“The WarChief? You mean the one all the NPCs keep freaking out about?”

  “Yeah, I’ve done quests that mention him. Sounds like bad news.”

  “I saw a theory on the forums that The WarChief is gonna be the final boss for this whole expansion.”

  “OMG, if that’s true, we’re so screwed.”

  “No way he’d show up in person, right?”

  “Dude, of course not. End-game bosses don’t personally raid starting villages.”

  “So what do you guys think happens if we fail to defend the village?”

  “What do you mean? We lose some cash and XP, probably. Standard stuff.”

  “Nah, I bet it tanks our reputation and affects the reward vendors.”

  “I think it’s bigger than that. If Starlight Village falls, it’s gone for good. We’ll lose something major.”

  “That would be terrifying.”

  “What about all the new players?”

  “Easy, they’ll just spawn in one of the villages that didn’t get wrecked.”

  “It’s just a game, guys. They can just tweak some code and pop in a few new starting zones.”

  ...

  Kael scanned the public chat. Most of it was decent speculation, except for the part about the consequences of failure. If they lost, the fallout would be far more shocking than anyone imagined.

  After his conversation with Korbin, Kael was presented with an awkward choice.

  [System]: Due to a shortage of personnel, Korbin asks you to make a choice: 1. Remain and defend Starlight Village. 2. Venture out to find a Master Healer to save Fenris.

  How the hell am I supposed to choose? Kael thought, frowning at the quest window.

  Losing Starlight Village was not an option. It was their base of operations. But Fenris couldn’t die, either. His death would have profound, long-term consequences for the village’s future.

  Couldn’t the two objectives be handled separately?

  Kael set the quest aside for a moment and opened his private chat with Lila.

  “Lila, you get the alert about The WarChief’s invasion?”

  “Yep.”

  “Which village did the system assign you to?”

  “Starlight Village. It’s not just me, either. Everyone who was part of the original attack force got assigned here.”

  “Good. That’s all I needed to know.”

  Kael closed the chat window, a wave of relief washing over him. Lila’s words had put his mind at ease. For this Burning Horde(The WarChief) invasion event, players couldn’t pick and choose which village to defend; they were automatically assigned to their designated starting zone. Her message confirmed a critical point: the fifty thousand players who had first conquered Starlight Village were now its designated defenders.

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  With that knowledge, Kael’s decision became much clearer. That group of fifty thousand was arguably the strongest concentration of players in the entire game. They had reaped extra benefits from the village’s unique quests and had power-leveled like crazy in the nearby Verdant Pool Dungeons. Their levels and gear were leagues ahead of players from other starting zones.

  If a force like that couldn’t repel the Burning Horde, then no village in any server stood a chance.

  Having settled the matter, Kael turned back to Korbin. “Chief, I’m worried about Fenris. I’ll go find the Master Healer.”

  Korbin’s eyes glistened. He strode over to Kael and gripped his hand firmly. “Bro… I…” He was too choked with emotion to continue.

  Kael was briefly touched by the genuine camaraderie on the bandit leader’s face. A moment later, however, his gamer instincts took over again.

  Okay, that was a nice moment. Where’s my plot progression reward?

  Just then, Bork stepped forward. “Ullr, the healer Isaac is already asleep. He’s exhausted. Come back later to ask him about the Master Healer.”

  Kael nodded. “Got it. I’ll let you all get back to it. I’m heading out.”

  “Be safe.”

  As Kael left the main hall, a system notification popped up.

  [System]: Congratulations on advancing the main plot. You have received [Ashfang Forging Schematic].

  [System]: Lucky Bonus triggered! You have received [Ashfang Forging Schematic] and [Dragonbane Forging Schematic].

  WOW!

  Kael’s heart hammered in his chest. Schematics for both Ashfang and Dragonbane! These two Ascendant-tier weapons had a base level that dwarfed his own Galeharrow. Galeharrow’s true item level was 30, which was why its Silkbind Shot skill was significantly less effective against bosses over that level.

  But Ashfang and Dragonbane had a latent level of 60. Their stats and skills were on an entirely different plane. Even though neither weapon suited his class build, they would be incredibly valuable assets in the future. And keeping such powerful weapons in the hands of his allies was infinitely better than letting them fall into enemy hands.

  The initial euphoria quickly gave way to a practical problem: how was he going to craft them?

  Crafting top-tier equipment required two things: the right materials and the right skill level.

  The secondary materials, while rare and expensive, could at least be acquired on the market if you threw enough money at the problem. The primary material for both legendary weapons, however, came from the same source: the Obsidian Greatsword.

  Like the schematics, the Obsidian Greatsword was a unique, one-of-a-kind item. Worse, using it as a crafting component would destroy the original weapon. If the sword hadn’t been discovered yet, Kael could have tried to acquire it through a hidden quest or by hunting a specific boss.

  But it was too late. The Obsidian Greatsword was already in the possession of Draevan, the guild master of Titan Guard. Would he ever agree to part with it?

  Then there was the issue of crafting skill. Blacksmithing, like Lockpicking, was divided into tiers: Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert, Master, and Grandmaster.

  The minimum requirement to even attempt crafting an Ascendant-tier weapon was Master rank. A Grandmaster, of course, would be even better, offering a higher success rate and superior stat rolls.

  Both requirements were giving Kael a massive headache. He opened his chat with Lila again.

  “What’s the highest-level blacksmith in your guild?”

  “One sec, let me check… The best we have is a Journeyman.”

  “Right. Never mind then.”

  Kael closed the window with a sigh. Not even an Expert, let alone a Master or Grandmaster.

  The name that immediately surfaced in his mind was the legendary Godsmith from his past life: “Gilded Hand.” In the future, he would become the guild master and patron of The Assemblage, a guild built on his immense wealth, which he used to recruit all sorts of prodigies.

  No matter how rich you were in the real world, you still needed gear in the game. Exalted(New) and Mythic-tier items were unique and incredibly scarce; most players got their best equipment from dungeon or world bosses. So what was the alternative? How could one mass-produce gear with stats rivaling those top-tier items?

  The answer: a high-level blacksmith or tailor.

  Wait… The Assemblage?

  Wasn’t Orion in that guild?

  Kael quickly pulled up Orion’s chat. “Orion, what’s the highest blacksmithing skill in your guild?”

  To avoid complications, Kael didn’t mention Gilded Hand by name.

  “You’ve come to the right person! Our guild master, Gilded Hand, is a master smith. Hold on… yup, he’s a Master Blacksmith. But he’s locked himself away in his forge working on a huge project, probably won’t be available for a while. Why do you ask?”

  Kael hesitated for a second, then decided to send over the info for the Ashfang and Dragonbane schematics.

  A moment later, a friend request popped up on his screen.

  It was from Gilded Hand.