Max was completely stunned. He turned towards Rhayne in a daze.

Rhayne gazed at him with a fierce expression.

She exclaimed, "This is all on you. You’re too greedy! You should have known when to retreat. You treat their lives as if they’re disposable. I wasn’t surprised of what happened. Just before, you already treat Eva as sacrificial—"

Before she could finish her words, an Arcane Bolt hit her face. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

[You’ve been struck by a D-Rank magic skill, Arcane Bolt, landing with a critical strike.

You received a total of 150 health damage.

Your life is in danger.]

Rhayne was in a daze. But she was startled awake when she saw another Arcane Bolt being casted towards her.

She panicked. "D-Do you dare?"

Just when she said so, the Arcane Bolt dashed towards her, and she narrowly managed to dodge it in time.

For some reason, the effect of being struck by an Arcane Bolt in her face pulsed with agony.

T-This is...

Aethernova’s gaming pod had an option where a player could choose what level of pain synchronization they could feel in-game and in real life.

However, they had mistaken one thing—Aethernova had no control on Apocalypse Online.

In other words, the level of pain synchronization was...

A hundred percent.

This was only possible if players fought against themselves. Apocalypse Online developed this countermeasure to prevent players from fighting among themselves when their true enemy was the invasion of the demon race and to save the Empire.

Now that they entered PVP mode as soon as Max attacked her with his Arcane Bolt, the level of agony that Rhayne was experiencing was unimaginable.

It was stunning. That was why when the third Arcane Bolt hit her, she lost consciousness in real life.

Her headless body fell to the floor, splashing water around as it immediately swallowed half of her body.

Ethan merely gazed at her. He was infuriated of her action—blaming their savior, not knowing what had really happened.

Perhaps, she refused to acknowledge the fact that it was Eva and Jasper who risked their life to kill the demon.

Blaming Max for their death also meant denying their efforts.

Once the surrounding quieted down, a splashing noise echoed. Max could finally catch a breath, leaning heavily on the wall.

He was beyond exhausted, mentally and physically.

It has been a while since he felt like it.

I didn’t expect that my heart break because of some NPC dying.

Max closed his eyes. He acknowledged the fact that he wasn’t seeing them merely as NPC.

Death was supposed to not be this sad. When was the last time I witnessed a person dying in my hands?

Max wondered and immediately distracted himself as soon as he recalled unpleasant memories.

Now that he was taking a rest, the system finally announced.

[You have completed the village-level Quest, Purge the Drowned Watchtower.

To obtain your rewards, report and provide evidence of your accomplishment to Lieutenant Garrick.]

Max nodded. When he killed the Mireborn Broodmass, he leveled up two times, granting him two Free Stat Points.

He immediately used them to increase his strength when he carried Eva and Jasper earlier, allowing his stamina points to increase as well.

But he still failed.

It left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He noticed Ethan was gazing at him. He glanced at him and said, "Rest. You have to carry Clara."

Ethan nodded and sat without hesitation. He stared at Clara with eyes filled with worries.

Max said, "She’s just unconscious because of mana depletion. Her body is consciously absorbing mana, so give it sometime."

Max assured him, but he knew how perilous Clara’s state. The demonic mana was still lingering. If her body continued to absorb demonic mana, it would only be a matter of time before she’d be demonized.

He already decided to rest for half a minute before finally forcing his worn-out body to leave the watchtower. Now that they took the same path as earlier and he had neutralized the Rift Residue Crystal, they only took ten minutes to finally leave the Watchtower.

They tread through the marshland. The Watchtower was covered with mists, but the area connected to the village was not. The visibility rate was more than enough for Max to lead confidently.

Though, there were times fog would manifest, which also indicate that it was early in the morning.

Now that it wasn’t, and the sun was gleaming through the marshlands, it indicated it was afternoon.

Max decided to inform Eva and Sylwen first.

When they arrived at village gate, the familiar archer spotted him. He was about to rejoice, confident that Max had cleared the watchtower, allowing them to finally reclaim it, but his face turned solemn when he noticed missing individuals.

He counted them and to his horror—there were three missing.

Worst, Clara was unconscious, being carried by Ethan whose face was difficult to read.

Nevertheless, the archer immediately reported to the guards, and the latter opened the gate with eyes filled with anticipation.

After all, the archer shouted that the savior finally returned.

To their dismay, the savior returned with missing members.

The way the savior wore a serious expression made them conclude that the attempt must have been a failure.

Just as they were about to close the door with heavy hearts, Max’s voice echoed, trailing off as he continued to walk.

"We won."

Two words were enough to send the guards to a thunderous cheer.

The village was created and invested by the capital city heavily to reclaim the Watchtower. There were many attempts, including B-rank who were obstructed by a Greater Demon. Many sacrifices were made, but they were all for naught.

Now, Max returned victorious. Even when they lost three individuals in the process, they also saved more lives.

Their sacrifice wasn’t wasted. They would be acknowledged.

As the guards cheered, the archer heard it and cheered, as well.

It became contagious until Sylwen heard it first a minute before Max finally arrived...

===

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