Inside the private booth, Ethan's disguise had already faded.
These system-assigned booths were isolated spaces, independent of the outside world. Since he hadn't been attacked, and their conversation hadn't involved faction conflicts, no penalties were triggered.
With a flick of his wrist, Ethan reactivated his disguise skill, the illusion settling over him like a second skin. Satisfied that his appearance was once again concealed, he pushed open the booth's door and stepped back into the dimly lit tavern.
As he walked, Ethan mulled over Ery's final words. Though the man hadn't said it outright, the implication was clear: if Celeste received a mission to eliminate the remaining mbers of M Squad…
She would do it.
Would Celeste really kill them? The question lingered in Ethan's mind.
As much as he doubted she'd turn on them, he wasn't about to sit around and find out.
He ambled toward the city gates, seemingly unaware of the shadowy figures tailing him.
'Trying to follow ? Pathetic.'
Without even glancing back, Ethan activated Stealth, vanishing from sight.
The stalkers froze.
"Let's report back to the boss," one muttered. "We lost the Shadowblade."
Shadowblade—a Carnage Faction class, nearly identical to Rogues.
Amusingly, Ethan stood less than two ters away, undetected.
'This guy's Perception stat must be garbage. If I wanted him dead, he'd be a corpse already.'
But killing them would trigger a system alert, revealing his identity. Since they were heading to et their so-called boss, Ethan decided to follow.
Let's see who's pulling the strings.
That female Necromantic mage from earlier? No way she was in charge. Compared to Marcus Skeiner, she might as well have been brain-dead.
LongerThanLuffy had been testing his skills, standing in the open for hours like bait. Yet she'd charged in without a second thought.
No guild affiliation, obvious trap—how did she not see it?
The group didn't return to the city. Instead, they trudged westward, moving so slowly that Ethan's Stealth-enhanced speed made trailing them tedious.
Bored, he pulled out the parchnt.
Its jagged, indecipherable script made no sense. He'd tried returning it to LongerThanLuffy, but the man had only taken the axe back, leaving the parchnt behind.
"Dunno what it is," he'd said. "Found it in an uncharted zone. Nobody could read it, so I kept it."
Then the Apex Predators caught wind of it. They'd hounded him, offering absurd sums. But given their history, he'd refused—even as their relentless pursuit escalated.
Ethan frowned. 'In my past life, I never heard of any legendary item being a damn parchnt.'
No map, no clues—just scribbles. If this was a treasure map, it'd fool nobody.
The group halted occasionally, engaging in random skirmishes with passersby.
Ethan's patience wore thin.
'They must've sent word ahead by now. Are they just wasting ti, or actually heading to their boss?'
The clock ticked toward 4 AM—barely a few hours left before Ethereal entered its resting period. If these idiots weren't leading him to their leader, this was a colossal waste of ti.
Just as he considered ditching them, the group abruptly picked up their pace, as if spurred by an order.
'Finally.'
Ethan's interest reignited. He shadowed them, his Stealth rendering him a specter in the gloom.
Thirty minutes later, a flickering glow pierced the darkness ahead—torches, dozens of them, clustered like fireflies in the abyss.
In the Shadow Realm, only a force large enough to defend itself would dare light flas. It was a taunt: Co at us.
Target confird, Ethan abandoned his slow pursuit. He darted ahead, weaving through the terrain until the scene unfolded before him—and his breath hitched.
'What the hell is this?'
A sea of players stretched into the distance, thousands strong, their ranks swelling by the minute. Guild insignias glinted under torchlight: a snarling hound emblem.
Apex Predators.
LongerThanLuffy had called them a Tier-6 Guild, boasting fifty thousand mbers. But this… Were they mobilizing everyone?
Ethan's lips twitched. Who designed that logo? A dog? Might as well stamp "Attack Us" on their foreheads.
Yet the sheer scale of their gathering scread one thing: sothing big was about to go down.
And chaos? That was Ethan's playground.
---
The army began its march, a living tide of steel and magic. Ethan kept his distance—no sane man would dive into that swarm. Instead, he focused on the command group at the center.
Three figures stood out:
1. The bone-pale Necromantic Summoner from earlier—[Strategos]—her skeletal staff pulsing with violet energy.
2. A hulking Berserker Shaman clad in obsidian totems—[lancholyEgg]—his face etched with tribal scars.
3. And between them, a man whose very posture scread authority: [GapInDefense], Apex Predators's Guildmaster.
Ethan checked the ti: 5 AM. Three hours till shutdown. Too tight for a raid or exploration. What's their play?
Ahead, the terrain grew unfamiliar—Carnage Faction territory, it was uncharted in Ethan's mories.
Right at that mont, GapInDefense barked orders, his voice cutting through the sea of players gathered:
"The location's still secure?"
lancholyEgg nodded. "Tearless has three hundred Shadowblades guarding the entrance. Any trespassers get deleted before they blink."
A smirk crept across his lips. "Hell, he's bored out of his skull. He Just asked when we're arriving."
GapInDefense grunted. "Move faster. Clock's ticking."
---
The procession halted at the base of a monolithic mountain, its peak lost in swirling mist. Before them yawned a cavern, its maw exhaling gusts that moaned like dying beasts.
The trio stepped forward as the army waited behind.
From the shadows, a fourth figure erged, wielding lithe, twin daggers that glead even in the dark.
"Boss. 'Bout ti."
Tearless, Apex Predators's fourth pillar and master of Shadowblades.
Strategos's grip tightened on her staff. "No issues?"
Tearless grinned. "What issues?" His eyes flicked to her. "Heard you got played earlier, Second Sister."
lancholyEgg coughed violently—a warning ignored as Tearless twisted the knife.
"So rookie baited you for hours? Damn. Even Marcus Skeiner wasn't that sloppy."
Strategos's knuckles whitened. The air crackled with impending violence.
Ethan, watching from the shadows, exhaled slowly.
This just got interesting.
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