Game’s Dogma

​​​​​​​The players, startled by his sudden request, laughed it off and said, ‘Our guild master’s a busy one, he’s currently gathering players in Evergrand. Just follow me.’

The player whose name was Bloodless Bladester blabbered on about how great the Underworld guild was while greeting the players passing by from time to time. As Drako Yau listened keenly to the briefing, he found it somewhat shocking how strong the guild actually was.

This guild… Zephyrwolf’s Howl of the Tempest Wolves doesn’t even come close…

Over 80 per cent of their guild members were Level 10 or above, and they even had over 10 players who were Level 15 or above. Those were some amazing numbers; in the current Real World, they were a rather powerful guild.

After all, the game had only been public for roughly two weeks. Having so many high level players was a feat worth being proud of. It could be said that they were one of the first-rate major guilds, albeit on the lower end of the spectrum.

Yet, why was such a powerful guild forced to stay in Evergrand?

As they walked, the two soon arrived at the city centre, the Evergrand Plaza. It was starting to get crowded and stuffy, but Drako Yau knew that most, if not all, the players in Evergrand had gathered here.

‘Move it, sorry. Mind moving a bit? Thanks.’

Bloodless Bladester dragged Drako Yau along through the crowd. Upon seeing him, the players courteously moved to the sides to let the pass. It was obvious that he wasn’t just a normal guild member.

Even with him opening a path through the crowd, they still took a few minutes before finally reaching the very centre of the plaza.

‘Bladester, you’re back.’ A few others greeted him. They were all powerful players who were above Level 15.

Bloodless Bladester laughed and asked, ‘Where’s the guild master?’

‘The guild master’s busy right now.’ They all shook their heads.

Drako Yau then stepped forward, a speech bubble popping out above him. ‘May I meet your guild master? There is something of utmost importance that I must discuss with him.’

They all furrowed their brows and sized up Drako Yau. However, the bloody crimson mask clung tightly onto his face, not revealing even the slightest of hints.

‘Bladester, who is this?’

Bloodless Bladester cringed at Drako Yau’s frank words. He had not expected the masked man to be so overly straightforward with his request.

‘He’s a player I met at the teleportation array, I was going to invite him to join us in defending the city…’

Due to the Mask of the Hidden Dragon’s special effect, Bloodless Bladester couldn’t view Drako Yau’s level, but he could feel a sense of oppression from the vague aura seeping from the man. This sensation—he had only felt it from a handful of people, and one of them was none other than his guild master.

Glancing at each other, they then shook their heads. ‘Time’s running short, there’s only 15 minutes left until the siege. The guild master doesn’t have the time to see you now, if there’s anything you need, you can tell us first—’

‘Are you in charge? Can you represent the entire Underworld guild?’ Cold words popped up above Drako Yau in contrast to his calm eyes. ‘If you can’t, please pass the word on immediately.’

‘Damn you!’ One of them jumped forward and pointed at Drako Yau. ‘Know your place! He’s our guild master, he doesn’t just meet any random beggar who wants to see him! If you want us to pass the word on, sure, defeat me first!’

The moment he finished his words, a dazzling golden flag descended from above and landed in front of Drako Yau and the man who challenged him.

‘The Golden Flag of Duel!’

‘You have been challenged to a duel by the player Everlastor. Accept?’

Bloodless Bladester and the other players glanced at each other, but none of them stepped forward to put a stop to the duel. They also wanted to teach the arrogant man a lesson.

Drako Yau calmly accepted the duel without uttering a single word.

‘5.’

‘4.’

‘3.’

The seconds ticked by along with the numbers on the Golden Flag of Duel.

Everlastor stared at Drako Yau with a ferocious grin. ‘Brat, I won’t hold back.’

‘1!’

‘Start!’

The moment the countdown ended, Everlastor dashed at Drako Yau with a two-handed greatsword in hand.

Warriors had plenty of choices when it came to weapons. They could use two-handed greatswords, single-handed swords, katanas, as well as spears. For those who chose to wield greatswords, their builds were usually centred around power and aggressiveness; they had longer reach and higher damage with their attacks at the cost of lower attack speed.

Drako Yau shot a look at the warrior and readied Dawnlight. Instead of falling back, he stepped forward and sent his spear straight at the incoming greatsword.

The ones who were witnessing the duel either sighed or mocked the masked man upon seeing his choice of action. Bloodless Bladester also shook his head disappointedly as he said, ‘Greatswords have the highest skill priority among all weapons a warrior can use. A spear’s not weak, but priority wise, it’s definitely the inferior one.’

One of the players sniggered and said, ‘It’s better that way. Gotta let him know that trash who comes out of nowhere isn’t qualified to meet our guild master.’

Just when the spear was going to cross paths with the greatsword, Drako Yau’s direct jab suddenly veered off its original trajectory slightly. He propelled the spear by pushing against the shaft’s end with his right palm, allowing the weapon to slide forwards, guided by his other fist that acted like a barrel. The spear bolted towards the enemy until his left hand regained control of the weapon at the very end of the shaft, essentially wielding it with a single hand.

‘What!’

Although surprised by the sudden movement of the spear, Everlastor still went through with his overhead strike. It cut through nothing but air, landing centimetres before Drako Yau. Dawnlight whizzed past the greatsword as it pierced Everlastor right in his waist.

A red glow flashed the moment it landed.

Gaining the upper hand, Drako Yau pressed on along with the momentum, raining thrusts and jabs all over Everlastor. No matter how hard the warrior roared and attacked, all his attacks simply didn’t connect. Even his skills couldn’t deal a single point of damage on the spearman; Drako Yau always evaded right at the very last moment.

‘Victor: ???’

The words appeared on the golden flag which soon vanished.

Two minutes—that was all he took to defeat Everlastor without losing any health.

The powerful players in the Underworld guild who had been mocking and sighing were rendered speechless. Everlastor wasn’t the strongest, but he was still top 10 in the guild. Every one of the spectators could have defeated him in a duel, but not without taking any damage at all.

‘Can I see your guild master now?’

The cold and emotionless speech bubble popped up above him again. He didn’t sound arrogant; it felt like he was looking down on them instead.

‘Did something happen? What’s with all the hustle?’ An austere voice could be heard from inside the tent that stood in the plaza. Upon hearing the voice, all the reinless pros of Underworld dipped their heads respectfully.

‘Guild master, someone wishes to see you.’

‘Oh?’ The word contained a tint of curiosity.

A silhouette slowly emerged from within the tent. Everyone, even the players who weren’t in Underworld, all turned silent out of respect.

The steely face was a familiar one. The player ID displayed above the guild master was ‘Hades’.