"It's late. Time to rest. We need to push the guild level tomorrow."

Around nine o'clock. Normally, we'd play deep into the night, but after today's unpleasant incident, it was best for the Guild Leader to turn in early.

"Mm, logging off now. You rest early too."

"Bye-bye."

Waving goodbye to the Guild Leader, I leaned against a tree root after she went offline and opened the customer service message.

"Dear Worldshaking Snow, Eternal Supreme Violet Member: Your suggestion has been submitted to the planners. The programming team is working overtime and will finish by eleven."

"Call them off. It’s unnecessary now. Sorry for being so capricious. Tell the supervisor to double their overtime pay."

The thrill of seeing Alicia beg had vanished completely.

Every time I closed my eyes, their tear-streaked faces flashed in my mind.

I closed customer service and opened the auction house, scanning items. I bought cheap gear and materials in gold, then relisted them at high prices. Being a merchant was my other hobby—even if I always lost money.

Opening my character profile, my peripheral vision caught the currency counts.

Gold: 421,807

Crystal: ———

That "———" didn’t mean zero. It meant infinite.

My gaze dropped to my gear. Head to toe, everything was white—no items above common quality.

Not that I couldn’t afford better. Even in full purple gear, my power would be terrifyingly overwhelming.

Invincibility was lonely. Wearing white was my self-imposed limit.

Someday, for someone or something, I’d switch to high-tier gear. Then, the whole game would go wild.

I bought repair oil from the mall to restore durability, then reopened the auction house.

A dark smile curled my lips.

Time to make those who insulted the Guild Leader and Alicia pay. Hehehe.

Search. Locate ring.

——Item not found.

...

Sorry, typo. Revenge Ring.

This time, the auction displayed it.

Revenge Ring

Durability: 10/10

Tracks any player’s location.

"Own this ring, and you shall be the god of the new world."

The cheapest cost a million gold. I traded 100,000 crystal instead.

Equipping it, I typed a player’s name. Coordinates appeared on my map instantly.

"The world drowns in filth, not a glimmer of light. I walk in brightness, hide in shadow. I shall purge all evil. Tonight, none escape alive. In god’s name, I hunt you with fangs."

I posted that cringey anime-style monologue to world chat.

Insults flooded back immediately.

"Revenge begins. To those who slandered our guild: Death whispers beside you."

A smile played on my lips, but my eyes stayed icy.

Watching the still-provoking players, I silently closed the chat window.

Night shrouded the dark forest. Bioluminescent lights danced through the branches.

The clear river mirrored the moon’s glow. Stars painted constellations overhead.

I moved through the trees, hunting prey.

The red dot on my map marked the target. No stealth needed—I walked openly.

"Bro, this mob’s mine! I’ve nearly killed it. Go farm elsewhere."

"Hmph."

No reply. My sword struck him.

-55

Warriors really had thick HP.

"What are you doing!" he yelled, panicking while blocking the mob.

"Revenge. Weren’t you happily insulting us earlier?"

"It’s you! How’d you find me?"

Another sword strike. His HP bar dropped to one-tenth.

"I’m sorry! I was wrong! Big bro, I was just following the crowd! Don’t kill me—I’m about to level up! Dying sets me back hours!"

"Idiot."

My blade fell mercilessly, clearing his remaining HP after he blocked a mob hit. Under my Level 9 Curse, his gear exploded onto the ground.

Chat bubbles erupted beside his corpse, spewing curses. I just smiled.

Sidestepping a bear’s swipe, I circled behind it. Spectral Slash. Moon Dance Flash. I whittled its HP. A final Ghost Slash ended it.

Crouching by the warrior’s corpse, I watched silently.

"Only dropped a purple ring. You’re lucky."

"Just wait! I’ll kill you dozens of times after respawn!"

"Oh, I’m so scared."

Standing, I smiled as I "excavated" his corpse.

"System: Excavated 100 gold."

"System: Excavated a refined ring."

"System: Excavated a sharp greatsword."

...

"Stop! Damn it, stop!"

"Stop! Don’t continue! Please, big bro—I was wrong! I really was! Don’t excavate anymore! Gear’s hard to get! I’m begging on my knees! Please stop!"

"You know you were wrong."

My luck was bad—only average loot—but sheer excavations stripped him bare before his corpse vanished. Seeing the warrior left in just his underwear was hilarious.

"Knowing won’t help. I’m keeping the gear. Cry all you want, kid. Next time you provoke me, it’ll be worse."

As I left, heart-wrenching wails echoed through the forest.

In one night, I hunted twenty-four players. World chat fell silent.

Solo players were truly terrified—not of dying, but of losing gear. Guild-backed ones were bolder but still harmless. Most keyboard warriors were solos anyway.

Sitting in the grass, I checked my excavated loot. All blue and purple gear—no higher tier. What a shame.

The forum was in chaos. Players asked why "Excavate" could dig player corpses, calling it a bug.

I just smiled.

"Excavate" was an innate life skill—every player had it.

But it had ten levels. No shortcuts; only digging corpses and minerals leveled it.

Levels 1-3: dig meat and ore. 4-6: dig hides and advanced ore. 7-9: dig beast crystals and crystal ore. Level 10: dig player gear.

Who designed this skill? Who else?

My level trailed far behind the Guild Leader’s and Alicia’s because I’d spent half a month grinding "Excavate."