Ordinary humans need to train their bodies rigorously and consistently for long periods to become stronger. However, for players, simply consuming monster meat dramatically increases their strength and physical stats.
In principle, with enough money and time, a Rank E player could buy and consume enough monster meat to reach Rank S. But in reality, this isn't the case. Some players, even after 10 years or a lifetime, still cannot reach Rank B, the starting point of high-rank players.
There are two main reasons. Firstly, repeatedly consuming the same type of monster meat reduces its effectiveness, eventually rendering it ineffective for physical development. This forces players to acquire new types of monsters to increase their strength.
Secondly, the amount of monster meat they can consume daily is limited. Even with a much better metabolism than ordinary humans, they can only eat a maximum of 8-10 kilograms per day. With such a limited consumption rate, to hope to reach high-rank players, they must consume at least Elder-grade monster meat.
Of course, that level of meat is extremely rare. Even with money, it's not guaranteed to be readily available, because high-level monster meat is usually distributed within guilds first, with only the remainder sold. High-level meat on the market is extremely limited, and only a few types are commercially available.
Therefore, those aspiring to high-ranking players must hunt powerful and dangerous high-level monsters themselves. This is why, out of hundreds of thousands of players in Thailand, fewer than 100 reach high rank, and only 10 reach the realm of Rank A players.
Those who reach this level are considered national treasures, a vital force in pioneering The Oneness, generating immense benefits for the country. As a result, the power and influence of these ten Rank A players surpasses even the country's top politicians or billionaires.
Although this wasn't the first time Nawa had faced a Rank A player, the situation now was drastically different from when he faced the president of The Future Guild on Earth. Now, he witnessed a murder and the possession of a legendary weapon by a Rank A player.
Even though Nawa couldn't see the other person's face... But in Nawa's mind, he would be killed the moment he was discovered. This matter was too important to let anyone know about. Besides, the other party had already killed four players, giving them the "red head" status. Adding one more would be nothing to worry about.
Although this alarmed Nawa, he wasn't terrified to the point of losing his composure. He noticed that when the other party turned to look at him, it was just a sweeping glance around, not a clear indication of his location. Nawa guessed that the reason the cloaked figure hadn't left was because they were wondering if anyone was hiding nearby.
"This is clearly a case of doing good but being repaid with ingratitude," Nawa cursed inwardly. He thought the other party's behavior was due to his earlier use of his power to create dust and smoke.
Nawa focused his attention on the other party's movements. If the cloaked figure showed even the slightest suspicious behavior or came within attack range, Nawa would immediately unleash a fireball, accumulated beyond its limit, at them.
Even though it seemed like a cowardly tactic, Nawa had no choice. If he missed this opportunity, he wouldn't get a second chance.
But then Nawa's face instantly turned pale. It was as if they held their breath for a moment when the cloaked figure raised a legendary weapon above their head with both hands before plunging it forcefully into the ground.
"Boom!"
A deafening explosion rocked the ground, shaking violently. A shockwave spread outwards, causing cracks to appear in a spiderweb-like pattern across the earth. Although the protective barrier remained intact, it was severely damaged, with cracks erupting throughout the force field.
"So there really are people willing to risk their lives to save those they've never even met," the cloaked figure said in a calm voice, turning to gaze at the inverted dome-shaped cracks that had appeared in mid-air.
Nawa wasn't pleased with this praise at all. On the contrary, his heart trembled, for it meant his position had been revealed, and his plan to ambush the other party by surprise was no longer viable. Even so, he knew that if he didn't do something, his life would surely meet the same fate as the four members of the Assassin Team before him.
While Nawa was panicking, the cloaked figure remained calm. He didn't act immediately, but instead slowly approached Nawa and said,
"That energy barrier is useless. Don't be afraid. Just answer a few questions, and if there's nothing to lose, I'll let you go."
Nawa didn't trust the cloaked figure's words at all. The only thing that might be true was that the energy barrier made of sacred threads, which was about to collapse, could no longer protect his life.
But Nawa knew he had no other choice. With such a huge difference in power levels, if they fought directly, he would be killed in an instant, just like the four before him.
No, how could he have overlooked that?Nawa exclaimed inwardly.
The unusual thing Nawa almost missed was that the cloaked figure didn't rush to attack, but instead chose to negotiate and persuade him to leave the energy barrier. This meant that the other party only knew the location of the barrier but couldn't see what was inside, and therefore hesitated to act.
It seems even though the energy barrier is damaged, the illusion power is still effective, Nawa thought to himself. Almost simultaneously, Nawa's eyes sharpened again, and his concentration returned to normal.
Without wasting any more time, Nawa decided to act immediately, unleashing the accumulated power of the fireball all at once. However, the target wasn't the cloaked figure, but the ground a few feet away.
"Boom!"
A deafening explosion resounded. The immense force of the blast spread in all directions. It was as powerful as a high-ranking player's magic skill. Even an Elder-level monster would struggle to survive a direct hit of this magnitude.
Seeing this, the cloaked figure didn't retreat. He swung his legendary weapon forward, creating a wave of white energy that pierced through the flames before colliding with the cracked energy barrier.
"Boom!"
Another deafening explosion followed. The energy barrier shattered into tiny pieces, revealing only scorched earth and emptiness within. Seeing this, the cloaked figure charged through the flames towards the nearby cliff at high speed. Before gazing down into the raging, dark river below,
Nawa used the fireball with a dual purpose. Firstly, to buy time for the cloaked figure; secondly, to use the explosion to propel himself into the river. Given the strong current and the darkness of the night, even an A-rank player with excellent senses and eyesight would find it difficult to follow.
However, this method required Nava to take the full force of a destructive force capable of killing an Elder-level monster. The chance of success was only 50/50.
The cloaked figure stood watching the river for a moment, as if inspecting something, before vanishing into the darkness.
On the riverbank, several kilometers from the waterfall, Nava emerged, struggling to climb out of the water.
"Hmph…hmph…"
Nawa panted heavily, leaning against a large rock. His body was covered in wounds, especially the gaping hole in his dragon scale cloak, from which blood constantly seeped out. Nava pressed his hand to the wound on his chest. He tried to stop the bleeding.
"If it weren't for this Dragon Scale Armor, I would have died," Nawa muttered to himself, recalling the near-death experience.
Although he felt lucky to have survived the A-rank player, he couldn't be complacent. With his severely injured body, if he didn't do something, Nava would soon become prey to the monsters around here.
At this point, Nava had given up on the quest. All he wanted was to log out and return to his world. After recovering, he planned to leave this city. With his current strength, facing the cloaked killer again would be difficult to survive a second time.
Nawa assessed that even if he regained the strength he had in the Himmapan Forest, he wasn't sure he could defeat that A-rank killer. Legendary weapons were far more powerful than Nava had imagined.
"Ding!" A familiar sound echoed in Nava's head. A system window popped up:
(Do you wish to log out and return to the world?)
(OK) (Cancel)
Nawa activated the logout function with just a thought. Shortly after, a white light circle with a 2-meter radius appeared around her.
(The logout process will take 4 hours and 50 minutes. During this time, if you leave the circle, the logout will be canceled immediately.)
Each logout takes a certain amount of time to process, which can range from less than a minute to several hours depending on the location and the number of players logging out at that time. However, it usually takes about 3-4 hours.
During this time, players must not leave the white light circle created by the system.
If a player violates this rule in any way, the logout will be canceled, and the player will be fined 10 times the amount they used to log in, or the player's entire week's income. This is why players usually choose quiet and relatively safe logout locations, such as hotel rooms in the city or well-guarded campsites.
Besides the fines, another reason is... When a player logs in, they are re-entering the location they logged out of. If that location isn't secure enough, the next login might be the player's last. But for Nawa right now, there's no need to waste time thinking about that. If he doesn't log out quickly, he might end up dead in The Oneness.
One minute felt like an eternity in this situation. While watching the countdown to logout, Nawa had to remain vigilant against approaching danger. He was like meat on a chopping block; even the weakest, common monster could easily kill him.
But as if fate were playing a cruel trick, with only 30 minutes left until the logout process was complete, the sky suddenly turned turbulent, a storm raged, the ground shook violently, and the previously calm river rippled with massive waves, as if a dam had broken, destroying everything near it. Among them was Nawa's immobile body.