Dexter spent the whole afternoon walking. Good thing for him, he spotted a newbie player mounted on a mule — completely naked.
'What the fuck is this AI tripping on? The system should update again and make them think that if they die, it's game over… Why travel naked, especially in a PK Zone?'
After swapping his cloak and boots for a sword and teleporting sandals, he chased the mule, laughing.
With continuous blinking at every skill cooldown, he leaped high and slashed at the player sitting atop the mule.
The player was caught off guard. He narrowly dodged the slash, but the evasion sent him tumbling to the ground.
"Wait! Don't kill me! I'm naked, damn it… I don't have any items on me!"
"Idiot AI, do you think I care?" Dexter sneered.
The player scrambled backward, staring at Dexter with pleading eyes.
"Lucky for you, you'll just turn into recycled data after dying…"
Dexter slashed at his neck — but froze in surprise when the strike didn't kill him.
'What the fuck? I couldn't kill him in one hit? Does he have high HP?'
The player tried to fight back with punches and kicks, but Dexter effortlessly slashed through each attack, forcing him to flinch with every blow.
Again and again, Dexter struck, painting the sandy ground with splatters of blood.
"FUCK YOU, NOOB!" the player screamed.
"Well, what can you do? If you're such a 'pro,' you're an idiot for running naked in a PK Zone… or…"
He glanced at the panting mule standing idly by.
Dexter laughed — so hard that it sounded downright sinister to the player.
"Pretending to be a newbie? Hauling gear to sell in Blackreach Throne, huh?"
The player's eye twitched. Desperate, he tried to crawl and scramble away.
But Dexter wasn't about to let him escape. In one swift motion, his sword morphed into a bow, and his sandals into an arrow.
He drew, aimed—
Whizz!
The arrow pierced straight through the fleeing player's skull, leaving his lifeless, naked corpse in the desert sand.
"Damn it, my XP bar didn't even budge from him... killing naked AI is completely worthless."
"Stupid AI. If I were him — and knew death meant game over — I'd wear top-tier gear, ride a high-level mount, join a guild, or at least hire an escort before hauling goods to Blackreach Throne."
He walked to the corpse and picked up the glimmering bag beside it. Dexter's smile widened as he counted the coins inside.
"Three million coins from this idiot? Didn't see that coming. Must've been a PvE-type AI."
When he checked the mule's saddlebags, his breath caught — there lay a Tier X Crossbow, a Masterpiece-grade weapon.
"What a lucky day! This could buy me an entire island! Though I wonder who'd actually purchase it..."
"So this was his plan — rush to Blackreach Throne to sell this and get instantly rich. Well, too bad its mine now."
"I'll display it at Sunscar Market for a week. If no buyers, I'll take it to Obsidian Bazaar in Blackreach myself. I can't die anyway... zero risk."
…
Like the player he'd killed, Dexter mounted the mule naked and began traveling back to Sunscar Kingdom. Most players didn't even attempt to attack him after inspection — he'd transformed his bracers into an uninspectable item, just like the cloak he'd made for Stella.
'Pretending to be a newbie really pays off... Hell, if I didn't need this mule, I would've let that idiot AI pass too...'
The sun was dipping below the horizon when Dexter finally entered Sunscar Kingdom. He opened his messaging interface:
/w Stella Arzois Where are you?
(In the inn where we stayed last night.)
/r Okay, wait for me. Have you eaten yet?
(Not yet! I was waiting for you!)
/r Wait there. I'll bring food after selling this stuff.
…
After entering the market, he checked the price for the Tier X Crossbow Masterpiece. Some listings showed offers around 3 million coins.
"What the fuck? Too cheap?"
He listed his for 21 million, setting the auction duration for one week.
'Crafting brings insane profits... but I can't focus on getting stronger if I prioritize it.'
'Better to steal from others and resell.'
Exiting the marketplace, Dexter headed to the nearest eatery to grab takeout for Stella. As he navigated through the bustling crowd, he spotted Stella waiting by the inn's entrance.
"Dex!" She waved enthusiastically, her face lighting up with joy.
Dexter felt his lips curl into a genuine smile, his hardened demeanor softening. With Gridlock remaining in the Starting Area, Stella had become his sole anchor to sanity in this chaotic world.
Upon entering the room Stella had rented, they moved to the small table and set out plates provided freely by the inn. Stella's eyes sparkled at the array of dishes before her, her mouth watering in anticipation.
"So, how was your day without me?" Dexter asked.
"It was so boring... I just walked around gathering materials to sell, then repeated the process..." Stella opened her bag to show Dexter.
"I made 5,000 coins from selling materials!" she announced proudly.
'That's pitiful... Well, at least she's enjoying herself.'
Dexter rubbed her head affectionately before they continued with their meal.
…
Deep in the night, Dexter stood by the inn's window, gazing at the undying lights of the city below. The constant glow of houses and facilities, coupled with the endless murmur of distant chatter, kept him company in the darkness.
His eyes drifted to Stella, who lay murmuring in her sleep, occasionally giggling at some private dream. A faint smile touched his lips.
'Dreaming of food again?'
Turning back to the night sky, he locked eyes with the moon and stars that watched him in return.
'I wonder how Alicia is doing now. Is she safe? Eating properly?'
Questions swirled through his mind until he could only sigh and wait for dawn.
Endless Resurrection made surviving the ten-year tutorial trivial — he could march into Uncharted Zones and slaughter endlessly. But this eternal existence was chipping away at his sanity, one lonely night at a time.
"Dex..." Stella's sleepy voice interrupted his thoughts.
He turned to find her sitting upright in bed.
"Good evening," he murmured. "Go back to sleep. I'm not going anywhere."
Yet she rose and walked toward him, her bare feet silent on the wooden floor.