After the auction house’s 20% transaction fee, $800,000 was deposited into Kael’s account.
He felt a bit dazed, staring at the number. In his past life, how long had it taken him to earn this much? Two years? Three? He’d never bothered to keep track. This time, he’d done it in just a few days.
The thought of his father’s surgery snapped him back to reality. He logged out immediately.
He picked up his phone and dialed his mother.
Ring… Ring…
“Kael? Is everything okay?”
Hearing the exhaustion in his mother’s voice, Kael felt a pang of guilt. He knew she hadn’t slept.
“Mom, how’s Dad?”
His mother paused for a fraction of a second. How did he know? She immediately tried to cover it up. “He’s… he’s fine, honey. Your father is fine.”
“Mom, don’t lie to me,” Kael said gently. “He got hurt, didn’t he?”
“How did you know?” she asked, shocked. She had deliberately kept it from him, not wanting him to worry.
Kael ignored her question. “I’m wiring you $300,000. Get Dad the surgery. Make sure he gets the best treatment possible so he recovers fully.”
“Three hundred thousand?” His mother’s voice was a sharp gasp. “Kael, where did you get that kind of money? You haven’t done anything illegal, have you?”
“Don’t worry, Mom. It’s clean. I earned it,” he reassured her.
“Oh… okay.” His mother didn’t press further. Her son had always been responsible; he’d never given her a reason to worry.
After hanging up, Kael immediately called his sister. The phone rang for a long time before she picked up, her voice slightly hoarse.
“Bro? Why are you calling?”
His heart sank. Other students were probably relaxing after class, but his sister, Isolde, had taken on three different tutoring jobs.
Kael feigned a serious tone. “What, you’re not happy your big brother’s calling?”
“Of course I am,” she said quickly. “Mom just said you haven’t been home lately. I figured you were busy.”
“Never too busy for my little sister,” he teased. “Otherwise, you might go tattling on me to Mom.”
Isolde let out a small laugh.
Kael’s voice softened. “Isolde, I want you to quit the tutoring jobs. Go and actually enjoy your college life.”
She hesitated, then tried to sound cheerful. “I’m not tired, bro. It’s boring after class anyway. Better than doing nothing.”
Hearing the strain in her voice hurt him. “Your throat is shot and you’re telling me you’re fine? Listen to me. I’ve made some money. I just sent you fifty thousand dollars. If you need more, you just tell me.”
Isolde went silent, as if she couldn’t process what he’d said. “Bro, are you serious? You’re… you’re not messing with me, are you?”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Feeling her barely contained excitement, a warmth spread through Kael’s chest. “When have I ever lied to you?”
“This is amazing! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He could hear her jumping up and down. “I promise I’ll introduce you to all the prettiest girls at school!”
“Oh, so now you’re making fun of your big brother, huh?” Kael laughed.
He could practically hear her sticking her tongue out over the phone.
After chatting for a few more minutes, Kael hung up. With his family taken care of, he could finally focus completely on the game.
Logging back in, Kael saw two new messages.
One was from Hazel: “Mr. Dawnbreaker, when are you coming to Stonehaven? There are so many monsters out here.”
He replied, “Something came up. You should find some friends to level with for now.”
The other was a system message, or more accurately, a note from the auction winner: “I paid a premium for this item because I’d like to make a friend. Please add me when you see this. My username is Lila.”
Lila.
A small smile touched Kael’s lips. It looked like their meeting was happening two years ahead of schedule.
Lila was the daughter of the chairman of the Whitmore Group. While not one of the four mega-corporations that held the operating rights for Godpath, the Whitmore Group’s influence in the United States was undeniable. Especially in Texas, they were a powerhouse with a massive footprint, and their business interests stretched to nearly every allied nation on the planet.
After a moment’s thought, Kael sent Lila a friend request. He didn’t dwell on it and walked out of the auction house.
Unlike the chaotic mess of the previous day, the starting village now had a semblance of order. Players were running quests, setting up stalls, and browsing wares. Of course, there was still plenty of trash talk in the general chat and challenges being issued for the arena, adding a bit of flavor to the otherwise intense grind.
Kael walked up to the Chief. “I’m ready to leave the starting village.”
The Chief looked him up and down. “Dawnbreaker. Very impressive. I didn’t expect you to grow so strong in such a short time. I suppose it’s time you saw the wider world.”
As he spoke, a nearby stone altar began to glow, and a swirling blue portal materialized above it.
Kael waved goodbye to the Chief and stepped onto the altar.
Meanwhile, inside The Abandoned Mine dungeon.
Lila was leading a 15-person team in a final battle against the Putrid King. The entire team was composed of female players, all of them skilled and coordinated.
At this point, the Putrid King had less than 10,000 health remaining.
“Lila, this epic club is insane! That 50-point armor reduction on the boss is giving us a massive DPS boost,” called out an archer named Velora.
“Seriously, it’s nuts. That’s more armor shred than my skill gives,” added a warlock named Starbloom.
“Well, it’s what you get for one million dollars,” a mage named Lunara chimed in.
Lila didn’t join the chatter, her eyes locked on the boss’s every move.
“Watch for his AoE! Everyone but the tanks, back out 20 yards. Tanks, get ready with your health pots. Velora, keep pressure on him. Lunara, check your range.”
The DPS and healers immediately followed her command, pulling back to a safe distance.
A moment later, the Putrid King swung the massive chain in its hands in a wide circle.
CRACK!
The attack slammed into the ground, covering a 15-yard radius around the boss. Only the two tanks took damage.
As soon as the attack finished, the rest of the team rushed back in.
The Putrid King’s health dropped steadily:
8300… 7500… 6200… 5500…
“Stop DPS!” Lila commanded as the boss’s health neared a critical threshold. “Healers and tanks, pull it to the corner. Everyone else, get in position. We need to burn down the adds fast this time. Don’t let him get a second [Zombie Horde] off.”
“Got it.”
The three healers and two tanks expertly kited the boss into a corner of the cavern.
Velora, seeing her chance, fired a single, precise shot, pushing the boss’s health just below 5000.
The Putrid King let out a guttural roar, summoning 25 Zombies and a hulking Zombie Overseer from the ground.
“On the adds, now!” Lila led the charge, and the team moved to intercept the newly spawned monsters. This was their third attempt, and they had the routine down pat.
As they killed the final Zombie Overseer, a piece of equipment dropped from its corpse. A rogue quickly darted in and scooped it up.
[Overseer's Rusted Breastplate (Blue)]: Level 10
+16 Strength
+11 Constitution
+55 Physical Defense
+12 Magic Defense
“Lila, an item dropped! Level 10 chest piece. 27 total stats and 55 armor!”
Lila took the armor, a faint smile on her face. She quickly equipped the new chestpiece. “Excellent work, everyone. Let’s push through this. Kill the Putrid King, and everyone gets a $5,000 bonus.”
A wave of cheers erupted from the team.
“Alright, focus up! Let’s kill the boss. We absolutely cannot let him cast [Zombie Horde] again!” Lila shouted, leading the charge back towards the weakened boss.
