A small group of five Players stepped out from their hiding spot. They pushed the thorny branches of the bush aside and strode slowly toward Zayn.

“Your reflexes are pretty good. It seems like you are not a total noob. I was already confused about how someone managed to get their hand on a proper weapon and some leather armor, but you seem capable, somewhat,” A middle-aged man, probably the leader of the small group, said.

He stepped forward and brandished his stone longsword, the sharp tip pointing toward Zayn.

Inspecting the five Players didn’t provide much information. All he could tell was that they wore beginner clothes and that everyone managed to get hold of a weapon. Three players wielded a small stone dagger similar to the one Zayn owned not too long ago, whereas the only female Player in their group held a bow in her hands. Zayn could tell at once that it was bad quality. Meanwhile, their leader held a longsword made out of stone in his hands. A single glance was enough to tell that the longsword wouldn’t hold on much longer. It would probably break in a single clash against a boar.

Zayn’s equipment was far better than everything they owned, together. But that was not further difficult. No one earned enough to purchase a steel weapon yet. Or, at least, Zayn hadn’t seen anyone walking around with a steel weapon yet, forget about something like the Shanyt Axe. His leather armor and belt were also unique among the Players in Emberfall.

It was only obvious that his appearance would attract some attention – and ignite greed in the fragile hearts of some newer players.

“You must have been spending quite a while carving your bow and arrows. The quality is pretty bad, but it is a long-range weapon, nonetheless,” Zayn praised the female Player, who scowled at him. She didn’t seem to like his praise.

He ignored her and listened to the leader’s final words. “You’re a smart one. In that case, how about you give us your equipment and we will leave you alone? That’s much better than dying, don’t you think? Waiting half a day before you can resurrect should harm your progress more than losing your equipment and staying alive.”

Zayn didn’t plan to die here. The setback of dying would be too grave, especially in the first few days of Forgotten Lands’ launch. Fortunately, he was not afraid to face five Players at once. His equipment was much better than theirs, and he couldn’t sense a strong Foundation from them either.

Zayn smiled at the leader and nodded. He took a step forward, his hand moving to the Shanyt Axe. From the Players’ perspective, it looked like their opponent gave up without trying. They expected Zayn to remove his belt and armor. Zayn’s actions, gestures, and facial expression gestured that he knew what was better for him – giving up his equipment and surviving. The Players had won without a battle. It was a little bit anticlimactic, but it was certainly better to earn a fortune without losing a single member.

The Players looked at each other, their smiles contagious.

“We did it!” One of them murmured, grinning from one ear to the other.

“I–...” Zayn said lightly, the presence around him changing all of a sudden as he kicked the ground with tremendous strength.

He closed into the Leader, who was slightly taken aback at the sudden turn of events. Why did this Solo Player change his opinion so suddenly?

“Charge!!” The Leader grunted under his breath, steadying his stance as Zayn shot toward him. Zayn retrieved the Shanyt Axe from the belt and lifted the axe lightly. The Leader prepared for impact, ready to block the attack to give his teammates the time they needed to stab and shoot Zayn.

But the moment their weapons were about to collide, something unexpected happened. Zayn disappeared from the Leader’s sight. Space wrapped around Zayn and the scenery around him changed near-instantaneously. His stomach complained just like his other senses as he was thrown around in space, but Zayn accepted this feeling wholeheartedly. He was already familiar with it.

Meanwhile, the Leader was still on full throttle, the momentum of his sword resulting in a loss of balance.

“Boss!” One of his teammates shouted.

At that moment, the leader’s hair stood up to its end and he could tell that something was about to happen. However, all he heard was the sound of a blade cutting through the air as he felt piercing pain in his neck.

His vision blurred with a last warning ringing through his ears.

“Behind you!”

The leader’s head fell onto the dry soil with a thud and the rest of the body followed soon quickly.

Classless Player(Rizzler69) has been slain.

Zayn clicked his tongue, “No Soul Essence.”

He didn’t even glance at the decapitated body and glanced at the remaining four Players as if their fate had already been decided.

“You bastard!!” One of the Players screamed before charging at Zayn like a headless chick.

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Zayn ignored the idiotic exclamation and focused on himself, his Card, to be precise. He had to get better at using Blink. His first attempt succeeded but the designated destination was a little off the chart. Zayn hardly ever used Teleportation Cards in the past. They didn’t suit his combat style in the past. But now that he obtained a proper Card early on in the game, Zayn might as well start leveling it to use its full potential.

Maybe Blink was only an Uncommon Card but that was already pretty rare, especially a space elemental Spell Card such as Blink. Its price was probably on par with Rare Cards. At least, for Zayn.

The three dagger-wielding Players charged at him in unison. The loud one was a little bit closer than the other two. There was just enough distance for Zayn to issue a high kick, taking the loud Player by surprise. He was just about to scream out in pain when his throat was cut through with a clean cut. Blood gushed out of the Player’s throat, shocking the other Players.

Classless Player(Melyoran) has been slain.

The first time could have been a coincidence, but watching two of their friends die like this, their hot blood gushing through the air, splattering everywhere, was not normal. Their comrades’ blood spurted on their faces. It was warm. Their hair stood up to its end in both disgust and a burst of fear.

How could a game be this realistic? Their pained expressions, and the pain in their eyes. Was Forgotten Lands really just a game?

Watching their teammates dying in such a barbaric manner put a heavy toll on their minds. The two remaining dagger-wielders slowed down instinctively. They didn’t dare to attack Zayn mindlessly and hesitated, unsure how to face the monstrosity they’d provoked. Their uncontrollable greed led them straight to death.

Zayn’s eyes flashed coldly as he brought down the axe. The two Players lifted their stone daggers to block the incoming attack but the Shanyt Axe pierced through the defense of the Player to his left with great ease. The axe blade accumulated enough momentum as it descended to cut not only through the stone dagger in one go but Player’s flesh and bones as well.

Zayn tore the Axe out of the half-severed arm and kicked the Player in the gut. The other Player tried to stab him, but Zayn was not there anymore. He vanished and appeared behind the Player, who’d just attempted to stab him. A simple, yet powerful cleave was all it took to kill the Player in one go.

Classless Player(Dirk0595) has been slain.

The other dagger wielder screamed in pain his arm was almost severed and the pain overwhelmed him. It was the first time for the Player to feel so much pain in his peaceful and luxurious life. The pain was enough to nearly knock him out. But before that happened, Zayn smashed his axe down onto his head, cracking the Player’s skull open like a melon.

Classless Player(BabyDaddy) has been slain. +1 Soul Essence.

“That was about time,” Zayn mumbled, tilting his head right before a trash-quality wooden arrow could hit him. He turned around to see the female Player trembling in fear. Her friends and comrades had been killed mercilessly, their disfigured and decapitated bodies lying in front of her unmoving. Tears trickled down her cheeks.

“D-D-don’t come any closer!” She screamed, but Zayn charged ahead.

His ice-cold eyes pierced the female Player, who could only retreat instinctively.

“Please, don’t ki-...”

Was all she could say before the Shanyt Axe cut through her shoulder. Her eyes widened in terror, but her mind registered the pain only for a second before she was expelled from the game – her body slumping lifelessly to the ground.

Classless Player(PrincessCali) has been slain.

The last Player was dead, but Zayn didn’t even pay attention to them. Their equipment was trash and already damaged. Not only was it not valuable to Zayn, but it would have been a shame if they had managed to scratch him even once.

He might be in a much weaker body than before and it would take some time to get fully accustomed to this fragile body, but Zayn was not exactly a bad combatant. There were better ones out there without question, but their number was exceedingly low. None of them was as tenacious as he, either.

Zayn cleaned the Shanyt Axe and attached it back to the belt. The balance of the ranked weapon was pretty good and its natural sharpness would play a huge role in the next few days. It was also highly durable. The little damage it would sustain in the near future would be repaired swiftly through the Mending Enchantment.

Overall, the One-handed Shanyt Axe turned out to be slightly more useful than expected.

The loot obtained from killing five Players was not tremendous. He could plunder their corpses but they didn’t possess anything valuable. Interestingly enough only two of them had unlocked their Heart Deck. Zayn noticed that only now as he reached out with his perception. He expected all of them to have a Heart Deck and that, at least, one of them to possess a Common Card. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The five Players, who’d attacked him were total noobs.

All they gave him was some practical experience with his new weapon, Blink, and a Soul Essence.

“One Soul Essence. Better than nothing, I guess.”

A Common Card Shard would have been great as well, but a Soul Essence was not bad either. He also knew how to invest the Soul Essence for the most efficient execution of his plan. His current path was pretty obvious.

Integrate one Soul Essence into the Star of Strength. Y/N?

Zayn accepted the integration, therefore improving his Inferior 7/10 Strength to 8/10.

Ignoring his little encounter with the five hoodlums, Zayn continued his journey into the Arylin Forest. A gust of air hushed through the trees, passing along the scent of nature. Birds chirped and the distant roars and clashes of monsters resounded through the Arylin Forest. Everything around Zayn was vivid, ranging from the tiniest grass blades to the largest ancient oaks.

All lifeforms on the Arylin Forest were full of vigor, naturally accelerating the maturity circle of monsters and plants. That was also why it was no wonder Zayn found several groups of Players fighting frenzy rabbits, blackbelly boars, Ember Sparrows, and more.

Under normal circumstances, Zayn might have considered joining the Players to farm Soul Essences and Card Shards alongside them. Fighting together decreased the drop-rate of the entire team, but it increased the survivability drastically. Fortunately, Zayn did not need more protection. He – on his own – was already enough protection.

Therefore, he made a detour around the battlefield and moved deeper into the forest where his targets awaited him eagerly.