CHAPTER 81: THE INVITE

Now that he had claimed all three rewards, there was nothing left for him in the novice village.

It was time to leave, and head to the first city, where the main [Apocalypse] would start.

And as for the village guards currently roaring outside the castle?

The corners of Riley’s lips twitched, curling into a slight smirk.

There was no way for them to find him unless he wanted to be found.

He cracked his neck once, turning his body slightly.

Then—

Swoosh!

He dashed out of the castle, leaving behind only a silent gust of wind, which brushed past the corridor.

As soon as he left, dozens of guards stormed into the castle with their weapons drawn, rage burning in their eyes.

Most were still in their armour, some even breathing heavily from running.

Their leader, a tall man with an iron spear in hand, stepped forward with a deep frown on his face.

Swoosh!

They felt a faint gust blow past them, slightly brushing along their cloaks and armour, but none of them paid attention to it.

Unbeknownst to them, that gust was Riley, who just sped past them with a smug smirk.

"What the...?" one of the guards muttered suddenly, his steps slowing to a halt.

His eyes widened in horror at the sight before him.

The others froze behind him.

Lying across the polished floor of the castle were the attendants of the chief, every single one of them dead.

Some were scorched so badly their flesh had turned black, leaving them unrecognisable.

The others were slit cleanly across their throats, blood still dripping from their necks to the floor.

"...By the gods..." one of the guards whispered, his grip tightening on his sword. "Who could have done this?"

Another stepped forward, his face pale. "This is evil. Pure evil..."

They moved further into the room, glancing at each corpse, their boots squelching in the pool of blood beneath their feet.

But then, someone froze.

"Wait a minute..." he muttered, his tone sharp yet tense.

"The chief," he said slowly, his eyes scanning the room. "Where’s the chief’s body?"

Everyone stopped at once.

Their eyes darted toward the throne, however, it was empty, with no sign of the village chief.

They then checked every room in the castle, including the guards’ and maid quarters, but still, all they found was nothing.

Even the guards who were meant to guard the castle were missing, and except for the pool of blood on the floor, there was no other trace.

"Where... where did the bodies go?" one of them asked, his voice trembling slightly now.

"They’re gone," someone whispered back. "All of them."

Rage flared behind the leader’s eyes.

He turned to the others, his voice tone burning with fury. "Spread the word. The chief’s corpse is missing."

He gripped his spear tighter, and continued—

"We’ll find whoever killed him. And we’ll drag that person into the light."

"Whoever did this..." he growled, "Will face justice."

The other guards nodded solemnly, their expression dark and annoyed.

***

Riley exhaled, staring at the massive gate leading to the new city.

It was much larger than it had seemed from the distance.

The structure towered above him like a sleeping giant, at least twenty meters high and nearly thirty meters wide, its black surface gleaming softly beneath the sunlight.

The valley behind him had quieted somewhat compared to when he first killed the village boss.

Though it was still swarming with players, their numbers had already dwindled.

Barely anyone even paid attention to him, as they were all more concerned with getting into the city.

However, he had already deactivated the disguise, meaning, it was his normal face on display currently.

Though players didn’t know this now, entering the city with a disguise could actually attract suspicion from the guards.

The guards in the village were nothing compared to those in the city, as the latter could detect any disguise or concealment done by the players.

The only ones they couldn’t detect were those above C-rank, some of which were usually so powerful, they could bypass [Inspect], or any detection talent.

If one wasn’t careful, they could even get attacked the moment they stepped into the city.

It was best to enter just as you were... plain without any disguise from items or skills.

’At least, the question marks on me doesn’t seem to pose a problem to NPC’s. Seems like they still see me as a normal player.’ he thought, smirking faintly, before stepping forward.

The moment he crossed through the gate—

His vision blurred slightly.

A soft hum filled his ears.

Then—

Woosh!

His surroundings melted away, only to reform a second later into a brand-new space entirely.

A beautiful city stretched out before him.

Wide tarred roads lined with glimmering white tiles cut clean paths through rows of modern buildings.

The architecture was sleek, much more advanced than anything in the novice village—like stepping from a medieval town into an almost futuristic fantasy metropolis.

There were even a few skyscrapers within the city, each one standing tall and proud.

Players, most dressed in wildly different gear, bustled past in small groups, chatting or checking their system.

NPCs strolled calmly along the paths, holding bags, chatting, or calling for customers near well-stocked stalls.

Unlike the village, these NPCs looked more refined, their clothing better tailored and more colourful.

The atmosphere smelled clean, and the sky was clear... far clearer compared to that of the Novice Village.

Riley’s eyes slowly widened.

’Everything’s really different... just like they were ’then.’ Riley thought, moving forward, while observing his surroundings.

Ding!

[Welcome Player ’A Random’ to Montville, the first city!]

A notification floated across his view, and his lips curled up slightly.

He exhaled slowly, turning his gaze to the horizon of the city. "Finally," he muttered, voice tinged with amusement.

But before he could take a step forward—

"Hello," a voice said cheerfully beside him.

He turned.

A young woman stood at his side, dressed in orange and red robes almost like a priest.

Her hair was pale blond, her features soft, and her smile warm and inviting.

"Would you like to join our church?" she asked sweetly, extending a white pamphlet toward him.

[Invitation to join the Church of Fire]

[Do You Accept?]

[Yes/No]