As is well known, The Oneness has no laws or human rights organizations to regulate it. Therefore, The Oneness is a lawless place. Because of this, The One Society designed a system to prevent players from killing each other: the Murderer System, or as players affectionately call it, the "Red Head System."
When a player kills another player, for whatever reason, that player is marked a murderer. This results in the player losing almost all of their device functions and being logged out of The Oneness, preventing them from returning to the real world. But that's not the worst thing for those with the Red Head status.
Players with the Red Head status will have red text indicating their rank displayed above their head. This serves not only as a warning to other players that they are murderers but also as a target for players hoping to obtain valuable loot from killing them.
Normally, when a player dies, items stored in their dimensional inventory will randomly drop into the outside world, both at the time and location. This means that some items may be randomly dropped elsewhere. Some items drop immediately in that area.
Some might drop after several days or months, in locations hundreds or thousands of kilometers away. This is why assassination teams don't kill cloaked individuals to steal legendary artifacts.
However, for players with the "red head" status, if killed, the system will immediately drop all items from their dimensional inventory at the point of death. Therefore, players with the "red head" status become targets for other players hoping to obtain items from their inventory.
Furthermore, the system rewards those who kill players with the "red head" status. These rewards include energy crystals, reputation points, titles, or certain items, depending on the player's penalty rate. The higher the penalty rate, the greater the reward.
The penalty rate for a player with the "red head" status is the amount of money they must pay the system to remove the status.
The system considers the penalty rate based on rank difference; the higher the rank, the higher the penalty for killing a lower-ranked player. Conversely, killing a lower-ranked player will result in a lower penalty. Players with higher ranks receive smaller penalties.
However, regardless of the penalty level, the amount of money the system charges to remove the "red head" status is enormous. Because of this, most players with the "red head" status cannot remove the "murderer" status in a short time.
Consequently, many players have turned to hunting down those with the "red head" status. These players are often called bounty hunters, and the "Assassin's Team" is considered the most formidable bounty hunting team in the country.
Although the strength of the Assault's Team members isn't quite at the level of 10 A-rank players in the country, when the whole team acts together, their killing power is on par with A-rank players. There are even rumors that the Assault's Team once assassinated an A-rank player from a neighboring country.
Nawa's current location is more than a hundred meters away from the battle. In a fight between ordinary players, Nawa's position would be relatively safe.
However, for a fight against high-ranked players at this distance, it's like standing on the edge of a crocodile pit, as the destructive power of beings of this level is both intense and has a wide radius. Much weaker than many low-ranked players.
But luckily, Nawa was within the protective barrier of the sacred thread he received from the wizard Alfor. It was incredibly strong and durable; even attacks from high-ranked players couldn't easily break it. Furthermore, its level of invisibility was even superior to the protective barriers created by The One Association.
The Association's protective barriers used at save points, once activated, maintain their original appearance indefinitely. Nava's, however, could adapt to blend into the environment at any time. Even in the middle of a battlefield, those outside the barrier could not detect Nava's presence.
Conversely, Nawa, within the barrier, could clearly perceive everything outside. This allowed him to learn about the legendary artifacts of the Florence Temple. This was a major development that shook the Thai player community—no, the world.
As far as is publicly known, the highest-level artifact possessed by a player is a Unique-level artifact. There are only a few dozen of these artifacts in the world. Even the three giant guilds and ten A-rank players in Thailand haven't been able to acquire a single one.
But legendary artifacts are even more powerful than unique ones. To this day, there have only been rumors of their existence; no player or guild has ever possessed a legendary artifact before.
If the story about the cloaked figure possessing a legendary artifact is true, then Nawa's life is in danger. If anyone finds out about his knowledge of the legendary artifact, Nawa will be dragged into a massive conflict over it. With his current abilities, survival would be difficult.
A normal person would choose to remain quietly within the protected area, waiting for things to calm down before leaving without anyone knowing. Nawa thought the same, but his heart was telling him to do the opposite.
If it were just a normal killing, Nawa could probably restrain himself from interfering. But what was about to happen was a group of assassins torturing someone to death.
Nawa couldn't ignore it. However, he knew his current power was insufficient; intervening would be like walking into death.
Nawa decided to use his psychic powers to control the space-time field from within his protective barrier. He manipulated the airflow, creating winds that lifted the dust and smoke from the ground dozens of feet high, obscuring visibility and giving the man in the brown cloak a chance to escape.
Nawa's intention was that once the cloaked man escaped, he would leave the area immediately. If everything went smoothly, he would return to his life as if nothing had happened. But what actually happened was far beyond Nawa's imagination.
Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed from the sky above.
"Rumble!"
Nawa looked up and saw dark clouds forming rapidly, followed by dozens, even hundreds, of white lightning bolts striking through the clouds like a spiderweb. The ground shook violently.
"What's happening?" Nawa exclaimed involuntarily. Large beads of sweat streamed down Nawa's pale face and forehead.
Nawa knew that what was happening wasn't due to his own power, but to something hundreds or thousands of times more powerful.
"Boom!"
A deafening explosion of air rang out. The dust and smoke Nawa had created scattered in an instant. The group of assassins were thrown in all directions.
In the center, a figure in a brown robe held something above their head. It was a long, white, rod-like object, about two feet long, with one end rounded and the other sharp. All parts were connected, appearing solid like metal, yet its white color was like a pearl from the depths of the ocean.
From some angles, it resembled a staff, a weapon favored by mages; from other angles, it looked like a short knife with a hilt adorned with a human skull.
Nawa felt immense pressure emanating from this weapon. It felt similar to an entity he had seen in White Snake's memories, and a being close to a god in the Himmapan forest.
"Fourth, retreat from there!"
"He's planning to use a legendary weapon!" shouted the man wielding two swords frantically.
"It's just a threat. Epic-level artifacts and above require a connection with their user to unleash their power. This guy just stole it from the Temple of Florence a few days ago.
Where would he find the time to establish a connection? Not to mention a legendary weapon; if he tries to use it, he'll only bring trouble upon himself. Right now, if we just kill him, we'll get our hands on a legendary artifact! Hahaha!"
The man wielding the giant hammer laughed loudly before unleashing a powerful killing intent. He lunged towards the cloaked figure and swung his giant hammer with full force, aiming for the cloaked figure's head.
The cloaked figure showed no sign of dodging. He simply raised a small staff in his hand to block the giant hammer with a seemingly indifferent expression.
"Boom!"A deafening clash echoed, sending shockwaves spreading in all directions.
As a result of the impact, the man wielding the giant hammer was sent flying dozens of feet away. His hands were numb, making it almost impossible to hold his weapon. While the figure in the cloak stood almost motionless, as if nothing had happened,
"What the hell is this? Me, losing due to physical strength?" The man holding the hammer cursed, his face filled with disbelief and shock.
In terms of stats alone, this man possessed the highest strength in the group. Combined with his giant hammer, a rare artifact, even an Elder-level monster could be crushed in a single attack. Yet, the cloaked man deflected it with ease, as if it were the work of a three-year-old.
"Could it be? He's already connected with a legendary artifact?" The man wielding dual swords exclaimed with a similar expression.
"Impossible! Even the Chairman took half a year to connect with an Epic-level weapon. How could he do that?" The usually stoic man with the longbow now couldn't maintain his composure. In his mind, this man must be on par with or even higher than the top 10 A-rank players.
"Calm down. Even if he's activated a legendary artifact, his current condition is precarious."
"If we all put in our best effort, we should be able to handle this."
The man wielding two swords, befitting his leadership, boosted the team's morale with just a few words.
"Grrr…"The man wielding a hammer gritted his teeth, forcing himself to his feet. He gathered his aura into the hammer, causing it to glow a dazzling golden light, before slamming it down onto the ground.
"Boom!"A deafening explosion erupted, creating a vast earthen wall, dozens of meters wide and over ten feet high, hurtling towards the cloaked man like a giant wave.
Not only that, the archers drew their bows to their fullest extent and unleashed a barrage of arrows into the air. Each arrow was like a red shooting star.
It was a coordinated attack they had used for a long time, and it always worked. The earthen wave forced enemies upwards, while the rain of arrows blocked their escape routes in the air. Even an A-rank player would find it difficult to counter such a coordinated attack.
But the man in the brown cloak didn't leap into the air. He charged directly into the earthen wall, passing through it as if it were just a sheet of foam. The rain of arrows missed its target entirely.
The earthen wall only slightly slowed the hooded figure down, but it wasn't enough to buy the hammer-wielding man time to parry the incoming attack. In an instant, the head of the man wielding the giant hammer fell to the ground.
Seeing that, the archers unleashed a barrage of arrows at the cloaked figure like a machine gun, but none of them hit their target. They were easily deflected by the cloaked figure's weapons, as if swatting flies.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Aargh!"one archer screamed, then stopped abruptly as his head was severed from his body.
Everything happened so fast that the man wielding the twin swords stood frozen, unable to react. The swords in his hands, which had helped him kill countless people, now left him unsure how to use them.
Should he use them to strike down his enemies or abandon them and kneel, begging for his life?
"P-please," the man with the twin swords managed to say, but could not utter another word. A staff resembling a short knife pierced his back, accurately piercing his heart, and he died instantly.
"Is this the power of a legendary weapon?" Nawa exclaimed involuntarily.
By this point, Nawa was just as stunned as the group of assassins." The dying man was revived in an instant, and even became incredibly strong. He had never seen an artifact capable of such a feat, not even in the Himmapan forest.
Now, only the mage remained from the four-person assassination team. Strangely, the mage showed no sign of fleeing, despite seeing his three companions dealt with in a flash. On the contrary, he displayed unwavering confidence.
"Hahaha! Don't think victory is in your hands! While you were busy dealing with those guys, I've already finished casting my spell.
This is Twister, a B-rank mage renowned for its immense destructive power and incredibly wide attack radius. Even if you possess a legendary weapon, you can't withstand this attack!"
Immediately after speaking, the mage's staff glowed an even brighter green. A fraction of a second later, the mage raised his staff above his head and swung it in a circular motion around himself.
"Zoom!"
A violent gust of wind erupted, centered around the mage like a tornado. Even the ground cracked and was flung into the sky. Everything within a radius of several tens of feet around the mage was sent flying hundreds of feet into the air. Its destructive power was completely different from a C-rank skill.
Although the mage's words and power seemed fierce, his true intention was far from it. This attack was intended to buy time and use the dust and smoke to obscure vision in order to escape.
After unleashing the skill, the mage prepared to leap into the storm to propel himself into the sky. But before his feet could leave the ground, a white beam of light pierced through the storm wall.
"Thud!"
Before he knew it, the tip of the staff had pierced his chest, going straight through his back. Blood spurted out like a broken dam. The mage's face contorted before he died, collapsing uncontrollably. Soon, the storm dissipated as if nothing had happened.
Even though everything had calmed down, Nawa's heart pounded even louder, as if it would burst from his chest. The figure in the cloak hadn't left; the black mist obscured their face, preventing Nawa from observing their expression or eyes. Therefore, he couldn't know if the cloaked figure had found him yet.
From what Nawa had witnessed, the cloaked figure possessed immense power. He was well aware that the force field of the sacred thread couldn't protect his life, and with his current power, it was difficult to fight the other party.
Even so, Nawa didn't intend to die without fighting back. He clasped his hands together and channeled all the mana he had. The next second, a tennis-ball sized fireball appeared in mid-air, instantly expanding to larger than a football, emitting intense heat that withered and scorched the grass on the ground.
"Whoosh!"
Even with his mana depleted, Nawa still didn't have enough. By absorbing mana from nature, he could push his mana beyond his limits, but doing so would severely strain his body and drain his life force. Even a slight loss of power would be tantamount to suicide.
The fireball Nawa created was now ten times more powerful than the one he used against Somchai, but Nawa wasn't confident it could subdue the other party. Even four high-ranked players working together couldn't harm the cloaked figure. Nawa's only hope was to create an opportunity for escape.
If he had a choice, Nawa would want the cloaked figure to leave without encountering him. Nawa couldn't tell if the other party was aware of his existence, but he was certain they didn't know what he was doing. This was evident from the fact that the cloaked figure showed no reaction, even after he created the fireball.
Nawa made a decisive decision. Whether the other party knew his location or not, if the cloaked figure came within striking distance, Nawa would act immediately.
While he was focused on the situation, a voice sounded in Nawa's head.
"Ding!"
Almost immediately, the cloaked figure turned to look at Nawa's location, and simultaneously, the words "(RANK A)" appeared above the cloaked figure's head.