The Archiverse world series [Wild drafted]

Chapter: Sector Six Sweep — The Phantom Strike Team

The forest of Sector Six stretched out in tangled layers of green and shadow. Every branch, every faint shift in the air felt alive with tension, as if the trees themselves were holding their breath.

Oliver, Nico, and Zack moved through the underbrush with a precision that spoke volumes of their difference from the usual recruits.

They weren't here to camp. They were here to hunt.

---

Oliver's Systematic Guide floated just above his wrist, glowing faintly as numbers scrolled across the interface.

> Oliver Woods

Vita: 6,600

Rank: Blue

Level: 6

He felt it. The disparity. Most of Sector Six's troublemakers wouldn't even touch Level 10 yet. He was at the lower end, but the backup plan was already standing beside him.

Nico's Guide pinged softly.

> Nico

Vita: 7,890

Rank: Blue

Level: 13

Nico spun his blade lazily as they walked, his tone half-serious.

> "You sure Riven isn't just using us as bait, Ollie?"

Oliver glanced at him, half a smirk playing at his lips.

> "Probably. But it's working."

Behind them, Zack trailed like a shadow, barely making a sound. His Guide remained tucked away, unbothered. But if one were to check…

> Zack Erebus

Vita: 5,000 (Hidden Signature Active)

Rank: Blue

Level: 28

Zack's aura was compressed, masked to feel no stronger than an early blue ranker, but his presence had a weight that even the birds seemed to avoid.

---

As they neared the old relay tower, Nico paused, hand raised. His Guide's alert flashed.

> Unauthorized Player Activity — 70 meters east.

Estimated Squad Size: 5-7

Weaponry: Light (Daggers, Bows)

Nico grinned.

> "Looks like our bandits showed up to the party."

Oliver checked his own Guide, marking the location into his HUD. He tapped his earpiece.

> "Goldie, we've got contact. Small squad. Beginning sweep."

Goldie's voice came through with a faint crackle.

> "Proceed. Remember, tag-and-trace is priority. Capture if possible. No overkill."

Zack, still silent, began moving off the path without needing to be told. He vanished into the thickets, his dagger glinting for a split-second before the light swallowed him.

> "He's going ahead," Nico noted. "Guess that means we're the distraction."

Oliver nodded. He wasn't worried.

---

The raider group was careless.

Jev's gang—teenagers flush with their recent ambushes—lounged near the base of the tower. They had set up a lazy perimeter, relying on height and distance to keep them safe. Two of them, Rael and Sye, were half-asleep, their bows discarded nearby.

Oliver and Nico didn't bother sneaking.

They walked into the clearing.

> "Yo," Nico called out, blade twirling in his hand, "I think you've got something that doesn't belong to you."

The reaction was instant.

Bows were snatched up, daggers drawn. Rael cursed under his breath.

> "Travelers?! You're not supposed to be here."

> "Wrong," Oliver said calmly. "You're not supposed to be here."

One of the raiders loosed an arrow.

Nico's blade flashed—deflecting it mid-air with a sharp clang. He didn't stop smiling.

> "Nice try."

Before the raiders could regroup, the air shifted.

Zack struck.

He emerged behind one of the bowmen, dagger slicing through the tension in the air with surgical precision, disarming him before the kid realized what happened. Another raider lunged at Zack, but his movement was slow—predictable. Zack pivoted, elbowing the attacker in the ribs, and swept his legs out from under him.

Not a wasted motion.

Jev, standing further back, watched as his crew crumbled.

He clicked his tongue.

> "I knew it was too easy lately…"

He reached for a flare. But the moment his fingers touched it—

Oliver's Systematic Guide flared.

> [Ghostline Tagging—Initiated]

Target: Jev (Bandit-Class Player)

Status: Tracked

A thin, invisible pulse of light shot out, wrapping Jev's signal in a soft blue hue. Goldie's voice pinged in their earpieces.

> "Got him. He's on the network now."

Jev scowled, realizing too late what was happening.

> "Screw this—Rael, Sye! Disperse!"

But Rael was already disarmed. Sye was frozen, eyes wide as Nico's blade hovered dangerously close to his throat.

Zack stepped over the unconscious form of the last raider, eyes meeting Jev's.

> "Run."

The word wasn't a threat. It was an invitation.

Jev took it.

He bolted into the forest—but his signal was already on the grid. The Ghostline would track him, log his movements, and feed every step back to Riven.

The raiders had been marked.

Oliver exhaled, adjusting his jacket.

> "One squad down. Probably many more to go."

Nico sheathed his blade, grinning.

> "Good warm-up."

Zack said nothing, already fading into the shadows, watching for any more stragglers.

---

Systematic Guide Update:

> Sector Six Activity—Raiding Party Neutralized (5 Captured, 1 Tagged & Released)

Ghostline Activation—Successful

Response Time: 8 Minutes

Back in the command house, Riven's monitor flashed.

The sweep had begun.

---

Chapter: The Player King's Broadcast — Sector Six's War Declaration

Deep in the heart of Sector Six, where the trees twisted into gnarled, towering monoliths, a different kind of gathering was taking place.

Amid the rotted remains of a once-great woodland temple, a low-tier Green Ranked Player stood upon a moss-laden platform, overseeing a sea of Travelers—fifty strong, all armed, all restless.

He was seventeen, his posture relaxed, but his eyes held the sharpness of a predator who had already survived too much.

His Systematic Guide floated beside him, shimmering with a green-tinted glow as data scrolled rapidly.

> Player: Caine Ashrel

Rank: Green

Level: 34

Vita Points: 77,680

Combat Record: 327 Imp Wood Demons, 18 Lesser Wood Fiends, 1 Woodheart Behemoth (Blue-Class Demon)

The squad around him was a mixed assembly of blue-ranked Travelers—mostly low-levels, ambitious, and eager to climb. But Caine wasn't their leader by default.

He was their Player King.

Because in Sector Six, strength dictated sovereignty. And no one in this zone—bandit or Traveler—had a higher combat tally than Caine Ashrel.

---

Caine stood over a half-crushed Woodheart Fiend carcass, his boot pressing against its shattered core. He wasn't one for theatrics, but today was different.

Today, he needed the forest to hear him.

He tapped his Guide's Broadcast Override.

A holographic signal formed in the air above him, linking to all active players in Sector Six—whether they wanted it or not. Crackling, the transmission flickered to life, and the Player King's face was cast into the skies.

---

Broadcast Transmission Active — Sector Six Wide

Caine's voice was calm, his tone laced with casual finality.

> "To all Travelers, rogues, and so-called 'resistance builders' hiding in Sector Six—listen up."

> "The games are over."

He stepped back, letting the camera widen to show the bodies of the slain wood demons at his feet, their cores piled like trophies.

> "The forest doesn't care about your projects, or your noble causes. This zone is now under Player Law. You survive here? You pay tribute. You ignore this call? You become part of the soil."

Around him, his squad pounded their weapons into the ground, synchronized, their chants low and rhythmic.

> "Sector Six is free for all, right? Fine. Then I'm the King of that chaos."

His Guide pinged him mid-broadcast with an alert.

> Riven Project Detected — Ghostline Active

Traced Movements: Nico, Oliver, Zack**

Caine smiled.

> "I see some of you are already trying to build your castles. Cute."

He leaned closer into the camera feed.

> "But understand this—this forest doesn't belong to builders. It belongs to hunters. And in Sector Six, I am the apex predator."

The feed began displaying a "Tribute Timer", a countdown clock rapidly ticking down from 72 hours.

> "You have three days. Pay up. Or get buried."

---

Broadcast Ends.

---

In the Dwarven Mist Command House, the air was heavy as Riven, Goldie, and Aurelia watched the feed flicker out.

Nico's voice came through the comms, laced with irritation.

> "Great. Now we've got a self-proclaimed Player King."

Oliver sighed, glancing at Zack, who was seated in the corner, cleaning his dagger without a hint of concern.

Riven's fingers steepled under his chin.

> "Good. This makes it easier."

Goldie blinked. "Easier?"

Riven smirked.

> "He just centralized every loose raider and ego-driven squad into one structure. All we need now... is a controlled collapse."

He stood, his tired expression hardening into focus.

> "We've got 72 hours. That's more than enough."

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