--- When it rains, it pours and Another person who seeks death

In a wide, dimly lit cave, twelve people can be seen watching a livestream while resting. They just finished a hard battle and are currently sitting on the mountain monster's corpses.

These are the mysterious twelve-man legendary party and the true highest-level players in Gaia. They are also the very first party to have beaten a dungeon of legendary difficulty. After that event, they've gone and cleared four more dungeons with the same difficulty, getting all the first clears.

It made them extremely popular, but no one messes with them as each has an incredible background like an imperial prince, a hidden clan next leader, and/or is the son of a very wealthy businessman. Each of them has prodigious talent in combat, and with their near-untouchable status, they can just do whatever they want and no one will mess around with them.

Right now, they are focused on the livestream of a masked man shooting meteorite-like arrows at the World Boss. Each has different emotions on their faces, and no one knows what they're thinking right now.

"What an unbelievable damage..."

"Yeah. With that, the boss will never last that long..."

"Look at that range. Can't he just assassinate anyone he wants from afar? No wonder he's so bold. He can back it all up after all."

"""..."""

"Seriously, this doesn't make sense anymore!"

"There must be a limit to it."

"There should be! If it's like this every time, then I don't see the point of us still playing this ridiculously tough game anymore. We've been facing tough challenges, and this guy had it easy."

"What do you mean by that? It's just one person. And equipment quality isn't everything. Just ignore him, and everything is cool. And did you not see the next update?"

"Heh! Bro, I can feel the jealousy in your tone. Hahahaha!"

"Stop laughing, you idiot! Don't you feel anything about this? And I saw it, of course! Almost every new piece of content, especially in the World Arena, will be all about your true combat skills."

"So you knew after all. And it's all about luck. Instead of getting bitter about it, just get good yourself and stop whining! And you, stop laughing like a maniac."

"Hehehehe..."

"It's not like that. Did you see their guild treasury? Its contents were just updated a few days ago, and with that much, can't that guy buy the whole world if he converts all of that to Gils?"

"..."

"Tch! I doubt even the world bank has enough cash to buy even a hundredth of their guild treasury. Frickin' ridiculous!"

***Sigh...***

"Anyway, are we still going to try recruiting him?"

"Hmmm...? Nope. First, it's hard to make contact, and with that monstrous strength of his, we'll never be able to keep up with him. If he's already that strong at level 25, I don't know once he reached our level."

"""..."""

"What about the loot of that world boss? Are we not going to join in the fun?"

"Nah. There will be a bloodbath out there soon. There are so many top guild leaders participating. With their greed, it's inevitable."

"..."

"And that guy was shooting confidently. Someone like that won't let those precious loots be taken by others."

"Ugh! You've got a point."

....

They continue to watch the livestream in silence, which will end soon because of the damage that the protagonist of the show is dealing to the world boss. They can only watch with envy, as those precious loots will definitely go to the masked man shooting from a distance.

*******

On the battlefield just outside the Moon Empire...

*BOOM!* -185,136,000,000... 0%...

The god-ranked world boss finally lost all of its hit points. Even with the use of its other skills, like the barrier that gives it invincibility, the occasional damage reflection in the form of magic, or the AOE stun with incredible range, it couldn't even save itself.

Chris is immune to stuns after all, and he has a buckler that reflects the magic back towards the caster, and his attacks just pass through its barrier, pretty much ignoring it, so all the world boss' skills are almost countered by him. And then...

[God's Grace]!

The hidden passive of the world boss' ultimate skill is activated. Or so it seems. But...

"W-what the hell is that?"

"That's a grim reaper!?"

A huge, dark figure carrying a scythe appeared on top of the world boss, who was about to resurrect.

[True Death]! *Shiiing!*

The dark figure slashed the world boss, but it passed through. Still, it's already served its purpose and vanished immediately, like it wasn't there to begin with. It just happened in a matter of seconds. But it was picked up by the video, and every player on the battlefield felt its aura and was terrified of it.

*VWIIISH!!!*

The world boss then exploded, turning into beautiful motes of blinding light. Leaving everyone dazed for a moment, they woke up from their stupor afterwards.

"""""""OUUU!!!"""""""

"It's dead! It's dead!"

"Loots! Hurry up, towards the loot!"

"You dickfaces! Get out of the way!"

"Fuck you! It's free for all!"

"Ahhh!!! I'll kill anyone who passes through!"

"Oh yeah? Then let's see about that!"

*Shing!* -23,556 "Ahhh! You bastard!"

*Wham!* -31,772 "Ugah! Why you-!"

"Everyone, please calm down! I'm the guild mas-!"

"Fuck your guild!" *Pak!* -17,901 "Arghhh!"

*Bam!*...*Boom!*...*Wham!*...*Bzzzt!*...*Wiiish!*...*Weeeng!*.....

Thus, the bloody battle for the loot ensues. Thick, murderous-intent filled the area. Their eyes filled with greed. A great stampede of players. A true pandemonium. Their true faces are being shown to the whole world.

Meanwhile, on top of the Moon Empire's outer wall...

'Tsk! Disgusting! They completely lost their acts and showed their true colors when there was great treasure to be had.'

Chris had a look of disdain towards the greedy people who just started fighting just after the world boss fell. Although they were too far away, he could see them clearly thanks to this incredible attribute. He already anticipated that it would happen as the loot was just that tempting, but he was still surprised at what he was seeing right now.

He then chuckled inwardly, saying, 'Heh! Too bad for them, there's nothing out there anymore.'

[You killed Gift of all Gifts(SSS+) Lvl.250!]

[You obtained 90,000 Exp, 1,000,000 Fame, 1,000,000 Spirit Coins, 10,000 Crimson Coins, 20 S-Ranked Item Tickets, 5 SS-Ranked Item Tickets, 1 SSS-Ranked Item Ticket, Ultimate Holiday GiftBox x3, Treausre Chest(SSS).]

"!!!"

'Yes!!! I got the maximum loot! Hahaha!'

His happiness was through the roof upon seeing the loot he just got. Even he can lose it with this much loot.

'Hmmm? There's a treasure chest as well. I thought it was only dropped by bosses inside dungeons...'

Chris had no idea that when a world boss appeared, the world itself was its dungeon. But it's something he'll learn from his system in the future.

'Whatever! Loot is loot, and I'll accept everything. Hehehe...!'

With a silly smile, he started to organize his haul, but a notification popped in front of him.

[Congratulations! Your raid party killed a God-Ranked World Boss for the very first time! A world announcement will be made for you and your party members. Would you like to hide your names?]

'Ooof! Yeah, there's that. This is quite troubling...'

Chris was suddenly in a dilemma, as he was actually in a raid party consisting of 50 members. It included his guild members with veteran rank and above, as well as the 24 girls just a few hundred meters away from him.

It was Hannah and her group. She actually tried to add him to her party a few minutes before. But upon realizing that he was already in a party, she decided to leave hers and apply to his party instead. The rest of the girls with her also joined the party afterwards.

The remaining slot was filled with the trusted elites of Hannah and Rana just for the World Announcement rewards. Chris and his friends didn't mind it at all, as there was still some space anyway. And all of his friends are very far away but will still get a reward as long as they are in the party.

It's also the reason why Hannah's and Rana's whole guild members fall back from the frontlines because he told them that something bad will happen once the world boss falls. They tried to reason with him about the loot, but he assured them that it would be fine.

Hannah was anxious before and wanted to confirm if he really was the person she knew. To her surprise, Darryl blurted out "sister-in-law" in the chat, and there is only one fat person who calls her like that, and it gave out everything, confirming her suspicions towards Chris.

'Bah! Whatever! If someone tries to harm her and her friends, I'll just hunt them down myself, and she ain't that weak anyways.'

He then shouted in his mind after some contemplation.

'NO!'

[DING!]

A loud sound then resounded in the skies, temporarily halting everyone's actions.

[World Announcement: Congratulations to team 'Lazy Dragons', led by Player 'Despair' for slaying the Supreme God, Gift of all Gifts Lvl.250 for the first time and were rewarded with 1,500,000 Fame, 1,500,000 Platinum Coins, 15,000 Spirit Coins and World Lottery Ticket(SSS) each! Along with Player 'Silent Tears', 'Black Rose', 'White Rose', 'Strident Ruptures', 'Pink Mocha', 'Mr.sOHandsOme', Dawn's Strike.... their names will be recorded in the annals of history!]

[World Announcement:....]

[World....]

'Hm! Another separate reward! When it rains, it really pours, huh? Hehehe...!'

The announcement resounded three times before it faded, creating a deafening silence for quite a while before every player came to their senses. Some players were surprised by the names that were with Chris and immediately made a ruckus.

"W-what!?"

"Those names are... the leaders and cadres of the two all-female guilds in Moon Empire!"

"Tch! That bastard is trying to get close to our goddesses!"

"Ahhh! Our goddesses! They've fallen into that guy's claws..."

"Haaah...! I'm so jealous! Even I will party up with Sir Despair for those rewards..."

"Riiiiight~!? Compare to these poor blokes, I'll choose a rich Sir Despair anytime of the day..."

"Tch! Golddigging sluts..."

"""What did you say, pigface!?"""

"""..."""

Everyone has different reactions after hearing the worldwide announcement. Some had jealousy, some had hate, and some had dismay. A particular blonde man in a full plate armor set had an incredible hatred. His switch flipped after hearing the name of "his" woman being present on the list.

"You three, and some of you, follow me! And the rest of you, continue your search! Don't even dare to stop until you get at least a Divine-ranked drop. You got that?"

"""Yes, your majesty!"""

He immediately halted his search, ordered his men to search for the loot, brought some people with him, and teleported back to the capital to confront "his" woman. He doesn't like her being close to other men after all, especially to some nobody who only got lucky and nothing else.

*******

Meanwhile, on Chris' side...

A few minutes after organizing his inventory, a beautiful voice that he hadn't heard for a very long time resounded a few meters away from him.

"H-hmph! Congratulations on killing the world boss, Mr. Popular!"

He had a wry smile as he felt her shyness in her voice. Although he just heard it in the live broadcast a few weeks ago, hearing it in person was still different. It became more mature compared to when they were young, but he can still recognize it.

"Yeah... Than-!"

*Thump!* *Thump!*

His words were cut short by two short-statured girls hugging him on each side. One was a pinkhead, while the other was a redhead.

"Yay! I finally met Lord Des!"

"Whao! Lord Des is super, duper cool!"

"Ermmm..."

His mouth was twitching. He didn't even know how to respond to these star-struck girls at all.

"Lord Des, you have to give me a present as well, like Eriri! I'm your number one fan too, after all."

"That's right, Lord Des, please give Shasha a present as well."

"""..."""

He became even more speechless at it, and even the rest of the girls were the same, not knowing whether to laugh or cry at it. The blonde with drill-style hair then scolded the little girls. She had a glint in her eyes while looking at him, and she definitely has some motive too.

"You two, stop pestering Sir Despair. He just finished a battle, so give him some space."

""Ehhhhh!? Okay...""

"Sorry about that, Sir Despair. These two are always like that."

"Nah, it's fine."

He then looked at the little tanned redhead and said, "You're little Shasha, right? Since you're my number one fan as well, I'll give you a present later."

"Really? Yay! Yay! Whao!"

"Good for you Shasha!"

"Un!"

*Clap!* ""Yay!""

"""..."""

'''What? That easy? Can we ask for a present as well?'''

The rest of the girls thought in their minds with a twitching mouth. Had they known that this guy was this generous, they would have asked first. But in the end, they just kept it to themselves with wry smiles. They're not young kids who can ask for something innocently without being called "thick-skinned" or something similar.

"Hmph! How generous of you, Mr. Popular! Let's talk somewhere private. After all, you have a lot to explain, especially to me..."

"Haaah... Alright. Sheesh! Why so grumpy though? It's been so long since we last saw each other, and you act like this?"

"Hmph! And whose fault do you think it was? You'll definitely get it later. Just you wait..."

"""..."""

Hannah's words show irritation and impatience. She's clearly annoyed now, and she didn't know why. In truth, she wanted to hug him as well, but right now, they are in public.

She knew that he wasn't ready to reveal his identity yet, so she could only endure, and later, she would definitely hug him when they were alone. Chris also felt the same in that regard.

The girls, however, were quite confused by what was going on right now, as if there was a sexual tension between the two. Only two of the girls knew the reason, and they currently have smirks on their faces.

They then started to climb down the wall. There are a lot of players in the media who wanted to actually interview him, but they couldn't even approach him as he was surrounded by the girls. But a loud voice, clearly laced with hate, resounded behind them.

"Hoh...? For my fiancée to be mingling with another man. Isn't this inappropriate, Princess Hannah Soliel?

"""!!!"""

It was so loud that everyone in the vicinity heard it. Even the streamers and reporters managed to pick it up. On the other hand, Chris, who heard it, had his brows furrowed. Someone seems to be seeking death once again.