Changing the Rules

I spent the next several minutes activating my sword energy and slicing up the Leviathan into several pieces. It took a bit longer than I thought, but that was only because I was trying my best to damage as few scales as possible in the process. After I was done, I proudly looked at the neatly organized pile of Verdant Leviathan flesh that I had gathered together.

"I guess that will do," the mimic said, sounding a bit disappointed.

"Fuck you, this was hard. I'd like to see you do better."

"I probably could, but I'd rather leave the easy job to you. This will take about ten minutes; the cool-down is one hour; just make sure nothing bothers me during this time."

I nodded, and Tim slipped off my wrist and transformed into a large treasure chest the size of a reach-in freezer as it hit the ground in front of the monster remains. I watched as it opened its lid as if it were a mouth and began to suck in the Verdant Leviathan's remains as if it were a vacuum cleaner.

Server Announcement

The God of Scales sponsored a rule change. Every six hours, the first-place player on the leaderboard will have their location revealed on a map accessible for one hour. The map can be viewed from a new tab added to every player's status window. Good luck, players!

I looked at the announcement and rubbed my eyes. Thanks to my high vitality stat, I was already on my way to being fully healed. The problem remained that I would constantly be hunted by groups of Alorae and Velda. I checked my status window, found the map tab, and tapped it. My location was on full display for everyone to see.

"Shit."

I looked over to Tim, who I assumed wasn't able to view the system notifications. He was still in the process of using his skill, but staying here for ten minutes would just make us vulnerable.

"Hey, Tim. I have some bad news."

A small face appeared on the back of the treasure chest as it was still consuming the Verdant Leviathan. "News is news; it's not good or bad. What's up?"

"My location is being transmitted for the next hour, and I have a somewhat permanent bounty on my head for being at the top of the leaderboards."

"Fuck, that is bad news; you should have led with that. So what's the plan?"

"Survive."

After sharing the bad news with Tim, I started to focus on my surroundings. Every player with a high mind stat is capable of expanding their senses to feel the presence of things around them. The higher your mind stat, the easier it becomes to sense someone hiding. A monster or player with an invisibility skill can even be sensed if the total is high enough.

As my senses expanded, I began to feel the presence of various monsters in the area, up to about fifty meters from my current location. From what I could tell, the only things present were a few Terror Sprites and a Sludge Beetle.

"It looks like we're on the clear for now." I sighed in relief, knowing that I had at least a minute of peace.

"What are you so worried about? You're a fucking monster." Tim, as a treasure chest, shrugged as he responded.

"The problem is that not everyone has the same starting line here."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Humans are all weak; we don't have magic, auras, or energy powers on earth. The system gives us those abilities here. The Veldan and Alorae have magic and aura, so some of their random players could be fucking strong like me."

"Oh. How about running?"

I shook my head. "I'm not leaving the Verdant Leviathan loot here. If the Veldan or Alorae get their hands on the materials, they'll be able to equip their strongest warriors with really high-quality gear. I can't give them an advantage."

"Well, good luck then. If you die, I just go back into the system until someone else picks up the contract."

"Well, I'm glad you have something to fall back on," I said sarcastically.

"One of us has to."

I shook my head and prepared for the fighting that was going to eventually take place. I sat on the ground and began to meditate, my senses expanding into the surrounding area. There was one thing to look forward to in this situation, and that was the opportunity to test my skill on other players.

Several minutes passed, and I felt the first hostiles come within fifty meters of where I was sitting. There were seven of them, and I could tell that they were all Veldan. The Alorae were not bold enough to challenge me directly, but the Veldan were always ready for a fight. I knew that the moment they got within ten meters of my location, they would find me thanks to their ability to see heat with their eyes.

"Heads up, Tim, we have company."

"How many?" The tiny face on the back of the treasure chest raised an eyebrow that it formed. It was interesting how the sentience that this summon had gave it so many life-like traits.

"Seven, and they're Veldan. From what I can tell, they're skilled, but not on my level."

The tiny face nodded in acknowledgement. "Okay, I'll continue looting; I only have about five minutes left. You don't need to hold out for long."

I nodded and faced the direction that the Veldan were coming from. They were approaching fast and had already entered within the ten-meter mark. At this point, I was able to see them through the gaps in the trees. Six of the Veldan were wearing patchwork leather and hide, with crude metal helmets that protected their skulls. I could tell immediately that these were simple Bloodbraiders, the lowest rank of the Veldan's recruits. They let out guttural roars and brandished their crude axes and clubs as they approached.

Following behind them was a much larger Veldan, standing about a head taller than the rest. It was a female Veldan wearing thick, iron plate armor, dented and scarred from what I could tell must have been countless battles. She had long, silky black hair and softer-looking eyes than her companions. She carried a massive shield adorned with a skull that resembled that of a dragon. In her right hand was a massive warhammer. Even though she was covered in muscle and wore armor that screamed death, she was really attractive.

"Fuck, that's kind of hot."