Chapter 078: Leading the Trouble Elsewhere

The moment Little Shrimp's reinforcements arrived, the high-level, well-equipped players began mowing down all the red-named players in the vicinity—whether they knew them or not—like slicing vegetables. Not only were Luce’s people stunned by the onslaught, but even Farewell’s crew fell victim. The red-named players who had followed Lin Jia inside, as well as those who rushed over after hearing the news, were furious to see such arrogance. They rose up in resistance, and chaos completely engulfed the scene.

In the midst of the turmoil, Lin Jia—the instigator—was beaten from place to place and lost sight of his companions. He decided to teleport out of Fragrant Stone in an instant, then ran back to Sabak, finding a safe corner to watch the spectacle. He kept observing as throngs of players poured into the secret passage from the gates of Sabak.

Some players, upon entering, immediately started asking around, "Has the abnormal super item dropped yet? Why aren't there any monsters?" They were greeted with a barrage of lightning and poison talismans. The answer was obvious: the Fragrant Stone crypt was packed tighter than a can of sardines; how could monsters even spawn? And if they did, they’d be killed instantly by the nearest player. These newcomers had clearly rushed over after hearing from friends without understanding the situation.

The crypt could no longer hold any more players. Those trapped and unable to move shouted, "Move! Move!" But how could anyone move? Moreover, the latecomers, seeing so many red-named players in PK combat, seized the opportunity to kill and loot equipment. The items scattered on the ground only fueled greater greed, prompting fights that quickly turned more white-named players red, who were then killed in turn. A vicious cycle began to form.

Players in Bich and Alliance Stronghold learned of the "hidden map" through various channels. Like wolves with glowing green eyes, they rushed in to snatch the rumored "abnormal super item." The power of rumors was terrifying. Whether the legendary ebony staff with 0-8 magic actually existed was beside the point—even if it did, did every monster drop it? Blinded by rumors and their own greed, the players didn't care. Many arrived with the mindset, "Better to believe it exists than not," and their numbers steadily grew, spreading the conflict from the Fragrant Stone crypt to the secret passage, then onto the surface of Sabak, and finally into Alliance Stronghold. Eventually, the vast majority of players had no idea why they were fighting; they just attacked anyone nearby, regardless of who it was. As for the reason, everyone was baffled, but the items dropped from slain players greatly stimulated their fighting spirit.

Thus, the second great war involving all players in the Legend game unfolded in this dramatic fashion.

Old Four and Old One barely escaped the Fragrant Stone crypt alive and reunited with Lin Jia. Old Four exclaimed excitedly, "Damn, that was awesome! This game is off the rails! Fighting is so exhilarating! I killed dozens!"

Old One scoffed, "Bah! You brag about killing dozens? With a single poison spell, I must've killed at least dozens more. Those people inside went mad, losing HP without even taking potions!" Lin Jia, helplessly, saw that all three of his group now had red names.

"So where do we go to level now? We're all red-named!" Lin Jia looked at the three standing together, just as Little Shrimp sent a message: "Hey, where’d you guys go? Haven’t seen your crew!"

Lin Jia paused and replied, "Damn, we got wiped out! We’re in Red Village now! Don’t go red-named, or you’ll lose everything!"

Little Shrimp laughed, "Awesome! Today was the best day since I started playing! Did you guys lose any gear? Is your super gear really from the Fragrant Stone crypt? No wonder when I first saw you at Pig Two your stuff was so good! Wait, weren’t you a warrior? How come you’re a mage now?"

Lin Jia brushed it off, "You must be mistaken. This character’s always been a mage! We have one warrior, one priest, and one mage in our trio!"

Little Shrimp was dumbfounded, "Huh! Did I really get it wrong? I remember talking to you! You were wearing heavy armor!"

Lin Jia laughed, "Then you must be mistaken! I was barely level 22 at the time—how could I wear heavy armor? Besides, I’m not a warrior! By the way, you’re level 25 now? I saw you using Frost Blade!"

Little Shrimp replied cheerfully, "Yeah! A few friends helped me level up, swapping accounts but not computers. Honestly, when we first met at Pig Two, were you already farming gear in Fragrant Stone? That explains why your equipment was so good. I guess you guys aren’t the type to buy gear with real money, right?" Before Lin Jia could answer, Little Shrimp supplied his own answer.

Lin Jia fell silent for a moment, then told Little Shrimp everything that had happened. Little Shrimp burst out laughing, "You’re a sly one! Alright, no more chit-chat, I’m heading back in to kill and loot gear! Damn, today’s a jackpot! No wonder it’s a hidden map—the drop rate for gear is way higher than from monsters! Haha!"

After that, Lin Jia heard nothing more from Little Shrimp. Old Four said, "Now we're all red-named, we can’t enter the main city. Luckily, Sabak doesn’t have guards, so we can buy potions. But where should we level? We’ve wasted so much time!"

Old One chimed in, "How about Centipede Cave? I heard the monsters there spawn densely."

While stocking up on potions at the Sabak pharmacy, Old Four habitually bought red and blue potions in a three-to-seven ratio. "Forget it! Centipede Cave is barren now, not even a blade of grass grows there. If we go, it’ll be pointless. We should head down to the bottom floor of Pig Cave from Fragrant Stone and farm monsters!"

Lin Jia glanced at his gear. Now that the Fragrant Stone crypt was exposed, there were no safe leveling spots left. They would have to rely on their equipment and attack speed to snatch monsters from other players.

After loading up on potions, the trio bought extra random teleport scrolls. With their red names, they had become even more alluring targets for average players—more enticing than monsters themselves. If they ran into a PK they couldn’t win while leveling, at least they could escape.

Once prepared, they rushed through the back of the clothing shop into Sabak’s secret passage. Inside, players were still locked in chaotic battle. Without lingering, the three used random teleport scrolls to fly in every direction, aiming to reach the entrance to the next floor.

When they arrived at the third level of Fragrant Stone, they found all the players madly chasing after a red-named warrior whose level was neither high nor low. Someone shouted, "Get him! Get him! I saw him pick it up just now! Kill him and loot the gear!"

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[Author’s note: First time waking up naturally in the afternoon—so nice! Had guests at home tonight, stood in for my dad to drink, just finished the gathering, and before I pass out, I’m determined to hobble and get some writing done. Can’t promise there’ll be much—who knows when the liquor will hit me… I already said I got a limp from drinking, but those old guys wouldn’t let me off until I drank them under the table!]