October 5th arrived quickly, leaving only two days until the final review at Extraordinary Studio.

Don arrived that morning to find a ranking chart posted on the wall in the lobby. IDs and levels were kept secret, only ranking, class, and seat number were listed.

He sat at the top of the leaderboard, with Kira close behind in second. Lily was fourth, but first among all ranged classes. Surprisingly, third place belonged to a Nimi Dwarf War Artisan, a crafting class. Don had never met the student at seat 117 and didn’t even know if they were male or female. But whoever they were, they were extraordinarily low-key. Fifth place was a Berserker player at Level 24, the handsome Kyle Jennings he’d met in the elevator a few days earlier.

Kyle recognized Don’s seat number and immediately came over, patting his shoulder. "Dude, I didn’t realize you were that Extraordinary."

Don feigned surprise. "How’d you figure it out?"

"I’m Level 24 and ranked over 500th in the American region. The three people ahead of me are probably around 25 or 26, but there’s only one thief on the leaderboard above Level 27. If it’s not you, who else could it be?"

Before Don could respond, Lily stormed over, her starry eyes glaring fiercely at Kyle. "Who are you calling a commodity? You’re the commodity, you idiot!"

Kyle recoiled. "Whoa, isn’t this fourth place? Sister, please, don’t be angry. I was just talking. Just two guys chatting, that’s all."

A sharp slap landed on Kyle’s back, leaving a perfect five-fingered imprint. "Who are you calling a commodity?" The attacker was Kira.

Staring at the two women’s formidable presences and stunning faces, Kyle swallowed hard. "I’m sorry. I was wrong. I’m the real commodity here."

Don thought to himself, this kid has a dangerously sharp tongue. Thank goodness he’d fed both women breakfast this morning. If those two got genuinely angry, they would have devoured Kyle whole.

Kyle smiled ingratiatingly and produced a cigarette. "Want one, buddy?"

"I don’t smoke."

Lily was visibly pleased. "Hmph. My brother is nothing like you, you chimney. I hate men who smoke."

Kyle looked a little embarrassed. "Can’t help it. I used to be a salesman, you need cigarettes when you’re out closing deals. In Liverpool, smokes make everything easier."

"Please. My brother used to be a top salesman, and I’ve never once seen him smoke."

Kyle’s eyebrows shot up. "Dude, we need to shake hands. I always figured you were a career gamer, but turns out we’re in the same line of work. Where’d you work before?"

"Just an inconspicuous little advertising company." Don smiled slightly. In truth, the company had been quite well-known in Liverpool, ranked among the top forty in the city.

"We definitely need to stay in touch. How about I treat you to lunch? We can catch up, after this week we’ll be comrades-in-arms. Tell me what good gear you’ve got. If there’s spare plate armor, toss some my way!"

Although Lily wasn’t from Liverpool, she understood perfectly well what he was getting at. "Please. Can’t you see the three of us are a unit? My sister is a knight, of course the plate armor goes to her. It’s none of your business."

Kyle was speechless. "Dude, this girl of yours is really something. I can’t win an argument against her."

Lily glared at him. "No need for lunch either. We professional gamers are very busy."

Kyle didn’t dare provoke this fierce young woman further. He retreated dejectedly, his small eyes still fixed on Don. "Hey buddy, let’s keep in touch!"

Honestly, Don didn’t have strong feelings about Kyle either way. And barring any surprises, Kyle would almost certainly not make the cut when the personnel list was announced on the seventh. The reason was simple: professional overlap.

Extraordinary Studio was operating as a small team. The roster would be six to nine members at most. The owner would lead personally and would certainly keep two or three trusted confidants. Among the remaining slots, a main tank was essential, a DPS was essential, a crowd-control class like a mage or archer was indispensable, and a healer was mandatory. Later on, a Nimi Dwarf crafter for equipment production would also be necessary.

With a powerhouse like Kira filling the MT role, a second-rate warrior like Kyle could only be eliminated. The remaining position should go to a healer. Beyond that, Don didn’t want someone like Kyle on the team anyway, he was too talkative. Generally speaking, people who were good at talking were often not good at executing, and they couldn’t shoulder real responsibility.

Back at their seats, Lily asked quietly, "Brother Don, you don’t think I was too harsh just now, do you?"

Don lowered his voice. "Well done."

"You old codger, you’re being weird again!"

"Alright. Let’s go online and sort out lunch after."

Over the past two days, Don had basically covered all food and drink for both women at his apartment. Lily had practically become his personal entourage. Kira had offered to pay her share several times, but he’d always turned her down. He wasn’t short of money. Since they got along well and all wanted to stay at the studio, they were essentially family. There was no need to make things awkward over small expenses. Besides, he’d accumulated a healthy pile of gold coins recently, mostly from convincing wealthy players to stockpile when he sold equipment. Those rich kids had mercenaries farming for them around the clock, gold coins meant nothing to them. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

But for ordinary players, those glittering coins were genuine treasure. Many players ten levels below Don could grind for over ten hours a day and still not earn three to five gold.

They went online. For the past two days, Don had been leveling with Dust and Bernita, and both had now reached Level 26. Some might wonder, wasn’t the level requirement for Anya Mine only 25? Why push to 26? The answer was simple: nobody could guarantee a clean run. Unexpected situations could arise mid-dungeon, and someone might die. The death penalty in Realms Online was brutal, who could afford to lose a level every time? If someone entered the dungeon at exactly Level 25 and died inside, they wouldn’t even be able to re-enter.