Rhys raised his hand, watching the newcomers warily.
It was a three-person squad — a classic Warrior, Mage, and Cleric setup.
Judging by their gear, they had likely completed the newbie starter quests and obtained the standard adventurer sets before venturing out to hunt Fiends.
"We mean no harm."
The lead Warrior waved his hand casually and looked at Rhys. He spoke slowly, "Brother, you here to grind and level up too? Why don't we team up?"
Rhys studied them for a moment, then shook his head.
Outside the safe zones in The Epoch of Endings, PvP was enabled and mandatory — no option to turn it off, no warning signs.
If these three decided to stab Rhys in the back while he wasn't paying attention, they could do so at any time.
Though most players were kind-hearted right after the game launched and wouldn't resort to backstabbing, it was wise to stay cautious.
Rhys didn't need a team to kill monsters, so naturally, he declined politely.
The Warrior wasn't offended; he just smiled innocently. "Alright then, won't bother you."
He stepped aside, signaling Rhys to move on. Rhys nodded slightly and passed by the Warrior.
It was an extremely dangerous proximity — a Mage's body was too fragile, and letting a melee class get close was risky.
But Rhys's eyes flicked toward all three of them, and with his reflexes, if they had any ill intent, he could easily turn the tables and kill them instead.
Fortunately, the trio made no reckless moves, so Rhys calmly turned and left.
After a moment's thought, he glanced back and softly warned, "The Slimes in this game aren't like the ones in other games.
The cost of death here isn't something you can take lightly."
...
After Rhys left, the Cleric stuck out his tongue and muttered with some annoyance, "Jack, that guy was so full of himself."
"Slimes aren't as easy to mess with as in other games? Please. He's just a Mage without gear, and he killed one with a single Fireball. How strong can he be?"
"We have a Mage too, and three people at that. There's no way we're weaker than him."
Jack, the Warrior, gave an awkward smile and said nothing.
Instead, the Mage nearby spoke up first.
"Yeah, and what's with that 'death cost isn't something you can easily bear' talk? It just cuts your lifespan in half. They're not gonna take our real lives too, right?"
The Cleric chuckled, looking visibly more relaxed.
"But this game is actually pretty realistic. Feels like it's gonna blow up. We better level up fast — maybe we can become big shots someday."
The Warrior nodded slightly but didn't say much.
He cautiously moved forward and lured a Slime over, bringing it close to the other two.
"Jack, what are you doing? It's just one Slime. Do you have to be so cautious?"
The Mage picked up his staff and spoke with some annoyance.
Warrior Jack gave an honest smile. "It's a new game launch, gotta check what kind of monster this is. Dying would be a real hassle."
"If it's not strong, we can just pull a few more."
Though he was complaining, the Mage's movements didn't slow down.
With a wave of his staff, a huge fireball shot out from its tip, hitting the Slime right in front of them.
[You dealt 10 points of fire damage to the Slime.]
The system notification appeared before the Mage's eyes.
The Slime had 50 HP in total. This fireball only took off one-fifth of its health — not a fatal blow at all. Instead, it stirred up its aggression.
The Slime's bright blue body instantly turned blood-red. It leapt high and crashed down toward the lead Warrior.
Though it had no taunt skills, the Slime, as a low-level Fiend, couldn't distinguish who the biggest threat was — it simply attacked the closest enemy instinctively.
"Bring it on!"
Warrior Jack raised his one-handed shield and braced himself. The Slime wasn't very fast; he could definitely react in time. If he could just block this hit...
"Bang!"
A dull impact sounded in their ears. In the trio's view, they saw clearly that the Warrior's health dropped visibly, plummeting dramatically.
[The Slime dealt 70 points of physical damage to you.]
Seventy points!
This terrifying number made them all gasp sharply.
The Warrior's constitution was 8, giving him a total of 80 HP. This single strike almost wiped out his entire health bar!
And that was because he was a Warrior with naturally high constitution, wielding a shield that reduced damage — only then could he barely withstand a Common attack from the Slime.
If it had been anyone else, they would have been instantly killed.
"No way!"
That thought instantly popped into all three minds.
What kind of joke was this? This was just a Common low-level monster outside, yet it had such terrifying attack power?
Then why was that guy just now wandering so casually among the Slimes, even massacring many of them with ease?
Only now did the three realize that Rhys's words weren't just boasting — they were genuine warnings.
But realizing this now was already too late.
The Cleric's basic healing spell could only restore 10 HP at a time, which was just a drop in the bucket compared to the 70 HP the Warrior lost.
The Mage's Fireball also took time to cast. Even after three consecutive fireballs, the Slime was still alive, while Warrior Jack had been backed into a corner and could no longer avoid the Slime's attacks.
[The Slime dealt 70 points of physical damage to you.]
[You have died!]
After the second Common attack, the Warrior was even left owing the Slime half his health bar.
His death signaled the total annihilation of this fragile little squad.
After all, with the Mage's and Cleric's base agility, there was no chance at all to dodge the Slime's attacks.
The Mage and Cleric died one after another, and a black orb emerged from their bodies, sinking into the Slime. The Slime hopped twice, fully satisfied, then gurgled and rolled back into its nest.
On the other side, the three who respawned at the revival point looked pale immediately. They could clearly feel a wave of weakness flowing through their bodies, as if some part of their essence had been drained away by death.
The Cleric spoke in panic, "If that person was right, the Slime really is strong. Does that mean the cost of death... is really..."
He didn't finish the sentence, but the other two knew exactly what he meant.
The three looked at each other, seeing something unspoken in one another's eyes. They deeply regretted not listening to Rhys. After swallowing nervously, they all logged off simultaneously, quitting this deadly game.
...
Rhys returned to the town.
He warned the three about the dangers of the game out of pure kindness. If they didn't listen, it didn't matter to him. He had done what he could. The fate of others was no longer his concern.
Opening his system inventory panel, Rhys immediately saw a stack of 23 black orbs placed in the first slot of his backpack.
These were Slime drops, matching the exact number of Slimes he had killed—twenty-three.
The drop system in The Epoch of Endings was simple: winner takes all. Regardless of how much damage others dealt, only the player who landed the killing blow received all the loot—in this case, these black orbs.
However, these orbs were tradable; only by crushing them could he claim the loot inside.
Rhys had no intention of trading the Slime drops. He summoned them to his hand and casually crushed one.
[You obtained Chronocoin x3]
The first Slime's drop was simple—just Chronocoins. These were basic drops every Fiend carried and represented the "lifespan" players possessed.
One Chronocoin could be exchanged for one day of lifespan, but that didn't mean Chronocoins equaled lifespan exactly. After all, lifespan couldn't be converted back into Chronocoins. In this game, everything required time consumption, making Chronocoins exceedingly precious.
Rhys continued opening the Slime drops.
[You obtained Chronocoin x4]
[You obtained Chronocoin x3]
...
For twenty orbs straight, nothing special dropped; Chronocoin amounts fluctuated between 2 and 4. Rhys was undeterred—low drop rates were expected from such low-level Fiends as Slimes.
Until the twenty-first orb, when the system prompt suddenly changed. Seeing the notification, Rhys's eyes brightened slightly.
"It's here!"