7. Traitor, Strike Down the Celestial Guild

"Cheats..." Su Yu’s mouth twitched. He hadn't expected the archer to think along those lines.

Keeping a straight face, Su Yu explained, "You’ve misunderstood. I didn't use any cheats. A high-level NPC happened to pass by and killed these wild boars."

"So that’s how it was." The five-man team, with the exception of the archer, nodded, accepting Su Yu’s explanation. Since *Evolution* had just launched, it was unlikely that cheats would be available so soon. If it wasn't a cheat, the "passing high-level NPC" theory was the only logical explanation; otherwise, no one would believe that the field of boar carcasses was the work of one man.

Snowfall caught sight of the "Lv 2" suffix next to his name and exclaimed, "Nemesis, you leveled up? I saw you were only level 1 just a moment ago!"

"That's because... the high-level NPC gave me a buff before he left, which allowed me to take on the boars solo. My experience bar was already nearly full, and after killing a few, I leveled up," Su Yu said with a shrug.

The team noticed his level and couldn't help but marvel.

"My god! He’s already level 2!"
"We’ve been killing boars here since the servers opened and we’re only at 85% of level 1!"
"Did you receive some kind of hidden quest?"

The warrior leading the group walked over to Su Yu and extended his hand. "Hello! I’m East Mountain Sword, captain of the 'Heaven-Slaying' guild. You’re a solo player, right? Any interest in joining our guild? We are the strongest guild from *Magic Realm*..."

East Mountain Sword continued his pitch, clearly eager to recruit Su Yu after seeing his superior level. *Magic Realm* was another national-level holographic online game that existed before *Evolution* launched.

"Heaven-Slaying Guild?"

Upon hearing the name, a sharp glint erupted in Su Yu’s eyes, accompanied by a surge of overwhelming hatred. In his past life, the Heaven-Slaying Guild was a massive, renowned organization, ranking third in the nation. Its leader, "Heaven-Slaying Sword," was known for his exceptional strength and upright character, maintaining a stellar reputation.

However, Su Yu knew the truth: in his previous life, Heaven-Slaying Sword had secretly defected to the Skrulls. The "honest and upright" leader had led his core team to deliver a brutal betrayal to the nation when it was most vulnerable, directly causing the defeat of the East Sea Defense War and leading to the deaths of millions at the hands of the Skrulls.

Hearing the name "Heaven-Slaying" caused Su Yu’s favorable impression of these people to plummet to freezing point. Yet, because the guild had not yet betrayed humanity in this timeline, the hatred in his eyes vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"No need to invite me. I’m just playing casually; I might be done in a couple of days." With that, Su Yu turned and walked away without looking back.

"Wait—" Snowfall reached out, wanting to stop him. She hadn't forgotten that they had come to the level 3 monster zone specifically to invite Su Yu to team up.

However, Snow Cream quickly stopped her daughter. "Falling, don't disturb him. Let’s head back to the level 2 zone to grind." As a retired general who had served in the military, Snow Cream had noticed the flash of hatred in Su Yu’s eyes. While he didn't know the reason, he knew Su Yu was in a foul mood and decided against letting his daughter bother him.

The five members of the East Mountain Sword team were left bewildered by Su Yu’s sudden coldness. The team’s pretty female priest thought he was looking down on them and said indignantly, "Hmph! What’s with the attitude? Just because he got lucky with a hidden quest and hit level 2, he thinks he can look down on our Heaven-Slaying Guild?"

She was confident in her appearance, and the fact that Su Yu’s gaze hadn't lingered on her at all was infuriating.

"Exactly! We were the top guild in *Magic Realm*! People would kill to get in!"
"This guy is way too full of himself, thinking he’s some kind of master player."

The others chimed in, and even East Mountain Sword felt slighted, his expression darkening. Snow Cream, however, sensed that there was a deeper reason for Su Yu's behavior. He laughed loudly to defuse the tension. "Haha, since you all are elite players from the 'Heaven-Slaying Guild,' would you mind if my daughter and I joined you?"

The five members stopped their grumbling. East Mountain Sword glanced at Snowfall and nodded. "Of course! Once we reach level 10 and enter the main city, I’ll invite you both." Snowfall was a great beauty, and in online games, beauties were a rare commodity; East Mountain Sword wouldn't dream of refusing.

For the rest of the time, guided by Snow Cream, the group moved on, laughing and chatting while they continued to grind in the boar zone.

...

In the level 4 monster zone, Su Yu was entirely alone. He strolled through the area with ease.

After hitting level 2, a single [Lightning Arrow] could deal nearly 100 points of damage to a target with zero defense. The level 4 monster, the "Hillside Sheep," only had 60 HP. Even accounting for defense and level penalties, they couldn't withstand a single spell from him.

-78
-62 ([Fireball] scroll)
-80
-61
-83

The Hillside Sheep fell at his feet, one by one, no different from the black boars earlier.

"Ding! You have killed [Hillside Sheep Lv 4], gained 4 experience points."
"Ding! You have killed [Hillside Sheep Lv 4], gained 4 experience points and obtained material [Mutton]."

As he ground out the levels monotonously, Su Yu’s mind wandered elsewhere. He was thinking, above all else, about the Heaven-Slaying Guild. In his past life, they were a behemoth. Heaven-Slaying Sword alone was powerful enough that a hundred of Su Yu’s past self wouldn't have been a match for him.

In this life, should he do something to suppress them? Delay their progress, create enemies for them, or perhaps even drive Heaven-Slaying Sword out of the game?

After careful deliberation, Su Yu nodded. He would do it! He could not allow the traitor’s power to expand unchecked.

But a problem remained: the Heaven-Slaying Guild had an excellent reputation and a loyal following from *Magic Realm*, earning them the support of most ordinary players. Rashly attacking a "righteous" guild would not only ruin his own reputation but would also stir up sympathy for them, making them even more resilient.

How, then, could he bring them down? Su Yu fell into deep thought.