CHAPTER 56: SHIFT IN ALLEGIANCE

Moonlight Beauty stood at the edge of the battlefield, her health bar hanging by a thread. She looked defeated—stunned not just by the outcome, but by how easily it had come about. What she’d expected to be a close and thrilling duel had turned into a one-sided massacre. And worst of all, her opponent hadn’t even seemed to try.

She had entered the match with confidence, maybe even a little arrogance. In her mind, Featherlight was just another lucky scrub who had stumbled into a Glorious Achievement by chance. Surely, with her skill set and high-tier gear, she could hold her own. But from the very first exchange, it was clear she’d underestimated him. Badly.

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Ryan hadn’t even broken a sweat. He opened with a Judgment Hammer, stunning her on the spot, followed by a Judgment and then a Fist of Light. That combination alone was devastating—but it was his weapon that made it lethal. Command, his enchanted hammer, guaranteed a critical hit on stunned targets when used with Judgment. In seconds, 420 health points vanished from her bar.

And that wasn’t all.

Judgment’s impact also triggered Command’s passive effect, tacking on an extra 26 damage. Fist of Light didn’t crit this time, but it still landed with its bonus for another 200 damage. Just like that, Moonlight Beauty’s already limited health pool evaporated. She had about 600 HP total—impressive for a warrior specced for burst damage—but nowhere near enough to stand against the raw durability and consistent output of a tank Paladin like Ryan.

Even more humiliating? He hadn’t even used basic attacks. He didn’t throw his Avenger’s Shield, either—one of the signature abilities in his Protection build. No, he beat her effortlessly, holding back. And still, she’d lost.

There was no strategy she could point to, no excuse to cling to. No lag, no unfair item, no fluke. Just raw, overwhelming power. Worse still, her armor had done little to mitigate his Radiant attacks. She might as well have been fighting naked.

"Guild Leader, you’re crazy strong! I definitely made the right choice joining this guild."

Moonlight Beauty’s frustration lingered for only a moment before she pulled herself together. It was the kind of loss that stung deep—but she was too proud to sulk for long. She turned to Ryan, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Guild Leader, are we moving on to other quests?"

Ryan didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he casually tossed a Radiant Glory heal her way. With a flicker of golden light, it crit, healing her for 613 HP—overshooting her max health and wasting more than 200 points of potential healing.

Moonlight Beauty narrowed her eyes, visibly annoyed by the inefficiency. That single overheal made her expression droop again, as if the spell had healed her body but injured her pride.

Ryan exhaled silently. That seemed to placate her. For now.

"We’ll take it slow," he said, opening his quest log. "The next batch of mobs won’t arrive for at least an hour, so no rush. Let’s clear out the nearby areas."

He pointed toward a quest marker not far from their location. The region around Blood Gorge Town wasn’t known for its rich questlines. Most of the content here was just endless monster grinding. Occasionally there’d be a fetch quest or something mildly different, but the variety left a lot to be desired.

After about fifteen minutes of slaying the same mobs on loop, Moonlight Beauty had clearly had enough.

"Guild Leader! I came here to fight the Dark Horde, not grind low-tier mobs all day!" she snapped, decapitating a Gorge Wolf in a single angry swing before sitting down on a rock. "This is worse than the quests in the Heartland! At least those had cutscenes and some kind of plot. Here it’s just—’Go kill monsters!’ ’Go kill monsters!’"

She crossed her arms, her character refusing to move. A dramatic sit-in.

Ryan chuckled softly. Her complaints didn’t surprise him. The game was structured that way. Blood Gorge was brutal in its pacing—an unforgiving region where only the patient thrived.

"Don’t worry," he said, a faint smile on his lips. "I told you, this is Blood Gorge. You’re still a rookie, you know. There’s more excitement coming. But for now—don’t underestimate the importance of building your strength."

The "building" Ryan had mentioned referred to the steady stream of quest rewards—mostly rare-quality gear around level 10. For Moonlight Beauty, those drops were the only thing keeping her motivated. If not for the promise of loot, she would’ve snapped and rage-quit the grind long ago.

"It’s only been an hour," Ryan said as he continued pulling mobs, his tone calm but pointed. "And the second wave of players still hasn’t arrived. We’re the only two from the Alliance of Light out here. You want to let the Orc faction show up and corpse-camp us?"

Moonlight Beauty gave an irritated sigh but kept moving, sword flashing as she cut down another wolf. Ryan didn’t stop explaining.

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"Every bit of accumulation matters. Don’t underestimate the stat bonuses these low-level items give you. Sometimes, a tiny edge is the difference between winning and losing."

"Tch. Who doesn’t know that?" she muttered, but there was no real heat in her voice. She resumed the grind, muttering curses under her breath as she slashed through the next pack of monsters.

Ever since Ryan had beaten her so easily, something had shifted in her. Whatever he said, she listened. Not without complaint—but she followed through.

Ryan noticed the change and found it strange. In his memory, Moonlight Beauty had always been the stubborn, prideful type—never one to take orders quietly. But now, she was practically... cooperative. It was surprising, sure. But Ryan didn’t mind. Between a skilled teammate who followed orders and a strong one who refused to, the choice was obvious. He preferred the former—every time.

Moonlight Beauty felt that shift too, though for different reasons. She had always been the one in control—the one giving orders, not taking them. But today, she’d experienced a clean, undeniable defeat. And oddly enough... it had brought a strange kind of relief.

She’d always lived under the pressure of perfection, of never showing weakness. And now that pressure had cracked. She’d finally lost—and it hadn’t destroyed her. If anything, it made her feel lighter. So maybe that was why she didn’t mind listening. Maybe that was why she kept glancing at Ryan whenever he spoke, even if she pretended to grumble.

While the two of them quietly farmed away in Blood Gorge, across the map, deep within the Alliance of Light’s heartland, two other players were having a very different conversation.

"Mia—you joined a guild?" Evelyn grabbed Mia’s arm and pulled her to the side, lowering her voice. "When did that happen?"

Mia blinked. "Huh? Oh—my brother sent me an invite, so I accepted. Just now."

Evelyn’s eyes widened. She immediately toggled off her instant ID and dragged Mia into a nearby alley, disappearing from the crowd before re-emerging a moment later.

Behind them, Faded Leaf Kitten and Heavyblade Vina paused, confused but not suspicious. They turned off their IDs too, then began chatting in the party channel, excitement bubbling in their messages.

Mia shrugged. "Anyway, it’s not that big a deal. I mean, just getting one Glorious Achievement gave us 5,000 faction reputation with the Alliance of Light. My brother got three. That’s 15,000 right there."

Evelyn crossed her arms, thinking. "Yeah... three Glorious Achievements is definitely 15,000. Plus, with the 10% bonus from the Alliance’s racial trait, your brother only needs to clear a few quests to max it out."

She paused—then her expression changed. "Mia, ask your brother if he can add our party to his guild."

Mia stared at her. "Huh? I thought you wanted to create your own guild."

"I did," Evelyn said with a sigh. "But my dad took over Blackcollar Studio yesterday. I’ve lost all my management access."

Her voice dropped a notch, frustration slipping in. "Now I’m basically just a glorified player with a monthly allowance. I can keep our little party running, but creating a guild from scratch? That’s out."

Mia bit her lip. "I mean... I can ask him."

"Good." Evelyn gave her a quick smile, lips pursed. "Tell him we’re serious. And we’ll pull our weight."