NPC into Player: Let's Wreck This Game

As the time passed, the level of the team members started to rise in a fast pattern. Bloom instructed for one of them to be left in the back, five levels apart from everyone to act as their leveler.

And when everyone just rose four levels, Bloom finally gained another one to be twenty-four.

"Scary."

"Boss is mighty."

"I wish I could level up fast like him."

"Me too."

Many whispers spread around that made him speechless for a moment there. "C'mon, y'all gained three to four levels and I just gained one," he complained yet they only laughed.

"Boss you are only one level away from the highest player in the game," Antoan joked with him.

"That doesn't mean I'm leveling faster than you," Bloom sighed, "c'mon, there is still a long way before we can proceed to plans."

As they kept hunting down these monsters, dungeons popped up in their faces every now and then.

"Can't we just hit one of those?" Antoan asked while the team was clearing up the loot and those who died were revived. 'The boys heard legends about your dungeon runs from the forums,' he privately sent to him.

'That won't do,' Bloom sent back, 'dungeons take much time and have more variables there. Can't risk going in one without proper reason.'

'What about that challenge issued to you for the game ranking?'

'Bloom is dead,' Bloom sent while smiling, 'so if I did what they asked I won't get the recognition I desire.'

'…'

Antoan couldn't refute this logic and thus he returned to lead the team towards the next group of monsters.

Bloom kept leading the charge until their levels were high enough to stand the first impact on their own. Also after hunting down monsters for two days straight they finally managed to amass enough dark points to create their own pet army.

One hundred dark players were now occupied by twenty-five taming bows. They turned five hundred monsters into their pets already and according to Antoan they had enough points to keep them for days without problems.

Yet Bloom didn't hurry to move and hit Gerard for now.

"Wait here, I'll go and scout the place there first," he said to Antoan before adding, "keep them leveling up. I want their levels to cross twenty when I get back."

"I will do my best," Antoan knew the higher they climbed the ladder of levels the more experience needed to reach the next ones. Bloom simply used a return ticket to a village where he knew Gerard took as his base of operations.

The next moment he appeared inside the big plaza of this village, surrounded by many players whom he knew most would be his enemies for sure.

"Time to gather intel," he started roaming aimlessly through the streets of the village before he decided to go towards the best place to gather intel at… the auction house.

The auction house was filled with players who came either to buy or sell. But those sellers were much more than those buying, and Bloom just meddled in the army of players there and faked scouting the auction like everyone else.

But his full attention was focused over the side talks these players casually had around him.

"Heard the latest news about that shield holder?" one player came in a hurry and sat alongside a small group of players.

"Gerard?" one of the group asked.

"It's him for sure," the new player said, "I heard he just reached level twenty-three. Can you imagine that?"

"Wow, impressive," the players exclaimed in envious tone.

"I doubt he is that strong in front of the top players," another group of players joined the talk, "at least those high up monsters wouldn't find any trouble zeroing him out."

Bloom inwardly nodded in agreement but he kept himself busy with faking scanning the auction.

"I heard he isn't the boss, there is a sky above the sky," one player said, "and that boss of his is higher than him in levels."

"He can't be Thomas, right?" another player said, "Thomas is the highest player now in the entire game. Heard he just hit level twenty-six a few hours ago."

"Damn!"

"He is a real monster indeed!"

"The leader of the Triumphed Eagles is not a lightweight in this game."

"Nah, the leader is someone called Dockrey."

"You don't mean… that Dockrey?"

"The one who was the first suspect in killing Bloom?"

"He is still the primary and lone suspect dude."

"Bloom… sigh, that player was just a legend."

"Shone early and extinguished his fire fast… not smart in my opinion to be honest."

"Stop it! you are just jealous of him."

"Who? Me? No way! How can I be jealous of a deadman?!"

Bloom only inwardly sighed while he heard people argue about him like this. He knew he would be able to crush everyone, but it wasn't smart to announce his presence to the public.

Not so soon at the least.

"He is just a jerk," one player said, "he and his gang of players are just mere criminals disguised in forms of players."

"Rick, please stop being sour over him zeroing you out in the past week," another player jokes, "you should never fight with him over that gear."

"It was a black grade shield, how can I let him have it?" Rick said in discontent, "plus I was all alone and managed to snatch this piece of him. In the end he just came at me with a group of two hundred players of his and started to kill me to get the gear."

"And in the end he didn't get it," one player laughed.

"Even after zeroing me out, and that made me quite satisfied with his bitter loss," Rick laughed.

"Don't be happy so soon, I heard he got a good quest and the rewards will be rich for it."

"A game quest?"

"Nah, it's a shrine quest," the player corrected, "and I believe it's related to a shrine of life I suppose."

"These shrines are still operational?"