MMORPG: I was BUGGED-Chapter 254: Skeleton’s War

Fighting Bunny’s face lit up, and she immediately took the offered seat. "Thank you! Don’t mind if I do."

After she settled in, an awkward stillness filled the air while Xin pretended to gaze out the window.

The horizon looked peaceful today, he thought.

"You’re a swordsman, right? Top fifty solo player."

". . ." Xin should have researched John’s ranks, but all he could do was gave a weak nod.

Fighting Bunny nodded thoughtfully in acknowledgment. "I don’t know what it feels like to be a solo player. Lots of freedom, I think."

She then sighed heavily. "Unlike in a guild where you’re cooped up all day doing paperwork, that’s supposed to be the leader’s job."

"You’re the vice-leader?"

Fighting Bunny sighed wryly. "No. She’s not here right now because of personal reasons. But . . . she’s worse than the leader." Her face turned sour. "She never showed up in guild matters, and I only saw her one time. One time! I even forgot how she looks nowadays."

"Really? I guess you have it rough."

Fighting Bunny drank some tea while silently lamenting inside. "Honestly, if not for me, the guild would have crumbled years ago. The amount they’re paying isn’t enough for all the trouble I’ve been through."

"I . . . see . . ." Xin didn’t know what to say to comfort her. He guessed that every guild had its problems.

Fighting Bunny’s demeanor then changed, and she laughed, her long pink hair bouncing as she did. "Sorry, look at me complaining about my guild to outsiders. I shouldn’t have done that, but I guess I’m so stressed lately that I just blurted it all out."

"Ah . . . no problem."

She then bowed her head. "Please forget what you heard." and clapped her hands together in a prayer. "Please don’t tell anyone."

"Sure."

She laughed a little and changed the topic. "Anyway, don’t let my no position fool you. Even if I’m not the leader or vice-leader and have been staying in the guild to do paperwork, I’m strong.

"Despite its poor management inside, Phoenix Rising doesn’t slack when it comes to its selection of players. There’s also the fact that even though our leader and vice-leader aren’t always in the guild, they bring a lot of rare materials and equipment because they’re always adventuring in the game."

Xin noted that she was talkative.

"There’s also the fact that there are a lot of big investors, so . . ." Fighting Bunny continued, and beamed. "I guess the guild won’t close anytime soon even without those two leaders."

"Good to know."

Fighting Bunny’s smile dropped, and she looked at John. "You’re not a talker, huh?"

A sweat slid down Xin’s face. ". . ."

She then grinned knowingly. "Or maybe you don’t know how to socialize with women? You won’t be popular being that quiet guy, you know," she teased.

". . ." Xin could only offer a wry smile.

Fighting Bunny was about to say something when she noticed someone entering the restaurant. She immediately stood up and waved at the girls who entered.

"Hey, Lily! Amanda! Here!"

The girls approached their table, and Fighting Bunny introduced Xin to the others.

Before long, Xin found himself squeezed by one girl after another. He felt like he was the one crashing their group, left out when Fighting Bunny no longer talked with him and chatted with her friends.

Deciding to leave, he took his food to go and waited for Hilda outside the restaurant.

"I’ll be going on ahead," Xin said his goodbyes, but the women were only talking to themselves and laughing as if he didn’t exist.

Xin then left the restaurant after getting his order.

That night, Xin and Hilda hatched their plan for the next victim. They decided to wait until the following day when everyone would be occupied with the battle.

At this point, players could still log out and attend to their daily necessities.

There was a window of time each day during which they could log out — mostly after the battle concluded and during the nighttime.

======= 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The next day, everyone gathered on top of the castle battlement, enjoying a panoramic view of the field.

The four leaders — Ragnarok Reaper, Doom Harbinger, Fury, and Eclipse — stood in the field, anticipating the appearance of the skeleton swarms.

Among the leaders, Eclipse was the one Xin hadn’t noticed before. Wrapped in bondage-like attire resembling a mummy, only his eyes were visible. He wore minimal armor, strategically covering the most critical parts of his body.

If Xin wasn’t mistaken, Eclipse was a Venomancer. He had initially been an assassin before discovering a rare book that evolved his class into a Venomancer.

Xin then shifted his attention in the town.

The once lively town now stood in stark contrast to the bustling atmosphere of the previous day. The shops that had adorned the streets were now tightly closed, their vibrant signs serving as silent witnesses to the sudden shift in the town’s mood.

Deserted streets painted a haunting picture of abandonment as the residents huddled within the confines of their homes.

The air, once filled with the hum of activity and the laughter of townsfolk, had now grown tense and heavy. A sense of foreboding hung in the atmosphere, casting an eerie pallor over the town.

The sky, once a canvas of endless possibilities, now mirrored the town’s desolation with its gloomy overcast, devoid of the warmth and brilliance of the previous day.

Amidst this somber scene, Xin’s gaze shifted toward the field where the four leaders stood. Unlike the town’s subdued ambiance, the leaders exuded an air of confidence and calm.

Their demeanor was surprisingly casual, with light-hearted banter and playful teasing exchanged among them.

They even engaged in a friendly bet, wagering on who would claim the highest number of skeleton kills.

Despite the considerable distance separating Xin from them, he strained to catch their words, only managing to grasp snippets of their conversation.

The miracle of hearing them from hundreds of meters away puzzled Xin, and he wondered if his unique class as a cat contributed to this enhanced auditory ability.

There was also the fact that upon conquering the Abandon Fortress, Xin’s level skyrocketed to over seventy and his passives grew with him.

The potential gain could have been even higher, but the group dynamic meant that the system had to distribute the experience points among them.

Xin then shifted his attention on the battlefield. This marked the first time Xin would witness the leaders in action up close.

As the tension in the air thickened, Xin couldn’t help but wonder how these figures would fare against the impending onslaught of the skeleton swarms.

As the clock on the horizon struck zero, a resounding bell echoed through the air, signaling the start of the battle.

Xin fixed his gaze on the field when, seemingly out of thin air, skeletons materialized one after another, wielding a variety of weapons.

Before long, all that met his eyes were an overwhelming sea of bones, extending endlessly across the field.