Chapter 9: Identity Revealed
They were right. Just as Slicer had predicted, their HP dropped to 1%—the system's way of telling them they had lost. Fifteen seconds passed before their bodies fully respawned in the town of Frontier.
A moment of silence.
The town fell into hushed awe as two players reappeared at the respawn point—players who were impossible to ignore. One had a radiant bluish aura, his armor glowing faintly under the sun, with feathery wings matching the shade of his gear. The other was a masked swordsman clad in pitch-black armor, exuding a dark, sinister aura. His blade was wrapped in black flames.
Such a sight was rare in Frontier. From their expressions and aura, it was obvious they had just come from an intense battle. The one with wings looked especially annoyed.
"Black and Blue player..." a low-level player muttered, his voice trembling with realization.
"Shadow and Lightning! That's them, isn't it?!" someone shouted.
"No doubt about it! It's definitely them!"
The town buzzed with whispers and speculations. All eyes were on them now—everyone believed they were Zaphro and Slicer, the mysterious duo known as the Black Shadow and Blue Lightning who had triggered the system event days ago.
Zaphro looked around, confused. "What are they even saying?"
Slicer sighed. "We've been found out."
"What the hell?! Why here, of all places? Did the system mess up our respawn or something?" Zaphro asked, frustrated.
"Don't ask me, man. I was just as surprised."
"Let's just go. Nothing we can do now," Zaphro said, finally recovering from the post-death fatigue. They made their way toward the NPC stalls and item booths.
"Where are we headed?" Slicer asked.
"To the nearest merchant," Zaphro replied. "We need to sell some loot and hatch these pet eggs."
Despite moving on, the fight earlier still played in Zaphro's mind. Those mobs they encountered… what were they? But he pushed the thought aside—right now, the rare items and pet eggs they'd earned were more important.
"Excuse me," Zaphro called out to a nearby player. The man looked experienced—possibly level 60 or 70—and wielded two rare-looking swords. His IGN floated above him: Shion_rio. A dual-swordsman, clearly dangerous.
"Do you know where the egg hatchery is? We're not familiar with this village," Zaphro asked politely.
Shion turned to them, giving them a hostile glare. Then, he smirked.
"What if I don't tell you? What are you gonna do about it?"
Zaphro's brow twitched, but he kept his cool. Slicer, however, didn't hold back.
"We asked nicely. No need to be a jerk about it."
"You don't know who I am, do you?" Shion said, his smirk growing wider.
"Should we?" Zaphro replied, grinning playfully but with a hint of mockery. "This is our first time here, right bro?"
"Cocky bastards," Shion spat. "If you want the info—beat me in a duel first."
Slicer cracked his knuckles. "That's twice now he's asked for it. Hold me back or I'm gonna snap."
"No, I got this," Zaphro said, stepping forward. "If it's a duel you want, then I accept."
"Let's take this outside town," Shion challenged, turning toward the village gates.
The crowd followed. Whispers spread like wildfire. Everyone wanted to witness the fight between two high-tier players.
This would be Zaphro's first duel. But he felt confident. He would teach this arrogant guy a lesson.
Outside the safe zone, they stood ten meters apart, facing each other. The tension was thick.
"What do I get when I win?" Shion asked, cocky and sure of himself.
Zaphro smirked. "An Epic Blue Sky Egg and a Divine Pendant. You want those? Beat me."
"Are you insane?!" Slicer shouted, clearly shocked. Even Shion looked stunned by the offer.
"Send the invite already," Zaphro said impatiently.
The duel request came through. Zaphro accepted without hesitation.
Duel Starts in...
3... 2... 1... Start!
Shion lunged forward, activating a skill.
"Serpent Slash!"
His blades crossed, ready to unleash a brutal combo—but—
CLANG!
Zaphro blocked it mid-cast.
Shion's eyes widened. Zaphro had closed the distance instantly—it was as if he teleported.
"You're slow," Zaphro muttered, sidestepping to the left and landing a clean hit to Shion's side.
"Aghhh!" Shion screamed.
Zaphro leapt back, his footwork flawless, his speed unmatched. He looked like he was stepping on the air itself.
The crowd gasped. Shion's HP dropped to 85%, now suffering a burn status that weakened his resistance.
"Lucky shot, asshole!" Shion growled.
"Oh? Then let me show you what unlucky looks like," Zaphro said with a grin.
He vanished again, reappearing above Shion.
"Frost Field!"
A glowing AoE magic circle burst around them.
Shion couldn't dodge. Frozen in place, his HP ticked down to 65%.
"Just stay still for a bit, will you?" Zaphro teased. "I'd wait for the field to finish you off, but I'm in a hurry."
He activated another skill. Blue flames engulfed his sword as he dashed forward.
"Engulfing Flame!"
The flames exploded on impact, replacing the ice with fire. Shion screamed as his HP plummeted to 1%.
"Zaphro Wins!"
The system alert rang out.
Everything reset—HP restored, status cleared. But it didn't stop the next system message from shocking the crowd:
"Rank 20 has been revoked from Shion_rio. Zaphro has taken Rank 20."
"Next time, size up your opponent better," Slicer smirked. "If he didn't take you, I would've dropped you with a one-hit skill."
Shion said nothing, clearly shaken by his defeat.
True to their deal, Shion led them to the merchant area.
"Thanks, man," Zaphro said. "By the way, we've got another Divine Pendant. Interested? We're selling it for 50 million gold."
Shion's eyes lit up, though he frowned a bit. "I'd love to, but I blew all my gold on gear. Getting top-tier stuff is hard nowadays. Boss drops need full parties and high DPS."
Zaphro and Slicer exchanged glances.
"How about this—take the pendant, on one condition," Zaphro offered.
"What condition?"
"We're going boss hunting in the unexplored areas of Meldivar. We need more hands."
Shion blinked. "You sure about this? Fine. Count me in. But can we handle it?"
"With three of us, maybe not. But we're calling in backup," Slicer said. "We'll be ready."
They completed the trade and sent a buddy invite to Shion.
Afterward, they headed to the egg hatchery.
It cost 20 million gold to hatch each egg. Zaphro received a metallic Baby Dragon, while Slicer hatched a plated Greyhound wolf. Both pets were classified as Aggressive Type, meaning they could attack alongside them—and they had their own item slots for pet gear, armor, and accessories to boost stats.
"These pets are insane," Slicer said, clearly impressed.
Zaphro checked his friends list. "My friends are online. Let's meet here in the village. Ping your contacts too."
Soon, they sat on a bench near the entrance of town, waiting.
"Shion, do you know anything about the Hellbound Seraphine?" Zaphro asked.
Shion turned serious. "Why do you ask? Did you encounter them?"
"This morning. That's why we respawned here," Slicer answered. "They wiped us out like it was nothing."
"They're special AI," Shion said gravely. "And there's more of them—Dark Angel, Legion, the Ice Queen. I've only heard stories, but even top players avoid them."
"Then we better be careful," Zaphro muttered. "By the way, are your items character-bound yet? If not, we can help you farm better gear."
"Some are, not all. I'm still low on gold. And I might find better ones later," Shion replied.
"No worries, man," Slicer chimed in. "We'll just kill a boss with a big gold drop."
They laughed, chatting like old friends. The tension of the earlier duel melted away. A few curious players approached and introduced themselves—especially female ones.
"Shadow and Lightning... they're so handsome!" one girl warrior whispered excitedly.
"So hot!" squealed a lady archer.
Slicer grinned, now unmasked, throwing winks left and right.
Eventually, their friends arrived—Erik, Erenir, Aryus, and Ayana from Zaphro's side. Verillion and Jin came in for Slicer.
One by one, the elite gathered in Frontier.
A new party was forming. And something far more dangerous loomed on the horizon