Chapter 49: 100 Pruning Points Already?; First Player Rule

[GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT]

[PLAYER HUNT STARBUSTER HAS ADDED A NEW RULE]

King stared at the notification. His mind rejected what his eyes were reading.

Hunt had amassed one hundred pruning points. Already. The Second Woe had barely begun. King had killed four players and a golden knight NPC. And yet he had ninety points. Hunt had outpaced him.

But that was not the thought that froze King in place.

Hunt was adding a rule.

King tapped the notification. The announcement expanded into a full interface panel.

[ RULE 11: THE PLAYER SEARCH RULE]

[EFFECT: ANY PLAYER MAY SEARCH FOR ANOTHER PLAYER USING NAME OR FACIAL ID. SEARCH RESULTS WILL REVEAL THE FOLLOWING: NAME, APPEARANCE, CURRENT LOCATION.]

[THIS RULE REMAINS ACTIVE UNTIL THE SECOND WOE CONCLUDES OR IS OVERTURNED.]

King’s brows furrowed.

His mind flashed immediately to the encounter with Riddin Blackcloak. The member of Hunt’s guild who had confronted King on his return from Ephelias Magi-academy. Riddin had seen his face. And probably reported back.

Hunt had been searching for whoever claimed Ephelia’s Elemental Magic Scroll. And now Hunt had the tool to find him.

King closed the interface.

"We have to leave," he said.

Helen blinked. "Okay, you look in a rush though, going anywhere in particular?"

"Your name," King said. "I never asked."

Helen straightened her shoulders. "Helen, but you never gave me yours"

"Helen." King tested the name, ignoring her request. "You said if I spared you, you’d owe me one."

Helen nodded. "I did."

"Then take me somewhere safe. Just for a few hours."

Helen looked at her dragon. The creature had regained a bit of it’s strength. It pushed itself onto its feet and shook golden chain fragments from its snout. Helen walked to the dragon and ran a hand along its neck.

"My base," Helen said. "You’re welcome there. We have no quarrel with null alignment players. And honestly, I’m the troublemaker of the bunch, so it’s cool."

"Okay then, shall we?" King asked.

Helen climbed onto the dragon’s back and stretched her arm toward them. King lifted Maya before climbing himself. Helen took the reins and with a nudge, the dragon ascended, soaring into the air.

They flew higher. The scorched clearing became a black speck, the meadow became a green carpet.

Helen guided the dragon toward her base. The landscape shifted deeper into the jagged rock formations where blackened mountains rose from the earth like broken teeth.

After minutes of flying, they were close. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"We’re here" Helen spoke, cutting through the silence of their journey.

The dragon flew between two peaks and descended into a narrow canyon. The walls closed around them. Shadows swallowed the sunlight.

Helen’s base emerged from the darkness.

A dragonhold. Hewn directly into the mountain face. The entrance was a massive archway carved from black stone. Two braziers flanked the opening, their flames burning purple.

The dragon landed on a stone platform before the entrance. Helen dismounted. King lifted Maya down and followed.

Step step step

A woman walked out of the archway.

She was older than Helen by several years. Same red hair, but longer, pulled back in a tight braid. Her armor was heavier. Leather and chainmail reinforced with metal plates.

A longsword hung at her hip. Her eyes scanned King before he could speak.

Helen spread her arms. "Sister, I’m back."

The woman did not smile. "How did the hunt go?"

"Unsuccessful." Helen gestured toward King. "But I met someone interesting."

King stepped forward.

The woman’s gaze shifted. Her hand moved to her sword hilt and her expression changed from neutral to guarded.

"What, sister?" Helen asked.

The woman’s voice came out without compromise. "Why have you brought King to my doorstep?"

King’s body tensed. His eyebrows arched in surprise.

How did she know him?

Helen’s head snapped toward her sister. "What are you talking about?"

The woman pulled out her interface and thrust the screen toward Helen. "Did you think to check the world chat before bringing a stranger to my home?"

Helen’s eyes dropped to the interface. And as she read the contents, her face went pale.

King opened his own world chat.

His name stared back at him.

[PLAYER SEARCH RESULT]

[NAME: KING]

[APPEARANCE: See .img]

[CURRENT LOCATION: .link]

His details were on display, a link to his image and another to his live location.

Below the search result, a new message from Hunt_Starbuster.

[BULLETIN: BOUNTY]

[TARGET: KING]

[REWARD: 50,000 RUNES]

[CONDITION: ELIMINATION MUST BE CONFIRMED BY SYSTEM NOTIFICATION. BOUNTY PAID UPON VERIFICATION.]

[ADDITIONAL NOTE: THE TARGET IS NULL ALIGNMENT. NO FACTION RESTRICTIONS. ANY PLAYER MAY CLAIM THIS BOUNTY.]

The world chat exploded with multiple players reacting to the absurd news.

[50K RUNES????]

[Hunt just declared war on the rank 1]

[Null alignment means no one protects him right?. Anyone can attack]

[Zone 3 south, who knows the fastest way there?]

[Someone get there fast before the bounty disappears]

[You lots are stupid if you think you can kill him]

[King’s about to have a very bad day]

King didn’t dwell on the messages, he simply closed the chat.

His location was exposed. His name was exposed. His appearance was public. Every player in All-Gods Ragnarok knew where to find him.

Helen turned to her sister. "We have to help him. He spared my life. He could have killed me and taken my dragon, but he didn’t."

The woman crossed her arms. "He can’t stay here."

"Helen’s voice rose. "Please..."

"He will bring all of Zone 3 to my doorstep." The woman, did not raise her voice. She did not need to. Her words carried absolute finality. "I will not have my home turned into a battlefield because you brought the most hunted player in the game to my entrance."

Helen opened her mouth. The woman raised a hand.

"No."

Helen closed her mouth, and her shoulders sagged.

King stepped forward. "It’s fine."

Helen turned to him. "King..."

"I said it’s fine." King picked up Maya, placing her on his hip. The child had not spoken or moved. Her small fingers gripped King’s collar. Her bruised cheek pressed against his shoulder.

King looked at the woman again. "I have one question before I leave."

Her hand remained on her sword hilt.

"Ask."

"Your name?. As a courtesy."

She held his gaze for a long moment. Then she inclined her head.

"Lady Geladria."

King’s eyes narrowed slightly. The name registered. Lady Geladria. Ranked six in Power Ranking and Four in Popular leaderboards. A dragon rider, and the ruler of this territory.

King had not expected to meet her this way, but he couldn’t fault her decision.

"Lady Geladria," King repeated. "We will meet again."

Geladria said nothing, her eyes darted to the side.

King turned to leave.

"Wait, at least let me fly you back" Helen called.

"Helen!" The older sister cautioned.

But she ignored. "Please..." She asked King in all sincerity.

King turned slightly, and gave a single nod.

Helen then rushed to her dragon, bringing it closer to them. Then she climbed on.

King lifted Maya onto the creature’s back and climbed up behind her. Helen looked away in guilt, her face torn between duty and gratitude.

"Take us North," King said. "We’ll take it up from there."

Helen whispered to the dragon. She took the reins but did not pull them. She looked back at her sister.

"This is a mistake," Helen said.

Geladria did not respond.

Helen snapped the reins. The dragon launched off the platform and soared back through the canyon.

He watched Lady Geladria shrink beneath him until she became a small red-haired figure standing alone at the entrance of her dragonhold.

King turned his gaze forward.

Ninety pruning points. He needed ten more to reach one hundred. Ten more points to create his own rule.

The primary mission had not changed.

He would get the ten points and make his own rule. Then he would remind every player in All-Gods Ragnarok why he was ranked number one.

The dragon flew North. The blackened mountains fell behind them. The scorched clearing appeared on the horizon.