Reaver disappeared in a flash of white light, sent back to the respawn point. Unfortunately for him, his bad luck resulted in the loss of a mere handful of silver coins.
Empress: "Are you done yet? I can't hold on much longer."
Orson replied with a mischievous grin, "Coming to save you, dear Empress."
"Get lost… or better yet, don't come at all," Empress snapped with exasperation.
Keril the Butcher unleashed several Group Confinement skills, but Orson and the others dodged them with practiced ease. The heavily injured boss was soon beaten down to the brink of death.
"Stab him! Burn him! This boss is about to fall!" Madman shouted impatiently as Keril's health dropped below 10,000.
At that moment, Orson suddenly received a private message from Reaver, and his mood plummeted to rock bottom.
"Every single person in SSR deserves to die," Orson muttered, struggling to contain his fury.
SSR丶Reaver: "Go ahead and laugh, Orson. Let's see how long it lasts. Want to know why the Esports Association banned you?"
"You think you're so pure, so much better than everyone else, but let me tell you the truth. That game—the one that ruined you? Everyone but you was in on it. Every single one of us was playing along."
"We all knew you'd never agree to throw a match. You're way too full of yourself for that. So, yeah… we cut you out of the deal. Each of us made millions off it, including your precious little protégé, Snow Dream. Oh, didn't see that coming, did you?"
"By the way, about that appeal you tried to file with the Esports Association? You didn't know? The biggest sponsor of the Esports Association is SSR. If they didn't ban you, who else were they going to ban?"
The message ended with a final jab: "Rot, you worthless piece of trash!"
Despite having endured the trials of a post-apocalyptic world, Orson couldn't stop his emotions from churning.
He finally understood Snow Dream's earlier behavior—the guilt, the evasive glances, and her sudden logout.
Because she couldn't face him.
Orson felt like laughing at himself—at his own naivety. He'd blamed himself for the disastrous match, thinking it was his own poor performance and leadership that had caused their loss.
He'd suspected there might be a traitor in the team, but he'd never imagined that everyone, including Snow Dream—the player he'd mentored with his own hands—had been in on it.
"Hey, man! If you don't start attacking, we're gonna get wiped!" Madman's urgent voice brought Orson back to the present.
Empress: "What are you doing, spacing out? Get your damage in!"
Realizing his teammates were on the verge of death, Orson snapped out of it and unleashed Touch of the Flame Serpent, hurling it at the boss with an explosive fury.
The boss's body collapsed, leaving behind a pile of loot, but Orson had no interest in checking it.
After a long silence, Orson replied to Reaver's message: "You'd better prepare to delete your account."
Then he blocked Reaver before the latter could gloat further.
"I'll get every last one of you. I swear it! I swear to fing God!" Orson seethed inwardly, his thoughts filled with the memories of camaraderie that now made his skin crawl.
"You have slain [Keril the Butcher]. Experience +20,000."
"Your level has increased to 16."
"[Soul Collection Bottle] has detected a collectible boss soul. Would you like to collect it?"
The notifications brought Orson back to his senses. He hesitated briefly before choosing to collect the soul.
A wisp of white smoke rose from the boss's corpse and disappeared into his inventory.
[Soul Collection Bottle]
Collected Progress: 1/20
The progress bar ticked up, leaving Orson pondering. The Ascended Demon Pill could only be consumed by NPCs. For now, he decided to focus on gathering the required souls.
"World Announcement: Would you like to remain anonymous?"
Orson's calm returned as he replied, "Show my name."
"World Announcement: Player Orgod has led a team to defeat the boss [Lord-Class: Keril the Butcher]!"
"This instance was completed with only three survivors, earning double rewards for no NPC assistance!"
"Reward: 60 free attribute points, 40 skill points, 12,000 reputation, and 30 gold coins!"
The server chat erupted into chaos.
CornerSlyFox: "Unbelievable! Even Usher couldn't steal it from this guy. What a legend!"
TaylorSwiftBigFan: "Dragon's Kiss Guild? SSR? Aren't they supposed to be unstoppable? So where are they now? Silent as the grave?"
36DPhoneHolder: "They teamed up and still couldn't win? Hilarious!"
The once-boisterous Dragon's Kiss Guild players were now conspicuously quiet. Their repeated defeats at the hands of a single player left them too embarrassed to speak.
SafetyFirst: "I admire Orgod! Join our Battle Intent Guild. Starting salary: 20 million!"
LBGHTXXXX: "Afraid of crossing Dragon's Kiss Guild? Not me. 35 million plus lifetime VIP access to Nocturne City's top clubs. Join us, Orgod!"
Recruitment offers flooded the world chat, with jaw-dropping salaries that left bystanders green with envy.
Empress smirked and teased Orson: "Why settle for them? Join Moonlight Guild. 50 million and two personal gaming companions. Deal?"
Madman's ears perked up. "Pick me! Forget the salary, just give me the gaming companions!"
"Get lost, kid," Empress retorted disdainfully.
Meanwhile, in the wilds, ShatteredCrown saw the announcements and exploded with rage.
ShatteredCrown: "Back off! That's my master you're trying to poach!"
He bought two golden megaphones—items so expensive that only billionaires would use them casually.
US Server Announcement:
ShatteredCrown: "I, President of The King Family Guild, hereby offer a 200-million-yearly salary to recruit Orgod, my master, into our guild! Together, let's conquer the game!"
The announcement shocked millions of players.
MoneyWalker: "200 million?! Forget a mansion—why not buy a private jet?"
RandomPlayer: "Orgod has a disciple? Since when?"
Orson read the announcement and smirked. "This idiot has money to burn but can't just send it directly to me?"
His inbox flooded with private messages from guild recruiters, but he ignored them all and turned off private messaging altogether.
Finally, Orson focused on looting.
The Night Banquet quest wasn't especially hard. With Blank's help, eliminating the NPCs had doubled the rewards.
Under normal circumstances, NPC assistance would make clearing the quest much easier once players learned the bloodkin monsters' mechanics.
Unfortunately, the loot was underwhelming: a single Level 20 purple armor piece and two D-rank skill books. Orson listed them in the auction house to split the proceeds with his teammates.
Madman grumbled while sifting through the boss's corpse. "Wasn't there supposed to be some kind of quest item?"
Orson's mind clicked as he recalled the Barrier Stone in his inventory, a drop from the NPCs they'd killed earlier.
"Damn it! Did the quest glitch or something? The boss is dead, but there's no quest item!" Madman raged.
Orson shook his head, feigning ignorance.
He checked the Night Banquet quest log: the task to return the Barrier Stone to the city's lord was already marked as complete. Abandoning the quest would incur no penalties.
Quest Log: Due to the Barrier Stone's disappearance, hordes of monsters have infiltrated Pondenorlin City. Please assist Lord Cain in retrieving it...
A sly grin spread across Orson's face.
"So… if I don't return the Barrier Stone, won't that mean endless grinding inside the city?"
His plan was clear: Lord Cain would never see that stone again.