Riley's hand dropped to his lap as he silently stared at the stunned Taves, who was still holding out his wrist like he couldn't believe it had been struck.
But Riley's mind wasn't in the present—not entirely.
It drifted, to the first time he'd logged into [Apocalypse] in his past life.
He hadn't come with the intention of becoming powerful, or rich, or famous.
No, not at all.
All those dreams had been shattered after he awakened his useless D-Rank Strength Boost talent.
So at the time… he had just wanted to have fun.
To lose himself in a vast, immersive world of fantasy and magic, to play a game where for once, he could escape the dreariness of his real life.
He had smiled when he first woke up in the novice village, wide-eyed and filled with excitement as he explored the game, surprised by how realisatic it was.
Though he was still disappointed by his talent, he didn't give up.
Despite his low Talent, he picked himself up and ventured into one of the nearby forests on the outskirts of the village.
He was weak. Every battle was a struggle. But he pressed on. He fought dirty, used terrain, threw pebbles and dust in monster eyes, rolled under claws, and ran whenever it got too dangerous.
No one wanted to team up with someone as weak as him, so all he had was himself to rely on.
It was in that forest—on his third day—that he'd managed to bring down his first level 2 Dire wolf.
The fight had nearly cost him his life. He'd run out of stamina, his HP had dipped into the red, and his wooden sword had snapped in two.
But the wolf died first.
And when it did, he received a system notification that made his eyes widen with disbelief.
[Item Drop: Dire Wolf Cloak (Uncommon) x1]
He could still remember how his hands had trembled when he picked it up… his first piece of uncommon loot.
It had felt like a turning point. Like maybe, just maybe, he had a future in this game.
But then he met Taves.
He hadn't even made it back to the village gates when he saw them—Taves and his five lackeys, walking along the path like they owned it.
At first, Taves had seemed uninterested.
Until he spotted the cloak hanging on Riley's shoulders.
Then that smug grin spread across his face, the same one he wore even now.
"Nice drop," Taves had said casually. "Hand it over."
Riley had hesitated. He'd tried to explain. Tried to negotiate.
But the laughter that followed cut deeper than any blade.
One of Taves' goons—a man with a broad chin and a heavy axe—stepped forward and snatched the cloak from him, before hacking his head away with the axe.
He didn't even get the chance to run.
The pain overwhelmed him in an instant, his vision went black, and he was forcefully logged out of the game, with a penalty.
When he came back, the cloak was gone.
Taken, without even an explanation for why they took it.
That was the start of it.
It didn't stop with just the cloak.
Every time he started to make progress, every time he acquired something decent or dared to hunt in a better area—Taves would appear. Like a vulture circling a dying man.
He would take. He would laugh. He would kill him.
Over and over and over again.
It was like the universe had scripted Riley's suffering into the very code of the game.
And he had been powerless to stop it.
That repeated humiliation—being robbed, mocked, and killed by someone who didn't even need what he took—had crushed Riley's early progression.
While others leveled up, explored new zones, and joined guilds, Riley remained stuck in the shadows of the Novice Village, struggling to regain what he lost.
Even after the first city was opened, he was far too far behind to compete.
And by the time he finally clawed his way to a respectable level, the power gap had grown insurmountable.
He had failed to catch up.
Until now.
This time, things were different.
This time, he was the one who had gotten a head start.
And this time…
He wouldn't let Taves take anything from him.
Not ever again.
Riley's eyes slowly sharpened as his focus returned to the present.
He was still seated, casual as ever, while Taves stared at his own hand in disbelief.
The same hand Riley had smacked away.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd like rising steam.
"Did he just…?"
"Slap his hand?"
"No way…"
"Is he suicidal? That guy's a Beta player."
"Yeah, can't you see their gear? That guy's already miles ahead of us."
"What's this idiot trying to do?"
They were mostly new players, like Riley had once been. And from the worn leather shirt and cheap boots he wore, he looked just like one of them.
To them, Riley had just signed his death warrant.
Taves's face twisted, and the smirk on his face vanished.
"How dare you slap my hand away?" he said, growling angrily.
He raised his head slowly, the veins in his neck bulging.
"You must really want to die."
He turned his head slightly, gesturing toward his lackeys.
"Seize him," he ordered coldly. "Make sure he learns his place."
The five behind him stepped forward as one, cracking knuckles and loosening weapons from their belts.
One was a dual-dagger user with green highlights in her hair. Another carried a heavy axe that he rested lazily on his shoulder. The others moved with the practiced ease of people who had fought and killed in this game before.
A few players in the crowd gasped, stepping backward. Some even turned and fled outright.
No one wanted to get caught in the crossfire.
But Riley didn't flinch.
Instead, he slowly rose to his feet, brushing imaginary dust from his pants.
The items on the ground flashed and vanished back into his storage ring, as he didn't want any of them to get missing.
His expression remained calm. Cold.
"You still think this is just a game," he said softly, just loud enough for Taves to hear. "That this is still a playground where you can do whatever you want."
Taves narrowed his eyes. "What did you just say?"
Riley ignored him and lifted his hand.
The Whispering Bracelet around his wrist pulsed faintly, and thin silver pulse gently spread around his body.
He had no intention of letting himself be dragged around like some pitiful victim.
Not anymore.
The five players closed in, spreading out to surround him.
One of them, the axe-wielder, stepped forward first.
"You think you're some sort of big shot kid?" he said with a grin. "Don't worry, we'll make sure to teach you a lesson… never to mess with the Noble Lions Guild."
He swung his axe downward in a lazy arc, aiming to slam the flat of it against Riley's shoulder.
But the weapon never reached him.
Riley's body flickered, vanishing in an instant.
The crowd gasped.
"What the—?!"
"Where'd he go!?"
Taves's eyes widened. "He dodged it…?"
Swoosh!
A moment later, two sharp brown spikes shot out, embedding themselves in the man's forehead.
His eyes widened in shock, and his body immediately evaporated in thin particles of light.