It sounded impossible, almost like something out of a fantasy novel. But according to recent reports, the research had already produced real results.

When Marcus thought about it carefully, humanity had always been like this. As long as enough time and resources were poured into something, people eventually found a way to make the impossible real.

Back when online games were still played on keyboards and monitors, fully immersive virtual reality had sounded just as absurd. Yet now Dominion existed.

Even cloning technology had once been considered unattainable. Fifty years later, it was steadily approaching maturity.

So if Dragonfly Corp and those research institutes truly succeeded one day... Would Alana, Lyanna, and even Vixen Queen Camillo become real living people?

Marcus didn’t know. But he genuinely hoped it could happen. Dragonfly Corp better not disappoint him.

Then another thought suddenly struck him.

These flowers belonged to royal gardens. He had never seen anything like them sold through the system before.

"Alana, where did you even get these flowers?"

"Ten days ago, I went to purchase Large Health Potions from the herbalist shop and happened to meet Imperial Physician Dr. Harrison." Alana pointed toward several wooden containers nearby, each filled with different herb seeds. "He knows my grandfather. We met once in Dragon’s Peak Citadel a year ago, so he recognized me immediately. I asked him for some royal garden flowers and medicinal herb seeds, and he agreed."

Marcus stared at the containers in surprise.

’That actually worked?’

Without question, anything Alana obtained now belonged to him as well. And even if he didn’t yet understand the value of royal garden herbs, there was no way they were ordinary items.

But what truly shocked him wasn’t the seeds themselves.

It was the realization that through Alana, he could actually establish connections with system NPCs and gain access to things normal players couldn’t touch.

That discovery alone was enormous.

Then Alana lifted her chin slightly, looking a little proud of herself.

"Master, I already spoke with Dr. Harrison in advance. When you present the Blood-Fiend Fruit to the Dragon Dynasty, he should help speak on your behalf. If everything goes well, Master may receive the highest possible reward."

Marcus blinked.

She had already thought that far ahead for him.

"Alana..."

He gently held her soft hand, warmth filling his chest. Honestly, obtaining Alana might’ve been the greatest stroke of luck in his entire life.

Ding-ding. Ding-ding.

The mansion’s doorbell rang, followed immediately by a system notification.

Ding!

[Stonehaven player Lily of the Wind is requesting entry. Open the door?]

Marcus straightened instantly.

"Open it."

Lily and the others had arrived. He quickly headed toward the outer courtyard to greet them.

"Big bro!"

"Marcus!"

Amber and Jade rushed in together the moment the gates opened, each grabbing one of his arms as though afraid he’d disappear again.

"Yeah, yeah."

Marcus laughed helplessly. No matter when or where, seeing those two troublemakers always improved his mood.

"Marcus, I finally gets to see you in-game!"

Jade looked genuinely excited. This was her first time seeing Marcus inside Dominion, and she immediately began inspecting him from head to toe, especially his equipment.

"Your gear looks so cool!" she exclaimed. "It feels really imposing and knight-like. Although... the colors don’t match at all."

Marcus couldn’t help laughing.

The Corpse Demon set itself actually looked excellent. Before leaving the mansion earlier, he’d already switched back into it. The only issue was the pure black color scheme.

Then again, maybe becoming some kind of death knight in the future wouldn’t be bad either.

The image of the Three-Headed Black Dragon Knight from Mist Veil Palace surfaced in his mind instantly. Black dragon. Black armor. Black weaponry. Even the dark death aura surrounding him had looked overwhelmingly cool.

That was a true knight. His idol, honestly.

"Marcus, my sister and I waited forever for you to come back," Jade complained while puffing her cheeks. "By the time we finally saw you online, you were already Level 30. And Ms. Willow too. You stayed inside the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb for so long."

"Alright, alright."

Marcus reached out and pinched her delicate face lightly.

When Jade mentioned Crystal and Willow, he instinctively glanced past the two girls toward the women standing behind them.

Crystal was playing a Water Sorcerer. The flowing blue robe she wore perfectly complemented her tall, graceful figure, and combined with her flawless appearance, she looked almost unreal, like a fairy born from water itself.

Unfortunately, her expression remained just as cold as it was in real life. Beautiful enough to leave people speechless, yet distant enough to make anyone hesitate before approaching.

Standing beside her was Willow.

Unlike Crystal’s icy elegance, Willow radiated a mature and noble charm that naturally drew people’s attention. Her white armor gave her beauty a heroic edge, while her curvy, elegant figure added an irresistible allure beneath that sacred appearance.

She looked less like a player and more like some revered goddess descended into the mortal world.

For a brief moment, Marcus almost forgot to look away.

Noticing his gaze, Willow lowered her eyes slightly, looking a little embarrassed after hearing Jade mention her earlier.

Dominion’s enhancement system really was terrifying. Still, Marcus knew that was only part of the reason. The truth was much simpler.

The women around him were simply absurdly beautiful. No matter what they wore, they would stand out anywhere.

Then Marcus glanced back at Jade, who was still clinging to his arm tightly.

Like Amber, she had chosen the archer class. Her streamlined light-green armor perfectly matched her lively personality, making her look like an innocent forest elf straight out of a fantasy movie.

Cute enough to make anyone want to spoil her. Yet she still looked dissatisfied.

Marcus flicked her forehead lightly.

"How about I take you leveling personally from now on?"

Jade’s eyes immediately brightened.

This little devil was clingy both in real life and inside the game. Even though they saw each other constantly outside Dominion, not being able to adventure together in-game had apparently bothered her for days.

Marcus honestly didn’t mind at all. Actually, he liked it.

"Marcus, is this the Corpse Demon set?"

On his other side, Amber was already examining his equipment carefully.

Marcus had told them some details about his experiences inside the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb before. Although the Corpse Demon set and the old Cabaro set were both black, the difference in quality between them was obvious at a glance.

"Yeah."

Marcus nodded before shifting his attention toward Amber herself. The moment he saw her equipment again, even he couldn’t help admiring it inwardly.

Her purple-red armor set balanced elegance and boldness perfectly. It looked luxurious without being excessive, delicate without seeming fragile. Crimson light shimmered faintly around the armor like drifting maple leaves dancing in the wind, making Amber herself appear almost ethereal.

The set was called Spirit of the Maple Leaf. A low-grade Mythic set.

And the bow on her back was even more eye-catching; Maple Leaf Dance.

The weapon’s frame formed the shape of layered crimson maple leaves, nearly a meter tall and breathtakingly refined. Resting against Amber’s slender back, it resembled a pair of glowing wings that swayed gently as she moved.

The visual effect alone was incredible. But its abilities were even more ridiculous.

Spirit of the Maple Leaf was usable starting at Level 20, and Marcus had originally assumed it would become outdated around Level 50. Instead, after Amber reached Level 30, the set had evolved and gained additional stats automatically.

If that continued every ten levels, the equipment might remain relevant all the way to Level 70 or even 80.

And its combat abilities were absurdly strong.

Maple Leaf Cloud allowed Amber to fly up to fifty meters into the air for two hours every day while still attacking freely.

Maple Leaf Dance unleashed a massive area attack capable of covering thirty meters ahead in a rain of deadly maple leaves.

The remaining two skills enhanced defense and evasion using swirling leaves, while the last one used earth-element energy to perform short-range teleportation.

The cooldown was long, but the utility was terrifying.

Looking at Amber now, Marcus honestly felt shocked. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

With the Mythic set combined with her hidden class, Elven Archer, her combat potential had already exceeded his expectations by a large margin. She probably wasn’t much weaker than he had been at Level 30 himself.

If someone with genuine high-level competitive skill obtained her class and equipment combination, they would become terrifying.

They might even rival him.

Thinking about that made Marcus strangely proud. Looks like his precious sister’s luck wasn’t much worse than his own.

While he had been trapped inside the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb, Amber had used Spirit of the Maple Leaf to carry everyone else while leveling. Crystal and Jade had already reached Level 30, while Willow was Level 25.

And that was without serious grinding.

Most of the time they were simply playing casually for fun. Otherwise, they likely would’ve been at least Level 35 by now.

Honestly, Marcus felt a little jealous. Then he glanced at his own Corpse Demon set and sighed inwardly.

Gold equipment still had limits. Compared to a true Mythic set, he still had a long way to go.

Divine Artifacts were another matter entirely, but at the very least he needed to assemble mostly Mythic-grade equipment eventually. Anything less would feel embarrassing for someone who had once dominated six separate leaderboards.

Finally, his gaze landed on Lily.

The pure white Cleric robes she wore emphasized her graceful figure beautifully, while her naturally gentle temperament made her seem almost angelic. Combined with that soft smile of hers, she gave people an indescribable sense of warmth and peace.

Looking at the five stunning women gathered before him, Marcus suddenly felt absurdly satisfied.

Honestly, what more could a man possibly ask for?

"Wow... she’s beautiful."

The moment they entered the bamboo pavilion, Amber and Jade both froze after spotting Alana.

Alana had stayed behind to prepare tea after Marcus told her guests were arriving, so this was their first time seeing her in person.

"Marcus, is this Alana?" Amber asked.

Marcus had already mentioned Alana to them before in real life. But when he first obtained her, Amber and the others had been trapped inside the closed instance for the Spirit of the Maple Leaf questline, so they never had a chance to meet her.

Then Marcus disappeared into the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb immediately afterward, preventing them from entering his mansion.

So although they knew she existed, this was their first actual meeting.

Marcus had told them Alana was beautiful. He just hadn’t expected them to react this strongly.

What Marcus didn’t realize was that they weren’t shocked simply because Alana was attractive. All of them were already exceptionally beautiful women themselves.

What stunned them was how lifelike she felt.

The system had created someone so vivid and natural that it was hard to remember she was technically an NPC.

"Heh."

Marcus smiled smugly. What else could he say? That was just his blessing.

"Sit down first. Try Alana’s tea."

His tone carried obvious pride. Alana’s abilities really impressed him more and more lately.

And despite seeing all these beautiful women around Marcus, she didn’t display jealousy or hostility. As a system NPC, her reactions toward real players were fundamentally different from how she treated other NPCs.

"Mmm... this smells amazing."

Hearing the girls praise the tea instantly made Marcus feel even prouder. After all, Alana belonged to him.

Then Lily finally remembered why they had come in the first place.

"Marcus, we want to join the squad."

"Right, right."

Marcus immediately opened the interface and invited everyone into Monarch Squad. At the same time, he updated their respawn locations to his mansion so they could return directly here using Town Portal Scrolls from now on.

But just as he finished, Amber suddenly narrowed her eyes while staring at the squad list.

"Marcus..." she said slowly. "Who exactly are LunaWind and Wind Witch?"

The moment those names appeared, Crystal’s icy expression remained unreadable as ever, but Willow and Jade both turned toward him at the same time.

Marcus immediately felt danger approaching.

"They’re... uh... two college friends."

His explanation sounded weak even to himself. Mars had officially collided with Earth.

Then, just as Marcus was desperately trying to think of a better answer, Lily calmly spoke first.

"LunaWind is Anya Lynn, and Wind Witch is Chloe Keyes, right?"

Marcus froze for half a second before forcing an awkward smile.

"...Yeah."

Thankfully, he had already told Lily about Anya before. Otherwise, this situation would’ve become far more terrifying.