Standing near the Traveler, Dexter ventured deeper toward the center of Sunscar Kingdom. Adventurers and merchants alike stared at him — the lone figure clad only in a loincloth.
Dexter paid them no mind. His thoughts were consumed by strategies to eliminate those players from Crimson Tree Zone.
After climbing the long spiral staircase, the Knights of Sunscar Kingdom blocked his path.
"What is your business here, newcomer?" demanded one knight.
"I am a wanderer," Dexter replied. "I need to use your portal to access the Uncharted Zones directly."
The two knights stared in disbelief, uncertain whether to let Dexter pass while he wore nothing but a loincloth.
"Are you sure? You'll die there without proper equipment. Why not come back when you're prepared?"
"What's it to you? I didn't know Sunscar was so soft — its knights so concerned about their people..." Dexter retorted.
"Fine... go die then," the knight relented.
They allowed Dexter to enter the castle. Inside Sunscar's grand hall, players clad in Tier X equipment milled about. Some moved in organized groups, proudly displaying their guild insignias and boasting of their alliances.
'I don't know what insignia these Limitless Alliance members use, but I know one thing for sure — they're all stuck in Crimson Tree Zone. Today I'll wreck their walls, then slowly pick them all off...'
Dexter moved toward the central towering portal, its swirling vortex ready to swallow any player who entered. As he passed through, blinding light flashed — then revealed an entire city within the Uncharted Zone's southeastern region. Guild flags adorned towering buildings like territorial markers, each displaying different alliance insignias.
What caught his eye were the uniformed soldiers in black armor and cloaks, their black capes bearing an emblem of a bleeding desert beneath a night sky.
'Black Desert Alliance... The Forgotten's precious puppets.'
After scouting the area, Dexter headed for the western gate. Beyond it stretched endless carnage just outside the safe zone — a chaotic free-for-all where thousands of players from rival factions slaughtered each other without caring for their lives. The battlefield echoed with hysterical screams and laughter, including distant taunts:
"COME HERE YOU FUCKING NOOB! YOU GAY?"
'They're just spamming skills like idiots...'
Though Gridlock's training had taught Dexter to utilize all equipment types, he still hadn't mastered true weapon mastery. Unlike Earth's real swordsmen who became one with their blades, Dexter remained far from that level — especially when constantly swapping gear for different skills.
As he stared at the blue sky, Gridlock's words about his unique craft echoed in his mind.
'I'm sorry, Master... But since there's no risk of permanent death now... I'll just fucking enjoy myself.'
With newfound determination to disrupt the game's balance, Dexter morphed his bracer into a Summoner's Staff — an item that shouldn't exist in Eldrion. He summoned a Tier VII Slicklizard, its desert-adapted body perfect for rapid travel. Mounting the creature, he charged straight into the zone's chaos.
…
Dexter was being chased by five PKers riding Tier VI Greywolves. Though his Slicklizard was fast, it couldn't match the wolves' galloping speed.
As the PKers closed in, Dexter morphed his other bracer into a grenade. Enraged by losing gear worth a hundred million coins, he no longer cared about the game's consequences.
'I was holding back from killing AIs indiscriminately... but you're all forcing my hand.'
Pulling the pin with his teeth, Dexter dropped the grenade.
BOOM!
The explosion erupted beneath the five players, instantly killing one.
"FUCK! WHAT WAS THAT!?"
"I DIDN'T EVEN SEE HIM CAST A SKILL, DAMN IT!"
"Whatever... loot this bastard's gear... fucking worthless..."
Another kill registered in his log, leveling up his Combat Mastery and Specialization.
…
After exiting the first zone, Dexter turned his gaze toward the castle under relentless player bombardment. Changing direction, he dismounted his Slicklizard and morphed the Summoner's Staff into an invisibility cloak. Burying himself under the desert sands, he observed the siege unfolding just half a mile away.
"HEALERS READY! TANKS, SMASH THAT GATE!"
Hundreds of tanks hammered the castle's southeastern gate while defenders showered them with arrows from above.
"RAISE PROTECTIVE BARRIERS! HEAL THE FRONT LINE!"
"ENERGY LASER INCOMING! CAST REFLECT AND INVULNERABILITY!"
BZZZT—
Tens of lasers shot toward the tanks hammering the castle gate. The healers behind them cast protective shields just as the tanks activated Reflect — killing several laser users who failed to activate invulnerability in time.
'Watching war in first-person is more fun than an RTS view.'
'Should I join? More XP means more fun... Besides, I need to die to buy Rolled Dry Leaf anyway — my inventory's empty here...'
Dexter morphed his equipment into a bow and arrow, replicating the design he'd used against Gridlock. He drew high toward the sky and released — the arrow magically splitting into thousands that rained down on the castle's attackers.
Caught off guard, the raid leader's defensive commands came too late. Hundreds of low-health players died instantly, unaware of what hit them.
"HEALERS! REZ NOW! DAMNIT!"
The overwhelmed healers couldn't possibly resurrect all the fallen. Dexter's XP surged until his Combat Mastery hit level 102 — unlocking Tier VIII gear conversion.
'Killing sprees really boost XP. Good thing they're too distracted to notice who's picking them off.'
'Wouldn't be fair if I only killed one side, right?'
Dexter morphed his bow into a sniper crossbow with explosive bolts. He took aim at the castle's archers — each shot magically returning to his palm after a kill, ready to fire again. Even resurrected archers fell victim to his endless barrage.
'This is fun! Should've started this sooner...'
Every kill counted, resurrection or not, pushing his tally toward 3,000. Biting back laughter, he maintained his random slaughter — carefully avoiding their leaders to preserve his leveling strategy.
After an hour of brutal siege, the attackers failed to capture the castle, securing victory for the defenders. Their reward? The treasure spawned within the castle walls. Now came the real challenge — transporting it safely home.
Dexter knew the attacking guild still lurked beyond the horizon, waiting to ambush the treasure caravan. With his Combat Mastery nearing its Tier IX transformation, he watched with predatory anticipation.
'I'll loot every corpse left behind...' he thought, fingers twitching toward his weapon.