Kael’s heart hammered against his ribs.

  There were too many people. He couldn't push through the mob blocking the mine entrance. If Cole died now, his entire plan would be ruined.

  Gritting his teeth, Kael made a decision. He hefted Whisperwind, aimed it not at the mine, but at the sky above the swarming players, and drew the bowstring taut.

  He let the arrow fly.

  A split second later, a torrent of phantom arrows materialized in the air, raining down upon the unsuspecting crowd.

  -1181

  -3079 (Crit!)

  -1234

  …

  [System: You have killed the player [StarGazer]. Infamy Score +1]

  [System: You have killed the player [BlueHarrow]. Infamy Score +1]

  [System: You have killed the player…]

  …

  In the blink of an eye, a massive clearing was carved out of the dense crowd. Only a few stunned tanks, their shields still raised, were left standing in the empty space, blinking in confusion.

  Where did everyone go?

  The deafening roar of the battle suddenly fell silent. The remaining players on the periphery stared at each other, bewildered.

  "What the hell? Where did they go?"

  "Is this a bug?"

  "Maybe the server teleported everyone out because of the massive PK?"

  "Hey… look at all the gear on the ground."

  "Holy crap, don't touch that! It's mine!"

  The moment of confusion was fleeting. The players outside the blast radius surged forward like vultures, scrambling to snatch up the loot dropped by the dead.

  At the same time, two system announcements echoed across the entire server.

  [Congratulations to player Dawnbreaker for successfully apprehending the wanted criminal [Ashveil]. Reward: Level +1. Please visit a Guardhouse to claim additional rewards.]

  [Congratulations to player Dawnbreaker for successfully apprehending the doubly-wanted criminal [Ashveil]. Reward: Level +1. Please visit a Guardhouse to claim additional rewards.]

  This time, the world chat wasn't filled with praise for Kael. It was an unending stream of vitriol.

  "WHAT THE FUCK, DAWNBREAKER KILLED ME TOO!"

  "SON OF A BITCH, I GOT CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE!"

  "Everyone around me just dropped dead!"

  "Dawnbreaker, you fucking psycho! Eat shit and die!"

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Players who weren't there were confused at first. How could the hero who claimed the bounty be getting yelled at by hundreds of people? Soon, the story came together, and public opinion took another sharp turn.

  "Lmao, I thought it was serious. Turns out it's just a bunch of bounty hunters getting what they deserved."

  "Exactly. You flag yourself for PvP to hunt someone, you better be ready to get killed yourself."

  "Forget the bounty, how did Dawnbreaker one-shot hundreds of players?!"

  "I'm more curious what happens when a guy with hundreds of Infamy points tries to walk into a town."

  "The entire NPC guard force will probably swarm him, lol."

  Kael felt a pang of regret. Once a player’s Infamy score exceeded 5, their name turned red and could no longer be hidden. His score was now over 400. The name Dawnbreaker hovering above his head was a glaring, blood-red beacon.

  He didn't even dare to try and loot the two items Ashveil had dropped. The moment he saw the kill confirmation, he was already running.

  Many players spotted the infamous red-named murderer, but instead of attacking, they instinctively recoiled, terrified that this god of death might erase them with a single look.

  Entering any village was now impossible. Kael fled south, following the base of the mountain range.

  Damn it. Over 400 Infamy. It'll take forever to clear this.

  The system dictated that one point of Infamy decayed for every full hour spent logged into the game. At this rate, playing twelve hours a day, it would take him over a month to get back to a neutral standing.

  He didn't have time to dwell on it. A large posse of players was hot on his trail, hungry for revenge or simply a piece of the legend.

  After a few minutes, Kael reached the bottom of a steep cliff face. Without breaking stride, he leaped forward and began scrambling up the sheer rock wall.

  The players chasing him stopped dead in their tracks, shouting in disbelief.

  "He's… he's climbing that?"

  "There's no path! How is he doing that?"

  "Get him! Let's see what trick he's pulling!"

  "Ow! Fuck, my leg!"

  A few tried to follow, but fell back down after climbing only a few yards.

  Kael glanced down from his perch and shook his head with a small smile. This particular cliff was a natural stat check, requiring 400 points in Agility to scale. At the current stage of the game, no other player could possibly meet that requirement, even if they'd put every single attribute point into it.

  He stopped on a ledge halfway up the mountain. Seeing bandit sentries patrolling on a ridge in the distance, he went no further. He found a small, concave hollow in the rock, a perfect hiding spot, and logged out. His in-game character immediately went slack-jawed and motionless, standing in place for ten minutes before finally vanishing.

  Kael took off his helmet and let out a long, slow breath. That was close. Despite the unexpected complications, he had successfully reached his goal: Level 20.

  He walked to a small Mexican restaurant near his apartment complex, ordered, and started scrolling through the game forums on his phone.

  In just three days, the Godpath forums had already amassed millions of posts and hundreds of millions of replies. The name that appeared most frequently in the titles was, unsurprisingly, "Dawnbreaker."

  [SHOCKING! Dawnbreaker's Mysterious Identity EXPOSED!]

  He clicked. The post read: "He's an archer."

  [That One Time Dawnbreaker Couldn't Say No to Me…]

  The story was about the original poster asking Dawnbreaker to move out of the way, and he did.

  [NSFW - Dawnbreaker Stood Before Me, Dripping Wet and Shirtless.]

  The post described seeing Dawnbreaker, without his starter gear, emerge from a river.

  The clickbait posts had astronomical view counts and were being relentlessly flamed in the comments. But one new thread was rapidly gaining traction.

  [500,000 USD Bounty on Dawnbreaker.]

  The post was simple: one sentence and one image.

  "Reward for killing Dawnbreaker: $500,000. Per kill."

  The image was a screenshot of a bank account with a balance of over one hundred million dollars.

  The poster: Ashveil.

  Kael just smiled, unconcerned. He was used to having a price on his head.

  He ate his meal slowly. He hadn't eaten since breakfast that morning, and it was now past 5 PM. He knew this kind of erratic schedule would bring back his stomach problems. He had to find a way to log out safely in the wild.

  Back in his room, he logged into the game.

  Night had fallen. Kael switched his Heart of the Ocean to night-vision mode, and the 40-yard area around him was illuminated as if it were day. He quietly continued his climb up the Shadowcrag Mountains.

  The entire mountain was the territory of the Blackwind Brotherhood. The lower slopes were patrolled by level 15-20 bandits and thugs. Further up was a large gate leading into the level 20 dungeon, Blackwind Brotherhood.

  Kael raised his bow, taking aim at a nearby bandit. But as he was about to shoot, he noticed something strange.

  The color of the monster’s nameplate was wrong.

  Intrigued, Kael lowered his bow and cautiously stepped into the guard's line of sight.

  The bandit saw him, but instead of attacking, he called out.

  "Hey, you there. You here to join the Blackwind Brotherhood?"

  Kael froze. "Huh?"