seem like he never cared about anything had always been somewhat of an eyesore for Hades.

‘Why are you surprised? Soulsmith was the best archer even in War of the Daemons.’ Hades tried to hide his grin by looking down at the routing beastmen army. Drako Yau nodded and murmured, ‘How nice… Your professions I mean…’

That crappy hidden profession of his, apart from Dying Precision which he got from limit breaking, there was not a single active skill at his disposal. Drako Yau frowned whenever he thought about it.

Hades also laughed merrily. ‘I wanted to play as a warrior originally, I’ve spent enough time as an assassin in War of the Daemons. But I was assigned as a hunter when I logged in… It was when I knew I still had to be an assassin.’

Drako Yau caught something odd with what Hades just said. ‘You mean, you can’t choose your own class?’

‘Of course not! Did you?’ Hades was more startled than anything at his question.

Drako Yau’s mind was running wild. How could this be…

Hades didn’t notice Drako Yau’s change in complexion and continued. ‘About this, the official website did mention that they will automatically choose the class best suited for every player when they first log in. Some players tried deleting their accounts and logging in again for over 10 times, but they all received the same class every time. The company said something like they determine your best class through analysing your brainwaves…

‘Many players were dissatisfied with that explanation at first, and some even boycotted the game because they couldn’t play the class they wanted to. But most players continued playing the game and soon realised their assigned classes actually suited them a lot. There weren’t any major uproars afterwards.’

Analysing brainwaves…

Wanderer…

The more Drako Yau knew, the more he realised he didn’t know. It felt like he had dispersed the outermost layer of mist, only to reveal a thick, dense cloud.

Zephyrwolf, who had just woken up at the resurrection altar, stood there silently and stared at the ceiling. The battle just now was replaying within his head. His carelessness had led to the demon wolf king’s injury, and he felt bitter about it. Plucking out the summoning token from his item bag, he murmured to it, ‘Sorry for letting you get hurt… I won’t make such a mistake again.’

As though it could hear his words, the wolf’s pink and green eyes on the summoning token flashed once before turning dark again. Zephyrwolf’s gaze returned to his usual one, but this time, there was a tiny tint of determination beneath the indolent eyes.

He exited the resurrection altar. As he walked, the players were all looking at him with respectful and reverent eyes. Some would greet him with a nod, while others bowed slightly to show respect. Finally returning to the walls under the gaze of everyone, Zephyrwolf asked dumbfoundedly, ‘Something wrong with my face? Why’s everyone staring at me like that?’

Drako Yau chuckled. ‘Oh, you’re a hero who played a big part in defending the city, who would dare look down on you?’ Hades huffed and didn’t deny it either. After witnessing Zephyrwolf’s display of power just now, Hades acknowledged him, a bit at least. That gigantic beastman, even Hades wasn’t confident that he could defeat it on his own, for its attack was way too high. One strike was likely enough to send him back to the altar.

Seeing Zephyrwolf return, Soulsmith who had been waiting on the walls silently came over and requested a trade with him.

‘Here, your sword.’

After receiving the most powerful weapon in the game at no cost at all, Zephyrwolf instinctively asked, ‘It ranks first on the Weapon Rank, you’re not keeping it for yourself?’

Soulsmith twitched the corners of his eyes and glared at Zephyrwolf coldly. ‘Who do you think I am!’ He turned on his heels and left the stupefied Zephyrwolf behind.

Hades was somewhat dissatisfied also. ‘Hey you, Soulsmith was being nice, yet you’re questioning his good faith? Soulsmith’s a prideful one, he would never take advantage of someone else like this. You’re insulting him!’

Zephyrwolf stayed silent. Seeing such, Hades pressed on. ‘Also, do you think charging out like that is being courageous? Have you ever thought about what might happen if you can’t handle that huge beastman? If it wasn’t for Soulsmith who wrapped things up for you, the beastmen army would be right beneath our walls right now.’ 

At that moment, Drako Yau interrupted. ‘Alright, stop it. Hades, you’re being unfair. If he didn’t step in, regular players wouldn’t be able to stop the beastman either. Also, I gained a fair bit of intel thanks to him charging out there.’

‘Oh?’ Hades didn’t refute Drako Yau’s reprimand. Drako Yau was the one in charge of things, so there wasn’t much he could say. He was more curious about the intel Drako Yau spoke of.

Zephyrwolf, who had been quiet all this time, came over. Drako Yau patted his shoulders to encourage him and said, ‘First, there should be someone like a commander for every wave, like the huge beastman just now. Once we kill it, the wave ends immediately. But it doesn’t just casually show up, there should be some harsh criteria that have to be met before it does. Over half of the beastmen army died before the huge one showed up, and during that period, most people on our side have died several times already. It’s acceptable though, the ranged troops on the walls haven’t had any work to do apart from firing off a few shots during the last wave.

‘Second, when this commander shows up, it will challenge one player to a duel, who was Zephyrwolf in the previous wave. During the duel, the monster army will cease attacking until a victor is decided. If we win, the wave ends immediately, and if they win, the monsters will resume their assault and receive a buff. Not sure whether it’s a defence of attack buff, but either way, it’ll definitely put a lot of pressure on our defences.’

Drako Yau looked right into the two’s eyes and said, ‘This duel, we mustn't lose!’

Hades and Zephyrwolf didn’t say a word. They both knew that the three of them were the strongest among all players in the city right now. They had to take on the role of participating in the duels to come—they had to do their part as well. More importantly, they were annoyed at the powerful players who fled the city. If not, they wouldn’t have to take on such an arduous task.

Drako Yau laughed upon seeing their tense expressions. ‘Well, don’t be so nervous. There’s always another way. That is, just like what Soulsmith did, we must defeat the commander as quickly as possible if we lose the duel.’