CHAPTER 114: MEETING LUCAS AND ETHAN IN THE VR GAME

[You may rest, prepare, or buff yourself. Stage Two will begin shortly.]

Xavier walked to the edge of the safe zone, quietly gripping his sword. Around him, players were doing all kinds of stuff.

A summoner practiced her casting motion again and again, trying to shave milliseconds off her chant time.

A monk-type player was stretching, chugging stamina potions between each buff.

Mages stood in circles, muttering cooldown times and spell combos like rehearsing a script.

Guild parties gathered in clumps, planning their rotations. Crimson Vow was the biggest — over hundred members standing like a full damn army.

And then there was Xavier.

Alone.

Not practicing. Not planning. Just watching.

He observed everyone. How they moved. How they attacked. How they reacted. He stored it all in that calm, calculating head of his.

That’s when two familiar faces walked toward him.

Lucas and Ethan.

Lucas had the confident stride of a man who always thought he was the center of attention. Ethan followed with arms crossed, gaze fixed on Xavier’s glowing gear.

"You’re the solo," Lucas said.

Xavier turned, his mask gleaming.

"Noticed me, huh?"

"How could we not?" Ethan added. "You’ve got, like... twelve mythics equipped. Some of those aren’t even out on the universal servers yet."

Lucas nodded. "Your fusion class aura’s not standard either. You part of the dev test group or something?"

Xavier shrugged. "You could say that."

Ethan smiled politely. "Mind telling us your name?"

"No."

That caught them off guard.

Lucas frowned. "Why not?"

Xavier tilted his head. "Because it’ll be a lot more fun when you see my name right there—" he pointed toward the massive leaderboard screen slowly updating in the sky, "—on the top of the event rankings."

Both of them froze. Just a blink. But it was enough.

That one second where their egos got bruised.

Lucas clicked his tongue. "Big talk for someone ranked 103rd."

Xavier smirked. "Just warming up."

Ethan squinted at him. "...You remind me of someone."

"Everyone does."

Lucas looked serious for a second. "Look, we’ve got an offer. Join Crimson Vow for this raid. Just temporary. You’ll get access to our guild buffs, healer support, rezzers, even post-raid bonuses. And we take care of our people. Real fast level-ups."

"Tempting," Xavier said.

Lucas continued, "You won’t make it to the end solo. That’s suicide. No one does these raids alone. There’s a reason."

"And yet," Xavier said, "here I am."

They didn’t know what to say to that.

Ethan sighed. "Suit yourself. But don’t say we didn’t offer."

Lucas gave him one last look, then turned. "You’ll regret it."

"I doubt that," Xavier said casually, waving him off.

The two walked away, their guild forming ranks behind them again.

Xavier stared at their backs. His grip on his sword tightened, but his smirk widened.

’They don’t know it’s me. That makes this even better.’

[Daily Task Completed!]

Xavier wasn’t aware that other players couldn’t see the names and ID of the other plates unless they made it public, or joined a party or a guild. They could see his ranking since it was glowing on top of his head.

He turned toward the leaderboard again. The glowing list was reshuffling after Stage One’s end. Top names rising. His name — still hidden — was climbing.

He muttered under his breath:

"...I’ve decided. I’ll top this event ranking. And I’ll reach Level 100 before either of those assholes can. Also, what does rezzers mean?"

A flash of light exploded around the field.

[INTERMISSION OVER. TRANSFERRING TO STAGE TWO...]

The sky shattered.

And Xavier vanished into the light again.

[STAGE TWO INITIATING...]

Objective: Hold Position and Survive the Endless Horde

Time Limit: 10 Minutes

Special Rule: No Retreat — Leaving Platform Results in Instant Death

Bonus Objective: Kill Count Multiplies with Consecutive Hits (Combo Counter Active)

The world cracked apart again.

This time, the players weren’t split. All 1,000 participants materialized together in a single hellish battlefield — massive, circular, with jagged black terrain, crimson skies, and spawn portals swirling across the edges like angry vortexes.

Within seconds, entire guilds mobilized.

Squads formed tight phalanxes. Buff spells lit the sky. Shields were raised, healers took their positions, and war cries echoed as the first wave spawned.

Xavier landed near the east ridge.

Alone.

Every other player around him had a squad tag hovering overhead.

[Crimson Vow – Squad A]

[Iron Reapers – Squad C]

[VenomArc Guild – Squad F]

...

And then:

[???]

[No Guild]

[No Party]

[Rank: 103]

XAVIER

One guy. No healers. No DPS backup. No buffs. Just a monster in full mythic gear with a black-gold riftblade humming in his hand.

People noticed.

"Yo, who’s the solo dude?"

"Wait—no buffs? Is he stupid?"

"He’s got mythic wings. Look at his loadout!"

"Probably a rich pay-to-win scrub."

"Still... he’s kinda scary."

Xavier didn’t say a word.

He just walked forward as the horde spawned.

The first wave hit hard — corrupted wolves, berserker ghouls, shadow ogres. Squads moved like machines, locking down aggro zones, rotating tanks, layering damage fields.

But Xavier?

He blinked forward, slashed once, and erased five mobs in a single wave of light.

[Kill +5]

[Combo x5]

[Multiplier: 1.3x]

"WHAT THE—"

Nearby players flinched.

"He’s solo-clearing!"

"Dude’s melting mobs faster than my entire squad!"

Xavier kept moving. Not fast, but smooth — like a veteran who knew the exact frame-timing of every animation. He’d already picked up the game rhythm from Stage One, and now he was punishing it.

[Fusion Skill: Rift Arc Activated]

[Kill +9]

[Combo x14]

[Multiplier: 1.9x]

And the more he moved, the more eyes followed.

On the northern side, the Crimson Vow command squad was carving through the mobs with precision. Lucas and Ethan stood atop a ridge, commanding their guild’s formations.

Ethan scanned the crowd. His eye twitched.

"There he is. The solo freak."

Lucas followed his gaze and locked onto Xavier — who had just executed a midair combo that sent three elite mobs flying in glowing chunks.

"Who is that guy? He has to be a dev or someshit!"

"No name. No guild. But he’s ranking up fast," Ethan said.

Lucas clenched his jaw. "Look at that kill feed."

[Current Rankings – Stage 2]

#1 – Requiem [Crimson Vow] – 192 kills

#2 – Ezra [VenomArc] – 181 kills

#3 – Xavier [Solo] – 178 kills

Lucas – #6

Ethan – #7

"...He’s catching up."

Ethan’s fists tightened. "He passed both of us without a team. This guy—he’s mocking the entire system."