MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer
chapter-41

━━━━━━ POV ━━━━━━━

The New Leaf forest was going through an apocalyptic level upheaval!

Usually, the players would only ever hang around the forest's edge to complete the stick quest. Not this time! There was a literal army of players assembling as they prepared to march inside the deadly woods.

What gave them the confidence to do so? Immortality, numbers, and promises! (Totally not empty) The one in charge of the Mighty Dragons was at the forefront, addressing them all:

"All of you! Today is the day that we will conquer the New Leaf forest! No more will we fear the foxes and the wolves! We will storm inside like a hurricane: they can't stop all of us!" He paused for a second before continuing.

"Many of you know the man that hangs out with the wannabe wolf guild. We were fighting a powerful wolf boss when he sneaked into its lair and stole our well-deserved loot! Whoever gets it back will be accepted as an executive of the Mighty Dragons!"

The players assembled couldn't help but feel that this was a good deal. Joining a powerful guild still in its infancy was the fastest track to success. This right there was a golden opportunity!

It was only day 2 of Infinite and the Mighty Dragons already controlled the beginner village! What would happen once the main guild sent more reinforcements? They would soar like a rocket!

"Alright, let's move out! Remember to kill anyone belonging to that trashy wolf guild on sight!" He reminded the crowd.

They all nodded happily. What about the fact that the Mighty Wolves were also a large guild in Desolate Desert? Well, they'd consider apologizing when they sent more troops to Infinite! In the meantime, they would side with the dragons!

They all departed amidst the players' chatter:

"It's my first time coming here. I'm so nervous now!"

"Don't worry. Everyone is nervous during their first time."

"That's not what I meant, you ass! I'm worried about the foxes!"

"No need to worry for them. I'm sure they'll enjoy devouring you."

"…-_-…"

"Hey guys, are we really hunting that expert?"

"Sure, why not? Even the Mighty Wolves are afraid to fight us!"

"I almost feel bad for him. He's gonna get bullied with numbers."

"Hehe, I don't mind at all. I'm joining the dragons. Then, it's money and bitches!"

Suddenly, a flash of orange appeared out of nowhere, attacking a player! The fox defeated him before the victim could even react and ran away with the body in its jaws.

"Oh my god! Where the fuck did it come from?!"

"It came out of the bush! Everyone be careful of bushes!"

"Watch where you're walking! Stay with the group! Be ready to fight!"

Commands resounded one after the other. The Players finally turned incredibly serious as they glanced everywhere around them! The bushes, the trees, the ground, the sky (?!) and even the rear of fellow players! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Later, they encountered two foxes out in the open, moving together and minding their own business. Oh, it was time for retribution!

"Fuck up this orange bitch up!"

"Wait, isn't he out of office already—"

"Fuck them up so bad that even their mother won't recognize them!"

Then came the beating of the century! More players than the foxes could count started trashing them! They had huge smiles on their faces and kept at it until the creatures became bloody mush! Then they turned back to red particles.

The foxes had been born from the system, and they were now returning to it. How poetic! Well, the savage grins and talks of fucking more foxes in all of their holes did kinda ruin the moment.

Their current raid leader had to bring them back to their senses: "Good job, guys! But, we're just getting started. Onward to defeat wolves!" He started what soon became a war cry:

"Onward to the wolves!"

"We're gonna fight wolves!"

"We're gonna fuck those wolves!"

Yep, a second later, there were already talks of bestiality. Did they mean fuck up wolves as in beat them up? In an online game, it was hard to know for sure…

They progressed through the forest akin to a locust plague in a beautiful and bountiful wheat field. Like absolute calamitous pests! The peaceful forest was no more, and their army made a mockery of the monsters.

"Haha, this is the best! It's like we activated god mode!"

"God mode? Are you serious? You mean freaking zerg mode, right?"

"I will only say this. Error 404, difficulty not found! Bring me more foxes! Muhahaha!"

But soon, the players were met with the first wolves, three of them. The wolves howled ferociously, and the players screamed like complete retards!

They charged at each other! The players were jubilant to kill their first wolves!

But soon, dozens of players began quickly dying! The survivors realized that this was an entirely different beast! (Quite literally)

"Oh my god! I'm only doing 1 damage at best! How are they so tanky!"

"What do you mean only 1 damage?! Isn't your usual damage 2?!"

"That's half of my freaking damage! It's a big deal!"

"Guys, shut the fuck up and keep hitting!"

"ARRRGGGG! Tell my pet snake I love it!"

"They have so much HP! WTF!"

But, even after so many chaotic complaints, the players soon won. There was only so much that three wolves could do against hundreds of players. They had no choice but to kick the bucket with whimpers and grieving hearts!

"We won. We're the best! The wolves stand no chance against us!"

"Hell yeah! That will teach them to attack us!"

"Sucks that there isn't a corpse to teabag…."

The poor wolves were lucky to be nothing but particles and avoid this sham of a victory celebration.

The players then kept going, following the Mighty Dragons. All until they finally reached a clearing where a man was happily playing with a wolf cub. He seemed so distracted that he didn't even notice them at all!

They couldn't help but widen their eyes as they saw this scene.

"It's the stealing expert!"

"Wait, what's going on here?!"

"H-he's playing with a baby wolf?!"

"Isn't this place like... really dangerous?"

"Oh my god! The little one is so cute! I want one!"

There were diverse reactions, but most felt that something was weird. But, the Mighty Dragons were there to give them courage: "Remember, whoever kills him and grabs what he stole will be able to join us!"

For a few seconds, the players seemed to hesitate, but then one dared forward. He'd use the surprise to win this fight! So what if the man was an expert? He was sitting defenselessly! He could already smell victory!

The other players lowly grumbled as they followed suit. Why had they been so slow to react?! Fuck! 30 players were charging at Jack. The ones farther behind could only give up with a sigh.

The man was bound to be defeated. One VS 30?! No way he could survive! They were just about to reach him when suddenly an earth-shattering howl was heard.

— HOWL!!!—

"What the fuck is that?!"

"Is that the boss?!"

Oh yes, it totally was! The wolf progenitor came out of its cave in a show of force as it charged toward Jack. So much for the bounty. What would happen once a monster killed him?!

But, they wouldn't get the answer as the boss completely ignored the sitting Jack. Nope, it charged at the players and began to slaughter them! Yes, not kill, slaughter! It was completely one-sided!

As for the 30 players near Jack? What players?! They had all been cleaved in half, chewed or downright gotten crushed under the boss's weight! They were all back in the village! Compared to the Mighty Guilds, their performance sure was pathetic!

The players that were sighting in disappointing for being too slow were now sighing in relief. But suddenly, the wolf boss turned its head toward them as it howled once more. That's when they shat themselves…or would have if this wasn't a game.

They began running away as fast as their legs could carry them. Some ran into other players, some ran into trees, some tripped over their own feet, and it was all so chaotic! Never had they feared so much for their lives!

Many had seemingly forgotten that their lives weren't at risk. The graphic scene of the victims getting destroyed was too much for their little hearts! What about the ones that were used to violence in VR games? Even they ran!

This was one of the points that made Infinite…well, Infinite. The wolf may have been virtual data, but it felt real! It wasn't as bad as IRL not to scar players, but it still felt true— it was hard to explain.

That's how hundreds of powerful wolf conquerors (self-proclaimed) ended up fleeing a single being. Sure, it was a really strong one, but what happened to their bravery? All gone!

It's only after many minutes of mindless running that they finally noticed the lack of screams. How was this possible?! The boss had been so fast and strong! They had seen it annihilate 30 players in the blink of an eye. What was happening?

They soon came to realize that they had all been running for absolutely no reason. The wolf boss had never chased after them in the first place! Hundreds of players began looking at each other awkwardly.

"Eh...how about we never talk of this ever?"

"Agreed"

"+1!"

They slowly backtracked only to witness a heated exchange.

"I see how it is! You somehow managed to make peace with the boss by tempting the young one! No matter, it won't change anything." The leader of the Mighty Dragons spat out.

"How so?" The expert replied calmly, still playing with the wolf pup.

"You have a treasure with you and can't die without losing it. The boss won't leave this clearing either as it will protect its cub. We just have to wait for you here, and you'll be screwed!" He sneered.

Oh my god! This was such a devious plan! They would camp the lone expert?! This was precisely why one shouldn't steal from the big guilds! They had so much influence!

"So you're telling me hundreds of players will remain here to guard little old me? Wow! I'm gonna blush. I didn't know you cared so much about me." The expert replied while doing a coquettish pose.

What the hell was that pose?! It was so disgusting! Did he think he was a maiden or something?! No, he was definitely trolling them! But he did have a point…Would they seriously all remain here?

The players were busy people. They had chickens to kill, and— actually, that's pretty much all they did. After all, most couldn't be bothered to do most quests. They were all doing the mayor's quest since he had promised them gear!

"Remain here and do nothing? Ha, do you think we'll sit around waiting for you? No! We'll be exploring the forest and killing wolves! We'll clear a direct path from the village to here so people can come back quickly after respawning too!"

The players felt their blood boil when they heard this! Kill wolves, kill the expert when he comes out, and join the dragons! This all sounded so wonderful!

Inside the clearing, the expert could be seen sighing in despair— or so they thought.

Jack was actually sighing at their stupidity while internally laughing his ass off…

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[A/N] Name Poll for the little wolf! The coolest will be chosen!

Creator's Thought

The idea of making a chain from the New Leaf village to the wolf area was actually genius. It allowed to easily build a reputation as the guild that brought people to conquer the wolves! But, a good idea can quickly become a catastrophe if not executed properly...