After that scuffle in the forest and the crazy discovery that I could actually copy skills, I knew one thing. I needed loot. Fast. There was one place I remembered. During a closed beta developer stream, they accidentally flashed a map segment showing a tiny question mark near the ruins of a collapsed watchtower. No quest markers. Just there. Hidden. Most players wrote it off as a texture glitch. But not me.
I made my way east of the starter town, past the Whispering Fields, a place that lived up to its name.
The grass suddenly seemed to whisper all around me.
"She's watching."
"You'll always be a loser no matter what world you're in."
I shook it off and pushed forward.
The watchtower ruins jutted from the moss-covered hill like a broken tooth. The slope was scattered with cracked stones and gnarled roots, the ground uneven and slick from recent rain. Thick vines drooped across the path like lazy, natural tripwires, and every step I took sent a crunch through the quiet underbrush. The air smelled of damp earth, moldy stone, and something faintly metallic, like blood that had dried for ages.
A faint glow pulsed at the top.
"Did someone arrive first?" I said. "No way..."
I climbed toward it, cautiously.
As I reached the summit, the glow sharpened, bright and steady.
Someone was already there.
A woman stood at the edge of the broken tower, backlit by the glow. Her armor looked top-tier: black metal-plated corset with sharp edges, battle-worn and perfect. Long white hair gleamed like silver thread. Crimson eyes locked on me, observing me, judging me.
"She looks Russian…" I thought. "System, inspect the player in front of me."
A system window popped over her head:
[Player 7]: [Vladimir Alberka]
She held a crossbow, black and gold, covered in crimson engravings. The moment she slung it up, a window message flashed:
[Treasure Chest Item Obtained]: [Warmonger] – (UNIQUE WEAPON)
I grit my teeth. "That was supposed to be mine, damn it!" I said.
She aimed the Warmonger at the sky and fired. Thousands of bolts erupted upward, exploding into patterns that scattered birds and shook the clouds.
"What class is she? System, inspect that player's class." I said.
A system window blinked over her head:
[Class]: [Naval Commander]
My jaw dropped. "I-Impossible… that's a unique class," I thought. "She must've gotten it from the hidden chests..."
She turned to me, calm and unbothered, then activated a class skill: Mount. Thunder cracked as a massive flying warship descended from the clouds with golden sails and glowing cannons. She stepped onto a shimmering platform that lifted her to the deck, then glanced down.
"That's what ya get for being late," she said, grinning. "Absolutely nothing."
"Let's see about that," I replied, lifting my right hand, ready to copy the skill.
But a sharp red system message stopped me cold:
[ERROR: [Unique Class Skill] – Cannot be Copied]
I stared at it. "Of course," I thought. "Plot armor."
She giggled and said, "Why did you lift your hand for?" She giggled again. "If you decide to be my slave, then I'll let ya aboard."
"Were you born to assume everything a man does?" I replied. "I was clearly exercising my hand because I strained it earlier!"
"Yeah, I'm not buyin that!" she responded. "Tell me bout your decision the next time we meet!"
The ship ascended, vanishing into the clouds.
All that was left behind was the empty chest she'd looted and the sky still trembling.
"What a fucking looter..." I said. "Wait... I am too..."
Then, just as I turned to leave, a golden notification blazed across the sky:
[A New Dungeon Has Spawned in Arkanos City. Awaiting Brave Challengers]
Cheers rose from the distance. Footsteps rushing off, desperate players and tryhard squads already racing.
I tightened my grip on my starter dagger.
"Tempting…" I said. "But not yet."
I turned south toward the woods.