Rioneed: VRMMORPG

Ibro wasn't worried about finding the first NPC; he was concerned about his ability to kill all the seeds in the cities that belonged to him. His territory was advancing rapidly day after day. 

He needed to start his hard work, especially it wasn't the only job he had. Ibro didn't leave at once, as he searched for the players that were stationed here at the village. 

He didn't find them though, as they moved from here a day before his arrival. Ibro didn't recall meeting this group of players while coming here. Ibro wasn't worried about them, as he already had their lives in his hands.

"Rinobak, do you have anyone you recommend to help in administering my newly acquired cities?"

Rinobak didn't doubt Ibro question as he replied at once:

"I have some good seedlings here, but they need some time to practice. If my king allows it, then in a week they will be ready."

Ibro felt satisfied, one week wasn't that long so he agreed at once:

"No problem. After one week I will wait for you at the city to take control of the matters there and help Gorsag in his works."

Rinobak was taken aback as he wasn't expecting this assignment from his king. He knelt at once while saying in gratitude:

"Thanks my king for your consideration."

Ibro just waved his hand at him while he went outside the gates of the village. His personal guards were there waiting for him. Ibro then moved towards his city by the use of one cultivator. 

The journey to the city would take around one-day long flying at most. Just as Ibro moved outside the village he heard the harsh voice of the system stating:

'I have discovered the presence of a hidden team of assassins one kilometer to the north of you.'

Ibro felt surprised by the presence of this team. He asked at once:

'How many assassins are there?'

'There are around 1000 assassins. All of them are NPCs.'

Ibro felt danger at once. Assassins were the most difficult class to deal with in any game. Ibro asked for more details:

'Are they controlled by the demons like that northern lord? Can I use the confuse function of my divine ability?'

'They aren't controlled by any demon yet, but all of them have the seeds. They are hidden in the dark and I guess they hold no good intention, so be careful. 

You can use the confusion function but it will give you only a window of two to three seconds only. These assassins' level is above 100, so your function is reduced a bit against them.'

Ibro knew what he needed to know. He wasn't afraid of facing them now. He just had to adjust his men and inform them at first.

'I want to use the telepathy function to relay orders to all of my men. Use the one-way function now on all of them.'

The system replied after a moment of silence:

'the function is applied, you can now say what you want to them.'

'Boys, don't worry, it's me, your king. I have discovered a 1000 team of assassins in the way ahead of us. They are less than 1 kilometer from our current position. 

I will try to negotiate with them as I need something from them. If they didn't comply, be ready to move at once. I will reveal their locations to you. 

You will have only a 1-second window before they disappear again, so use this window well. I depend on you on this. If we fail, then I will use my death summon, and then we will kill them all using skeletons' wave tactic.'

Ibro noticed the change of looks of his men for a second, then they regained their calm in a professional way. 

He admired their mental stability. One kilometer distance was nothing for these flying cultivators and riding death knights. When they reached near this hidden group, the system alarmed Ibro again:

'They are only 100 meters away from the front of your men.'

"Why don't you, my friends, show yourselves? I already know about your presence."

Ibro's loud voice echoed at the place. his men didn't stop in their tracks though as they were ready to enter battle at any moment. 

Ibro was about to issue the order for the system to use the confuse function, but the sudden appearance of all of the 1000 assassins made him postpone this move for now. 

He looked towards those 1000 NPCs in admiration. They were a veteran group of assassins. The one in the forefront, who seemed like their leader, said in a calm voice:

"Very admirable indeed. The invader who came from outside our world can discover us is very admirable. It seems your reputation in our world isn't an exaggeration at all."

Ibro replied to these words of praise by neutral tone as he said:

"I admire your courage as well. You try to block our way by only your few numbers, that's really courageous."

"Numbers don't matter in any battle," the assassin said at once with his calm tone. Ibro added:

"Yes, I totally agree. May I know who you are, where you are from, and what business you want from me?"

The man replied while observing the personal guard of Ibro:

"I'm Topan, the leader of the personal army of the emperor. I'm here to deliver a message to you. It's both advice and a warning."

Ibro didn't bother with the message as he was interested in this man himself. 

He was a very talented assassin and he had many good assassins following him. He was the best choice for Ibro to try his ability to kill the seeds. He asked the system:

'I have a question, are all NPCs aware of the presence of the seeds?'

'Yes, they are all aware. They have a sad story they might tell you after you kill the seeds in them.'

Ibro smiled before saying:

'That's good. Be ready, I will offer this NPC a way out of his misery.'

The sound of the system came at once in a hurry as if he was afraid Ibro would speak his mind:

'Please hold on for one second. I will use some SPR stones to create an isolation field around this area.'

Ibro felt strange, that system needed more stones now to create such a field. That meant only one thing.

'Are you afraid of other demons to be listening to our conversation?'

'I'm not afraid of some possibility, I'm afraid of reality. All the demons' seeds are connected together like a huge mind. If you said something about these seeds, the rest will know. 

That will put you to more danger early in this stage. Don't forget, there are NPCs in levels higher than your imagination. You should avoid those NPCs' attention for now.'

Ibro felt how dangerous the situation was if he made just one mistake here. The system had tried to explain in detail to alert him. Ibro didn't hesitate to say:

'Form the field now then.'