The Final Desperation

The following day, Seer called Genji into the living room after he logged off.

"I thought you said you weren't going to do anything extreme."

"I didn't."

"Then can you explain why we have the Psychic Association after you?"

"Well, funny story. I heard that the Yorkshire family possesses a method to level up fast in the game. The kid was bragging about it, saying how they can control who enters the leaderboard and all that. I thought we could use that method so I took action.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the method out of his mouth, but who knows? Maybe if the family meets an unfortunate accident, I could find the method. By my estimation, this method could allow 4 or 5 people to reach level 70 in a few days."

This was a clumsy lie and Seer knew that.

"Is that so? Then let's hope this accident happens soon."

Yet Seer didn't expose Genji's lie. He understood that Genji wants to bargain with him. In exchange for destroying this family, Genji will help them level up in the game. For Seer, this was a good deal.

They're already against the Psychic Association so adding more grudges won't matter to them. Since they are enemies, they might as well attack and remove one of the high-ups before the association can react.

"I like working with smart people."

"I have no idea what you are talking about. We are simply talking about accidents, aren't we?"

Then the both of them flashed each other a knowing smile and went off to do their own thing.

 

---

 

When Genji logged on, he found himself at the edge of the world. Better known as World's Edge, this area contains the strongest monsters in the game. Instead of a singular area, World's Edge acts like a border that surrounds the traversable map. As long as anyone going in a single direction for long enough, they will come across this zone.

In this zone, level 100 bosses are as common as cabbages. As long as you can, you can fight as many bosses as you want. It was because of this rate that Genji was able to level up so quickly. It doesn't matter what bosses are there. As long as they take 10 dagger hits, they will be dead. 

It is also because of this that he was confident in fulfilling his side of the bargain. 

As Genji kept going in one direction, he recognized one thing. The area doesn't end here. This place might be called World's Edge, but this was by no means the end of it. Genji pushed his hands against an invisible film that separated this area and the land beyond.

He can tell that this film wasn't here to keep him in but to keep things out. This was because he felt very little resistance in the film. It was like if he wanted to, he can pass through it.

"What's on the other side?"

Genji decided to step through and explore the unknown. With his current abilities, nothing can pose a threat to him so his curiosity has been awakened.

(You have entered the Uncharted Lands. Please tread with caution.)

Genji felt the atmosphere change as the scenery switched to one of barren plains and darkness. It was an eerie place that seems to be filled with unknowns. Although there were no monsters in sight, it was as if one wrong step would cause one to be devoured by this land. Genji turned back and didn't see the scene in the previous area.

It seems like the Invisible film had a feature that camouflages the area on the other side. Another thing Genji noticed was that the mini-map had disappeared from view. The ever-present music had also stopped playing. Now, only a spooky echo remained. Everything had changed when he crossed over to this side.

Genji summoned his tome and started walking. His boots crunched on the cracked soil and yellow grass. This walk continued for 15 minutes before Genji came across a green humanoid around 3 meters tall.

(Salivating Ogre, Lvl 116 Boss)

Sensing the new presence, the ogre dropped the carcass it was feasting on and picked up a wooden club.

*Rooooaaarrrr*

A deafening yell came from the ugly monster as spit flew everywhere. Genji ignored everything and activated his cards. A chain made of light came out of the ground and bound the creature. Then multiple bone spears shot at the eyes but dissipated after puncturing one inch into the flesh.

From this display, Genji can tell this creature's defense was higher than the monsters in World's Edge. And the strength as well. In a matter of seconds, the creature ripped apart the chains of light and started charging at Genji.

"I don't think anyone below level 90 could damage this guy."

Genji decided to stop his probing and activate his trump card. Multiple daggers soon came out of the ripples in the air and impaled the creature. It might be a waste, but he doesn't have any other skills that can damage this boss. 

*Arrrrr*

The ogre screamed in pain as it fell over and died. Genji noticed that this creature took 12 daggers to kill despite all of them landing. And the body as well. Unlike the usual dissipation into light, the body remained where it was. Things are getting too real and Genji didn't know how to react. It was like this area functions under completely different rules than before.

Genji put these thoughts behind him and continued walking. He still has 87 daggers and he needs to make the most of it. Right when his daggers are about to dissipate, he came across another boss. This time, it was level 121, boss.

Eager to make use of the daggers before they enter cooldown, Genji sent all of them at it. Like before, the body slumped on the ground but didn't dissipate. This time, it took 14 daggers to kill it.

"Do they have more percentage health or do they have a damage reduction ability?"

Genji waited for his daggers to come off cooldown before he continued walking. That was what he did for the rest of the day. Every couple of minutes, he would come across a boss of increasing higher levels. He would easily dispatch the boss and kill the next with the remaining ones before stopping to wait for the cooldown.

He has no other way, but to do it this way. If he doesn't have Lethal Opportunity, he would be dead once he encounters another creature. It seems that all the creatures in this area are at the boss level. Not a single exception. Too bad the game banned his equipment or [Shroud Of Terror] would have boosted his energy immensely. 

By the end of the day, he had killed a level 220 Boss with 56 daggers. It's gotten to that point where things are getting ridiculous. At least his level has reached 86, taking the new number-one spot on the level leaderboards and he had obtained his 30th progression card.

As Genji was going to log off, he found that the button was missing.

"What the?"

Countless possibilities flashed through his mind, but none of them can be confirmed at this moment. Left with no choice, Genji decided to walk back the way he came from.

Yet this backtracking was met with another weird phenomenon. The carcasses of the bosses he's slain had disappeared. Not even a trace remained. No blood, no bones, nothing. At first, he didn't pay attention to it, but it soon became obvious after 20 minutes. Nothing! 

"This place is getting weirder."

It was like he was going a different route than he used when he entered. But how is that possible? He's only been walking in one direction!

"Spatial manipulation?"

Genji had his suspicions 40 minutes later. The cause for this was the film he walked into out of nowhere. When Genji pressed on this film, he realized it felt the same as the one separating World's Edge and the Uncharted Lands. His suspicions were confirmed when he walked through the film.

Instead of the area he was in prior, he's now in a completely new area with different monsters and terrain. The mani-map appeared again and Genji figured out he was about 3 kilometers away from his initial spot. 

"At least the log-off button appeared again."

Genji decided to call this a day and appeared in the living room. Judging from the lighting of the moon, he assumes it's around 2 am right now. Ever since he started playing the game, his sense of time had been all messed up. The main reason is that he only logs off when he feels the need to eat. Other than that, he's in the game doing his thing.

Genji walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge for something to warm up and serve as his meal. After clearing out most of the food in the fridge, Genji sat down, ready to enjoy his meal. Don't judge him. His increased stats consumes a lot of energy. For him to keep his body at its current output, he needs a lot of energy. All that power needs to come from somewhere.

As he finished everything and started cleaning up, he heard the garage open. The shuffling of feet sounded out before Bladedancer, LumberJack, and a few others came into view. All of them were covered in blood but were unharmed. It seemed like they had come back from a massacre. 

"Yo. Interesting getup at this time."

"We removed some targets."

"Cool. You do your thing. I'm going to keep cleaning up."

Genji continued to wash the dishes as they walked upstairs to clean their blood-caked body.

[You have indirectly caused EonRealm to fail the team mission. EverRealm is very pleased with your actions.]

"Seems like the EonRealm is out of the competition."

Genji dried the last of the dishes and went to sleep on the sofa. When he woke up, he heard the clanging of plates and carts of food. 

"It seems like everyone is up."

Genji got up and stretched before walking into the dining area.

"Smells good."

Genji grabbed a plate and helped himself.

"How rare of you to join us," Mage remarked as Genji sat down near him.

"Yeah. I don't feel like grinding anymore."

"Can't blame you. That's all you've done in the past 2 weeks."

"Where's Seer?"

"In his room."

"I see."

Genji finished his food and went up to meet with Seer. 

"Where am I meeting your candidates?"

Genji got straight to the point without asking who he is going to power level.

"Venice City."

Seer understood what he was asking about and gave a straightforward answer.

"I'll be there in 3 hours."

Genji then went back to the living room and logged back into the game.

 

---

 

"So why are we waiting," Mage asked the other 4 people in the party.

"Seer told us he got someone to help us level up," Nomad replied.

"I don't need anyone's help," Bladedancer grunted, having already reached level 60.

"Orders are orders," Lumberjack said.

"I just wished Seer didn't have us wait for so long," Morphling whined.

"Seer said this person will be a big help," Nomad explained.

"Seer this, Seer that. All you say is that guy's name. Can't you say your own opinion?" Morphling was reaching the end of her patience.

"Someone's approaching," Lumberjack announced, causing everyone to quiet down.

They turned to the direction Lumberjack was pointing and saw a priest approaching them.

"This is everyone?"

Genji asked once he made out their appearance. 

"Assassin? What are you doing here?" Mage asked curiously.

"Oh please. He probably heard about the event and wanted in on it," Morphling, who still hasn't gotten over what had happened at the party, tried to spite Genji.

"Oh hey! If it isn't my girlfriend. How about you give Daddy a kiss?"

Genji's comeback made Morphling look at him in disgust while everyone else gave him a weird look.

"Jokes aside, I'm the person who will be helping you level."

"You? A priest?" Bladedancer was not convinced.

Genji smiled and revealed his level, causing everyone's pupils to dilate.

"Convinced yet?"

"T-this, how did you get so high," Mage asked. This was too big of a surprise. Usually, everyone's position on the leaderboard is in a tight race, but here, they saw someone with levels that left second place in the dust.

"Keep up. If you fall behind, I won't be responsible."

Genji said those words and started running toward World's Edge. It was a moderate speed that the others can keep up with, but their worries were not about the speed. Instead, it was the high-level zone they are approaching.

"Hey, Assassin? I don't think I can keep up in that area," Mage voiced his and Morpling's worries. Unlike Bladedancer, Lumberjack, and Nomad, the two of them aren't as combat-focused and they started late. This caused them to be lower in level compared to the three of them, having barely reached level 40.

"That's not our destination."

"Really? Thank god. How about we go around it?" Mage let out a sigh of relief, but this feeling didn't last long.

"We are going around it, right?"

"..."

"Hey, Assassin. Please don't tell me..."

"Yeah, we are."

"HOLY FUCK! That's a level 90 area!"

It was no surprise that Mage knew this. He was the intelligence officer of the group so he spent a large portion of his time gathering information. 

Holy shackles

Genji used a high-level card to stop a creature from approaching them and continued leading the group deeper into the zone. When they come across a group that they can't deal with, Genji would step up and use some control skills to slow them down so they could go past.

There's no other option. These common mobs are so strong that they are essentially bosses for the rest of the group. This perilous journey continued until they came across the lord of the region, a level 93 boss. When the others realized this, a grim expression appeared on their faces.

"Assassin? What now? We're going to die at this rate."

At this moment, the group couldn't help but ask if Genji decided to betray them. There's no other explanation for why he would bring them to this high-level area without any precautions. Why had they been so foolish to believe in him?

Bladedancer glared at Genji as he thought about this. A sword appeared in his hands and was pointed at Genji.

"Are you here to kill us, Assassin?"

"That must be the case," Morphling gritted her teeth and went to Bladedancer's side. Nomad didn't say anything and stepped back. As for Mage and Lumberjack, they stepped away from Genji, unaware of what to do.

"The cat's out of the bag, huh? So what gave me away?"

Genji decided to play along and see where this is going.

"Everything about the situation was off. We were simply fools to not pick up on it until now."

"Since you figured everything out, how about I end everything now?"

Genji tapped a card and a storm of daggers came into view. Seeing this huge number of weapons, everyone took a step back.

"Any last words?"

*Grrrrrr*

The Boss answered Genji's question with a loud growl.

"Nothing? Then die!"

He waved his hand and the daggers flew toward the group. Seeing the incoming attacks, everyone's eyes became cold as they launched their own attacks at Genji. They might be going down, but it won't be without a fight.

Genji smiled and teleported out of the way, rendering all the attacks useless. Bladedancer looked at this with annoyance, but he doesn't have any more time. The daggers are upon him. As Bladedancer shifted his body in an attempt to dodge an attack, he realized the daggers had gone past him.

'Did he miss?'

As soon as that thought formed, Bladedanger squashed it. There's no way someone that planned so well would screw up at this moment. He didn't think about this any further and rushed at Genji, preparing to cut him down with his sword. Yet as soon as he stepped out, he stopped. A bunch of cutting sounds came from all around them as the boss fell over.

(Your party has killed the Komodo Dragon of the Swamp. You have gained 1,920,382 exp.)

(Your party has killed...)

Bladedancer looked around and realized that no one had perished. This revelation made him doubt Genji's motive.

'He's not after our lives. So what then?'

"You done playing around?" Genji asked as he called back the daggers to his side.

"You were messing with us?" Morphling quickly realized what had happened.

"What else?"

"Why?"

"What else would I do when you all suddenly turned hostile for no reason?"

What else? Don't speak as if you made the best move! Who the hell reacts like that?!? Shouldn't people try to explain themselves and clear the misunderstanding? Why would you go along with it? And what happens if one of us kills you? Okay, the last part won't happen, but you get the point. How dare you make it seem like it's our fault!

"Alright, let's get a move on. Our destination is much further ahead."

Genji's words left the group speechless, but the thought of staying any longer in this dangerous zone was enough to make them follow Genji, though begrudgingly.

 

---

 

One day. That's how long it took to finish the power leveling, even when they had to escort Mage and Morphling back to the city to advance their class. That's what happens when Genji grinds in the Uncharted Lands. When you're in a party that's killing enemies four times your level, you level up pretty fast.

By the end of everything, the three main combatants reached level 75 while the other two reach 70, fulfilling his side of the deal. 

"Are you hacking, Assassin?" Mage had once asked this when Genji downed their last boss.

There was a good reason for Mage to think that. With Genji's power in this game, he might as well be hacking. After all, he did get outside help to get to where he is. That though, only goes to show how stupid this game is.

It takes someone to be at hacking to beat the leveling system and Genji still only has 34 progression cards! At this point, he's starting to doubt how anyone is supposed to beat this stupid game.

"I wish I was. That way, I don't have to deal with this ridiculous progression."