Outside the town of Emberfall, a hundred-odd players, all between levels 13 and 15, were locked in a brutal battle with a Level 15 Rhinotaur Boss.

  "Keep it up, everyone! Its health is critical!" a mage in the backline shouted, directing the chaos.

  Suddenly, the hulking beast lowered its head and charged, bowling over the eight tanks at its front. Now, only the squishy damage dealers and healers were within its reach—priests, archers, and mages.

  The Rhinotaur raised a massive scythe and swept it in a devastating arc. Five players vaporized in an instant.

  Seeing the formation crumble, the mage leader roared into the party chat, "TANKS! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? GET IN THERE AND PULL AGGRO!"

  Three heavily armored players scrambled back to their feet, shields raised, intercepting the boss's next attack while priests desperately poured healing spells into them.

  The line stabilized. The Rhinotaur thrashed and roared, taking down another thirty players in its death throes, but the sheer number of assailants was too much. Finally, with a shuddering groan, the massive boss collapsed.

  A dozen glittering piles of loot exploded from the corpse, scattering across the ground. The surviving players didn't rush forward; they stood back, waiting in disciplined silence.

  The mage who had been commanding the fight walked to the body and began methodically collecting the spoils. As he picked up a black, intricately carved wooden tablet, his hand trembled. It was a [Guild Charter].

  "Hahaha!" he laughed, his voice ringing with triumph. "My guild, Sovereign, will be the first officially recognized guild in Godpath! We will be this game's number one!"

  After looting everything, he waved a hand dismissively. "Let's move out! Time to make it official!"

  His guildmates erupted in cheers.

  "Magnus for the win!"

  "Sovereign is number one!"

  Twenty minutes later, a server-wide announcement echoed through the world.

  [Congratulations to player Magnus for establishing the guild [Sovereign]! All are welcome to join!]

  [Congratulations to player Magnus for establishing the guild [Sovereign]! All are welcome to join!]...

  ***

  The system repeated the message three times, jolting players who were grinding late into the night. The world chat instantly exploded.

  "A guild? Already? How the hell!"

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  "@Magnus, how did you get a [Guild Charter]???"

  "Same question! Was it a quest reward or a boss drop?"

  "Where is Sovereign? I want to join!"

  "[Magnus]: We're in Emberfall, near Crescent City. Recruiting level 14+ elites only. No scrubs."

  "Jesus, arrogant much?"

  "Lol, someone sounds triggered. Guess the shoe fits."

  …

  Magnus ignored the impotent rage of the masses. In his world, strength was the only thing that mattered.

  The boss had dropped four Epic level 15 pieces of gear, further cementing his team's dominance. He was confident that in a 5v5 fight, no one in the entire game could touch his core party.

  Beep. Beep. Beep.

  A friend request popped up. Magnus opened it. It was his cousin, Cole.

  "Congrats on the guild, man."

  Magnus smirked, typing back, "Standard procedure. What's up? You trying to get a [Guild Charter] for yourself now?"

  Cole's reply was grim. "I'm stuck in jail. Got a 48-hour sentence."

  Magnus had been focused on the boss fight for the last two hours and hadn't checked the world chat. He was shocked. "What? Someone in the starter village actually had the balls to kill you? Just for one level? Don't they know who you are?"

  "It was a double bounty," Cole wrote. "The guy who killed me got two levels instantly."

  Magnus let out a sharp hiss of breath. He was level 15; the next level required over 1.8 million experience points. If he could get two full levels for killing one person, he'd do it in a heartbeat. Even if that person was his cousin, he'd probably be tempted.

  He cleared his throat. "Who was it? I'll get him back for you."

  "Dawnbreaker."

  "Dawnbreaker? The guy who got the first dungeon clear?"

  "Yeah. He's got some kind of insane AOE skill. Killed me in a rain of arrows."

  Magnus laughed mockingly. "A weak little archer? Relax—he won’t get through our main tank. You just stick to your role. I’m gonna camp Dawnbreaker’s corpse until he rage-quits."

  "Thanks, cousin. Listen—since you helped me out, I got something for you.You know that new branch of my club downtown? I’ll put you on the permanent VIP list.

  Just brought in fifty girls—top-tier, and real pros. Not only hot as hell, but they know every trick in the book. Whatever you want, it’s on the house. Anytime."

  "Nice. I'll hit you up."

  ***

  Kael slept until 10 AM, waking with a long, satisfying stretch. The last few days of non-stop grinding had been utterly exhausting. A full night of uninterrupted, quality sleep was a rare luxury.

  He took his time showering and getting dressed, then walked to a small diner near his apartment complex and ordered The Works: a three-egg omelet, a side of bacon, and a pile of hashbrowns.

  A little after eleven, Kael logged back into the game.

  The first thing he did was check his Infamy score. It had already dropped by more than 50 points. The 5x offline progression speed was a game-changer.

  As he stepped out of his quarters, he was met by a man in formal attire.

  [Steward Malcolm], Level 25, Elite.

  "Good morning, Fourth Chieftain."

  Kael nodded in greeting. "Morning, Steward."

  "The First, Second, and Third Chieftains have retreated to the rear mountains for intensive training," Malcolm reported respectfully. "They left instructions that in their absence, all matters concerning the Blackwind Brotherhood are to be deferred to you."

  Kael paused. He'd been made a chieftain just yesterday, and now he was the acting boss?

  "Understood," he said to the steward. "I'm heading to the summit. Notify me if anything urgent comes up."

  "As you command, Fourth Chieftain," Steward Malcolm said respectfully.

  Kael gave him a final nod and started the climb toward the highest peak. At the very top of the mountain was a small, flat plateau, empty save for a simple stone altar at its center.

  He walked to the middle of the plateau, the [Relic of Apollo] in his palm, and began to wait.

  11:55 AM…

  11:58 AM…

  As the in-game clock neared high noon, the relic in his hand began to vibrate, the hum growing stronger with each passing second.

  Suddenly, it shot out of his grasp, levitating into the air. When it reached a height of twenty feet, it began to shudder violently.

  CRACK!

  The relic plummeted to the stone floor, shattering into countless glittering fragments.