You have killed Player 21
Player 21 is already dead, no damage dealt
Player 21 is already dead, no damage dealt
…
Player 21 is already dead, no damage dealt
You have dealt 51 damage to Player 29
You have dealt 11 damage to Player 29
You have killed Player 29
Player 29 is already dead, no damage dealt
Player 29 is already dead, no damage dealt
…
Player 29 is already dead, no damage dealt
You have dealt 28 damage to Player 25
You have dealt 10 damage to Player 25
You have dealt 7 damage to Player 25
Despite the chaos, Alex quickly checks his damage logs. From the information, he concludes that while two of the enemies are dead, one has survived, wounded but not yet finished off.
"Careful, Rishi, one survived!" Alex warns.
"Way ahead of you," Rishi replies confidently. He is already channeling his fire spell, this time targeting the ATM and its surrounding area, even though he has no direct view of the remaining opponent.
The spell goes off, and moments later, the third player's anguished screams echo through the air. The poor guy, barely clinging to life after the grenade, is now set ablaze by Rishi’s fire spell, his cries growing weaker as the flames consume him.
"I love this spell, Alex! Thanks for giving it to me," Rishi says with a twisted grin. "It’s so versatile. A small adjustment, and it changes from a focused attack to an area spell, igniting everything within range. You know the best part? Cast this way, the flames aren’t instantly lethal. It gives the target a few precious seconds to realize what's burning them."
Alex watches, half-amused and half-wary. "This pyromaniac is probably the last person who should have access to a spell like that," he thinks, shaking his head.
You received Bloody Chest (Player 21)
You received Bloody Chest (Player 29)
Alex picks up two more bloody chests, bringing his total to an astonishing 11. Rishi grabs the chest dropped by the man who died from his fire spell, taking a moment to inspect the charred remains up close, a disturbing fascination evident on his face.
Meanwhile, Alex feels a wave of nausea wash over him. Despite the satisfaction of success, the sheer amount of death and destruction around him is overwhelming. "This is the sickest and most twisted mission ever," he thinks. "The Realm is practically forcing us to kill each other, with no goal besides wealth and survival. If you refuse, you get a bad rating and risk death or stat penalties."
[Current ranking:
1. Player 13 - 13
2. Player 3 - 11
3. Player 1 - 5]
"Good," Rishi says, a satisfied grin spreading across his face. "The players are dwindling. If we keep this up, nobody can catch us without directly confronting us. They'll have to kill us to take our spots."
Their brutal assault has cleared the area of other looters, giving them the chance to loot the partially destroyed ATMs. A few loose bills are scattered by the wind, and they manage to collect a few thousand dollars with ease.
"Let’s head inside," Rishi says dismissively. "This is pocket change. I wouldn’t even spend an hour of my time for this kind of money. One hour of my life is worth at least $100,000!"
Alex, whose sense of money has been thoroughly warped by recent events, agrees. "Yeah, let’s get to the real prize."
They break into the bank, cutting through security doors with a combination of tools and Alex’s impressive 10 points of STR. Eventually, they reach the vault, secured behind a heavy steel door. Through the bars, they can see hundreds, if not thousands, of small safety deposit boxes.
Rishi produces a bundle of explosives, placing them against the vault door with a casual confidence that makes Alex nervous.
"Are you sure you know what you’re doing? You’re just eyeballing it. This could go very wrong," Alex warns, uneasily watching his friend work.
Rishi doesn’t answer, just sets the timer and they both scramble out of the vault. Moments later, the entire building shakes violently, the ground rumbling beneath them. Dust and debris rain down, and for a second, it feels like the bank might collapse entirely.
Returning to the vault, they find Rishi’s explosive gamble has partially worked, the vault door is blown wide open, but so are more than half the security lockers inside. Cash and valuables are strewn everywhere in a chaotic mess.
"At least it saves us the trouble of breaking them open individually," Rishi says proudly. "Not bad, huh?"
"..." Alex keeps his thoughts to himself, too stunned to argue.
"Let’s grab what we can," he says, forcing himself to sound positive. He knows he'd probably have done an even worse job trying to blow open a safe. Even with the chaos and destruction, there’s at least some semblance of success.
A few hours later, Alex and Rishi collapse onto a couch upstairs, intended for bank customers. Their inventories are packed with cash, gold, silver, some in bars and coins, as well as diamonds, jewelry, and expensive watches. Alex smashes a vending machine in the lobby, tosses a bottle of Coke to Rishi, and opens one for himself.
"That was exhausting," Rishi says, looking visibly tired while drinking. Compared to Alex, who still seems fine, Rishi’s lack of PHY is showing—Alex’s superior stamina gives him an edge in purely physical tasks. "Robbing a bank is exhausting, I guess!" Rishi admits, though he smiles. "It’s worth experiencing those kinds of things at least once. Next time, we’ll know how to do things better."
"...” Alex isn’t sure if he’ll ever get the chance to rob another bank, or if he even wants that chance.
He checks the current rankings:
[Current ranking:
1. Player 13 - 13
2. Player 3 - 11
3. Player 1 - 8]
"They’re catching up," Alex says, concerned. "Do we risk more, or should we lay low? It’s close to 1 AM. Only six more hours until this mission ends, and things are going to get ugly soon. The mass killings will probably start when the NFFA's hired gangs arrive."
Before Rishi can respond, a system message flashes before them.
[It is now 1 AM. Remaining players: 14 - Shrinking playing field. Please be sure to leave the outlined areas in 60 minutes or risk soul destruction. Players’ locations will be revealed for 60 seconds every hour starting at 2 AM.]
Alex quickly opens the system map and is shocked. The entire southern part of the island, including much of the southeast, has been removed from the active playing field. Thankfully, New Springville, located in the center of the island, remains a safe zone for now.
Rishi suggests they head toward the mall and wait for the player location reveal at 2 AM before making any further decisions.
"Why not stay here?" Alex asks.
"I considered that," Rishi replies, "but remember the rules of this mission? ‘Hiding in a safe place leads to a heavy reduction in mission rating.’ We’ve already looted everything valuable here. Staying here could easily be considered ‘hiding’ by the system. Let’s keep moving so we don’t get penalized."
Alex nods in agreement. "Makes sense. Let's go."
They exit the bank, and to Alex’s relief, the car they used to get there is still parked outside. They hop in and drive north, the massive mall already visible on the horizon.