MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

"Brother, I couldn't help but notice that you aren't wearing a D.L. emblem…."

Instantly he felt a headache coming. Not another groupie that would try to convince him about the endless benefits of joining that shitty faction!

"I don't have any." He stated.

"Is that so? Do you have any plan on joining them?" The leader warmly inquired.

"No, and nothing you can say will convince me otherwise. I'm—" He protested.

"Wonderful! Brothers, we finally found someone that doesn't believe in D.L.!" The party leader cheered with the others high-fiving.

Wait…what?! That's when he noticed that their chest was similarly void of any token.

"You guys also aren't fans of D.L.?!"

"Nope, we're not. Not at all!" They assured him.

At that moment, the man felt so glad. He had finally found his people! For the first time in a while, someone wasn't trying to shove their fucked up beliefs down his throat! He couldn't help but get excited.

"T-this is amazing! It must be fate that we met! I was going crazy, thinking that I was the only one awake in a group of fools!"

They were all nodding gently at his words.

"We should band together! How about we educate the people in the village? We have to show them the true nature of this horrible organization! We need to march united and defend logic and reason!" He heatedly clamored.

By now, they were showing happy but slightly awkward smiles as they rubbed their heads.

"Brother, it sounds really nice, but that's a bit too much, don't you think?"

"Too much? You can't lose hope that easily! We have to stand up for what we believe is right! Wouldn't a world without D.L. be better! All of you, don't you agree?!" They had to share the same feeling deep down, right?!

They glanced at one another as they all nodded. As he saw this, he could already picture everything they would do together. They would cleanse this village of the scoundrels!

However, they once again stopped his train of thoughts:

"Brother, it's nice to dream, but the fact is D.L. is here, and we can't change that. We can only learn to live with it. You should come to terms with it too, and you'll feel better."

"Come to terms? Feel better? That's bullshit! Think about all that is wrong with D.L.! They are taking the fun out of this game by pushing their agenda on everyone else!"

Once more, they nodded, but it was missing enthusiasm. They looked as one would when talking about communism: knowing it's amazing in theory but a shitshow in practice.

"Brother, I agree they are, but we're used to it. Not everyone embraces our ways. It's just like that, you know." The leader sighed.

"Enough with all the cowering and the despairing. You guys can't be so wishy-washy about what you believe in!" He shouted with gusto.

"Brother, I love your enthusiasm, and it was really great meeting you, but let's get to business now, alright?" The leader gently proposed.

"Business? Are you guys in after all? Perfect, let's—" Just as he was happily rejoicing at their change of heart, they took action.

At this moment, he saw everything happen in utter confusion. What, why?! All five of them attacked him at once.

It only took a few seconds for him to be defeated. What was this about?!  But just as his body was disappearing, he heard them talk to themselves:

"Boss, PK is getting harder and harder."

"Damn D.L, and their included protection service!"

"Tchh— this fool only dropped seven fox corpses too."

"At this rate, we'd be better off just grinding ourselves."

As he died, he finally understood everything. The like-minded wise people turned out to be PKers?! What the fuck?! He felt like throwing up blood…

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━━━ YOU DIED! ━━━

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As he respawned in the village, he seriously considered recreating his account to change village and possibly even quitting the game. This D.L. bullshit was getting on his nerves too much.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted:

"Wow! This game feels so damn real! Just exploring this village is going to be so awesome!" An excited voice echoed.

Next to him, a young girl had just spawned. She was happily looking all around with her eyes glowing in wonder— for a few seconds at least. Then her face contorted in horror.

"W-what the hell is that?!" She lost her bearings as she gazed at something in the distance.

It was a disturbing and grotesque orange pile of corpses. It was so tall that it could now be seen from the spawn. Talk about an unforgettable first sight! She shuddered as her brain slowly comprehended what she was seeing.

The now despondent man chuckled without any warmth.

"This is what D.L. taking over a village looks like."

"D-dee Hell? She asked with fright yet a tinge of curiosity."

"D.L.: Demonic Legion. They'll try to poach you soon enough, so you might as well hear it from me. They're a group that take Newbies under their wings for a fee. From what I've seen, they brainwash whoever joins to fit their agenda."

"B-brainwash?!"

"Yep. It's all goddamn propaganda and a cult in disguise. They all revere that one guy they call the Demon King. His gaming skills seem to be as high as his lack of morality. Stay far away from them if you want to remain sane." He explained.

Before she could reply, a party overheard this and came forward, obviously disagreeing.

"Hey, what do you mean seemingly a cult!"

"Yeah, man. Take it back!"

"This is 100% slander!"

"We ARE a cult!"

Wait…what the fuck?! They admitted to it?!

"Hehe, young lady, you should try joining. There are enough benefits to warrant the price, and you can be part of a wonderful community!"

Luckily he had warned her in time. Now she would be the one to choose.

"Y-you said Demon King, right? Where can I find him?! I saw a post about him on purpleddit. He seems so damn cool!" She chirped. Just like that, another innocent (?) soul had fallen.

What about the man that had started it all? The Demon King was nowhere to be found. This gave rise to many rumors:

1. He was farming dungeons like a madman.

2. He was busy editing his highlights.

3. He had already left the tutorial.

4. He had gone back to Hell.

In any case, no one doubted that he would soon come back with another crazy stunt....