Players' NPC Big Daddy

Slightly before Flying Brick’s Peregrine Falcon set off.

Deep within the Cilicia Region of Gaia’s Pelvis, the strongest raiding guild, known as Fairy Kingdom, halted their challenging advance.

What blocked their path was not a terrifying Monster, nor a pitiful young girl, but a river—a dark, fog-shrouded Death River where the opposite bank was nowhere to be seen.

”That bastard shrank back to the other side of the river again!” A Foreigner clad in full Heavy Armor, standing tall as a tower, stared helplessly at the tranquil, mirror-like black surface of the water.

Even someone like him, who would gladly jump into magma or swim in the Hundred-Womb Ganges, didn’t want to touch this river at all. This was because it was the Death River.

Falling into the river meant instant death, and the player’s resurrection point would be forcibly updated to inside this Death River. In other words, once a player died in this river, their account character would be permanently stuck in a state of death.

”To think that even the Zeus Hand Tendon, which can strangle a Giant to death, failed to stop it.”

”It just sliced off its own restrained body parts. That’s seriously Underworld behavior.”

”How many times has it been for us now?”

”Sixth time, I think.”

This group of players—who were so beloved by NPCs they would be swarmed the moment they walked down a street, and who were so imposing that standing idly in the wild would make others mistake them for hidden bosses—now squatted on the ground, sighing in frustration at the river.

It felt as if a peerless beauty was sitting on the bridal bed, ready to be married, but the groom didn’t have enough red envelopes to bribe his way past her swarm of extended family members.

As for why such a comparison was made...

The mysterious, thick fog lifted like a curtain, and a dilapidated wooden boat slowly emerged from the mist. A withered figure, shrouded in a black veil, stiffly rowed the oars and approached the shore.

At the very front stood a Female Knight. The silver-haired woman watched expressionlessly at the only boat capable of crossing the Death River.

The guild master of Fairy Kingdom, Level 99 Kate Cat, who held the exclusive Profession of Unicorn Knight, felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness while facing this boat.

When they first discovered that Monster, everyone was overflowing with enthusiasm. However, after they painstakingly defeated its second phase, the Monster simply retreated to hide behind this Death River.

The only way across was to have this Death River Ferryman take them, but the Death River Ferryman only ferried the dead.

Because of this, an incredibly powerful member of their guild had committed suicide to take the boat to the other side of the Death River, laying eyes on the Monster’s third phase.

It was a humanoid entity, a super Poop Monster that seemed to be the amalgamation of all malice. That player, who ranked within the top five of Fairy Kingdom, determined that they needed an instant-kill ability to defeat it.

This was intel bought at the cost of a top-tier account. What truly made Kate Cat feel awful was that the owner of that top-tier account was quitting the game to have a baby, and had only crossed the Death River as one last favor for the guild. If they didn’t defeat this Monster, she would have no face left to see that friend who had sacrificed her account.

Looking at the Seppuku blade in her hands—an item specifically used for suicide—Kate Cat slowly drew it from its sheath.

”At this point, I’m the only one who can...”

”Sis! Sis! Don’t do anything rash! There’s no way you can beat it alone!” Flying Brick grabbed Kate Cat, stopping her from killing herself to go duel the Monster. Kate Cat immediately began struggling with absolute Madness.

”Let me die! This is my responsibility!”

Right at that moment, Flying Brick accidentally bumped into the Death River Ferryman’s boat.

The hazy black veil lifted along with a gust of cold wind, and a chilling, withered voice sounded out, like a dense swarm of bugs crawling into their ears.

”One... Coin... for... one... person... Pay... the... toll...”

Everyone froze in stunned silence. This was the first time they had ever heard the Death River Ferryman speak, and the one who triggered this dialogue was Flying Brick.

”Coin, coin... Is it really this?”

A look of realization dawned on Flying Brick, and he immediately took out Blaze’s Copper Coins. He had been wondering where he had encountered the aura of these Copper Coins before.

The wooden boat extended a small wooden plank. The Death River Ferryman was inviting the passenger to board.

Everyone’s breathing grew ragged. From their initial excitement over a first kill to their current stifling frustration, they were burning with a belly full of rage toward that Monster. Each and every one of them began cracking their knuckles.

”Wait, I only have two coins in total!” Flying Brick swallowed hard and spread the two Copper Coins out on his palm.

”Is this the exchange reward for the Black Beast Knight’s special quest? Great, I can go avenge her right now.” Kate Cat excitedly snatched up one of the coins and made to board the boat right then and there.

”Wait, I have Blaze on my friends list! Let me ask him how many we can get in total!”

Seeing his sister acting with a scrambled brain, Flying Brick hurriedly shot glances at the surrounding members, signaling them to hold her back. Then, he took out his fastest Peregrine Falcon to initiate communication.

”Speaking of which, since when could you add an NPC as a friend? Isn’t that a system-only function?”

”It must be delusions. How pitiful. But having a sister like that, it’s inevitable he’d need some sort of psychological crutch...”

”But out of everyone, it had to be the Black Beast Knight. That’s some hardcore taste.”

”Hey, I can hear you slandering me!” Flying Brick shouted back over his shoulder in humiliated anger. By that time, Blaze had already replied.

”He says there are three available per day!”

”Three a day, so in ten days that’s thirty. Wait, no, converting it to the time here... sixty in ten days!?”

”If coming back also requires a toll, we can still have thirty people jumping that boss!”

”Can you still call yourselves players acting like this? Where is your dignity as challengers?” Kate Cat suddenly became the calmest person there. While the others eagerly discussed how they would righteously gang up on the boss, she spoke with righteous severity. ”It won’t come out from behind the Death River for another week, and we’re the only ones who know its spawn location. We’re also the only ones who know that the Black Beast Knight’s Copper Coins are the sole method of crossing the Death River. We can absolutely hoard more Copper Coins and send a hundred people to gang up on it.”

”Tch, if it weren’t for the fact that the guy’s attack range is still ridiculously huge even in his humanoid form, we’d take the whole guild up there to Chop him to pieces.”

Sitting on the wooden boat, the Death River Ferryman paused. It slowly withdrew the wooden plank, intending to row away and leave.

This boat could only seat one person at a time. A hundred people meant making two hundred trips back and forth. Factoring in the return journey, that would be four hundred trips. These days, earning a little extra cash was truly not easy.

”Today’s batch of Copper Coins for the Black Beast Knight should have already refreshed.” Kate Cat patted her flat chest and spoke with heroic grandeur, ”Go tell him that from now on, we’re monopolizing his Copper Coins! We’ll supply him with as many of those Star Fragments as he wants! Our entire guild will help him farm them!”

”I know, I know, I’m typing the message right now!”

In the Wolf Head Grass Village of the Arcadia Territory, Blaze pierced through a bizarre skeletal creature with the Twisted Greatsword in his hands.

The one commanding this Monster was a terrifying humanoid figure wearing a pitch-black cape. Just looking at it evoked an unparalleled sense of malice within Blaze. Without a doubt, this was a Foreigner who had chosen the path of Vice.