Fallen Fate Online

Step. Step. Step.

In absolute silence, Zayne approached the wide round table at which someone was already waiting for him. It was a girl with blond hair and blue eyes, her glasses and clothes giving her a stern and serious look, indeed, which is how the best interviewer of the Platinum Post should have been.

The girl frowned, it was unusual for her for someone to take all the attention away from her. She stood up, held out her hand, and said, "Hello, Zayne Fellen, my name is Jill, and I'll be the one to interview you."

Zayne sighed, responded to the handshake, and sat down in his chair, "Let's get started."

Jill gulped and signaled, so the interview was to begin in ten seconds.

'How strange... Isn't this guy a simple gamer? I expected him to be a simple young man... but why do I feel such powerful pressure? It's like I'm interviewing a slayer, not a gamer...' Jill muttered inwardly, trying to figure out what she was feeling.

Crackle.

The floodlights turned on, directing beams of light toward Zayne and Jill, as the live broadcast began. Zayne did not know about it, but Galahan had ordered the announcement to be posted as soon as he met Zayne at the hospital, so by this time thousands of people were waiting for the interview to begin. 

Jill said the standard greeting and quickly moved on to the first question.

"Mr. Zayne, as far as we know, you didn't originally want to start playing Fallen Fate Online, is that true?" Jill asked as a sly smile appeared on her face.

Zayne's eyes went wide for a moment since he didn't understand how they knew, then it became clear to him.

'Damn... Looks like they did some work with Rubia, well, I should have expected that, right? After all, this is Platinum Post, they have to keep up the level.' Zayne inwardly muttered, then with a slight nod said, "Yeah, that's right."
"Why? Even people who had never played a game before still wanted to try Fallen Fate Online, since it was something new. After all, at this point, over a billion capsules have already been ordered." Jill said confidently with a slight wave of her hand.

Zayne sighed and said in a sharp tone, "I had too little money to carelessly buy a capsule. Isn't it obvious?"

Jill frowned; it was a simple question, but Zayne had already made the situation look like she was stupid.

However, someone was really excited about the situation, and it was Galahan, who stood back with a sly grin.

'Hehehe, that's what's needed. Jill is too used to conducting interviews with those who are rich or famous, she knows their weaknesses, but... What about someone who is still at the bottom, while in fact already has superior power? There's no way she can understand how Zayne thinks, and that contrast will make this interview incredible!' Galahan narrowed his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Fine, then moving on to the next question. There are millions of people playing Fallen Fate Online, and at this point, you've accomplished more than most, so what has been the hardest thing for you all along your journey? Maybe it was the battle against Apostle that so many talks about?"

Zayne thought for a moment before shaking his head, "No, the fight with Apostle was a valuable experience, but the hardest part was deciding to go back into the game on the first day when I faced the wolf."

"The wolf...?" Jill was puzzled, "Are you really talking about the beast that started your duel with Rolf? That's when you first hit the news and started gaining popularity."


"Rolf..." Zayne muttered, rubbing his chin and frowning as if trying to remember who that was, "Agh... right. Anyway, I was freaked out by the intense pain when the wolf attacked me and got right out of the game, I just wasn't ready for it."

"What...? You mean you're afraid of the pain?" Jill muttered in disbelief. She had expected Zayne to act all arrogant and boast about his accomplishments, but the opposite was true.

"Sure, who isn't afraid of pain? I don't know what others do in Fallen Fate Online, but every battle I've fought has been filled with pain, death, and suffering." Zayne waved his hand as if he were saying things that were familiar to him.

Zayne's words, his cold eyes, and his calm gaze evoked a terrifying atmosphere that even the audience felt through their screens. A dark current of energy seemed to emanate from Zayne and spread around, covering everything, including Jill, who shuddered with fear.

'Damn... I thought Zayne would tell me the best way to level up... but now I feel kind of bad.' Someone left a comment.

'Yeah, I agree. Looks like he didn't get his rewards because of luck... If he quit because of a mere wolf, then what did he go through to beat Apostle?'

'Hah, that must have been an incredible fight! Fuck! I want to hear more!'

The comments came one after another, with literally everything falling under the discussion, but some things remained the same. Some were excited, some were uncomfortable, but no one could take their eyes off the screen, they were just caught up in Zayne's influence.

"Khm, I get it, tell me, how did you make friends with the Noble Families? A lot of players try to do that, but only a few succeed." Jill asked as she adjusted her glasses, "I was one of them too, however, they couldn't even be interested in money."

Zayne was silent for a while, then he stared at Jill and said, "Are you stupid?"

Jill's eyes went wide as well as the rest of the crew's, nothing expected such a rude answer.

"Damn, that's just ridiculous. The Noble Families have an enormous amount of money, they could literally throw platinum coins around if they wanted to, do you really think something like that would interest them? Only achievements can get their attention, that's obvious." Zayne shrugged, "As for me, I got the invitation after I cleared Chaos Hearth, where I killed a Terror Grade monster."

Jill was speechless, while the audience was truly ecstatic. Deep down, that's what they all wanted, to be the first among millions to be tough, honest, and straightforward. He was a player, not a celebrity who cared about ratings, so he could say what he wanted and how he wanted.

Jill grimaced as she clenched her fists tightly, almost unable to contain her anger. Everyone she interviewed behaved politely, no one wanted to ruin their reputations, after all, the Platinum Post was a prestigious media.

'Fine... If you want to do it this way, I'll respond in the same way.' Jill muttered inwardly as a sly grin appeared on her face.

"Mr. Zayne, we've only talked about Fallen Fate before, but what about your real life?" Jill stared at Zayne with a sharp look, "I heard your sister is sick. Did you start playing to cure her?"

'What... What is she talking about? That wasn't on the list of questions...' Galahan muttered inwardly with a worried expression.

"Next question." Zayne said coldly. He didn't want to talk about it, which is what Jill was counting on, so it gave her a satisfied smirk.

"Wait, I just want to know your motivation. What's more, we can help. For all I know, your sister could die..."

Crackle.

Zayne's arm turned into a blur, as the massive stone table flew aside, shattering into large debris. Behind Zayne appeared the silhouette of a huge wolf with a cruel gaze that made Jill freeze in fear.

That moment was enough to make the number of spectators multiply almost in an instant.