In the marble halls of the Kingdom of Babel's royal court, a neighboring kingdom near Arkanos City, a tall, lean man with violet hair sat with his head bowed and his hands cuffed. His white clothes were torn and ragged. He was accused of murder and being an accomplice to the Great Thief.
"Damn it," the man muttered to himself, pressing his hands over his ears. "It's so noisy around here."
The female prosecutor pointed sharply at him. "Covering your ears won't change a thing! The biggest reason your guild has suspected you is that you claimed to have no connection to the Great Thief." Her voice rang out across the marble hall, echoing off the tall pillars. "At that moment, the magic lie detector went off!" She paused, narrowing her eyes. "That alone is enough evidence!"
The man lifted his head, desperation written across his face. "I-I'VE BEEN SET UP! Y-YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO ME!" he shouted, his voice cracking with urgency.
Finn Borson was the man's name. He is a former world-ranked player.
[PLAYER 777]: [FINN BORSON] — (LEVEL 110) — [EX WORLD RANK 5]
The guild leader tapped his wooden table thrice with his index finger. "I've heard enough. Execute this man immediately via firing squad!"
The firing squad moved instantly, nocking light arrows to their bows.
The firing squad leader raised a red flag. "FIRE!"
A volley of light arrows shot toward Finn, falling like glowing raindrops from the sky.
The prosecutor smiled, eyes following the arrows. "It's over for you, Finn Borson…"
Finn lifted his head and said, "I really hate hurting people. It's just not who I am… but you leave me no choice."
When the light arrows came two inches away from his head, he smiled and snapped a finger, activating his exalted ring's skill: Dominance. It created a force field around him, stopping all the incoming light arrows mid-air.
The firing squad leader's eyes went wide. "H-HOW IS HE ABLE TO USE A SKILL? ISN'T HE HAND CUFFED IN SIPHONIC CUFFS? HIS MANA POINTS SHOULD BE EMPTY!"
Everyone gasped in disbelief.
Finn grinned, glancing down at the shattered siphonic cuffs around his wrists. "Oh, this?" he paused. "Come on now, guys... You've been chasing and studying me for months, yet you still don't know what I'm capable of?"
The judge's face was filled with fury, and he pointed at Finn and shouted, "Holy knights, unsheathe your swords and charge at the accused!"
The holy knights lunged forward at full speed, their blades glowing as they activated a skill: Aegis. It channeled holy energy into their blade that would deal 250% bonus damage.
"HERESY!!!" the holy knights shouted in perfect unison, their voices echoing off the marble walls.
"Oh, for heaven's sake," Finn muttered, facepalming. "You hypocrites really think you can take on a Trickster?"
Finn Borson's class, Trickster, is one of the supreme upgrades for assassins. It drastically enhances his abilities: his Luck, Agility, and Intelligence stats are quadrupled. On top of that, every time he dodges an enemy's skill or successfully strikes a target, he restores both HP and MP, letting him fight continuously with speed, precision, and near-constant stamina.
Finn laughed and activated a skill: Magical Prism. His body vanished from sight, and six identical clones sprang outward, each moving in a different direction.
The holy knights skidded to a halt, confused.
"Which one is it?" one of the holy knights muttered, eyes scanning the clones.
"Wohoo!" Finn's playful voice rang out from somewhere unseen. "Guess which one!"
The judge slammed the wooden table with a deafening bang. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU BASTARDS?! KILL ALL THE CLONES!"
The holy knights nodded and surged forward, swinging and thrusting at every clone.
"FOR THE KINGDOM OF BABEL!" three knights shouted, driving their swords into a clone's chest.
"O-Ouch!" the clone cried. Its body shattered in a burst of black and violet shards, sending projectiles flying in all directions. The shards applied a Blind debuff, and suddenly all the holy knights staggered, hands to their eyes.
"I-I CAN'T SEE!" the Holy Knights shouted in panic.
"Fools…" Finn thought, slipping through the chaos toward the gate. "I only let you capture me for my own entertainment."
As Finn turned to glance mockingly, a golden rapier pierced his chest despite being invisible. He coughed blood as the blade got deeper.
"Who the hell—" His eyes widened as he looked up. Recognition hit him like a bolt.
"B-Beisa?!" he gasped, staring at the familiar face standing before him.
[PLAYER 81]: [BEISA ALEKSANDAR] – (LEVEL 75)
The heroine, Beisa Aleksandar, appeared before Finn's eyes. She looked feminine despite being tall. She wore a sleek black and gold outfit that fit closely to her body. The design looked futuristic and stylish, with sharp lines and metallic adornments. Her long black hair flowed over one shoulder, and a gold headpiece added to her beautiful appearance. In her hand, she held a gold rapier with a skull-shaped hilt with blue eyes. Her class was Juggernaut, a level two class upgrade of the warrior class.
Beisa's green eyes locked onto Finn as his form slowly began to reveal itself. "Borson… Not only did you commit theft, but you also committed murder. You killed the person who gave you that class. Why?"
Finn smirked and activated a skill: Phantom Step, vanishing from sight and leaving behind a shadow image that continued his last movement for two seconds.
"Dream. For my dream, Beisa," he called out, his voice echoing across the marble hall.
"Chase him, Beisa!" the judge roared. "Don't let him get away!"
Beisa shook off the blood that stained her blade. "I can't. He's already gone far from here."
"THEN GO TO ARKANOS CITY AND REQUEST A MANHUNT FOR FINN BORSON!" the guild leader bellowed.
Beisa bowed her head, her expression calm but determined. "Understood."