Mirabella started reading the letter, her brow furrowed slightly, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips.
"[Letter: Spectral... Yes, I know you are Spectral. I spent a whole day checking the ranking board, and discovered you're the only one with Neutral reputation. Which means, you're the one who killed the World Boss... Forget all that. I want to apologize for not agreeing to your request, but I can't just forget what happened and joined another group. So I will rather go solo. I will face this world, and I will conquer it. Your payment is with the Kind Mage; Survive this game world, and help our world, if fate sees it, we will meet again. Take care, Mirabella.]"
Mirabella blinked, the surprise evident in her gaze, quickly followed by a spark of grudging respect. "She is indeed smart," she mused, a hint of respect in her voice. "To piece together the only Neutral reputation on the board and deduce my identity... impressive."
She sighed, the sound carrying a note of weariness. "But with her plot changed, I don't know what will befall her." The unpredictability of Galaxy Fall was a constant factor, even for her.
She stretched out the letter to Cupcake, who immediately obliged, a tiny arc of lightning reducing the paper to ashes. The action was swift and final, erasing the loose end.
"Come on," Mirabella said, her focus snapping back to the immediate goal. "We have some farming to do. With three months duration until the second server opens, we must become a powerhouse in it, even while still being in the first." Her ambition was cold and absolute.
_
She opened the room door. Carl stood in the hallway, yet his figure was strangely translucent, a mere phantom invisible to the eyes of ordinary people and anyone lower than him in Level.
'It seems he is getting good at stealth,' Mirabella observed mentally, maintaining a neutral face. 'The skill gotten from the scroll not only makes him invisible, but he can deal damage even in this form... Making him a deadly assassin, but only to those weaker than him.'
'If he had the Royal Bloodline like me, this skill would have been maxed, then it'll have effects on anyone three levels above him... Seems he will have to continuously use it until it upgrades and his mastery increases.' Mirabella mentally noted.
She watched, amused, as Carl crept toward her, completely unaware that the master account's inherent detection capabilities allowed her to see him as clearly as day. He stopped right in front of her, sticking his tongue out in a childish attempt at playful surprise.
BAM!
"OUCH!!!" Carl howled.
The hallway's nurses and patients turned, seeing only Mirabella and her cat. She stared at them and shrugged her shoulders with an indifferent expression. The people looked at one another, and continued with their businesses.
"How... How can you see me?" Carl revealed himself fully, gingerly placing his foot on the ground. His disbelief was genuine; his stealth should have been absolute at his current level.
Mirabella snapped her fingers, summoning a health potion.
"Take it and heal your leg," she commanded, already walking away. "My level is higher than yours, that skill won't work on anyone higher... You should use your galaxy bracelet to search its information." She said, offering a curt, useful lesson.
'I really need to learn to control my strength,' she thought, mildly chiding herself. 'I only used half of my foot, and he broke his fingers.' Her power was becoming a liability in casual interaction.
Carl, his leg healed instantly by the potion, scrambled to follow.
"So, Senior sister, where to next?" he asked, breathless, quickly shaking off the pain.
"We don't need to take quests," she stated, not slowing. "The quests are too low. By killing World Bosses and Bosses, we not only gain Loots, we also gain Coins and EXP."
"Why isn't there a Monster Card for a World Boss monster?" Carl asked, intrigued by this piece of game lore.
"World Boss monsters are too powerful to generate Monster Cards," she explained patiently, shifting into an informative role. "So Galaxy Fall automatically calculates the difficulty and the strength of the World Boss's health and spirit energy to give EXP to all the members or one player. Note: One player, soloing and killing a World Boss gains more EXP than a ten-man team."
"Why is that?" Carl asked, confused by the game's reward structure.
"If a single player soloed and killed a World Boss, he or she can get up to 100,000 EXP. But if a group of ten killed a World Boss, they will gain 50,000 EXP for each person. Not only that... they'll still have to share the loots, while a soloed player takes everything."
"Wow! I want to solo a World Boss!" Carl yelled, already imagining the glory as they walked out of the hospital and into Galaxy City.
"Don't even think about it," Mirabella said sternly, cutting short his fantasy. "Unless you reach Lv70, you're not allowed to solo a World Boss. You'll just end up dead." She was a realistic, even harsh, mentor.
"But you could at Lv30." Carl pointed out, still clinging to the ideal.
"I am different from others." Mirabella answered flatly, her tone ending the debate.
_
She moved her gaze around the city and noticed Grace, who was standing in front of a small group. The members were bruised and injured; some were even crying. Mirabella frowned slightly at the scene of weakness and distress.
"What is going on here?" she asked, walking toward them, Cupcake perched on her shoulder.
"Oh, Senior!" Grace turned in surprise, relief evident in her face.
"Well... Senior... These are the members of my guild." Grace gestured to the five people before Mirabella: three boys and two girls. Grace, at Lv16, was the most powerful, with the others ranging from Lv5 to Lv15.
"Your guild?" Mirabella observed the low-level group.
"Yes. I am the guild master," Grace said, gesturing to the blonde-haired guy beside her, whose gaze held a deep, frustrated anger. "He is my Vice Guild leader, Philip, a Lv15 player."
Grace continued, her voice low with distress: "They took a mission from the Galaxy Association and completed it, but were later robbed by powerful players. All the Monster Cards and loots were taken. Even the mission objective was stolen, so now... we are at a loss."
"Robbers that stole from a Lv15 and four Lv5-above players aren't weak," Carl interjected, his voice hardening with indignation. "There must be at least a Lv20."
"Yes," Grace confirmed. "Philip said they are 20 in number. Five are all Lv20, and the rest are below Lv20."
'Hmm... Robbers always have good things,' Mirabella thought, moving her gaze across the defeated group. Her mind focused on profit and strategy, not just charity. 'If it were citizens of Galaxy Fall—they would have killed them all. But they're still alive, which means, humans from earth are the ones who did this.'
She turned to Grace, a decision already made. 'Grace had helped me indirectly, not once. Helping her out won't cost me anything, and it will be profitable.'
"Do you know where their hideout is located?" she asked.
"Yes," Philip answered quickly, a spark of hope igniting in his eyes, gesturing to a female assassin behind him. "She followed them from a distance to a small village located west from here. The group who attacked us are known as the Skull Guild... but I think more than one Guild is in that village."
"Ok," Mirabella nodded. "Thanks for the direction. Can I know the Monster Cards and loots that were taken from you?"
"...?!"
The six guild members froze, confusion washing over their faces.
"What are you saying, Senior?" Grace asked, mild surprise turning to shock.
"Of course, I want to help you get back your things," Mirabella stated flatly, her intention purely pragmatic. "Just give me the lists."
"Miss... You're only a Lv15, you aren't strong enough to face them," Philip quickly protested, staring at the seemingly low-level Mirabella. His eyes were drawn to her visible, yet misleading, stats.
"Oh?"
Mirabella removed the fake account she had been using. Suddenly, an unknown, overwhelming amount of Spirit Energy erupted from her, pushing the group back several steps and causing every onlooker to turn, their faces filled with pure, unadulterated shock.
"Oh my Goodness, is that an Awakened Fighter?!" a man gasped, recognizing the incredible aura.
"I can't believe it! There is an Awakened player in our small town!"
"Hey! I know her... She is the one Captain Rhys respect!" a kid yelled, confirming her status.
"Wow, Spectral is a girl... That means I can achieve this too!" a female player muttered, staring at Mirabella with reverence.
"AHH! Look at her golden profile! This is Spectral!!" another screamed, prompting everyone to check the ranking board and Mirabella's newly revealed status.
"Spectral!!! My God!!" a man exclaimed.
"Wow!! I am horrified!!"
"Can't believe I have seen Spectral in person!! And her profile is golden!!"
The street instantly fell into chaos, countless people yelling, but not one person dared to approach her, paralyzed by fear and awe of such a powerful player.
"So... am I still weak?" Mirabella asked with a subtle smirk, staring at Grace's frozen guild. Their eyes and mouths were wide open in pure shock and disbelief.
The player who had taken down three World Bosses, killed countless monsters, and held the top place on the strength ranking was the young lady standing calmly before them.