Every hair on Cid’s body stood up pointlessly to escape the danger threatening him.

  The roguish blond pulled the knight’s longsword away and fell onto the ground. He didn’t bother to sit up and just stared at the tree obscuring Cid from sight.

  “Ain’t this place heaven!? Instead of being controlled by a bunch of fat snobs born with a silver spoon in their mouths and their dumb laws and shit, our own abilities and strengths determine our status in life! Doing whatever I want is my right and reward for the strength I nurtured! The only person you can blame for your death is…”

  The hooded man suddenly vanished and materialized behind the tree, ready to swing a dagger at nothing.

  “Huh? He ran away?” The blond man looked at Cid’s distant body kicking up dust.

  Cid knew the perfect time to react was during monologues, so he was already sprinting into deeper parts of the forest using his [Swift Dash] which barely came off its cooldown. He ran desperately through the foliage, his arms pivoting robotically in wide arcs as he exerted everything into getting as far away from that madman as possible.

  “Why is this happening to me!? He killed a level fifteen guy in full armor without an issue, there is no way I can survive against him in a fight! I just need to lose him, use walls to keep him back and hide in a wardrobe, away from–”

  Cid glanced behind him and saw the man running within slashing distance, flashing a crooked grin on his unhinged face.

  “Is this as fast as you can go, low-leveled Thief?” The man laughed and raised his crimson dagger up threateningly.

  “Eeeyaaaaah!” Cid let out a very high-pitched scream, his vocal cords sending a wide-range request for help.

  “Ahaha! You’re not fast enough to–”

  An emerald coffin of light suddenly enveloped the hooded man and solidified into a pale wooden wardrobe, emitting a high-pitched pulse when it trapped the killer.

  [Lost 15 wood, 146 left.]

  ‘I wanted it between us but this is perfect!’

  The hooded man kicked the wardrobe’s doors apart and glared at Cid with intense bloodlust, his irritated hazel eyes as fiery as the scorching sun.

  “Wall!” Cid glared at the wardrobe and forced a tall wooden partition to appear against it. Cid didn’t even wait to confirm if it blocked the menacing man and just sprinted away.

  ‘That’s the right plan, I just need more things between us! Thirteen walls! No, all the walls! Build them!’

  Cid envisioned the placement of several walls behind him, but the sensation he normally felt when quick-building never came.

  ‘What!? Why can’t I build them!?’

  Cid glanced back and imagined a great and lengthy wall of wood separating him and the hooded man who just broke out of the wardrobe and ran towards him like a human cheetah.

  A single thick wooden separator popped into existence within Cid’s vision. It had a rectangular and uniform shape, slightly over two meters in length and four in width.

  ‘Do I have to be looking at where I build!?’

  A second wall formed to the right of the first, and then a third appeared to the left of the first, and then a fourth next to the second wall…

  [Lost 40 wood, 106 left.]

  [Lost 8 logs, 79 left.]

  ‘Too slow! Why can I only quick-build one thing at a time!?’

  A shadowy blur zipped over the walls and landed on the ground; the blond rogue bypassed Cid’s only defenses with ease.

  ‘My hard work didn’t even matter!? But then what if I-’

  The blond rogue’s feet erupted off the ground with intense force, sending him to Cid faster than a steel bolt.

  Overwhelmed by the man’s inhuman speed—and too busy with defending his back—Cid failed to see the approaching bump ahead and tripped on his side.

  The rogue swung his crimson blade, barely nicking Cid’s neck thanks to the fortunate timing of his fall, leaving him with nothing more than a shallow cut.

  [Received 21 damage. 26 HP remaining.]

  [Received Bleed Ailment. 5 Damage over time.]

  “Twenty one dam-!?” Cid tumbled down the small dirt incline, rolling and flying off the ground for a moment before slamming down and ragdolling painfully across the slope again.

  “Aagh! Geehn!”

  [Received 4 damage. 22 HP remaining.]

  [Received 5 Bleed damage. 17 HP remaining.]

  “Uoh-egh!”

  [Received 3 damage. 14 HP remaining – Warning: critically low health.]

  Cid slid across the base of the hill, grazing his cheek, face and chest against the rocky terrain with a grating burn.

  [Received 3 damage. 11 HP remaining – Warning…]

  He looked up at the familiar mouth of a nearby cave, the hidden spot next to the cleared den of wolves—his very reason for leaving the starter area. It explained the sudden shift in elevation.

  ‘Ugh… Damage doesn’t linger and bother me but when I reach the critical state, everything suddenly feels heavier…’

  [Received 5 Bleed damage. 6 HP rem…]

  Cid’s eyes widened and he hurriedly looked at the ground in a panic while issuing the mental command to build the bed over him. In less than a second, a comforting shadow suddenly enveloped Cid as the bed recreated itself exactly where he wanted it.

  [Lost 16 wood, 90 left.]

  [Lost 8 wolf pelts, 8 left.]

  Cid quickly rolled on his back and smashed his palm against the wooden underside of the bed frame, his fear-gripped heart beating in loud bursts.

  An emerald panel pulsed into existence with a reassuring jingle.

  [Gained Wolf Bed Bonus: Wolf Skill (Backstab) for 30 minutes.]

  [Gained Rest Bonus: Recovered full HP.]

  A ruby-red dagger broke into the frame, followed by a lime-green blade. Both close enough to make Cid screech for his life.

  ‘Too close! Too terrifying!’

  [Received 5 Bleed damage. 45 HP remaining.]

  ‘What!? I’m still bleeding!? I thought resting on a bed would fix me!’

  The daggers wiggled and withdrew out of the wood with a grating crackle.

  “I mistook you for a Thief like me, but it turns out you’re some sort of mage, huh!? A pathetic one though! Your wood-based spells are so brittle!” The hooded man yelled then leaned over the side of the bed, peaking at Cid with a hungry grin. “Hello, mousie!”

  “Wall!” Cid pointed at the blond man with his finger, summoning a sturdy log wall around the man’s head and ensnaring him in a makeshift pillory with highly accurate measurements.

  [Lost 10 wood, 80 left.]

  [Lost 2 logs, 77 left.]

  “Again!? I hafta admit, the speed you cast these spells is annoying… and the way you bypass my skill is absolutely–”

  [Received 5 Bleed damage. 40 HP remaining.]

  Cid winced and quickly rolled out from the other side of the bed, letting the man ramble while he patted the bed for another dosage of max health.

  But nothing happened. The pleasant sound of refreshed life never came. “Why!?”

  The two ripped holes on the soft mattress held a possible and bitter answer to his question.

  ‘Tsk… I can make another bed, I just need to escape and…’

  Cid glanced at the man’s curled back that shook and squirmed while he pathetically stabbed the wall with limited range of motion. Even though he said the walls were brittle, he was struggling to break out of his constraints.

  ‘Hold on… Why should I escape? Isn’t this what I wanted? Those two daggers of his are exactly the kind of weapons I dreamed of having… Why am I throwing this chance away when I’m in control? If I can just kill this guy, I’ll finally start my RPG life in full force… Heh, and here I thought I’d have to create the weapons from scratch.’ Cid smirked.

  The blond rogue suddenly broke his head through the chipped wall and freed himself using force alone. “Brittle spells! Your wood is weak! You should’ve ran while you–” The blond man turned around to an empty space with only disturbed dirt and dust.

  The man scrunched his brow and looked towards the cave, where he caught a glimpse of Cid running deeper into the darkness.

  “He’s got good prey instincts… Heh. I love it when they’re scared and weak.”

  ────?────

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  [Lost 45 wood, 35 left.]

  Deep within the humid and fungus-dominated cave, a sapphire glow wondrously enveloped the walls like aging waves of light. Skittish bird-like creatures lurked in the expansive darkness, observing everything with their eerie white eyes from within their burrows.

  In the rightmost chamber dominated by glowing mushrooms, a very basic and ordinary wardrobe stood in the middle as naturally as a tree wearing clothes.

  [Received 5 Bleed damage. 20 HP remaining.]

  [Bleed effect has worn off.]

  Cid winced while hugging his knees in a semi-illuminated space, his fingers squeezing his stone axe in anticipation.

  ‘I was right… It does disappear after a while… Man… How did it come to this? All I wanted was to live like a powerful warrior, battling monsters, diving in dungeons and experiencing the thrill of adventure…’

  Only the gentle pitter patter of moisture tickled Cid’s ears, doing nothing to wash away his bitter thoughts that picked up steam and combusted into molten hatred.

  ‘It’s her fault… That creepy woman with the annoying smile… If I can meet her again, I swear I’ll make it my mission to kill her with my own two hands!’

  “A wardrobe…? Are you serious? Even for an idiot this is still ridiculous…”

  Cid’s eyes suddenly stretched in surprise. He quickly tensed up and held his breath, mentally preparing himself.

  [Skill activated: Shadow’s Presence.]

  “Wait, hold on… Heheh… No, you didn’t… Three wardrobes? Hahahah! That’s cute! Are you telling me to choose the right one? Oh, you’re a fun one! Sure, I’ll play!”

  The blond rogue pulled both of his daggers out with spinning flourish and struck them together, sending sparks flying as a threat. “One, two… three, four… I think you’re… behind this… door!” The hooded rogue raised his arms up and impaled the middle closet with a wild grin.

  Cid peaked his half-invisible body from behind a large piece of stalagmite and aimed his palm at the hooded man.

  ‘Idiot! Try escaping from this one!’

  Cid envisioned another plain closet facing the other one, effectively trapping the blond rogue within two of them.

  [Lost 15 wood, 20 left.]

  “Huh!? Enough with the trashy restraints! Why doesn’t my ring work on your spells!? There’s no way this is an Ambush skill!” the man shouted angrily and ripped his blades out of the wood.

  Cid quickly jumped out of hiding and ran towards the confined rogue, a white crosshair glowing within his right iris.

  [Skill Activated: Weakpoint Exploit.]

  “Die!” Cid’s emerald eyes glowed with a dangerous glint as he looked up at a scarlet mark that burned vibrantly on a stalactite in the middle of several others. He used his running momentum to hurl the axe at it and watched as the weapon relentlessly spun towards its target, almost like it was magnetically guided by fate.

  The axe shattered with the impact of an elephant’s ram, breaking several chunks of tapering spikes off the ceiling and pulling them down atop the struggling man underneath, crushing him before he could even realize what was happening outside the wardrobes.

  The chamber shook and Cid crouched low with bated breath, his back hunched and thighs tense, ready to dart if the cave collapsed. Fortunately, the rocky walls were too rigid and stable.

  Cid’s heart still refused to calm down, his unblinking eyes focusing on the puffs of smoke surrounding the debris. “It’s quiet… Why is it quiet? This isn’t right… It didn’t show up… Why didn’t it show up?”

  Cid stiffened with fear as he thought about how he didn’t hear the triumphant jingle of experience points, the familiar bundle of dopamine disguised as numbers whenever he killed anything.

  With a nervous gulp, Cid picked up a modest rock as his chosen weapon—slightly bigger than his hand—and slowly approached the rubble.

  The sound of water droplets smacking the ground became like aggravating thunder, barely rivaled by Cid's beating heart which pulsated just as loudly within his ears.

  Fear was taking over, the voice of reason whispering to warn him. Cid knew it was better to run and live another day instead of risking death. If that maniac somehow survived then staying around was a deathwish.

  ‘But the daggers… I need them to fight…’

  The voice of reason wasn’t pleased with Cid’s line of thought. His enthralled body moved closer, tempted by promises of strength and unlimited debuffs at the risk of his limited life.

  The intensifying drumming of water became unbearable, it sounded like a leak threatening to erupt. His axe might have done more damage than he expected…

  Cid anxiously swallowed and quickly traced the source of the splashes, realizing the droplets came from his forehead and sweat-drenched face instead of the ceiling.

  ‘Oh… Good… Back to the bandit…’

  Cid’s shivering hands inched closer to the rocky grave, sweating profusely enough to extinguish even a roaring flame—it was clearly an evasive mechanism in case something grabbed his palm or fingers.

  Cid hesitantly tapped the rock and flinched. A simple scratch did twenty one damage, so one good stab would kill him ten times over. He had every right to be scared in this situation.

  Shrugging aside his pitiful state, Cid placed his hand on a large slice of stone and tried moving it in hopes of revealing a corpse, but he couldn’t. He tried to pull it back but it refused to budge.

  “What if I just… press it down and crush him like a bug? If he's still alive, then all I need to do is put a bit more force on it until I hear a crunch… Egh… Why did I say it like that…?” Cid shivered uncomfortably, but then he steeled his stomach and jumped on top of the broken stones.

  His weight barely added to the bunch so he jumped and stomped it with all his might. He lacked the strength to move the rocks, but the kick cracked the stone and pushed the fractured pieces around.

  Cid hopped up and down with reckless abandon, like a child on a spring-loaded bed, except rather than joyous laughter, his bug-eyed face kept looking at the cracks underneath for any signs of poison-coated blades or a living blond murderer.

  After a few minutes of breaking the stones into smaller chunks using his feet, Cid hopped off and stared at his handiwork. Still no message to praise him for killing a man. He held his breath and poked a stone into his inventory, and then another, and another, shattering the debris with a singular touch.

  Cid tensed when he uncovered a curled palm, it made him halve his excavation speed to prioritize caution. He carefully observed it for several long seconds, and only when he felt safe did he slowly resume his work. One by one until he unearthed the full figure of the blond killer.

  The man’s motionless body stared into the far unknown, stiff and pale, his chest and neck covered in crimson. An actual corpse.

  Anger passed through Cid instead of pity or fear. He was livid by the murderous behavior of someone who had the pleasure of living in an RPG world, of someone who had the blessings he was robbed of.

  No doubt there were other psychos out there who decided to let loose now that they were given the power to do as they wanted. Which was more of a reason for Cid to fight. He needed the daggers to deal with griefers like them much more easily.

  And speaking of daggers, he noticed a bright green knife that somehow made its way through the man’s neck, possibly when the cave semi-collapsed.

  “Wait… is that why I didn’t get any XP? Boxy! Explain why I didn’t get anything from killing him!”

  The ever dutiful Boxy responded to his command.

  [Help: Experience Points from Kills — Direct kills net the full sum of experience points. Indirect kills, such as partial assists and ailment kills, net varying amounts depending on overall contribution. Death by environmental hazards, self-destruction and events of that nature give no experience points.]

  “What!? Environmental hazards!?”

  [Help: Environmental haz–]

  Cid smashed both of his palms against the emerald window to close it shut. “I know what a hazard is! Why didn’t you tell me about the XP thing earlier!?”

  The panel blinked into existence above Cid's clasped fists.

  [Help: Help System – This system is designed to answer the player's questions and guide them towards a cohesive playing experience. An information overload might confuse or misguide certain players, therefore no information is given without an associated question or request. Note: Only approved information is given to the players.]

  Cid sighed bitterly, feeling betrayed by the one thing he thought he could rely on. But now was not the time for sadness, he had the perfect weapons from a thug who had the luxury of having Cid’s desired class. XP didn’t matter as long as he got the weapons—the lethal keys to his life as an overlord of buffs.

  Cid’s fingers gripped the dagger’s hilt and it suddenly crumbled into a million crimson motes and vanished out of existence. The sound of another object shattering from under the rocks resounded, and even the man’s armor cracked and dissipated, leaving behind a dark thin veil that looked like a strange bodysuit covering his decency.

  Cid remained frozen with his hand held out, his blank face mimicking the corpse's expression in its lifelessness since he didn’t get anything.

  ‘Is this… an anti-looting mechanism…? Why do I feel like I should’ve expected this?’

  A melodic jingle snapped Cid out of his dead gaze as a crimson panel unfurled above the corpse, showing a list of items with relevant images of swords, potions and armor.

  _________________

  [Health Potion] x 15

  [Bones] x 50

  [Putrid Plague] -> [Poison Dagger]

  [Sanguine Slaughter] -> [Butcher’s Cleaver]

  [Ring of Spectral Evasion] -> [Ring of Evasion]

  [Viridian Shadow Cloak] -> [Hunting Cloak]

  [Leather armor of…]

  …

  _________________

  “What’s this?”

  [Help: Player Loot System — To lessen the incentive for Player-on-Player killings, only one item can be looted from a dead Player’s inventory, with a 50% reduction in quantity or a two rank reduction of quality. A full inventory can only be looted from a duel with the consent of both parties and an Overseer’s approval.]

  “Huh… So the names change when they rank down? Are those a ‘before and after’?”

  The panel expanded to show the description of each item.

  ___________________

  [Putrid Plague]

  A dagger forged within a dying witch’s stomach. Inflicts 43 damage with a guaranteed poison effect on hit.

  ->[Poison Dagger]

  A standard dagger forged with a coat of poison. Inflicts 12 damage with a 25% chance to poison on hit.

  [Sanguine Slaughter]

  A broken cleaver with a jagged edge, the prized weapon of a mad butcher. Inflicts 52 damage with a guaranteed bleed effect on hit.

  -> [Butcher’s Cleaver]

  A chipped cleaver meant for cutting meat and bones. Inflicts 17 damage with a 25% chance to bleed on hit.

  [Ring of Spectral Evasion]

  A ring forged in deceit and betrayal. Avoid a single attack, and teleport behind the attacker with an attack buff, excluding Ambush skills and environmental hazards, (Five minute cooldown. Three charges.)

  -> [Ring of Evasion]

  A Thief’s favorite ring. Avoid a single physical attack, excluding Ambush skills and environmental hazards. (Five minute cooldown.)

  …

  ____________________

  Cid sighed deeply. The difference between the original items and their weaker counterparts hurt his soul, especially with his crippling damage debuff on top of it all.

  “Wait… if they got downgraded two ranks, then can I improve the weapons later?”

  [Help: Upgrading gear — Weapons and armor can be upgraded using a blacksmith’s forge with the required manuscript and materials. Hint: search ruins, shops and mini dungeons for gear manuscripts.]

  “Yada, yada, your hints aren’t as rare or mind blowing as you think they are, Boxy. I need the exact location of the upgrades for these daggers! Not a general ‘wow, they could be in a hole somewhere!’ as if that would help me!” Cid huffed angrily.

  [Help: Critical information — the information system cannot disclose the location of manuscripts, other players, equipment, dungeon entrances and anything that could interfere with player autonomy. There is an exception for the location of materials, ingredients and vital information for unbiased decision-making.]

  “You can’t help me with anything, Boxy! You’re a traitor! In fact, change that ‘Help’ label you always show to traitor!”

  [Traitor: Customization options — The User Interface can be changed based on the player’s desire. Anything that is not detrimental to the system’s main functions is mutable to the player’s liking.]

  “Oh… Customization? Huh… I guess I can forgive you, Boxy. If you’re willing to change for me, then how can I stay mad at you?” Cid happily patted the small window that still had Traitor written on it.

  “But before I play with that… Should I get a single crippled dagger or the ring? If I take the ring then I’d guarantee surviving one free hit every five minutes, and if I figure out a way to synergize that with my [Weakpoint Exploit], then I’ll end up with a nasty hit-and-run combat style… But I would spend the time between every cooldown hiding and running away with no way to retaliate…”

  Cid tapped his chin.

  “On the other hand, daggers are cool, and I don’t have to worry about cooldowns and waiting, just gotta attack and pray the ailments activate… except I’d be dancing intimately with death… A simple scratch almost killed me earlier, and this is supposed to be the starter area… so if I go somewhere higher level…”

  Cid let out an exasperated sigh then ruffled his hair in annoyance. He couldn’t idle for too long within the cave, he had to choose and make peace with his choice, and that annoyed him.

  Although his choice was obvious.