Noct stood in front of the gleaming “Better” Tier Chest, heartbeat still echoing in his ears. Faint gold light seeped from the seams, pulsing like it was alive.

  

  [Interact with Chest? Y/N]

  “Bet.”

  He touched it.

  Click.

  The chest hissed open, revealing three swirling items encased in holographic light.

  

  [Loot Acquired: “Ironblood Cape” – Rare Accessory]

  [Loot Acquired: “Burst Claw Gauntlets” – Epic Gear]

  [Loot Acquired: Trait Reroll Token (Unbound) – Rare]

  

  Bonus: 1,200 Credits Added

  Power Index Increased

  Noct blinked. “Wait… trait reroll? But I don’t even have a trait yet.”

  Seraphis tilted her head, brushing dust off her shoulder. “Exactly. That token? It lets you generate a trait if you don’t already have one… but only once. Use it, and the dice roll begins.”

  Noct looked at the token, purple-glowing shard spinning in the air.

  “Do I wanna roll now or...”

  Suddenly!

  

  [System Notification – Special Quest Triggered]

  “Vault of Chains” – LIMITED TIME EVENT

  Time Remaining: 00:59:57

  Objective: Locate the hidden Vault before the timer ends. Rewards increase based on speed and performance.

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  WARNING: Failure will result in temporary stat debuff (-10% all stats for 3 hours)

  “Yo?! We just finished a boss!”

  Seraphis cracked her neck. “Welcome to EXO. Don’t sleep.”

  They sprinted.

  As they moved, credits glittered across the cave floor like fireflies. Noct scooped them without slowing, the system auto-collecting them as they passed through his body.

  

  [Credits Collected: +73 | +98 | +102]

  They hit a cracked stone door covered in runes.

  Noct placed a hand on the glyphs.

  

  [System Recognized: “Chain Mask” Equipped – Access Granted]

  Rumble.

  The door slowly cracked open into darkness.

  “Creepy...” Noct muttered.

  They stepped into a vast underground vault, massive chains floating mid-air, weaving around dozens of locked chests suspended in gravity.

  At the center hovered a console. Above it:

  

  [Vault Puzzle – Initiate Chain Sequence]

  Solve the sequence to unlock higher-tier rewards. Failure will trigger dungeon security.

  Seraphis let out a long sigh. “These devs had way too much time.”

  “Alright,” Noct cracked his knuckles. “Let’s big-brain this.”

  ?? 43 minutes left

  After multiple failed attempts (and a near-triggered turret trap), Noct finally aligned the last sequence.

  

  [Vault Puzzle Cleared – Level: B+]

  

  Unlocked: 2x Better Chests, 1x Even Better Chest

  Bonus: Technique Scroll – “Phantom Feint” (Rare) Obtained

  Bonus: Faction Reputation +20 (Unknown)

  System Alert: Power Signature Detected – High-Rank Player Approaching

  “…Wait, what?”

  BOOM.

  The far wall exploded in a blast of corrupted energy. A figure walked out of the smoke, surrounded by twisted black mist.

  A player.

  High level.

  His power index pulsed red.

  

  [Player Detected: VYRE – Rank: ??? – Power Index: 1.4M+]

  Affiliation: Crimson Reign (Global Faction)

  Bounty: 325,000 Credits

  Seraphis cursed. “Vyre… he’s one of the top PvP killers in Global Leaderboards.”

  Noct narrowed his eyes. “And he just found us fresh off a boss fight.”

  

  [PvP Zone: Active]

  Vyre smiled under his dark hood. “Yo. You two smell like loot.”

  He pulled a corrupted blade from his back.

  “You dropping that Even Better Chest… or am I making you drop everything?”

  End of Chapter 6...