Blizzard and Ninth Heaven stared at each other. Kira’s defensive ceiling was far thicker than they had imagined.

Don chuckled. "Guys, bring your team up and fight. Three minutes are up. Might as well add some experience to your bars."

The two knights exchanged glances. Blizzard said, "Isn’t that a bit unfair? You’ve already done most of the damage. Jumping in now feels like taking advantage."

"Come on. Don’t be shy," Don said readily.

They didn’t hold back any longer. Both knights charged from opposite flanks, each unleashing a Face Slash. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Don was slightly impressed. These two kids clearly had money. The Face Slash skill book had a low drop rate, maybe one or two warriors in ten actually knew it. On the market, the book was already selling for 100 gold coins, affordable only to players who spent real money or led well-funded teams.

Their damage wasn’t as sharp as Kira’s, less than 2,000 each, but it was still well above the average knight’s output.

The moment their leaders charged, the rest of the team swarmed forward.

Don frowned. The group had numbers, but their coordination was terrible. Warriors piled in recklessly, priests were casting offensive spells instead of healing, and the mages and archers were positioned barely ten meters from the boss. It was fortunate they’d encountered a low-rank boss without AOE attacks, otherwise it would have been a guaranteed wipe.

Blizzard was perceptive enough to read Don’s expression. "Brother, we used to play turn-based games. This is our first virtual MMO. We’re still pretty clumsy. Forgive us."

Don relaxed and started chatting. "Judging by your accent, you’re from the South? There’s a bit of a Southern drawl in there."

Blizzard smiled. "Miami. Ninth Heaven is from Texas. Most of our team is from those two places."

"Then why come all the way to the upstate New York map to grind?"

"Hehe, my dad has clients here. We set up camp to help strengthen connections."

Lily asked, "Hey kid, what’s your guild called?"

Blizzard sighed. "First of all, let me correct you, I’m not a kid. I just started university this year, and I’m nineteen. Second, we haven’t formed a guild yet. Realms Online hasn’t issued any guild creation certificates, so nobody’s qualified to officially form one. But we’ve already picked a name: Nine Heavens Myth."

Lily scratched her head. "What’s a guild creation certificate?"

Blizzard was speechless. "You’re clearly a flashy newbie who doesn’t even know the basics."

Lily puffed out her chest defiantly. "So what if I don’t know? If you’ve got a problem with it, I’ll challenge you to a duel right now."

Blizzard wiped his brow and turned to Don. "Brother, please tell me this girl isn’t your girlfriend. She’s terrifying."

A hint of killing intent flickered in Lily’s eyes. "Little boy, you’ve said too much..."

Blizzard’s underlings all laughed without a shred of sympathy for their leader.

The gatekeeper boss wasn’t genuinely powerful. Surrounded by over forty players from both teams, it quickly buckled, collapsed to its knees, and dissolved into a pool of rancid blood.

Don’s experience only increased by about 8 percent, clearly the result of too many wolves fighting over too little meat.

Kira flicked her longsword across the ground, clearing away the mass of rotting flesh to reveal a handful of gold coins and two dropped items: a rusty key and a green-covered skill book.

Lily unceremoniously shoved both into Don’s hands, sticking her tongue out at the same time. "Brother Don, this smells awful."

Don tried to comfort her. "Just imagine it’s deep-fried stinky tofu."

"Waaah, then I’m never eating stinky tofu again."

He glanced at the two items.

Anya Mine Key, Quest item. Allows players to open the sealed gate to Anya Mine.

[Vampiric Strike, Skill Book]

Deals a powerful stab to a single target for 50% of current ATK. Absorbs 60% of damage dealt as HP. Conflicts with Mirror Image.

Cast Time: 1.5s | Cooldown: 30s | Skill Level: Lower

Learning Level: 25 | Class: Knight

Don generously showed the stats to both knight players. After reading them, they were visibly deflated.

Ninth Heaven just shook his head quietly. Blizzard gritted his teeth. "After all that effort, it’s just this trash skill book... what a waste."

Kira smiled faintly. "When a boss uses skills, the attack bonus is much higher than what players get. Don’t judge it by that. This skill isn’t useless, if you use it well, it’ll produce incredible results down the line."

Blizzard was humble enough to ask. "Sister, could you explain?"

"First, it’s a lower-level skill, which means you can train it further. The higher you level it, the better it gets. Second, later in the game there’ll be plenty of accessories with critical hit bonuses. Once you stack your crit rate high enough, the lifesteal from a critical Vampiric Strike will feel genuinely game-changing."

Ninth Heaven spoke up. "Sister, I’m using the Mirror of Still Water skill, but I don’t see any real advantage to it. The cast time is still two seconds..."

"That skill is designed for both leveling and boss fights. The lower-level version increases total HP by 5 to 15 percent. You can cast it before sitting down to recover during grinding. Against bosses, use it in a blocking stance to reduce interruption chance. And the cast time scales down with attack-speed equipment. The further you progress, the more powerful it becomes."

Ninth Heaven nodded. "I understand."

Kira handed the skill book to Blizzard. "Keep it. I won’t need it."

Holding the book, Blizzard gazed at Kira with unmistakable adoration. "Sister, you’re so kind. Do you have a boyfriend? If not..."

Kira was unmoved. "I have no interest in older-woman-younger-man relationships."

"Oh..."

Although Kira rejected Blizzard’s advances, the Nine Heavens Myth team formed a genuine bond with Don’s group over that skill book. Both leaders exchanged friend requests, and afterward they exclaimed in unison, "No wonder you guys are so strong, you’re top-ranked players on the leaderboard!"

Don chuckled with false modesty. "Rankings are just fluff. Mastering equipment and skills is what truly matters."

Blizzard clasped his fist in a formal salute toward Kira. "Sister Kira, since we can’t be boyfriend and girlfriend, can I at least become your apprentice?"

Kira waved him off. "Let’s just share any difficulties we run into. I’m not used to people calling me teacher."

"Teacher..." Don grinned, only to be pinched hard by Kira. "You jerk, don’t be gross."

The Nine Heavens Myth team said their goodbyes and departed. They were a group of young students with a long road ahead of them, but their character was solid. They would make good allies in the future.

Don’s team arrived at the entrance to Anya Mine. He took out the rusty key, found a groove on the transparent glass-like surface, and inserted it.

The system bell rang at that very moment.