Karma Kill.
In [Elysium Online], it was a fairly old PK(Player Kill)-type trick.
It was a method where multiple players lowered a target’s reputation at the same time, changed the target’s Karma State to “Negative Karma,” and killed them.
A player who reached Negative Karma entered a special state close to being a “wanted criminal.”
A player in wanted criminal status would not only be attacked by base NPCs, but could also be freely attacked by players.
Was that all? If you killed a player in wanted criminal status, instead of receiving a PK penalty, you would actually receive a reward for killing a wanted criminal.
What happened if you used that in reverse and turned the targeted player into a “wanted criminal”?
‘It means you can launch random attacks against a player without a PK penalty.’
It was not even PVP. Even if you attacked them one-sidedly, you could attack the opponent without receiving any penalty at all.
It was quite a vicious method.
A player who became a wanted criminal and was killed could even lose items from their inventory.
‘Well, it’s not that big of a deal.’
In some really old games, I heard even equipment dropped, but [Elysium Online] was not that extreme.
However, low-rarity consumables such as potions or material items were lost upon death.
Because of that, Karma Kill could be used to make someone lose those consumables and force them to spend in-game currency.
Well, at most, all you lost was a few potions, and it was close to a waste of time for both sides, so it did not happen under ordinary circumstances.
But.
“What do you think?”
“Are you coming to your senses now?”
“Now you won’t be able to run wild alone with your hacks.”
As in the current situation, it was also a system that could be abused to some extent when continuing some petty emotional fight.
“I’m surprised. A lot of you came here pretty determined, huh?”
I was genuinely impressed.
These bastards had made a fuss because they did not even properly understand my hidden quest route, but they somehow knew an old-era trick like this.
It really brought back memories.
However.......
“But can you even PK me?”
Lowering my Karma to turn me into a Villain? In truth, it was almost perfect. Up to this point, that was.
The problem was that this was still the tutorial zone.
And no matter how much I was a wanted criminal or a Villain, the question was whether there were NPCs or players here who could exclude me.
‘The NPCs don’t seem to be reacting.’
The soldiers stationed at the Eighth Supply Base glanced this way, but they showed no sign of intervening.
If this were an ordinary base, they would never act like that. They would have charged in to arrest me right away.
The same went for PK.
Even in PVP-focused competitive games, there were minimum safeguards to stop anyone from grabbing newbies and slaughtering them.
And [Elysium Online], old as it was, was fundamentally an MMORPG. It did not throw players straight into competition like PK.
If I remembered correctly, that function only opened when you raised your level to a certain extent and reached the wanted criminal hunting tutorial, and it could also be turned OFF in the options.
Though with my reputation in the negatives like now, I would not be able to disable it on my own.
“Ha, you really are drunk on your own bluff.”
“You think we came all this way without preparing for that?”
THUUUD!
With a loud sound, a red sigil effect flashed in my vision.
[Mark of Execution engraved!]
“Oh......!”
[Mark of Execution].
It was a skill used by Assassin-line classes to “declare PVP or PK.”
Skills of this kind not only gave the user PVP-related corrections, but also reduced penalties such as reputation loss caused by PK.
This type of skill declaration, like [Mark of Execution], also had another privilege.
[Tutorial]
[PK(Player Killing) Mode unlocked!]
[Your reputation is currently ‘Villain’!]
[Players with negative reputation may be attacked by NPCs or players at bases!]
[Recover reputation to avoid being attacked!]
Forced execution of PK.
Even against a player like me, whose tutorial had not opened or who had set PVP/PK refusal, forced combat was possible.
[PK declared by ‘Mark of Execution’ skill!]
[Until PK is complete, damage can be dealt even in non-combat areas!]
[Reputation will change according to PK result!]
KIIIIING─!
The unique sound effect that rang when PK began pierced my head.
“Hahaha!”
“You thought you wouldn’t get beaten up because this is the tutorial zone?!”
“Stupid bastard!”
TAP!
The players holding weapons began charging in at the same time.
Judging from the reputation reduction and the use of an Assassin class skill, they were players who had already finished the tutorial and even completed class advancement. Judging by their weapons’ shapes, were they around level 10 to 20?
Compared to me, still level 1 and without leveling unlocked, they were characters nearly twenty times stronger.
But.
“You idiots.”
In this hidden quest area, I had already obtained equipment used by at least level 30 and above.
The gap in stats could be filled by the quality of my weapon.
SHING!
I drew the Top-Grade Supply Sword.
Then I charged straight toward the approaching players.
“You still haven’t come to your senses!”
“If you went around causing trouble with hacks, you need to die, right?”
The players at the front, laughing at my action, swung their weapons at me. A huge axe blade and sword blade aimed at me at the same time.
“Ha.”
I was so dumbfounded that I could only let out a hollow laugh.
That was how pathetic their attacks were.
‘At a time like this, you should attack in order so you don’t give me a chance to counter.’
If you come at me at the same time from the same direction like this, I only have to dodge once.
THUMP!
Right before the two players’ attacks touched me, I stepped forward and dodged both of their attacks at an angle.
‘Good grief, there’s no one following up either.’
They were giving me the timing for a counterattack for free too. What did they expect me to do?
I had to punish them right away, didn’t I?
SLAAASH!
In the middle of dodging, I swung my sword at the side and back of the idiots who had charged in together.
SLAAAASH!
“Urgh?!”
“Aaak?!”
CRACK!
Was the difference in weapons that obvious? With a single slash, one person’s arm flew off, and a large wound remained on another’s back.
[Part Break!]
[Tutorial]
[The target’s body part has been destroyed and entered Dismembered State!]
[Dismembered parts can be treated with certain recovery skills!]
[Untreated dismembered parts will not recover naturally until a certain amount of time passes!]
‘Oh.’
Was it because this was not the Weapon of the Battlefield after its specs had disappeared, but the Top-Grade Supply Sword? A Part Break happened even without skills.
“What do you think? Your arm flew off. Do you want to keep going?”
I spun once with the momentum of the slash and asked. Then the faces of the players who had been counterattacked turned red and blue.
“Y-you son of a bitch!!”
“Damn it, what else did this hack-using bastard......!”
“Stab him from behind already!”
They could only continue attacking after someone shouted. Their coordination was truly terrible. It seemed they were not a group that usually formed parties together.
WHOOSH!
This attack was also far too obvious. With just one step to the side, the sword greatly cut through empty air and missed.
However, because their numbers were their numbers, the attacks coming in succession were not entirely easy.
Fwoosh!
In particular, the arrow flying in from afar was very threatening.
‘Yes, this is it. You have to add checks from range too. And if you have CC(Crowd Control), throw that in too.’
That was what I thought while lightly dodging the arrow.
“Uoh!”
Just then, the shield warrior charging in next raised his shield high.
[Ground Taunt]. It was the preliminary motion for a CC skill that struck the ground hard and staggered nearby targets.
A CC skill was coming in at perfect timing. Now the linkage was becoming a bit worth seeing. But.
‘He’s openly using that?’
How perfect could a CC skill learned in the early game be? And among them, [Ground Taunt] had a truly simple counter.
[Ground Taunt] was a skill that staggered targets and gathered aggro with a shockwave generated by striking the ground hard.
Because of that, you just had to jump and it would not hit.
“Hop.”
I lightly hopped in place.
RUUUUMBLE!
Then, a beat later, the ground shook. I had perfectly dodged it.
Fwoosh!
While I was in the air from the jump, a dagger and arrow flew toward me.
‘This is a bit decent.’
As a plan, it was appropriate. This was not yet the time when utility skills like double jump were available.
But.
‘The enemy’s ranged attacks are weak too.’
I twisted my body by rotating completely in midair. I escaped the dagger’s trajectory like that, then used the momentum of the spin to lightly knock away the arrow.
“No, crazy!”
“Insane!”
“He dodged that?!”
“Is it an auto-dodge hack?”
Perhaps they thought it was a sure-kill attack, because shocked voices came from nearby. To waver like that and delay their attacks. These kids still had a long way to go.
“Hup!”
I gripped my sword in reverse in midair and stabbed it down toward the nape of the player bent forward after casting [Ground Taunt].
SLASH!
“Gheuk?!”
Was it because I used the momentum of my landing? The sword pierced straight through the shield warrior’s neck.
Slice!
When I pulled the sword free at the same time as I landed, the shield warrior’s neck was severed as it fell to the ground.
“Uheok?!”
“Hrk.”
“Hiiik!”
Even though this was a game, when the melee players attacking me saw a person’s head cut off whole, they swallowed their breath.
A perfect opening.
TAP!
I immediately kicked off the ground and swung the Supply Sword.
SLASH!
“Kheuk?!”
Once again, someone’s arm was cut off. We were both not very high level. If I aimed for an undefended opening.......
‘I can destroy parts as much as I want.’
Moving between the flustered players, I continued swinging my sword.
SLASH! SLASH! SLAAASH!
I cut off arms so they could not hold weapons, cut off legs to collapse their posture, and for players who looked weak in defense, I sliced straight through their waists and split their bodies in two.
“Kkeuaaaak!”
“Ak!”
“Ow!”
The players unused to PK could only scream as they lost parts of their bodies one by one.
SLAAAASH!
If anything, it was only natural.
These bastards, who could not even use the advantage of a group battle, had simply given me the spacing and allowed me to invade the inside of their group.
SLASH!
By attacking during the moment when they hesitated, worried that they might stab or cut each other, and quickly changing my position, I could continuously delay their attacks.
They could not even shoot arrows properly now that I had stuck close, could they? In the meantime, I had already delivered the finishing blow to three players whose arms had been cut off.
“Urgh!”
“Kheuheok!”
In some ways, this was an easier battle than fighting multiple monsters.
SLAAAASH!
“Kheok!”
THUD!
When I cut straight through another waist, the player whose body had been split in two collapsed onto the ground.
“Kheok!”
“This is insane.......”
“What kind of.......”
“Huh......?”
I did not expect this. Was my attack power slightly lacking? The player whose waist had been cut off and whose body was split in two still had not been killed and was alive.
“What does it feel like to have your body split in two?”
This sort of case was rare too, so I asked the player rolling on the ground with their body severed.
“Fuck off, you crazy bastard.......”
“What the hell is with that sword.......”
“How many hacks do you even.......”
“You goddamn... bastard.......”
“I said it wasn't a hack.”
SLASH!!
I finished off the players spreading nonsense by stabbing my sword straight into their heads.
‘Hm, did I deal with most of the melee classes?’
Was the shield warrior the highest level? The rest seemed limited to firing off low-level attack skills so plain they were hard to notice.
KingdomOldHand, who had challenged me with a fierce [Slash] offensive, was better by comparison.
‘Are only ranged classes left?’
Fwoosh!
Sure enough, arrows soon began flying again. I easily knocked the arrow away.
“H-hiiik!”
Then the archer player screamed as if they had seen a ghost.
“Don’t come! Don’t come!”
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
They must have been quite flustered, because the aim of the arrows they fired in succession was a mess. Most of them were missing.
It was not impossible to understand.
Because my attack power was awkward, the sight of my kills was a little chilling.
Back when I used to play, it had been the youth version, so severing motions where necks were cut off or bodies split in two were covered by red effects, but not now.
“Aaaaaaah!”
SLAAAASH!
When I lightly cut off an arm, blood sprayed in every direction. It was uncensored. Blood and gore were vivid. I really had become an adult too.
‘But understanding is one thing, and finishing this is another.’
SLASH!
I cut off the neck of the player whose arm I had severed and finished them, then approached the last remaining archer player.
“Die! Just die!”
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
The aim of the arrows was still a mess. Only one out of three flew properly, maybe. Of course, that much could be lightly parried.
TAP!
“Y-you goddamn bastard! You think that kind of thing is possible without hacks?!”
“What are you talking about?”
While lightly parrying another arrow, I let out a hollow laugh.
“Before you say anything to me, you people should practice more. I could win even if thirty people like you came.”
Of course, if they had leveled up more and come with characters that had their main skills raised, it would have been difficult to kill ten or so at once like this. Just approaching while avoiding CC skills would have taken ages.
But if they only had one or two basic attack skills and charged in like this? The side that did not get hit and hit a lot would win one-sidedly.
If they had challenged me by making use of speed, it would have been a little difficult, but even the Assassin, who should have had some speed, was sluggish because they were mixed into the group.
Every single one of them was weak enough to be boring.
“Hrk, hrrrk... hrrrk......!”
By the time I came right in front of them, the archer could only huff and puff and failed to shoot an arrow. It seemed they had run out of arrows.
Ha, all I could do was sigh.
“You have a dagger equipped at your waist. Is that just for decoration?”
If you run out of arrows, you should use the dagger as your sub-weapon, create distance with Back Step, replenish arrows, and so on. What were they doing?
“Y-you......!!”
Only then did the archer player seem to notice the dagger. They threw away the arrow, drew the dagger, and charged at me while cursing.
“But you’re slow.”
I cut off the archer player’s dagger-wielding arm in one stroke.
“Urgh?!”
Then the archer player’s arm was severed just like that. The hand that held their weapon was completely destroyed.
“It’s over.”
“Huff, huff... huff....... You son of a bitch.......”
“I don’t know why you people curse so much when you came to PK me because I’m supposedly a bad-mannered user. I heard you can report things these days, but can’t you report things like that?”
“You, you. You think you won everything just because you won this? We recorded everything anyway. We’re going to spread everything you did! You’re already controversial, and if there’s even more evidence like this, you’re finished!”
“Do whatever you want.”
No matter how much Joysoft was J-shit, they would properly check for hacks, at least. If so, this entire thing would turn out to be wasted effort for that group too.
Then this pathetic commotion would end.
“In any case, well, it was a little fun. It’s been a while since I fought a many-on-one battle.”
“What?”
“Anyway, you tried to throw the first punch and got wrecked, so you have to die, right?”
That was the moment I was about to finish off the last remaining archer player.
“Yang Pinpin! Over here, over here!”
“That crazy bastard who baited people with the hidden route earlier is slaughtering other users with PK!”
Huh, were there still more people left to fight?