Watching FreshwindElara's panic and her utterly helpless expression, a wave of alarm washed over Marcus. The Nine-Winged Dark Gold Bat King had flown out of his attack range, and his speed was no match for it. He could only watch, horrified, as the furious creature hurtled toward her.
'No! Not her!'
He screamed the word internally. He absolutely could not let FreshwindElara be harmed. Suddenly, Marcus felt his real-world self; the one connected to the VR headset, surge with power. The Human Rock technique in his body began to circulate, and a tremendous force erupted. Driven by a fierce belief, he hurled the Skeleton Blade in his hand toward the vicious Nine-Winged Dark Gold Bat King.
"Screeeech!"
The Nine-Winged Dark Gold Bat King let out a single, agonizing shriek before plummeting from the air. It landed stiffly on the cold ground, motionless.
Marcus was stunned by the sight. What had just happened? But just as he was about to figure out the situation, a barrage of system notifications hit him, making his head spin.
"Ding! Congratulations to player Stonehaven for comprehending the Advanced Skill 'Desperate Strike.' Reward: 100 Reputation, 1,000 Gold Coins."
"Ding! Congratulations to player Stonehaven, the first player in Dominion to comprehend a skill! Reward: 100 Reputation, 2,000 Gold Coins, and a random Skill Book."
"Ding! Congratulations to player Stonehaven for acquiring the Skill Book 'Knight's Prayer.'"
"Ding! Congratulations to player Stonehaven on leveling up! Current Level: 28. Health increased by 10, Mana increased by 10. You have 5 Attribute Points to distribute."
"Ding! Congratulations to player Stonehaven for slaying the Golden Nine-Winged Dark Gold Bat King! Reward: 100 Reputation, 2,000 Gold Coins."
He had done it. He had successfully slain the Nine-Winged Dark Gold Bat King. However, he didn't have time to check the system rewards. He rushed to FreshwindElara's side.
"Elara! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Stonehaven. I'm alright."
"God, that was way too close."
"I knew you'd stop it," she said, her voice dropping to a soft, shaky murmur. "I knew I was safe with you here."
Though her last words were barely a whisper, Marcus was standing right in front of her, looking intently into her eyes, and he heard every word clearly. A wave of masculine pride swelled within him.
"I'm, uh… I'll go check on the Cloud Root Water," FreshwindElara said, flustered by his intense gaze. "You see what it dropped."
She quickly lowered her flushed face, avoiding his eyes, and walked toward the glowing plant.
'Okay, so he's not the shy type after all,' she thought, her heart still hammering. But to her surprise, she found she didn't mind his boldness. A strange, warm feeling bloomed in her chest; a feeling she'd never experienced before.
"Right. The loot."
Marcus realized he'd been staring. He rubbed the back of his head with an awkward chuckle and offered her a lopsided smile before turning to the corpse of the Nine-Winged Dark Gold Bat King.
He immediately used Gathering on the corpse.
"Ding! Congratulations to player Stonehaven for gathering an Intermediate Wind Core. Gathering skill proficiency increased."
Intermediate Wind Core: A core that can only be formed by monsters Level 30 and above. It contains the monster's accumulated energy. An intermediate material used for forging weapons and potion-making, with a wide range of uses.
"Ding! Congratulations to player Stonehaven for gathering a Bat Fang. Gathering skill proficiency increased."
Bat Fang: An intermediate material used for forging weapons, with a Blood Drain effect.
Flipping the corpse over, Marcus revealed a single-handed sword glowing with black light, a Pet Egg, and two Dreamland Gems.
A Pet Egg! That was a fantastic drop. Looking at the Pet Leaderboard, he knew how rare pets were. He quickly picked up the egg to examine it.
Nine-Winged Dark Gold Bat King Pet Egg: Originally capable of hatching a Level 10 Nine-Winged Dark Gold Bat King pet, but due to external influence, it failed to fully evolve. It can now only hatch a Level 8 Three-Winged Dark Gold Bat King.
'You have got to be kidding me.' He figured his attack during its evolution must have affected the Pet Egg. He had missed out on a Level 10 pet. He was extremely annoyed.
"Stone, what's wrong? You look like you just found a gold piece and then watched it roll down a drain."
FreshwindElara had retrieved the Cloud Root Water and, seeing his odd expression, asked about it.
"See for yourself."
Marcus handed her the Nine-Winged Dark Gold Bat King Pet Egg.
"A pet egg? Marcus, that's insane! What did you get?" FreshwindElara happily took the Pet Egg, her eyes wide with excitement. Her face fell as she read the description. "Oh. A Level 10 that's now a Level 8. That's… a real shame. Talk about mixed feelings."
"Tell me about it. I should have waited for it to finish its big transformation scene before I stabbed it," he grumbled. "Though I guess a Level 8 is nothing to sneeze at. At least a sword dropped. Let's see what it is."
Marcus picked up the single-handed sword that glowed with black light.
Bat Dragon Cloud Sword: Black Mythic Artifact. One-handed weapon. Requirements: Level 30, 30 Agility. Effect unknown, cannot be equipped.
"A Mythic Artifact? Since when does the game have Mythic Artifacts?"
The system tiers he knew were White, Blue, Golden, Artifact, and Divine. Where did this 'Mythic Artifact' come from? Marcus asked, surprised.
"Do you ever read the patch notes?" FreshwindElara said, looking at him as if he'd just asked what level frogs spawn at. "They added Mythic a few days ago. It slots in between Golden and Divine. Artifact is its own weird category now for items with unique effects."
"Oh. Right. That," Marcus laughed awkwardly. 'So I don't live on the forums, sue me.'
"There are also two Dreamland Gems. Look, let's split this. I'll keep the sword, and you take the gems and the pet egg."
"What? No. Absolutely not," FreshwindElara protested, trying to push the egg back into his hands. "This is a Level 8 pet. It's way too valuable. I can't take this."
"What, do you want the sword instead? Fine, you can have the Mythic sword."
"That's not what I meant, and you know it!" she corrected, exasperated. "I'm a Cleric, not a Knight. You did all the work. The drops are yours."
"You're the one with the Hidden Quest! I just tagged along . These drops are at least half yours because of your quest. Splitting them is me being fair."
"You helped me complete my quest. I've already taken up your time. I'm not taking your loot, too."
'…What kind of backwards logic is that?'
"If it wasn't for your quest, I wouldn't be here, and I'd have exactly zero of these things. Me taking half is already me being greedy."
This woman was so stubborn it was making Marcus raise his voice.
"And if it wasn't for you, I'd be running back from my respawn point and this boss would still be alive. They. Are. Yours."
"…."
They stood there for a moment, a Level 8 pet egg sitting between them. In a game where players would backstab their own guildmates for a decent piece of gear, here they were, a Knight and a Cleric, having an argument over who didn't want the
loot. Anyone eavesdropping would have thought they'd lost their minds.