After he spawned back in [Moon City], right outside of Oliver's blacksmith shop, Karl was ready to leave.

He had already turned his body toward the main street, ready to head straight for the next region without wasting a second.

His mind was set, his next goal was clear, and his steps were already carrying him forward.

But right at that moment, he stopped.

Something tugged at his thoughts for just a second, and that tiny hesitation made him turn his gaze back toward the shop.

He wasn't sure why he did it.

Maybe instinct, or maybe because he expected to see Oliver still there, standing behind the counter like always.

He expected the blacksmith to be in the middle of inspecting some weapons or wait to give his quest to another player.

But…

"Huh?"

There was nobody inside the shop.

The moment Karl actually looked inside, he froze.

The only thing he found was an empty room and faint spark particles drifting in the air.

The sparks hovered for a moment before fading away, and the more Karl stared, the more abnormal it looked.

He stepped inside slowly, almost like he expected Oliver to suddenly appear from behind the counter.

But the place was quiet. The hammer was gone.

Even the tools on the walls seemed untouched. It felt abandoned.

Karl's eyes then landed on the counter, and noticed something he hadn't seen from outside: a note lying flat on the surface.

He approached it and picked it up.

[Someone has already completed the quest, and thus they had no more use for me.]

[If you are the one reading this, kid, I'm probably already gone, but even then keep pushing forward.]

Karl stared at the note for several seconds with a neutral expression.

Then he sighed softly.

'Looks like completing the quest permanently disables it,' he thought, putting the note down, 'But that also means that only one [Crystal Key] exists.'

If only one person could obtain the key, then that meant only one person could use it.

And since the key was tied to reaching the [Gods Continent]…

Didn't that mean only one person could get there?

Karl knew what that implied instantly.

If there was only one path forward, then everyone else was shut out.

The system itself had locked it down to a single opportunity.

As for Oliver… Karl didn't need anyone to tell him what happened. He already knew.

'No use for him anymore,' he mumbled, repeating the line from the note, 'The [Ancient Gods] perhaps.'

It wasn't hard to put the pieces together.

Oliver was tied to the quest. The quest was completed.

And the moment a system NPC became "unnecessary," the [Ancient Gods] handled the rest.

Karl didn't know Oliver much. They didn't talk for more than a handful of minutes in total.

But Oliver wasn't a bad person.

He had helped Karl, given him a quest, and pushed him forward.

And that alone was enough for Karl to feel more determined.

'I have to get rid of those [Ancient Gods], as well as all those threatening all these worlds.'

Earth wasn't the only world part of [Gods Ascension].

Karl knew that clearly now. Many civilizations participated.

And all of them were being manipulated in some way.

And the goal behind all of it… was to reach the [Gods Continent], where the strongest beings lived.

Karl didn't look back again.

He stepped out of the empty blacksmith shop and turned toward the main square of [Moon City], walking without hesitation.

The plaza was packed. Players were everywhere, far more than before.

Some were trading, some shouting, some forming parties, some just idle.

The city felt alive. But none of them bothered Karl.

His ID was known, but not his face.

Nobody recognized him just by looking, and Karl preferred it that way.

He walked through the crowd like a ghost, passed through the city gate, and left [Moon City] quietly.

Right outside the walls, he grabbed the [Mount Bell] and raised it slightly.

The moment he activated it—

Fwish!

Moonless appeared before him in a burst of pale light.

The beast's massive body materialized into view, her silver fur shimmering like dim moonlight.

Her four silver eyes stared down at him, neutral but calm, and her posture straightened at once.

Even now, she looked exactly the same as when he fought her.

Moonless kneeled instinctively, lowering her massive body so Karl could climb on.

He swung onto her back in one smooth motion while the wolf remained perfectly still, as if trained for years.

Hooowl!

Moonless let out a howl, low and resonant, almost sounding like approval.

"Alright," Karl muttered, tightening his grip on his staff, eyes fixed on the distant horizon, "Let's go to the next region."

He knew the next area wouldn't be forgiving.

It would be tougher, harsher, and filled with far stronger monsters.

But that didn't matter. Karl was ready.

Strength was the only thing he could trust, and he was going to get more of it.

Fwish!

Moonless sprinted forward, launching herself into a full-speed dash.

Her entire body blurred into motion as her [Sprint] passive activated instantly.

The ground cracked under her paws with each powerful step.

[Moon City] vanished behind Karl in a matter of seconds.

A grin formed on his face as wind rushed past him.

Ding!

[Lives loss rate: 100.]

Karl remained in the [Moon Plains], but this area was mandatory to cross before reaching the next region.

It acted like a last filter meant to separate those who deserved to advance from those who didn't.

Every monster here was level 25. But none of them could catch Moonless.

Her sprinting speed was absurd, and the wolves, beasts and whatever else lurking in the plains didn't come anywhere close to reaching her.

They tried, but they were simply left behind.

Eventually, in the distance, Karl spotted something large. A boss.

'Well, I won't refuse,' he grinned, "Go for it, Moonless."

He pat the wolf's head.

Moonless immediately turned her body and dashed straight toward the boss.

---

[Half-Moon Wolf (Level 25)]

[Rank: Elite (Boss)]

[HP: 200,000]

---

Surrounding it were several smaller wolves.

---

[Half-Moon Cubs (Level 25)]

[Rank: Rare]

[HP: 75,000]

---

Moonless didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat.

She raised her claws and lunged.

Claws Strike!

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Her claws tore into the cubs repeatedly, each strike dealing around 5,000 damage.

Karl watched the numbers appear, and nodded to himself.

'As expected, her damage isn't as high as mine,' he thought, 'But she definitely got stronger.'

Back in the [Moon Tower], she dealt around 1300–1500 damage. Now she was tripling that.

'Well, mounts do get their stats adjusted, so not surprising.'

If Moonless kept her original stats from her boss form, she would be twice this size.

The system obviously balanced her. Still, Karl couldn't complain.

She was easily the strongest mount anyone could get at this stage. And she was surprisingly loyal.

Some mounts needed absurd amounts of loyalty before they listened to even basic commands.

But Moonless obeyed without hesitation.

'I guess she really acknowledged the fact I beat her.'

Jagged Bite!

Moonless lunged and swallowed one of the cubs whole, killing it instantly.

Crunch! Crunch!

The sound enraged the boss.

The [Half-Moon Wolf] roared, baring its fangs in fury.

Moon Buff!

A silver glow wrapped around the boss and its cubs, empowering them.

Then the wolf launched itself straight at Moonless.

The two beasts were nearly the same size, and the crash of their bodies hitting echoed across the plains.

Karl watched for a second, but he already knew who would win.

Still, he raised his staff.

Fire Meteor!

The spell launched from his staff with blazing force.

BOOOOM!

The explosion shook the ground. Flames swallowed the boss whole.

-302,100!1

Karl's jaw dropped slightly at the damage number.

The boss collapsed instantly, its body charred, burned, and lifeless.

The remaining cubs trembled, but Moonless ended them quickly.

Ding!

---

[You have killed "Half-Moon Wolf (Level 25 Elite-Rank Boss)"]

[You have killed x8 "Half-Moon Cubs (Level 25)"]

[You have gained 85,000 experience points!]

[You have gained 10 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 173 Lives!]

---

'Much less EP than when I killed Moonless,' Karl thought, 'But that's to be expected.'

Normally he would just pick up the items and continue onward.

But now… he had something new. Something he wanted to test.

He lifted his staff slowly. Took a deep breath.

And activated the spell the [God of Oblivion] had granted him.

Fwish!

Hand of Oblivion!

210 (Spirit Attribute) + 797 (500 from Moon Crystal Staff, 250 from Moon Crown, +47 from Undead Moon Mage Robe) = 1007 x 15 (Fire Meteor multiplier) x 20 (Tier-2 Class Multiplier)

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