Game’s Dogma

When Drako Yau opened his eyes again, everything was over. He took in a deep breath and suppressed the yin-yang symbol within him.

The Eight Diagrams and the yin-yang symbol within him were created using Cryoflame Style’s powers. Every time the yin-yang symbol spun, it’d suck in his internal forces, turn them into usable forces by neutralising the two elements’ opposing natures, and spread it throughout his body via the Eight Diagrams.

However, with how quickly it was spinning, it wasn’t possible to make it stop right away. He could only gradually slow it down, and soon his eyes were crystal clear once again.

Drako Yau didn’t have the time to think—because across the table sat a man. He was slim, almost skinny, and his white beard reached his chest. Although he didn’t look old and had the appearance of a middle-aged man, Drako Yau sensed that he was of age. His eyes radiated a glow that only belonged to those who had gone through ordeals and the trials of time. Everywhere his sights landed, time seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye.

Drako Yau regained his composure, but not without shuddering within. He had a strong way of the heart and had initial accomplishments with Cryoflame Style, yet he was easily affected by the man just by looking into his eyes.

Just how powerful is this man? He’s no weaker than Fatty the Castellan! Wait… Castellan?

Drako Yau then looked around him; everything looked exactly the same as the Castellan’s residence.

He must have a resolute way of the heart to have recovered so quickly. The man also commended Drako Yau in his mind. His field of mastery was mental forces. Just by sweeping his gaze across his targets, they would fall prey to his illusions without knowing it, and ordinary people would be struck with illusions even without him actively casting any skills.

‘Young man, let’s talk.’

Drako Yau looked at the man vigilantly, his mouth remaining shut while observing his surroundings. If the man wanted him dead, there was no way out; the man was a hundred times more powerful than he was.

Seeing Drako Yau’s cautious look, the man smiled. ‘Don’t be nervous, I won’t do anything to you. You’ve probably guessed it already. That’s right, I’m the Castellan of Empyreon, you can call me Taoist.’

Drako Yau nodded without replying, and his gaze remained just as vigilant.

Taoist sighed and continued, ‘I’ve sent everyone who attacked you to jail. Though you didn’t die, Old Florist next to you did. All those involved are sentenced to jail for a month, offline time excluded. As for those whose attacks landed on you and Old Florist, I’ll sentence them to death by beheading.’

Drako Yau still kept his mouth shut, but deep down he had nothing to complain about. Death by beheading was a serious penalty that lowered a player’s level by 5 and applied a permanent 20 attribute point penalty to all four attributes. Any player who was beheaded didn’t have much of a choice apart from starting a new character.

‘Why?’ Drako Yau finally asked. He wasn’t sure why the Castellan was favouring him so much. According to the system rules, players who didn’t land a hit wouldn’t be sent to jail, and those who did would at most be sentenced to jail for a while. It didn’t warrant the use of death sentences.

Taoist blinked, his eyes turning from that of an ageing old man to a sly youth. He said, ‘I’m investing. Young man, you have unlimited potential, while I’ve reached my apex and can no longer become stronger. As time passes by, I’ll only become weaker, and in a world where the strong prey on the weak, I’ll eventually be replaced.’

Taoist sounded annoyed. Passage of time was every living being’s enemy—they couldn’t resist, nor was there a way to resist. Soon, he calmed himself down and continued, ‘Also, I have to keep them under check. They’ve gone overboard by taking advantage of the system’s rules loopholes, but this doesn’t mean such actions are tolerated. This is utter disrespect towards the Dominator. I have every reason to impose heavy punishments.’

Drako Yau nodded. ‘Thank you. There is one thing I wish to ask.’ Before Taoist could answer him, he continued, ‘Who’s behind this ambush?’

Teleported by Taoist, Drako Yau silently left Empyreon and returned to Yoda.

Meanwhile, Empyreon was in an uproar; the Castellan’s announcement on the assailants’ punishment was way too harsh. Five hundred players were sentenced to jail for a month, and over five hundred others were sentenced to death by beheading. It took three whole days just to behead them all!

The verdict shocked everyone. Players from Empyreon spammed the forum to show their disapproval towards the verdict, believing that it was an error.

Much to everyone’s surprise, the Real World official account published a post to explain the verdict and pinned it to the forum. 

It read, ‘This is not a minor brawl between players. A planned ambush to kill a player, while not violating the system rules, is a blatant challenge to the city’s law and system to prohibit killing within the city. Real World condemns all assailants and will impose harsher punishments if similar incidents arise in the future.’

This time, everyone who was mad immediately shut their mouths; even the game officials had responded already.

Not that this had anything to do with Drako Yau though. He wasn’t in a hurry to return home but instead headed for the Mercenary Guild. Suddenly, he received a message from Zephyrwolf.

‘Boss, Empyreal Spire’s Chau Yu wants to speak with you.’

In Empyreal Spire, Chau Yu sat alone in the conference room after he sent everyone away. Silently, he sat in the guild master seat, his eyes closed as he slowly waved the feather fan in his hand.

‘You have received a call request from ???. Accept?’

Chau Yu opened his eyes and accepted the call. A 3D hologram projected from his phone gradually focused to form a crystal clear hologram of a fiery red mask.

‘It’s not me,’ Chau Yu said right away, but Mask’s response was all the more surprising.

‘I know.’

Chau Yu thought about all possibilities in his head at lightning speed. In fact, he had found it a bit strange that Mask could call him so quickly after he contacted Zephyrwolf. As Mask had killed players as well, he should also be sentenced to jail for at least a week but here he was, meaning he wasn’t penalised.

Mask also answered confidently that he knew the assailant wasn’t Chau Yu. In that case, everything made sense.

‘The Castellan told you?’ Chau Yu asked.

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