MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

What happens when you go on a sneaky underwater exploration, only to get spotted by aquatic enemies? Answer —> Not a good time!

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━━━ YOU DIED! ━━━

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— Lost XP And Old Gear! — 

Jack respawned in Sprigfield. A gentle-looking priestess suddenly shouted in fright as she witnessed the flash of red light appear. 

"M-monster!!!" 

Her shriek attracted guards who rushed to help. Jack hurriedly ran away, not minding how many players he shoved in the process, disappearing in an alley. 

The shivering girl watched him leave in confusion. Was he actually a player? Still, the guards would definitely be more alert from now on. He'd have to limit his deaths. 

The lake was proving more thorny than he had first expected. 

Infiltration —> Possible if fewer monsters 

Requirement —> Players to thin their numbers

The crux of the matter was that it was too easy to be noticed with how tranquil the waters were. Oh, and he knew how to solve the problem. 

He slammed the door to the Drunken Sailor Open. 

"Anyone from D.L. or I.R.L here? It's time to show me your might!!" He shouted excitedly. 

He completely shattered the chill atmosphere inside. The rock goblin group on stage abruptly stopped playing, staring at the newcomer with curiosity. 

His flashy orange armor screamed "I'm looking for trouble!" 

The various tavern patrons sucked in a cold breath. 

"What a fool, he's courting death!" 

"This guy's lucky the Big Boss is missing!" 

"Even then, he's mad! Challenging two factions at once!?" 

That's when countless players all rose from their seats, grabbing their weapons. Just the warriors' aura alone was enough to intimidate the bystanders. 

Would this place turn into a bloodbath?! 

Just as many were ready to flee for their lives, the cultists grinned. "We're at your service, Sir!!!" 

In such an anti-climactic way, they left the tavern orderly, many curiously following. But, just as they were about to reach the gate, a bunch of random players stood in their way. 

They grimaced as they pointed at them, a representative walking forward. 

"I wonder who hides under that armor. Given how those fanatic cultists are following you…you're the Demon King, right?" He exclaimed with pride. 

"Impressive. Do you want a trophy?" Jack replied with the most deadpan expression. 

"Y-you!!!"

"Don't worry, son. Take your time. It's normal to be speechless at times." Jack comforted, many giggling in the background. 

"Tch— Act haughtily all you want. We have enough people to block the Town exit. We won't move until you get rid of the Invisible Deer and—" He threatened. 

"Sure."

"You won't have any other choice but to…Wait, you agreed?!" He exclaimed, shocked. 

"Yeah? I'm literally going there right now. You can follow if you want." Jack shrugged, the player unsure how to react.

All of them left the Town together, about 200 heads strong in total. This was pretty good, considering most were busy leveling up. 

Jack stopped by the farm to grab something. 

— Acquired Fairy in a Pocket! — 

At first, she was happily flying around, but she retreated to the warmth of his pocket once she sensed the looks from the nearby players. In her defense, they did seem crazy.

"So cute!!" 

"Where can I get one?!!!" 

"If I had a fairy, I'd dress her up and kiss her all day!" 

Jack tactfully ignored the weird comments, guiding them toward the forest. As soon as they entered, many stared at their surroundings warily. This place was a land of death! 

He took a few minutes to distribute Woodcutting axes to everyone present. This would be all the remuneration they'd be getting for their efforts: borrowing tools for free. 

"Alright, everyone! We're here to turn this place into a wasteland, so get working and cut that wood! I also need a few for an errand." He called out to them. 

Some were confused. What was up with that failed pep talk?! Luckily, many cultists in their midst were already getting to work. 

— Smack! Smack! — 

Their axes heavily landed on the trees, crushing the bark violently, not asking any questions. 

"Cutting wood?! What about the invisible—"

"Shh—Let me worry about that," Jack remarked, the Fairy now floating by his side, eyes and body glowing green. She was sensing their surroundings.

At first, she was flustered. Detection magic didn't work against the creature?! But then he slowly guided her toward the right path. 

Deers immune to direct magic sensing? —> Look for the air it displaces by moving 

Instead, she even gasped, enlightened, and soon opened her eyes in fright. 

"Get ready. It's coming!" Jack shouted. 

His troops were coming back with buckets filled with muddy water as if on cue. He quickly set them up to create an impromptu trap before waiting. 

In the complete silence, the Boss appeared, invisible. 

— Deer Activated the Trap! — 

The creature was suddenly splashed with the muddy water, revealing its location. Ironically it could defend against tracking magic, but not this. 

"Boys, fuck it up!" he shouted toward his men. 

That's when one of the most fucked up fights of all time ensued. He was simply watching, barking orders from time to time. 

He was waiting for a specific moment with the Fairy… 

"Duck! To the ground, NOW!!!" As he screamed, many unconsciously obeyed. As for all the ones that hadn't done it, they perished, killed by invisible flying antlers. 

Outsiders —> Mostly Dead 

That's the moment he chose to join the fray, reaching the muddy, bloody silhouette that seemed to be floating in the air. 

He used magical fire to roast it alive! 

-23

-24

-26 

He couldn't help but rejoice as he saw every tick removing so much HP. This thing had a sturdy hide, but his magic had recently risen a lot. 

"Finish it!" He screamed.

But at this specific moment, a player army appeared, Jack raising a brow. Why was it always them?! Forsaken, right?

"Kill them all! Today is a great day to KS!!!" Their leader shouted. 

"Tch— Bastards can't even use the quote properly." 

Mostly ally players VS Forsaken and a few randoms 

The fight was extremely chaotic. Too many random Braves made it near-impossible to determine who was on which side.

The #1 priority for the invaders was to get revenge. They even disregarded the Deer to keep fighting them, even as the creature ran away. 

Really?! The deer just happily swaggered away. The Forsaken peeps even cheered as it happened. 

"This is revenge for screwing us over! Take that!!" They hurled projectiles, spells, and even insults his way. "Now your prey's completely gone!" 

But as soon as the words left their lips, many players started booing. Why did they have to be bitches about it?! They just wanted the Deer to die, whoever killed it! 

Jack could only shrug as he witnessed their heroic act backfire into horrendous PR. Was it really worth it? 

"Today, you'll die for sure!" He heard them scream in the background. 

About that…."Summon Undead!" In the confusion, only a few noticed the bones rising, but it was enough to chill the players' hearts. 

Skeletons?! —> Why did they look so sinister?! 

Dark flames flickered in their eye sockets as their bony fingers formed claws that seemed sharper than a blade. One could totally judge the book by its cover in this specific case! 

"Go on, my precious." Jack chuckled. 

As soon as his minions joined the fight, it became one-sided. This was because he carefully controlled them to create the maximum impact on the battlefield. 

An ally about to falter? A skeleton appeared to cover them! An enemy losing its balance? A bony stab to the spine would come right at the perfect moment! 

Overall Power —> Low 

Overall Disturbance —> So freaking High! 

It didn't take long for Forsaken to perish. But, even as they disappeared, they were still smiling. They knew they had disturbed his plans— or thought so anyway. 

Jack was here for the wood, and the fight had destroyed the terrain enough that there was wood lying all around. This was a great success! 

"Everyone, grab as much as much wood as you can. We're going on a journey!" 

He quickly brought them to the lake and his trusty partner, who had returned just in time. "Woo!" (This wolf is back!) 

They all glanced at him, wondering what the next step was. 

"Now….I'm gonna be the pirate king!!!— And you're all gonna help." He heroically declared. 

Many wondered if he had sustained a confusion debuff in the earlier fight. Pirate king? On a lake? But, the cultists were already motivated. 

"Sir, how are we supposed to assemble the ships? Should we make small ones or big ones? How many oars? Large sails? What about the armament?" They quickly asked. 

He wasn't that picky about his boats for now… 

"I just need them to fill the entire lake. It can be with rafts for all I care. As long as the quantity is sufficient, I don't mind the craftmanship one bit!" He explained. 

His plan was simple. If he couldn't sneak in, he'd be so high-key insufferable that his targets would voluntarily seek him out to beg him to stop the dumping. 

It barely took a few trips for the lake to turn from a beautiful blue surface to a uniform brown stain. Environmental destruction over 9000! 

As the Fairy noticed this, she couldn't help but ask. "Why can't we just peacefully negotiate with them?" There was sorrow in her voice. 

Jack could only sigh, shaking his head. 

"How naive you are, little Fairy. One does not simply negotiate with fishmen, and for a good reason. It's—" 

Just as he was about to explain further, shouts echoed. The wood they had thrown in the lake was getting pulverized to splinters as countless aquatic creatures showed up. 

They were here for revenge…