Little Pink Starfish

Sadin killed the gang leaders without the slightest emotional ripple, even though they had always looked up to him with reverence.

To him, they were nothing more than irrelevant bottom-feeders. Although he had trained them under Duke Burke Angre’s orders and two of them could barely be considered his students, he always knew the day would come when they’d be eliminated.

“This kind of underground organization really is good at raking in money. The duke’s long-term investment wasn’t for nothing,” Sadin thought with satisfaction. Inside that mountain cave, he’d just secured a massive fortune. “Now that all witnesses are dead, the Black Rock Gang’s history ends here. But with things the way they are in the capital, the young master… that’s another big problem.”

He hesitated whether to see Eagle. After all, their last interaction hadn’t been exactly pleasant. But the duke had instructed him to remain in Frost Maple for now.

“With more and more of these bizarre Bixians appearing, I do need to meet with Pei Sen to ask about them.”

Even in Burke Angre’s territory, Bixians had started appearing. Due to the damage they caused, the duke ordered them all captured and locked in custom-made cells.

Yes, these players were the unluckiest. They weren’t killed—they were imprisoned. And that was worse. No one knew how long they’d be locked up—maybe forever. What kind of game was that? Many players chose to die and respawn just to escape.

This behavior scared many of the duke’s men. These Bixians were so stubborn, so unyielding, that even after the cells were full of bones, more of them refused to give in.

Now that they were still causing chaos in the duke’s lands, Sadin had to speak with Pei Sen.

On his way out of the forest, Sadin saw Bixians still scouring the area. He deliberately avoided them, slipping into the city from another direction.

At this time, most of the Bixians still searching the forest were first- and second-wave players. Only they had the levels to handle such difficult content—the Black Rock Gang leaders were tough, and newbies wouldn’t stand a chance.

Most of the early players were in it for the money and were desperate to take down those bosses.

They had been tracking the gang leaders for a while. The injuries to Blood Wolf and the others had been their doing.

But now? The quest just… failed.

Countless players rushed to the forum to vent.

“This is bullshit! We put in all that time and effort, and some mystery NPC swoops in and steals the boss kills?!”

After the gang holed up in the mountains, players had worked their asses off. Mountain searches sounded easy, but in reality they were boring and exhausting. They’d worked for days—for what? Nothing?

BraisedSpicySnack saw the quest failure and cursed. “Are you kidding me? Who the hell killed all the bosses? That’s straight-up kill-stealing!”

“They were tough, right? What kind of stats do you need to wipe out the entire bunch?” Claude asked.

Since BraisedSpicySnack’s usual teammate, MidnightGhost, had been busy recently, Claude had become a regular in his team.

While the early-wave players were raging about the mysterious NPC who stole their kills, they got another notification.

Ding.
Black Rock Gang Grand Chief ‘Harby Bowen’ has entered Ice Rock City.

The players froze.

“Is he a world boss? He gets a global announcement just for entering the city?”

BraisedSpicySnack leapt up. “Hurry up, port back to town!”

The early players rushed toward Ice Rock City. At that moment, Sadin had just entered.

And as soon as he stepped in, countless eyes turned toward him. Sadin immediately felt uneasy.

“…No need to worry. Bixians have always been weird.”

But the way they were looking at him was hard to describe. Not just odd—they were whispering, clearly excited, yet hesitating.

“Holy crap, he’s a full red-name! Deep crimson!”

“System says he’s the Black Rock Gang’s Grand Chief Harby Bowen? Why does he look familiar?”

“You think?! That’s Sadin—the steward of Golden Rose Manor!”

“Damn. The Level 8 Great Swordsman!”

“That’s him!”

“Wait, so he’s also the gang boss?!”

The secret Sadin had fought to protect—even murdering to hide—was unraveled by players in an instant.

And he had no idea.

The players inside the city didn’t strike right away. These were open beta players, a bit more cautious. Plus, bosses of this level? No way they could take him down head-on. They were just waiting for others to join, maybe ride the wave.

So they quickly took screenshots and posted to the forums.

“We didn’t touch him. The system warned us Bixians might flee if provoked, and we didn’t want him to wipe us out and run…”

Meanwhile, players outside the city stared at the screenshots in confusion.

“Isn’t that Sadin? Why does it say he’s the gang boss?”

“Are you dumb? That means Sadin is the mastermind. Harby Bowen’s just his alias!”

“Damn, what a scumbag. Did he trick our little count too?”

“Wouldn’t surprise me.”

“Alright, brothers—raid boss time!”

When Pei Sen saw the forum, he frowned and turned to Eagle.

“Young master, Sadin’s shown up in Ice Rock City.”

“Him?” Eagle was surprised. “What’s he doing there?”

Pei Sen hesitated. “The Bixians just figured something out.”

“What?”

“Sadin is the Black Rock Gang’s boss. Harby Bowen.”

Eagle froze in the middle of flipping a page. After a moment, he said, “I should be shocked, but for some reason… I’m not. Must be another one of Father’s plans.”

He gave a soft laugh. “A noble duke of Esmia, pulling strings behind a bottom-feeder gang like this… if this gets out, it’ll be a huge scandal. In the capital, people will have a field day.”

Burke Angre might hold high office and great power, but he could never shake the accusation that he rose to prominence based on his looks. Many people secretly mocked him, or made crude jokes behind his back.

To some, he was a ‘rare flower’ personally picked by Emperor Leiser. Smearing his image was like dragging a god down to mortal level.

If word got out that he was linked to a scummy organization like the Black Rock Gang? It would be perfect material for ridicule.

Pei Sen frowned. “That explains it.”

“Did Sadin kill the rest of the gang leaders too?” Eagle asked.

Pei Sen nodded. He’d just received the quest failure notification. Honestly, the players had worked hard, but none of the leaders died at their hands—Sadin had wiped them all out. Bix Magic Cube probably wasn’t thrilled about that either.

Even though it was Pei Sen who issued the quest, the system itself preferred players to complete the content. Sadin had essentially sabotaged the mission.

And then… the moment he entered Ice Rock City, he got a global announcement.

Pei Sen couldn’t shake the feeling that Bix Magic Cube was pissed.

Sadin had tried to silence witnesses and hide his identity?

The system said: “No way.”

So, every player instantly ripped off Sadin’s disguise. And Sadin remained completely clueless.

“Young master, the Bixians are going to intercept Sadin,” Pei Sen reported. “They’ll try their hardest to kill him.”

Back in Lanno Territory, Sadin had slipped away without much conflict. At his power level, players stood no chance.

But now it was open beta. Any player who had unlocked Ice Rock City could respawn there. And just in Frost Maple alone, there were one to two million players.

Not ten or twenty thousand. One to two million.

Pei Sen had no idea how this would end. Would players actually bury an elite like Sadin?

Eagle said calmly, “Don’t worry about him. The Bixians probably can’t kill him.”

“Why not?” Pei Sen asked. “There’s so many now.”

Eagle flipped another page. “Because I suspect Sadin is already a Sword Saint.”

Everyone thought Sadin was a Level 8 Great Swordsman—powerful and just a step away from Sword Saint. But no one knew when he’d take that step.

He had once been Burke Angre’s sharpest weapon in the capital—feared and hated in equal measure. When he was assigned to Eagle and sent to Lanno, many nobles secretly rejoiced. It was exile in all but name.

Level 8 was considered a “safe” rank. True Sword Saints were incredibly rare in Esmia, and due to long-standing etiquette, they usually stayed hidden. Even those once tied to noble houses no longer involved themselves in politics.

Whether Sword Saints or Legendary Mages, their destructive power was too great. The only known Legendary Mage had been out of the public eye for years.

The Sword Saints kept each other in check, avoiding conflict that could upset the balance of power.

Sadin had been a prodigy. Years ago, he was already a Great Swordsman. If he hadn’t taken that final step by now, it would be strange—he’d been “half a step away” for far too long.

Others might struggle forever at that boundary, but Sadin? He was known for talent, not just effort.

A Sword Saint once said that Sadin would likely join their ranks soon.

Yet all these years later, he was still “just” Level 8.

He had stayed at Golden Rose Manor for many years. Though Eagle didn’t interact with him daily, the proximity made it easy to observe.

Eagle didn’t study swordsmanship or magic—but he could think.

Pei Sen was stunned. “You serious?”

“Not certain. But probably,” Eagle said. “So don’t worry about him. The real question is whether we should warn the Bixians.”

He paused.

“If they really can’t die, I wouldn’t mind them giving Sadin a good beating.”

Eagle had once tested Sadin’s limits. If he really was a Sword Saint, he must be the most mild-tempered one alive.

What Eagle couldn’t understand was why he remained so loyal to Burke Angre. Even if he’d transcended worldly limits, he still stayed in the muck for his master—even taking on the filthy role of gang boss.

Pei Sen understood Eagle’s meaning. He didn’t need to do anything. The players would go after Sadin on their own.

—

Back in Ice Rock City, Sadin was starting to feel uneasy. The Bixians were staring at him more intently than usual.

“Maybe they recognized me?” he muttered.

He suddenly recalled that rainy night when Kesso tried sneaking from Casey City into Lanno and was immediately caught by Bixians.

It seemed they had an uncanny knack for recognizing faces.

Sadin felt his unease deepen.

Then, a swarm of angry players burst through the city gates, charging right at him.

“You think just because you’re an NPC, you can steal our boss kills?!”

The gang leaders had just been wiped. And now the supposed grand chief shows up? Clearly, Sadin had done it.

“Big deal you’re a Level 8 Great Swordsman!”

“You escaped in Lanno last time. Try that again!”

LostDeer, a fast sword-class player, charged in first. She was so angry she forgot she was a glass cannon—she just wanted to hack Sadin to death.

She had been saving up to buy a house and had even researched decoration guides online. Everything was ready—except the cash.

If she’d killed those gang bosses, she would’ve had enough.

But now? Her dreams were shattered. And with the gang gone, even money-farming quests were gone.

This was personal.

“Kill him!”

Sadin was stunned to see a pretty, delicate girl swing her sword at him. Sure, the Bixians were weird, but they usually looked good. This one was pretty—slim and youthful—but her rage twisted her face.

Her eyes burned with hate. Sadin couldn’t understand.

“Do I know her? I don’t think so…” he muttered. “I haven’t done anything lately. It’s not like they’re attacking me because of the young master…”

But it didn’t matter. Bixians never made sense.

While he was distracted, the crowd swelled. Those who had only been staring now moved in—surrounding him completely.

From above, Ice Rock City looked like a whirlpool with Sadin at its center.

Even someone as composed as Sadin couldn’t just take this lying down.

“You’ve gone too far!” he roared.

He had spared them out of respect for the young master. But they weren’t holding back—they were trying to kill him.

There were too many.

Sadin was being swallowed alive by the crowd. He was suffocating. The people in the back pushed, and the ones in front were practically nose-to-nose with him.

They were trying to crush him flat.

This wasn’t swordplay—it was trampling. Even Sadin felt panic.

“Stop pushing! I’m getting trampled here!” Claude screamed.

BraisedSpicySnack tried to cast a skill, but it was too crowded.

A female player shouted, “Get off me! Move!”

Thankfully, Bix Magic Cube had strict collision rules. Even though the crowd was jammed together, no one could commit real harassment. But with everyone pressed together, who knew what chaos might unfold?

Even Pei Sen hadn’t anticipated this.

Back in beta, players had used swarm tactics, but with only 10,000 participants, it was manageable. Dead players had to run back to their corpses, so only a few thousand were active at any moment.

Now? No one knew how many players had gathered. In real life, this would be a deadly stampede.

Even now, it wasn’t far off.

Players kept piling in. Those in front were face-to-face with Sadin.

He finally snapped.

His sword arced through the air in a wide, deadly crescent.

The effect was immediate—players around him were cleared out in an instant.

But not for long.

More were shoved forward by the mass behind them. They couldn’t even control their own movement—just pushed toward Sadin’s blade.

The numbers were endless. The streets were packed solid.

Civilians had long since fled. They watched from afar, trembling, unsure what was happening—just that the Bixians were going berserk.

Chaos. Pure chaos.

Sadin’s expression darkened. His sword cut down Bixians one after another. He had no idea how many he’d killed—but it was clearly not enough.

The crowd kept growing.

Looking to the side, he darted toward a nearby house, leapt onto the roof, and kept moving. The mob nearly destroyed the house trying to follow.

Sadin didn’t stop. He sprinted across the rooftops.

“Where are the mages?! Hit him now!” players shouted.

Midair, Sadin froze.

Wait. These aliens have mages now?

Then the fireballs came.

Each was tiny—like a child’s fist—clearly cast by novice mage players. Weak as hell.

But there were so many.

Even with bad aim, a few always hit. His simple robe was quickly singed and blackened.

He’d never liked armor. At his level, few attacks could hurt him anyway. But now?

At this rate, he’d be running around naked.

Sadin was furious. He’d never been so humiliated.

“Don’t let him run! Fireballs ready!” someone shouted.

Mages were terrible early on. But in open beta, many new players had picked them. They hadn’t had time to switch classes yet.

Right now, ironically, was the highest mage population the game would ever see.

The fireballs formed a literal rain of fire, setting streets ablaze.

By the time Pei Sen saw the screenshots, it was too late.

Sadin, nearly naked and showing half his butt, was fleeing across rooftops. Part of Ice Rock City was already in ruins.

“…The young master was right. The players can’t kill Sadin,” Pei Sen thought. “But this screenshot? It’ll socially destroy him.”

If he really was a Sword Saint, he might be the most pitiful one in the world.

Dignity? Gone. Reputation? Gone.

Alive, yes—but worse than death.

“I swear, this wasn’t intentional. We never meant to let the players destroy Ice Rock City…”

But yeah.

Ice Rock City would definitely need rebuilding.