I got a notification shortly after I’d named myself. The system recognizes your attempt at making yourself an individual. It has deemed you ‘Flake (Elden Keep Guard)’. For becoming a named NPC, you have been awarded +3 in all attributes and a certain skill or spell of your choosing! The tingling came instantly, covering every inch of my body – …

An arrow whistled overhead, clanking against my helmet. No doubt it would’ve killed me instantly if it had been made of lesser material. Luckily, the steel cap held tight against the projectile. I felt for [Lesser Radar] wondering if it would do more than just alert me of a presence. I needed to see where my enemies were. Unfortunately, the skill failed …

Needless to say, I didn’t end up successfully ambushing the two on their way out of the keep. For one thing, they weren’t being chased by {Elite Guards}. The second I popped my head around to check, Pesky headshot me instantly. If I ever saw that {Archer} again, I was going to make him pay. But that would come later after …

Now all that was left to do was figure out what to do with my TP. I didn’t have the slightest clue what they were for and it wasn’t like there was something to give me hints on what to do with them. So while I warmed myself up, doing my stretches and jogging in place, I focused really hard …

The {Elite Guards} went back inside the keep and the gates slammed closed behind them. I noted that the {Guards} dead bodies had disappeared and that the female {Guard} was now alive again. It looked like they had a revival skill, too. But if that was the case, why didn’t they revive the same time as I had? Maybe even …

I was back again, alive and well. My armor was fixed and my spear perfectly fine. I looked to my right and saw the gate had been opened and more guard bodies lay dead on the ground, coating the snow red with their blood. The female guard was still dead, too. The sight of her and my comrades lying there, …

I closed the status window, amazed I had such a thing at my disposal. I didn’t know what half the words meant, obviously, but I still had them and that’s what mattered here. Before I could relish the odd power I held at my fingertips, a ringing bell went off in my ear. I looked up, thinking the keep might …

Thinking about my questionable existence got me nowhere, so I focused on keeping warm during the storm. Propping my spear against the wall, I started doing some stretches. I raised my arms as high as they could go in this stiff gambeson; when I reached my limit, I started rotating them back and forth. I kept going until my shoulder …

No, I was not dead. Despite the fact that I’d just bled out in some random alleyway, I was not dead. Alive and wearing a padded leather helmet, the gambeson, leather greaves, and uncomfortably tight boots, just like last time. I’d been in too much of a pain haze to notice the rest of my armor the last time. I stood …

There’s a certain kinda player that’s in every type of game, no matter what kind. You could probably find them even in Animal Crossing! They are hated, feared, and hunted down because of their power and ability to cheat their way through literally anything. Hackers. Yes, that’s right. This entire story was made possible by a filthy, slimy, but ultimately …