You're Still Not Loyal Enough!

"Pant, pant..." "Holy crap, that NPC was terrifying. I've never seen such insane fire damage before." "She looks like a girl of fifteen or sixteen, yet she practically slaughtered every elite player who passed the trial!" "Still, thank goodness..." The Wangquan player pulled the ring from his clenched palm, breathed on it, and rubbed it clean. His bloodshot eyes gleamed with excitement and euphoria. "I got my prize." "Hehehe, the server's very first purple-tier gear! I'm going to be rich!" "I wonder how much Guild Master Bazhe will throw down this time with a wave of his hand. Might be enough to set me up for life!" He had already sunk completely into his daydreams. Precedent existed within the Wangquan guild. Back during the closed beta, Bazhe had casually splashed out a hundred thousand yuan to buy an entire set of Rare equipment from a guild member. *Whoosh—* Suddenly, he felt a scorching heat from behind. His clothes burst into flames. "N-no way..." A dreadful premonition gripped his heart. He turned around trembling, his face instantly turning pale. A young girl with crimson hair and golden eyes had crossed through space. She hovered midair, looking down at him from above, her long, flame-like hair dancing wildly in the air. Flames swirled; ashes drifted. The meaning in her gaze was unmistakable. "His Majesty Cassius once declared..." "Theft is strictly forbidden within the territory of the empire." The player stared in disbelief, muttering, "How can an NPC have such a huge aggro range...?" "S-she's clearly the boss of the Tower of Karmic Fire! How can she show up out here?!" Yet for the sake of the fortune almost within his grasp, the Wangquan player decided to risk it all. Clutching the ring tightly in his fist, eyes bloodshot and blue veins bulging on his forehead, he blurted out in desperation: "D-don't come any closer!" "What I did isn't stealing!" "Can something a player does even be called stealing?! Where's the game master behind you? I'm reporting him for defrauding consumers!" Misha looked down at him coldly, the flames swirling around her body growing increasingly violent until they formed a raging vortex. Her lips parted slightly. "Unforgivable." *Boom!* The next instant, ferocious tongues of fire surged forth like man-eating pythons, swallowing the player whole. When the flames dispersed, only a small pile of ashes remained on the ground, scattering into the wind. The only thing left behind was a gleaming golden ring—the Ring of the Efreeti Noble. "Hmph, courting death." "Greedy and ignorant wretches like you are no different from those Northlands nobles. And you thought you could become Dragon-Pact Sorcerers? In your dreams!" With a flick of Misha's hand, the precious ring rose on a plume of fire and flew straight into her palm. The girl reached out again, tearing open space with flames, and reappeared within the Tower of Karmic Fire. Cradling the ring, Misha spoke softly: "The sinner has received his due punishment." "Take this as a warning." "Furthermore... I am Misha, pact sorcerer to the great Emperor Cassius, and His Majesty's representative in the Tower of Karmic Fire." "Yes, my lady!" "We will obey your orders!" Witnessing the thief's gruesome fate, the remaining players hurried to respond. At the same time, they secretly counted their blessings. "Sure enough, there's no such thing as a free lunch. It was a trap!" "Yeah, thank goodness I didn't try to snatch the gear." "More like you weren't fast enough to grab any." "Holy crap, Dragon-Pact Sorcerers are absurdly strong. That damage is ridiculous." "Hehe, I could tell something was off from the start. Good thing I kept my cool. We're about to advance our class!" "Yeah! Such an overpowered class is about to be ours!" The players began dreaming of their glorious future. Wouldn't such an immensely powerful class launch them straight to the top? Under their expectant gazes, Misha looked around, then spoke once more. "As you can see, Dragon-Pact Sorcerers possess great power, but all of it comes from the supreme Emperor Cassius." "Every Dragon-Pact Sorcerer is His Majesty's representative and servant, a fortunate soul blessed by the great red dragon." Flames ignited at her fingertips. "For us, the single most important thing is absolute loyalty." Among the crowd, Xiaye Qiuyu beamed with delight. She was right! As pact-bound casters, loyalty was indeed paramount! This was also the core characteristic of classes under the Cinder Empire. For example, someone had once compiled detailed data on dragon-blessed paladins showing that players within the "Cassius Fan Club" dealt higher damage than regular players. Misha continued speaking, raising her slender hand as if to point at the crowd. "Therefore..." The players looked on with bated breath. "All of you are disqualified—except those three." The players were struck dumb, as if hit by lightning. Looking around, they realized that golden flames flickered above the heads of only Xiaye Qiuyu, Art is an Explosion, and Ailong Rufeng. Outraged shouts erupted. "On what grounds?!" "Why?!" "That's not fair! Reset the trial!" "I didn't try to steal any offerings! And I cleared the trial fair and square!" "Yeah! Why aren't you letting us pass? We didn't do anything wrong!" "What about those three? Do they have special privileges or something?!" The remaining dozen or so players erupted in an uproar. Having pushed through grueling trials to get here, believing success was finally within their grasp, this sudden disqualification was a bitter pill to swallow. Naturally, they were furious. Misha looked at them impassively. "Are you truly certain that you did nothing wrong?" "Lacking loyalty to Emperor Cassius—that is your failure." "Huh?!" The players froze, dumbfounded. Yet Misha continued with utter seriousness: "Amid that chaotic scene just now, only these three Starfallen remained undisturbed by worldly temptations, still showing their respect before His Majesty's statue." "As for you—while you did not take part in the theft, you merely stood by and watched." "You weren't even willing to kneel before the statue of Emperor Cassius!" "This..." *What kind of bullshit excuse is that?!* Misha's soul-piercing question left them utterly speechless. The disqualified players burned with resentment. To be failed simply for "not being loyal enough"! A few players clutched their chests in agonizing regret. Just moments ago, they had watched with their own eyes as Xiaye Qiuyu and the other knelt before Cassius's statue, assuming it was just the fanatical behavior of fan club members. If only they had knelt down with them, wouldn't they have passed as well?! Wait... Could there still be a chance? With that thought, they decided to make a desperate effort. "Emperor Cassius!" Several players dropped into sliding kneels before Cassius's statue in unison, wailing and howling in a thoroughly comical display. "My lady, please don't disqualify me! I'm completely loyal!" "Long live Emperor Cassius!" "His Majesty the Emperor is our eternal sun!" The other players hesitated for half a second before scrambling to follow suit, terrified of being the last to kneel. "For the grand design of the great red dragon!" "The debt of gratitude we owe Emperor Cassius can never be repaid in ten thousand lifetimes!" "All hail the Cinder Emperor!" Yet their antics failed to move the Dragon-Pact Sorcerer. Misha shook her head, seeing only an embarrassing spectacle—and an outright desecration of Emperor Cassius. "Leave this place." "I see not a shred of loyalty in your eyes, only greed and a craving for power. You... are unworthy to become Dragon-Pact Sorcerers." Misha's voice was ice-cold as flames flared once more in her hands. "Get out." Intimidated by the looming flames, the players could only drag their feet, leaving in tears of bitter frustration. "As for you three... follow me." "Your loyalty has withstood my trial. I will take you to an audience with His Majesty." Instantly, the three remaining players flushed with excitement. Not only had they succeeded in their class advancement, but they had also earned an audience with Cassius himself. In today's Cinder Empire, this was an unimaginably precious opportunity! Back during the closed beta, players had only needed a few gold coins to purchase a Mysterious Invitation to see Cassius in his role as a mysterious merchant. Now, that increasingly imposing Emperor resided year-round in the Steel Dragonwing Palace, where no amount of gold could buy a single glimpse of him.