For a moment, their eyes met.

To be honest, although Don didn’t like the War Fire team, he couldn’t read any malice in the eyes of the man in front of him. The gaze was calm, composed, even slightly gentle. So he made a risky decision.

He revealed his ID openly. Of course, there was no need to expose his level or class, they could probably guess his profession from his gear.

Either archer or thief. And as for his level, sorry, but if someone hid theirs, you needed to be at least five levels higher to see it, unless you had a special skill. Currently, the highest-level player in the entire American server, Elias Finch, was only Level 23.

"Just call me Don, Brother Debtborn."

As he spoke, his system bell chimed twice in rapid succession.

[Player Lan Luo has sent you a friend request!] [Player Debtborn has sent you a friend request!]

Don frowned then he clicked confirm twice in quick succession, only to discover that Lily’s level had already reached 19. No wonder she had climbed so fast, the girl had powerful connections.

A friend message from Lily came almost immediately. "Brother Don, is it the same as what I just said?"

"That’s right." Honestly, Don felt a little down. He had suddenly gone from being called brother to non-brother. Did that mean their relationship had grown closer or more distant?

"Brother Don, I’ll do everything I can to get you out of this. If all else fails, just tear up your return scroll right now, and let’s see who dares stop you."

"Don’t be silly, Lily. I’m not leaving. We haven’t done anything wrong."

"So stupid..."

Debtborn glanced at Don, then turned to Nolan Hart of the Gon Alliance. "Nolly, Lily is the boss’s god-sister. Her brother. You should at least give him some face."

Nolan Hart’s expression remained dark. "Treat everyone fairly, Brother Lane. I also call Brother Finch ’brother,’ so you can’t favor Lily here. I have to take my revenge today, no matter what."

’So you’re determined to push this.’

"That’s right."

Elias Finch watched with a curious expression. "Oh? Looks like we’re going to use the old rule again."

Don understood what he meant by old rule. These Gon Alliance gangsters, Nolan Hart included, definitely wanted to settle things with him in a private duel.

Nolan Hart sneered. "You little brat. You dare fight me one-on-one? If you can beat me, I’ll let you go, and we’ll forget this ever happened. But if I lay a finger on you when we meet again, then I’ll get myself run over by a car."

Don glanced at his level. Already 17. He had leveled fast. Then he scanned the others beside him: Gon Sun Ji at Level 16, Gon Damon Teague at Level 16 as an Apprentice Mage, and Gon Talia Stormsister at Level 15. If these guys hadn’t been backed by powerful patrons, they wouldn’t have climbed this fast after the level system unification.

But Don had a quirk. When some troublemaker pushed him repeatedly, he liked to go all out and crush them so completely that they’d never act arrogant around him again. He glanced at the mountaintop, frowned slightly, and an idea came to him.

"Brother Finch, can I have a word with you?"

Seeing him bypass Nolan Hart entirely, the gangster’s face flared with fury, but Elias Finch waved him down. "Don, say what you have to say."

"The Gon Alliance, it’s a sub-branch of War Fire, isn’t it?"

"Yes. They’re our subsidiary alliance."

"Since this is personal, can I ask to raise the stakes?"

"Oh?" Elias Finch was slightly taken aback. "Raise the stakes? What do you mean?"

"I’m a straightforward person. I came to the Brugg base camp to do a quest, and the quest item I need is almost certainly held by the boss at the top of the mountain." He paused deliberately, leaving the rest unsaid.

Elias Finch was sharp, he caught the implication immediately. "If that’s the case, Nolly can raise the stakes. The loot from that boss can go to you. Not just items, but equipment too. As for the rules of the duel itself, you’ll have to abide by Nolly’s terms."

That was exactly the result Don had wanted. He turned his gaze to Nolan Hart, his eyes sweeping over him like lightning. "Nolly. Since we have a problem, let’s settle this like men. You set the rules."

Nolan Hart laughed loudly. "Excellent! Since you’re a man, don’t blame me for being ruthless. Same rules as before, a duel to the death. But it’ll be a gauntlet match. You can use health potions, or have your friends heal you. The four of us brothers and sisters will take turns against you. If you’ve got the guts, accept it. If not, kneel and apologize to us right now, and I might forgive you." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Death duels were a unique mode in Realms Online just like in earlier virtual games such as battle Online, Ascension Online, and Paradise. In a one-on-one match, the loser dropped ten levels.

Realms Online had an additional rule on top of that, the losing player would die and respawn back in town, and would lose at least one piece of equipment in the process.

The gauntlet part was easy enough to understand. They’d take turns against him.

But the let your friends heal you part was utter nonsense. Who the hell was he supposed to call for healing? And even if a friend was willing to come, would Don really put them on the Gon Alliance’s blacklist for him? That wasn’t his style.

Lily was furious on the spot. "Nolan, you bastard! You’re clearly bullying him! You want a PK? Try me, I guarantee I’ll crush you!"

Don grabbed her arm and lowered his voice. "Lily. Which piece of armor are you wearing that’s still White Iron grade?"

Lily muttered in an annoyed tone, "Shoulders and shoes. Why are you asking?"

"Little girl, I can’t give you my shoulders. But if I happen to get a bronze-grade pair of leather boots, you can have them."

"Brother, this is a gauntlet! You’re going to fight all four of them by yourself with no healer! You’re doomed! Even if you’re high level, it won’t be enough, and look at your gear, it’s completely dull!"

Don smiled strangely. "The gloss can be adjusted manually, you know."

He stepped back a few paces. "Who’s first?"

At that moment, the gangster Talia Stormsister stepped forward. "Kid. Let me test your skills first." A duel-to-the-death request appeared in front of him almost before she finished speaking.

Don clicked confirm without hesitation.

The system began a three-second countdown. Don stood completely still. Talia looked very confident in her well-crafted chainmail, gently swaying her staff, her eyes fixed on him.

But with one second left, Don suddenly swung his arms, and entered stealth.

Talia was momentarily taken aback, then sneered. "You think you can beat me like this? Let me tell you something, I have over two thousand HP. Watch how I wear you down, you bastard."

Don was speechless. ’Don’t flaunt your two thousand HP. I’m a pure-Strength rogue, and I have over two thousand HP myself, okay?’

He quickly slipped behind her, drew his dagger in one fluid motion, and casually drove it into her waist.

Blood erupted from the wound. She let out a pained groan, and a damage number of 3,906 floated above her head. Instant kill.

Not only did her level drop by ten, but her breastplate also tumbled to the ground. Don picked it up casually, secretly delighted.

The copper wire on this chainmail piece was finely woven and surprisingly heavy. The attributes were excellent.

[Green Field Breastplate — Bronze Grade] [Chainmail]

[Level Req: 15]

[PDEF +135 ]

[MDEF +60]

[+8 STR]

[+8 INT ]

[+8 AGI ]

[+8 CON]

[+2 MP regen per second]

Chainmail offered a wide range of stat distributions, making it perfectly suited for hybrid classes like Battle Wizards and Priests. And with mana regeneration baked in, it was especially valuable for healers.

The Gon Alliance players were all dumbfounded. None of them had expected him to kill Talia in a single Backstab, and for the damage to be that absurd.

Gareth Zane, the mad chicken, as everyone called him, immediately challenged Don to his own death duel. Don had barely clicked confirm before the guy lunged at him like a hungry wolf.

Don quickly stepped back twice. "Dude, the countdown isn’t even over. What’s the rush?"

"Rush my ass! Give me back Sister Talia’s life!"

Don scoffed coldly. "Repaying her life isn’t possible. But you can keep her company down there."

"Damn it, shut your mouth! I don’t believe I can’t chop you to death!" Gareth drew a gleaming dagger from his waist, clearly a high-quality piece.

The countdown ended. They both activated Evasion almost simultaneously, and both launched a basic attack at the exact same instant, and both attacks missed.

Gareth was clearly the angry-young-man type. He slashed at Don’s chest, but Don sidestepped it cleanly and delivered a horizontal slash across his back.

Blood sprayed, and another sizable number bloomed in the air.

[1,240!]

Gareth’s HP dropped by more than half in an instant. His eyes widened. "Damn, what kind of luck is that?"

While they were exchanging words, Don already had a red potion at his lips. His dagger came down, and Gareth had nowhere to retreat, he could only swing his own blade at Don’s chest in a desperate Consecutive Slash. Don didn’t dodge. He answered with the exact same skill.

Four sharp sounds of steel cutting flesh rang out. Four numbers blossomed above their heads. One of them groaned and crumpled to the ground.

[305!]

[349!]

[679!]

[754!]

No question, Gareth was dead. But the dagger in his hand didn’t drop. His leather boot did.