Flynn settled into a steady rhythm along the riverbank, blades flashing in and out of the reeds as if the water itself were feeding him targets. To most players, the Murlocs that patrolled this stretch were a menace. They were quick, hit harder than their level suggested, and worst of all, when one went down it let out a rasping, gurgling shriek that dragged every nearby ally into the fight. For an unprepared party, that single death cry could spiral into chaos.
In Flynn's hands, though, they were little more than moving dummies.
He slipped behind one, cut its hamstrings, twisted away before its spear could even find his shoulder, then finished it with a clean thrust beneath the ribs. When the inevitable death cry rang out, he was already repositioning, isolating the next one before the pack could properly converge. In less than ten minutes he had cleared half a dozen small camps, leaving the shallows littered with fading bodies. Sixty, maybe seventy kills in, and his experience bar was nudging steadily toward Level 11.
If the riverbank had been crowded, someone would have noticed. A Level 10 Rogue farming Level 11 Murlocs alone, and doing it efficiently, was not normal.
But the area was quiet. The few players in sight kept their distance, either too cautious to interfere or too unsure of what they were seeing.
Just as Flynn began to enjoy the rhythm of it, a private message blinked into view.
Let-There-Be-Light: "Hey man, you got a minute?"
Flynn parried a spear thrust, countered with a backhand slash, and replied without breaking stride. "Just grinding Murlocs. What's up?"
The response came back almost instantly.
"Murlocs? Don't tell me you're soloing them."
There was an edge of disbelief behind the joking tone. Murlocs averaged Level 11, and Flynn hadn't bothered hiding his information. Anyone could see he was still Level 10. On paper, this was suicide.
Flynn typed back, "Yeah, just me. It's actually pretty fast solo."
A long pause followed.
"…"
Even through text, the silence felt loud. Light wasn't the type to overreact, which made the ellipses more telling than any exclamation point. A Level 10 Rogue soloing Murlocs cleanly should not be happening. Either Flynn was bluffing, or he was something else entirely.
Another message popped up.
"Look, I won the roll for that Quest Scroll earlier. It's for taking down a mini-boss and clearing a Trial Instance. We're short a Rogue. Can you help us out?"
Flynn sidestepped another lunging Murloc and stabbed upward beneath its chin. "An Instance? What's that?"
This time the pause was shorter, but heavier.
"Are you serious?"
Light stared at the message, genuinely baffled. The guy had reflexes sharp enough to embarrass veteran players, yet he didn't know what an Instance was. Silver-Fang Borg had been a straightforward boss fight, so there hadn't been much opportunity to judge Flynn's larger team awareness, but his combat sense was undeniable. That backward leap alone had been textbook perfection.
How could someone that good be such a newbie?
Light took a breath and explained. An Instance was a private dungeon space, sealed off from other players, designed for a party to tackle specific objectives and bosses without outside interference. No kill-stealing, no outside interference. Tougher enemies, better loot.
That was all Flynn needed to hear. "Where is it? Should I meet you there?"
"The Instance entrance is back in town," Light replied, "but first we need a key. It drops from a Mini-Boss named Gulu the Murloc. He's holed up in a cave near the riverbank. We're probably close to you already. Send me your coordinates."
Flynn hesitated. "Coordinates? Uh… where do I find those?"
He knew what coordinates were in theory. Longitude, latitude, grid systems. He just had no idea where the game hid them in its interface.
Light walked him through the menu step by step. After a moment, he couldn't help asking, "You don't play like a rookie. How do you not know the basics?"
"I've been too busy killing things to stare at the menus," Flynn replied, not bothering to hide the faint amusement in his tone.
"Have you ever played an MMO before? Instances and coordinates are day-one stuff."
"Does Counter-Strike count?"
There was a pause.
"…No."
Eventually, with a bit more guidance, Flynn managed to relay his location. He might have lacked gaming experience, but he picked things up quickly. Systems were systems. Once someone pointed out where to look, he adjusted.
He kept farming for a few more minutes before Light and his group came into view.
Two of the faces were familiar from the Borg raid: Amy the Ranger, and the Paladin who had won the shield, Not-A-Bystander. The rest were new.
Light and Bystander gave Flynn easy waves. Amy offered a short nod, her expression cool and unreadable, though her eyes lingered on him longer than before.
Once they gathered, Light handled introductions with brisk efficiency.
"You already know Bystander and Amy. This is our Warrior, Hair-Stays-Perfect; our Duelist, Sky-Slasher; and our Beastmaster, Beast-Lover." He gestured toward Flynn. "And this is Night-Stalker. You saw what he did earlier."
The newcomers nodded. They had slowed as they approached, watching Flynn dismantle another pair of Murlocs without taking a clean hit.
Hair-Stays-Perfect, square-jawed and broad-shouldered even in avatar form, gave a thumbs-up. "Impressive, man. Soloing Murlocs at Level 10? That's not normal."
Amy's eyes narrowed slightly. "Is it true? This is really your first game?"
"My job didn't leave much time for gaming," Flynn said with a shrug.
In the past, spare time had been a luxury. He had been either hunting or being hunted, moving from country to country with too little sleep and too many enemies. Only because he had made it clear he wanted a quiet year, and because certain very dangerous acquaintances had ensured no one would test that boundary, was he able to log in and swing daggers instead of something far more lethal.
Not-A-Bystander studied him for a moment. "First time and you're already this good? We thought you were a beta tester. Where'd you learn to move like that?"
Before Age of Conquest launched officially, there had been several small-scale VR test runs, more technical showcases than full games, organized by the same seven companies behind this one. In the United States, fewer than a hundred thousand players had participated, mostly professional gamers and elite guild members. Those veterans had a head start simply because they were used to the interface, the immersion, the way NPCs reacted. Light and his entire group had been part of those trials.
They were ahead of the curve.
Light clapped his hands once, drawing attention back to himself. "We can compare résumés later. Let's talk about the Teleportation Gate quest."
The casual mood shifted.
"The requirements aren't complicated," Light continued, "but they're strict. The Village Elder wants a full seven-class party to enter the Trial Instance and retrieve an Energy Crystal from the boss inside. To even access the Instance, though, we need a key. That key drops from Gulu the Murloc, a Mini-Boss in a cave nearby."
He paused, making sure everyone was following.
"Mini-Boss loot isn't world-boss level, but it's solid. Since you're helping with my quest, Amy, Bystander, and I will pass on anything Gulu drops. It's yours."
"It's Not-A-Bystander," the Paladin muttered automatically, earning a few chuckles.
In Aetheria, Mini-Bosses stood clearly above standard Elites. At this stage of the game, one player could not handle them alone. Even regular Elites often required three coordinated players to defeat safely. A Mini-Boss demanded discipline, positioning, and someone who could hold the line.
This was the first time Hair-Stays-Perfect, Sky-Slasher, and Beast-Lover were hearing the full details. Their expressions tightened slightly. If killing Gulu was just the prerequisite, the actual Trial Instance would likely be far worse.
Could they clear it without wiping?
Flynn didn't dwell on it. Boss or Mini-Boss, the principle was the same. Observe, adapt, eliminate.
Light scanned the group, his tone steady but serious. "If anyone thinks this is too risky, say so now. You're all Level 10. A death costs ten percent of your experience. I don't want to drag anyone into something they're not comfortable with. For what it's worth, I don't think the Instance difficulty will be insane."
Hair-Stays-Perfect let out a short laugh. "Come on. It's a bit of XP, not a funeral. We're in."
Beast-Lover and Sky-Slasher nodded without hesitation.
Light turned to Flynn. "Night-Stalker?"
"I'm good," Flynn said simply.
A grin tugged at Light's mouth as he opened the interface. "Alright. Sharing the quest."
"Wait," Hair-Stays-Perfect said, surprised. "You can share it?"
"Of course. Otherwise, how would anyone ever find help? I'm the initiator, so my rewards scale slightly higher, but you'll all get a solid payout."
He selected the party-share option.
A notification appeared in Flynn's vision.
[Your teammate 'Let-There-Be-Light' has shared the quest: The Teleportation Gate Part 2 – Mischievous Gulu. Do you accept?]
Flynn accepted immediately and skimmed the reward list.
Even he raised an eyebrow.
Chad's "Pro-Gamer 101" lecture from earlier echoed in his mind. Three things mattered in a game like this: Level, Gear, and Connections. He had the level, or close enough. His connections were shaping up nicely. But his gear luck so far had been abysmal. Aside from a pair of bracers and Borg's Fang, he was still dressed in basic white-grade equipment.
The quest reward included a Bronze-grade pair of Greaves. The reward was adaptive, allowing players to select Cloth, Leather, Mail, or Plate. As a Rogue, Leather was the obvious choice. Not only would it fit his class, but wearing a full set of the correct armor type unlocked Armor Mastery, granting a one percent Agility bonus.
One percent might sound small, but in a game where margins decided life and death, it mattered.
"Not bad," Flynn said quietly. Green-quality greaves would be a meaningful boost.
"Told you I'd take care of you," Light replied. "And the boss inside the Trial Instance, that loot's even better."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Beast-Lover said, already shifting his grip on his weapon.
Hair-Stays-Perfect hesitated, then spoke up. "Light, now that we all have the quest, we should roll fairly for whatever Gulu drops. No special treatment. That's only right."
The others nodded. Without the shared quest, they would not have received guaranteed rewards at all.
Light's smile widened slightly. He genuinely did not care about the extra loot, but the suggestion told him more than any stat sheet could. This group understood fairness. They were thinking long term.
At least this time, he was not surrounded by the kind of player who started complaining the moment a roll did not go their way.