(Leo's POV)
Far removed from the intricate strategies devised by players like ChaosBringer and Cervantez, Leo kept his focus squarely on survival.
Navigating treacherous terrain, he pressed forward toward the safety of the rebel-controlled zone, his singular goal being to finally log out of the game after several hours of intense action.
[System Notification: Congratulations, player 'TheBoss,' for surviving yet another 2 hours within the Empire-controlled zone. You receive +2 levels.]
A glowing system notification appeared in Leo's view, briefly breaking the monotony of his trek.
Gazing at the system bar, he allowed himself a soft grin as he found a glimmer of joy amidst the relentless grind.
"The only redeeming part of my location being exposed every two hours is getting these +2 levels. At this rate, I'll hit level 1000 soon enough… and that will certainly be something to see." Leo mused, as he opened his stat panel to check on his progress.
**********
TheBoss/Leo Skyshard's Character Profile
Name: TheBoss, Leo Skyshard (Switch)
Race: Human (Status: Restricted)
Title: [Fake It Till You Make It] (Equipped)
Class: Actor (Unique) (Stage: Intermediate)
Current Level: 946
[Vital Stats]
Health Points (HP): 9650/13050
Mana: 37000/37000
Stamina: 7228/9478
[Core Attributes]
Strength: 1634
Agility: 1702
Dexterity: 1602
Intelligence: 1582
Endurance: 1602
Physique: 1603
UNASSIGNED ATTRIBUTE POINTS: 20
[Learned Skills]
•(Copy) (Unique) (Beginner)
•(Vanish) (Legendary) (Advanced)
•(The Kill Strike) (Legendary) (Advanced)
•(Mirror World) (Legendary) (Advanced)
•(Shadow Bind) (Intermediate)
[Equipment]
Worn Gear: Black Royal Gala Suit (custom), Virex Black Ops Mask
Ben's Old Assassin Robes
Poisoned Dagger (Rare) x2
Assassin's Daggers x12
Strength Potion (Basic) x2
Smoke Bombs (Rare) x12
Designer Outfit (Rare)
Detection Blocker Pocket Watch (Epic)
Daggers of Love Set (Epic)
Elven Light Chainmail
Legendary Light Armor Set
Enchanted Boots
Aura Ring
Nightblade Dagger Set
[Inventory]
Bronze Coins: -63
Silver Coins: 206
Gold Coins: 1,000,020,067
Virex Token (Imperial) x1
Death Evasion Token (???) x1
Mu Family Token x1
Thunder Talisman x1
Hurricane Summon Scroll x1
Chrono Shard x1
Life-Saving Token x1
Flame Protection Token x1
Snake Charm Crystal x1
************
His stats reflected his current strength— where none dipped below the impressive 1500 mark.
This meant that even under a debilitating 30% strength debuff, every attribute of his would remain well above 1000 which was a testament to his monstrous progress as a player.
"Is this what compounding really feels like?" Leo mused, a smirk forming.
"Fake it till you make it sounded like a cruel joke back when I was stuck fighting for my life every day. But now? Now it's unstoppable. Those desperate times… maybe they were exactly what I needed to reach this point." Leo muttered to himself as his thoughts drifted to the past.
Back when he just started to play the game, survival had once hinged on staying a step ahead of Cervantez and the other rankers to maintain his ruse, forcing Leo to take insane risks that often pushed him beyond his limits.
However, what had started as a desperate scramble had snowballed into an unstoppable avalanche over the years, eventually bringing him to the point where he was today.
'I can't complain about my journey now… I have no regrets' Leo thought, as his eyes drifted from his stats to his inventory, where he noticed a key issue.
"Only 12 sets of daggers left," Leo muttered, running a hand over his chin. "I came into this mission with over 250. If this keeps up, I might run out of weapons entirely."
The toll of recent battles had been severe. Despite salvaging and reusing daggers when possible, his arsenal had dwindled to just 12 sets of daggers now or roughly 144 daggers in total which was a tiny tally for an assassin who had hundreds of opponents constantly on the hunt for him.
"If I have to use Amanda's gift…" His expression darkened. "That'll really piss me off." Leo mused, as just the thought of having to use the Nightblade Dagger set or the daggers of love set, completely pissed him off.
*Thump*
*Thump*
The clatter of hooves and distant voices broke through his thoughts, instantly setting him on edge.
"He's on this road! TheBoss's last known location places him here!"
"The footprints in the mud suggest a solo traveler passed through. He must be close!"
"We've got 200 men. Use our numbers—overwhelm him the moment we find him!"
The voices of righteous faction players carried through the air, their determination unmistakable.
"It seems like the righteous faction is finally catching up to my path change… trouble will follow me continuously from here till home then" Leo muttered, as he prepared for battle.
"It's him! It's the Boss!" Said one of the righteous faction players leading the vanguard, as with Leo not keen on escaping, he let the enemies approach him undeterred.
"Someone share the information on the forums that we have found 'TheBoss', share our live location. And the others fall into formation, we need to fight as one!" said the leader of the group, as many righteous faction players dismounted and quickly got into battle formation.
"Well you've found me…. Let's see what you can do with the 35% debuff!" Leo said, as he threw a couple of smoke bombs amidst the group and charged into battle with nothing but two daggers in hand.
"Aghh–"
"Where is he?"
"I can't see nothing–"
"Jake are you okay?"
"Agghhhh"
Once the smoke took hold, chaos unfolded as within seconds dozens of players died.
Eventually, a couple minutes later, as the smoke dispelled, Leo turned out to be the only player left alive as he wiped out the party of 200 in just under 2 minutes.
"Too easy" he mused, as with the 35% debuff the common players were no longer a credible challenge to his safety.
For him, killing a bunch of level 300-400 players was no different from fighting children and hence he stopped avoiding them and started slaughtering them whenever he came across one such group.
—------
/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the mass release target.
Mass release counter 2230/2500.
Special shoutout to patron liljay439 for the 2000 coin donation! ///