A world-wide announcement on The Plane was the ultimate mark of prestige. Being singled out for praise by the system itself was more than just a notification—it was a declaration of supreme status.
"Ash Valor, it was just one boss. Is all this fanfare really necessary?"
Caden Marlowe scoffed, though the glint in his eyes suggested otherwise. Sure, he wasn't at the absolute peak of the level rankings yet, but when it came to confirmed kills on high-tier bosses, he was arguably in a league of his own. Most of the Skystrider Guild’s Epic-tier gear had been pried from the cold, dead hands of monsters Caden had hunted down.
"You think Evan Valor is using that announcement to mock me?" Caden asked, his brow furrowing.
Ash rolled his eyes, letting out a long, weary sigh. "Could you try having a little perspective? Or maybe just stop being so damn paranoid? Do you have any idea how much it costs to trigger a Planar Broadcast? You think anyone is going to drop that kind of gold just to troll you? You’re not that important."
"Fair point," Caden conceded, a smirk finally breaking through. "Which means we really are just that good."
Taking down a Level 330 boss was, by any metric, an insane feat. Neither Caden nor Ash could have pulled it off solo; it had been a desperate, coordinated gamble that barely paid off.
"Credit where it’s due, though," Ash added, the adrenaline still humming in his veins. "If you hadn't spotted that thing early, the Guild Grounds would be a graveyard by now."
He felt a cold chill thinking about the alternative. An army of thousands of Abyssal Widows swarming the walls—not just ordinary spiders, but Level 330 nightmares. The thought alone was enough to make a man quit the game.
"I’m still pissed you sniped the killing blow," Caden grumbled.
"Pure luck, man. Tell you what, I’ll let you have the next one. You can have all the glory."
"I don't care about glory," Caden retorted. "I care about my ledger. Wipe a hundred million gold off my debt and we’ll call it even."
Ash didn't miss a beat. "Fine. Consider a hundred million gone. You only owe me a billion now."
"Wait, you bastard! Did you just increase the total?"
Ash ignored the cursing, focusing on downing a mana potion. The blue liquid tasted like cold ozone, sparking as it restored his reserves. Slaying a Level 330 boss had sent shockwaves through the local ecosystem; the surrounding monster hordes were visibly hesitating, their predatory instincts overridden by the sudden vacuum of power.
Outside the Guild Grounds, the "True" monsters—those with actual sapience—were gathering, waiting for Caden Marlowe to make his next move. The siege wasn't over. To break the deadlock, Caden would have to dive back into the meat grinder.
In the shadows of the Abyssal front, the atmosphere was thick with tension.
"If that Ash Valor is already this strong, Caden Marlowe must be a freak of nature," one of the commanders muttered, his voice raspy. "Raise Marlowe’s threat level to Maximum. From now on, I want constant Truesight pings. We cannot let that Assassin get within striking distance."
The fear was palpable. A top-tier Assassin was a nightmare; a top-tier Assassin who could delete a Level 330 boss was a god of death.
"My Lord, what are our orders?" a group of Abyssal Sentinels asked, their many eyes twitching. They had drastically underestimated the human resistance. Hundreds of Steelspine Crawlers had been vaporized, and a Voidlord-rank entity had been snuffed out in minutes.
The Abyssal Overlord leading the detachment didn't look angry. In fact, he looked delighted. "Orders? This is a gift! I just lost my shot at a Voidlord seat, and now the position is vacant again. With that spider dead, I’m next in the line of succession."
The Sentinels let out a series of chittering, joyous clicks. "Congratulations, Excellency!"
"So... do we still press the attack? We only risked this much to secure a Voidlord’s favor."
"Of course we attack," the Overlord replied, his tone turning casual. "But there’s no need to be reckless now. Let the Crimson Vow fools throw their lives away first. We’ll take our time."
He didn't care about the loss of his Steelspine Serpents. Ever since he’d heard Caden Marlowe had collapsed the Void Rift, he had been thirsting for vengeance—and the rewards promised by his superiors. Every Rift opened a door to a new world, and the number of Voidharbors was finite. Securing this one was paramount.
"Still," the Overlord mused, looking toward the human walls. "I have a feeling Marlowe isn't done causing trouble."
Caden had already vanished, slipping into stealth to hunt the source of the Wraith-kin Calamity. Meanwhile, Ash Valor, his mana finally topped off, triggered a Random Displacement Talisman. He couldn't return to the city yet, and he wasn't about to sit idle. The map was crawling with high-level elites, and with no one to split the experience with, this was a prime farming opportunity.
He kept his pace disciplined, weaving through the terrain. He only used Meteor Volley sparingly; he needed to ensure he always had enough mana for a ten-shot burst of Skybreaker Arrows in case of an ambush.
As he blinked from one location to the next, he surveyed the battlefield. The Abyssal Widows were gone, but the sea of Undead and the gathering of "True" monsters around the guild perimeter remained a massive threat.
Clear the Wraith-kin source, drop a few more bosses, and we might actually survive this, Ash thought.
He knew his limits. Caden was a monster in close quarters but lacked range. If Caden got surrounded by a boss pack, he was dead. Ash, conversely, stayed at the edge of his vision range, firing off a few devastating volleys before relocating.
"Ash, don't sweat the internal defense," Caden’s voice crackled through the private comms. "Reinforcements from Southhaven and a few other guilds just touched down."
Ash exhaled, a weight lifting from his chest. "I thought they were sitting this one out?"
"They were, until we proved we could actually win," Caden replied cynically. "If they let our Guild Grounds fall now, Southhaven is next on the menu. They’re not helping us; they’re protecting their own skins."
It was the same logic as Peerless City. When the capital was under siege, everyone went. If Peerless City fell, Azure Prime fell.
"Anyway," Caden continued, his voice dropping an octave. "I found the source of the Wraith-kin. Shit. It’s six Level 300 Dreadlords."
Six bosses. Ash’s eyes widened. "Sending coordinates?"
"You're twenty miles out. Stay there. I think I can handle this solo."
"Are you insane? Caden, that’s a six-to-one disadvantage!"
Caden was only Level 211. In the world of The Plane, level wasn't everything, but a ninety-level gap against six bosses was suicide for most. But Caden had a hundred-fold attack multiplier and reflexes that bordered on precognition.
"Relax. They’re spread out. Just watch the logs. I’m about to hit Level 220."
"Fine. If you’ve got it, I’ll stay clear."
Ash preferred the stability of the city defense anyway. He burned another Displacement Talisman, landing on a ridge overlooking the valley. From here, the scale of the invasion was staggering—a literal ocean of monsters stretching to the horizon. Some flew, some burrowed, all moved with a single-minded hunger.
"Even without the Wraith-kin, this is going to be a nightmare to hold," Ash muttered. "They’re treating a guild territory like a fortified capital."
A sudden screech from above shattered his focus.
"Holy shit! Ash Valor!"
Ash looked up to see a massive Crimson Bat circling overhead. If it hadn't spoken, he might have missed it in the chaotic sky.
"A Level 205 Boss," Ash noted, his lips curling into a cold smile. "Talk about a gift."
"Where’s your little golden bird, human?" the Bat Lord shrieked, diving. "How are you going to run this time?"
Ash recognized it now—one of the cowards that had fled during his power-leveling session with Sera Ashford.
"I'm not running," Ash said, drawing his bow in a fluid motion.
[Skybreaker Volley]
He didn't even need the full ten shots. Four arrows, trailing white-hot light, tore through the sky. The Bat Lord didn't even have time to scream before it was shredded into pixels.
[System Notification]
You have slain the Crimson Bat Lord.
Rewards: 200,000 Gold, 1,000,000 Contribution Points, 1 War Merit, +1 Spirit, 7,200,000 XP.
His Soulbound Weapon’s recent upgrade was paying dividends; the experience gain was massive. He reached into the loot pile and pulled out a Gilded Helm.
Gold-tier? From a Level 200 boss? My luck is trash today.
He frowned, noticing something odd. "Wait, where’s the guild-wide buff?" Usually, slaying a Level 200+ boss granted a temporary stat boost to all guild members. Had the drop rates and bonuses been nerfed?
[Global Notification]
Caden Marlowe has slain a Dreadlord. All Guild Members: +10 All Stats.
Ash blinked. So the threshold had moved. Level 200 bosses were now considered "common" elites in the eyes of the system. Only Level 300+ kills triggered the global rewards now. This wasn't great news; Ash wasn't even Level 200 yet.
The notifications started rolling in like rapid-fire.
[Global Notification]
Caden Marlowe has slain a Dreadlord. All Guild Members: +10 All Stats.
Ash felt a surge of pure envy. "Show-off," he muttered.
"Gentlemen, that’s one Level 300 boss down," Caden’s voice boomed in the guild chat, dripping with arrogance. "I think I’ll take a few more. I just gained two levels from one kill. Can you believe that?"
Ash gritted his teeth. He could take a Level 300 boss if he had to, but the escape was the problem. An Assassin could vanish into thin air; an Archer had to kite and pray.
Then, the world slowed down as a golden prompt filled everyone’s vision.
[Planar Broadcast]
For his immortal contributions to the defense of Azure Prime, Caden Marlowe is granted a Soulbound Weapon.
Ash froze. "Wait, Soulbound Weapons get a Planar Broadcast? Did I miss mine?"
Even Caden sounded stunned. "Holy... it actually gave me one? I didn't even do anything special, just killed some high-tier trash. Stupid system, where was this energy when I was grinding my ass off years ago? Better late than never, I guess."
Despite the complaining, Caden was clearly ecstatic. The impact of a single man holding a city was one thing, but a man with a Soulbound Weapon was a different reality entirely.
Ash checked his friend list. Caden was frantically messaging everyone.
"Anyone got Gold? I need it. Now."
"I’m twenty million short for the next tier."
"Screw it, someone loan me five hundred million. I'm going all the way."
Caden had the capital. Between his loot and his connections, he bypassed the grind that Ash had endured. Within an hour, Caden had upgraded his new dagger to Legendary-tier and pushed its reinforcement to +5, surpassing Ash’s own bow.
"I’m losing my spot as the guild’s top DPS, aren't I?" Ash sighed.
Soulbound Weapons were unique, each awakening different traits. Caden’s tone in chat told the whole story: "From now on, anything Level 300 or below is just a target dummy!"
The news hit the monster commanders like a physical blow.
"He just got a Soulbound Weapon now?" the Abyssal Overlord stammered. "He killed a Voidlord without one? How strong is he going to be now?"
Caden Marlowe wasn't like Evan Valor. Evan was a wall—hard to kill, but relatively easy to avoid if you threw enough meat at him. Caden was a scalpel. With his new weapon, he could bypass any defense and delete a boss before they even knew he was there.
"Southhaven is a cursed place," one boss muttered. "First Evan Valor, now this Marlowe. We should have attacked a different city."
Caden didn't just have power; he had no shame. He walked onto the ramparts and hit up every guild leader for loans. The Stellar Pact, realizing Caden was their best insurance policy, begrudgingly wired him a billion gold.
Ash, watching from afar, was fuming. "Caden, how the hell did you hit Legendary so fast? My bow needed a hundred million experience points to bridge that gap. Where did you get the XP?"
"Experience? What are you talking about?" Caden messaged back. "It just needs materials and gold. Are you trying to prank me?"
Caden linked his weapon stats. The stat boosts were identical to Ash’s bow. The slot counts were the same. The only difference was the class-specific traits.
"Are you serious?" Ash felt like screaming. "The system is literally taxing me for experience while you get a free pass? It’s nerfing my growth!"
Caden, oblivious or just being a dick, continued to gloat. "Ash, check this out: 20% Lifesteal. I don't even need a healer anymore. Oh, look, my Crit multiplier just doubled. And my Stealth cooldown? Non-existent. Hey, guess what my total stats are now? Also, why is your level so low? I thought you had a 100% XP buff?"
Ash didn't reply. He simply opened the party interface and muted Caden.
You can be the strongest man in the world, but I'm still the party leader, you prick.
A private whisper bypassed the mute.
"Don't block me, I'm being serious now."
"Make it quick," Ash typed back.
"The Guild Grounds should be fine now. You stay here and hold the fort. I’m going to bag two more boss heads, and then I’m heading to Peerless City."
Ash blinked. "Peerless City? The Rift Gates are down. You’re talking about a cross-continental trek."
"I can fly. It’ll take me two weeks, but I want to take out some Level 330 threats near the capital. Azure Prime is about to fully merge with the Abyss. I want these monsters to be terrified of us before that happens."
"It's suicide, Caden. There are dozens of legends at Peerless City already."
"Yeah, and not one of them has confirmed a Level 330 kill yet," Caden replied, his tone unusually grim. "I need to do the things they won't. If I can take down the top-tier leadership, the merge will be a lot less painful. Besides, it’s a great chance to show off."
Only Caden Marlowe would admit his heroic sacrifice was partly for the clout. He was Level 223 now; with his new gear, he could likely push Level 230 after a few more high-tier kills. With Lifesteal, his sustain was infinite.
"Do what you want," Ash said. "Just don't get yourself killed. It’s a long way to go for a funeral."
"I'll be fine. Just make sure the Guild Grounds are standing when I get back. Clear the immediate area, gain some levels. You've got the tools now."
Caden didn't wait. He plunged directly into a cluster of bosses—a death trap for anyone else. He assassinated four high-tier commanders, including an Abyssal Overlord, and escaped on a sliver of health, leaving a trail of dead legends in his wake.
[Global Notification]
Caden Marlowe has slain an Abyssal Overlord (Level 300).
Caden Marlowe has slain...
"Ash," Caden panted over the comms, his voice buzzing with adrenaline. "Change of plans. There aren't six hundred bosses out here. There are at least eight hundred. Don't try to be a hero. Just stay behind the walls and defend."
"I'm not an idiot, Caden. I'm not you."
Caden left shortly after, leaving a massive haul of gear for Quinn Merrick and the others. Ash watched the horizon, feeling the sudden weight of command. With Caden gone, the safety of hundreds of thousands rested on his shoulders and Vera Laine’s.
"Vera," Ash said, opening a channel to his second-in-command. "Caden is off to Peerless City. From here on out, you call the shots for the guild logistics and defense. I’ll provide the fire support. Whatever you decide, I’ve got your back."
He looked at his Soulbound Bow. Caden was right. Having a weapon of the gods and just sitting on a wall was a waste.
"Alright, you bastards," Ash whispered, looking at the distant monster camps. "You want to siege my home? Let's see how you like being hunted."