Chapter 17

  It took over an hour for Ben and Eve to get near the Level 7 Undead Crypt zone. Even with them chugging multiple stamina regeneration potions and running full speed. To accommodate the sheer amount of players in each zone, the map was huge to allow for plenty of concurrent hunting.

  They passed by many enemies on the road to their destination. They just ran past them. They would often have a trail of monsters chasing them. Once enough gathered, Ben unleashed his squad of cherubs to mop up the enemies for free experience and loot.

  Eve was exasperated by the strength of Ben’s class. Even though Ben called her a walking cheat code, she thought the exact same thing about him.

  The enemies were low level, compared to them, so they didn’t get much experience, but they were able to restock a portion of their stamina regeneration potions, and get a little bit of currency and extra consumables. The minor versions, at least.

  As they neared the undead crypt, the sky became cloudy. The atmosphere became a lot more dark and creepy, befitting an undead-themed zone.

  Ben was unphased but Eve couldn’t help shivering. She unconsciously moved closer to Ben as they ran. Ben noticed but didn’t say anything.

  “Cute,” he thought.

  Ben’s attention was pulled away from Eve when he noticed a large gathering of people in the distance.

  Further along the road, there had to be at least a hundred players grouped together. It looked like a small army. They were engaged in a fierce battle at the entrance to the undead crypt.

  The army of low level players were trying to brute force their way through the level 7 undead enemies. Ben frowned at the sight. The enemies were clearly far too strong, but the players were grinding their way through with their sheer numbers.

  The undead crypt was like a massive graveyard. There were two entrances. One in the direction that Ben and Eve were going, and one on the exact opposite side of the crypt.

  The entrance they were going to was the closest.

  Ben and Eve watched them from a distance for a while. Periodically someone from the army would die from a massive hit by an undead skeleton.

  “What’s the point of trying to force themselves into a higher level zone? It is so inefficient. The extra experience they get from killing higher level monsters doesn’t make up for the fact that their kill speed is super slow, and there is added danger of being one-shot,” Ben thought.

  Ben narrowed his eyes and equipped his Red Dragon mask. Eve looked at Ben cautiously. Ben slowed down and turned to face Eve.

  “Just follow my lead. This doesn’t look right. Stay close,” Ben said.

  Eve nodded and crept a little closer to Ben. She wore a nervous expression and looked towards the army in front of them.

  They approached with a casual walk. Once they were within shouting distance, a man in full-plate armor stepped forward.

  The man’s name and level were on full display.

  [Eagle Jet - Level 5 Warrior]

  The rest of the army behind the man also fully displayed their names, levels, and classes. They all had “Eagle” in front of their names. They were clearly a guild.

  Even though guilds weren’t unlocked until level 20, popular streamers and others could use the official online website to recruit members into their guild. Players could use the forums and do many other things related to Eternity, like using the auction house without having to be logged in.

  Many large guilds had a large player count from the start, especially the more popular streamers.

  Ben recognized the guild name. It was the guild of one of the top 10 streamers in America.

  The streamer wasn’t in the army, but Ben knew the association, and most other players did as well.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  The man in full plate wielded a large great axe that was almost as tall as him. His face was covered in a helmet. He raised a hand.

  “Please stop. The Undead Crypt is currently off limits and claimed by the Eagle guild,” the man said.

  Ben raised a brow.

  “Claimed by the Eagle guild? Is that a new game feature?” Ben questioned.

  Ben wasn’t sure if the man picked up on his snarkiness. Ben was often too subtle. Jet shook his head.

  “Not officially, but it is our right. Large guilds often do this to control and monopolize valuable territory. I can see you must be brand new to the game if you don’t know this,” Jet said.

  Ben nodded and looked past Jet at the army, and then the undead crypt.

  “It is just me and my partner here. Given your clear speed, I’m sure we won’t interfere with each other if we farm at different parts of the undead crypt. We can go to the entrance on the other side. We can even pay you gold for access to the zone,” Ben said.

  Jet was wearing a full plate helmet so Ben didn’t see the man’s sneer.

  “Since you are new I’ll let you off with a warning. You would do well to not treat a organization as large as the Eagle guild as mere bandits. Our goals are not so superficial. That is the first and last warning you will receive," Jet said.

  Ben frowned. He surely didn’t want to get in trouble with a group as large as the Eagle guild. He sighed and conceded.

  “Ok, we don’t want any trouble. We’ll just…find somewhere else to level,” Ben said.

  Ben turned away and Eve was quick to follow.

  “Wait, please give us your names,” Jet said.

  Jet noticed that Ben and Eve only displayed their Lizardman Slayer titles. Ben shook his head.

  “We prefer to lay low,” Ben said.

  Before Ben could continue walking away, Jet moved forward and placed a hand firmly on Ben’s shoulder. Eve gasped and looked cautiously between Ben and Jet.

  Ben could see that many in the army suddenly became alert. Instead of moving further into the undead crypt, they turned around to face Ben and Eve with a threatening posture.

  “That wasn’t a request. We need to know your names, levels, and classes,” Jet said.

  Ben looked back at Jet inquisitively.

  “That’s…strange. Are you looking for someone? I thought you were just claiming this area,” Ben said.

  The longer they spoke, the closer the army got. Eve was growing more nervous by the moment. However, Ben remained calm.

  “I don’t have to explain myself to you. Now please, this would be much easier if you complied,” Jet said.

  Ben turned to face Jet with a weary look in his eyes.

  “I’m sorry. The answer is no,” Ben said.

  Jet sighed and grabbed his axe in both hands.

  “Your information will be displayed when you die. I will give you one more chance to reconsider,” Jet said.

  When Jet grabbed his weapon, the rest of the army bore their weapons. The color of their names changed from white to grey.

  This was the universal indication of hostility. A player bearing their weapon against another player was considered an act of aggression, which caused them to enter a grey-named state. There was no penalty for killing a player who had a grey name.

  “So much for not being bandits,” Ben thought.

  Ben glanced over to Eve. He saw how worried she was. He smiled confidently. Eve was stunned by his confidence.

  “Remember, stay close,” Ben said.

  Eve nodded obediently.

  “You fool!” Jet shouted.

  Jet charged towards Ben and brought his axe down upon the smaller man. His blow struck a wall of metal.

  Ben summoned his cherub squad. Since Ben’s cherubs were already summoned, and hadn’t yet died, he could spontaneously summon his entire army at once. It was more like calling them from his summon reserves, rather than actually casting a spell to conjure them.

  One of his cherub warriors appeared right in front of Ben and blocked Jet’s axe strike with its shield. The cherub pushed the axe out of the way with ease, which threw Jet off balance.

  “So strong,” Jet thought.

  The cherub warrior delivered a quick slash of its sword across Jet’s chest before the man could regain his balance. He was sent reeling backwards. Almost as soon as the blow landed, he was engulfed by a white light. One of the white mages in his army engulfed him in a healing spell.

  Ben raised a brow. That healing spell was more advanced than the novice healing spell that most divine classes started with. It was a ranged healing spell. Healers shouldn’t have access to a ranged healing spell until at least level 5, unless they purchased a very expensive skill book.

  Ben glanced to the side to see another level 5 player behind Jet. A female white mage. Right after she was done healing, she cast another spell. Several people around her were shrouded in red light. Ben recognized it as the frenzy spell which increased attack speed and attack damage.

  Ben retrieved his halberd from his inventory. Eve stood behind him and hesitated. She wasn’t sure which weapon to use. She was overwhelmed by the sea of enemies charging their way. She ultimately decided to manifest her shield and keep her free hand open for casting spells and drinking potions.

  Her shield was new. It was a medium steel shield. It was something that wouldn’t so easily shatter, as opposed to the wooden shield that the Dire Bear had destroyed. It was dropped from an elite warrior in the Lizardman dungeon. It gave her the highest feeling of security, given the army that they were faced with.

  The army descended quickly. What little sense of security Eve had was quickly fading. Ben and Eve’s pain setting was set to maximum. That setting could not be adjusted during combat. Even if it was just a game, dying would be painful. In addition, they would both be booted from the game for an hour which would severely hinder their progress.

  Given the stakes, Eve couldn’t help quivering and clutching tightly into her shield.

  Ben brandished his halberd and glanced back at Eve. He saw her fear. Seeing that only strengthened his resolve. He looked back on the army with focus and whispered a silent prayer.

  “Heavenly Father, please guide my hand.”

  Jet recovered and pointed the head of his large axe towards Ben and Eve.

  “Kill them!”