A burst of light fred as the final enemy colpsed, its form dissolving into shimmering particles. The battlefield fell silent, save for the distant crackle of embers where Leon's spells had scorched the earth.

  [Level Up! You have reached Level 20.]

  Rael exhaled, l his sword. The weight of exhaustioled in, but it was the good kind—the kind that came after a long, productive grind. Around him, Leon and Gale were finishing off the st stragglers, cutting them down with swift efficy.

  Leon stretched with an audible groan, rolling his shoulders. "Finally. I swear, if we had to kill one more—"

  Gale wiped his bde against his gau. "You'd what? pin louder?"

  Leon shot him a gre. "I'd log out mid-fight. Just watch."

  Rael barely listened, his focus on the glowing system window before him. Level 20. A threshold. A dividing liween the early game and everything that came after.

  — Status Window —

  Name: Noctus

  Css: Tempr

  Level: 20

  Affiliation: Eclipse [Guild Leader]

  [Stats]

  HP: 280/280

  MP: 180/180

  Stamina: 160/160

  [Attributes]

  Strength: 23

  Dexterity: 18

  Endurance: 16

  stitution: 22

  Intelligence: 16

  Charisma: 5

  Free Stat Points: 3

  ————————————————————

  Skills:

  Holy Edge – els divine energy into a on, allowing attacks to deal additional radiant damage. Against unholy or undead ehe effect is doubled.

  Holy Aura – Gees a faint golden glow that boosts nearby allies' resistao dark and cursed effects while slightly increasing their stamina recovery. At higher mastery levels, it provides passive healing over time.

  Basianship – Fual proficy with swords, increasing attack precision and efficy. Reduces stamina ption when swinging a bde and improves terattack speed.

  Fleeting Dash – A sudden burst of speed that allows for rapid repositioning. be used to close distances or evade attacks. While active, movement speed is increased for a short duration.

  Holy Touch – Imbues the user's hands with divine energy, allowing them to heal minor wounds or deal extra damage to unholy entities upon tact. Scales with Intelligend skill mastery.

  —————————————————————

  A new notification appeared at the bottom.

  [You have reached Level 20. You may now choose a subcss.]

  Rael flexed his fingers, rolling out the tension from the long grind. "Looks like I'm the first to hit 20."

  Gale let out a low whistle. "Damn. Didn't realize we were that far in already."

  Leon groaned, shaking out his arms. "You say 'far in' like we're close to anything. Level 20's just the beginning."

  Rael smirked. "Yeah. But it's where things really start."

  Gale sheathed his sword. "You pick a subht?"

  "Yeah." Rael pulled up his menu, his eyes sing the avaible options. But before he could make a sele—

  [Detected: Zenith Fragment.][A dormant power stirs within you.]

  [Unique Evolution Path Unlocked – World Ender.]

  [Warning: Choosing this path will permaly repce your current css. You will be uo select a subcss.]

  [Would you like to proceed?]

  Rael froze. He hadn't expected this. Every pyer was supposed to gain a subcss at level 20, but this wasn't an addition—it t. A plete overwrite of his css.

  Tempr was solid. Banced. Safe. But World Ender…

  The name alo a thrill down his spine. No description. No preview. Just a choice ed in mystery.

  Rael stared at it for a moment. He didn't know what the fragment really did, but something about this felt right. A leap into the unknown.

  He took it.

  [Css Evolution plete.][You are the first to awaken this path.]

  [Unique Css ge: World Ender.][Subcss sele revoked.]

  Rael skimmed the notifications, his grip tightening slightly. World Ender. A uh.

  For a moment, he sidered the possibility—could other Zenith fragments grant the same css to someone else? If another pyer stumbled upon one, would they walk this same road?

  But the system had been clear. Unique.

  Rael let out a quiet breath, his eyes flig back to the menu. So this game has game-breaking things, huh?

  A small grin tugged at the er of his lips. He wasn't pining. If the world had exploits, it to him to find them first.

  Ohing was certain—he had to keep this under s. A unique css wasn't just an adva was a target.

  Gale's voice cut in. "Man, you've been staring at your s forever. Thinking about your subcss?"

  Rael blihen gave a small shrug. "Yeah. Just cheg my options."

  Leon scoffed. "It's not that deep. Piething solid, and we'll figure the rest out ter."

  "Easy for you to say," Rael said, closing the menu. "You're not the one pig right now."

  Gale stretched with a yawn. "Well, hurry up. I'm logging off to eat."

  Rael nodded. "Same. Just gonna cheething first."

  "Alright, don't take too long," Leon said, pulling up his menu.

  As they logged off one by one, Rael pulled up his status s.

  — Status Window —

  Name: Noctus

  Css: World Ender

  Level: 20

  Affiliation: Eclipse [Guild Leader]

  [Stats]

  HP: 280/280

  MP: 180/180

  Stamina: 160/160

  [Attributes]

  Strength: 33(+10)

  Dexterity: 28(+10)

  Endurance: 16

  stitution: 22

  Intelligence: 16

  Charisma: 5

  Free Stat Points: 3

  —————————————————————

  Seals Unlocked:

  1st Seal – Seal of Awakening (Unlocked)

  Ability – Ruinous Strike: A basic attafused with destructive force, dealing signifitly increased damage.

  Passive – Unshackled Potential: Strength aerity exceed normal limits, increasing both by +10.

  —————————————————————

  Rael's eyes flicked down the menu, skimming through his status window—then stopped.

  His abilities tab was gone.

  In its pce, a new se had appeared: Seals Unlocked.

  All of his previous Tempr skills—Holy Edge, Holy Aura, Fleeting Dash—were o be found. Instead, a siry remained:

  Everything else had been wiped .

  His eyes lingered on the lory—Seal of Awakening.

  Then his eyes widerength aerity had each surged by ten. A boost like that wasn't normal; it was nearly seven levels' worth of growth in an instant!

  Power came fast with this css. The question was, how much faster could it climb?

  At the bottom of the Seals Unlocked tab, a single line of text pulsed faintly.

  Seal Unlocks: Upon obtaining another Zenith Fragment.

  Rael's eyes narrowed. Not a level requirement.

  His previous skills had beeress—training, leveling up, mastery. But this? This was different. His growth as a World Ender hinged entirely on the fragments possibly.

  A path locked behind something so rare.

  His fingers curled slightly. So that's how it works. If he wao push this css further, he had to traore of those fragments. And if they were anything like the first, they wouldn't just be lying around.

  The game had hidden something ridiculous in its depths, and he'd stumbled onto it first.

  A thrill stirred in his chest, just beh his usual calm. He'd been lucky this time—like really really lucky.

  Closing the menu, he exhaled slowly, casting o gnce around. Gale and Leon had already logged off. The battlefield was empty now, only the faint shimmer of vanished bodies marking where the fight had been.

  Without another word, Rael pulled up his own menu and logged out.

  * * *

  Rael opened his eyes as the VR pod disehe familiar hum of the system shutting down fading into silehe transition back to reality always felt a little disorienting, the weight of his real body settling in as he pushed open the pod's lid.

  The dim lighting of his apartment greeted him. A quice across the room showed Elias' pod still closed, the faint glow of active immersion status blinking on its side.

  Still in. Rael didn't bother cheg the time. He stretched, rolling out the stiffness in his shoulders, then headed straight for the fridge.

  Crag it open, he grabbed the leftover ese takeout from st night—a half-eaten box of fried rid some dumplings still in their tainer. He popped the lid, took a sniff, decided it was still edible, and grabbed a fork before plopping onto the couch.

  Phone in one hand, food iher, he did what any sane person would do after a long gaming session—mindlessly scroll the forums.

  At first, it was the usual mix of gamepy clips, people showing off rare drops, aed arguments over whether agility sg was secretly broken. Then things gressively ...absurd.

  [Thread: I Got a Legendary Drop… and It's a Spoon?]

  OP: "So I just killed a dungeon boss, right? Big dramatic fight, super hard, almost died like five times. And my reward? A legendary spoon. Thought it was a joke, but then I checked the description…

  Exalted Ladle of the First Feast(Set Piece – One of Three)

  What does this mean. Is this part of some hidde??"

  Top ents:

  — [IronGuts99]: "Oh my god. You've found one of the sacred cutlery.LOL"

  — [DrizzleBeef]: "Excuse me. The WHAT."

  — [Bohief]: "Never seen this before. Set item means there's more?"

  — [QuantumToast]: "Wait. This game doesn't even have a wiki yet, how do we not know about this?"

  — [PillWielder]: "Probably because no oakes loot descriptions seriously."

  — [SomethingSomethingIDK]: "Alright, listen up. I found somethied to this. Last week, I looted a Manual of the Battle Chef from a hidden dungeo. It's super cryptic, but it mentions something called 'The Three Sacred Cutlery.' Says that anyone who gathers them all will undergo a forced css ge."

  — [OP]: "Forced???"

  — [QuantumToast]: "A css ge? There aren't even specializatio. What is this?"

  — [SoupSyerX]: "Battle Chef. That name goes hard."

  — [ForkWielder]: "Yeah but what even is a Battle Chef? That manual say anything else?"

  — [SomethingSomethingIDK]: "Not much. It's mostly fvor text. Talks about 'wielding the tools of creation aru in equal measure' and something about 'throwing out AOE pan attacks.'"

  — [Bohief]: "Okay, that's metal as hell."

  — [PillWielder]: "So wait… this css exists, but no one has actually unlocked it?"

  — [SomethingSomethingIDK]: "Yeah. Legendary items have multiple instances, but no one has ever assembled all three. So no one knows what Battle Chef actually does."

  — [OP]: "??"

  — [SomethingSomethingIDK]: "Yeah, as far as I know, no one has ever had this css. I don't even think the devs firmed it exists."

  — [ForkWielder]: "So OP could be the first?"

  — [SomethingSomethingIDK]: "If they find the other two items. Also, I want that dle. 100k gold."

  — [OP]: "???????"

  — [QuantumToast]: "Bro just went from 'haha funny spoon' to high-stakes bck market trading."

  — [Bohief]: "Man thought he was making soup, turns out he's cooking HISTORY."

  Rael exhaled through his nose, amused. This game is truly weird. I got a unique css and now this , a hidden css locked behind legendary-grade silverware? He had no idea what Battle Chef was supposed to be, but the fact that people were already ridiculous amounts of gold for a single piece meant something.

  Shaking his head, he took a quick sshot a it to Elias with no text.

  Then, back to scrolling.

  More absurd posts. Someone g they sayer disappear mid-fight. Anuing that Temprs were secretly nerfed i patch because their "divine smite feels less smite-y." A full-blowe over whether the game's ey was already colpsing due to pyers h crafting materials.

  And then, buried between the chaos of memes and spiracy theories, a single post caught his eye:

  "Rumors that VR Capital Hargen to host the first Solmora: Ast championship."

  The thread was already blowing up, with ents flooding in faster than he could read. He scrolled through them, his expression unreadable, but there was a flicker of i in his eyes.

  — [Neko99]: "Bro, it's only been two weeks. HOW are they already pnning an esports se??"

  — [BreadBorne]: "Because money. Did you see how fast the pyer base exploded? Of course the VR giants are gonna milk it."

  — [DrizzleBeef]: "Okay but is this actually firmed, or is this just some rando pulling info out of nowhere?"

  — [BreadBorne: "No official firmatio, but sources say it's ing from inside Hargen."

  — [Bohief]: "Wait. You meaual city in the game?"

  — [BreadBorne]: "No, I mean Hargen, the VR capital. The real-life one."

  Rael's scrolling slowed. Hargen…

  He'd never been there himself, but it was on knowledge. Hargen was the tech hub for virtual reality—the beati of the industry. Nearly every major VR pany had their headquarters there, and if anything big was happening in the world of immersive gaming, Hargen was usually at the ter of it.

  More ents flooded in:

  — [DumbDuck]: "If this is true, that means they're already setting up the infrastructure for pro py. That's insane."

  — [Pop-Sickle]: "Imagine pying casually and then suddenly your whole server turns into a tour bracket."

  — [AYAYA909]: "I mean… wasn't this always the goal? Ast is the first true full-dive game. Of course it was gonna go petitive."

  — [Pop-Sickle]: "Yeah, but I thought it'd take lohis game is still fresh. No one even knows what the meta is yet."

  — [BreadBorne]: "It doesn't matter. When the prize pools drop, the guilds are gonna start treating this like a war."

  — [AYAYA909]: "Speaking of, has aiced the top guilds are getting really anized all of a sudden?"

  Rael exhaled softly through his wasn't surprising. If there was ohing petitive pyers excelled at, it was finding an advantage before the casual crowd even realized what was happening. Some of the rger guilds had probably started positioning themselves from day one.

  — [EchoFang]: "Okay but like… is anyone else realizing how WILD the petition is gonna be?"

  — [IronHandX]: "We already have top-tier guilds f. A's not fet the wildest news of all—"

  — [DeepFryer]: "Oh, here we go."

  — [IronHandX]: "AUREUS IS BACK!"

  — [SynthVermin]: "I think he goes by Noctus now."

  — [IronHandX]: "AND HE MADE A GUILD. Eclipse. This man just walked in and started setting up shop like he never left."

  — [HollowSpecter]: "Yeah, but does he still have it? Four years is a long time."

  — [NeonBishop]: "Bro, he attehat pro party. He was talking with the old legends. You think that was casual?"

  — [SilentRook]: "Real question is—does it even matter? Solomon's Demons are on tht noex is ued. No ooug him."

  — [EchoFang]: "You sure about that? If Eclipse keeps growing, we might actually see a challenge."

  — [IronHandX]: "You're crazy. Apex isn't losing to anyone."

  Rael stared at the s for a moment before exhaling through his nose, amused. They're already making predis?

  He leaned back against the couch, letting his pho on his chest. The game had only been out for two weeks, yet discussions like this made it feel like it had been around for years. The sheer speed at which Ast was growing was unreal.

  The time dition update had already shifted things—three hours in-game for every one in real life meant mrinding, more tent being uncovered, and a faster skill ceiling for petitive pyers. And now, with the rumors of a championship in Hargen, things were going to accelerate even further.

  He sidered his steps. His guild, Eclipse, was still in its infancy. A few lucky breaks had given them a foothold, but they needed more than that to pete. They needed numbers, strength, and the right people. The top guilds weren't just powerful—they were anized. If they wao stand against Solomon's Demons, they had to start building now.

  Apex was an unknown factor to him. He'd seen him at the party, but he hadn't spoken to him. The way he carried himself, the way his team followed him—it was clear he was the real deal. Rael knew better than ahat titles meant nothing. Winni everything.

  But did he even want to aim for that again?

  He frowned slightly, his thoughts blurring together.

  The quiet hum of the apartment filled the space. Elias was still in his pod. The dim light from the phone s cast faint shadows along the ceiling.

  Before he could dwell on anything further, the weight of exhaustioled in. His body rexed, his breathing slowed, and just like that—

  Sleep took him.

  * * *

  The forest was still. Moonlight filtered through the dense opy, casting long shadows over the undergrowth. The air smelled of damp earth and blood—a fresh kill from a predator nearby. A pack of direwolves prowled through the trees, their bck fur blending seamlessly into the darkness, their growls rumbling low and hungry.

  Lu stood ohick branch of an a oak, barely making a sound. The night wind ruffled his hood, but he remained motionless, golderag the movement below. Seven wolves, moving in practiced formation. They were bigger than normal wolves, their muscles rippling uhick coats, cws digging deep into the dirt. Their leader, an alpha with jagged scars across its muzzle, lifted its head and she air.

  Lu smirked. They don't even know I'm here.

  He rolled his shoulders, adjusting his grip on the daggers strapped to his wrists. A faint sheen coated the edges—a passive poison effeot lethal, but effit. His heartbeat slowed.

  Then, he vanished.

  A flicker of shadows.

  The st wolf in the paever even twitched as a dagger slid between its ribs, pierg its heart. A muffled exhale, and the beast colpsed, its body dissolving into shimmering particles.

  No oiced.

  Lu was already gone.

  Aep, another flicker of darkness. He emerged behind the wolf, severing its spih a precise strike before vanishing again.

  [Enemy Eliminated.]

  The pack still hadn't realized they were being hunted.

  Too easy.

  He moved to the fourth—then the alpha's ears twitched. The beast suddenly turned, glowing yellow eyes log onto him.

  Lu clicked his toook you long enough.

  A snarl ripped through the night. The remaining wolves whirled, hackles raised, teeth bared. The alpha let out a sharp bark, and the pack lunged as one.

  Lu stepped bad disappeared.

  Cws sshed through empty air. The wolves skidded to a halt, momentarily fused.

  Now.

  Lu surged forward.

  One wolf leapt—he was already gone. A whisper of steel, and its throat opened in a , silent cut.

  Another lunged from the side. His dagger met it mid-motion, the force twisting its body before it hit the ground.

  The rest never got the ce.

  By the time the alpha charged, Lu was already moving.

  The beast lunged, jaws wide, its massive fangs gleaming in the moonlight. But Lu was a ghost. He sidestepped just enough for the wind of its attack to brush past him, his silhouette blurring into shadows. The alpha's cws carved deep furrows into the dirt where he had just stood.

  Then—Lu vanished again.

  The wolf spun, snapping at empty air, its growl turning to a fused snarl. Its instincts screamed—danger. But by the time it reacted, it was too te.

  Lu reappeared above it, upside down in midair, a single dagger poised between his fingers.

  A fsh of silver.

  [Phantom Rend.]

  The moment the bde struck, a ripple of darkness erupted, sshing through the alpha's body in an instant. No time to resist. No time to even uand what had happened.

  The wolf s muscles locked—its body frozen.

  Then, slowly, it colpsed.

  [Finishing Strike!]

  Lu nded lightly beside the dissolving corpse, already sheathing his dagger as if the fight had never happehe st remnants of the wolves shimmered before disappearing, repced by a list of loot notifications. He barely g them.

  Rael...

  His fingers curled slightly at the thought. He didn't care what Rael was after—but he would be watg. And if the ce came, he'd make sure to be in the way.

  Without another word, he melted into the darkness, vanishing without a trace.

  WatgTomorrow