The knowledge of the bounty settled over Lucas not as a wave of fear, but as a cold, clarifying frost. Every player was now a potential variable in a hostile equation. Every friendly face could be a mask. His first instinct—to hide, to wait out the storm—was an emotional response. He discarded it. His sister's bills were a clock that never stopped ticking, and progress was the only thing that mattered.
He stood in the relative safety of his hidden camp and analyzed the new strategic landscape. The bounty was anonymous, which meant Rive was a coward, unwilling to attach his name to his vengeance. This also meant the hunters would not be a single, coordinated army. They would be a scattered, disorganized pack of opportunists, each driven by their own greed. It was a weakness he could exploit.
His destination was no longer a choice. The Ironpeak Mountains, with their established player guilds and open spaces, were a death trap for a man with a price on his head. The Ashen Fields, however... a desolate, dangerous wasteland that inflicted a constant, draining heat debuff on everyone inside it... was now the perfect sanctuary. The environment itself was a filter. Only the most determined or well-equipped hunters would follow him there. He would use the world as his shield.
The journey to the Ashen Fields was a tense exercise in his new reality. He and Kael moved like phantoms, sticking to the deep woods, the [Ghost of the Woods] passive from his armor making them all but invisible. He avoided roads, he avoided landmarks, he avoided people. Twice, he spotted groups of players moving with a predatory purpose, their gazes sweeping the landscape. He used his [System Insight] on one.
[Player: Shank | Title: 'Bloodletter' (Acquired from 50 player kills)]
Bounty hunters. They were already searching. He and Kael slipped past them, their presence nothing more than a rustle of leaves in the wind.
He arrived at the edge of the Ashen Fields at noon. The transition was stark. The vibrant green forest gave way to a landscape of bone-white, petrified trees and ground covered in a fine layer of warm, gray ash. The air shimmered with a visible heat, and the moment he stepped in, a new icon appeared in his vision.
[You are affected by 'Searing Heat'. You will lose 1 HP every 10 seconds.]
He drank a fire-resistance potion, and the debuff's damage was nullified, but a new timer on the potion's effect began to count down. He was on the clock in more ways than one.
His goal was the [Ashwood Coals], which his talent revealed were found within the petrified husks of the largest, most ancient trees. He found his first target, a massive, stone-like tree, and was about to begin harvesting when Kael let out a silent, rumbling growl.
Two players burst from behind a petrified stump. A Rogue, daggers out, was already circling to his flank. A hulking Berserker charged straight at him, axe raised.
Lucas wasn't surprised. He had been expecting this since he'd heard of the bounty. He activated a new pact he had formed on his journey here, a [Minor Wind Spirit].
"Imbue Essence: Wind," he commanded.
A swirling, translucent aura enveloped Kael. As the Berserker charged, Kael met him not with force, but with impossible speed. The wolf became a gray blur, easily sidestepping the clumsy axe swing and sinking his fangs into the Berserker's unarmored thigh.
The Rogue, attempting to flank, suddenly found himself the target. Lucas cast [Designate Target] on him. Kael, empowered by the wind spirit and the critical hit guarantee, abandoned the Berserker and changed direction in a blink, his [Vicious Bite] closing on the Rogue's throat. The player's health bar was nearly deleted in a single, devastating blow.
The Berserker, stunned by the wolf's speed, turned to help his partner, but he was too slow. Lucas used the environment, kicking a petrified, hollow log into the Berserker's path. The player stumbled, and that was all the time Kael needed to finish the Rogue.
The Berserker, now alone and facing a preternaturally fast wolf, lost his nerve and turned to flee. He didn't make it three steps before Kael brought him down from behind.
Lucas stood over the dissolving bodies, his breathing steady. He had been hunted, ambushed, and had won without taking a single point of damage himself. He collected their loot—a few silver, some potions—and a small, metallic disk that had dropped from the Rogue.
He focused his [System Insight] on it.
[Bounty Puck: An untraceable marker linked to the Shadow Market. Allows the holder to see the general direction and status of their target. Also reveals the current value of the bounty.]
He looked at the value. It was high enough to cover his sister's next two treatments. But it was another line of hidden text that made a slow, cold smile spread across his face.
[Hidden Note: A portion of the bounty's value (25%) can be claimed by the target if they survive the 30-day contract period. This is known as the 'Survivor's Toll'.]
Rive hadn't just put a target on his back. He had put a price on his head, a prize waiting to be collected. And Lucas just realized he could be the one to cash it in.
He was no longer the hunted. He was a walking treasure chest, and every hunter who came for him was just another obstacle between him and a massive payday. The threat had just become an opportunity.