To ease Hazel’s awkwardness, Lila chimed in, “Yeah, I could use a break too.”

  Hazel asked anxiously, “So what, we just log out here?”

  “Don’t be a noob,” Lila said. “We’ve got a tent. We can just pitch it.”

  “Huh? A tent is an actual item in the game?” Hazel asked, surprised.

  Rena took Hazel’s hand. “The guild vendor sells them. They’re one gold coin each—pretty steep.”

  Just as Lila pulled out the tent and was about to set it up, Kael stopped her.

  “Hold on. Why don’t we just hearth back to town?”

  “We can go back to town from here?” the others asked, confused.

  Kael nodded. “Yeah. There’s a Recall Stone in the Hidden Realm. It can teleport you back to the main towns, but the catch is, you can only use it once.”

  “Awesome! Let’s find it, then,” Hazel said happily. “I need to restock on pots anyway. I’m completely out.”

  “Yeah, I need to head back too,” the others agreed.

  Following Kael’s lead, the women walked toward the front of the main chamber. There, they found a stone pillar etched with the symbol of a hearth.

  “That’s the Recall Stone,” Kael explained, pointing at it. “Just place your hand on it to teleport back to town. We’ll meet back here in ten minutes.”

  “Got it,” they replied in unison.

  A few moments later, Kael watched as all four of them vanished in a swirl of light.

  He, however, stayed behind.

  As a red-named player, showing up at the teleport nexus would be suicide. The town guards were level 30+ elites who would swarm and mince him on sight.

  Kael took out the tent Lila had given him and ducked inside. The tent acted as a temporary safe zone, letting you log off safely in the field.

  After logging out, Kael hopped in for a quick, cold shower. He opened TikTok, scrolling through a few videos to unwind.

  Suddenly, a familiar face popped up on his screen—his sister, Isolde.

  “Shoutout to the best big brother ever for the hookup! Love you!” she chirped, showing off a brand-new, pink Godpath login helmet.

  A pang of guilt hit Kael. There was no "hookup," of course; she had bought the helmet herself. He rarely paid attention to his sister’s interests, usually just sending her money to cover living expenses.

  But what he sent was never enough for a modern college student’s lifestyle, forcing Isolde to take on tutoring jobs and work-study programs to make ends meet. Even after he’d given her enough money, she had only been willing to spend $5,000 on the cheapest model.

  Kael glanced at the comments under her video. Most were from people envious of her having such a great brother.

  But one comment stood out, dripping with vitriol.

  Preston: Lmao, "brother"? More like sugar daddy. Imagine flexing being a kept woman. So trashy.

  Another user had immediately replied.

  Poodle: Preston's right. I've seen her brother. Dude's a total scrub. Wears trash-tier gear he probably farmed off boars. No way he could afford that helmet.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  Kael’s blood boiled.

  He knew Preston. He was Cole’s younger brother and had relentlessly pursued Isolde, only to be rejected every time.

  In the previous timeline, the little bastard had reported her for tutoring without a permit, earning her a disciplinary warning from the university that almost cost her a scholarship. If Kael hadn't started making serious money in the game later on, his sister might have ended up in that scumbag's clutches.

  “Preston… Cole…” Kael ground his teeth. “You’re going to pay for this.”

  He exported a screenshot of his gear, selecting the stats for his Ascendant ring.

  [Hakkar's Signet of Celerity (Ascendant)]: Level 18

  Strength +100

  Constitution +100

  Agility +100

  [Burst of Speed]: Activate to increase movement speed by +10 for 3 seconds. 10-second cooldown.

  He posted it as a reply.

  “Hey Isolde, just focus on leveling. Don’t listen to the haters. Hit level 18 and this is all yours.”

  With that, Kael checked the time. It was almost up. He shut off his phone and logged back into the game.

  ***

  He materialized inside the tent and was immediately greeted by the chaotic din of battle. Shit. An ambush.

  He burst out of the tent.

  -819

  A wall of flame erupted beneath him. A system notification flashed in his vision: You have taken damage from Gorgon_Inferno's [Firewall].

  Camping the tent. It was one of the oldest ganking tricks in the book, and he'd walked right into it. Too careless.

  He took half a second to assess the battlefield.

  His four teammates were holding their ground. Hazel had her shield raised, protecting Rena and Starbloom.

  Lila was deep in the enemy ranks, a whirlwind of blades, but their healers and frost mages were running interference, denying her a clean kill.

  In the distance, two full parties were closing in on them.

  The first group was all too familiar—the five core members of [Sovereign]:

  Magnus, the Mage and guild leader.

  Roland, the Knight.

  Gideon, the Protection Warrior.

  Caius, the Rogue.

  Hawk, the Archer.

  The other party was from [Gorgon]:

  Gorgon_Viper, the Priest and guild leader.

  Gorgon_Inferno, the Mage.

  Gorgon_Glacier, the Mage.

  Gorgon_Stone, the Protection Warrior.

  Gorgon_Claw, the Druid.

  The moment Kael appeared, Magnus barked his orders. “Focus fire on Dawnbreaker! Burn him down!”

  A storm of spells and arrows flew toward Kael.

  -1020 (Thunderbolt)

  -1021 (Fireball)

  -1138 (Fireball)

  -321 (Frostbolt, movement speed reduced)

  -1023 (Aimed Shot)

  Magnus watched with satisfaction as every attack landed. The last time they’d tried to ambush Kael, a miscommunication had allowed him to escape. This time, with a coordinated ten-man gank squad, his death was assured.

  The plan was perfect. The execution was flawless. How could a lone archer possibly survive a burst of five or six thousand damage?

  There was, however, one small variable they hadn't accounted for.

  Their opponent was Kael.

  With two pieces of Legendary-tier gear, an Ascendant-tier ring, and a staggering bonus of +60 to all stats. He wasn't just tough; he was a monster.

  He had over 6,200 health.

  After the initial onslaught, he still had more than 800 HP left.

  In the split second he was emerging from the tent, Kael had already activated [Phantom Barrage]. As their attacks rained down on him, his own arrows were already blanketing Gorgon_Inferno, Gorgon_Glacier, and Gorgon_Stone.

  -8108 (Gorgon_Stone, Critical Hit!)

  -5622 (Gorgon_Inferno, Skill Damage + Pierce!)

  -10012 (Gorgon_Glacier, Skill Damage + Pierce + Critical Hit!)

  Simultaneously, Kael activated his ring’s [Burst of Speed], darting out of the firewall’s radius and beyond the effective range of the enemy mages.

  He immediately consumed a piece of Cooked Rabbit Meat as two brilliant flashes of light enveloped him—Rena’s [Heal] and [Rejuvenation] had landed.

  Three seconds later, his health was back above 3,000.

  Meanwhile, Gorgon_Claw, Roland, and Caius—three men and a bear—were charging straight for him.

  Kael backpedaled fluidly, loosing a [Double Shot] at the druid’s humanoid form.

  -1922

  -1122

  The druid, despite losing over 3,000 health, somehow survived and quickly cast a healing spell on himself. He didn’t dare advance further, instead ordering his bear companion to continue the chase.

  But before he could catch his breath, a ghostly apparition materialized in front of him and slashed twice with ethereal blades.

  -822

  -777

  The druid collapsed, dead. His killer was Starbloom’s new skill: Raise Hakkar's Shade.

  Roland and Caius had used the opportunity to close the gap.

  “Nowhere to run, Dawnbreaker!”

  “[Charge]!”

  “[Shadowstep]!”

  As the two melee fighters closed in, their weapons raised for the kill, Kael’s expression remained utterly calm.