Hart, who was standing a little distance away, froze with his words stuck in his throat.

He had originally wanted to make a request of Axton, but after seeing how QueenBee got rejected so casually, he almost abandoned the thought.

He shook his head, steeling his nerves.

The worst he can say is no.

Hart stepped forward. "How about I send you a friend request?"

QueenBee turned her head in disbelief.

In her mind, there was no way Axton would accept.

If he rejected her, then surely Hart stood no chance.

"Sure. That's okay," Axton replied casually.

"Whaaaat?!" QueenBee screamed inwardly, though her face remained composed.

'He accepted Hart's request but not mine?'

Her chest stung, and she felt as though someone had stepped on her pride.

Axton, however, had his own reasons.

He wasn't looking to make friends left and right, but Hart was different.

Having Hart on his list meant he would be notified whenever the guild went for a dungeon raid. That was useful.

Meanwhile, QueenBee was trying to process the sting in her chest. 'Why won't he accept mine?'

She couldn't figure it out. But she quickly shook the thought away.

She wasn't going to force herself on him.

She had already done more than enough to get his attention, and if he wasn't interested, she wasn't going to debase herself further.

Never.

Anyways, she wasn't foolish.

Axton's potential was limitless and she knew it.

Even if he didn't want to be her friend now, she knew she had to maintain at least a cordial relationship with him.

For the future.

******

Elsewhere, in the real world, Silva was clutching his phone tightly.

"I don't care what you do," a harsh voice said on the other end. "Either you make peace with him and get him on board, or you deal with him permanently. Do you understand?"

"Yes, guild master."

"Clean up the mess you made, Silva. I don't want to hear about this again."

"Yes, guild master. I understand."

The call ended with a click, and Silva's face twisted with fury.

He almost threw his phone against the wall.

"Ahhh! That bastard!"

His guild master had scolded him again.

The popularity of "Khan" was rising like wildfire.

Rival guilds were gaining fame simply by being affiliated with him.

Meanwhile, Grand Nexus, the so-called number one guild, had nothing to show for it.

Their image as the strongest guild in New Eden was being threatened, and the guild master blamed Silva.

Two options had been given to him—reconcile with Axton, or erase him.

Nothing else.

But the first option was impossible.

He had already ambushed Axton once, and the humiliation from that incident was starting to spread faster than he could control.

The bridge was burned beyond repair.

Which left only one option.

Silva sat in silence for a long while, his mind turning.

Then, suddenly, his lips curled into a sinister grin.

"You're in luck, Silva," he muttered to himself.

A lightbulb had gone off in his head. "Looks like it's time I take those guys up on their offer."

He quickly gathered his gear, eyes filled with malice.

******

Meanwhile, Axton had parted ways with the Dragon Claw guild and wandered.

"I should try to level up my doppelganger," he muttered.

That became his new plan, to strengthen his companion to a reasonable level.

He left the novice village and headed into forests, valleys, and wild lands, hunting anything that moved.

The monsters here were no longer a threat to him, but they were perfect training fodder for his doppelganger.

*Ding*

[Congratulations!]

[You have killed a Grade 2 Praying Mantis]

[+30 Exp]

*Ding*

[Congratulations!]

[You have killed a Common Grade Snake]

[+10 Exp]

*Ding*

[Congratulations!]

[You have defeated and killed a pack of Grade 3 Wolves]

[+480 Exp]

And so it continued. Axton farmed relentlessly, cutting down monsters, collecting potions, items and Exp.

Just like Axton, his doppelganger also benefited from the Demolisher class.

Levelling up once was like jumping three or four levels for an ordinary player.

Time flew by quickly.

Slash after slash, hunt after hunt.

Finally, after hours of grinding…

*Ding*

[Congratulations!]

[Your doppelganger is now Level 10!]

[Doppelgangers do not appear on level rankings]

"Doppelganger," Axton called, using the skill.

His clone appeared by his side instantly.

Satisfied with its progress, Axton handed it the second King Griffin Cloak and some extra items.

He had also taken the time to experiment with his abilities.

That was when he made an important discovery.

His critical bonus wasn't only passive, it could be switched off when he wanted.

"This way, I can stop flooding my inventory with junk items."

At the moment, he had gathered twenty-seven items.

Out of all of them, only one was suitable for his class.

"Tsk. Tough luck." he clicked his tongue and opened the item.

[Item : Iron Fist Scroll]

"Hmm. Iron Fist? Sounds like martial arts or something."

The Iron Fist Scroll was a Grade 2 item.

It boosted his attack by 30 points and granted him a 2-star skill — Iron Fist.

But with his critical privilege, that wasn't the end.

The scroll glowed in his hand, and the text changed before his eyes.

[Supreme Iron Fist Scroll]

Grade : 4

Level : 10

Effect : +80 Attack

Skill : Supreme Iron Fist

Drawback : Requires at least Level 10 Warrior to use.

…

[Skill : Supreme Iron Fist]

Grade : 4-star

Level : 1

Description : Allows the user to unleash a tremendous punch force that stretches up to 300 metres. Every level increases the range by 100 metres, up to a maximum of Level 15.

Drawbacks : Consumes 100 Mana Points. Requires at least Level 10 Warrior to use.

…

Axton raised an eyebrow. "Now that's more like it."

Since the scroll had originally been Grade 2, his privilege doubled it, turning it into two Grade 4 scrolls.

One for him, one for his doppelganger.

It was an easy choice.

He equipped the skill, feeling the raw power pulse through his body.

"Not bad at all."

His clone received the second scroll, and its aura immediately surged.

Together, they were even deadlier than before.

"I should go get some rest," Axton muttered with a smile.

He was satisfied with today's booty.

His growth was steady, his clone was stronger, and now he had a brand-new powerhouse skill in his arsenal.

He was about to log off and get some rest.

*Click*

Axton logged off.

******

Just then, something strange began in novice village #666.

*Boom*

The ground shook violently.

A loud explosion echoed from the direction of the novice village.

In a matter of seconds, a cloud of black gaseous substance started homing in on the village.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.