Little Pink Starfish

The player with the ID RedBraisedSpicyStrip didn’t feel even the slightest guilt over stealing a quest. It was just a game—stealing quests and kill-stealing were totally normal.

So, when the unfortunate player Claude stormed back in a rage, he grabbed Sharp Snake’s arm desperately, shouting, “Quick, knock me out!”

Sharp Snake had no idea what was wrong with this guy. But when he saw the person he’d just killed earlier appear in front of him again, his eyes rolled back in terror and he fainted on the spot.

This fearsome-looking human trafficker was, in reality, far more cowardly than he appeared.

RedBraisedSpicyStrip felt a bit disappointed, but also deeply impressed—this game was insanely well made.

Claude, meanwhile, was full of regret. He’d almost triggered a quest—maybe even a hidden one—and now it was gone.

Burning with frustration, he charged at RedBraisedSpicyStrip and swung his wooden sword with fury.

Because the game was so realistic, killing someone wasn’t easy. But the first time Claude was killed, he’d been unconscious and unable to resist. And RedBraisedSpicyStrip, being a surgeon in real life, wasn’t overly bothered. After some initial hesitation, he’d gone for it—and realized that despite the realism, stabbing someone didn’t feel like real-life violence. There wasn’t the usual resistance, and even the blood effects were heavily censored. When the body turned to bones, his psychological barrier completely vanished.

He also noticed something else: the game’s realism allowed him to identify vital points with incredible precision.

So, in a one-on-one scenario where no one had learned any skills yet, RedBraisedSpicyStrip sent Claude right back to the respawn point again.

The rest of the players, seeing the quest was gone, simply dispersed and started harassing other townspeople instead, completely ignoring the ongoing player-versus-player drama.

However, the real residents of Casey City were frozen in terror. They had just witnessed what seemed to be cold-blooded murder—and even the notoriously vicious Sharp Snake had fainted. Everyone’s hair stood on end.

As the players turned their attention to others, the townspeople panicked and bolted, running home without looking back.

These people… are terrifying!

Even the city guards hesitated before finally approaching, sternly stating that killing in the city was prohibited. Yet they didn’t actually arrest RedBraisedSpicyStrip.

This showed just how chaotic Casey City had become.

Then again, RedBraisedSpicyStrip had only killed an outsider, not a local—so the guards probably didn’t care.

Iger observed all of this with a blank expression, just about to speak, when Aken’s face changed.

“Young master, watch out!”

The space in front of the tower rippled, and a black-cloaked figure suddenly appeared, launching a volley of ice spears straight at Iger!

Aken leapt into the air, his lean body becoming a flicker of shadow as he darted skyward.

As the icy rain approached, Pei Sen instinctively threw himself on Iger, shielding him from the barrage. Since leveling up, his stats had improved—not just spellcasting but also his base attributes. Although his agility was low, his strength was maxed, which gave his speed a significant boost.

Thanks to that burst of power, he managed to tackle Iger to the ground just before the ice spears hit.

A few spears scraped across Pei Sen’s back, drawing blood, but the wounds weren’t deep. The extreme cold of the ice froze the cuts, so they didn’t bleed much.

“Are you alright?”
Pei Sen’s right hand gently supported Iger’s head. Even though he’d shielded him, if the young master’s head had slammed onto the floor, Lady Mary would’ve been furious.

Iger stared at him silently, clearly deep in thought.

Pei Sen, guilt-ridden, said, “If I hadn’t insisted on coming out today…”

Turns out, someone really had taken the opportunity to strike.

But Iger said nothing. In truth, this outing wasn’t entirely because of Pei Sen. Atwell had been investigating this assassination plot for a while but couldn’t trace the mastermind.

This wasn’t just bait—it was part of a plan to draw the enemy out. Whether Pei Sen had pushed for it or not, Iger would’ve come. He’d only taken this risk after thorough preparation. The idea that the enemy could actually harm him was ridiculous.

As the ice spears subsided, the black-robed mage in the sky was already tangled in combat with Aken.

Pei Sen helped Iger take cover behind a tower pillar. The servants who had been standing behind Iger were now on the ground—most were wounded by the ice, one was clearly dying.

Pei Sen’s eyes flickered with emotion, lips pressed tightly together.

Back when he’d played the game, NPC deaths hadn’t mattered to him. But now, his feelings were complicated.

Because this world… clearly wasn’t a game.

He just didn’t understand how the game company had embedded this world into the game.

Iger noticed Pei Sen watching the fallen servants and said coolly,

“If someone wants me dead, they won’t care about killing a few servants. You shouldn’t blame yourself.”

He sneered.

“You think you, on your own, could convince me to leave the manor? Obviously not. I came out because I was tired of those buzzing flies.”

From a noble’s perspective, especially in the Aery Continent, servants were cheap. Even if they were technically paid staff, their lives weren’t worth much in the eyes of the elite.

In the air, Aken continued to fight the mage. While the mage could float, Aken couldn’t—but his body had transformed into a shadowy blur.

Had the mage not conjured a massive ice shield, he likely would’ve died by now.

Even though Pei Sen didn’t have the level to perceive the intricate details of their battle, it was obvious that Aken was stronger.

Just as Pei Sen was starting to relax, the sky darkened. A cold chill swept in from beyond the city.

Iger noticed it too—but instead of fear, he smiled.

“Well, looks like someone’s going all out. I tried to bait the snake from the hole, and now they’re trying to trap me. They clearly want to make sure I die outside the manor.”

But his face showed no trace of panic.

Pei Sen peeked toward the city gates, and his body stiffened.

“Is that… a lich?”

In the Aery Continent, there were no necromancers. So the one controlling the skeletal army heading toward Casey City had to be a lich.

The lich might not be as powerful as the airborne ice mage, but the problem was its army—undead skeletons that couldn’t be killed easily.

Unless a battalion of holy Light Priests from the Church showed up, there was no way to deal with them effectively.

The attackers clearly knew that Iger had strong protectors. The ice mage had drawn Aken away, while several other black-cloaked figures were speeding through alleyways toward the tower.

Iger stood calmly on the tower, watching his men intercept the assassins.

The lich’s purpose, it seemed, was to trap Iger in the tower. If all his guards were occupied, he—delicate and non-combatant as he was—would be an easy kill.

Iger wasn’t exaggerating when he said the enemy was pulling out all the stops. Even the assassins were clearly elite.

Pei Sen analyzed the situation calmly. His current power level was low—he could barely handle a few skeleton soldiers, and couldn’t change the tide of battle.

But… he looked down.

The players.

Roughly 200 of them, all relatively new—but they weren’t ordinary civilians. Even if they were just beginners, they were all Swordsmen. The system had granted them basic starting skills.

More importantly, Pei Sen was fairly certain that the skeletal army had been “nerfed” by the game system. They weren’t as terrifying as they should’ve been.

Meanwhile, many of the manor’s staff were screaming or frozen in fear.

That… could be the players’ edge.

There was no time to hesitate.

Pei Sen stepped forward and activated the tower’s magical voice amplifier.

“Casey City is the domain of Lord Iger Lanno! These evil assassins seek to take his life!
We, the Bixians, are willing to fight for Lord Lanno.
Raise your weapons and kill the invaders—those who fight will be rewarded by Lord Iger Lanno himself!”

Iger blinked, stunned.

What the hell is this guy doing?!

Just then, Pei Sen heard a delightful ding.

As expected—the system issued a quest.

Timed Quest: Protect Iger Lanno. Repel the Assassins. Time limit: 3 hours.
(Triggered manually. Quest Rank: A)
As the initiator, you gain +100% EXP and an A-rank Story Chest ×1.

Pei Sen, as a veteran of Bix Magic Cube, knew how the quest system worked. Tasks could be triggered actively or passively.

He didn’t know why, but the system encouraged chaos.

The more trouble players stirred up, the better the rewards.

It wanted players to fully integrate into this world—and it rewarded them for participating in big or small events alike.

In short:

Bix Magic Cube was a game that thrived on absolute chaos.

The sound of the quest trigger wasn’t just heard by Pei Sen—all 200 players received it.

Excitement lit up their faces. Some even cheered.

“This is insane! First day of beta and we’re getting a full-blown event quest?”
“Holy crap, look at the cutscene quality—this is nuts!”
“Where’s Lord Lanno? Are you seeing this? It’s all skeletons!”
“C’mon, let’s stop them! The quest says you get extra rewards based on contribution!”
“Hey! Don’t steal my mob!”

Two hundred players, like they’d been injected with adrenaline, charged straight at the invading skeletons.

Meanwhile, the actual residents of Casey City had already fled. Even knowing Iger was their lord, none of them were willing to risk their lives fighting undead for him.

But this strange group of so-called Bixians? Wearing rags, wielding wooden swords—they charged straight into the skeletal blades.

It was a bizarre, unforgettable sight—not only for the assassins, but even for Iger’s own guards.

And on the tower…

For the first time, Iger looked truly stunned.