The Boss Behind The Game

Blue Valley Ruins, Land of Naraka.

This land that had once nurtured the highly civilized and advanced Blue Valley Clan had lost its previous luster.

In this vast modernized city, most of the buildings were overgrown with vines and moss, while bloodthirsty beasts roamed the streets. It truly resembled a ghost town in some sci-fi movie.

In the Land of Naraka, the dominance of a clan was never permanent. Nobody could guarantee that their clan would stand forever in such a harsh environment. So, they had to kill and loot endlessly. At the same time, they must bulk themselves up to wipe out all other forces that could be a threat to them.

These were the central themes of Naraka, the harshest environment of all the realms in the Underworld. Brutal power is truth and the right to speak to the outer world.

From the rooftop of an abandoned high-rise building, a silver Dream Eater glimmered ominously in the fading sunlight.

Wind speed of 12 feet per second, from east to west. It was a wind of middling speed, blowing at a positive angle…

After adjusting the angle, Emily’s sights immediately exceeded 1500 yards through her sniper scope.

In her sights, a silverback gorilla in broken armor was tearing up its prey and ferociously consuming it, as blood splattered everywhere.

[Silverback Demon Gorilla (Fledgling Ghost Commander)]:

Creature Details: A byproduct of accidental exposure to the Blue Valley Clan’s radioactive substance, this silverback gorilla’s body cells have mutated, altering its genetic sequence to give it extreme physical strength and defensive power.

Creature Status: Micro-growth. Its body constantly regenerates, thus, it needs a large amount of food for sustenance.

Bang!

The sound of a gunshot broke the still air. A bullet spun out of the barrel and arched toward the gorilla’s head, under the influence of wind speed and gravity.

Splat! The shot landed precisely on the forehead, causing it to tumble backward, almost falling to the ground.

Provoked, the silverback gorilla growled in anger. It turned around and scanned its surroundings furiously with its eyes.

This was the first time she had encountered a Ghost Commander. Emily was stunned by its resilience.

So far, this creature had demonstrated the strongest resilience amongst all the others she had encountered. It was still moving about normally after being shot in a vital spot.

Still, Emily’s expression didn’t change at all. Years of stalking and killing had trained her to keep a steady head.

She adjusted her rifle slightly, before firing another shot.

Bang! The bullet hit the wounded gorilla on the same spot on its forehead. Instantly, the wound collapsed and tore up its skin, and blood started to gush out from the bullet hole. This enraged the beast. It thumped its chest angrily as it looked around for its attacker hidden in the shadows.

Just as Emily was about to fire her third shot, the silverback gorilla turned and fixed its eyes on her, 1500 yards away and all.

Bang!

Again, the shot hit the same spot, and a mist of blood exploded from the silverback gorilla’s forehead.

Growl!

As the silverback gorilla roared, it hopped upward and reached for the roof of a building beside it. It leaped from one building to another, moving at incredible speed toward Emily.

Realizing that she had been discovered, Emily did not panic. She tapped her chest once and an ammo storage cartridge popped out.

She took out three special blue bullets, removed the magazine carefully, and loaded the three special bullets into the slot.

[Armor-Piercing Bullet (Beginner Level Special Ammunition)]:

Item Details: Special ammunition purchased at the shop, 20 soul coins per bullet.

Item Effect 1: Level 1 penetration (Target defense decreased by approximately 10%, maximum value limit 100)

Item Effect 2: Bullet damage increased by 20% (this damage is affected by weapon).

Ka-ching!

Ammo was now locked and loaded. Take aim and fire!

Her shoulder jolted back hard from the rifle’s recoil, as the bullet flew out of the barrel, leaving two vortex trails in its wake.

Bang!

The silverback gorilla was advancing too fast to dodge the shot and was hit directly.

Argh! The creature cried out in pain as it fell to the ground.

This time, Emily had not aimed for its forehead. Instead, she had shot it dead center in its right eye.

The armor-piercing bullet penetrated the silverback gorilla’s right eye, straight into its brain. Milky white brain matter seeped out from its right eye, as it screamed in agony and rolled around the ground in pain.

Unmoved, Emily looked through her scope again, searching for other parts on the creature where she could inflict extensive damage.

She was fully aware of her own dire situation. All her resources had been used up to upgrade her weapons. If these powerful creatures were to get too close, she would not stand a chance. Her only effective strategy was to kill them from a great distance.

Even after losing an eye, the silverback gorilla could still see well. Thus, it remained a danger to her.

Growl! The gorilla roared into the sky, sending a huge shockwave rippling outward, as it flailed about on the ground.

Bang! Another armor-piercing bullet shot into the silverback gorilla’s mouth this time.

Rawr!

This shot had a devastating effect. The silverback gorilla began to vomit blood, spitting out half of its tongue that had been sliced off by the armor-piercing bullet.

She only had one armor-piercing bullet left. Emily’s expression became increasingly somber.

This powerful creature’s endurance was beyond her. Ordinary recharged bullets had no effect on it, so she had to make sure she finished the creature off with this last bullet.

The distance between them was now about 700 yards.

The silverback gorilla seemed to sense her deadly skills in long-range combat. Suddenly, it turned around and flailed its limbs about as it moved backward toward Emily.

Seeing this, Emily pulled out her magazine, swapped her last armor-piercing bullet with charged bullets, and slid the magazine back into her rifle.

Ka-ching! Her rifle was loaded.

Ready, aim, fire!

Bang! This shot hit the back of it’s head and disrupted its balance, causing it to stumble and almost fall.

Emily’s lips curled upward slightly. She adjusted her aim for another shot!

Bang!

The bullet hit the wound on the Silverback gorilla’s forehead again. This time, it penetrated the back of the creature’s head, as it let out a deafening cry.

Gauging the distance with her eye, Emily quickly pulled out her magazine and slid the last armor-piercing bullet into the chamber of her rifle.

Dynamic Vision Device activated!

The mech revved up, as the outline of the silverback gorilla’s movements reflected off Emily’s eyes.

Her last armor-piercing bullet. No mistakes were allowed with this shot!

Bang! The muzzle flared.

The bullet passed through the wound made by the previous four shots, penetrated deep into the silverback gorilla’s brain, and collided with the other armor-piercing bullets that had been shot into its right eye. This intense impact turned the silverback gorilla’s brain into goop.

Now, it was less than 200 yards away from Emily. Five more seconds and it could have a chance to fight back!

However, it crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust as it fell heavily.

[Server Announcement, Player Emily skipped 76 levels and killed a Beginner Ghost Commander level creature, the Silverback Demon Gorilla, activating an exclusive reward: one customized weapon!]

This time, the three main servers went berserk again.

No one expected any player to kill a Ghost Commander Level creature seven days into the server’s launch. And to top that, she skipped 76 levels. This could have been deemed a divine miracle to the older players, since it was an achievement even elite players like Ao Jian had never won.

Forum:

Watermelon_Taro: “How scary is this sniper? I can understand the skip-level creature killing part. Back then, Ao Jian also skipped tons of levels to kill creatures. But this is a freaking 76 level skip. Are you kidding me? (shocked emoji)”

Prince_Charming123 (USA): “Only snipers could be this badass. If other players upgraded their weapons, they wouldn’t even know how they’d die. However, the Rechargeable Mech is the hardest to control among all mechs, and those that have a sniper rifle as their main weapon is even harder. Sniping requires all factors such as light, wind speed, rain, etc., so please don’t choose rashly or you’ll definitely regret it!”

Xueli_The_Strongest: “They used to say assassins kick the most butt, but now things have changed… I’m crying for casual players like us, can the officials please strengthen our kind.”

Assassin_Creed: “Also, no one has learned the Prajñā Scarification at the current stage. If the distance of the Prajñā Scarification is infinite, and I locked the Sniper Legend from 1000 yards away, then her headshot would have been a reverse headshot. In conclusion, assassins are the daddies of all other classes. (laughing emoji)”

Crayon_Shinchan replied to Assassin_Creed: “If Greater Mages had forbidden skills, an epic war between the players would begin, and the world of gaming would be destroyed by this. The expansion packs would be fast-forwarded to the chapter where we rebuild our home. (laughing emoji)”

Junior_Captain_Of_Demolition_Officers: “What the hell are you saying? I say the soldiers’ defenses are the best. No matter if it’s the Prajñā Scarification or forbidden skills, even when the world’s gone, we’ll still be here for eternity. (laughing emoji)”

Jason (Europe): I checked the American server’s current class data. She must’ve used all of her resources to upgrade her weapons. If she were at the same level, I guess one sword would take her out.”

Apocalypse (USA) replied to Jason (Europe): “The problem is, no one can get near her. (begrudging emoji)”

Jason (Europe) replied to Apocalypse (USA): “Put it this way, the American server’s Rechargeable Mech aces in long-range combat. But, then shockwaves from a single missile could kill her if she keeps upgrading her weapons like this.”

Apocalypse (USA) replied to Jason (Europe): “Sounds about right. (Shining eyes emoji)”

Junior_Captain_Of_Demolition_Officers: “I think only the killer couple can match her at the current stage.”

Crayon_Shinchan: “Hu He Demon King: I don’t know what you guys are fighting about. I need a train to house all the ghost commanders I’ve dug up. A beginner level Ghost Commander is not even worth my effort. I’m done. Time to dig for some gods. (laughing emoji)”

…

Five days later, Emily’s performance shook the whole forum again.

Besides admiring her superhuman skills, the topic of whether her extreme style of distributing her resources was right or wrong was hotly debated by the players.

Soon, players who selected the Rechargeable Mech in the American server began to emulate Emily’s strategy of dumping all their resources into upgrading their sniper rifles, trying to skip levels and kill creatures.

Unfortunately for them, they failed tragically.

When they tried to emulate her initially, the forum on the official website was flooded with negative reviews about the Rechargeable Mechs using sniper rifles as the main weapon. Naraka players said that it was the most useless class among the useless classes.

After all, ordinary people would never be able to operate an awesome weapon like a sniper rifle so easily.

After numerous attempts, many players eventually gave up trying to upgrade their sniper rifles. They switched to other weapons that were easier to use such as rechargeable hand grenades and machine guns.

It could be said that skip-level creature killing became an unreplicable legend in the Land of Naraka.

It was then that the players finally realized something.

There were no real useless classes. As long as you were skillful enough, a useless class could become a legend, and even a god!