King and Vi emerged from the dungeon entrance just as the first hints of dawn colored the eastern horizon. From their journey to clearing the dungeon had taken one whole day, but the mission was complete. They’d cleared both floors, defeated the boss, and secured the Red Imp Talisman without any major injuries.

Vi walked beside , she was evidently exhausted, but there was a clear satisfaction on her face. She’d held her own against a high-tier enemy, provided critical support during the boss fight, and proven she could handle herself in combat situations.

King checked the map interface, confirming the route back to their base. The glowing waypoints appeared in his vision, marking the path through the terrain.

"We made good time," King said, breaking the silence. "We should be back in about forty minutes if we keep a steady pace."

Vi nodded, brushing her hair.

They walked through the valley, following the terrain back toward King’s Land. The forest around them was quiet, the nocturnal creatures having retreated and the diurnal ones not yet active.

Vi glanced at King as they walked.

"You were right about everything," she said. "Every trap, ambush point. It’s like you wrote the dungeon yourself."

King smirked.

"Regular clears. You do anything that many times, you start to memorize it."

"Still," Vi insisted. "It’s impressive."

King didn’t respond, but he appreciated the acknowledgment. Most players would never understand the grinding repetition required to master a game like this. The hours spent dying, learning, adapting, dying again until every mechanic became second nature.

They continued walking, navigating through the forest and emerging onto the open plains that bordered King’s territory. The construct bunker was visible in the distance.

And as they approached, Eli stepped out of the entrance with his rifle slung over his shoulder. The older man raised a hand in greeting.

"Master King, Vi. Successful run?"

"Yes, Mr Eli" King confirmed, stopping in front of the bunker. "Got the talisman, with no complications."

Eli nodded approvingly.

"Good. Maya’s been asleep for most of the night. We’ve had no issues here either."

King gestured for them to go inside, and all three entered the bunker together.

The interior was exactly as they’d left it. Maya was curled up on one of the construct beds, sleeping soundly with her wood carved bird still clutched in her small hand.

King lowered his voice to avoid waking her.

"So back to the other mission. we’re heading out tomorrow," he said to Eli. "You’ll go east to find Zero. I’ll go north to Ephelias Magi-Academy. While Vi stays here with Maya."

Eli nodded.

"Understood. I’ve already reviewed the coordinates you sent. Shouldn’t take more than a day to reach the camp if I move efficiently."

"Good," King said. "But before we do any of that, I’m upgrading the base."

Vi blinked in surprise.

"Upgrading it? You just built this place a few hours ago."

"Oh no, not this temporal structure" King explained. "The system has proper base structures available for guilds. I’m going to purchase one now while we have the runes."

He opened his interface and navigated to the Guild Management section. A new tab had appeared after the guild creation: Base Structures.

King selected it, and a catalog materialized in front of him.

Dozens of options displayed on the screen, each one showing a different architectural style with varying sizes, defenses, and amenities. The prices ranged from 50,000 runes for basic fortifications to over a million for massive fortress complexes.

King scrolled through the options, searching for something specific.

He found it near the middle of the catalog.

[Victorian Estate with Underground Complex]

The preview image showed a modest structure built in Victorian-era architectural style. Two stories, elegant but not extravagant, with stone facades and arched windows. The building looked almost mundane from the surface.

But the description revealed the real value.

Underground layer extends three levels deep. Advanced architecture and integrated technology systems. Reinforced walls. A private training facility, a storage vault, and secure living quarters.

King expanded the preview, examining the cross-section diagram. The underground complex was massive, larger than the surface structure. It included multiple rooms, an armory, a workshop, and even a central command center.

It was perfect.

He checked the price.

150,000 Runes

King confirmed the purchase without hesitation. The runes deducted from his total, and a new prompt appeared.

[BASE STRUCTURE PURCHASED: VICTORIAN ESTATE WITH UNDERGROUND COMPLEX]

[DEPLOYING IN 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...]

The construct bunker around them began to dissolve, the translucent walls fading into blue mist. Maya woke up, brushing her eyes and standing to her feet.

And then the new structure began to materialize around them.

The ground beneath them solidified into polished stone. Walls rose from the foundation, brick and mortar forming in seconds. Furniture appeared in the rooms, beds and tables and chairs constructed from solid materials rather than temporary mana constructs.

The entire process took only a few minutes.

When it finished, they were standing inside a proper Victorian-style estate. The interior was warm, well-lit by ambient lighting embedded in the walls. A staircase led down into the underground complex, and large windows overlooked the surrounding territory.

Vi turned in a slow circle, taking it all in.

"This is a lot," she whispered.

Eli examined the walls, running a hand over the stonework.

"Solid construction. This will hold against most threats."

King nodded in satisfaction. But he wasn’t done yet.

He opened the Guild Management interface again and navigated to the Security Systems tab.

[Invisible Barrier with Intrusion Alert]

Creates an imperceptible energy field around the base perimeter. Detects hostile entities and alerts all guild members. Prevents unauthorized entry by lower-tier entities. Can be breached by high-tier enemies, but breach triggers immediate notification.

Cost: 30,000 Runes

King purchased it.

[SECURITY SYSTEM ACTIVATED: INVISIBLE BARRIER]

A faint shimmer rippled outward from the estate, spreading across the territory borders before fading from view.

King closed the interface and checked his remaining runes.

He’d spent 180,000 total. His balance sat at just over 300,000 now, a number that would make most players’ jaws drop. On a normal run, guild bases required members pooling their resources together, scraping together runes from multiple players just to afford basic structures.

But King wasn’t running a normal playthrough.

He opened his inventory and initiated three rune transfers.

[50,000 Runes sent to Vi]

[50,000 Runes sent to Eli]

[20,000 Runes sent to Maya]

All three received the notifications simultaneously.

Vi stared at her interface, stunned.

"King, this is... this is way too much, how’d you..."

"You know what, nevermind, at this point you basically own this game."

King gave a slight laugh. "You need to level up, get any useful equipment. We all need to be stronger before the Second Woe."

Eli accepted the transfer without protest, already navigating to the Global Marketplace to browse ranger equipment.

Maya’s interface bloomed in front of her. The child rubbed her eyes and stared at the notification, then looked at King with confusion.

"Use it to level up," King said gently. "I’ll help you distribute the stats."

Maya nodded, and King guided her through the process.

She opened her profile, and King leaned in to review her stats.

"!" He froze in surprise.

[Class: Assassin]

King stared at the word, rereading it to make sure he wasn’t misinterpreting.

Assassin.

He turned to Maya slowly, studying her innocent expression.

"Maya," King said carefully. "Did your guardian choose this class for you? Or did you pick it yourself?"

Maya tilted her head, thinking. Then she pointed at herself.

King exhaled slowly.

The child had selected Assassin on her own. That meant she’d understood the class descriptions, weighed the options, and made a deliberate choice.

King had been operating under the assumption that Maya was intelligent for her age, maybe slightly above average. But this changed things.

She might be way smarter than any of them had realized.

Vi noticed King’s expression and leaned over to look at Maya’s profile.

"Assassin?" Vi said, surprised. "That’s... a complex class for a kid."

"Yeah," King muttered. "It is."

He helped Maya allocate her stat points, focusing on Speed while keeping Constitution high enough to survive hits. The child watched the process carefully, nodding at each decision as if she understood the reasoning.

Vi and Eli leveled up as well, using the runes to push themselves higher. Eli purchased several items from the Global Marketplace: ammunition upgrades, a visual enhancement for his rifle, and a reinforced vest that provided basic protection without hindering mobility.

Vi purchased a single blade just in case, and a set of light armor that complemented her barrier-focused playstyle.

King watched them work, satisfied with the progress. Then turned and headed toward one of the private rooms on the main building.

The space was simple but functional, with a proper bed, a desk, and a window overlooking the territory.

He closed the door behind him and sat on the edge of the bed.

Opening his interface, King navigated to his private messages and selected Pantheon’s contact.

[King: Hello Pantheon.]

[King: What do you think about Cain?]

The reply came faster than king expected, almost like Pantheon was always available.

[Pantheon: I’ve been able to ID him. Before the shift, he was former military, special operations background. Impressive game skills as well with an aggressive playstyle. And it seems he’s transferred that into this new world as well. He recorded a very high kill count during the First Woe, NPCs and Players alike.]

[Pantheon: For now, he’s not a problem for me.]

King frowned at the response.

"Pantheon had just listed every was Cain posed a problem. And to add to that, Cain just topped him in the Power Ranking. How is he not a problem?"

King was still calculating when another message dropped

[Pantheon: I’m more interested in the Hunters Association for now. They seem to be recruiting heavily.]

[Pantheon: I’m watching them. Hunt and Liz are smart. They’re building numbers, but I’m not sure what their endgame is yet. Could be defensive. Could be expansionist. It’s still too early to tell.]

"This guy..." King thought "has a lot of information, even about the activities of players, there was a possibility he also knew about him"

[Pantheon: Speaking of guilds, have you thought about creating one?]

King paused before responding, he was going to try Pantheon with a different answer

[King: For now, no.]

[Pantheon: Okay, Good luck.]

The conversation ended, and King closed the interface.

He leaned back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Pantheon was hiding something. That much was obvious. The man’s confidence despite being overtaken in the rankings suggested he had resources or information that weren’t reflected in the public metrics.

But with his response it seemed Pantheon didn’t know so much about him.

King kept the thought to heart and closed his eyes.