Abusing Game Mechanics

"You can't be serious." Mr. Sankey scoffed dryly, hearing the teen's offer, "Do you think it's okay to come to Ridgemont Heights and play games? Leave before I have my guards cut off your head for free."

"I assure you that I speak no falsehoods." Grey replied with a strange smile, presenting his military ID to the man, "[Greed], at your service."

"Greed!?" Mr. Sankey's laugh-scoffed, shaking his head in complete disbelief. "Greed!? You offer to let me cut your head off, yet you claim to be greedy?"

"Oh, but I am, sir." [Greed] replied with hypnotic confidence, "I'm very greedy. That's why I'll double my fee after every service for the next two hours and forty-seven minutes."

Shock.

Silence.

Disbelief.

"Do you mean to imply that you can survive having your head chopped off not once but multiple times!?" Mr. Sankey snorted after recovering.

"Don't you wish to find out?" The teen asked with a mysterious smile.

"I do." The rich man said dryly, "Guards, let's test whether this imbecile can—"

"Mr. Sankey, will you let your guards taste the thrill of learning whether I'm lying?" Greed asked with a magnetic tone, "That's the value, is it not?

To learn whether this teen calling himself [Greed] is telling the truth or is deluded to the point of madness? You'll experience that excitement for one million Rykerian zecta.

Summon your friends and hold a betting party while you're at it. There's only [one] genuine attempt to figure out if I'm lying, so you might as well turn it into a spectacle!"

All the men felt like they had stepped foot into an alternate dimension. However, the young man's charisma made the opportunity indeed sound thrilling!

"How do I know this isn't a ploy?" Mr. Sankey asked with a rapidly beating heart.

"I hear there's something called a [blood pact] that guarantees our contract stands by the threat of death." Grey replied, "I will create a contract that states that I will let you cut off my head, and you will pay me 1,000,000 zecta if I live thereafter."

The man's eyes lit up, bewildered and delighted. A blood pact was infallible! If the party failed to uphold their contractual obligations, the blood pact would kill them!

"You have a deal, Greed." Mr. Sankey grinned, sending excitement rippling through the guards, "Let's make our contract, and I'll set up the betting. My name is Robert Sankey."

-

─┈━═[Blood Pact Initiated]═━┈─

NPC Robert Sankey has offered to make a blood pact with you using the Myriad Record.

Type: Monetary Contract

Amount: 1,000,000 Zecta

Requirement: Let Robert Sankey cut your head off.

Do you wish to initiate a blood pact? [Yes/No]

…

Blood pact initiated…

Speak the terms of the agreement in:

3…

2…

1…

Begin.

─┈━═━┈━═━┈━═━┈─

-

Grey smiled and put up his hand. "In accordance with the Myriad Record, I, Greed, enter a bloodpact with Robert Sankey. I pledge to let him chop my head off within the next thirty minutes in exchange for one million zecta, immediately payable, so long as I am alive or die and return to life thereafter.

Additionally, he'll advance me the million zecta to bet if there is betting. He can work out the details for nullifying the betting if I die.

To prevent foul play, neither Robert Sankey nor his friends, family, employees, partners, or associates can attempt to kill, rob, or kidnap me for the next 24 hours. Additionally, they cannot conspire to kill or rob me during that period.

Robert Sankey must use his resources to stop anyone who tries breaking these rules."

Mr. Sankey frowned when he heard the suspiciously astute pact and saw the teen's chest glow red under his white shirt. "I'm not sure if you understand, but that contract would let you kill me without consequences."

"I expect the same provisions from you." Grey smiled, "Was that not implied?"

Robert sighed and put up his hand. "In accordance with the Myriad Record, I, Robert Sankey…."

-

─┈━═[Blood Pact Confirmation]═━┈─

NPC Robert Sankey has presented the terms of the blood pact.

Terms: …

Do you accept? [Yes/No]

…

Blood Pact Complete

─┈━═━┈━═━┈━═━┈─

-

─┈━═[World Announcement!]═━┈─

Player Greed has become the first player to enter a Myriad Record Blood Pact.

Their achievement has made history and will get recorded in the Myriad Record for all eternity.

Note: Myriad Record Blood Pacts are self-inforcing contracts that kill contractees who break the agreement.

Warning: breaking a blood pact will delete a user's account and permanently ban them from playing Myriad Online.

─┈━═━┈━═━┈━═━┈─

***

Grey grinned, overlooking the three dozen rich people in the stands of an outdoor domed amphitheater. "Let's start my road to fame. Now where's the stream option…."

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┌─┈━═[User Menu]═━┈─┐

├○

├═[User: Greed]

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├═[Legacy: None]

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├═[Title: None]

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├═[Entity Type: Untranscended]

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├═[Class: None]

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├═[Stats]

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├═[Skills]

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├═[Items]

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├═[Finances]

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├═[Info]

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├═[Social]

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├═──═[Stream]

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...

├○

└═─┈─═─┈─═─┈─═─┈─═

-

┌─┈━═[Live Stream]═━┈─┐

Welcome to Live Stream, Greed!

Record

…

Please Choose Your Stream Title

-

Name: Abusing A Penalty-Free Death Window Like a Boss

-

Description: On the Myriad Online launch date, every player can die penalty-free for non-combat or training deaths until 6 pm PST. I'll show you how to abuse that system like a boss.

Warning: Myriad Online has death penalties after that time, so I do not recommend doing this. If you do, please stream it for ultimate online mockery.

-

Would you like to start the stream? [Yes/No]

Live stream initiated.

3…

2…

1…

You are live!

─┈━═━┈━═━┈━═━┈─

-

"Welcome, everyone!" Grey announced to his audience, "My name is Greed, and today, you'll experience something you've never witnessed before and will never witness again.

I have signed a blood pact to allow Mr. Sankey to chop off my real head for one million zecta.

I bet one million zecta I will survive; he bets ten million I won't. You have the unique opportunity to join the excitement!"

The stands exploded with chatter and excitement.

"A real Myriad Record blood pact?"

"Yes, I've made an official blood pact with him." Mr. Sanky grinned, "There are no loopholes."

"One million the brat dies!"

"Two million!"

A landslide of bets came in for people who thought he was insane. However, ten people abstained because they didn't like the confidence in the teen's voice. Lastly—

"I'll bet twenty million that he lives." A busty redhead in a professional knee-length skirt and sunglasses, sitting silently with a leg over the other, announced boldly.

The amphitheater fell silent, and Grey frowned uncharacteristically.

The teen was pissed! He'd have made 12.6 million off the schmucks only a moment before with the 76/6 odds. Now he'd only rake in less than three million because of that woman, assuming more people didn't switch or pull out!

However, he put on another smile so his irritated frown didn't inspire more doubt.

"Are you insane, woman!?" A pompous man scoffed in disbelief.

"Ray, even for you, this risk is too high." Another man, far more gentle, said reasonably, "Please abstain."

"Tell me, gentlemen." Ray smiled, "What man would enter a blood pact to die without adding provisions to save his family or accomplish something in return?"

"A clever person who doesn't know what a blood pact is." Mr. Sanky smiled, "Someone who thinks they can create a loophole to win. Thinks they can escape before the thirty-minute window, use language to deceive, and so forth."

"Yes, that's the bet, isn't it?" She smiled mysteriously, "Not whether he dies, but whether he's cleverer than yourself. I'm betting money on the latter."

The man's face turned bright red at her blatant insult. "Fine; eat those words when you pay me!"

"Assuming you win, gladly." Ray smiled fearlessly.

"Well if that's the case, I'll raise my bet another two million—if no one else does." A man laughed, "That'll raise it 78/26, creating satisfying 3/1 odds."

"That's the spirit, Michael!" A woman laughed.

Everyone continued betting for another five minutes.

"Time's up!" Mr. Sanky announced, reaching out his hand. A guard handed him a longsword, "I'll be chopping off his head now.

I never thought I'd defile this priceless 87th-century longsword for anything. However, this sword will finally see its purpose and I can hardly call it defilement."

The wealthy elites burst into laughter and applause.

He turned to the teen with a pounding heart. "Are you ready to die?"

"I'm ready to have you cut off my head." Grey smiled fearlessly. However, on the inside, he had an aggressively beating heart!

Even with the 66% pain reduction system, a person still felt pain and had consciousness while dying. Moreover, the game felt real; he couldn't tell it was a game as the man lifted his sword, preparing to chop his head off!

"Well then, here I come!" Mr. Sanky yelled, lifting the sword and charging at the teen. His movements were comical; he looked like he was about to hit a mailbox with a baseball bat.

However, the impact was all the same, so everyone winced and closed their eyes before—

CRrrraaaaaACK!

—a sickening snap resounded from the weakly swung blade snapping his vertebra but not completely cutting off his head.

Grey watched life in horror, seeing the amphitheater wall behind him as his head rolled back.

A moment later, his lifeless body fell backward, smashing his back against his face and ripping his head off.

He couldn't feel the pain. All he could do was revel in mild trauma as his world blurred, darkening as oxygen exited his brain.

Everyone in the audience gasped, looking at Mr. Sankey, staring at the teen with crazed eyes. His white t-shirt was covered in blood. "Heh, haha, hahaha! He's dead!"

The revelation didn't make anyone feel less shocked. However, when the teen didn't get up for a few seconds, the winners joined him, laughing for nearly a minute.

Meanwhile, the mildly traumatized teen's crazed mind reversed course.

-

┌─┈━═[You're Dead]═━┈─┐

Launch date non-combat death window activated.

Player death penalty reduced to a 60-second revival.

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Revival in 17 seconds….

-

═─┈─═─┈─═─┈─═─┈─═

"Heh. Heh he." Grey chuckled in his deep consciousness, "Haha. Haha. Hahahaha!"

Ominous laughter rang out in his mind until—

═─┈─═─┈─═─┈─═─┈─═

Revival in 0 seconds….

Revival initiated.

═─┈─═─┈─═─┈─═─┈─═

-

"Hah haha hahaha!" His decapitated head laughed ominously.

The laughter transcended death, pouring into the real world, and silencing the audience, who watched in fear and horror.

The guards immediately drew their pistols.

"WAIT!" Mr. Sankey yelled in panic, running between the guards and Grey's corpse. "Don't attack, or I'll die from the blood pact!"

"Haha!" Grey laughed, freezing the guards who lowered their guns in disbelief, watching his corpse lift on its own, reversing time. His head rolled and flew in the air, attaching itself to the body before snapping back into place. "Hahahaha!"

Despite his ominous revival, all the blood remained, soaking Sankey, the teen, and the stage. The only thing that reversed was the body; otherwise, it remained the same.

It was a true nightmare scene.

Grey turned to the audience, who shuddered in disbelief, watching his grinning face. "Ladies and gentlemen, I bring to you the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch a person die and return to life [in real time]!"

The audience was too shocked to say anything. However, one audience member had a strange smile, appraising the teen with a predatory gaze behind her sunglasses.