Lily had been just as eager as Amber from the mont Marcus’s expression changed. She guided her Darkfire Phoenix closer, eyes fixed on him, trying to read his face.
When Marcus opened his skill nu, Amber leaned in without hesitation, practically pressed against his chest, and began reading the descriptions aloud in her soft, lilting voice so Lily could hear every word.
By the ti she finished going through Dual Weapon Mastery, Triple Surge, and Hundred Phantom Strike, both girls were glowing with excitent.
"Marcus, that’s such a huge boost," Lily said, her calm tone unable to fully hide her admiration.
Amber was even less restrained. She bead up at him after every line, pride sparkling in her eyes. To her, this was not just progress in a ga. This was her brother becoming even more unstoppable.
"Alright," Amber murmured, her voice dropping slightly as her eyes moved to the last entry. "Fourth skill. Sanctuary Covenant."
She repeated the na more slowly this ti.
"The Sanctuary Covenant..."
A few seconds passed.
"Oh... Marcus..."
The change in her expression was imdiate. The teasing brightness drained away, replaced by stunned disbelief. Her lips parted slightly as she reread the text, as if hoping she had misunderstood it the first ti.
"What is it?" Lily asked, her usual calm finally cracking as she burned with curiosity. She leaned forward in the saddle, tension threading through her voice. "Don’t just trail off like that."
Amber swallowed and looked up at Marcus with sothing close to reverence.
"Lily," she said quietly, "he’s... he’s a monster." Before straightening and reading the skill out loud.
Sanctuary Covenant.
Level 1 (0/10000)
Type: Active.
A unique skill exclusive to Temple Knights. Only those with exceptional talent can awaken it. It cannot be learned once the player surpasses Level 40.
Effect: By invoking the covenant and borrowing the power of the Goddess of Dreams, the user consus 800 Mana to summon a Temple Guardian to fight by their side. The Guardian possesses the sa equipnt and skills as the summoner, but its attributes are capped at 80 percent of the summoner’s power. All buffing skills used by the Guardian only apply to itself and cannot be cast on the summoner or others.
For a mont, there was only the distant cry of wind across the plains.
"Marcus... that’s insane," Lily said softly. "Summon him. I have to see this."
Even as she spoke, her mind was racing.
One Marcus was already overwhelming. His hidden class, his absurd defense, his gear, his pets, every aspect of his build sat at the very top of the current player curve. An 80 percent copy of him was not a minor addition. It was a second frontline monster.
And this was a growth skill.
At Level 1, it was already like this. What would happen at Level 3? Level 5? Would the percentage increase? Would he eventually summon more than one Guardian? The potential alone was frightening.
"Yeah, Marcus, bring him out," Amber urged, shifting excitedly where she sat in his lap, completely unconcerned with how distracting she was being.
Marcus exhaled slowly, a grin spreading across his face.
"Alright. Let’s see what this covenant actually does."
He raised his hand.
"Sanctuary Covenant."
Light burst outward from beneath him, not blinding but dense and weighty, as if the air itself had solidified. A second figure took shape a few ters ahead.
It was Marcus.
The sa Skeleton Set armor. The sa Fluffy Rabbit’s Mask. The sa Nightmare Dragon Steed beneath him, black scales gleaming faintly. From a distance, there was no difference at all.
Up close, however, sothing was off.
The Guardian’s posture was perfectly upright, almost rigid. Its presence felt colder, stripped of human nuance. It radiated power, but there was no personality in it, no flicker of emotion behind the mask.
"Is that... a body double?" Amber breathed. "He looks exactly like you."
"Let’s check," Marcus said.
He dismounted and stepped forward, reaching up to remove the Guardian’s rabbit mask.
Beneath it was not his own face.
Instead, there was a shifting veil of pale mist, vaguely shaped like human features but never settling into anything solid. Eyes, nose, mouth, all implied but never fully ford.
Marcus let out a quiet breath he had not realized he was holding.
’Good.’
If it had been his exact face, down to every detail, that would have been unsettling in a way he did not want to unpack.
He replaced the mask and stepped back, studying the summon more carefully.
The equipnt was identical. The aura was nearly as oppressive. Even the Nightmare Dragon Steed beneath the Guardian felt real, not a hollow projection. When Marcus checked its attributes, he confird that both rider and mount were operating at roughly 80 percent of his current stats.
The only real restriction was that the Guardian could not summon pets of its own.
If it could, Marcus would have been dangerously close to breaking the balance of the ga outright.
"Let’s see how hard he hits," Marcus said, a glint of anticipation in his eyes. "Dragon Roar Critical Strike."
The command transferred instantly.
The Guardian’s Nightmare Dragon Steed lunged forward, hooves tearing into the earth. In one smooth motion, it swung the Skeleton Blade at a nearby Highland Jackal that had just respawned.
The strike landed cleanly.
A massive red damage number burst into the air.
The jackal disappeared on the spot.
"Strong," Marcus muttered, watching the combat log scroll. "Very strong."
There was no clumsiness in the Guardian’s movents. Not even a second of delay. It executed commands with chanical precision, chaining into Hundred Phantom Strike the mont multiple jackals entered range. Within a two ter radius, anything that moved was shredded without hesitation.
Marcus folded his arms, feeling a quiet thrill in his chest.
"I’ll call him Pebble," he said.
With Pebble added to their lineup, the efficiency of their grind jumped yet again. The Guardian functioned like a tireless machine, rotating through skills without complaint, never missing timing, never hesitating. The jackals began to vanish faster than they could properly respawn.
At one point, Marcus actually had to use Taunt to drag in mobs from the outer edges of the territory just to keep the pace steady.
"Amber, what level are you two now?" he asked.
"Eighteen!" she replied brightly.
Dominion’s party experience bonus was generous by design. The developers wanted veteran players to help newcors, and the scaling rewarded high level carries. With Marcus’s clear speed and Pebble’s addition, the girls were climbing at an almost unfair rate.
"At this pace, you’ll hit twenty in a few more hours," Marcus said.
Before Amber could reply, her posture shifted subtly.
"Marcus," she said, lowering her voice, "soone’s coming."
He glanced down at her, then followed her line of sight across the plains.
In the distance, shapes moved against the grass. To most players, it would have looked like wind bending trees or shadows shifting. But Amber’s class had changed recently.
"Forest Elf Archer," she reminded him, a hint of pride creeping into her tone. "My vision and hearing doubled after the class advancent. I can see them clearly. A full group. They’re heading straight for us."
Marcus nodded slowly.
"Let’s not make a scene. I don’t need screenshots of our pets floating around the forums tonight."
He dismissed the Shadow Stained Gryphon King, the Darkfire Phoenix, and the others in quick succession. Pebble remained for the mont, as he was less visually overwhelming at a distance.
They drifted toward the edge of the jackal territory, just clearing the main aggro zone as the incoming group finally ca into full view.
There were around forty of them, mounted and moving in formation.
At the front rode a man on a Fla Charger, its mane burning bright orange.
"Stone? Is that you?" the rider called out as they approached.
Marcus narrowed his eyes, then recognized the voice even before the man dismounted.
"SoulSync," he said with a faint smile. "Small world."
Beside SoulSync, another familiar figure slid off his mount. SoulfireBlade. Both n took in the sight of Marcus, then glanced at the masked Lily and Amber, exchanging a knowing smirk.
"Power-leveling the crew, huh?" SoulSync teased.
"My girl and my sister," Marcus replied evenly. "What brings the Soulfire Guild out here?"
Behind them, the rest of the players dismounted almost in unison. The synchronized movent carried a clear ssage. This was not a casual visit.
"We’re here for the boss," SoulSync explained. "You waiting on the respawn too?"
"Boss? Nah, first ti here. Just helping the girls catch up."
SoulfireBlade stepped forward ashis eyes flashed with anticipation.
"Level 30 Silver Boss. The Leopard Jackal King. Spawns in this territory every few hours. With Black Dragon Guild already ahead of the curve, everyone’s scrambling for Guild Creation Tokens. Every major rcenary group is camping Level 30 Silvers and above, hoping for a drop."
SoulSync chuckled and looked Marcus over. "The King respawns in about half an hour. Why not stick around? These jackals get nasty in big groups, and we could really use a high-defense Knight like you."
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