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Liu Ye couldn't even reach his opponent when his chest exploded with pain. He slowly looked down and saw a sharp ice shard pierced deep into his chest before his body split apart into white pixels. 

The city disappeared from his view and he appeared back in the lobby with multiple screens in front of him. 

[You died. Waiting for the respawn.]

[00:00:59]

Giant red words on the screens reminded him of his failure while restricting his login for a whole one minute. 

"Ouch…" Liu Ye muttered while rubbing his chest. Even though the pain was already gone, his brain could still feel the burden. 

Never again. 

Dying in the game seemed like a pretty uncomfortable experience but at least he had it behind him. Liu Ye now knew it was best to avoid dying at all cost and provoking a massive gang of thieves would most likely lead to his death. 

He quickly opened his profile to check what he lost and was surprised at his luck. 

[Ding! You have died and received a Standard Death Penalty.] 

[Standard Death Penalty] 

[Description: Players will lose the Experience gained in their current level after death. They will also drop their first item at a 75% rate and 25% less for each following item. This rate could be lowered or increased based on the Player's or opponent's Luck value.]

[Experience lost: 12,600]

[Items lost: 100x Small Mana Potions] 

[Note: If a Player dies while having 0 Experience, they will drop down a level and lose half of their Experience. This drop is limited to 1 level per day and is separate to the Death Penalty from the special zones.]

"So lucky, tsk," Liu Ye clicked with his tongue, not really pained at the loss of one stack of Small Mana Potions. "I guess I need to invest in more Luck next time I level up." 

[Name: Grind God]

[Level: 16] [SP: 0]

[Exp: 0/26,000]

Although he lost a whole half a level of experience, it was to be expected. The game gave out so much experience that it had to punish players for dying. He wouldn't be surprised if dying was very common in the later stages of the game. 

Looking at his new items though, Liu Ye could only sigh at the high requirements. He was immediately convinced he wouldn't be keeping any of the weapons for himself. 

[Thunder Sword] [Locked] 

[Description: A well-made sword equipped with a rare Thunder Essence Crystal. It uses Mana to cover the blade with lightning that can shock the opponents upon striking. It can also activate an ability called Thunder Strike, shooting a lightning bolt from a long distance.] 

[Damage: 100]

[Effects: Passive Shock which paralyzes the opponent for 3 seconds. It cannot be used on the same opponent more than thrice in the span of one minute.]

[Ability: Thunder Strike - 1000 damage.]

[Requirements: Lvl. 50, Firebending, 25 Intelligence, 15 Wisdom.] 

[Cost: 3 MP per second and 50 MP for each Ability usage.]

[Ability Cooldown: 30 seconds.]

The shock effect was interesting but it didn't seem that overpowered and the requirements only disappointed Liu Ye further. He already thought of adding some points to his Wisdom stat in order to use the accessory items but adding 15 points was just a waste of Skill Points. 

Knowing the system, mastering high-tier Abilities would bring him more benefits. The weapons looked like a possible choice for the Players without any potential who also wanted to enjoy the power of multiple Elements. 

[Note: Using Elemental Weapons will not increase your Elemental Mastery.]

The note at the end of each weapon only made him close his inventory quicker. He basically exchanged those items for being hunted by high-ranked Gang Members so Liu Ye at least hoped to get some money out of it. 

Ding!

Just as he thought how much he could extort the rich players, the timer ended and he didn't hesitate to login back in the game. To his surprise, he appeared back in the Teleportation Station on one of the unused platforms. Thankfully he wasn't charged for arriving in the Emerald City once again.

'Alright, now that I died once, this chick should think I'm dead so I should be left alone,' Liu Ye thought as he headed out towards the Bank once again. Even if they still remember me, I will simply leave Emerald City after completing the quest and enjoy the other parts of the Mainland. They shouldn't hunt me down everywher—" 

[Ding! Black Panther has used a Bounty Tag on your head worth 1000 gold. If you die from a bounty hunter, you will lose two levels and your whole inventory will drop. If you wish to cancel the Bounty Tag, visit the Mercenary Guild to pay a 1000 gold removal fee.] 

"What the fuck?"

———

"What the fuck?"

Both Liu Ye and Xu Yue cursed at the same time at the sight of the Bounty Tag. In Xu Yue's case, it wasn't a notification but rather a physical bounty picture hanging on the wall of the Mercenary Guild. Just as she finished collecting her Quests, the staff member hung the poster behind the counter. 

[Wanted List]

[Grind God - Lvl. 16]

[Bounty: 1000 gold]

[Last seen: Emerald City] 

How the fuck did he advance 5 levels so fast and even get himself a bounty on his head? She just checked a few minutes ago and he was still level 11. 

"Oh my god! Everyone, look at the bounty! It's Grind God!" 

Xu Yue didn't have time to think how, realizing other players noticed it as well. Before they even made efforts to take on the bounty, she stepped forward and announced without shame, "Anyone who takes on this bounty will become the enemy of Red Dragon Guild!" 

She immediately gathered all the attention on her and she continued, "Grind God is one of my Guild's core members! Doesn't matter how high the bounty is, anyone who dares hunting him will be hunted back by my Guild until they drop back to level 1." 

The coldness in her voice caused many to shiver. Even though 1000 gold was tempting, they wouldn't want to risk being hunted down by the entire guild. 

Not everyone was scared though. 

"I would like to take this bounty."

One of the black leathers approached the counter and requested boldly. He received a token from the official before turning around to everyone. "Why are you all scared of her? Do you really think they can focus on hunting down every single player? There will be at least a million players who will take on this Bounty if not more. It is a lost cause for them so you shouldn't fear her."

The player's eyes shone and they ignored Xu Yue as they took the bounty as well. Xu Yue frowned deeply and broke through the queue herself. 

"Let me take the bounty as well!" 

Her request caused everyone to freeze, not expecting such a move. She only snickered as she walked out casually.

"If anyone is going to get the bounty of my Guild Member, it's going to be the Guild Master." 

Her announcement only made everyone sigh. How could they compete with her when she could simply message her to meet up with her. No matter who placed the bounty, it was worth dying for 1000 gold. 

It seemed like the target had also thought the same. 

[Grind God: Get the Bounty Quest.]

Liu Ye messaged her right as Xu Yue left the Mercenary Guild. 

[Queen of Chess: I already did. Who did you anger to get one though? What happened?] 

[Grind God: It's complicated. I basically killed a level 65 Gang Member and now the whole Gang is after me. I think I'm good tho.] 

Xu Yue's eyes widened as she reread the level. Her body couldn't help but warm up inside at the thought of having such a capable man. She wanted nothing but to jump on him and drown him in kisses. 

[Queen of Chess: Do you want to meet up so I can kill you? It's 1000 gold, you know.] 

[Grind God: No? I only told you to get the Quest just in case. It's just 1000 gold. It's not worth it. Look at the Marketplace in a second. I will talk to you later.] 

'Marketplace?' Xu Yue wondered confused and quickly opened her profile. 

The Marketplace Tab was still empty but after a moment, new items began popping up. 

[1. Lvl. 50 Thunder Sword - Grind God - 10,000 gold] 

[2. Lvl. 50 Fire Whip - Grind God - 9500 gold]

...

[10. Lvl. 50 Flaming Scimitar - Grind God - 5000 gold]

Just like her, other players also saw the items and began freaking out. 

"Everyone, check the Marketplace! This Grind God is a monster!"

Xu Yue found it hard to resist a smile and simply walked away while laughing to herself. 

'Hah, let's see whoever dares to hunt him now!' 

Her arm buzzed at the same time and she checked it with pursed lips. She expected Liu Ye and was readying her praises yet it turned out to be Zhenzhen. 

[Little Bunny: Big Sis! I can't kill anything. How do I level up?]