Mark stared at Damon, dazed and confused. His friend had just placed the gaming helmet on his sister’s head, like it was the most normal thing in the world. Like this wasn’t the same girl who’d been comatose hours ago, the same sister he’d almost lost.
"You’re seriously doing this right now?" Mark’s voice cracked, caught somewhere between disbelief and fear. "She’s barely breathing on her own, and you want to throw her into a video game?"
"Just trust me for one more minute. I know I am asking you a lot." Damon said calmly.
Mark let out a sigh and sat down. He was frustrated with everything that was going on.
Damon didn’t take offense. He couldn’t. Not when Mark had every right to feel like the world had flipped upside down. His sister was barely out of a coma, and now his best friend was strapping her into a VR game like it was the cure to everything.
But Damon knew what he was doing. Or at least, he hoped he did.
He moved quickly, grabbing the second helmet and passing it to Mark. "This isn’t just about playing a game. It’s about meeting her halfway. If I am correct, we will be able to talk to her and see her."
Mark did not understand. He only weakly nodded before putting the helmet on. Damon switched it on for him, put on his own helmet, and switched it on.
When Damon opened his eyes again, he found himself in the same spot, at the top of the trees on the outskirts of the Garth city. His gaze instantly darted to the many players waiting for him. Clearly, Arcane Dawn did not plan to take their humiliation lying down.
Dozens of high-level Arcane Dawn players had set up a perimeter, all trained on this single spawn zone just outside Garth City. It wasn’t just a manhunt, it was an ambush.
Arvan’s voice rang out from below, laced with venom. "That bastard thinks he can log in late and escape from us? We’ll teach him a lesson today!"
"I am using my divine sense every 10 seconds. That bastard will not get out of here alive under my watch." Lirael declared, her eyes burning with rightful vengeance.
The same type of look could be found on all the players’ eyes. Everyone here definitely wanted to kill him. Unfortunately, he did not have the time to deal with them right now.
Before anyone could notice his reappearance, Damon silently slipped into the shadows and activated ShadowStep, Stalk, and Stealth.
Within a single heartbeat, he vanished from sight.
Arvan kept barking orders, unaware that the very man he wanted dead was already out of his grasp. "Fan out! Circle formation! Don’t let him pass the red marker! That guy definitely has a good item. If we kill him, our guild can acquire the item and we will immediately grab the top rank!"
Blood Wraith was a whale who could casually toss out such a big amount for something simple as leveling. Of course, Damon knew these two were not just paying for the carry. And right on time, the proposal arrived.
"I have a proposal for you." Phoenix cooly said. "We just gave you 10,000 gold coins just like that. You should now know the kind of means and abilities under our disposal. We can easily bring you up to the top 1% of the world. Everything you would ever want or ever dream of will be within your reach. You will live like a King and your family will be treated like royalty."
Damon smiled. He didn’t interrupt. He let her continue.
"This is my proposal. We want to form a private team," Phoenix said, her gaze steady. "Just us three and a couple of other players. We’ll fund everything—gear, potions, access keys, crafting, support players, even intel. In return, we get protection, power-leveling, and strategic access to exclusive content that only you can reach. Starting with what class and race you are and how you managed to obtain it."
Blood Wraith nodded eagerly beside her, his eyes shining. "Big bro, trust me. You won’t lose out. Everyone in our team will be top players. Big sis just now got an SSS-"
"I am still speaking." Phoenix cut in, stopping her blabermouth brother.
"As I was saying," she resumed, "you’ll have access to every resource this game can offer—some legal, some not. We’re not interested in playing fair. We’re interested in winning. Dominating. And we believe you are the key to doing that."
Damon smiled. "So you know?"
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