[WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT: Guild: Ghost. Leader: Spectral, killed a World Boss! Everyone in the guild gained 20 Neutral Reputation.]
[WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT: Guild: Ghost. Leader: Spectral, killed a World Boss! Everyone in the guild gained 20 Neutral Reputation.]
[WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT: Guild: Ghost. Leader: Spectral, killed a World Boss! Everyone in the guild gained 20 Neutral Reputation.]
[WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT: Guild: Ghost. Leader: Spectral, killed a World Boss! Everyone in the guild gained 20 Neutral Reputation.]
[WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT: Guild: Ghost. Leader: Spectral, killed a World Boss! Everyone in the guild gained 20 Neutral Reputation.]
Mirabella crouched, the bizarre spectacle of the Ghost Orchid demanding her full attention. Its pale petals glowed faintly, contrasting sharply with the desolate surroundings. The barrage of notifications blinked relentlessly, but she dismissed them. Her focus was only on the orchid, the strange cocoon nestled inside.
She slowly extended her hand.
ZAP!
A surge of golden lightning, sharp and concussive, struck her palm. She didn't flinch, merely arching a sculpted eyebrow in assessment.
{Damage: -1,000.}
{Current Defense: 619,720/620,720.}
{Health: 4,525,600.}
"A decent attack for a static defense," she mused aloud, her voice cool and measured. "One thousand points—enough to vaporize any low-tier player. The protection on this artifact is impressive."
She tried again, deliberately maintaining a slow, steady pace.
{Damage: -1,000.}
{Current Defense: 618,720/620,720.}
{Health: 4,525,600.}
Another shock, another point of damage shrugged off. For a top-tier player like Mirabella, the damage was a trivial inconvenience, merely scratching the surface of her absurd defense stat. The repeated shocks seemed to anger the plant.
{Damage: -1,000.}
{Damage: -1,000.}
"Two at once? Hahahaha, I like your tenacity, little Orchid," she taunted, slowing her movements further, challenging the defense mechanism.
HUM....
A low, resonant humming echoed from the orchid's core. The golden lightning ceased, replaced by a single, thick bolt of malevolent crimson energy. It struck her hand with ten times the force.
{Damage: -10,000.}
{Current Defense: 609,720/620,720.}
{Health: 4,525,600.}
"So cute," she said, her voice dripping with condescension. The challenge was over. She clamped her hand around the silken cocoon and, with a single, powerful pull, ripped it free.
The effect was instantaneous and dramatic. The vibrant Ghost Orchid instantly withered, its stem crumbling to ash, signifying the complete depletion of its core life force.
{Master acquired a Mythic Class artifact: [Unidentified Cocoon].}
'Mythic?!' Mirabella's calm facade shattered internally. 'Did you just say Mythic?! These class Items are even higher than Legendary!'
She gripped the cocoon, feeling an odd, cooling energy that paradoxically spread warmth throughout her body.
'Do you by chance know how to bring this creature out?' she queried the system.
{No Information available for [Unidentified Cocoon].}
'No information? Not even a description of the Mythic item?' she thought, a flicker of genuine concern crossing her mind. 'This artifact is either a glitch or a seed of something entirely outside the established rules of Galaxy.'
__
Carl and Cupcake approached, their attention diverted by a smaller success.
"Wow!! My Neutral reputation is above one hundred!" Carl beamed, his youthful excitement blinding him to the tension radiating off Mirabella. "Wait, what is our gain with this reputation? Does it provide some sort of boost?"
Mirabella turned, about to explain the subtle political power of Neutral Reputation in Galaxy Fall—how it opened unique trade routes and non-aligned quests—when a massive, blinding message exploded across the sky.
[WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT: An S-rank mission has appeared in the Galaxy Association. Rewards: Irresistible.]
Mirabella frowned, her earlier triumph dissolving into a cold dread.
"This is impossible..." she murmured, her knowledge of Galaxy Fall's power structure kicking in.
"Mission ranks are strictly regulated by the setting ruler's authority. An empire General can set an S-rank; a King, SS-rank; an Emperor, SSS-rank. For an S-rank to appear on a lower server, the rewards must be catastrophically high, suggesting the General is far more powerful or desperate than is typical."
"I am still surprised you know so much," Carl muttered, continuously blinking as he stared at the sky.
"Come on! We need to get back and see what this mission is—"
{Warning Host.}
{Reputation has been dropped by -100 in all empires.}
"What?!" Mirabella's scream was primal, a sound of pure, unadulterated shock that made Carl and Cupcake stumble back. The blow wasn't the loss of a minor stat; it was the annihilation of her standing.
{Current mission placed is to hunt down player Spectral and bring her, alive or dead.}
{Currently, the whole world is searching for Host to kill you.}
Carl and Cupcake exchanged a terrified look and instinctively created distance. Mirabella, known for her stoicism, was twitching with barely contained fury.
"Who placed this mission?! And why the hell am I targeted?! Even my Reputation dropped to Zero! Does Galaxy Fall see me as an anomaly? Or did the Empires discover something and coordinate this?!!" she yelled, pacing back and forth on the crumbling ground.
'Galaxy Fall was created by an unknown god,' her mind raced, processing data at light speed.
'Did he take me—a high-level player—as a threat to his design? The reward must be unprecedented. If every powerful General, King, and Emperor in this galaxy-sized game is suddenly incentivized to hunt me, my Spirit Energy reserves will be utterly depleted in days!'
She halted, her hands pressed against her temples. The paranoia twisted into a horrifying realization.
"Humans are predictable in their greed," she whispered, her voice laced with venom. "They all know I am one of the strongest, but if the reward is too good... they will abandon all stupid thoughts of security and attack. I instantly became the most wanted criminal in the entire Galaxy Fall because of one tiny cocoon... How perfectly, obscenely ironic."
A chilling, humorless laugh erupted from her, a sound that grated on the ears and sent shivers down Carl's spine. It was a laugh of utter resignation and pure, concentrated rage.
"So they want to see a demon," she muttered, her eyes glowing with an inner, cold light. "Hahahaha! I will give them one."
She surged upward, landing lightly on a five-meter tall hill, her silhouette stark against the fading light. This wasn't the powerful-but-aloof Mirabella; this was a warrior shedding her last pretense of civility.
"Senior sister?" Carl called out, his voice low and heavy, the fear replaced by a genuine sadness.
"You are free to go, Carl," Mirabella commanded, looking down at him:
"This isn't your battle. I am Spectral, a global target. Stay with the Association, build your reputation. You will die if you follow me."
"Oh. Okay." Carl turned and started walking away, his shoulders slumped in defeat.
Cupcake flew up, landing lightly beside Mirabella, her tiny wings flapping softly. "What are we going to do now? Flee? Try to hide on this server?"
"For now, we wait for the first fools that'll try to collect my bounty," Mirabella said, closing her eyes, her mind already calculating defensive perimeters.
"Hey! Is that our plan?"
"...??"
Mirabella and Cupcake looked down, startled.
Carl had stopped his retreat. He was standing there, not with a look of fear or even sadness, but with a determined smile, clutching a stack of glowing cards—trophies from the recent Boss fights.
"I went to get all these," he announced, shaking the cards. "The Boss Monster cards. So, what is the real plan?"
Mirabella frowned, her expression harsh. "Do you know what you're getting yourself into? You've seen the announcement."
Carl met her gaze, and for the first time, Mirabella saw the conviction of a true comrade, not a junior player.
"Yes, I do," he said, stepping back toward the hill. "Besides, I am your junior brother. Why would I let my senior sister face an entire galaxy of killers alone? They're hunting Spectral, but I'm standing by Mirabella. I think this is a test," he finished, his smile softening.
'Why does he sound so foolish and stupid at the same time?'
Mirabella and Cupcake stared at him, completely speechless. The cold rage in Mirabella's heart thawed, replaced by a complex mix of surprise and grudging respect. The world had just declared war on her, but the first casualty was her isolation.