In any industry were popular people that others were constantly talking about, trying to reach a similar level as well. Though Zayne didn't fully understand it yet, he had already become one of the few players whose name and face were known by millions, many wanted to meet him and three succeeded.

"Damn, what kind of weapon is that? Did he get it as a reward for defeating that monster?" The guy in the armor muttered with a dazed look, "Hah, in that case, we don't need to kill him."

"You're too brazen as always." The guy in dark clothes said as his daggers were covered in a thin layer of ice, "However, I agree with you. Take the weapons from Zayne Fellen himself... Damn, that'll make us famous for sure.

"Hah, then we need to capture him alive!" The girl exclaimed with an excited look as she launched a magical projectile at Zayne.

The projectile moved quickly, like an arrow, but Zayne easily dodged it as he took a step to the side, the projectile just flew by him.

"Take my sword...?" Zayne muttered with a calm look, "Not only do you belittle the weak, but you're also thieves, I don't know how but you managed to combine everything I hate most. Well, in that case, I'll have to be even worse than you for a while."

"What the hell is he talking about...?" The guy in the armor muttered in a confusion at the moment when Zayne stepped forward and the guy's eyes went wide, "What the hell...?"

With each step Zayne took, his aura intensified as a silhouette of scarlet wings of hundreds thorny vines appeared behind him, from which drops of blood seemed to flow. The wings weren't real, but the fear they inflicted was quite a thing.

"I doubt you're stronger than Three-Eyed, so you'd better find something to do for the next few hours." Zayne's eyes went cold as he leaned forward slightly.

Whoooooooooooosh.

His wings came in motion, taking their first and only swing, then Zayne's silhouette turned into a red flash, within a heartbeat like a lightning strike reaching his opponents.

The red blade went through their bodies without hesitation, slicing them in two and leaving behind a bloody trail of cracked earth from the powerful pressure.

"No... How is that possible?" The guy in the armor muttered, "I just got protective skill... This can't be..."

Bam. Bam. Bam.

The bodies fell to the ground as their gazes went blank. Zayne swung his sword, whipping away the blood while three players disappeared, gradually turning into ash.

[Ding!]

[You killed three or more players in a short period!]

[You received a Blood Aura that other players will feel! Over time, the effect will wear off!]

[If you continue to kill, the effect will increase. This can lead to unknown events!]

"Blood Aura? Hah, so now to other players I'll seem like a bloodthirsty killer? Damn, this system isn't fair at all, though I don't know what might happen if it gets greater..." Zayne grinned as he turned around, returning his sword to his inventory.

"Mr. Zayne! You saved us! Fate is on our side!" The soldier exclaimed cheerfully with glowing eyes as if he had seen the coming of a hero.

Zayne shook his head, "As strange as it sounds, it wasn't Fate that saved you this time. If Chaos hadn't forced me to show up here, they probably would have killed you, so... this is a pretty unusual situation, right?"

The soldiers were puzzled as to them Chaos was an absolute evil, so to realize that they were alive because of Chaos was strange.

Tap.

Three pouches appeared in place of the players' bodies, which made a ringing sound as if from metal.

'Hmm? Is that money?' Zayne inwardly muttered in a confusion, 'Wait... What the hell is that?'

Zayne walked over to the pouches, but it wasn't them that caught his attention, it was the scroll that lay where the guy in the armor had died. Zayne picked up the scroll and opened it.

[You got the Hidden Quest!]

[Dark Rift

You found the Murder Quest that three players received from the local bandit group - Black Wing. Go to the cave near the Dry Tree to find them. You can fulfill the order or find your own way to solve this issue.

The darkness is in all of us]

Zayne stared at the scroll in silence for a while, reading the description of the order as well as the reward promised by the bandits, that was written at the very bottom.

"120 Gold Coins... Shit, don't those three have any mercy at all? They were willing to kill those soldiers for such a small amount... Each of them would get 40 coins, that's even less than what the bow I gave Elin was worth." Zayne muttered with a complicated expression.

He turned to the soldiers and stared at them for a long moment as though thinking about what he had to do. In fact, he had no limits, he could kill the soldiers and take the reward, or do nothing at all, it was up to him.

The soldiers seemingly realized this as they took a few steps back because of the chill that ran down their backs.

"Hey, where is the Dry Tree?" Zayne tilted his head in confusion, hoping the Soldiers could answer his question.

The Soldiers looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief as slight smiles appeared on their faces, "Agh, how could such foolish thoughts even come into our heads?"

"Are you okay?" Zayne raised an eyebrow as their reaction made him feel strange.

"Yeah. Dry Tree is a pretty famous place in the Lax River Region, It's in this forest, a few miles from here to the east." The soldier said pointing to the left.

Zayne nodded, "Fine, in that case, I'll head there."

"Mr. Zayne... are you sure of your decision?" The soldier asked with a worried look as he shook his hand.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" Zayne looked at him.

"Yeah..." The soldier nodded, "Dry Tree is near the Grey Horn Village. It is the village with the worst reputation in our region as there are more criminals there than anywhere else, so maybe you will meet bandits or other criminals in that area."

"Hah, no point in worrying about me because this is exactly what I need. Well, thanks for your help, take care, you might decide to be attacked by someone else." Zayne shrugged before he headed forward, picking up the pouches from the ground.

The soldiers didn't say anything in response, they just nodded meaningfully, knowing that if Zayne decided to go there, he must have a reason for it. They decided that Zayne wanted to deal with the bandits who had sent the players at them, so they were grateful to him, but the real reason was something else.

'Those bandits were willing to pay 120 Gold Coins for these three to kill some soldiers... so how much can I get if I take everything they have? A few thousand? It might be my first earned money in Fallen Fate Online, I can't miss this opportunity.' Zayne muttered with a devious grin as he opened the pouches, letting out a glint of gold.