246 An Unfamiliar Path

". . . Kill myself?" Roni couldn't react for a moment. He was still processing what Ren had said to him. Was he telling him to waste his hard-earned ATP in exchange for an item?

Or was Ren simply pulling his leg because he wanted him to suffer an ATP reduction? It was possible since Ren was antagonistic towards him enough maybe to bluff him into his doom.

But Roni wouldn't fall for that. He wasn't an idiot and wasn't born yesterday not to know that Ren might be plotting against him.

"I don't believe you. And if I did, I won't do it. I didn't come here and grinded myself to death only to lose it all just because of a weapon that I wouldn't even wield."

"Believe it or not. Your choice." Ren shrugged. "However, if you lose the weapon, your friends will be really pissed. But if you're the one who acquired it . . ."

Ren leaned a little closer and whispered enticingly, "Imagine how much they'll owe you?"

Roni was silent for a moment. For that short window of time, he imagined Hugo thanking him profusely and his gaze was clouded by his greed. Hugo might even give him thousands of bucks if he ever did acquire the blade.

Ren then straightened his stance and continued in a nonchalant tone, "Besides, you wouldn't suffer any ATP reduction as long as your group wouldn't get wiped out in the end. So I think it's a win-win situation for you."

". . ." Roni was almost blinded by his greed – almost. "Why are you helping me, exactly?" He wasn't convinced that Ren was merely saying this to him out of the goodness in his heart.

"I'm not." Ren knew that the best way to convince Roni was through his friends. "I'm trying to build a good relationship with your guild. Make sure you pass my greetings with them."

Ren patted Roni's shoulder before he went back to Orakh and the others.

His back facing Roni, a small smile played on Ren's lips. He might not care about Mike, Saya, and other people who did him wrong but not Roni . . . because of that single guy, because of his big mouth, his college life was a living hell.

Four years of torture wasn't something that he could forget about. He would make sure to collect Roni's debt with ten years of interest.

Watching Ren's straight iron back, Roni couldn't help the surge of pride, and his lips rose in a satisfied smirk.

See? Even Ren was envious that he belonged in Great Dynasty. Roni was convinced that Ren wanted to enter Great Dynasty through him.

Ren wanted him to be the middleman and say good things about him to Great Dynasty in exchange for the information.

Roni sneered. You wish.

Regarding what Ren said about Sharina's Blade, it was up to Roni whether he would believe it or not.

But one thing was for sure, Roni would make sure that Ren wouldn't be able to enter Great Dynasty.

----

[You have died!]

[Insufficient EXP!]

[Proceed to pay 1004 ATP for Death Penalty?]

[Proceed]

Looking at the numbers, Lily was in a daze.

How come there was an EXP penalty when it was a PvP fight?

Could it be because they died at the hands of an NPC? An NPC with huge ATP to boot.

Lily was getting dizzy at the numbers, and she almost puked when she realized that it was better to restart than to pay the death penalty.

Her head almost split apart at the fact that she had to start over. That meant that all her items would be gone! It was either that, or she had to start with zero ATP.

Lily got off from her pod while her screams almost broke the glass pieces in her room. She wasn't a gamer, and she was only playing for the fun of it . . . but it was still frustrating that she had to start all over again.

Ren! Lily gritted her teeth. She wasn't this infuriated since that guy in a cloak tricked her.

It was the same name as the guy with a cloak who duped her about giving her Pii but didn't.

Was it the same guy, or just merely a coincidence?

Was she doomed to be annoyed by the player with the name Ren forever?

First was Pii. The second was the prized staff that her brother gifted to her. And now this . . .

Lily grabbed her hair and frustration and screamed her heart out.

Ren would pay no matter what! She would make sure of it.

Nobody does this to her without facing the consequences.

Lily dialed someone on her phone.

"Hello, dad?!"

----

Meanwhile, back to Ren and the others.

Orakh and the other Orcs all claimed Lily and her friend's items, while Ren didn't lay a single hands on those since he wasn't the one who killed those brats.

After a short rest, Draki instructed everyone to move out and secure the perimeter one last time. It would get dark after four hours, and they needed to be in the clan fire by then.

Staying in the forest after dark was suicide, even for the Orcs. The only safe place was by the clan fire. And even that couldn't protect them from the Night Crawlers and Night Thing every night.

Going into the forest once more, the group took a different path.

"Why haven't we encountered some God?" asked Evie. "I thought this place was riddled with all kinds of Gods." She really wanted to see one. She had been curious about what they looked like ever since she got to know them.

Orakh laughed. "Even though they're so many of them here, the likes of them wouldn't show themselves at low being like us unless we provoked them."

"Provoke?"

"Massacre hordes of beasts in the area it protected," an Orc said.

And another added, "Or requesting a shaman for an audience with lots of offerings in hands."

"Or even trespassing in its abode."

"But in this case," Orakh butt in, "Since most benevolent Gods were pushed back kilometers from Blood Mountain, they remained at large in here. These Gods didn't mind we came in and out of their area as long as we didn't violate either of those mentioned above.

"We get what we needed and nothing more. We came what we came to do and nothing more. We survive by living alongside them, and peace is achieved by knowing everyone's boundaries."

"Ha . . ." Evie was baffled. She really thought that Orcs were the most barbaric creatures in Arcadia. Who knew that they were more civilized than the other races?

"Then what about the other clans?" Ragnar asked.

"You mean others clans like us? We don't set foot in their border unless it's really needed. We stay out of each other's business. But there are clans that wanted to conquer other clans for their territory or simply because of some pity quarrel.

"However, not all clans have that leisure because of what we have to face every day here in the wilds. Declaring war amongst ourselves is the least of our concern right now. So you won't be finding other clans in this area."

"That . . . makes sense . . . ," Evie muttered.

"Halt."

Everyone stopped when Draki shouted.

Before them were forks, one of which they hadn't encountered before.