Don’t follow me, you bastard. I imagined myself a psychic, broadcasting my thoughts to RailGunLord, wherever he may be. Stay there with Mama Bear!

The action, the challenge, the audience, all of that were back there. In contrast, I was a low-level player and Oyi Oso wasn’t an event monster—not much worth killing it. Why would RailGunLord bother to chase me?

Other than to troll me… which could be enough motive for an asshole.

Mr. Bear’s expansive furry behind was up ahead, jiggling with each of its earth-shaking steps. No way I was going to lose a target this big. Problem was, the distance between us steadily grew after the active buff of [Horde Stampede] wore off.

There were plenty of obstacles in Mr. Bear’s path—trees, ancient ruins, crystal formations—preventing it from zooming straight and leaving me behind in the dust… Or snow. Should be setting-appropriate. Smaller formations, pillars and statues, rocks—those it stomped to many pieces. The bigger ones, it avoided, earning me a second or two to come closer before it pulled away again. As for the trees, they were so huge they’d prove a challenge to topple. Though too far apart to block Mr. Bear, the trees did force it to go around their expansive girths. Again, a few more seconds not amounting to much.

I couldn’t come up with a respectable ‘she said’ joke because of the imminent failure staring at me in the face.

Despite all the zigzagging Mr. Bear did, and the seconds it threw my way, I still couldn’t catch up. And I was running mostly in a straight line through the path it flattened, like a car tailgating an ambulance. This was an issue I didn’t foresee.

“I should’ve asked for Melonomi if she had a speed buff potion,” I muttered, eyeing the cooldown of [Horde Stampede].

It was the only movement speed skill I had. At level one, it passively increased my movement speed by fifteen percent. When I used its active part, lasting only for ten seconds, it gave an additional twenty-five percent. All of that, along with the bonus from my boots, was barely enough to keep up with Mr. Bear. I didn’t have spare LSPs to level [Horde Stampede], and I was out of speed buff foods.

Should I just give up and return to the party? Lots of Hunting Tokens I was missing out on.

No! I couldn’t give up after taking this job for myself. Also, I couldn’t fail. My only hope was we’d eventually reach a dead end or just anything that’d slow down my quarry enough for me to get close and taunt it.

Rabisu Peak loomed ahead. We were far from reaching its base, but because of its titanic height, it blotted the skies and turned the background of everything in front of me into harsh rocks. I doubted Mr. Bear could scale it. That’d be where I’d corner it.

Though I say ‘corner’, Mr. Bear could easily kill me.

Something on the ground caught my eye.

Not slowing down, I craned my neck to check over my shoulder. I couldn’t see it. And I couldn’t spare the time to go back to it. Soon, I came upon another disturbance in the snow. And then another.

“Hooves… small cloven hooves,” I muttered. The musical goat was somewhere around here.

Most of the goat tracks were erased—Mr. Bear practically shoveled snow aside as it ran—but I noted that they were scattered all over. The suspected musical goat apparently wandered around. That bolstered my theory that it was lost. Fortunately, the goat seemed to be wandering in the direction of Rabisu Peak. Did it think that was the way to return to its home?

Anyway, what was the game plan here? Should I follow Mr. Bear or try to find Mr. Goat?

Mr. Goat was related to my music quest. Unlikely it’d disappear if I didn’t catch it now. And if it’d disappear, that’d mean there was a secret path around here. I’d look for that some other time. My immediate concern was dragging Mr. Bear back to my party, and farming Mama Bear and her babies. Also, probably best to postpone looking for Mr. Goat with RailGunLord around; I didn’t want him to know my secrets.

“What’s that now?” I peered at another upcoming curiosity. Oyi Oso crossed some kind of border in the snow, a faint glowing line. Without any hesitation, I galloped over it as well.

WARNING: Entering PvP Zone

(PvP Settings are compulsorily switched on)

“Oho! I’m finally here.”

There shouldn’t be any problem because I was the only player here. As for the monsters in this area, they fled from the rampaging giant bear. I was safe and undisturbed to complete my mission.

More hints of small hooves—good news. Mr. Goat was still here. The crystal formations were getting bigger and more clumped up—better news. I might catch Mr. Bear sooner than expected. And my [Horde Stampede] was off cooldown. Well, that wasn’t really news, much less the best news. Still good, I supposed.

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“Maximum overdrive!” I shouted as I cast [Horde Stampede]. “Okay, that was corny. I should’ve said—what the hell!”

That wasn’t the substitute for ‘maximum overdrive.’ I was surprised because I suddenly slowed down. My speed buff was gone!

Did I do something wrong? I didn’t see Oyi Oso casting any skills. It was too far from me. Less plausible that it was some other monster. Was there some PvP zone mechanics I wasn’t aware of?

My body suddenly felt heavy as if the armor I wore and the shield I carried multiplied by five in weight.

[ Status | Staggered Prey: Reduce Movement Speed by 56%, Reduce Evasion Rating by 1,250 points, Reduce Block Chance by 32% for 60 seconds ]

It’s RailGunLord! Who else could it be? He was waiting for me to enter a PvP zone. This was a clear message that I was the target.

But why did he follow me?

Was it because I was handsome? Oh, wait. I wasn’t.

It was because of my name—Herald Stone. RailGunLord didn’t know I was the real-life Herald Stone, but he did know I was the Herald Stone that triggered the world quest. Though I had a low level, killing me would still carry some prestige. It was like hunting a rare animal.

More importantly, RailGunLord was assured of a kill here. If he stayed with Mama Bear, he wouldn’t be able to kill-steal from Kezo. Assholes do prefer winning to a challenging situation that might result in them losing. I knew… because I was an asshole.

[ Status | Critical Weakness: Take 72% more damage from Critical Hits for 55 seconds ]

This bastard was toying with me! Instead of gunning me down, which he could easily do, he piled debuffs on me. Putting myself in his shoes, I’d say he was planning to kill me in one hit. To make sure he’d succeed, and also to mess around, he was debuffing me. All of that, to show off.

Oyi Oso was getting further away; I had no hopes of catching up to it with the slow debuff afflicting me. Some other time, Mr. Bear.

Change of mission objectives: Don’t die to RailGunLord.

The border of the PvP zone was too far, and I’d be running to RailGunLord’s arms if I went that way. Instead, I headed to a nearby sculpture the size of the Living Statue. It also looked similar to the one Zoar Elab used as its shell. Big enough to safely cover me. I pressed myself against its base, bending my upper body down to hide behind its legs.

[ Status | Fiery Enfeeble: Reduce Fire Elemental Resistance by 63% for 50 seconds ]

How did I get hit? Where was he? The skills he used didn’t leave trails that gave away his position. I also noticed he was layering debuffs, using those with the longest duration first. It was a sort of countdown for when he’d unleash his first and final attack.

I left the statue and made my way to a gigantic tree.

[ Status | Marked Bounty: Take 105% more damage from Pathfinder skills for 40 seconds ]

Again? How was he doing this?

Either RailGunLord had skills that gave him x-ray vision and allowed him to cast skills through solid objects, or I was wrong that he shooting from where I came from. Possible that he was ahead of me the entire time. In any case, he had a clear sight of me. If I moved, he could also change positions, just like the Blade Stalker from earlier.

Two options.

First, just fucking log out of the game. There was no shame in that.

Just kidding. That was a very shameful thing to do. Even if RailGunLord wouldn’t tell anyone, we’d both know I took the chicken way out. Herald Stone wasn’t a chicken. I cook and eat chicken—we were going to have a hot wings place soon.

Second choice is to go out in a blaze of glory.

At least try to fight back, instead of waiting to die.

I transferred hiding places again, stopping next to a bunch of crystal spires. I placed a Totem to my right and then healed myself. The Totem got hit and died, disappearing. Then the next debuff came.

[ Status | Armor Decay: Reduce Armor by 35% for 40 seconds ]

Was RailGunLord to my front or my right?

Oyi Oso was somewhere ahead there, charging toward Rabisu Peak. Unlikely that RailGunLord was also there. To my right, I charged. Let’s do this!

And I wasn’t sure what exactly I’d do. I raised my shields, though they wouldn’t help much, as I stacked buffs. I knew he’d dispel them all before delivering the final hit, but I didn’t care. I scanned the scenery I passed if there was something I could use. Didn’t seem like there was anything that’d change my fate. More crystals. And more hoof marks of Mr. Goat.

Wait… Mr. Bear didn’t pass this way. Why did Mr. Goat’s tracks look like they’ve been covered up in places? This had to be the work of RailGunLord, a clue to how he was getting around unseen. We found him out back at the Hoarfrost Yews; he was more careful now covering his movements.

[ Status | Close Combat Vulnerability: Receive Double Damage from Melee Hits for 30 seconds ]

“Melee? Why is he—?” My mind returned to the Pathfinders of Merl’s party. One had a crossbow, and the other wielded daggers. Those must be the two main builds of Pathfinders. Did RailGunLord aim to progress both of them and was now styling on me with a melee attack?

Plans formed in my head. I stopped in the middle of a fairly open field. This was my statement to him—I knew he wanted to finish me off with one strike. Here I was, not running or hiding.

For I am Herald Stone!