ShatteredCrown: "Holy crap! Dear Master, why didn't you tell me there was something this good on sale?"
Orson sighed with a wry smile. "I knew you'd ask. I saved a knight's set for you. Put it on your sweetheart, and she'll be invincible."
ShatteredCrown: "Hehe, Master, you understand me so well!"
Orson felt a chill and said, "The Wanderer Set went for a mountain of gold. I'll give you the knight's set at half price."
ShatteredCrown: "Love you, mwah mwah…"
Orson: "Scram."
Just then, a message popped up from Bradley.
Bradley: "Damn it, just look at my level now!"
Bradley's voice came through like he'd swallowed a bomb.
Orson opened his friends list, blinked, and asked, "Level 3? Are you trying to let that Holy Sword Saint kill you until you hit zero?"
Bradley: "Don't bother me. I can still die 20 more times, and I swear I'll seize my last chance! I'm gonna keep… no, I'm gonna destroy him!"
Bradley's shouting devolved into gibberish. Orson scratched his head, suspecting Bradley was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
"Alright, fine. Let me lend you a hand."
Orson casually lobbed a [Explosive Fireball] into a cluster of trolls. The fiery orb detonated like a miniature sun.
-1233!
Critical hit: -2466!
-4130!
…
This magic was essentially an upgraded [Burst Fireball]: short cooldown, high damage, but with a slow trajectory, making it easy for agile targets to dodge.
Bradley: "No amount of help can fix this! You have no idea how insane that old dog is!"
Bradley was gearing up for another rant when he suddenly froze. His inbox had just filled with rows of skill books:
- C-rank Battle Skill: Wind Thunder Step
- B-rank Battle Skill: Endless Slash
- D-rank Battle Skill: Flying Dragon Strike
…
A total of 21 skill books.
Among them was a B-rank warrior skill, worth its weight in gold. Currently, the auction house had only eight such books listed, each selling for over 400 gold coins—roughly $40,000 each in real-world money!
Bradley gawked at the sheer fortune sitting in his inventory.
Unable to contain himself, he logged off and started a video call with Orson.
"Dude… are you seriously just giving me a B-rank skill book? Let me ask you again—are you cheating?"
Bradley was hunched in a restroom stall, whispering like a secret agent in a spy movie.
"Of course not!" Orson rolled his eyes. "I got it from farming monsters. Total RNG."
Bradley still looked unconvinced. "What level monsters drop this kind of stuff?"
"About 25-level elite bosses, like the Dark Knight Commander. It had over 700k HP; I spent ages killing it. Don't want it? Send it back."
"I'll keep it, dammit!" Bradley yelled. "You absolute monster!"
Without another word, he hung up.
Orson was left dumbfounded. "What's his problem? I give him free loot, and he yells at me?"
---
The real challenge in Bradley's S-rank Awakening Quest wasn't the mechanics or damage requirements. The goal was simply to injure the Holy Sword Saint, no matter how minor the damage.
The problem? Bradley's limited skills and low level left him with few options beyond basic attacks. Against an opponent like the legendary Saint of the Holy Dragon Empire, who had more combat experience than Bradley could fathom, this was an uphill battle.
The skill books Orson had sent were a lifeline. Whether Bradley succeeded would ultimately depend on his own determination.
---
After clearing another wave of monsters, Orson submitted a batch of bounty hunter quests.
"You have completed the C-rank quest: Slay 50 Nether Twin-Headed Crocodiles."
"Reward: +3 Free Points, +4 Skill Points, 30 Silver Coins, +4000 XP."
"You have completed the D-rank quest: Collect 30 Skeleton Archer Badges."
…
Although the attribute gains from low-level quests were minimal, every bit added up.
Orson's Hunter Rank advanced from Black Iron to Bronze, unlocking access to C-rank quests.
Normally, such a progression would require weeks of grinding, including tracking down rare quest monsters. But thanks to the diverse waves of enemies in his current mission, Orson was completing multiple quests in a single session.
Over 10 hours, Orson finished 65 quests, earning:
- +130 Free Points
- +154 Skill Points
Including the mission rewards for each monster wave, his total gains were staggering.
Yet Orson still wasn't satisfied. He needed even more points to meet the requirements for the hidden Four-Element Mage quest.
---
"Breaking news! Demon Emperor just spent 13,000 gold on the Wanderer Set!"
"Thirteen million dollars on gear? Demon Emperor's wealth rivals Usher's!"
The auction for the [Wanderer Set] had concluded.
---
Orson opened his mailbox to find a notification.
The sound of coins clinking filled the air as he received 11,700 gold, post-transaction fees.
"Holy… that's a lot of money," Orson muttered, momentarily overwhelmed.
For top guilds like Slaughter, such spending was routine. For Orson, it was surreal. With the [Orc Heretic] title boosting his drop rates, he had farmed the set in just a few hours—a feat that would take others months of coordinated grinding.
---
The value of his loot wasn't limited to gold coins. His inventory included:
- Over 1,000 green-tier items for Level 15–25 players, which could sell for about 30 silver each (totaling 300 gold).
- 300 blue-tier items, priced at 10–20 gold each, ideal for arming elite guild players.
These items were worth far more than their individual prices—they could tip the scales of the upcoming Guild Base War.
---
Satisfied, Orson turned his attention to a different goal. He opened the in-game store and selected [Guild Base War Slot].
"You are about to spend 5,000 gold. Confirm?"
Taking a deep breath, Orson clicked Confirm.
"You have obtained a Guild Token. Please name your guild."
Orson paused briefly, then said, "Godslayer."
Not Demon Slayer, but Godslayer.
A fierce gleam flashed in his eyes. Orson knew the truth—humanity was nothing but a weapon forged by the gods, mere pawns in a celestial game.
The gods themselves were the architects of the apocalypse.
Gods or demons, it didn't matter. As long as Orson lived, he vowed to slay every last one of them.