The Obsidian Ridgeback reared its head, confusion flickering across its reptilian eyes.
This draconic creature couldn't comprehend why a giant bear was sprawled in its nest.
Was it… incubating its eggs?
It glanced back at the cave entrance, its mind struggling to process how the massive intruder had slipped inside unnoticed.
Ethan, still in his towering ursine form, shifted awkwardly to the side—an unspoken "My bad, it's all yours."
But the mont he moved, the hollow where the dragon egg had lain was exposed to the four factions watching.
The egg was gone.
GapInDefense had been puzzling over Ethan's identity since his sudden appearance.
At first, he assud Ethan was just another player.
Then, as the man morphed into an unrecognizable, hulking monstrosity, he dismissed the idea—no player could transform into sothing so colossal.
When Ethan crouched over the nest, GapInDefense briefly entertained the notion that he was the Ridgeback's ally.
Now, with the egg vanished and Ethan the obvious culprit, realization struck.
Another damn thief.
He nearly wept. The egg was this sought-after? Two enormous beasts, both here to steal it? And Apex Predators Guild had already paid too steep a price.
A thunderous roar split the air, then a piercing shriek.
The two behemoths, finally noticing the empty nest, unleashed their fury in unison.
Ethan barely had ti to curse before they struck.
The Ridgeback's maw glowed ominously as it gathered its Dragon's Breath.
The feathered monstrosity—the Blackfeathered Cuckoo Beast—flapped its wings violently, sending a barrage of razor-sharp plumage hurtling toward him.
Panic surged through Ethan. Even in his Demigod Bear state, his level was too low.
Three hundred and twenty thousand HP wouldn't last long under this assault.
Iron Hide!
The first feather struck his back like a molten dagger.
-4,651!
The pain was excruciating.
And the attack wasn't solitary—dozens more followed in a relentless storm.
In seconds, a third of his health vanished.
-102,487!
Before he could recover, the Ridgeback's breath attack erupted—a searing beam of energy that slamd into his flank.
-56,891!
And it wasn't a one-ti hit.
[System Alert: Ancient Bear Spirit has sustained critical damage. Transformation will be forcibly terminated.]
Ethan nearly choked on his own rage.
What kind of bullshit is this? The skill lasts ten minutes! Since when does the spirit nope out early because it got hurt?!
If the Bear Spirit was abandoning him, he wasn't sticking around either.
Snatching a Random Teleport Scroll from his inventory, he crushed it in his paw.
Just as his form began to shrink, the Cuckoo Beast's second wave of feathers sliced through the air.
The Ridgeback's breath attack surged anew.
BOOM!
The combined assault obliterated the spot where Ethan had stood.
GapInDefense, still hidden at a distance, watched as the Ridgeback lumbered back into its cave, the path now clear.
He quickly signaled the guild: "Fall back! NOW!"
He didn't dare shout aloud—not when these three monsters could turn on him next.
As the dust settled, the two beasts glared at each other, their shared enemy "vanquished."
But their montary truce shattered instantly. Rage, hatred, and primal fury ignited between them.
GapInDefense stood frozen, his body wedged between two titanic forces of nature—the Obsidian Ridgeback and the Blackfeathered Cuckoo Beast. The air itself trembled with their fury, the ground beneath his feet cracking under the strain of their colossal movents. Yet, his mind was elsewhere, consud by a revelation that had struck him like a lightning bolt.
Just monts ago, as he had ordered his guild to retreat, he had seen it—a flicker of white light amidst the chaos of explosions and searing energy.
A Random Teleport Scroll's signature glow.
The realization hit him like a hamr to the chest.
That bear… was a player.
Not an NPC, or a summoned entity—a player.
His thoughts raced, piecing together the absurdity of it all. The transformation, the sheer audacity of stealing the egg right under the noses of two elite-tier monsters—it defied logic.
But before he could process it further, reality reasserted itself in the most violent way possible.
The shockwave from the Ridgeback's tail whip collided with the Cuckoo Beast's wing buffet, and GapInDefense—unfortunate soul that he was—found himself directly in the path of the converging forces.
His body disintegrated before he could even scream.
---
anwhile, the actual egg thief—Ethan—was currently sprawled in a thicket of brambles, his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath.
The adrenaline of the escape still coursed through his veins, his fingers trembling slightly as he pulled up his inventory.
There they were.
Four dragon eggs, nestled side by side in his storage, their shells shimring faintly with latent energy.
A slow, triumphant grin spread across his face.
'Worth it.'
With a satisfied exhale, he selected the Log Out option.
GapInDefense had respawned outside the cave, his guild mbers regrouping around him. The distant roars and crashes from within had finally ceased, leaving an eerie silence in their wake.
"They're done," he muttered.
Seizing the opportunity, he led one last desperate charge into the cavern—only to find the passage completely collapsed.
[System Alert: Server shutdown in 15 seconds.]
[14…]
[13…]
GapInDefense's jaw clenched.
The noise would've drawn every opportunistic guild within five zones. By dawn, this place would be swarming with rivals. Excavating the rubble would require hours of work—and a small war to keep the spoils.
---
Back in the real world, within the Silverwood family estate, Ethan yanked off his VR headset, blinking as the dim lighting of his room adjusted around him.
The transition from the adrenaline-fueled chaos of Ethereal to the quiet stillness of his quarters was jarring. His muscles ached—phantom pains from the bear form's exertion—but the thrill of success outweighed any discomfort.
He stretched, rolling his shoulders, then made his way to the bathroom. The cold water he splashed on his face did little to dull the lingering excitent.
By the ti he stepped into the kitchen, the rich, earthy aroma of dicinal herbs and simring rice greeted him. Maria had risen early to prepare a pot of porridge, the steam curling lazily from its surface.
Ethan smirked as he noted the discarded Silverwood family al in the trash.
"Not even good enough for Goldie," Matriarch Whitmore had scoffed earlier, referring to the family's golden retriever. "And who knows what they've laced it with?"
So instead, Maria had prepared a lavish congee—infused with rare mountain herbs and delicacies, a dish that probably cost more than most people's weekly groceries.
As Ethan sat down to eat, his curiosity finally got the better of him.
"So," he said between spoonfuls, "I've noticed everyone in the Whitmore family has spatial storage. How does one… acquire sothing like that?"
The reaction was imdiate, the entire table burst into laughter.
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