Five players sat around a roaring campfire, surrounded by five small tents. The crackling fire illuminated their faces as they ate, drank, and played drums. Laughter and singing filled the air, echoing through the quiet forest night.
“Hahaha! Do you remember the look on that old villager’s face when I grabbed his grandson? The kid couldn’t have been more than a teenager!” A shielder in heavy armor, with the player name TheBoss, shouted.
“Haha, that was a lot of fun!”
“Yeah, we’ll do it again tonight. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of terrified villagers,” another added, grinning wickedly.
“This is the best! Just make sure we don’t cause too much damage, so we can come back later and have more fun,” someone else chimed in.
“Yeah, like setting their houses on fire while they’re still inside. That’s a blast!” another player laughed so hard, he could barely catch his breath.
TheBoss tore into his roasted meat, chewing with relish.
“The kingdom’s envoys will probably show up tomorrow or soon after, but by the time they get here, we’ll be long gone! Hahahaha.”
“Yeah, it’s so much fun. I’m really enjoying this,” another player agreed.
TheBoss continued, grinning as he spoke. “This is the best stress relief-watching those dumb NPCs cry and scream when I torture their family members. Damn, it feels so real. This game is incredible. Hahaha.”
The group kept chatting, laughing, and singing without a care in the world.
“Hey, Bob, you know we’re close to Slumdon, right?” a male archer said, turning to TheBoss. “Don’t call me by my real name, idiot! We’re in the game, not real life.”
“Hahaha! You only named yourself TheBoss so people would have to call you that. You’re sly,” the archer teased.
TheBoss smirked. “Well, I am the boss in this guild, so what can you do? Hahaha! And remember, I’m the richest one here, so don’t forget that.”
“Well, I’m just here to have fun, so as long as we keep doing stuff like this, I’m not complaining! Hahaha,” one of the players chimed in.
“What’s the deal with Slumdon?” TheBoss asked, wiping grease from his mouth.
“You know the guy who runs Slumdon, right? It’s that Broken-he’s Leon.”
“Ch! That asshole!” TheBoss grumbled. “Next time, let’s hit that town and mess with the locals. I want to see how brave that idiot Broken is when we cause chaos in his city.”
“You know The Ass Guild is based there, right, Bob?” the archer pointed out.
“Don’t call me Bob, you idiot,” The Boss snapped. “We’ll just go when the Ass Guild is out hunting. Those high-level players spend all their time grinding, so they won’t be around. We don’t need to fight them directly-just mess with the town. Threaten the residents, cause some terror. Hahaha, I’m sure that’ll be a lot of fun.”
“That sounds like a solid plan,” another player agreed. “From what I’ve heard, Broken’s invested a lot into Slumdon. We’ll make him suffer, hit him where it hurts!”
“Damn, that Leon!” TheBoss growled. “He scammed me and took my money! I’ll get my revenge on him, and it’ll be the nastiest payback he’s ever seen!” He clenched his fists.
A strong gust of wind suddenly rushed through the trees, so fierce it made the flames of their campfire flicker wildly. The group ignored it, still laughing and singing, until-without warning-the tents surrounding them collapsed and were violently dragged away into the dark forest, as if by some unseen force.
“Damn, what happened?!” TheBoss shouted.
They all scrambled to their feet, weapons drawn. “What the hell is going on? Who dares mess with us in the middle of the night?!”
A loud, menacing roar echoed from deep within the forest, though none of them could tell from where exactly it came.
“What was that?!”
“A monster?”
“Damn, what kind of monster would dare disturb us like this?”
“Or maybe it’s another group of players?”
TheBoss sneered. “Monsters around here aren’t even that high level, just around 150, and we’re all around 160. Prepare yourselves, it looks like we’ve got uninvited guests!” His voice boomed with confidence. “Whoever’s foolish enough to ruin our fun tonight will be dead by dawn.”
“Bob, look at that, Bob!” one of the players panicked, repeatedly tapping TheBoss’s shoulder while pointing toward the distant trees.
They all turned and saw a figure cloaked in flames, moving slowly through the darkness between the trees.
“What the fuck is that? A monster? A player?” TheBoss growled. “Let’s wait and see what kind of rude guest this is.”
The figure continued its slow approach, getting closer and closer, and soon, its details became clear-a skeletal horse engulfed in fire, with someone sitting atop it clad in dark armor and a black cloak that flickered like flames.
“What is that? A monster?”
“There’s no name above his head. Could be a player hiding their identity.”
“Are you an idiot? NPCs can do that too!”
“What about a monster?”
The mounted figure finally emerged into full view, standing tall atop the fiery skeletal horse. The black and red flames around them burned fiercely, casting an eerie glow that made the air
feel thick with tension.
“Who are you?!” TheBoss shouted, trying to sound brave.
“I’ve come to torment you,” the figure responded.
“Bob, I think his level is high. We should run,” one of the players whispered.
“No, let’s just log out before we enter battle mode,” another suggested.
“Nonsense! He’s just hiding behind some flashy display. His level can’t be that high,” TheBoss growled, trying to convince himself as much as the others. “Let’s prepare to attack. Five against one. The horse is just a dumb beast, nothing to be afraid of.”
The group reluctantly nodded and readied their weapons-shields raised, spears leveled, swords drawn, and bows strung. The tension was palpable.
The figure on the skeletal horse spoke again, “I will torment you for daring to disturb this
place.”
The air grew heavy as his words echoed, and the players could feel the weight of something terrible approaching.
A deafening roar suddenly filled the air, and the group frantically looked around, unsure of its
source.
“Hey, look up there!” one of them shouted, panicking and pointing to the sky.
It was a dragon-massive, with a body wrapped in swirling energy of dark and blood-red hues. The players were frozen between awe and terror at the sight of the monstrous creature. From the other side, another roar echoed, accompanied by the crashing of trees. They turned left and saw something equally terrifying. What is that?! A massive cat, its body covered in shadowy energy tinged with dark red, with large, menacing horns protruding from its head. As if things couldn’t get worse, from all directions, more shadowy figures began emerging from the forest. They were like monstrous forms, wrapped in darkness and blood-red energy, slowly surrounding the group.
“Let’s log out!” TheBoss shouted, his voice filled with desperation. But before they could even do it, the ground beneath them darkened, and shadowy tendrils shot up, wrapping
around their legs and locking them in place.
They had entered Battle Mode. There was no escaping now.
“Now,” the figure on the skeletal fire horse said, “you will receive the most brutal
punishment you deserve.”