When Kenshi struck Shahar's tombstone, he dissipated into the familiar white mist everyone longed for. Jisha hopped off her perch and delightfully absorbed all of it. The same white light that had encompassed him now surrounded her.

*>System message: Level up!*

*>Name: Fae Sol*

*>Class: Ranged*

*Level: 0 -> 1 (+1)*

*>HP: x -> 100*

*>Atk: x -> 10*

*>Def: 0*

But what happened, exactly?

In short, it was another cheese strat.

In her past life, it was widely known that if Shahar's tombstone were touched, the perpetrator would suffer instant death, and it didn't matter how high-leveled you were. This included Tier 9 players!

Since Shahar's tombstone teleported at random moments, it was often struck on accident. Countless players cursed this map's instant death RNG...

The only thing that could prevent it was obtaining Shahar's blessing which Jisha acquired from Lilliana's token.

*Kenshi, I pray for your well-being. Wait, nevermind. I forgot we're Tier 0...*

Any player above Tier 0 that touched Shahar's grave would suffer his curse which came in the form of visions. These visions often forced a haunting experience of another person upon your senses. Everything they felt would be accurately recreated in the curse victim's mind, and the higher-leveled you were, the more difficult it would be to endure this curse. Naturally, it was something no one wanted to see.

This was the "true nature" of Synergy that most players wouldn't experience for a long time. Not just sensory stimulation, but emotions and experiences of others could be relayed to the player's mind as if they were experiencing it in the real world. However, it would be a while before the general public would discover this and acknowledge Synergy as a "second reality".

*But enough about that...*

She stared into the distance as three white pillars of light extended into the sky.

*It's not over yet.*

 

---

 

The Coalition flew into a panic when Kenshi's status grayed out in the party window.

*>BrenT: ...*

*>Allux: What???*

*>Molotova: Hah? How did you mess up that badly?*

*>Kenshi: Shut up! I don't even know what happened.*

*>Adverse: ... There's no way we weren't careful enough.*

*>Liuzhi: Perhaps...*

Everyone understood the implications of this, but none of them could understand *how* it happened!

Kenshi had 100 HP, and Fae Sol had 2.

Kenshi had 10 attack, and Fae Sol had 1.

It should have been a hundred-to-zero matchup, yet the reality in front of their eyes told them otherwise.

Psychotic messages flew through the party chat as everyone tried to find something to blame, even if that "something" was their own friends.

*>Molotova: Kenshit, you're literally the dumbest teammate on the planet.*

*>Kenshi: Huh? I'd like to see you fight her then!*

*>Allux: Well, I did tell you to stay with our group. And Adverse, were these the best possible settings you could have come up with?*

*>Adverse: After all of this preparation, with you as the shot caller and with my settings, we lost. Please tell me what we could have done better.*

*>Allux: Me as the shot caller? Ken couldn't even follow my orders! And Bren's the real shot caller AND captain here. Claiming both roles... can you even get more greedy?*

*>BrenT: ...*

*>Liuzhi: Guys, calm down.*

*>Molotova & Kenshi: SHUT UP!*

*>Rizako: ...*

After losing themselves in arguments for several minutes, they finally realized something was wrong.

"Hey, where is she?"

They'd forgotten about the target they were hunting this entire time, and unfortunately, they were now the prey. The level-up aura from where Kenshi died was a clear indicator that the three of them were now under-leveled. Their carelessness was a massive blunder.

*>Adverse: What do we do now?*

*>Molotova: Hell if I know.*

*>Allux: Just stick together. Try to stay alive until you automatically level up.*

This was the best option. Thanks to Adverse's settings, there was only about a minute before they leveled up themselves.

*>Liuzhi: Keep your heads on a swivel. We can't sit still.*

If Fae Sol knew the direction Kenshi came from, it wouldn't be difficult for her to find them. They had to move.

The three players stealthily crept through the forest as they frantically attempted to maintain a 360 field of view. They approached a clearing, but there was no sign of life.

*>Liuzhi: Let's go.*

Taking care to not be seen, they bolted over to the next plot of cover. Like this, they continued slinking around while praying to remain hidden.

Seconds ticked by, and they continued to elude her. The suspense grew the closer they were to leveling up.

They braced themselves as if guarding against a jump scare. But...

*System message: Level up!*

...

All three of them simultaneously received this message.

Nothing else happened.

Or so they thought.

*THWACK*

*-10*

A pellet suddenly struck Molotova's arm.

Everyone instantly snapped to attention.

*>Molotova: What the hell?? From where?*

Nobody had an answer for her. They thought they were paying attention, yet they were still caught off guard. They quickly formed a circle standing back-to-back. As residents of another world would say... they were up against an "Avengers level threat"!

*THWACK*

*-20*

Out of seemingly nowhere, another pellet struck Liuzhi in the neck. They tried to estimate where the attack came from by reverse engineering its trajectory, but by the time they were able to figure it out...

*THWACK*

*-20*

... another one came from a completely different direction and struck Adverse in the head.

They were in a tight spot. If they stood still or moved together as a group, they'd get pelted from afar. If they moved separately, they'd get picked off one by one. None of them knew how Kenshi died, either, so they had to be extra careful.

But their cheese strat offered one final solace!

*>Liuzhi: Keep your eyes peeled. Once we pinpoint her location, we'll rush her at once.*

*>Adverse: Roger. Her ammo's running low, so just make sure to guard your vitals.*

*>Kenshi: You guys better win.*

 

---

 

Jisha peeked at the group of three while remaining hidden. Kenshi hadn't carried any ranged ammo, so she was in danger of running out. The two players he'd killed to accelerate his leveling process were melees, and since they were stalling for time, it was clear they'd planned even this...

*Really, these guys...*

At this point, Jisha was no longer concerned with their shamelessness but awed by their overcautiousness.

Now, missing shots could actually place her in a losing position, so she couldn't afford to waste a single one. She diligently confirmed every one of her shots would land.

Since they were standing in a circle, at least one of them was always facing away from her. This was the target she hit every time. By unpredictably moving around, she made sure this tactic remained efficient.

The source of these shots wasn't the only unpredictable factor. Despite only having one type of "basic attack", she made the most of her kit to vary her attack patterns as much as possible.

Slow shots. Fast shots. 12-6 curves. Sliders. Beams. Ricochets. They were impossible to anticipate. The skill required to land all of these consistently was otherworldly, but if Jisha wasn't familiar with ranged attacks, she wasn't the Gun Swap Goddess!

*I should have enough ammo to finish them off like this, but I don't want to gamble. I'll have to get up close and personal with them soon.*

Jisha made sure to adhere to the ironclad rule of ranged attacks as much as possible. Hitting a target became exponentially more difficult the farther away from it you were. The best way to guarantee shots was to move closer.

With every throw, she would circle around to a closer spot and hone in her accuracy. The spiral of doom steadily constricted her three enemies.

 

---

 

*-10*

...

*-10*

...

*>Molotova: How how how how how how...*

Though they tried as hard as possible to dodge, a good percentage of them still managed to hit their mark.

*>Adverse: The frustrating thing is they're not even moving very quickly...*

*>Liuzhi: Focus. We can make it through this.*

As more pellets flew at them, Molotova noticed a harrowing thing.

*>Molotova: No, no, no... Some of them are spinning... and ricocheting...*

*>Adverse: What?*

*>Liuzhi: ... It's true.*

*>Kenshi: Tova, you're even worse than me!*

*>Molotova: Geh... Everyone, focus! We're making one final stand!*

*-10*

...

*-10*

...

Little by little, bits and pieces of their HP shaved away. And as their HP whittled away, so did their psyche. After all this time, they'd still failed to uncover the enemy's location.

But things were about to change. Adverse counted down in his head, and this counter was almost at zero!

*>Adverse: Get ready.*

His words were prophetic - but it wasn't what they expected.

"What-!"

Even the coolheaded Liuzhi yelped in surprise.

"What-? Aren't you a ranged character?"

They were stunned.

This time, another projectile headed their way... and it wasn't a pellet.

"I don't prefer to do this, but who says I have to keep my distance just because I'm ranged?" Fae Sol said as she surged forwards to engage them in melee combat.

*Whoosh.*

All of them panicked, and everyone attacked nearly simultaneously. Everyone remaining was ranged - the unbalanced party all fired their bullets. If they hadn't been worn down by the battle of attrition, they might have been able to react in a more orderly manner. However, the pressure they faced significantly crippled their judgement.

Every attack whiffed. Fae Sol's body was undeterred by these nervous attacks, and they seemed to pass right through her.

There was now a one second cooldown before they could release another attack, and Fae Sol took advantage of this to close the gap even further.

They were expecting a snipe battle of attrition, so this melee confrontation froze everyone in confusion.

*>Molotova: Why?*

Kenshi was definitely going to ridicule her. She had to do something!

But the wild girl pounced on her like a tigress, and she was helpless within her jaws.

"Dammit!"

"Goodnight."

*CRACK*

*-50*

... A pellet struck the left side of Molotova's head from pointblank. Receiving damage that easily exceeded her remaining HP, her body exploded into white. Fae Sol absorbed her essence while sidestepping Adverse and Liuzhi's basic attacks.

*>Adverse: Ah, crap. She's easily tracked our cooldowns.*

*>Liuzhi: That should have been obvious... But yeah, it's over.*

It was no longer a fight but a one-sided beatdown. Fae Sol completely overwhelmed the two of them in melee combat. Adverse, an avid sniper, and Liuzhi, a spellcasting fanatic, had no clue what they were doing. They knew how to hold out until support arrived, but right now, no one would come.

They slumped to the floor as Fae Sol absorbed their XP. The last thing they heard was her nonchalant voice as if she were strolling through a park.

"Ugh, my inventory's still full..."

 

---

 

*>BrenT: ...*

*>Allux: ...*

*>Molotova: ...*

*>Adverse: ...*

*>Kenshi: ...*

*>Liuzhi: ...*

*>Rizako: ...?*

After the battle's conclusion, the losers could only stare at themselves in a combination of awe and resentment.

*>BrenT: ... I'm sorry, everyone. Meet me back at spawn.*

A few of them had spectated the end of the battle, but there was no longer any reason to stay. About ten minutes later, everyone reconvened in Uval.

"That was just... unlucky," Adverse said.

No one disagreed with him. They'd taken all the necessary precautions and tried their best... yet still came up short in the end. They'd met a terrifying opponent.

They could only curse their bad luck.

They stared at the ground in silence.

No one knew what to say. How could they explain what happened without losing face? But Bren suddenly perked up.

"Maybe... Maybe our luck's not so bad after all."

"Huh?"

They stared at him like he'd gone mental. Their plan spectacularly faceplanted, so how could he remain positive? Some of them sighed.

"That's just like you, huh?"

They assumed Bren was simply trying to raise morale, but he denied it.

"Everyone. Take a look at this. I've got something genuinely good."

Nobody knew what he was talking about, but they obediently checked the party chat. When they saw the snapshot of Bren's friends list, they instantly understood.

On this friends list, the six of them naturally existed. However, there was a new, seventh addition at the bottom.

How? Why? Nobody knew.

But the image was real.

Everyone rubbed their eyes and glanced at it once more, but nothing changed. Because at the bottom of this image was...

*>Fae Sol - Online*