MMORPG: Crowd Control

"Why am I being so impulsive and making this dumb decision?" Lei Zhen wanted to smack himself for running toward the deep forest alone.

As much as he wanted to turn around and leave, his guts were telling him that he'd probably regret it if he didn't follow the trail of blood.

The trail of blood continued to extend and Lei Zhen was starting to wonder how a person could lose so much blood but can still run so fast.

The blood isn't slowly dripping onto the soil but is dripping in a nice straight line. By the time Lei Zhen had reached the end of the trail, he finally heard a loud noise.

A loud noise that was filled with a metal clashing sound and growling sound from monsters.

'How come I can only hear it after arriving here?' Lei Zhen was dumbfounded. The noise was extremely loud and for him to not hear a single thing until now was confusing to him.

There was no way he was deaf, so some magic must have been used to conceal the sound in the area to echo.

"I think my guts are telling me to flee now." Lei Zhen patted his chest and tried to turn around to leave. The matter seemed to have become bigger than he alone could handle.

Alas, when he turned around and tried to leave, he found himself coming back to the same place that he had started from.

'A loop? Is this some kind of sick joke? Doesn't this type of crap only appear in fantasy novels?' Lei Zhen cursed silently.

Unable to leave after stepping foot in the area, the only option left was to head further inside and see what was going on.

Slowly, he began to push aside some branches and bushes while walking forward.

Suddenly, a strong wind current occurred and many swooshing sounds could be heard. Without hesitation, Lei Zhen quickly hid in a small bush to avoid being detected.

Although his vision was currently blurred by the bushes he used to cover, he could still subtly hear a jeering sound emitting from a man.

"Heh, that little princess escaped pretty fast. Alas, all of her loyal soldiers have now become food for my monsters and she is alone, hiding like a little rat. It's a shame that I can't experiment on her body since I'm being rushed, but it's whatever."

The mysterious man chuckled in a menacing tone and started chanting a wide-ranged spell.

The sky soon turned dark and lighting occurred one by one, zapping the surrounding forest into smithereens, almost like it was doomsday.

Ding!

pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ [You are now in the vicinity of the Lightning Cosmo Domain]

[Every ability and stats are halved for the duration of 30 minutes]

'30 minutes of my abilities being halved?' Lei Zhen made sure to keep his calm and not make a single sound while reading the system prompt that appeared.

Apparently, the magic spell that the mysterious man cast was a field spell type. The duration was only 30 minutes because the mysterious man had not been able to perfect it.

Seeing how the mysterious man was making such a big commotion, Lei Zhen decided to make a small opening in the bush to see who the person was.

Unfortunately, all Lei Zhen could see from the man was pitch black given how from top to bottom, the man was wearing a long black robe.

To make things even creepier, the man had two hounds side by side, with part of their flesh in their face gone as well.

"Little princess, I'll have to head back now because there seems to be an intruder in my base currently. Hence, I'll let these little puppies of mine entertain you." The mysterious man laughed wickedly and commanded the two hounds.

Afterward, he chanted some sort of unknown language and vanished from the scene.

'This man must really love to cosplay as Hades. Does he think he'll be some bigshot by having such creepy hounds as pets?' Lei Zhen thought.

He could already feel how narcissistic and wicked the man was based on his previous words and actions.

Although there was an urge to punch such people, Lei Zhen remained still in the bush and made sure to wait until the mysterious man went away for some time.

After all, fighting against a mysterious man that could cast a field spell type that decreased his ability and stats by half is a brainless move.

Once the coast was clear, Lei Zhen hopped out of the bush and tried to use the map function.

However, the map remained the same and doesn't seem to have included the Lightning Cosmo Domain effect and a spell that was causing him to be in a loop.

Helplessly scratching his head, he could only grit his teeth and dash toward the center of the area. The battle sound had not dissipated yet, indicating that the person was still fighting for their life.

Their endurance and defiance were commendable in Lei Zhen's mind.

Since the person was adamant about surviving, saving them would allow him to earn a good rapport and possibly many benefits.

Despite rushing toward the center though, Lei Zhen noticed his speed was gradually decreasing. No matter how much he tried to speed up, his pace was getting slower by the second.

"This might be the damn effect of that domain." Lei Zhen cursed, feeling like there was a shackle tied to his legs, preventing him from running any faster.

With his legs feeling like there were two metal ball chains attached, Lei Zhen began to sweat a bit just to travel for a few meters. The realistic style of this was something he truly hated at the moment.

"Almost there…" He gnashed his teeth and made one final push, finally reaching the center and seeing what the commotion was all about.

When his eyes laid upon the center, he was astonished to see it was a woman clad in armor, swinging her sword left and right at the incoming monsters.

The armor was laced with blood, and she was injured everywhere. Scars could be seen left and right, plus the black eyelids indicated that she had been fighting nonstop without resting.

'Is she fighting on willpower alone?' He wondered silently.