(Three Days Later – Jacob’s POV)
[System Notification: The second annual Rankers Summit will commence in 15 minutes. Please accept the invitation to teleport to the event dimension before the timer expires, or the invitation will be forfeited automatically.
We look forward to seeing you there!]
[System Notification: Would you like to teleport to the event dimension?
Yes
No
Timer: 14:58]
It was finally the day of the event, and barely five minutes after logging into the game, Jacob was immediately greeted by the flashing system prompt, urging him to make his decision.
The timing couldn’t have been better for him, since he had already provided Elena with a convincing excuse the day before, explaining that the intricate architecture project he had been painstakingly working on was nearing completion, and logging out for the next 48 hours simply wasn’t an option.
With that explanation in place, the path to fully participating in the event was wide open, leaving nothing in his way.
His finger hovered over the “Yes” option for a brief moment as a grin crept across his face.
This was the opportunity he had been waiting for, as without hesitation, he accepted the invitation, ready to face the challenges that awaited in the event dimension.
********
As soon as he was teleported into the event dimension, Jacob found himself standing in an expansive, open plain that stretched endlessly in every direction.
The only notable feature of this plain was a towering, solitary tree far off in the distance, however, it was at least a solid 30 minutes walk away on foot.
Surrounding him were nearly ten thousand other rankers, all scattered across the field, their presence adding a palpable tension to the air as they nervously chatted amongst each other.
As Jacob observed the rankers gathered around him, he immediately noticed a striking detail about them, that most of them were barely young adults, likely no older than 25 or 27.
Their youth was apparent in the way they moved, talked, and laughed—full of confidence, full of fire. They thought they were invincible, and it showed in their prideful eyes.
As Jacob scanned their faces, he realized that he was one of the few older men in the crowd, and that suited him just fine.
These kids had no idea what it meant to face real danger, real death, and Jacob did not take such fools too seriously.
As he moved through the crowd, the idle chatter of rankers filled his ears, which only further worsened his view of them.
“Check out this sword,” one of them bragged, showing off a gleaming blade. “Got it from a raid last night. With this baby, I’m unstoppable. No way anyone’s taking me down in this event.”
“Yeah, well, I just leveled up my [Firestorm] skill,” the other one replied, puffing out his chest. “One hit from that, and it’s game over for whoever gets in my way. This is gonna be easy.”
Jacob couldn’t help but scoff internally, when he heard this, he was a special ops soldier—a real one, not some overconfident gamer who only knew how to use spells to kill monsters.
He’d seen the dark side of life, had been trained to kill in more ways than these kids could imagine.
With nothing but his bare hands, he could easily kill a man in a hundred ways. But these youngsters, they strutted around like they had the world in the palm of their hands, although most were worthless without their weapons in hand.
They had no idea what real combat was like, what it felt like to look into a man’s eyes as you ended his life.
The way they spoke about their gear and flashy moves—it was superficial, childish.
He had faced enemies far more dangerous than any monster these kids had seen in this game, and those enemies didn’t announce their presence with glowing armor or dramatic moves. They came in silently, when you least expected it, and by the time you realized they were there, it was already too late.
He felt a wave of disdain rise inside him. These boys thought their swords and skills made them strong, but Jacob knew the truth. It wasn’t the weapon in your hand or the skill you mastered that made you dangerous—it was the experience, the ability to keep your cool under pressure.
In the real world, those with the biggest mouths were the first to die. He had seen it countless times.
As he walked through the gathering, searching for familiar faces, his mind drifted to his sons, Luke and Leo.
The two of them were the primary reason he was here, and although he was sure that they weren’t going to be thrilled to see him, he wanted to watch over them from afar.
However, to his dismay, no matter how hard he tried he could not seem to locate them in this large crowd.
“Has anyone seen TheBoss yet?” a ranker asked in a hushed tone. “You’d think he’d be here already, right? Isn’t he supposed to be the top player?”
“No one’s spotted him,” another replied. “I bet he’s watching from the shadows, away from all prying eyes. He’s a real assassin you know!”
Hearing the name TheBoss, a faint smile crept across Jacob’s face.
That was his son, Leo, and Jacob was proud of the reputation his boy had built.
Having faced him in combat, Jacob knew just how formidable Leo really was and he respected the boy’s talents immensely.
‘Is he really hiding in the shadows though?’ Jacob wondered as he started to look for any trace of Leo in the shadows of the various rankers, however, his thoughts were interrupted as the crowd suddenly grew quiet.
He looked up and saw why, as a stunning figure approached from the horizon, moving with an ethereal grace that commanded attention.
It was an elf, her silver hair shimmering like moonlight, her emerald eyes piercing as she stepped forward.
The field fell silent as she addressed the gathering of rankers, her voice ringing out clear and authoritative. “Welcome, rankers. I’m Raya, and I’ll be the host of this year’s rankers summit.
Please note that the second annual Rankers Summit will begin five minutes after I’m done explaining the event, so please prepare yourselves accordingly.”
Jacob straightened hearing these words, his focus sharpening.
Knowing the rules was important to complete any mission, and hence he focused on what Raya had to say single-mindedly.
——
/// A/N – Mass Release Chapter 4 of 5 ///