Silas POV:
These past few days have been boring. After that bastard NPC wiped the floor with us, I started digging up information about him. Wasn't hard—asked around a bit and turns out he's been a known figure in the Voss Theocracy for over fifteen years.
They called him "The Heretic."A child, now grown, born with the Eyes of True Sight. A prodigy with sword and spear. Skilled with a bow, enhanced with magic.
In this game, classes aren't easy to get. They take a ton of achievements. I'm just a basic warrior—starter class, sword and shield. Mike's a fencer, Jared's a berserker, and Jenny's an explorer.
But him?He'd be considered an epic class.A spellsword.
Those are the guys who use battle magic and swordplay with equal lethality. I didn't fully get the whole "magic circles" thing some old veteran NPC explained to me, but he made one thing clear—if you're not confident, the worst thing you can do is fight a high-level spellsword.
"Tsk." I clicked my tongue, annoyed. That hidden boss? Yeah… probably an endgame boss.
He's been alive after fifteen years of being hunted by the most powerful organization in this region. No way he's not absurdly strong. And in that fight, he barely used anything—just a level one spell. If that even counts as one.
Doesn't matter. I'll level up eventually… and I'll kill him.
That's what separates a good player from a great one—persistence.
Still… that doesn't mean throwing yourself at a wall over and over.This wasn't a "get good" situation.This was a fundamental gap.
I thought about joining the Church. If this guy's a hidden faction enemy, then they're probably connected. Standard RPG logic.
But those bastards are insane too.
The other day, Jenny and I ran into a priest in the forest. He overheard us talking about loot from a hunt, gave us this weird look, and started going on about how "the soulless must leave this world"… then attacked us.
We didn't stand a chance. High-level cleric. Wouldn't surprise me if he could call down divine intervention.
So yeah.Now we're enemies of the Church too.
Still—not everything's bad. My guildmates have started joining the server. And with them, we're planning a full-on raid of a parish. Payback for those lunatics.
Just thinking about it makes me smile.
Not like I've been slacking either. Leveled up twice. I'm level 3 now.
"System," I whispered.
The usual screen popped up, showing my stats:
STR: 12DEX: 9INT: 5WIS: 6CHA: 8CON: 11
I was a solid warrior. Better stats than most mobs I ran into.
Still… something felt off.All I kept running into were low-tier priests, villagers, poorly trained soldiers.
While I was thinking about that, I heard something behind me.
I drew my sword instantly, ready to fight.
But there was no fight.
It was my brother—and friend—Hector. Leader of our guild, Blood Wolves.
"Little brother!" Hector laughed loudly. "Look how much you've grown!"
"Hector… you haven't changed at all. It suits you," I said with a grin.
So this was it. My chance to get back at those Church bastards.
One step at a time… I'd dominate this entire game.
I was happy.
We hugged, caught up, and soon everyone started gathering—his group, my group.
After some laughs, it was time.
Pure PvE.Wipe out NPCs until they stop being a problem.
That was the plan.
[Ding]
The mission popped up:
[Quest Acquired: Destroy the Church of the Goddess of Truth in the village of Skye][Difficulty: ★★★★★ | Reward: 1 Gold-grade sword]
Now that was a good quest. Hard difficulty, great reward.
And after that scam that bastard pulled on me?
Yeah. I wanted blood.
Didn't matter. I'd get better gear… and then I'd kill him.
We moved out together. The forest was a pain—roots, mud, uneven ground, weak monsters.
Forty minutes later, we arrived.
Around fifty players were already there. The village probably had around a hundred NPCs. Easiest strategy? Direct assault.
Villagers ran when attacked. Pretty boring AI, if I'm being honest.
From a distance, the place looked… nice. Comfortable. Wooden houses, open space, a clear water stream.
Relaxing.
Too bad.
I drew my sword. The villagers noticed us.
Next to me, Hector shouted:
"Kill every last one of them!"
We roared and charged.
This quest mattered. If we wanted to stay ahead of other guilds, we had to take opportunities like this.
What annoyed me most? I didn't even have to try. This wasn't combat.
This was farming. Grinding.
Worst mechanic in any game.
Like I said—pathetic.
Villagers didn't fight back. They just died. The few that tried were clumsy, slow, full of openings even an idiot could exploit.
Whoever designed this should be reported.
Honestly, I expected more resistance.
As I walked, I stabbed a woman trying to run—drove my blade straight through her skull.
Still grotesque.
But if I don't do it, someone else will.
What kind of trash game doesn't even let you censor this stuff?
I threw a dagger at a man—he dropped instantly.
The only ones I didn't kill were kids. They're usually immortal anyway.
That's what I told myself as bodies piled up around me.
Mutilated corpses. Blood. The smell of piss in the air.
I had to disable my sense of smell. It was unbearable.
It shouldn't bother me.
It never did before.
But now…
It was getting on my nerves.
We pushed forward and kicked in the church doors.
Inside, a priest and a priestess stood calmly, talking.
Weird.
No blood. No bodies. Just a couple of dropped weapons from players who'd died.
I stepped forward.
"Hello, mister NPC."
I didn't like being ignored. If they ignored you, it was intentional.
"STOP!" I shouted. "Give us everything you have and we won't kill you!"
I was confident. I knew we'd win.
"DID YOU HEAR ME?!"
The priestess moved.
She pulled a weapon from behind the altar—a spear. Twisted, vicious-looking.
Unsettling.
But we were forty-eight players.
The woman looked at us like we were insects.
"Leave," she said coldly, her voice almost hypnotic. "Or I'll split you in three."
No one listened.
Laughter broke out.
Hector stepped forward.
"Kill her!"
And then—
It wasn't a fight.
It was a slaughter.
Her spear moved—and every movement meant another player torn apart, pierced, erased.
I had to jump in. I was the highest level.
We had numbers.
Quantity beats quality, right?
…Right?
No.
She kept cutting us down.
It reminded me of that bastard with the golden eyes.
Every strike erased someone. Respawn.
I made a call.
I ran.
Not because I was scared.
Because dying again wasn't efficient.
I fought my way out, then came up with a plan—used two guildmates to stall while I "prepared a special attack."
Idiots.
Special attacks unlock at level 4.
They bought me enough time.
I got out.
Couldn't afford another death.
As I ran, something crept in.
Not fear of the priestess.
Something deeper.
Darker.
Real.
I felt it before I saw it.
A gaze.
And the worst thing I could've done—
Was look back.
In the sky, beyond the stars, beyond the night itself—
An eye.
Massive. Golden. Carved with silver runic patterns.
It was watching me.
Unblinking.
I was afraid.
I've never been brave.
So I did the only logical thing.
[Log out]
[The system cannot process your request. Authority denied.]
…What?
[Log out]
[The system cannot process your request. Authority denied.]
Panic hit me like a punch to the chest.
[The system cannot process your request. Authority denied.][The system cannot process your request. Authority denied.][The system cannot process your request. Authority denied.][The system cannot process your request. Authority denied.]
THIS DIDN'T FEEL LIKE A GAME.
The eye kept watching me.
Like missing even a single detail would be a mistake.
What the hell is happening in this game?
A bug? A glitch?
Some hidden quest from that bastard getting revenge?
I don't know.
All I know is—
That eye
Was looking straight into my soul.