MONSTER MMORPG: Mayhem Online

[The Legendary Class player is being sought after by top guilds worldwide. Famous guilds have issued rewards for even the slightest information about the Class and the Player itself. Just today, the number one guild on the rankings 'Warriors of North' held a press conference about it.]

On TV, I was watching Sky games, a channel solely dedicated to news in Mayhem. The young female broadcaster was talking about the ongoing major news.

The screen changed, and a handsome, blonde guy appeared on it. He was wearing the famous Draconic armor that I can only dream of buying.

He was James, otherwise known by his username, the guild master of Warriors of the North. He had a smile on his face as the broadcaster began.

[It is our honour to have famous player 'Crestfallen' in our studio today. He's 1st in the overall level rankings of Mayhem and also the Guild leader of the famous Warriors of the North. He has an announcement to make today—

"I'd like to tell the legendary class that whoever they are, they can come to Warriors of North anytime. We will provide you with full support and the best items to get you in the top rankings soon. We can discuss the terms over a cup of tea."]

He finished his words with an annoying wink. Most people who had heard of him were aware of his narcissistic personality. I clicked my tongue while watching it.

Tsk Tsk

'Look at these people at the top.'

I thought as I watched the TV while munching down on some chocolate cookies I had baked.

Apparently, someone had discovered a Legendary class in Mayhem, and every other guild had entered a race to get that player in their guild.

Now all the world's attention was focused on him.

In my current state, if I met that player, I would murder them out of sheer envy.

Deep down, I was hoping that I was that player, but I knew my luck better than anyone else. After years of living with myself, I at least knew how to tone down my own wishes.

Thinking about it made me more disappointed, especially because of the events I went through today.

Not only did my months of effort go to waste, but I got a bugged hidden class that asked me to stab myself when my pain calibrators went up to 100%.

Ah, I felt like the game developers were messing up with me deliberately.

When the game was launched, I watched an interview where the developers said that the pain calibrators would only be 40% at most. More than that can cause damage to the player.

Thinking that it was a bug, I went to search online. After all, if it was really a bug, I could sue Kibea corporation, the maker of Mayhem, and get a huge compensation in exchange, but instead, I read an article that mentioned one of the game settings.

[In some unique situations, pain calibrators can go up to 100%. This happens either if a player is in a quest or if this is a condition to activate a special item. If a situation like this arises, players don't have to worry about their safety as Kibea corp's special support system will protect their bodies.]

"So, I can't even sue them…"

I muttered as I dusted off the cookies from my hands. Then, I turned off the TV and decided to see what Hunter's blade was in reality.

As it wasn't really a simple blade and had granted me a hidden class, I knew it was special.

A tinge of curiosity and excitement rolled in my heart as I looked at my VR capsule. Then, as I was about to open it up and go back to Mayhem, my phone rang.

– Pika pika pi! Pika!

My ringtone was the voice of a rat monster which was really famous back in the 21st century.

I picked it up and realized that it was my mom.

"Hello, mom."

– Flynn, how are you?

A middle-aged voice came out from the other side. I was also able to feel a small amount of concern in her voice.

"I'm fine, mom. How are you all doing? How's Clint's school going?"

– It's all good. Although, your dad had been drinking too much these days. Clint is doing great too. He even got a girlfriend.

"That's nice."

I smiled hearing that.

Talking to my family was one of the things that I really enjoyed, especially when most of my time went to Mayhem and part-time jobs.

My mom and I talked about common topics before her voice suddenly became one of hesitation.

– Flynn, uh, your aunt called me yesterday…

"Ah, was she asking about money?"

–Yeah.

My face fell as I thought about my aunt. My family didn't have a good relationship with her, especially because she was way richer than us.

For the past few months, she was constantly calling my mother to ask for the money she had lent. Actually, I was the main reason why my mom even had to deal with her.

She had borrowed money from my aunt to give it to me, so I could get the VR capsule to play Mayhem.

Sigh.

"Mom, you don't have to worry about money now. I got something in the game yesterday... It's hard to explain, but I will get you money soon."

– Flynn, I know you're talented, and I feel incredibly guilty for not being able to cover your tuition fee.

"Mom...I told you not to mention it–"

– I know. I trusted you. That's why I took a loan from your aunt and bought you the VR capsule. So you don't have to rush about anything and wait for your chance. You'll have success one day, son.

A bitter chuckle escaped my lips. Even after all this, she was worried that I'd do something illegal or inappropriate to earn money faster.

Although she was in debt because of me, she was still worried about me.

It was my duty to give her a peaceful and stress-free life. She had already done a lot for me. It's about time I started repaying her.

I just hope the hidden class I got can at least make me earn enough to run my family.

I was pretty confident in doing well in Mayhem, as gaming was one of my talents. To do well, I even studied VR technology and game mechanics for months.

Although I was in no way at the top of the leaderboards or anywhere near, it was because I was searching for secret items so that I could sell them and earn enough to pay the loans for my family at least.

I guess that has paid off? Even though it wasn't exactly how I expected it to be.

"Don't worry, mom. It's going to be alright….soon. I won't do anything I'm not supposed to do. Have some faith in your son, will you?"

I said half-jokingly, squeezing out a soft chuckle from her.

– Just take care. Eat on time and don't stay in the capsule the whole day, even if it's Sunday. Sleep early so that you can wake up for your job.

– If you run out of money, ask me. I'll get my salary soon. Although it isn't that much, it's at least enough to last a month.

"No, mom, I still have some savings, and I recently restocked groceries. You don't have to worry. Buy healthy food for Clint. He's still growing, he needs nutritious food to support his body."

We chatted some more as she kept nagging me about various stuff. I just said yes to everything and finally put off the call.

Since that was out of the way, it was about time I logged in to Mayhem. I couldn't control my curiosity anymore as I wanted to know which ranked class I got.

,m A hidden rank can be Rare, Epic, Special or Legendary. The game had only a few rare classes known throughout the world, and there were some rumours about players having epic classes, but it was never confirmed.

There weren't even rumours about the special class since, according to famous gaming channels calculations, a special class should start appearing only after 2-3 years.

From all this, one could deduce just how rare a legendary class is, hence all this ruckus on media and Mayhem.

Well, I was guaranteed to have a rare class at the very least, and that alone sent shivers of joy throughout my body.

My previous class, a Gunslinger, was a common class that I picked due to its high insight stat. It was easier to adventure when one had high insights.

But now that I had a hidden class, which was probably related to a blade, confirming that it was a close-range class, it was probably a waste of the insight stat in itself.

Not that I can complain.

I finally touched the surface of the VR capsule, which clearly had my name engraved on its metal surface.

[Property of Flynn Grey]

Opening the VR, I could see the cushion-like soft interior. It was made of high-quality materials ensuring maximum user satisfaction.

I laid down in it as the capsule closed automatically.

Everything turned dark as I appeared in a virtual world.

The capsule had the basic functions of a computer inbuilt in it as I could see a blue screen floating in front of me.

[Welcome, Flynn Grey]

[22nd March 2107, 9:03 am]

[Face recognition complete :)]

"Login to Mayhem"

As I said that, the darkness faded, and soon a familiar fanfare resounded. It was the theme song of Mayhem.

Seconds later, I was standing in a completely different place.

It was the last savepoint I made, The town of Azler. It had a medieval look to it as merchants were aggressively negotiating with customers.

People dressed in fantasy-like clothing, weapons hanging on their backs or waists walked around occasionally.

As the town was relatively small and wasn't that famous, few players were hanging around in this area. Either due to some quest or due to some meeting they'd have planned with people.

Some of them would occasionally glance at me and walk away while muttering to each other.

Why? I didn't stand out that much, did I?

I felt something amiss when I suddenly noticed that they were glancing at my body— clothes, to be accurate.

I looked down and realized the reason behind the odd looks.

I was dressed in newbie clothing that Mayhem provided at the start of the game.

Although I wasn't that high leveled, I was still decent enough that I had gotten rid of these clothes almost a year ago.

Why was I equipped with them?

An ominous feeling engulfed me as I immediately checked my inventory.