Chapter 13 - Out Of Luck

Broken readied himself as five players suddenly encircled him from every direction. Based on Booba's report and their aggressive posturing, it was clear that these players had murderous intentions.

"Tsk!" One of them shook his head in disbelief. "Useless," he exclaimed firmly. "Why are we robbing this poor soul? Just look at him. He doesn't even have any decent armor on."

Broken was indeed wearing armor, but their assessment was partially correct, as his armor had no value. If their goal was to rob him, the only valuable item he had was his Iron Sword, but even that wouldn't be worth much to these players.

"Ha ha ha," another player laughed. "It would be more enjoyable if we still teach this player a lesson. He has the audacity to come to such a dangerous place. It seems he wants to play games with us."

"Yeah, look at his name, Broken!" one of them chuckled. "I wonder what he was thinking when he chose that name! And look at him now—walking around here alone, low level with a…" they glanced at Polly, "cute pet fox."

Broken swallowed hard, struggling to think of a way to fight off the five players. A quick glance revealed they were not too high in level, likely between 50 and 60. Unfortunately, some players had a sick hobby of mistreating new players for their own amusement.

Player Killers don't escape penalties in the game. After killing one person, their username turns orange for six hours. During this period, if they kill another player, their name changes to red, making them a target that anyone can hunt without penalty and increasing the risk of their items dropping. 

In the Red Name condition, it takes anywhere from one to seven days for a player's name to return to normal, depending on how many players they've killed.

However, of the five people now in front of Broken, none had a gamer name that was red or even orange.

"Are they serious about becoming Player Killers?" Broken wondered aloud.

Standing beside Broken, Polly growled and snarled at the player killers. Polly might have a chance to fight back against the five players, but Broken knew he would be easily defeated with his current stats, level, items, and skills. He needed to be stronger, even with his new title as Divine Champion.

If word got out that a Champion of Sloth died foolishly to five low-level player killers, it would tarnish Goddess Akidia's reputation. He couldn't let that happen.

"Hey, look at that," one of them said, gesturing toward Polly. "Can we take that from him? It looks pretty cute. I want a pet like that."

"A three-tailed fox? Will it grow more tails as it levels up?"

"And will it turn into a beautiful woman if it grows even more? I mean, having a spirit beast that can take a human form would be fun."

"A spirit is soul-bound, you fool!"

"But at least, we can reduce his level to one, and after that, his proud spirit beast will abandon him," another corrected. "I think that's the most fun we can have with this poor soul."

Broken needed a plan to get out of this situation. "Polly," he whispered, "get ready to fight."

When players were killed in Immortal Legacy, the consequences were severe; they would not only lose a portion of their experience points but also have their level reduced. 

Hostile players who bickered with each other often resorted to the most extreme form of punishment by bringing their enemies down to level 1. This was a time-consuming process, but it was possible and represented the most punishing form of torture for Immortal Legacy players.

Gaining experience for high-level players was a time-consuming and laborious process, let alone leveling up. Consequently, it was essential to avoid being killed at all costs. Players meticulously analyzed every challenge, whether it was a dungeon expedition, raid boss, or any other threat, to ensure they did not get killed in the process.

In addition to the level reduction penalty, if a player died, any items they had equipped or were carrying would fall out of their inventory—such as weapons, armor, or anything else. Consequently, no matter how challenging the situation, a player would never willingly allow themselves to be killed unless their allies could secure any dropped items. If they died from a player kill, all their goods would be taken by the killer.

For this reason, some groups of players operated as player killers to gain as much profit as possible from their victims. Robbing other players could yield significant rewards if valuable items fell into their hands and could be sold for money.

"You won't get anything by PK-ing me. I'm so poor that even my sword wouldn't be worth your trouble," Broken said. "Don't you realize how risky these actions are? You could easily be thrown in prison by the kingdom's knights."

"We'll just keep torturing you then. Just be sure to turn up the pain level on your cheap capsule device," one of them stated.

Players of Immortal Legacy could adjust the sensation of pain they felt during the game, ranging from a light 5% to a more intense 30%. This simulated pain transmission was similar to a slight electric shock at its lowest level and a light blow across multiple body parts at its highest.

Nevertheless, the experience was incredibly realistic due to the sensation of pain and the players' complete immersion in the game, almost as if they were living in another world. 

To ensure that players didn't get too immersed in the game and neglect their physical lives, Immortal Legacy imposed a rule that players could only log in for a maximum of sixteen hours per day. After that, a mandatory waiting period of eight hours was put in place to make sure that no one spent days on end in the game, unaware of the outside world.

"You think you can scare us with that nonsense?" They said, "We've been doing this long enough to know the risks. And we've made quite a profit off players like you."

One of them added. "Yeah, but this one's a waste of time. Look at him—barely any gear worth taking."

Just as the player killers moved in closer, Polly transformed into her larger form, and Broken mounted her swiftly. 

"Run, Polly, now!" he commanded.

Polly leaped into action, darting through the trees with incredible speed. The player killers gave chase, but Polly's agility and speed made it difficult for them to keep up. Broken clung to her, navigating the meadow as arrows and spells whizzed past them.

However, escaping from the player killers was not as easy as Broken had imagined. They seemed well-practiced in ambushes, and some of their comrades had hidden, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Suddenly, a player shot out from behind the trees, wielding a greatsword and moving quickly, clearly using a skill. Polly couldn't dodge the unexpected attack, and the massive greatsword slammed into her, sending her crashing to the ground. Broken was thrown from her back and tumbled through the grass.

Their levels were higher than he had anticipated.

Six player killers now surrounded him, all ready to deliver another punishing blow.

"Damn! Polly might be able to escape, but it looks like it will be very difficult to face them alone."

At the same time, he noticed something in the corner of his vision.

[Self Transcendence Blessing Activation Progress: 87%]

"What will happen when this blessing activates?" he thought to himself.

The leader of the player killers smirked. "Looks like you're out of luck, buddy. We'll make sure you regret ever logging into this game."