Zane was an effective mentor, even if his methods were questionable.
"Is it really okay to poach a boss like this?" Ash Valor asked, hovering his hand over his pouch of Arcane Grenades.
"Don't overthink it," Zane countered, his eyes locked on the fray below. "We’re contributing DPS. The Guild needs this thing dead. We’re just... optimizing the credit."
Below them, a Level 60 Undying Dire Ape roared, a sound like grinding tectonic plates. For thirty minutes, a legion of high-tier players had been whittling away at its massive health pool. The beast was a mountain of necrotic flesh and rage, but it was finally flagging.
Boom!
A final, earth-shaking explosion sent the Undying Dire Ape crashing to the dirt, kicking up a cloud of dust that choked the battlefield. Then, the system notification chimed across the entire raid channel.
[Kill Count: Zane – Undying Dire Ape. Team Bonus: All Stats +1.]
Zane’s face went purple. "God-fcking-dammit! It broadcasted it?"
He’d clearly intended to skulk in the shadows, but the system had stripped away his anonymity. With thousands of eyes now scanning the skies for the kill-stealer, he had to play the part of the generous benefactor to avoid a riot.
[You have received a team distribution: +10 Silver!]
Ash stared at the notification. Ten silver? A Level 60 Silver-Tier boss dropped loot worth tens of thousands of gold, and Zane had tossed him a few coins. The man was a cheap bastard, but Ash knew better than to complain. He gave Zane a sharp thumbs-up.
"Zane, you’re too generous!"
Zane scoffed, playing to the invisible crowd. "I don’t eat alone. Everyone gets a taste. Contribution varies by power, but the heart is what matters!"
Despite his damage being the lowest in the raid, the sheer level gap meant Ash was drowning in rewards.
[Experience +10,000. Contribution Points +20.]
For the next few hours, Ash played the role of a high-altitude bomber, following Zane from one skirmish to the next. A golden light eventually swirled around Ash—another level gained.
"Level 50 Skeleton Champion at ten o'clock," Ash called out, spotting a hulking figure in plate armor.
"Lure it toward the Arrow Tower," Zane commanded. "We stay in the tower's reach. It keeps the scavengers away—no one’s going to contest a kill when the automated ballistae are active."
Ash felt a surge of adrenaline. They weren't just poaching now; they were hunting elites. The Skeleton Champion’s Phantom Summons were shredded by Ash’s Arcane Grenades, turning the battlefield into a bone-strewn crater.
[Experience +6,000. Silver +326. Undying Crystal Core +6.]
Then, the big one dropped.
[Item Obtained: Undying Sacred Flame (Iron-Tier).]
Ash blinked. That was a two-thousand gold item, exactly what he needed to evolve Chitin. He looked at Zane, feeling a pang of guilt. "Zane, an Iron-Tier item just dropped. Let me pay you for your share of the kill."
Zane didn't even look back. "Elite drops are all luck. Whoever loots it, keeps it. You’re low level—save your gold. When you’re a powerhouse, you can pay me back with interest. Being a Phantom Summoner is a money sink; I’m perpetually broke."
Ash paused. It was the first time someone in this world had expressed genuine faith in his potential. "Why do you think I'll make it?"
"Because you’re terrified of dying," Zane said bluntly. "You stay in the back. You hide. In this world, the ones who survive are the ones who get strong. Everyone else is just a footnote. Stay alive, kid. When you're rich, send me the gold."
"I won't forget it," Ash promised.
By the end of the day, the territory was transformed. Six Level 60 bosses had been purged from the perimeter, and the Guild’s coffers were overflowing with contribution points.
"Take ten days," the command went out. "Rest, resupply, and defend the walls. We push again soon."
Ash had gained an entire level in a single day—a blistering pace. When Zane finally left to prep for a Level 7 Dungeon, Ash didn't follow. He couldn't. He had his own milestones to hit.
[Level Up! Level 40 reached.]
[All Stats +1. Free Stat Points +5. Attack +500. Attack Speed +0.1.]
The System’s voice resonated in his mind: [You have become a backbone of The Azure Prime Plane. Planar Vault Reward: +1,000 Gold.]
One thousand gold. It was a fortune. Ash immediately dumped it into the market, buying six Common Class Skill Tomes.
[Attack Range +10m]
[Multishot +1]
[Multishot +1]
[Attack Range +10m]
[Attack Range +10m]
[Skill Awakened: Crushing Blow (10% chance for Double Damage).]
His range had exploded to 90 meters. He was now firing a Septuple Shot—seven arrows per release.
[Status: Ash Valor]
Level: 40
Attack: 5,306
HP: 9,800
Attack Range: 90m
Attack Speed: 0.58
He looked at his summon, Chitin. It was time. He spent the 2,500 gold for the evolution materials and crushed the Undying Sacred Flame.
[Evolution Success! Your Phantom Summon has reached Bronze-Tier.]
[Undying Skeleton: Chitin (LV45 Bronze-Tier)]
HP: 24,000
Attack: 1,800
Defense: 512
The skeleton now had double Ash’s health. It was a proper frontline tank.
With Zane gone, Ash regrouped with what was left of the Galeforce Squad. Out of the original dozen, only Victor Ward and Lily Mercer remained.
"The others... they're gone," Lily said, her voice small. "If I had awakened my healing buffs sooner, maybe..."
"Don't," Ash interrupted. "We survive for them. Victor, I’m lending you six hundred gold. Get a Level 40 Bronze-Tier set. We’re going back out there."
They didn't head for the dungeons. They stayed within the shadow of the Guild's Defense Towers, pulling massive mobs of Level 40 monsters. With Ash’s new range, he was a turret, raining arrows down while Victor held the line and Lily kept them topped off.
[Kill Count +7. Experience +150.]
They ground through the night, eighteen hours of rhythmic, brutal slaughter. Ash was clearing twenty-five monsters a minute. By the end of the shift, his kill count had increased by twenty thousand.
As they rested, a global announcement flashed across the sky in burning embers.
[Southhaven Alert: Level 112 Abyssal Widow Slain! All citizens: All Stats +5, +10 Gold.]
The city was booming. The rise of Evan Valor had changed everything. The Stellar Pact was even offering "Starter Gold" to new Awakened—a luxury Ash had never known.
Two years ago, he was a nobody struggling for scraps. Now, he looked at his rank. In a world of two billion Awakened, Ash Valor had cracked the top 800 million.
He wasn't a footnote anymore. He was becoming a protagonist.