CHAPTER 253: WHITE PHANTOM!

The assistant lead developer had an idea, but it was more of a gamble. He didn’t really know if it would work or not.

However, he wanted to observe some more before making any rash decision that would affect the game and company.

He shifted his gaze to one of the large screens which displays the official forum chat of Realm of Ascendency.

...

User998: HOLY HELL, he just cut through fifty people in under a second!

User212: Is he an NPC or a player? Dang — that level of fluidity; I doubt it’s a player.

User44: Guys, what if it’s Broken Heaven!

User1000: Bro, that mask looks different from Broken Heaven’s though...

User500: Yeah, Broken Heaven don’t wear a mask and use twin swords; that’s someone else.

User550: Whoever he is, he’s a damn legend. White Phantom confirmed.

User77: White phantom...hmm that’s a good name!

---

"White Phantom...?" one developer muttered.

The assistant turned sharply. "White what?"

"Sir — it’s trending. Players are calling him that now."

The assistant groaned and facepalmed. "Great. They just gave him a name."

Another staff whispered, "Sir, the engagement metrics... they’re skyrocketing. We’ve hit twenty million live viewers. Server’s stable, though."

The lead exhaled. "That’s almost the same number of viewers during the inter-guild display events... if he survives, this event could create another monster."

p

The players didn’t know who the masked person was. With how the White Phantom name was trending, they had already created a persona for him again — another persona that would strike fear into players’ hearts when they heard it.

’As if Broken Heaven was not enough, they just had to create another one.’ he sighed, slumping into his seat and just watching everything play out.

Back in the Monkey Paradise dungeon...

"Fire in formation!"

A group of twenty elemental mages formed a circle, their wands glowing blue.

"Triple Cast — Arcane Storm!"

Energy gathered in the center, coalescing into a massive orb of raw mana. The sky turned white, casting shadows on the faces of all those present.

The air was charged with magical energy. Hundreds of red-furred monkeys had died from the residual shockwave, and more had fled deeper into the dungeon where the boss was rumored to be.

Right now, inhabitants of this world who had been hunting inside the dungeon were also observing the entire fight from a distance.

Of course, they weren’t foolish enough to involve themselves. Why? The otherworlders could respawn; they could throw their lives away easily without much thought.

Still, they were curious to know why all of them were attacking this one person.

Gabriel looked up, unimpressed by the magical attack.

He flickered again — using his Burrow Shift skill, which looked like short-distance teleportation. He popped out of the ground right in their midst and crossed blades with them.

The blades shimmered, absorbing all the incoming attacks, and a massive shockwave erupted outward like a ring of light.

Boom!

The spell didn’t even detonate properly; the mages vanished instantly, and the ground was scorched black.

Nearby guilds stopped attacking for a moment.

"This guy... I thought he would be weakened with the gun gone, but this... this is unbelievable."

"He’s not even breaking a sweat!"

"Why’s he still alive?!"

The Azure Dawn leader gritted his teeth. He was currently level 2, but due to anger and greed clouding his thoughts he didn’t pay any attention to that detail.

"Keep him pinned! If we let him rest, we’re doomed!"

He charged again, roaring as his sword lit up with white flame. "Shield Breaker Slash!"

Their weapons collided.

CLANG!

The shockwave blasted dirt into the air. Sparks flew. Gabriel’s foot didn’t even move from his spot, but the knight was thrown back several steps. He used the momentum, spun on his heel, and shot forward once again after one fierce kick.

BANG!

They clashed again!

The Azure leader grinned savagely. "Got you!"

Gabriel smiled faintly behind his mask. "You sure?"

The man’s expression froze.

A faint vibration echoed through his chest. He looked down—and saw Gabriel’s second blade buried in his armor.

Blood splattered the ground. His health hit zero.

Gabriel withdrew the blade.

"You talk too much."

[You have been killed]

[Ding! You have lost all your levels; when you next log in you’ll be transferred to the beginner village.]

The rest of the guild froze in disbelief.

"He—he killed the leader!"

"Our buffs just vanished!"

"Fall back!"

"No! Keep fighting!"

But it was useless. The leader had a skill that granted strength and agility to his team — ’Anger’. When he died, their buffs disappeared.

Gabriel moved once again, his sword flashing repeatedly through the air as he tore through them like paper.

Ten minutes later, the entire Azure Dawn guild was erased along with several minor guilds and random players.

For a moment Gabriel allowed himself a brief respite and exhaled.

---

At the developer HQ, panic spread.

"Sir! Over a thousand players have been sent back to the beginner village... they’ll start from scratch again."

"Should we just call the hunt off at this point? It’s not worth it — the players are blinded by greed; they won’t stop." A junior developer spoke up with a concerned look on his face.

Coincidentally, one of the players participating in the event was a close relative of this developer.

Games were not just to escape reality; they were a lifestyle, and players were very passionate about them.

Imagine losing all your stats, treasures, and skills and starting back from scratch! That would drive many into depression!

The assistant lead developer rubbed his temple. "If we shut the dungeon now, we’ll have a bigger issue. Players already invested their time. Some are even streaming it live with donation counters running."

"So, what do we do then?!" another shouted.

"Multiply the bounty rewards!"

"To what, sir?!"

"Two hundred thousand Valerian Dollars! Ten random scrolls. Boost the spawn limit! Force every nearby player into the dungeon!"

The assistant nodded. "Understood!"

Within seconds, hundreds of players were forcibly teleported into Monkey Paradise, dropping from the sky like meteors.

"WHAT THE—?!"

"I didn’t even sign up for this quest!"

"Shut up! It’s global now!"

[WORLD QUEST UPDATE!]

Kill participation reward has been doubled! All deaths against the White Phantom grant +10 Fame!

...

A few minutes earlier...

Out in the wilderness, ChaosKnight guild was currently raiding a dungeon. The distance from here to Stellar City was a day’s worth of traveling.

IceQueen was standing right outside the dungeon watching the proceedings when the first notification rang through the sky.

"100,000 Valerian Dollars and five skill scrolls?" ChaosCleric, who was standing right beside her, gasped in shock when he saw the announcement in the air.

IceQueen was also in a trance-like state, just staring at the announcement. She quickly logged into the forum and saw clips of the ongoing fight.

"Should we abandon the dungeon and head over?" ChaosCleric asked, eagerness in his voice.

As long as it was not Sir Broken, the assistant guild leader was more than happy to join the event! He felt that all the small guilds and players participating were not powerful enough.

The guild with the biggest shot at killing this White Phantom was their ChaosKnight guild!

IceQueen didn’t reply instantly; her eyes mirrored the ongoing fight in Monkey Paradise. The figure of Gabriel weaving through the horde of players was etched deep in her mind; a brief look of fascination crossed her face.

Right then she turned around and spoke. "It would take us two days to reach the capital; by then the event will already be over."

"How about we send out our members in the capital to hunt him?" ChaosCleric suggested.

"There wouldn’t be much difference," she said. "We would only be feeding whoever gets there first."

When ChaosCleric heard this — though she made a lot of sense — he couldn’t help but curse inwardly. Even for a big guild like theirs, one hundred thousand Valerian Dollars was a lot, and those five scrolls, if given to promising members, would be invaluable.

Moreover, there was something else.

Was it that the reckless IceQueen — who would charge into battle without thinking — was suddenly being so rational, or was this something else?

Or could it be she was only reckless when she was fighting against Broken Heaven?

ChaosCleric took one glance at IceQueen to make sure she was still the same person.

Her eyes, which reflected the White Phantom, were a mixture of fascination and silent admiration, and on her lips was a faint smirk.

What she was thinking was unknown...

---

Even though Gabriel had left the Adventurer Guild, Andrew and his team didn’t leave; instead, they completed mission after mission and earned a reputation for themselves among both elite squads and lower ones.

Most guild members believed that the mysterious trio had covered the gap Gabriel left; some even claimed the guild had improved significantly.

Of course, the latter belief was mostly held by lower-ranked members, many of whom hadn’t participated in the inter-guild display event.

Currently, the trio was seated in the guild cafeteria.

Andrew dropped the cup of coffee he had been sipping and then held the gaze of baldy Garth and Yumi, the one with Japanese features.

Garth cleared his throat and began, "You both saw the announcement as well, right?"

Both Andrew and Yumi nodded.

Garth continued, "I know we agreed to wait for the upcoming event, but how about we strike now, get rid of him quickly, and get out of this place."