Zachary shot to his feet, his chair scraping harshly against the floor. His face flushed a deep crimson, veins standing out at his temples, a feral light flickering wildly in his eyes.

"You old farts, shut your mouths!" he roared. "I'm not going to lose!"

He slammed his palm down hard, and the holographic display screens hovering before him shattered into darkness, the calls cut off mid-argument.

Across countless cities and continents, in private boardrooms, penthouses, and sealed conference halls, the shareholders on the other end of those calls sat frozen in stunned silence. For a brief moment, no one spoke, no one moved. No one in living memory had ever dared to address them like that.

They were the original investors, the men and women who had laid the first stones of the Steele Consortium's vast financial empire. Fortunes, governments, even wars had bent subtly around their influence. And now the heir apparent, the future leader of the Consortium itself, had called them old farts and shouted them down like unruly subordinates.

The shock did not last long.

It curdled quickly into cold, simmering fury.

Among all the faces that had filled those screens, only one had remained silent from beginning to end, Zachary's father, the current head of the Steele Consortium. He had watched the entire exchange without a word, his expression calm and unreadable, neither stepping in to restrain his son nor offering him support.

Yet his eyes never stopped moving.

They slid quietly from screen to screen, taking in every flicker of anger, every tightened jaw, every narrowing gaze. The faint glint in the corner of his eyes was sharper than Zachary's ever was. If Zachary was a jackal snapping blindly in rage, then his father was an old wolf, patient and calculating, smiling on the surface while unknown schemes slowly took shape beneath.

…

Back in Ethereal, the moment the screens vanished, Zachary's composure finally shattered. His eyes were bloodshot, his breathing ragged, his whole body trembling like a lion driven into madness.

"Ethan…" he growled, the name dragged out through clenched teeth. "You deserve to die. You deserve to die!"

Every failure, every humiliation, every ounce of pressure bearing down on him found its target. In Zachary's mind, it all led back to Ethan.

"Mirage…" Zachary tilted his head slightly, his voice low and dangerous.

"Master."

A figure emerged from the shadows behind him. She appeared gradually, first as a faint shimmer, then slowly solidifying into a small, slender form. She looked no older than eleven or twelve, a Rogue player with delicate features and an unsettling calm.

"Find him," Zachary said, each word squeezed out as if it burned his throat. "Find everyone around him. Leave no one."

His eyes burned with a ruthless light as he spoke.

"Hai."

The girl bowed her head slightly in acknowledgment. Her body did not fade into Stealth like an in-game illusion. Instead, she vanished entirely as she logged out.

…

In a dark, silent room somewhere in the real world, the hatch of a VR Capsule hissed open.

A petite, naked figure slowly sat up inside.

She opened her eyes lazily, adjusting to the dim light. Her body was small-framed, yet already possessed a precocious, curving fullness that many grown women would envy. Twin pigtails bounced lightly behind her head, lending her an air of childish innocence that clashed sharply with the coldness in her gaze.

She swung her legs over the edge of the capsule, delicate feet touching the floor, then reached for a neatly folded set of clothes nearby. One by one, she slipped them on, covering her pale skin without any sense of urgency.

"So he really thinks he's the master now," she muttered, her voice sweet, clear, and bell-like, as crisp and bright as a pop idol's. "Talking to me in that tone."

A faint, dangerous smile curved her lips.

"I'll tolerate you for now. Once the real Master decides you're useless, I'll be the first one to cut off your head."

She spoke of murder with casual indifference, as though discussing the weather, a chilling contrast to her youthful appearance.

This girl was Mirage, the one Zachary had summoned.

She tilted her head slightly, lost in her own thoughts as she continued speaking to the empty room. "The Master said that if Ethan can be recruited, we should try. Honestly, he's far more interesting than that rabid dog Zachary."

Her eyes brightened faintly.

"Hm… I think I'll go see him myself. I'm kind of a fan of his, after all." She paused, then laughed softly, a hint of giddy excitement slipping through. "Maybe I should've rolled a Druid."

At the thought, a faint blush crept across her cheeks, the unmistakable expression of a star-struck fangirl.

When her quiet monologue ended, her figure seemed to melt into the surrounding darkness, as though she had carried the Rogue's Stealth skill out of Ethereal and into the real world itself.

---

Renegade Citadel lay in silence.

High above the fortress city, massive banners fluttered in the wind, each one bearing the emblem of the Renegade Alliance. What had once been the commander's central structure had now been fully converted into the Alliance's new guild headquarters. From this moment on, it was no longer just a building, but the heart of the entire fortress, the core that sustained the Alliance itself.

As long as it stood, the Renegade Alliance would endure.

If it fell, the Alliance would scatter and collapse with it.

Yet at this very moment, the vast city was occupied by only a single player.

Celia Clair.

She had not even reached Level 10.

And yet, Ethan had left the entire fortress-town in her hands.

He and Lyla had departed just half an hour earlier.

Celia stood alone within the citadel, slowly turning in place as she took in her surroundings. Even now, it felt unreal, like a dream she might wake from at any moment. When the system announcements had first erupted across the world, her heart had nearly stopped. One after another, messages had flashed before her eyes, each more shocking than the last.

Then Lyla had appeared, calm and composed, guiding her into the city and instructing her on what to do. In a daze, Celia had transferred the guild headquarters authority to this location. The flood of global announcements that followed had been overwhelming, pounding at her senses until she could barely think straight.

Even with the mental fortitude of a seasoned businesswoman, it had taken her time to process it all.

Ethan, on the other hand, had been completely calm throughout, as if none of it surprised him in the slightest, as if every step had unfolded exactly as he expected.

Celia slowly turned her gaze toward the direction he had left.

The uncertainty in her eyes faded, replaced by clarity, then resolve. A flicker of fervor ignited in her gaze, followed quickly by excitement. And beneath it all, a deep sense of relief settled in her chest.

Victor was with him.

Her husband was by Ethan's side.

As for Ethan himself, that young, enigmatic man, she could not help but wonder how much power he was still hiding, how deep his plans truly went, and just how far his potential extended.

…

"Ethan, aren't we going to help Leo and the others?"

Lyla stood atop Ethan's transformed eagle form, gripping his feathers lightly as the wind roared past them. Her long hair streamed wildly behind her as they cut through the sky. She had already noticed something odd. They were not heading due south, where the main conflict was unfolding, but veering steadily toward the southwest instead.

"We will," Ethan called back over the wind. "But just the two of us showing up won't change much right now. There's somewhere we need to stop first. We're picking up a few things."

As he spoke, his eyes remained focused on the translucent map interface before him, opening, closing, and adjusting markers with practiced ease.

Before long, the sky ahead began to darken, the light dimming as an ominous haze settled over the land below.

"Ethan… where is this?" Lyla asked, peering down with curiosity. She was certain she had never been to this region before.

"Plaguewood Valley," he replied. "Your reputation here isn't high enough. Wait for me outside the town."

Ethan descended and landed just beyond the settlement's outskirts, where the twisted trees gave way to warped stone paths.

"Oh…" Lyla leaned forward, peeking into the town. Instantly, she saw rows of NPC names glowing in hostile reds and warning yellows. The atmosphere alone made her instinctively shrink back.

"Okay," she said quietly.

Ethan nodded once, then turned and strode into the town without hesitation.

Plaguewood Valley was a special place.

In his previous life, Ethan had spent an absurd amount of time grinding reputation here just to gain access to its vendors. The Flamestrike Inscription Scroll he had used earlier had been purchased from this very town. In essence, Plaguewood Valley functioned as a black market hidden in plain sight.

The prices were outrageous, far higher than normal towns, but the quality of the goods was equally exceptional.

Because of the strict reputation requirements, most players had yet to uncover its true value.

There was another reason the area was largely abandoned.

The Plaguelands surrounding the town were infamous among players. The most common enemies were giant scorpions, and they were a nightmare to deal with. Their venom inflicted a permanent poison effect unless treated with a specific Antidote Potion. Otherwise, the only way to remove it was to die.

That single mechanic alone crippled exploration.

Most players relied on fighting mobs, then sitting down to eat and drink to slowly recover health, conserving their potions for emergencies. In the Plaguelands, that strategy was useless. After nearly every kill, an Antidote was required. The cost added up quickly, far faster than anyone could sustain.

To make matters worse, the experience gained from these monsters was not even better than other regions.

Early on, a handful of players had wandered in, fought a scorpion or two, grown frustrated, and left. They posted warnings on the official forums, and once those stories spread, the area was effectively abandoned.

No one wanted to level here.

And because no one farmed the monsters, no one bothered grinding the reputation either.

Which was exactly why Ethan had come.

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