Game’s Dogma

Ichor Hon and Drako Yau soon left the city with their quick feet. Ichor Hon glanced backwards and asked coldly, “Do you know the people behind us?”

Drako Yau similarly glanced back to find a group of players consisting mostly of Empyreon elites. He then shook his head.

“Oh.”

Compared to the old geezer, Ichor Hon appeared more like Drako Yau’s master; their quiet personality was almost identical. Ichor Hon waved his right arm as if he was shedding the dust off his sleeves. A blood-red flash blinded everyone before turning them into columns of white light, shocking the spectators who dared not follow the two.

The NPC killed a hundred players with a single attack!

Ichor Hon squinted his eyes into a slit. “I hate flies!”

The two then continued to walk in silence. As they travelled, Drako Yau mentally plotted their path in his head, determining that this direction pointed towards an isolated mountain near the starter village. The world was far too large, especially when most players focused only on levelling grounds when such locations took up less than half of the entire map.

The non-combat regions allowed casual players to explore and enjoy the scenery. Right now, they were entering one of such regions where monsters didn’t spawn. If Drako Yau hadn’t designed Real World, he wouldn’t have known where he was headed for too.

Soon, Drako Yau realised the surrounding vegetation was thinning down. This isn’t right, he thought. According to his memory, trees should be taking over the place instead. He took out his phone and projected a three-dimensional map, a copy of the game world which he downloaded before leaving Jubilant Games. The map projected was based off the world which he had created and was inaccessible to any other player.

As expected! This place was different originally!

Ichor Hon said nothing, nor did Drako Yau ask about it; he had total faith in Ichor Hon. As the two ventured further, all vegetation ceased to exist, replaced by a pale red surface. Drako Yau lifted his head to find a volcano in shock.

Volcanoes were ancient existences that no longer threatened the human race in the era of advanced technology. The few volcanoes in the actual world were no more than tourist attractions. However, the one standing before him was different. It puffed out dense, dark smoke, while his surroundings were flooded with fire elements, which made him somewhat uncomfortable.

Although he absorbed fire elements for his cultivation techniques, what he required was a balanced absorption. Taking in only fire elements would offset the delicate balance in his body. Thankfully, his yin-yang symbol could convert these elements, or he wouldn’t even last a moment here.

As they approached the foot of the volcano, Ichor Hon suddenly stopped and said, “Senior, I have brought him.”

“Mhm.” A thunderous voice resounded around them like rolling thunder. “Him alone shall enter.”

Drako Yau looked up. Nothing but a straight path that led to a cave awaited him. The voice originated from the cave, which supposedly connected to the volcano’s interior.

“Understood,” replied Ichor Hon respectfully.

Drako Yau felt his chest tightening just from hearing Ichor Hon’s attitude. The prideful slaughterer who easily butchered the players who followed them was now bowing towards the entrance as a junior. Just who was the person in the cave?

Ichor Hon then stood straight and looked into Drako Yau’s eyes. “Enter. Remember to be respectful at all times.”

“Mhm.” Drako Yau nodded.

Although he had no idea what Oda Nobunaga and Ichor Hon were up to, he was sure they wouldn’t harm him in any way. The battle with Hawk had alerted him of his weakness; what he needed the most now was every way to strengthen himself.

The scorching heat and the pitch-black cave were a beast that chose its prey. Drako Yau felt like a sheep wandering into a tiger’s territory, but he had nothing to fear.

After sending Drako Yau into the cave, a complicated look washed over Ichor Hon. He subconsciously touched the sword on his waist.

Nothing illuminated the cave’s interior, but the walls seemed to innately radiate a dark red glow as if they were burning. A lone path without any branches led all the way to the deepest section.

Drako Yau’s complexion worsened as he delved further into the cave. The extremely high temperature and concentrated fire elements made breathing difficult; even the yin-yang symbol struggled to keep up. However, there was no way back at this point.

After a while, he saw a glow at the end of the tunnel. He instinctively sped up and headed for the destination. Everything cleared up the moment he exited the tunnel. 

He wouldn’t be surprised to find monsters or enemies there, but what awaited him was unexpected—a spacious plaza. Several hundred metres in diameter, the circular plaza was decorated with furniture and facilities such as a washroom, kitchen, bed, and bookshelves.

This is a house! Who would build their home here?

“You’re here? Don’t just stand there, you dimwit!”

Drako Yau felt himself flying through the air the next moment. His yin-yang symbol was suppressed, unable to wring out even a tiny drop of energy. He could finally feel how hopeless the victims of his Dragon Capturing Hand felt.

It didn’t take long until he landed behind a man who sat on the ground holding a fishing rod. What was there to fish in a sea of lava?

“Oh! It’s here!”

The man stood up in excitement, as if the thing on the hook was more important than Drako Yau. He tugged his fishing rod and reeled in the wire while Drako Yau observed him from behind.

The fishing rod’s colour resembled the walls in the tunnel. Its fishing wire looked ordinary at first glance, but he noticed an occasional glint of gold after closer inspection. Both were clearly not standard fishing equipment.

The sounds of reeling resounded throughout the plaza. The man murmured, “You little bastard, stop resisting so fiercely! Dammit… Get up here!”

An explosive aura burst forth from the man. Compared to the man’s aura, the scorching heat around felt no more than the flame on a match. Drako Yau could only remain in place while grilled by the intense aura.

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