Meanwhile, on the other side of Starfall Forest.
If Bladefang's side was a desperate hunt for survival, Bonebreaker's side... had an entirely different vibe.
Bonebreaker stood in the center of a clearing. Its three-meter-tall frame should have felt imposing and menacing in this forest, but right now, the surrounding scene completely shattered any sense of threat it possessed.
There were people everywhere.
A dense crowd swarmed through the surrounding woods, behind bushes, atop rocks, and a few daring individuals had even climbed up into the trees.
At a glance, there were at least several hundred... no, it felt like even more than that.
And these people were somewhat different from the ones Bladefang had encountered.
Their gear and levels were much lower, making it obvious at a single glance that they were total newbies who had just joined the game.
Yet, they weren't afraid at all.
There was no fear on their faces—only curiosity, excitement, eagerness, and a sense of tourist check-in that Bonebreaker couldn't comprehend in the slightest.
“Whoa! Is that an ogre? It looks even bigger than in the screenshots!”
“Is that bone armor real? Can it drop as loot?”
“Quick, quick, take a photo for me! Get both of us in the frame!”
“Move closer! If you take it from so far away, I look like a tiny ant!”
“Move closer?! What if it eats me in one bite?!”
“Isn't that perfect?! You can experience getting eaten by a wild monster and write a review on the forums!”
“Why the hell don't you go experience it?!”
“I'm timid, but you're brave.”
“I'm not brave either!”
Bonebreaker: “...”
Listening to the dialogue of these humans, Bonebreaker's brain short-circuited completely.
It had thought humans would scream and run away upon seeing an ogre.
At the very least, they would raise their weapons and guard themselves vigilantly.
Worst case, at least one or two would show expressions of terror.
Yet with over a thousand people surrounding it, their gazes weren't looking at a monster at all—it was more like watching a wild beast locked inside a cage at a zoo.
And what infuriated Bonebreaker the most were the stray comments drifting out from the crowd every now and then:
“I really wanna touch its bone armor. Looks pretty sturdy.”
“Go up and touch it then. You can just resurrect if you die anyway.”
“Resurrection Coins cost real money, you know?!”
“Resurrecting during main quests doesn't consume Resurrection Coins! Didn't you know?”
“My level isn't high enough, I couldn't even accept the main quest.”
“Fine, my level is high enough, so I'll go first! You record a video from behind!”
Watching those few humans walk toward it with eager expressions, Bonebreaker finally couldn't hold back anymore.
It let out an earth-shattering roar:
“What on earth do you want—?!”
The sound echoed through the forest for a long time.
But no one answered it.
The players continued to watch excitedly, take photos, and chat, as if it were nothing more than a giant background prop.
Bonebreaker fell into deep thought.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What is wrong with these humans?
Am I really an ogre?
It looked down at its thick arms, heavy bone armor, and razor-sharp fangs.
No problem here—it really was an ogre.
Then why aren't these humans afraid of me?
Bonebreaker looked up at the laughing, chatting crowd of humans in front of it who were still discussing whether they could “ride it to take a photo,” and for the first time, a profound sense of bewilderment surged in its heart.
Meanwhile, on an open patch of ground about a hundred meters away from Bonebreaker, two groups crossed paths.
Knight King's Sword leaned casually against a tree trunk with his two-handed greatsword resting on his shoulder, striking a suave pose.
Seeing Bruce lead a large group over in grand fashion, he immediately raised an eyebrow and spoke with a provocative tone:
“Yo, if it isn't Bruce, the vice guild leader of Dawn Covenant. Didn't your guild run off to farm that kobold mini-BOSS? What are you doing here? Did you fail to beat it?”
Hearing this, Bruce's face darkened, and he snapped back irritably:
“What business is it of yours what our guild does?”
“I'm just showing concern,” Knight King's Sword said with an innocent look, his gaze sweeping over the dozen closed-beta players and large crowd of newbies behind Bruce.
“Yo, managed to recruit people? I thought your guild couldn't recruit anyone, seeing as a certain someone's mouth isn't as convincing as mine.”
The corner of Bruce's mouth twitched.
“Says who? The public has sharp eyes! Our guild has great benefits and a fantastic atmosphere—everyone who joins loves it!”
“And besides—” His tone shifted as he retorted, “unlike a certain guild whose members only know how to recruit by tricking girls!”
Knight King's Sword shrugged. “Fine, I can't control where you go. But let's get one thing straight first: Rose Heart has reserved this Gold Rank peak ogre BOSS. Don't butt in and try to steal our quest progress.”
Bruce let out a chuckle, looking at him with an expression that practically said what kind of nonsense are you spewing.
“Bullshit! This is a main quest! Everyone gets a piece! Where do you get off calling dibs? You guys didn't go fight the Kobold Chief yourself and insisted on coming over here to join the fun—how is that my fault?”
Knight King's Sword froze for a moment upon hearing that.
Thinking about it carefully... that actually made sense.
Main quest BOSSes were shared server-wide, accessible to everyone, with no such thing as an exclusive reservation.
He opened his mouth to argue back, but for a moment, he couldn't find the right words.
And while the two were still engaged in a war of words—
Not far away, those eager newbie players who had long been itching for action could no longer hold back.
“Charge!!”
“Fight the BOSS! Fight the BOSS!”
“What are we afraid of with so many of us?! Let's just do it!”
“I'll go first to test the waters! Brothers, follow me!”
“People in front, crouch down! You're blocking me from taking a screenshot to post on the forum!”
The scene instantly spiraled out of control.
Dozens of newbie players rushed forward with wild howls, wielding the starter weapons given by the system.
Their momentum was surprisingly fierce.
Seeing this, Bonebreaker reacted in an instant.
“Get lost—!!”
A massive bone blade swept across horizontally. An arc of blade light slashed through the air, and the first few players in front were cleaved in half on the spot, bursting into white light and dissipating.
“Holy crap! That damage is insane!”
Several exclamations of “Holy crap!” echoed from the crowd, but in the blink of an eye, another wave of players filled the gap, howling as they hurled attacks at Bonebreaker.
For a time, the battlefield degenerated into utter chaos.
And on this insanely chaotic battlefield, no one noticed a red-haired figure leaning casually against a branch of a giant ancient tree nearby.
In-game ID: The World Envies This King.
He looked down at the chaotic battle below. His short red hair fluttered gently in the wind, and his robes blew lightly, carrying a chuunibyou aura of looking down upon all creation.
“Messy, far too messy!”
Then he weighed the starter wooden sword given at the beginning of the game in his hand, a charmingly sinister smile curling up his lips, his eyes brimming with absolute confidence.
“Allow me to put an end to this chaotic battle!”
“This next strike... will look cool.”
Rate on N.U.
