As expected, the mont the Mount Leaderboard went live, the entirety of Dominion plunged into chaos. New leaderboards always caused a stir, but this ti was different. The na occupying the number one position belonged to a Divine Beast, and that single fact sent shockwaves rippling through every corner of the ga.
The power of a Divine Beast needed no explanation. Anyone who had witnessed the legendary battle between the Golden Dragon of Dragon’s Peak Citadel and the Dark Arch-Sorcerer, Double-Headed Raven King understood just how terrifying such creatures were. They were walking calamities, forces that could decide the outco of wars on their own.
Naturally, one question eclipsed all others. Who was the player who had managed to ta a Divine Steed? And how had they done it? Within minutes, every major forum, chat channel, and private group in Dominion was flooded with speculation, theories, and barely restrained envy.
The update itself only added fuel to the fire. Massive four-sided digital screens had appeared overnight in the central plazas of the six great cities: Dragon’s Peak Citadel, Pegasus Citadel, the Elven Kingdom, Glacial Citadel, Ironstone Citadel, and Blue Sea Citadel. These towering displays showed every major leaderboard in real ti, their glowing rankings visible from nearly anywhere in the square.
Players crowded the plazas, heads tilted back as they stared up at the screens. To have one’s na displayed there, etched in radiant letters for all to see, was the highest form of recognition Dominion could offer. It was prestige made public, a symbol of status that drew admiration and resentnt in equal asure.
The atmosphere was electric. Before, rankings had been sothing you checked alone through a private interface. Now they were a shared spectacle. Thousands of players stared at the sa list, argued over the sa nas, and collectively dread of standing at the top one day. It was intoxicating, and it made the desire for glory impossible to ignore.
At the very top of the mount rankings sat the Nightmare Dragon Steed, its na blazing brighter than all the rest. The plaza buzzed with noise as players pointed at the screen, voices overlapping in disbelief, awe, and barely concealed greed.
"Holy crap! Who actually got the Nightmare Dragon Steed? I’d follow that guy around and carry his stuff, seriously. Just introduce !"
"No way... a Divine mount already? That’s insane. Show yourself, man! Let us get a look!"
"Find out who it is! We track them down, we gank them until that thing drops!"
"A Divine Steed... that’s unreal."
"Whoever owns the Nightmare Dragon Steed, na your price. Money is not a problem!"
The player base was collectively losing its mind, and the major guilds were already moving.
Commands flew through guild communication channels at breakneck speed. Scouts were mobilized, orders stacked on orders. Anyone seen riding a high-tier mount was to be watched, analyzed, and reported.
"Deploy everyone," one guild leader snapped. "I want class, level, affiliations, friends, habits. Everything. And check the top of the level leaderboard while you’re at it. You don’t ta a Divine Beast without being a monster yourself."
Almost every powerful organization in Dominion was acting at once.
Securing a Divine Beast this early in the ga ant one of two things. Either the player possessed god-tier luck, or they had overwhelming strength to back it up. In either case, forging a relationship with soone like that was invaluable. At this stage of the ga, the advantage a Divine Beast provided was beyond calculation.
The reactions from the guild leaders reflected their natures perfectly.
Demonic Dragon, the boss of the Black Dragon Guild, issued his order without hesitation. "Find the player with the Nightmare Dragon Steed. Inform him he works for now. If he says no, make sure his gaming experience becos a living nightmare. He won’t enjoy a single minute."
InfernoRider001, infamous for his temper, slamd his desk. "A Divine Steed? Damn it! Who is it? Find them. I want a duel. Now."
Hexium scoffed, fingers steepled in confidence. "Locate this player. Convince him to sell the steed to . I don’t care what it costs. Just make it happen."
Blaze Phoenix, ever unreadable, smiled faintly. "The US server really is impressive. Sa drop rates worldwide, yet they’re pulling ahead again. Interesting. A Divine Steed this early will make things... lively. He’ll be useful later."
SoulfireBlade of the Soulfire Guild stared at the rankings with a dark expression. His guild’s montum had been slipping, and this was a reminder they could not afford to slow down any longer.
Elsewhere, ThreeleafDad and ThreeleafAxe69 were in an even worse mood. The Threeleaf Clan was falling behind fast. Only recently had Threeleaf Enterprises acknowledged Dominion’s growing importance, and now the board of directors was finally backing the brothers with full corporate support. Even so, catching up would not be easy.
---
"Marcus, is that you? Did you get the Nightmare Dragon Steed?"
Marcus was still savoring the satisfaction of seeing his na at the top of the rankings when the ssage from FreshwindElara appeared.
"How did you know?" he replied, genuinely surprised. He hadn’t told anyone yet, not even Lily or Amber.
"I guessed," she said lightly. "Honestly, who else could pull sothing like that off? Congratulations, Marcus. A Divine Beast is no small thing."
Among the players Marcus knew, Elara was one of the few who had witnessed his true strength firsthand. In her eyes, his feats during their ti together had already elevated him beyond the realm of ordinary players. This achievent only confird what she believed he was capable of.
"Caught it yesterday," Marcus replied, his grin widening despite himself. Sharing the news with soone who understood made the victory feel even better. "Where are you right now? Want to et up? I can help you level."
"I’m grinding with my brother," Elara said, regret creeping into her tone. "I can’t get away at the mont."
"That’s too bad," Marcus replied.
There was a brief pause before her next ssage arrived. "You have to let ride it soti, okay?"
"Of course," Marcus said. "Anyti."
The Nightmare Dragon Steed’s dual-rider capability was sothing he was quietly excited about, and Elara was the first person who ca to mind.
Not long after, another ssage arrived, this one from an unexpected sender.
"The Divine Steed... that was you, wasn’t it?" Old Vine asked. Even through text, his sharp intuition was unmistakable.
"Just got lucky," Marcus replied.
But Old Vine was no longer so sure.
He had initially dismissed Marcus’s earlier successes, the Guild Creation Token and various rare items, as the result of fortunate timing and random chance. Luck, after all, was fickle. It ran out. Once levels rose higher and enemies grew exponentially stronger, luck alone would never be enough.
Yet the first Divine Steed in all of Dominion was sothing else entirely. That was not a prize handed out by chance. It demanded keen judgnt, perfect timing, and the courage to seize an opportunity most players would hesitate to even recognize.
Old Vine leaned back, deep in thought. What kind of man was Marcus, really? As the boundaries between Dominion and the real world continued to blur, and as real-world instincts and talents began to shine through in the ga, Old Vine decided one thing was certain.
Marcus was soone worth watching.
Whether he was a man blessed by fortune or one who carved his own destiny through sheer will and ability, only ti would tell. But either way, Old Vine suspected that Marcus’s story was only just beginning.
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