Game’s Dogma

​​​​​​​A character was currently walking through the plains. As long as one had played the online game ‘War of the Daemons’, they would surely recognise the name displayed above the character.

Hades.

Back in War of the Daemons, he was often nicknamed ‘Diabolos’ which meant devil. Yet right now, the so-called devil showed no signs of his former might and instead was walking furtively.

His gaze wandered around, trying to discern whether other players had noticed him. However, even if players who had played War of the Daemons saw him, they would only think of him as an imposter.

But he wasn’t. He was the real Hades, the person who was once hailed as the number one in the game.

Drako Yau and his stillborn game were not the only victims in the gaming industry. After the release of Real World, almost 90 per cent of players from other games had switched over, turning many once-populous online games into deserted servers. Just three days ago, War of the Daemons had also announced that they would shut down their game servers in two weeks.

No one shouted abuse at the games that decided to shut down. Instead, veteran players all felt sympathy for their beloved titles. With the rise of Real World, no online game, not even one, could possibly survive the competition.

As such, Hades also switched over to Real World in hopes of rebuilding his glorious reputation, just like how he had been recognised as the top-ranked player back in the previous game. Yet…

The current Hades didn’t even dare face his comrades who had previously fought alongside him.

He squinted his eyes at a player who was currently sitting under a tree. To be precise, it was the dagger hanging on the player’s waist that caught his eyes.

After taking in a deep breath, Hades sorted out his equipment and strode towards the player.

After the intense battle, Drako Yau was currently deep in thought. Weakness Exploit was a system he had once considered implementing, but in the age of keyboard and mouse, it had a rather high learning curve and skill requirement.

Systems that players couldn’t adapt to and accept were trash. It was the ironclad rule of the gaming industry. However, things were different here. The system would undoubtedly work when their enemies were man-sized monsters. It could even be implemented into player-versus-player battles as well.

Anyways, Drako Yau didn’t pay much heed to the thought. Right now, he seemed visibly troubled as he viewed his character interface.

He was currently Level 3 and had three skill points, but he could only look helplessly at his Wanderer skill tree.

‘Might: Wanderers enter battles with grandeur. Increases basic attack damage by 10%.’

‘Wandering: It is the fate of wanderers to wander around. Increases movement speed by 1%.’

‘??’

‘??’

Apart from Might and Wandering, the rest were hidden by large question marks. He could only learn what the next skill was upon reaching Level 7.

One of Drako Yau’s objectives was to find the differences between his version of Real World with the one he was currently in. This Wanderer class of his, it wasn’t present in his version of the game, nor did the official website of the current Real World mention anything about it.

As such, it was likely a hidden class, yet Drako Yau couldn’t even feel the slightest of joy for acquiring such a unique class.

What the hell is wrong with this class! There’s not a single active skill! Basic attacks… who the hell uses it when they have skills? Increasing movement speed seems overpowered, but it’s just one per cent...

Although this game was identical to his own in many ways, some systems were completely unique and different as well. Just when he was stressing out about his class, a silhouette stood in front of him.

‘Hm?’ Drako Yau lifted his head up to look at the person.

The word ‘Hades’ floated above him. In ancient Greek mythology, Hades was the ruler of the underworld, as well as the brother of Zeus, the king of gods, and Poseidon, god of the sea.

‘You’re a regular player right? Hm… Dragonspear?’

Drako Yau stared at the person briefly before lowering his gaze. ‘I don’t know you.’

Hades felt exasperated. War of the Daemons had been acknowledged as the most popular online game in the Tenth Western City for three consecutive years! And he was none other than the top-ranked player in that game; how could someone not know him? Was this the first time the guy played a game?

‘Ahem… I am Hades from War of the Daemons, also once given the puny title of Number One in the world of gaming.’

Hades then shook his head in a befitting manner for a pro. He was familiar with acting cool, for he had once been lauded as the best player after all. His skills of acting like a peerless master had already been honed to perfection.

He wasn’t really acting cool though, just that it looked that way right now, given his current strength in this game. Yet, the player Dragonspear simply ignored him, in a blatant manner no less.

Hades suppressed the rage boiling within him. If this had been War of the Daemons, he would have slaughtered anyone who dared to disregard him with such disrespect.

‘Uh… Ha ha! Having named yourself Dragonspear, I’m sure you have a thing for spears. I suppose you’re a warrior if you’re able to use spears, no? Then you don’t have much use for the dagger you’re carrying.’ After saying such, Hades took out a spear from his item bag and continued, ‘This spear’s called Dawnlight. It’s not one of those cheap common drops, but instead a green item, an uncommon one. I’ll give you your favourite weapon in exchange for the dagger that’s useless to you, what do you say?’

Pfff!

Drako Yau abruptly stood up and glared right into Hade’s eyes. Hades was startled by the imposing glare, but he quickly pulled himself together as he was still acting like a pro right now.

‘What are you up to!’

Drako Yau then said, ‘If you want it, come get it yourself.’

‘You!’

Hades couldn’t hold back any longer. If he could swallow this, it’d trample his pride as the king in War of the Daemons. He quickly placed the spear back into his item bag and unsheathed the dagger on his waist, then charged right at Drako Yau.

In Real World, there was no such thing as starter protection. Regardless of one’s level, players would still lose levels and drop equipment or gold upon death. It was cruel, but that was true to the game’s name—in a real world, the strong always preyed on the weak.

Looking at Hades, Drako Yau showed a grin as he held the starter stick in his hands. The sudden attack missed its target; he could avoid attacks of this calibre even while sleeping. It was all thanks to the hellish training he had undergone as a kid.

Upon dodging, Drako Yau swung his stick at Hades’ occiput along with the momentum. Right when it was about to land, Hades hastily fell down like he had tripped himself. It was not the most pleasant of sights, but he still managed to dodge Drako Yau’s attack.

This was way too embarrassing.

Could you believe that a crafty pro who had once stood at the apex of an online game could barely defeat a hare upon switching over to another game? Yet it was the truth.

Hades was best revered for his lightning reaction time and astoundingly high actions-per-minute. Even if he was ambushed, he could always turn the tables on the aggressor with rapid clicks and reactions. When normal players finished casting their first skill, he would be clicking his fourth already.

His hands, they were peerless when it came to speed.