Vengeance

The cutscene ended, and Kai, along with everyone else, was once again back at the village entrance, all looking up at the towering figure in the distance as it continued to blast the innocent village to cinders.

Before any of them could move a muscle, a notification resounded in their heads.

[Mission: Escape

Difficulty: E

Objective: Escape to any nearby settlement.

Reward: 10,000 Exp, Bloodline Skill]

Yeah, that's right. The sensible thing to do was run. Run like hell.. The respawn point had been burned to ashes—if they died now, who knew where they'd end up? If they went to fight and were killed near the monster and got spawn-killed endlessly.. all their efforts in leveling would be wasted.

The other alien species immediately made the safer choice and ran off in whatever direction they liked the most. However, some human players were still as crazy as ever, eager to try their luck against the new boss. Those who had been in the village when this all started had already died and respawned multiple times, yet they continued using their weak-ass skills to launch laughable attacks at the overpowered monster.

Kai didn't want to die, but he was also curious to see if there was any hidden information or a secret quest that could be triggered by staying in the burning village a while longer.

Just as he was pondering this, he saw a figure far ahead of him, charging toward the monster without hesitation.

It was Deimos.

The crazed players—he understood. They didn't have much to lose to begin with. But why would she..?

Kai hesitated for a brief moment before deciding to follow her. This could be a rare opportunity. Still, as a precaution, he shot an arrow with his bow near his feet before running forward. He barely had 5 MP left—keeping one in reserve for his return, he could only use Godstep twice, assuming he recovered one MP on the way.

Above them, the Exodian City was slowly moving through the sky. Timing the Exodian NPC's attacks, Kai dashed from cover to cover. The Exodian was blasting anyone who got too close to it.

Deimos was doing the same a bit ahead of him, but she had enhanced speed, allowing her to dodge even if a blast was launched in her direction.

As Kai closed in—just 500 meters from the monstrous figure—suddenly, another mission was triggered.

[Mission: Vengeance

Difficulty: S

Objective: Kill the murderer of your family in under 10 minutes.

Reward: 20 Million Exp, Cursed Blade of Retribution, Skill - Blood Oath, Summon Token - Spirit of the Fallen]

Kai stared at the floating window, his eyes wide with shock.

S-rank!

How powerful was that ugly thing?!

A skill, 20 million Exp, and even a summon token! Those were some insane rewards. Summon tokens were among the rarest items in the game—one could use them to awaken any NPC they had seen before to fight alongside them for a few minutes.

Needless to say, it was a game-changing item—quite literally.

In the very first official Nyxfall Championship final match, arranged by the headgear company NOAH, Team Grade Z Grenadine had used a summon token to decimate their opponents. It was a one-sided match, but it had left a powerful impression as they took home the very first championship title.

Considering the championship was held on one of the landing planets—and that there were no national restrictions, so long as a team qualified in their regionals—it was a huge achievement.

The captain of that team, along with many pro players, had also joined them in the offline world. They weren't the easiest bunch to get along with in real life, but they had played an important role in eventually killing Deimos along with them.

Kai was tempted to accept the mission and try his luck.. but he knew it was impossible for them—mere Level 14 village squirts.

As he glanced back, he noticed many players had started copying him, following behind with the same fearless attitude. The fearlessness of human players was both their greatest strength and their biggest weakness. Because they dared to make stupid decisions—sometimes moronic, sometimes brilliant—they always discovered the most hidden items and quests.

At least once, Kai wanted to try his luck too. Seeing the players following behind, his eyes sparkled.

Maybe—just maybe—the crazy idea in his head could work. He accepted the mission.

Deimos was still moving forward, blazing through the flames and smoke-covered land. Kai had no idea what her plan was, but he needed to get closer to execute his own. 

He could use his fellow cannon fo—no, comrades. Fellow comrades.

He waited for them to catch up while keeping an eye on Deimos.

Dodging the massive blasts with blinding speed, she weaved through broken debris and charred NPC corpses. The Exodian hadn't locked onto her yet, but he had noticed her and was smiling—a disturbing grin spreading across his grotesque face.

He was waiting.

Waiting for her to come closer so he could blast her at point-blank range.

Man, NPCs have become really insidious in this version!

It was too risky. She was out in the open. Her MP wouldn't last forever, and once it ran out, she'd be dead meat with no defense.

What the hell was she even thinking?

She wielded a sword in one hand and a dagger in the other, unleashing twin green slashes toward the Exodian above. The attacks reached—but they were just as useless as the powerful arrow his character had launched earlier.

Yet, the Exodian didn't counterattack.

Instead, he descended—his crazed eyes locked onto Deimos, amusement flickering in them.

Effortlessly, he grabbed her throat with one massive hand, lifting her up to his eye level.

"Worthless scum.. How does a pathetic, lowly lifeform even dare to think it can stand up to absolute power?"

He sneered, every word dripping with venomous amusement.

Blood trickled down Deimos's angular face as she looked up, meeting the Exodian's gaze.

And then, she smiled.

Gritting her teeth, her entire body began to glow—a blinding green energy surging through her veins. Bright cracks split open across her black skin as if the power inside her could no longer be contained.

And then, she spat out her final words.

"Like this, piece of shit—"

And she exploded.

A massive green mushroom cloud erupted, engulfing the Exodian whole.