Of course, before anything else, Ryan had one last task: reach level thirty-five and put on the equipment he had been stockpiling.

Most of his new gear had come as rewards for turning in materials to the guild. Some of it was allocated internally, but Ryan had made sure to secure a complete set for himself.

The highlight, though, was the Heart of Defiance, a piece he had bought a while ago and kept tucked away until the right moment. Now it was finally time to let it shine.

He hadn't yet unlocked the passive skill Radiant Intellect, which would one day allow his stamina gear to boost spell power, but he had something else to fill the gap. The Relic of Adored Radiance, earned from the First Light quest chain, had replaced the makeshift relic he'd crafted earlier. The relic alone granted him an extra twenty-two points of Holy spell power.

That bonus doubled the Heart of Defiance's effect, meaning it would deal forty-four points of damage to anyone who struck him. On top of that, he had swapped out one of his trinkets for a rare piece that added another thirty spell power. Originally, he had bought it for Mia, but his guildmates' efforts had secured him the opportunity to claim it now.

All told, Ryan was sitting on seventy-four bonus spell damage—plenty for his level. His health pool had already climbed past six thousand, the highest benchmark possible for level thirty-five with proper gear.

The preparation wasn't paranoia. He suspected his trip might put him on a collision course with the military faction. He wasn't afraid of what might follow, but he knew better than to walk in unready.

Once he had the coordinates where Mia and her friends were being camped, Ryan activated his public ID from a safe distance and started toward their location.

---

"What are we supposed to do now? They're not even leaving, just circling us. Don't they have leveling to do?"

Mia's voice carried her frustration. She and a teammate had been grinding peacefully when two strangers ambushed them. They managed to drop one, but her teammate had gone down in the fight.

Mia, left alone, was about to chase the survivor when another enemy appeared and cornered her. They cut her down, and as soon as she revived, she messaged a handful of guildmates she trusted.

She wasn't the strongest player in the guild, not by a long shot, but as the leader's sister she was more than competent, and she dueled often with others at her level. Those friendships had grown into camaraderie, and when they heard she was being spawn-camped, they came rushing in with righteous anger.

The trouble was, the enemy had reinforcements of their own. One ambush followed another, and before long Mia and her friends had been cut down again and again. Eventually they gave up on breaking free, realizing their opponents intended to camp them for as long as it took.

Mia had begged the others not to tell Ryan, but one of them finally broke and sent word anyway.

---

"Boss, they just won't stop. That's the third time they've come back. We've got other places to be."

The group doing the camping was growing restless. As Mia and her friends drifted above their corpses, shouting curses, their killers stood nearby debating what to do. Usually, after being wiped a few times, most players either logged out or switched to another character. But this group kept trying to revive, no matter how many times they were killed.

Orders were orders, though. They weren't allowed to let anyone through. If Mia or her friends showed their faces, the instruction was simple: kill them on sight.

"I don't know. Orders from above are to keep them pinned here. Even if they log off, we hold the ground."

The warrior leading the group shrugged, clearly frustrated. "Word is, there's some special reason. Supposedly, someone wants to use these people to draw out a certain player."

"Who?"

The others perked up, tossing the question out casually. But then the thought struck them, and a few exchanged uneasy glances. "Wait… don't tell me it's him? These guys all have their IDs showing, right? Flowing Light guild? Is someone trying to test that guy's strength?"

"Enough guessing," the leader cut in. "When he shows, I'll give the signal. Until then, eyes open."

Still, he couldn't stop himself from grumbling. "Two days of this. I should be leveling my own account instead of wasting time on a rented one. Doesn't matter how high-level this character is, it still feels wrong compared to my main."

"Don't be so sour, boss," the warlock beside him said with a grin. "At least you know the class. Once you're back on your real account, you'll be unstoppable. Like a dragon returning to the sea."

"Quiet. Someone's coming."

The warning snapped through their party channel. It came from their hunter, stationed as a lookout.

The campers immediately went still. They tightened their formation and melted into the terrain, every eye fixed on the road ahead.

---

Ryan walked at an unhurried pace, his public ID glowing above his head. Around him, neutral swamp creatures stiffened and shrank back. Some even gained a visible "Intimidated" status—an unexpected side effect of his Godslayer title.

Ryan had rarely displayed the title openly, and he had never noticed this before. Monsters, cowed just by his presence. He gave a small laugh.

To test it, he struck one of the trembling creatures. The intimidation vanished the instant combat began, and the fight played out like normal. "So it's just a flashy gimmick," he thought, smiling faintly as he moved closer to Mia's location.

When Ryan finally emerged into view, the waiting ambushers froze.

The monsters around him quivered and dropped to their knees, as if submitting before something far greater than themselves. The strange scene pressed down on the group like a weight, breaking their composure.

The leader swallowed hard. He had never witnessed anything like this. But then his eyes locked on the ID above the newcomer's head, and his gut clenched. With stiff fingers, he sent out the prearranged signal.

Godslayer · Featherlight (Flowing Light)

The one they had been waiting for had arrived.

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