After YuWon had left, Hargaan stood in place for a moment.

There were people waiting for him.

So theyre here.

A group made its way through the new players. A man wearing gold-plated armor and a helmet led a group of about ten or so players.

Hargaan had locked eyes with some of the group members earlier, so he had wondered if they would come greet him. Apparently he guessed right.

The group wore capes with an emblem of a large mountain, sword, and spearthe symbol of Olympus.

I, Agamemnon of Olympus, give my greetings to the one of great lineage.

Agamemnon, you say? I think Ive seen you before.

Thank you for remembering me.

Agamemnon got on one knee while facing Hargaan. As a player who hadnt become a Ranker yet, he had to show his respects according to Olympian lineage. But unlike his actions, Agamemnon looked at Hargaan with indifference.

Is Ares well?

Hes the same as always.

I heard he became a High Ranker recently. Please pass along my congratulations.

Thank you.

The war maniac of Olympus, Ares. He was the player that Agamemnon followed. But also

However Lord Ares finds lineage more important than anything. He has ordered me to not pass along any of your messages until you find your birth mother.

Ares was renowned within Olympus for his bad personality.

What did you say?

As you know, the Ruler of the Skies has little interest in children. And, sir, you do not know who your mother is

You disrespectful!

Spark, crackle

Rumble

Electricity started flowing out of Hargaans body. He tried to hold himself back, but his rage was already overflowing.

Yet, in the midst of Hargaans anger, Agamemnon wore a stoic look, the look of someone who didnt know what they did wrong. In fact, it was possible that he was enjoying Hargaans rage.

Do not be like this, sir. Im sure youre well aware of Lord Aress personality. Lineage is something you create. I hope youll have your own family one day.

Ugh.

Agamemnon put out the fire that he himself started.

Hargaan couldnt continue to show his anger after what Agamemnon said. It was true, the one that looked down on Hargaan was Ares, not him. Not to mention the fact that Agamemnon was one of Aress men. If he accidentally went too far, it might end up souring his own relationship with Olympus.

Alright. You guys may go.

Yes, sir. Farewell. After bowing, Agamemnon suddenly remembered something and asked, Who was that man earlier? Seeing as how he left by himself, he doesnt seem to be one of your teammates.

That guy?

Hargaan pressed his brow, recollecting YuWon, who had left first towards the city. He didnt quite know how to explain YuWon. Since he lost the bet and failed to recruit him into his team, he couldnt call him his companion. However, he couldnt say that it was just some guy he knew, since they still had unfinished business.

His relationship with YuWon After thinking hard about it for a moment, Hargaan slowly spoke, He is a friend?

Maybe its because he had finally said it once, Hargaan was able to say it again with more confidence.

Yeah, hes something like a friend.

?

Hargaans answer left Agamemnon in confusion.

Like a friend?

The Jackals called the period when the Tutorial ended the time of harvest.

They were a band that camped out on the 1st Floor whenever the Tutorial ended and went after new players.

Even though they might have earned the qualifications to be players, they were still greenhorn kids that had just completed the Tutorial.

The leader of the Jackals, Phatayo, was extra interested in this rounds harvest.

To be over already They were much faster than expected.

It was only about ten days since the Tutorial started, and it was only a little over five days since the 5th Tutorial had started. Yet the new players had already arrived

That was historically fast.

That would mean that quite a few of them will have good items.

And because they took so little time, they should be that much weaker

This was great news for the Jackals. It meant that low-leveled new players with better items had entered the Tower.

Lets quickly get into position and make sure to check that there are no guilds with them.

Yes, sir.

Aye, aye.

Including Phatayo, a total of 20 Jackals hid themselves on the pathway between the Meadow of Beginnings and the city. They were aiming for teams of new players with five or less people, but their first target was unexpectedly a single player.

What? Only one guy?

Is he really alone?

This almost never happens

One of the Jackals asked Phatayo, Boss. Could this potentially be a bait?

Baiting was one of the ways the guilds on the 1st Floor used to lure out Jackals. They purposely sent out a small number of new players to bait out the Jackals, catching them once they revealed themselves.

However, Phatayo shook his head.

No. Hes the only one around.

Phatayo had a skill that let him see far into the distance. It even let him see through objects at close range. Thanks to that skill, he had been able to lead his gang of Jackals for a long time without getting caught.

Really?

Their bosss words made the gang look closely at their prey. According to Phatayo, they had nothing to worry about.

Hes actually alone?

It wasnt a dud?

He doesnt have any companions.

Something feels off. Should we just let him go?

One of the Jackals got ticked off at his cowardly fellow Jackal. Why should we let him go? We just need to quickly take care of him. Cant you tell? Thats a Pyromancy Robe.

A Pyromancy Robe?

Wow. We hit the jackpot

The Pyromancy Robe was an item that cost a whopping 50,000 points in the Shop. It was an item worth potentially struggling against a single opponent.

I take it that everyones in agreement

While looking at his companions in the tall grass, Phatayos face suddenly froze. His companions were confused why their boss froze up.

Whats wrong?

Huh?

Where did he go?

He disappeared.

The guy that was walking down the road just a second ago had now disappeared. It was like the act of a ghost. They were sure he was just there

Ahhhh!

W-What the?!

Is it an enemy?

Kling, klang!

Slash

The Jackals drew their weaponsswords, spears, and bows. And one of them must have specialized in skills over weaponry because he pulled out a staff. But their preparations were for naught.

Stab, pshk

Spurt!

Ahhhh!

Who the fuck are you?!

Fucking come out!

The Jackals fell into chaos. They couldnt see their enemy.

B-Boss

I think

This must have been a bait.

The guy that was right before their eyes had disappeared. They couldnt believe it.

Theres no way a new player that just got to the 1st Floor has a stealth skill.

They thought that this was probably an illusion skill used by a different player to lure them out.

No wonder a new player was wearing a Pyromancy Robe. It was too good to be true.

Grit

Phatayo ground his teeth. He had already heard five screams, and he was in a situation where the enemys sword might pierce his neck at any moment.

Everyone, retreat for

Slash!

R-Rikuey!

Hes here!

He disappeared again!

Ahhhh!

In just a short moment, the people that were in the ambush apart from Phatayo dropped dead one after another. They werent far from him, so that meant that the enemy was already nearby.

Phatayo turned his head, and, though faint, he could see someone wearing a crimson robe.

Could it be?

Phatayo concentrated mana in his eyes. The skill that got him to his current position, [Falcons Eye,] was activated.

Whirr

His vision got brighter, and he was able to see something faint.

Slash!

As the hazy figure swung his sword, Phatayo could see the crimson dragon robe and the enemys face.

The enemy disappeared right away. The only moment that he revealed himself was in the short instance when he swung his sword. However, to Phatayos gang members who didnt have the [Falcons Eye] skill, they probably saw nothing more than a quick flash.

Its him.

Phatayos eyes widened.

The crimson dragon robe. The long sword. Though he couldnt see it clearly, Phatayo was sure that this red flash was the new player that they had planned to rob.

Thud

Another Jackal lost their head, falling to the ground.

It was him again, a player wearing red clothes and wielding a long sword.

U-Uh

Phatayo started stumbling back.

He wasnt bait.

The first new player to head towards the city from the Meadow of Beginnings. At first, Phatayo had just assumed he was a slightly skilled new player. Then he thought he had made a mistake and that he was a bait prepared by a guild to lure them out.

Phatayo realized he was wrong twice. This guy wasnt something like bait. He was a sword that was personally out to kill them.

With this much skill, he must be a player from the upper floors. But why? A player from an upper floor would get penalized if they interfered with the 1st Floor.

He was overwhelmed with confusion, but he decided to stop thinking, realizing that now wasnt the time to stand around and think.

R-Run away! Phatayo shouted as he ran full force into the forest.

Well, he tried to run full force.

Slice

Dont be annoying and go too far.

A warm sensation enveloped his feet, as Phatayos field of vision slowly tilted downwards.

Ahhhhh! Phatayo screamed in agony, his feet having been cut off.

Thud

Having lost his feet to support him, he fell to the ground. Phatayo tried to crawl forward with his arms.

Uh, ugh

Stab

Ahhhhhhh!

A sword pierced his hand. He looked back to the shadow that covered him. The hazy figure started becoming clearer until YuWon, wearing the Pyromancy Robe, became fully visible.

You were going to get caught immediately anyway.

Stomp

YuWon pressed down on Phatayos shoulder with his foot.

Kugh ugh

Im going to ask you something. If you answer it earnestly, Ill at least send you off peacefully.

Kugh K-Kill t-this son of a bitch. Kill him

Who are you talking to?

After hearing YuWons words, Phatayo quickly glanced around him. Just earlier he had a team of almost twenty people around him. They were Jackals that had been hunting new players for over ten years, but now all that remained were headless corpses.

I get what you want, but you should have reasonable expectations of corpses.

Uh Ah

If youre going to keep acting like youre mute

Press

Crack

Ahhhhhh!

Ill just continue on with what I was doing.

I-Ill talk! Ill talk!

Phatayo screamed from the agonizing pain of his shoulder getting crushed.

Then the force pressing down on his shoulder eased.

YuWon kept his foot on Phatayo as he proceeded to ask him questions.

Do you know where the guy by the name of Mu WoonCheon is?

Phatayo was shaken by YuWons question.

H-How?

He couldnt continue his sentence.

The sudden change in Phatayos expression made YuWon smirk.

Only

Wow.

Press

YuWon pressed down on Phatayo with more force.

Jackpot on my first try.