[System]: You have obtained [Relic of Apollo]. As you feel its immense power, your Class Passive [Marksman’s Instinct] has been upgraded.

  [Marksman’s Instinct]: Adds bonus damage to attacks equal to Agility * 0.5.

  [Marksman’s Instinct (Advanced)]: Adds bonus damage to attacks equal to Agility * 1.

  The bonus damage from his agility had literally doubled.

  Kael’s current Agility was 430. The old talent added 215 damage; the new one added a full 430. His basic attacks now hit for a terrifying 1000+ damage. If he landed a crit, that would be over 3,000.

  But as insane as the damage boost was, it wasn't what truly made Kael’s heart race. It was the item itself.

  [Relic of Apollo, the Celestial Hunter]: Legend has it that the great hunter Apollo fell in love with Selene, goddess of the moon. When destiny called her to ascend and forever trace her path across the night sky, Apollo’s heart broke, and he perished from grief.

  Anyone else would be completely baffled by the item’s description. Even in Kael’s past life, only a handful of players ever figured out its secret.

  But to Kael, it was an old friend.

  His first run through Godpath had been a brutal slog. He had no connections, no resources, and terrible luck. He was just another player, grinding for gold to make ends meet, constantly getting stomped by the mega-guilds who owned every profitable farming spot.

  The turning point had come a year into the game, inside a Hidden Realm.

  At level 40, Kael stumbled upon this place by chance. Hidden Realms weren’t like Dungeons; they were one-and-done instances.

  There were no resets, no respawns. Every item looted was one less in the world, and many of them were one-of-a-kind.

  By the time Kael got there, the place had been mostly picked clean. Only the core area, the Temple of Apollo, remained unclaimed. When he finally reached it, hundreds of players were already gathered there—the absolute top dogs of the server. A player like Kael, ranked in the hundreds of thousands, was nothing more than an ant to them.

  While they were all busy backstabbing and slaughtering each other over the dozen or so divine artifacts inside the temple, Kael saw his chance. Amid the chaos, he snatched one single item and got the hell out of there.

  That item was the key to his ascent. It was how he clawed his way up from being a total nobody to a legend on the Top 1000 leaderboard.

  And now, he was holding it in his hands once more. The Relic of Apollo.

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  The flavor text was the clue: “At the sun’s highest peak… Apollo descends.”

  The “sun’s highest peak” wasn’t just a turn of phrase. It referred to a specific in-game celestial event: the Solar Zenith, the one day of the year when the sun’s power was at its absolute maximum.

  The Solar Zenith was on September 5th, just three days away. If he missed this window, he’d have to wait another full year.

  But there was another condition. It wasn't just about the when, but the where. He had to be on the highest mountaintop in the region. For the starting village, that could only be one place: the peak of the Shadowcrag Mountains to the west.

  The only problem? The Shadowcrag Mountains were currently swarming with bandits from the Blackwind Brotherhood. It was a level 20 zone.

  Kael scratched his head, muttering to himself, “Three days to get from level 10 to 20… that’s gonna be a hell of a grind.”

  Just as he was calculating the monumental task ahead, a frantic shake pulled him from his thoughts.

  “Dawnbreaker… Mr. Dawnbreaker!”

  Kael blinked, his focus returning to the present. Hazel was looking up at him, her eyes wide. “What is it?”

  “I got a… a Proof of Advancement? What does it do?”

  A jolt went through Kael. “What? Let me see.”

  Hazel handed him a rolled-up scroll. Kael’s eyes widened as he read the inscription. It was, impossibly, a Proof of Advancement for her first Class Advancement.

  Normally, players couldn’t get their hands on one of these until they completed the required quest chain at level 30. It wasn't a super rare item in the long run, but getting one at level 10 was unheard of.

  He handed the scroll back to her. “You’re already level 10. Go talk to the Chief back in the village, and he’ll open the portal to Stonehaven for you. Once you get there, head straight for the Civic Hall. You’ll find the class trainers in a wing off the main lobby. Just talk to one, and you can advance your class.”

  Hazel practically jumped with excitement. “No way—I can actually do it now?! But I heard you had to be a really high level for class advancement!”

  Kael ruffled her hair. “Normally, you would. But since we just cleared a dungeon for the first time, think of this as a bonus reward from the system.”

  Hazel nodded vigorously, her face beaming.

  Just then, Kael heard voices and looked up. A few more people had gathered nearby. Captain Edward had arrived and was now speaking with the ghostly form of Greg, the former guard captain. Edward’s face was streaked with tears as he looked at the spectral figure of his predecessor.

  “Captain… I swear I’ll avenge you. I’ll wipe out the Blackwind Brotherhood myself.”

  Greg’s form flickered, but his expression was stern. “Don’t even think about it. You are the new captain, Edward. Your duty is to protect this village, not to seek vengeance.”

  Choking back a sob, Edward reached out to grab Greg’s hand, but his fingers passed through empty air, disturbing the shimmering form like smoke.

  Greg’s presence was growing fainter. He turned his head, his gaze falling on Kael and Hazel, a look of profound gratitude in his ethereal eyes. He opened his mouth to say something more, but at that moment, a draft swept through the cave, and the last wisps of his spirit scattered into nothingness.

  Edward turned to Kael, his eyes filled with gratitude. He then ordered his men to haul a large boulder to seal the cave entrance. As they rolled it into place, shimmering, golden letters magically inscribed themselves onto the stone’s surface:

  [The Abandoned Mine]

  Simultaneously, a global server announcement echoed across the world.

  System Announcement : Congratulations to players Dawnbreaker and Hazel for discovering the Level 10 Dungeon, [The Abandoned Mine]! All adventurers are welcome to explore this new challenge in Starting Village #9999!

  The message sent another shockwave through the entire player base.

  “Dawnbreaker again? WTF, is he a GM?”

  “Dude, don’t embarrass yourself. What modern MMO has active GMs? Are you a time traveler from 2005 or something?”

  “Forget that, the point is a LEVEL 10 DUNGEON! My starting village has a mine too, how come it’s not a dungeon?!”

  “@Dawnbreaker, drop the guide on how to unlock it, bro, pls.”