A cold sweat ran down Billy’s back as he realized that he was not as cunning as he first imagined. His first time here, he died without fully understanding what was going on.

He learned something and tried to correct it on his second turn. Yet, that too ended in a failure.

Death hurt, and it was not like he could not feel the pain when it happened to him. Even now, his body still felt like it was in pain.

So, what happened to him?

His weapon got stuck in the body of the wolf corpse for one. He was not skilled with the weapon, and it clearly showed. But that was not actually his fault; he was just unlucky.

Billy couldn’t help but stare at his stats once more as he stared at his luck stat. It was only 25 points, out of how many total? He was unsure, but he could tell it was low.

His second run should have gotten him much further than what he achieved. The wolf was fast and had a strong attack, but it was weak in defense. With a stab of the spear, he wounded one enough that it would not get back up. It may have also died in the process; however, he did not have time to check.

Still, from that encounter, he learned about his opponent.

That was not the only thing he gained.

His eyes slowly glanced at two people he did not come into contact with before. From what others said, they were gamers who were skilled. Billy could see how capable they were from the tactic they used his last run.

‘Maybe I should stick with them…’

Billy thought to himself, figuring that was the safer path.

Those wolves still scared him, but he knew they were not that deadly. Still, a sword and shield did not fit his style. He wanted to play it safe, so maybe a bow?

As long as he could hide behind the shields and attack from a distance, all would be well.

Yet, with his luck and skill, Billy tossed that idea out of the window. He’d end up harming his teammates if he were forced to use a bow. Still, a spear was long and agile. It was an excellent weapon, but Billy decided to pick something else.

He’d decide what to gain once he examined the weapons again.

Soon he found his eyes going to Chang, who was mixed in the crowd of people. Chang was easier to spot because when the pale-skinned man walked through the crowd, Chang moved out of the way.

Billy wondered if he would be approached by that young man again. If so, should he make him use a shield?

That would be better, and he could have his own personal tank to protect him.

‘No. That would not work; he seems like the type to care for his own life more than others.’

After a second, Billy dismissed that idea.

Now was not the time to worry about someone else when he could not even carry himself. Whatever happened to him was his own fault. Still, if Chang did want to tag along, Billy would not stop him. He could still work as bait if things went sideways.

He just wished he could see other people’s stats to compare to his own. A lot of it still made no sense, and no matter what he did, Billy could not see the description of the stats.

‘Crap!’

Billy hurriedly moved without trying to attract too much attention to himself. The pale-skinned man was already close to the door, but Billy was not. He made his way to the end of the crowd and arrived just in time as the pale-skinned man opened the door.

When that happened, Billy went inside.

Food and water were the first items he grabbed.

Now it was time for weapons.

‘What should I try out this time?’

Billy saw three melee weapons. A sword, a blade, and a spear. That was it; if you counted the shield as a melee weapon, then that was four.

The sword was short with an edge on both sides so it could cut the wolves or anything else easily. Even if he stabbed, it would slide out of the corpse with ease.

The blade was longer and slightly curved, but it had one edge. It seemed more like a hacking weapon instead.

Then there was the spear, which tempted him.

‘Wait! This could work!’

Billy thought to himself as he recalled his last death.

Although he hated the idea of using a shield, having one did not mean he needed to use it. If he attached it right, it could be kept on his back, able to protect him.

Then he could use the spear to attack.

His first attempt might have ended badly, but there was still another chance.

As he grabbed the silver spear, Billy paused for a second and grabbed a sword just in case.

He was ready.

After he gained the items he wanted, he left the room. It was only when he was outside of the room back into the open zone did he start fiddling with his equipment.

“Hello Uncle, do you need a hand?”

Billy turned his head and spotted Chang.

“Sure, tie this up for me. Make sure it's really tight!”

Having already encountered him, Billy was not going to decline his help. Trusting him was another story. He’s shoved people out of his way to try and survive, so he would not be surprised if Chang would do that to him given the opportunity.

“There you go. Why do you have all those items? Isn’t just one enough?”

Chang questioned him as he looked at Billy’s odd appearance. A shield on his back, a sword on his side, and a spear in his hand. It was not a standard setup, but for Billy, this was optimal.

“Who knows. Have to be prepared for the worst.”

Billy lightly responded.

“Oh, I see! I am Song Chang Wook. Might I have your name, uncle?”

Chang asked him.

“You can call me Billy.”

“You are the first American I’ve seen and talked to…”

“And?”

Chang’s face blushed as he was not expecting that sort of response.

“Forget it.”

Billy said, trying to get rid of the awkwardness.

“What do you know about him?”

Billy asked as he pointed towards the Korean who others dubbed ‘Truth.’

“Do you not know who that is? Does uncle not play games?”

Chang asked curiously.

“No, and kind of. I was a novelist, not a gamer.”

“I see…”

Chang looked a bit disappointed when he heard that answer but quickly recovered and smiled.

“About what you asked uncle, that is Truth. He is a famous player worldwide and has a deep history in the gaming community. Truthfully, he is the face of Korea in PvP games… player versus player.”

Nodding his head, Billy seemed to understand. It irked his nerve that Chang talked to him as if he did not understand gaming terms. He knew them! He wasn’t even that old.

Yet, this young man kept calling him uncle. Did he really look old?

“But, I think uncle should be more concerned with the other one next to him. That’s ‘Clips,’ and his influence is stronger than Truth’s. He has played various MMORPG’s…. Multi-”

“I know what an MMORPG is!”

Billy interrupted him in a fit of anger.

Chang kept making him seem old.

“Look, call me Billy. I’m only twenty-five!”

Chang was stunned; he even gasped.

“I see…”

“Continue.”

“Right… Clips is the owner of a top-tier guild called Millennium. He goes to games and dominates the leaderboards with his guild. In large-scale warfare, I can only count three others that can go toe to toe with him.”

Billy looked at Chang.

“So, with both those figures over there, why are you over here with little ol me?”

It was something Billy really wanted to find out. What made Chang approach him?

“Honestly unc- Billy… I just have a feeling you were the person to approach.”

Shaking his head, Billy sighed.

“Sorry, man, I’m not that strong. Sorry to disappoint you.”

Before Chang had a chance to respond, everything started to crumble. Time seemed to fly by, and before Billy even realized it, the safe zone was collapsing.

He was so caught up with Chang that he forgot to approach Truth and join them for extra protection.