Chương 106: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 106 - Fifty — What Was Lost

In the World Plaza. Yamaguchi Mura Chicken sat on a bench next to the restroom, silently waiting out his respawn timer. It wasn't that he didn't want to go inside and watch player streams. The problem was that lying down in there cost Invasion Points. He'd sunk 500 Invasion Points into Mei Magogoko's stream last time, which left him nearly broke. So, this time, he couldn't even afford a cup of instant noodles. What he had in front of him was a small bottle of mineral water and a bag of Weilong spicy strips.

Spicy strips. A specialty of the Celestial Empire. He really, truly did not want to admit it. But Yamaguchi Mura Chicken had to be honest with himself. They were incredible. Why didn't Sakura have food this good? He chewed another strip and felt a pang of genuine national loss. White light kept flashing in the center of the plaza, figures blinking in one after another, milling around in small clusters. The phenomenon had been going on for a while now. Yamaguchi Mura Chicken knew what it meant.

Players from Sakura Island No. 6 Novice Village, respawning.

"The battle was really that intense?"

"I wonder how Gougouzi is holding up..."

"But she hasn't respawned, which means she must still be fighting the Black Dragon! She's definitely still in the thick of it!" He held onto that thought with conviction. Because his Gougouzi-chan was a genius archmage. Scattered voices drifted over from nearby groups:"What? Our novice village got blown up?"

"Respawn permissions transferred to the First Beginner Village? Unbelievable! Our No. 6 Novice Village was clearly superior!"

"It's that evil dragon's fault. It roasted us for so long we all dropped dead."... The more Yamaguchi Mura Chicken listened, the more uneasy he felt. No. 6 Novice Village was gone? What did that even mean? Could novice villages actually be destroyed in this "game"? Their First Beginner Village had been fighting monsters for ages and nothing like that had happened. Just then, two No. 6 Novice Village players walked past. Yamaguchi Mura Chicken put on a smile and called out to them.

"Hello! Could I ask, what you were just saying, what does it mean exactly? And how does it affect the First Beginner Village?" If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The two players were clearly in a foul mood. They had zero interest in answering some stranger's questions. Still — you don't hit a man who's smiling at you. They stopped and gave him a clipped, impatient explanation.

"A Black Dragon flew over our novice village and breathed on it for over two hours straight. That's what happened."

"Every player got wiped at once. All the buildings are gone. The village is gone."

"Now we can only respawn from the First Beginner Village."

"You were defeated? What about Gougouzi?" Yamaguchi Mura Chicken's face tightened. The village didn't matter anymore. He only cared about one thing.

"Hah? You mean that slut? Monsters grabbed her ages ago. Who knows what state she's in now."

"Shame, though. I never got my turn to discuss magic with her. I was supposed to go last time but I drank too much and blacked out, hahaha..." The moment Mei Magogoko came up, both players broke into wide, filthy grins. The one who had already "discussed magic" with her launched into a vivid, enthusiastic account of the experience, punctuating it with little sounds of appreciation. They didn't notice Yamaguchi Mura Chicken's face going red. Then redder. Then shifting toward a dangerous shade of purple.

"Baka! Shut your mouths!"

"You're both talking nonsense! My Gougouzi-chan would never be that kind of woman!" The two players had already been in a bad mood. Being screamed at by some stranger made it considerably worse. They stopped being polite. Everyone in this "game" was an equal player. Nobody owed anybody else a shred of respect.

"Oh? From your tone, sounds like you've got feelings for Mei Magogoko." The player's smirk turned sharp.

"So tell me — do you know how many players she discusses magic with in a single night?" He raised his hand and held up five fingers.

"Fifty." A pause.

"Have you ever discussed magic with her?" He looked Yamaguchi Mura Chicken up and down, eyes narrowing in recognition.

"Oh. You're a new face. First Beginner Village, right? ID — Yamaguchi Mura Chicken?" Something clicked in the player's expression. He broke into a slow, mocking smile and looked at Yamaguchi Mura Chicken with something almost like pity.

"You know, that day when Mei Magogoko was mid-stream, she suddenly told everyone to stop. We all asked her why."

"Want to guess what she said?" Yamaguchi Mura Chicken's face had gone white. His lips were trembling. His fists were clenched so tight his knuckles had turned bloodless.

"She said some waste spent five hundred Invasion Points to enter her stream room just to talk to her for a bit. And that such a small, sad little request still deserved to be honored."

"Something-Mura Chicken, she called him." The player leaned in close. Face to face. His voice dropped into a slow, poisonous drawl.

"That waste wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"

"Tsk. How pitiful."

"AH! Baka, you're dead, you're DEAD! I'LL KILL YOU!" Yamaguchi Mura Chicken snapped. His eyes went bloodshot. He lunged at the No. 6 player with everything he had, teeth bared, fingers clawing, going straight for the throat. His level was roughly equal to theirs, and whatever edge his gear gave him got cancelled out by the World Plaza's stat suppression. He was beaten to the ground almost immediately. The two players weren't holding back. They were going for the kill.

Then a cold electronic chime rang out across the plaza. [WARNING: ID Yamaguchi Mura Chicken, ID Mutaku Yoshiro, ID Matsuoka Kazuo] [Fighting is prohibited within the World Plaza.] [First offense: warning only. The initiating party must compensate the attacked party in Invasion Points for injury recovery. If the attacked party is killed, the attacker will be deducted 500, 000 Invasion Points as punishment. If Invasion Points are insufficient, elimination.]"Tch. Stupid rules."

Mutaku Yoshiro stomped on Yamaguchi Mura Chicken's face twice, then paid the mandatory medical fee with extreme reluctance.

"Yoshiro-kun, let's go. Respawn time's up."

"One second." Mutaku Yoshiro crouched down and grabbed Yamaguchi Mura Chicken by the hair. He tilted the bruised, swollen face toward him and studied it with quiet satisfaction.

"Waste." He spat. A thick glob of phlegm landed square on Yamaguchi Mura Chicken's face. Then Mutaku Yoshiro stood, turned, and walked away without looking back. Leaving Yamaguchi Mura Chicken alone. Head down. Crumpled in the corner.

"Gougouzi... sob... my Gougouzi-chan..."

"You lied to me... you deceived me..."

"Then I can only... I can only die with you, hehe... hehehe... hahahaha..." The laughter that came out of that corner wasn't right. Players passing nearby heard it and stopped. Every single one of them felt the same involuntary chill crawl up their spine. They walked faster. ➤ Next: Negotiation — Face to Face