God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 232: Episode _A Hero is Made in Turbulent Times (4)

Chapter 232: Episode 232_A Hero is Made in Turbulent Times (4)

5.

The video spread quickly. Not at first, of course. The player from the Kaini Guild was only level 40. To new players, he was an object of envy and a savior, but among the entire player base, he was just another common user, his rank too low to even find on the leaderboards. He wasn’t a streamer, nor did he have a subscriber base. His guild received the video, but they only told him to refrain from posting it to protect the guild’s image.

It was understandable. A level 40 player getting his neck bitten and killed by a rabbit? And he was the one who had stepped up to show a crowd of new players how to hunt them. What utter humiliation. The news had already spread enough among those in the Kaini Guild’s region. They couldn’t let him become a laughingstock across the entire continent.

So, the player who died to a rabbit, feeling wronged, posted it on the community forums under his own name. He wasn’t much of a writer, but his post, filled with heartfelt injustice, was seen by a few people.

—Tsk tsk. It can happen, even at level 40.

—This is why FW is so fun. No matter how high your level, if you get hit in a vital spot, you’re done for!

Of course, most of them didn’t understand his feelings, just reading it for entertainment and moving on. It couldn’t be helped. On the FW forums, where tens of thousands of posts were uploaded daily, the average time spent on a single post was about ten seconds. His video was short and impactful, which was the only reason anyone watched it at all. Most videos were buried without ever being played.

This video was no different. A few people saw it, but his grievance seemed destined to be buried and forgotten. If it hadn’t been for a few particular viewers.

—Huh? That’s a bit strange. What is that? That rabbit’s movements don’t look like a normal rabbit’s. It looks like a regular rabbit, but it’s incredibly agile.

At first, it was just one person. A comment from someone who seemed to have just dropped by, paying no mind to the original poster’s plight and simply jotting down their own curiosity. But the weight behind that user ID was considerable.

—Holy crap. It’s a ranker.

—WTF. For real? I can’t believe I’m seeing Adonis here.

—Adonis, currently rank 234?

—Wow. I heard he only sleeps 3 hours a day and just grinds. Must be his break time.

Level rankings weren’t that important anymore. With the top three players having already ascended beyond reach, what did the other ranks matter? But a few named players still existed. A mage player famous for PKing, with a high level and great gear! The very epitome of a pay-to-win player! Users couldn’t help but love him.

Because of that, the post with his comment was unexpectedly pushed to the main page. It was only at the very bottom of the page, but its impact was on a different level from a simple post about an unfair death. The view count kept climbing. And the truth behind the unjust death slowly began to come to light.

—You’re right. It is a little weird.

—You can die from a neck bite, but that rabbit is way too fast.

—Fast, precise, and strong. That’s not the work of a first-timer.

Thanks to this, his claim was validated. It was true that a level 40 player being killed by a rabbit’s bite was difficult, even in a game with tens of millions of players, unless they had invested all their stats into magic. Furthermore, the comments that flooded in after the post hit the main page fanned the flames of this strange phenomenon.

—Huh? This guy too. Is this by any chance Carlos Castle? I died to a rabbit today too. Fuming.

—Holy crap. Me too. What is this?

—I’m level 50, went to restock on consumables, and decided to pet a cute rabbit. Died. Ah, sh*t. What did I drop...

The testimonies poured in! All of them from the original poster’s region, leaving the FW community users skeptical.

—What is this, a setup?

—Here come the trolls trying to derail the conversation again.

—You died to a rabbit at level 50? What are they, Simin’s rabbits?

But there’s only so much you can doubt. More and more posts from victims appeared, and the post on the front page climbed even higher. When a topic gets this hot, the people who live for drama show up.

—Going to check it out.

—I should go too.

—Can someone nearby go take a look right now?

—Stream is on. Heading there now.

And they confirmed it.

—?!

—What the. There’s nothing here.

—Was it a lie?

—No. I’m telling you, it’s not a lie.

They confirmed the slaughter of rabbits by a wave of incoming users. The poor rabbits, which normally didn’t even give EXP and were just patted on the head, were sacrificed for nothing. It seemed like the incident was over. For a little while.

*

Instead of heading straight south with the Royal Knights, Holy Knights, and priests, Simin stopped by the Rich Territory first.

"We have plenty of time."

He was in control now. Whether they were the Emperor’s men or God’s men, he couldn’t care less. The wasted steps of countless people didn’t stir even a hint of apology in him. After telling them to wait in the territory, he immediately sought out his aide.

"Mr. Aide!"

"Ah! My lord. The VVIP members have all departed. Only Saint, who was having tea with the Saintess, is staying for a few more days."

"Ah, right. Call those two as well. And by the way, where are the rabbits?"

It was with the same naturalness as someone who’d come home for a forgotten wallet and remembered they needed their earphones too. The Saintess and Saint were now beings to be fetched simply because he happened to think of them. The aide, as if used to it, nodded and told him what he knew.

"They haven’t been seen recently. The residents said the last time they saw them was two weeks ago."

"Hmm."

Simin’s expression instantly turned serious. ’What?’

He had, in fact, forgotten about the rabbits for a while. He’d forgotten about them during his two months of hunting, and even before that, he hadn’t paid them much mind, figuring they’d earn him some pocket money if he just let them be. It wasn’t indifference; it was trust. They were the first monsters he had tamed since becoming a damn Legendary Tamer, and he had grown quite fond of them. Nearly ten of them had died along the way, but the survivors had eventually surpassed Simin’s own level. After spending so much time together, the ninety rabbits had become skilled enough to hunt monsters stronger than themselves. And hadn’t he invested a lot of money in them?

For those rabbits to suddenly disappear? He couldn’t help but worry.

’Could it be the black magic mages?’

He had ordered them to flee if things got dicey. Their top priority was survival, so it was unlikely they would have engaged in a losing battle. If they had met with misfortune despite that, it was highly probable they had encountered an enemy so strong they couldn’t even escape, and in large numbers. The most likely culprits right now were the black magic mages.

"Hmm."

"We are searching for them, but there has been no news yet."

"I see."

He was worried, but he didn’t make a fuss. The aide said they usually showed up every three to seven days, so if there had been an accident, a week had already passed.

"If they were going to die, they’d be dead by now."

The aide was too stunned to speak.

The aide trembled at his nonchalance. ’As expected! A man with no blood and no tears!’

Whether he knew what his aide was thinking or not, Simin immediately opened his character information window. There was one reason for his calm demeanor.

’They’re not dead yet.’

If they had died, the number of monsters he could tame would have increased. A system utilization only available to players! He was instantly relieved. At the same time, he scowled.

"Seriously, where are they and what are they doing? To be missing at such an important moment. They’re slacking off. They need to be taught a lesson."

Once relieved, his complaints began to pour out. The master who hadn’t looked for them in months was now looking for them only when he needed them. Smacking his lips, Simin asked the aide again.

"What about Sudal?"

"When I checked a month ago, it was creating a mine in the Unknown Mountains."

"I need to bring that one along too."

"I will see to it."

"No, I’ll go myself. I need to check how much it’s made anyway."

"Yes, my lord."

He didn’t even entertain the thought that they might be waiting for him. Instead, he wondered if Sudal had joined the missing rabbits.

’It’s not slacking off instead of making the mine, is it?’

If it was, he would give it a real scolding. With that resolve, his steps led him to the Unknown Mountains for the first time in a while. The mountains were still bustling with players. Sudal was making a new mine, and the thickening fog, as always, maintained its reputation as the best hunting ground for players of that level.

Memories came flooding back. He had made a tidy profit selling the fog-piercing medicine. He considered doing it again for fun, but Simin was no longer in the business of earning such pocket change, so he decisively moved on. The thick fog was no obstacle for the Eyes That Pierce Truth, which he had stored in his subspace.

After walking for some time, he arrived at what he presumed was the new mine created by Sudal. The entrance was blocked.

"Hoh."

He was proud of Sudal’s cleverness. Though simple-minded, it still remembered being robbed after leaving its home empty. To respect its efforts, he knocked on the wall.

Knock, knock.

There was no answer to his polite visit.

He knocked again, but it was the same. ’It must be out.’

But the timing was too coincidental.

"Don’t tell me these guys...?"

They hadn’t run away after being tormented by their master, had they? Among the many possibilities, it was the most rational and realistic one. But he quickly shook his head. That couldn’t be it. Although he had worked them a little hard, he had invested just as much in them.

"Just you try to run away. I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth and drag you back."

Muttering a bloodthirsty threat, he raised his hammer. He had to find them, but first, he intended to at least see the mine they had built. Just as he was about to swing, a voice called out.

"Simin! Simin! It’s me, Yeseul!"

Simin looked puzzled.

He was about to ignore her and continue with his task, but her next words stopped him.

"Did you see it? Your rabbits and Sudal. They seem to be causing trouble all over the place. Did you order them to do it?"

"Huh?"

He quietly lowered his hammer and, as she suggested, went to the community forums. He clicked on a few of the posts that were dominating the front page. The videos needed no explanation. After watching them all, Simin picked up his hammer again and turned around.

As he emerged from the fog, the waiting knights and paladins saw a smile spreading across his face.

"Let’s go."

"...We’re leaving just like this?" a knight asked.

"Yes. There’s no need to bring them along anymore."

"Then why did we..."

’...come all this way?’ The wise knight did not finish his sentence.

*