MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

The potion vials exploded on the ground in colorful puffs of smoke. There were enough colors to start a circus attraction: Blue, pink, and green!

"Don't breath it in!" Jack warned.

"Hehehe! Let me see how long you can fight without breathing!" The chief chuckled.

He didn't care one bit about the poison. As a monk, his resistance to such status effect was extreme, plus he was super high level. It was an entirely different story for the players. They began dropping like flies in a sauna.

Virtual Reality was very similar to real life. Even if they knew not to breathe, there was only so long that they could hang on. As their brains kept sending them "Hey, you're dying" messages, they all opened their mouths as they fell paralyzed.

The spectating players could only gulp as they watched the old lady cackle as she kept throwing vial endlessly. They wouldn't go anywhere near the battlefield for sure!

It was literally a fight with death, and could win— or that's how it should have been.

In the colorful fog, a lone player was still fending the attacks of an enraged NPC. Jack wasn't breathing. Had this not been a game, he would have been unconscious already. This was utterly destructive behavior.

The village chief couldn't believe his eyes. What the fuck was that guy made of?! He was already blue and about to kick the bucket. But even then, his shield kept blocking as if guided by a divine hand!

While it all happened, he kept taking suffocation and overexertion damage then gulping potions:

-1

-2

-1

-2

+24

"Why won't you die?!" The village chief couldn't take it anymore.

The players shared the same feeling as they watched him go. He reminded them of the cartoons they watched as children, the ones where the hero would always get up no matter what.

He appeared seemingly indestructible, yet his suffering was visible thanks to his distorted face. It kept involuntarily twitching because of all the stress his body was under.

They watched it all happen with some morbid curiosity. How far could one human be pushed?!

"This is insane. How is he still alive?!"

"It's all a game. It's not that strange."

"No, it IS strange. How is his mind holding out?!"

"Anyone else would have admitted defeat by now."

"Hehe, anyone else but him. That's why he's so great."

Even the players that disliked him had to agree that this feat was incredibly awe-inspiring. He was still fucking alive after fighting the NPC all this time!

So what if he had a red name? No one could fucking take him down!

But a few on the scene realized that this wasn't as simple as it looked. Seraphine wanted nothing more than to beat this NPC, but Jack needed people who weren't red-named inside the village.

She could only sigh as she saw him turn bluer by the second.

Things weren't looking good for Jack. The suffocation damage was progressively ramping up. What had once been 2 damage was now 6.

-1

-6

-1

-6

+24

As soon as it turned to damage ticks of 7, he would die. There was no way around it. He wouldn't be able to tank the chief as well as survive the DoT from his status effect.

Fucking level difference! Had he been a little higher level, he could have destroyed this guy!

Outwardly he looked as confident, but inwardly he sighed in regret. The chief was even stronger than he had thought.

After so much effort and plenty of players sacrificing themselves, he had barely made it to the New Leaf plain. He was still so far from safety. The problem was that his respawn area was in the village.

The chief would be able to spawn camp him. Sure, he could change his spawn coordinates slightly, but he would still have to fight his way out.

What a freaking pain!

But even now, the one going crazy was the village chief.

"How the fuck are you still alive?! What kind of devil are you?!" The man's mad voice resounded across the entire village.

At this moment, everyone held their breath— especially Jack.

But since he would die soon, he figured he might as well perish in style. At this moment, Jack opened his mouth, breathing in the paralyzing fog, but managing to shout powerfully:

"I'm the freaking Demon King, bitch!"

It was such a simple sentence, and yet it made them feel his incredible willpower. No matter how powerful the enemy he would remain headstrong. He would insult them to their face with his back straight!

That's when the poison finally acted. Jack's body froze, akin to a wax statue, forever to adorn a taunting smile.

The village chief's blood boiled. He had finally defeated the fucker! Yet even as he was victorious, he didn't feel elated one bit. He felt anger and…fear?!

Even as his opponent lay paralyzed on the ground, a part of him was frightened beyond belief. What if this was all a scheme? What if he suddenly woke up uttering, "just kidding!" What if?!

The more he feared and the angrier he got. The angrier he got, and the more he realized how fearful he was. As a tempest of dark emotions engulfed him, he kicked tyrannically to end it all.

This wasn't judgment. This was downright an execution.

But just as his foot was about to squash the brave's head like a watermelon, it happened. An incredible aura appeared, along with an unbelievable force.

"Who goes there?!" The village chief cried out.

A giant hammer collided with the man's fist, sending him flying. It contained so much power that it would have been life-threatening had he not blocked!

Igor stood right next to the Demon King, protecting him.

"You bastard! What the heck have you done?! Do you know what going against me means?!" The chief bellowed angrily.

"Yes, I'm aware." The training instructor sighed.

His sigh was so profound as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Yet, he seemed extremely resolute and didn't seem to fear retribution either.

"Hey, are you sure?! Even I wouldn't dare!" (Blacksmith)

"Don't be crazy! You'll lose everything!" (Old Potion lady)

"I didn't expect that at all! The suspense is killing me!" (Florist)

"Is everything going to be alright? Please stop fighting!" (Steven)

"What a lucky guy! That's totally because he ate my sausages." (Butcher)

The training instructor and the village chief faced one another in a staring contest. Both expected the opponent to yield, but it wasn't happening.

The players' eyes were gleaming with excitement. What were they talking about? Lose everything?! This seemed like some huge news! Maybe it would even lead to an event?!

"Guys, hear me out. I think this is good."

"A new quest? Will we have to pick a side?"

"Civil War: Training instructor VS Village Chief!"

"I'm obviously joining the Demon King's side, duh!"

"Of course! We might as well pick the winning side!"

But they soon turned their attention back toward the two NPCs. They seemed about to come to blows, but then suddenly held themselves back.

"Fine, have it your way. You'll be the one dealing with the consequences. You're screwed, both of you!" The village chief snorted as he left, thumping his feet in anger.

The training instructor remained behind, with a hint of worry on his usually confident face. With one last sigh, he grabbed the Demon King, heading toward the training camp.

This was only starting….