"Stone..."
Firebrand whispered his na under her breath, her gaze lingering on Marcus’s retreating figure long after he had begun to disappear into the crowd. A quiet warmth spread through her chest, soft and unfamiliar, carrying with it a fragile mix of longing and sothing dangerously close to hope.
For Marcus, the night was far from over.
As he walked away from the auction house, his mind kept circling back to the sa number.
Three hundred and sixty million gold.
Even now, it felt unreal. A single Guild Creation Token had sold for an amount that completely defied common sense. The scale of Dominion, the sheer intensity of its economy and competition, kept pushing beyond anything he had expected.
He hadn’t even made it a few dozen yards before his private ssages started lighting up one after another.
"Marcus! Is that you at the top of the Wealth Leaderboard?" Amber’s ssage ca through first, practically bursting with excitent. "Did your token really sell for that much?"
Lily followed imdiately after.
"Marcus, how is that even possible? The total is over four hundred million. How much did it go for?"
Even Jade, who was still back in the Newbie Village with her sister Crystal, chid in not long after.
"Marcus, don’t tell you actually made four hundred million gold just now?"
Marcus couldn’t help but grin as he read through them.
"Guilty as charged."
He spent the next few minutes replying, explaining the chaos of the auction, jumping from one conversation to the next. Amber, then Lily, then Jade, each window pulling his attention in a different direction.
After a while, he let out a small breath.
’This is getting annoying.’
Switching back and forth like this wasn’t just tedious, it was inefficient.
’I need a better way to handle this.’
The idea ca to him almost imdiately.
A squad.
Not just for convenience, but for clarity. A shared channel where he could keep everyone in one place instead of juggling half a dozen conversations at once.
Before he could think it through any further, another flood of ssages hit him, this ti from the Mad Lion rcenary Group.
"Holy crap! Stone, is that you at Rank 1 on the Wealth Leaderboard?"
"Don’t even ask. Of course it’s him. Who else would it be?"
"That token was yours, right? You just broke the entire server!"
"Man, you’re rich now. Drinks are on you for the next year!"
"Rank 1 on six leaderboards, all hidden identities. That’s insane. You’re basically a legend at this point."
"And you still didn’t start a guild. Smart move. We’ve got your back either way."
Marcus scrolled through the ssages, shaking his head with a faint smile. Seeing how active and lively the group chat was only reinforced his earlier thought.
’Yeah. Definitely need one.’
He made up his mind then and there. He was going to form a squad.
Not just any squad, either. This one would be his inner circle. A place for Lily, Amber, and the few people he actually trusted.
According to the system rules, as Vice Leader of the Mad Lion rcenary Group, he didn’t need to leave his current group to create another. With Boss Blaze’s approval, it would simply exist as a sub-squad, technically ant to scout and train new mbers.
But Marcus had no intention of using it that way. The Monarch Squad would never be a testing ground.
It would be exclusive.
What he didn’t realize, not yet, was how significant this decision would beco. What started as nothing more than a convenient chat solution would eventually grow into sothing far greater, sothing players across Dominion would talk about in awe.
In ti, it would earn a different na entirely; The Goddess Squad.
A group that countless players envied, admired, and desperately wished to join. And from beginning to end, it would have only one male mber.
Marcus.
"Stone, it’s Anya. The Wealth Leaderboard just updated. Is that you? Did your token sell?"
Her ssage cut through his thoughts.
"It’s . Where are you?"
"Chloe and I just logged in after class. We’re at Dragon’s Peak Citadel Plaza. Everyone’s talking about the rankings. We figured it had to be you."
"Stay there. I’m on my way."
Finally, soone he could actually talk to face-to-face. He picked up his pace, heading straight for the plaza, his mood noticeably lighter.
---
"Stone, you’re already in a group?" Anya asked the mont she saw him, pointing at the Mad Lion emblem on his arm. "Did you start it? Can Chloe and I join?"
"No, this one’s from before," Marcus said, shaking his head. "Old friends."
Anya’s expression dimd slightly. "Oh..."
She hesitated, then looked up at him again. "I wish you could start your own."
Marcus smiled faintly.
"Actually, I can."
Her eyes widened instantly. "Really? Then... can we make one together? Chloe and I want to be in a group with you."
There was no hesitation on his end.
"Alright. Let’s do it."
He reached out and took her hand, giving it a firm, reassuring squeeze before turning toward the rcenary Guild.
"Co on. Let’s make it official."
"Okay!" Anya bead, slipping naturally into step beside him, her arm lightly hooked around his as they walked.
---
"Welco to the Dreamland rcenary Guild. How may I assist you today?" the receptionist greeted them with a polite smile.
"We’d like to register a new rcenary group. What do we need to do?"
"As long as you are Level 20 or above, have at least 500 Reputation, and can pay a 50,000 gold registration fee, you may proceed to Lord Charles in the back. He oversees all group registrations and managent."
She gestured toward a figure standing deeper within the hall.
The man was dressed in dark robes that seed to absorb the light around him. A black crystal orb rested in his hands, and there was sothing distinctly unsettling about the stillness in his posture.
"Lord Charles, I’d like to register a new rcenary group," Marcus said as he approached.
"Fifty thousand gold. Place your hand on the crystal."
The man’s voice was cold, tallic, almost inhuman. His face remained hidden beneath the shadow of his hood, revealing nothing.
Marcus didn’t question it. He paid the fee and rested his hand on the smooth surface of the crystal.
A pulse of energy rippled outward.
Ding!
[Player Stonehaven, you et all requirents. Please enter a na for your rcenary group.]
"Monarch."
Ding!
[Congratulations, Player Stonehaven. You have successfully created the Monarch Squad. Your group is currently Level 1. Strive to make the Monarch na known across the Dreamland Continent.]
A second emblem appeared beneath the Mad Lion insignia on his arm, sleek and simple, the word Monarch glowing faintly in silver.
’Not bad’, Marcus thought. ’And finally... one place to talk to everyone.’
"Stone, invite us!" Anya said eagerly.
Both she and Chloe sent their applications at once.
Ding!
[Player LunaWind has requested to join the Monarch Squad. Accept?]
"Accept."
Ding!
[Player Wind Witch has requested to join the Monarch Squad. Accept?]
"Accept."
Marcus didn’t hesitate to promote Chloe to Vice Leader imdiately.
They were just about to leave when another notification appeared, this one different from the others.
Ding!
[Player Stonehaven, as Rank 1 on the Reputation Leaderboard, your creation of the Monarch Squad has triggered a Hidden Group Quest: The Lost Roaring Tiger Squad. You may consult Lord Charles for further details.]
"Stone, that’s a hidden quest!" Anya said, barely containing her excitent.
Marcus gave a small nod, then turned back toward the robed figure.
"Lord Charles, tell about the Roaring Tiger Squad."
"Their disappearance occurred one year ago," Charles began, his tone as cold and steady as before. "At the ti, rumors spread that the seal on the Blue-Fla Howling Wolf, west of Ironstone Citadel, was weakening."
He did not move as he spoke, as if even breathing was unnecessary.
"The Roaring Tiger Squad, the most renowned rcenary group in the region, was hired to escort Lady Silvia, daughter of the Beastmaster Manor’s lord, to the Valley of Ten Thousand Wolves to investigate. None of them returned."
Anya and Chloe exchanged a glance.
"We dispatched multiple search parties," Charles continued. "They discovered traces near an abandoned temple at the valley’s edge. Beyond that... nothing. No bodies. No equipnt. No sign of what beca of them."
Then, slowly, his hidden gaze seed to settle on Marcus.
"Stonehaven. Your reputation precedes you. You are to travel to the Valley of Ten Thousand Wolves and uncover the truth behind their disappearance."
Marcus frowned slightly.
"Are you certain anyone is still alive?"
The Valley of Ten Thousand Wolves was no ordinary location. According to Silas the Wanderer’s map, it was filled with high-level predators, elite monsters, and entire tribes of wolf-kin. If that squad had been lost there for a year, survival seed unlikely.
"You may set that concern aside," Charles replied. "The Beastmaster Manor possesses a thod of tracking their own bloodline. They are certain Lady Silvia yet lives."
A brief pause followed.
"As for the others... that remains unknown."
’So soone is definitely alive,’ Marcus thought. ’But this isn’t going to be simple.’
If even a top-tier squad had vanished there, the danger was undeniable. And yet, instead of hesitation, he felt excitent.
A sharp, familiar rush.
The kind that ca from standing on the edge of sothing dangerous.
After everything he had experienced so far, especially the Mist Veil Palace, he understood one thing clearly. The greater the risk, the greater the reward.
Playing it safe wasn’t how you rose to the top in Dominion.
"Here is the quest scroll," Charles said, handing over a worn piece of parchnt.
—
The Lost Roaring Tiger Squad – Hidden Group Quest
Objective: Travel to the Valley of Ten Thousand Wolves and the nearby abandoned temple to uncover the fate of the missing squad. Objectives will update as the investigation progresses.
Condition 1: Complete the quest before Lady Silvia perishes.
Condition 2: Complete the quest before any other rcenary group.
Reward: To be determined upon completion.
Penalty: None.
—
Marcus raised an eyebrow slightly.
’No penalty?’
That alone told him this quest was ant as an opportunity, a reward for his ranking. The real challenge wasn’t failure, it was competition.
Other groups could take this quest too.
"Stonehaven," Charles said, "does the Monarch Squad accept this mission?"
"We accept."
Ding!
[The Monarch Squad has accepted the Hidden Quest: The Lost Roaring Tiger Squad.]
A quiet thrill ran through Marcus. The hunt had begun. But just as he turned to leave, Charles spoke again, his voice carrying a faint edge this ti.
"This will not be an easy task. Ensure your squad is sufficiently prepared before entering the valley. If you are too weak, you will not only fail to save Lady Silvia... you may very well hasten her death."
Then, after a brief pause, his attention shifted to Marcus’s chest.
"Stonehaven..."
For the first ti, there was sothing different in his tone, like a trace of recognition.
"Are you a Golden Wolf Guardian of the Dragon Dynasty?"
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