Blue light shimmered in the clearing as the fallen party members reappeared one by one, flickering into place beside Axl, the Priest. The air was still thick with fog, but the oppressive weight of the battle had lifted.
Klint, the Arbalest, blinked rapidly. "Wait… we're back? I thought we were toast."
"You were," Axl said, still catching his breath. "Then he showed up."
Marco, the Bagi, groaned and stretched. "That Homo Goblin was built different. I got one-shot mid-charge."
Nina, the Mage, was still staring at the spot where the goblin had died. "No… you didn't see it. That assassin—he didn't just kill it. He dismantled it."
Klint rubbed his temples. "I saw him blink behind it. That wasn't a normal skill. That was—"
"Backstab," Nina muttered, eyes wide. "I've never seen that on the Upraised forums. Not in any skill shop either. How did he even get that?"
Marco frowned. "So how the hell does a guy at our level have it?"
Axl looked down at his hands, still trembling slightly. "He earned it. I watched him fight. He took hits. Got knocked into a tree. Bled all over the place. But he didn't stop."
Klint let out a low whistle. "And then he just… gave us the loot?"
"Didn't even hesitate," Axl said. "Tapped the window. Gone."
Nina shook her head. "I tried inspecting him. Nothing. Nameplate was hidden. No guild tag. No flair. Just… shadows."
Marco crossed his arms. "So what, he's some kind of ghost player?"
"Or a dev," Klint offered. "Testing something."
"No," Axl said quietly. "He's a player. Just one who knows exactly what he's doing."
They all fell silent for a moment. The forest around them was still. The fog had begun to lift, revealing shafts of golden light breaking through the canopy.
Then Nina spoke, voice softer. "He didn't have to save us."
"No," Axl agreed. "But he did."
Klint chuckled, shaking his head. "Who the hell was that guy?"
Axl stared into the trees, where the shadows had already swallowed Noir's trail. A flicker of something passed through his eyes—recognition, maybe. Or curiosity.
"I don't know," he said. "But I think we just met the first real legend of this game."
*****
Noir's boots crunched against damp soil and fallen leaves as he moved deeper into the Forest of Seldom. The fading light slipped through the canopy above in fractured beams. The map from Ray was folded neatly in his pouch—marked with barely legible ink and guesswork—but he could feel it.
He was close.
Somewhere in the shadows ahead, the hidden village awaited.
Then the sky pulsed with a system-wide broadcast, the voice of the Game Master echoing like thunder:
[GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT – Game Master Sage]
"Attention Players: Syph creatures have now spawned across the Seldom Region.
Spawn Rate: 10%
Reward: 7-Day EXP multiplier upon defeat.
*Warming: Syph are highly aggressive and difficult to kill. THeir names are visible, but their forms are elusive."
Top Hunters will be ranked on the Leaderboard. Good Luck!
[Additional Notice]
"Reminder: Outside Seldom's safe zones, Player Killing (PK) is enabled.
Red-named players cannot return to town.
Dying with a red name results in imprisonment at Wasteland.[1]
To clear a red name, defeat three other red-named players."
Noir stopped in his tracks.
"Syph… 10% spawn rate, huh?" he muttered, eyes narrowing.
He wasn't just thinking about the reward. A 7-day EXP multiplier could launch him into the upper ranks. He'd only been playing a few days, but he was already outpacing most players. He didn't know what a Syph looked like—but if it had a name tag, that was enough.
He toggled his nameplate visibility to OFF.
Secrecy was survival.
He tightened his grip on the Asura's Twin Daggers and vanished into the woods like smoke.
The Search
For the next hour and a half, Noir scoured the forest. He moved like a shadow between trees, scaled roots the size of wagons, and scanned every clearing. He passed other players—some in pairs, some in full parties—all hunting, all desperate.
But no one had seen a Syph.
"Ten percent my ass," Noir muttered, checking the map again.
His Shadow Cloak kept his steps silent. Occasionally, he heard distant shouts—fights, maybe even PvP skirmishes. He stayed out of sight. He wouldn't waste potions or time unless it was worth it.
Then—movement.
A rustle in the underbrush.
He dashed up a tree trunk, silent as breath. His eyes scanned the forest floor.
There.
A name floated above a small, twitching form:
[Syph – Lv3]
It was no ordinary creature.
Roughly the size of a fox, it moved with unnatural speed—darting between shadows like a spark. Its body resembled an axolotl, but its skin glowed a soft, bioluminescent blue. A radiant golden aura shimmered around it, casting flickers of light through the mist. Its eyes—raging violet—burned with wild intelligence.
"Time to work," Noir whispered.
Noir dropped silently behind the creature and activated Backstab.
He blinked forward—steel flashing.
[CRITICAL HIT – 250% Weapon Damage]
His blade sank into the Syph's glowing shoulder. It shrieked, twisting unnaturally, and retaliated with a jagged limb. Noir dodged mid-air, but the creature's aura pulsed violently.
[DEBUFF: Slow – Movement Speed -40% for 6 seconds]
His legs felt like lead.
"Tch—damn thing's fast."
The Syph darted sideways, then vanished in a blur of light. It reappeared behind him and let out a high-pitched screech.
[DEBUFF: Silence – Skills Disabled for 4 seconds]
Noir's HUD flickered. His skill bar grayed out.
He gritted his teeth and rolled backward, narrowly avoiding a swipe that cracked the bark off a nearby tree. He slashed with basic attacks—one, two—but the Syph was already gone, blinking again.
It reappeared above him.
[SKILL: Arc Pulse]
A burst of golden energy slammed into the ground. Noir was thrown back, crashing into a root.
[STUNNED – 2 seconds]
His screen blurred. His HP dropped by 22%.
"Shit—" he hissed, fingers twitching as the stun wore off.
The Syph lunged again, claws glowing violet.
Noir activated Swift Step the moment the stun broke, blinking sideways just in time. He popped a potion mid-roll, then ducked behind a tree to break line of sight.
The Syph circled, its glowing body pulsing with energy. Its violet eyes locked onto him.
Noir exhaled slowly.
"Alright. You want a fight?"
He surged forward, baiting the Syph into a charge. At the last second, he sidestepped and activated Critical Dash Slash.
1, 2, 3—slashes across its side.
4, 5—up its spine.
6—straight through its glowing mask-like face.
[Three Critical Hits Landed – x2.5 Damage]
The Syph shrieked, its body flickering violently.
But it wasn't done.
It blinked again—this time behind him—and unleashed a final pulse of energy.
[DEBUFF: Bleed – 5% HP per second for 5 seconds]
Noir winced, HP ticking down. He activated Backstab again, blinking behind the creature mid-cast.
His dagger plunged deep into its core.
The Syph let out a final, distorted cry—and burst into violet mist.
[SYPH DEFEATED – EXP MULTIPLIER +7 Days Earned]
Noir dropped to one knee, panting, blood smeared across his cloak. A golden glow enveloped him.
[EXP GAINED: 54%]
[Current EXP: 97% to Level 3]
He coughed once, then chuckled under his breath.
"Now that… was a fight."
He picked up the pulsing crystal—Syph Core—and tucked it into his pouch.
There would be more.
But now he knew: these things weren't just rare.
They were deadly.
*****
Thirty minutes passed. Then an hour. No more Syph. His shoulders ached. His eyes burned.
Then—movement.
Another Syph crouched in a clearing, near a pile of rocks.
Noir crouched, daggers ready.
Then—
"Yo."
A voice cut through the woods behind him.
He turned slowly.
Six players stepped out of the trees, grinning like they'd already won. A Bagi, two Archers, a Priest, a Pagan, and another Assassin. All around Level 2.
Their leader, IGN [R4GEMAN], stepped forward.
"Oops. That's not your Syph, It's ours now."
Noir's expression didn't change. "What?"
"You heard me," R4GEMAN said, laughing. "We were here first. Back off."
"I found it first."
"So you're gonna get rekt over one mob?" the Pagan sneered. "You look squishy."
The Priest snorted. "Might as well log out. Save yourself the embarrassment."
Noir stepped forward slightly, tilting his head.
"…You sure you want to do this?"
The clearing went quiet.
The Syph still hadn't noticed them.
But the air was getting heavy.
[1] To be imprisoned in the Wasteland was no mere inconvenience—it was exile. Upon death with a red name, players were cast into a desolate region, far removed from towns and monster zones. No teleportation scrolls worked there, and no portals shimmered in the dust. The only way back to the mainland was on foot, a grueling trek that could take anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour. Some relied on movement skills to hasten their escape, but for most, the journey was a slow, punishing reminder of the price of bloodshed.