At this point, White Emperor had already caught up with Malik and Young Star and expressed his desire to join their party. Malik promptly issued him an invite, and their party now had a total of three members.
Malik was still deep in thought, wondering what their next step should be, when his system suddenly rang. It was a call—from an old friend.
Malik's eyes flashed with brilliance as he picked up.
"Brother Isiaka… I'm sorry I didn't come check up on you. I heard about everything that happened. I'm really sorry," the caller sobbed from the other end.
A weary smile formed on Malik's face. "I'm honestly fine... As you can see, I'm in the game."
"No way… I thought the Shadow Guild had... You're truly in the game? Where are you right now?"
"I'm at Green Leaf Town, by the Dungeon entrance."
"Turn on your location. I'll come find you right now," the caller said before ending the call.
Malik quickly enabled his location, and in less than three minutes, a player walked toward them. It was a level 9 player, well-geared and wielding a staff.
"A level 9 Elementalist? Where did Brother Man like Malik meet someone like this?" Young Star couldn't hide his shock. Malik, on the other hand, frowned slightly when he saw that his friend had already reached level 9.
Without wasting time, Malik issued a party invite, which the Elementalist accepted instantly. Their names appeared on the party interface: Angel Michael, listed right after White Emperor.
"Angel Michael… How tyrannical," Young Star's eyes flashed as he assessed the new party member—who was currently staring at Malik with visible shock. Malik, in contrast, was frowning at him.
"How did you drop levels?"
"How did you gain levels?"
They both asked at the same time. One voice laced with anger, the other with disbelief.
"After the Shadow Guild killed you and reset your level to zero… they came after us next, calling us your friends. Many of us had to scatter. We didn't even get the chance to come check on you. We thought your account had been crippled for real... But here you are at level 4, and with this beautiful equipment."
"Shadow Guild…" Malik clenched his teeth, fury boiling as his aura surged out for a second before retracting. But in that single second, a deathly pressure swept through the area—so suffocating that nearby players flinched, though none could pinpoint the source.
"I shall make them pay."
"That's the spirit, Brother. And it looks like you're already working towards it," Angel Michael said, though a glint of greed flashed in his eyes as he eyed Malik's gear.
Malik just shook his head and gave a wry smile. "This is just a miraculous encounter," he said, laughing heartily.
Angel Michael opened his mouth to say something else, but a sudden presence behind them made everyone tense. As they turned, they saw a team of five approaching—two females and three males. The one in the middle, a woman, carried a massive greatsword.
A Berserker. Level 10, no doubt.
The second female was a level 9 Elementalist, just like Angel Michael. Among the males, one was a level 8 Guardian Knight, another a level 9 Swordsman, and the last, a level 8 Healer. It was a perfectly balanced team, clearly familiar with each other.
So why were they walking toward Malik?
"Are you the leader of this party?" the Level 10 Berserker asked, directing her question to Angel Michael. With the highest level here, it was only natural to assume he was the leader. But what confused her more was why someone like him would party up with such low levels.
"No, I'm not the one," Angel Michael replied, then pointed at Malik—level 4.
The Berserker woman frowned, thinking it was some kind of joke… until she heard Malik's voice.
"Any problem with that?" Malik asked calmly.
She surveyed him closely. She had met many experts before, and though Malik's level was laughable, his demeanor was anything but ordinary. Calm. Steady. Unshaken. Even the three behind him seemed to draw confidence from his presence. Her appraisal skill couldn't detect his equipment's stats, and she couldn't even discern his class.
'This man… he feels mysterious and profound. I shouldn't be here, but I felt an aura coming from this direction—an aura I've only sensed from Boss monsters. Is he the one…?'
"Team Leader…" the Elementalist beside her whispered, seeing her leader caught in a daze as she stared intensely at Malik.
Although she had no ill intent, the three men behind her began shooting Malik hostile glares. In their eyes, their team leader had taken an interest in this unknown level 4 player.
But Malik didn't care about their looks. He was busy observing the Berserker too, wondering if she'd seen through him.
"No… There's no problem," the Berserker finally said. "We came from a faraway city. Our party only has five members, and the minimum requirement for this dungeon is seven. So I came to ask if you'd be interested in joining forces."
She issued a direct invitation.
Malik studied the five for a few seconds, then turned to his team. "Give us a few seconds," he said, motioning for them to move to a corner.
Back on the other side, the tension boiled over.
"Team Leader, that guy's extremely rude. You shouldn't bring someone like him into our party," the Swordsman said with a scowl.
"I agree with Kingsley," the Healer chimed in. "That guy's arrogant. There are tons of high-level players who'd jump at the chance to party with you. We shouldn't waste time on people like them."
"What do you think, Taiwo?" the Team Leader asked the Elementalist beside her. The veiled woman bore a striking resemblance to the Berserker.
"I'll always follow your judgment, Kenny."
Kenny smiled slightly at her reply.
At that moment, Malik and his group returned.
"We're ready to partner with you," Malik said. He disbanded his team, and all four accepted the invite from the Level 10 Berserker.
"I'm Kenny, your party leader," she introduced herself. "This is Taiwo, and this swordsman here is known as Slicer."
"The level 8 Healer is called Big Nurse, and lastly, we have Tipa," she concluded.
Young Star's eyes sparkled with amusement. What a weird collection of names…
"Our names should already appear in the party interface," Malik added.
Kenny checked the list and nodded. "White Emperor… Level 6 MT. Young Star… Level 4 Swordsman. Angel Michael… Level 9 Elementalist. And lastly… him…"
Her eyes lingered on the final name. A name that sent a chill down her spine, even though his class was greyed out.
"Let's go," Kenny said, turning toward the Dungeon entrance. But even as she walked forward, she couldn't help but steal another glance at the level 4 player at the back of the group.
'Man like Malik…'