Black Online-Chapter 178: Player Hunter

The Harbormaster left after he finished collecting the fees and registered Fang Raon and Machary as visitors.

"Shall we head out to the city?"

Machary asked.

"From where?"

Fang Raon asked.

"It does look like everyone is heading off those stairs over there. I guess we’ll just follow everybody else."

Machary pointed to the distance.

There, a flight of stairs led up to a door that seemed to lead somewhere, but they then noticed a sign above the door.

[Atlas City - This Way]

"Let’s go."

They went to the door, stepped through, and then walked down a corridor that just kept stretching and stretching.

After a while.

The people ahead of them finally reached the end of the corridor—another door was at the end—and they just stepped through.

For a moment, Fang Raon and Machary heard the bustling of the city when the door was open, but when it closed, it turned quiet again.

In that moment.

They reached the door, opened it, and stepped out.

"This is the... Atlas City?"

Fang Raon whispered.

They were standing on a narrow street—Grow Bottom was the place’s name—and people that seemed to be from many different worlds passed by.

Ragged and rich alike, but mostly poor ones, with holes in their clothes and wearied faces—begging for money or food on the side.

The richfolk ignored them.

Atlas City had always been separated into four categories of people—richfolk, playerfolk, mediumfolk, and poorfolk—and they were all also treated differently.

"Shut the hell up, you piss of shit!"

A young master of some rich family kicked down the beggar’s cup of coins—who kept pestering him about money—and his friends joined in to mock the beggar.

"Rickson, don’t run away!"

In that moment, a mother ran after her son—her son snatched the beggar’s cup—and was just laughing.

"My cup..."

The beggar whispered.

With an ugly look, the mother dragged her son away from the dirty beggar and also threw the cup away—worried that it might have some disease.

"What nice people."

Machary wryly smiled.

"...Not that different from the real world."

Fang Raon said, and wondered how the streets were so well-lit, and saw some street lamps lining up the streets.

One was right next to him.

He then saw some lamplighters in the distance, lighting up the lamps and heading off to their next destination.

"Where should we go?"

Machary asked.

"You’re the expert of Atlas City. I expected you to know some place where we can go."

Fang Raon said.

"Hmm... I know Atlas City is basically separated into four sections, and this one is called Grow Bottom—where poorfolk reside.

"Mediumfolk reside over at Stormmarket. Richfolk reside in Highgarden. And then, playerfolk reside over at Shadow District.

"I guess we can go to Shadow District."

Machary said.

Fang Raon nodded and let him take the lead, but even Machary didn’t know where it was, so he kept asking directions.

The difference between the places was significant.

Grow Bottom was a dirty place with narrow streets, unmaintained buildings, and cracked roads that were not safe to walk on.

Homeless tents were scattered everywhere, and the smell of sewage lingered in the air. Poorfolk were living anywhere with shelter—even under cardboard boxes.

Stormmarket was different. It was a clean and well-maintained area with wide streets, modern buildings, and smooth roads.

There were so many restaurants and shops that one could find literally anything in there.

It was where mediumfolk lived at.

Mediumfolk were people that were neither rich nor poor—just average in terms of wealth, but people looked happy there.

Average wealth was good enough in Atlas City, and some families had over ten children as a result—because it was possible to raise that many children comfortably with an average income.

Highgarden was where richfolk lived. Clean streets, beautiful women and handsome men walking hand-in-hand on the streets, and buildings looking pure white.

There were even flower boxes in the windows, streetside gardens, and parks with fountains that sang in the sunlight.

Unlike other places, Highgarden was strictly restricted to richfolk. It had gates guarded by armed men, who only allowed those with the proper credentials to enter.

And lastly.

Shadow District was a strange place, as it was a mix of Stormmarket and Highgarden—it was a place gifted to players.

The rulers of Atlas City knew that players were different from locals such as them, and since the player base was growing rapidly in the city, they needed a place to locate them at.

Thus.

They gave a little bit of territory from both Highgarden and Stormmarket—then called it Shadow District—and gave players complete control over the territory.

"Huh? This is the place, right?"

Machary asked. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

They had arrived at Shadow District already, but there was something strange going on, as the streets were empty.

"...Has everyone logged off already?"

Fang Raon asked.

"I don’t think so. There are a lot of players that play very late. I’ve also heard that Atlas City has a huge player base.

"It’s strange for it to be so... quiet."

Machary frowned.

They kept walking, trying to find anyone, and they saw that most of the buildings had closed curtains even.

"Maybe someone is there."

Fang Raon pointed at the tavern, which was at the corner of a crossroad, and went there with Machary.

They stepped through the door, but the tavern was also empty, but it also seemed like there were people here recently.

There were still beer mugs on the tables, and the fireplace was still warm.

"Hello, is everyone here?"

Machary asked.

No one answered back except the chilly wind.

It was rather windy because they were, after all, at the ocean, even though it didn’t feel like it since they were on this massive ship.

The ground below their feet was also extremely stable, as if they were standing on proper land.

"Hello?"

Fang Raon spoke.

It was really quiet.

Bang!

In that moment.

A basement door slammed open, and a disheveled-looking old man angrily looked at the two, grabbed their arms, and pulled them towards the basement.

"You morons!"

He dragged them in and slammed the basement door shut.

"The hell?!"

Machary pulled out his katana and pointed it at the old man, who just scoffed at the sight of the sword.

"Put that away, you little shit."

The old man growled.

"What the hell are you doing pulling us over here like that?"

Machary asked with a frown.

"You two are so clueless that it makes my head fucking hurt. You almost killed us all, you dumbfucks!"

The old man stomped down the stairs to the basement, and they followed behind him—they then saw something shocking.

There were about a dozen people hiding there—they were trying to be as quiet as possible—some even covered their mouths with their hands to quieten their breathing.

’What is going on over here?’

Fang Raon frowned.

All of them were players.

The old man went to sit down on a barrel—right next to his wife and daughter—who were also players such as him.

This tavern was their family business, and it made more money for them than any real-life job would.

"Can someone explain to me what the hell is going on?"

Machary said.

Everyone glared at him and put their fingers to their lips and "shh’d" him.

"Come..."

The old man motioned for the two young men, and they walked over to them.

"Player Hunter is out there..."

The old man said with a serious expression.

"...Player Hunter? What the hell is that?"

Machary asked.

He had changed his tone into a whisper, since nobody wanted to make much noise, and neither did he now.

"You clueless morons..."

The old man rubbed his forehead and then said.

"Kerr Gehram... Does that name ring a bell?"

Machary’s expression turned serious as he obviously recognized the name.

"Judging by your look, it looks like you at least know him..."

The old man scoffed.

It was someone that Fang Raon didn’t know, but it sounded like he was someone dangerous, so he kept listening.

"He is known as Player Hunter... a nickname given to him because of his hobby of hunting down players and killing them... Instead of trying to increase his percentage like others—fighting monsters.

"He fights players instead... and he never buys new weapons, always using what he loots from his victims."

The old man said.

"...Are you saying that he is here?"

Machary asked.

"Mmh... He arrived just a couple hours ago... Why do you think that the streets are so empty? Everyone that could have already logged off!"

The old man said.

"Isn’t this place Safe Zone? He can’t do anything in here."

Fang Raon said.

"You are definitely new here... Shadow District has no Safe Zone. Only Grow Bottom, Stormmarket, and Highgarden has...

"We’ve been thinking about trying to run over to Stormmarket, but it’s risky, as we can get discovered by him."

The old man said.

"Can’t you log off?"

Machary asked.

"...Kerr Gehram has already engulfed the entire Shadow District in a Combat Zone. It’s something only the strong ones can do...

"Strong ones, just like Kerr Gehram, can control their Combat Zone—the size, et cetera—and he has already trapped us inside it."

The old man said with a serious look.

"..."

Machary and Fang Raon looked very serious.

In that moment...

BANG!

They all heard the sound of the tavern’s front door slamming open, and they heard the creaking of wooden floor above them.

Someone entered the tavern.