CHAPTER 20: CHAPTER 20: MEETING MAX AND SEREN, ITS TIME FOR PAYBACK

"Could mage be the best class?" one of the players around Stark asked, his tone filled with doubt.

"Hell no," another scoffed. "I’ve got a mage in my party. Sure, he can deal good damage, but the cooldowns are ridiculous!"

"Then maybe he’s got a [Hidden Class]?"

"Definitely. No other way!"

The chatter around Stark kept going, players debating loudly as if their guesses mattered.

But Stark ignored every word.

He wasn’t here to listen to speculation.

There were people he needed to find from his past life.

In that life, humanity had been brought to its knees.

The majority died within the first month, leaving only the strongest to claw their way forward.

And in the middle of it all, Stark had made mistakes, mistakes that led to the pointless deaths of friends he should have protected.

That guilt had followed him into this new beginning.

This time, he swore he wouldn’t let it happen again.

Still, there was a reason he wasn’t rushing out to search for them immediately.

Two reasons, actually.

First, he needed to become stronger on his own.

Without power, he’d only repeat the same failures.

Second, he knew they would all end up at the [Eternal Continent].

Every player would eventually be pulled there, it was the center of everything.

So even if he didn’t search now, he’d meet them sooner or later.

The only exceptions were two people. Max and Seren.

If possible, he wanted to find them before stepping foot on the [Eternal Continent].

Or at the very least, he wanted to test the limits of his new [Curse Flower] skill against them.

’But finding them in all this chaos... it’s almost impossible,’ Stark thought grimly, ’Tens of thousands of novice towns scattered everywhere...’

The task felt hopeless.

Until—

"Make way!"

The loud voice cut through the crowd, familiar enough to freeze Stark in his tracks.

He turned his head. And there they were, Max and Seren.

His lips curled into the faintest, coldest smile.

Of course, Stark had already activated his [Hide Face] feature before coming here.

No one could recognize him, not even people who might see him outside of the game.

He wouldn’t risk his identity, not even for a second.

---

[ID: GodOfViolence]

[Class: ???]

[Talent: ??? (??-Rank)]

[Skills: ???]

---

[ID: DivineGoddess]

[Class: ???]

[Talent: ??? (??-Rank)]

[Skills: ???]

---

Max and Seren had activated [Hide Face] as well.

But unfortunately for them, they had made one critical mistake: they used the same IDs as in Stark’s past life.

That was all Stark needed to recognize them.

His expression darkened.

His heart beat steadily, but his blood ran cold.

"Hello, Oblivion," Max greeted with a confident grin. "I’m a warrior, and my companion here’s a priest." He motioned to Seren, who gave a cheerful wave.

"We wanted to know if you’d join us," Seren said brightly. "With your strength and ours combined, nothing could stand in our way. Together, the three of us could conquer everything!"

Stark’s gaze stayed locked on them, his expression utterly neutral.

In this life, there would be no fake smiles.

They weren’t his friends. Not anymore.

He couldn’t forgive them for what they had done in the past. And he never would.

The only reason he hadn’t already cut them down was simple: killing them here and now was pointless.

Inside the safe zone, they were untouchable.

Even outside, they had plenty of lives to burn.

But with the [Curse Flower]... things could change.

’Maybe this will be my ticket to finally killing all my enemies.’

Max, oblivious to the storm behind Stark’s eyes, extended his hand.

"My talent lets me stack blood to increase my damage," he said proudly, as if bragging would win trust. "I can already deal hundreds of damage with every strike. Seren and I even killed a level 8 rare-rank boss monster on our own."

"And I can heal over a thousand HP already," Seren added, smiling sweetly. "Which means if we stick together, we basically can’t die."

They weren’t lying.

Stark knew better than anyone how strong the two of them were.

But strength wasn’t the issue.

"No," Stark said flatly. "I fight alone."

And with that, he turned his back and walked away.

The two stood frozen, shocked by the rejection.

Them? Rejected?

Hundreds of players were begging to join their party, throwing offers of gold and equipment at their feet.

And yet Oblivion? the level 10 mage at the top of the world, turned them down without a second thought?

Max’s grin twisted into a sneer.

"Hah. What an idiot. He’ll regret that soon enough."

Seren crossed her arms, her smile turning sharp.

"We’ll surpass him. Then he’ll realize he made a mistake."

They didn’t linger.

With only one free teleport per day, and the next costing ten lives, they weren’t about to waste it.

Instead, they decided to head deeper into the [Shadow Forest], grinding until they hit level 10.

Meanwhile, Stark ignored the crowd and lifted his eyes upward.

---

[Level Leaderboard:]

[1. Oblivion: Level 10]

[2. PrinceLucas: Level 8]

[3. FateBreaker: Level 8]

[4. GodOfViolence: Level 8]

[5. DivineGoddess: Level 8]

[6. Starfall: Level 7]

[7. BraveCop: Level 7]

...

---

The leaderboard stretched on, filled with names both familiar and unknown.

Stark studied it calmly.

The board included every player connected to this novice town, even those who had teleported here from somewhere else.

On average, most players hovered around level 5.

But the climb was picking up pace, hidden talents, rare classes, and lucky encounters pushed many forward quickly.

For now, Stark held the number one spot.

He knew the rest of the world was catching up.

Within a few hours, plenty of players would break through to level 10 and cross into the [Eternal Continent].

That didn’t worry him.

Instead, he stood silently in the central square, waiting.

And when Max and Seren finally left the safety of the town, Stark moved.

He didn’t care if it would take a small amount of lives.

Revenge wasn’t about efficiency, it was about sending a message.

A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.

’This is just the beginning,’ Stark thought, ’A small taste of what’s coming for you.’

They had called themselves his "friends" once.

But he could see clearly now, that had been nothing but a lie.

With his staff in hand and his [Bear Mage Robe] draped over him, Stark followed.

A sudden message popped up.

[Starfall: Hellooo (◕ᗜ◕), I just wanted to thank you for the staff and necklace, it’s really helping! The team also wanted to say thanks for the items!]

Stark’s heart softened.

A faint smile touched his lips. Starfall.

In his past life, she had died during the [First Cataclysm].

Her lives had run out, and she’d vanished forever.

Seeing her alive now, carefree enough to send messages like this, only strengthened Stark’s determination.

’Everything that’s coming... the Eternal Continent, the real world... I’ll handle it. I won’t let history repeat itself.’

He pressed forward.

Max and Seren were just ahead, leaving the safety of the town behind as they headed toward the [Shadow Forest].

Stark shadowed them, quiet and patient.

The forest loomed ahead, its twisted branches stretching upward like claws, its shadows deep and heavy.

And the moment they were about to step inside the forest, Stark raised his staff.

He didn’t hesitate.

Vine Cataclysm!