CHAPTER 115: THE THIRD STAGE

On the field—

A squad of players approached Xavier between waves.

"Hey, uh... want to join up? We could use a carry—"

"No."

His voice cut sharp.

He didn’t even look at them.

"Damn. Cold."

Another wave burst open. This time, corrupted centaurs and reaper drones swarmed from the left flank.

Xavier blinked through them, unleashed Spirit Host, and slashed in a wide arc.

[Passive Trigger: Dimensional Howl]

[Kill +11]

[Combo x28]

[Multiplier: 2.7x]

People were staring now. Even enemy guilds slowed down mid-fight just to watch him work.

"Who is that guy?"

"Is he a GM alt?"

"No—his class tag says Riftlord."

"That’s a mythic fusion class! What the hell..."

Lucas and Ethan watched, steam building behind their calm faces.

"He’s not even trying to hide," Lucas said. "Just flaunting it."

Ethan’s jaw clenched. "I hate him."

Lucas sneered. "He doesn’t even deserve that gear. Bet he bought the account."

Ethan muttered, "Let him have his fun. I’ll end him during the boss phase."

[STAGE TWO COMPLETE!]

Total Kill Requirement: 30,000 — CLEARED

[Final Rankings – Stage 2]

#1 – Requiem (Crimson Vow) – 298 kills

#2 – Xavier (Solo) – 293 kills

#3 – Ezra (VenomArc) – 288 kills

#6 – Lucas

#7 – Ethan

A glowing barrier formed, marking the 5-minute rest zone before Stage Three.

Xavier stood silent, sword still humming, surrounded by curious eyes.

Ethan and Lucas didn’t approach this time.

They just watched from a distance, pissed — chewing on their own failure, their pride wounded.

Xavier stretched his shoulder.

’Almost beat the top guild solo.’

He smirked.

"Let’s go ruin a boss."

Xavier took the break to rest five minutes as it was intended.

And then, the third and the last stage started.

[FINAL STAGE: WORLDBANE COLOSSUS – AK’TURATH THE EATER OF SKIES]

Time Limit: 25 Minutes

Objective: Kill the Raid Boss

Warning: Death Limit Active — 3 Lives Per Player

Special Condition: Top Contributor Will Receive the World Shard Relic

The world cracked apart again — not upward or outward, but down.

A crater opened in the center of the battlefield, and from it rose something that didn’t belong in a video game.

A blinding light cracked the battlefield apart, and the air turned thick—too heavy to breathe, too loud to think. The sky was bleeding red, black clouds swirling like torn muscle, and from the core of the crater rose something ancient, wrong, and alive. A monster that looked like it had eaten galaxies and shat out nightmares.

Twelve arms, each made of bony mist, hung limp as the thing floated. It didn’t walk. It hovered, like gravity had given up on it. Its face was a spinning mess of void glyphs and golden light bleeding from the cracks. Its chest split open, showing rows of jagged, rune-covered teeth gnashing silently in a slow, pulsing rhythm.

[World Raid Boss: Ak’turath – The Eater of Skies (HP: 500,000,000)]

People screamed.

Not in fear. In instinct. Every raid member, every squad, every guild—moved at once. Like cockroaches under floodlight. Tank lines reformed. Mages took positions. Healers started the prayer spam. Buffs filled the air like digital fireworks.

And then there was Xavier.

Just standing there. No party. No formation. No buffs.

One man, mythic gear wrapped around his body like a cursed exosuit. Riftblade humming with restless bloodlust in his grip. Black-gold wings half-folded behind his back.

Everyone else had squad tags. Names floating over their heads like a flex.

[Crimson Vow – Squad Alpha]

[VenomArc – Core Division]

[Reaper’s Rise – Flank 2]

[Phantom Hearts – Assault Crew]

Xavier?

[Unknown]

[No Guild]

[No Party]

[No Title]

[Rank: 103]

People were already whispering.

"Who the hell is that guy?"

"Is he seriously soloing the boss raid?"

"Bro’s wearing twelve mythics. Is he even real?"

"Probably some oil prince testing his card limit."

Lucas stood with his arms folded, face calm but clearly chewing on something bitter. Ethan beside him, staff in hand, didn’t blink as the raid timer ticked down.

The monster roared. Not a sound. A feeling. Like the void inside your bones screaming.

Then chaos.

The fight started and half the guilds immediately crumbled. The boss moved like a planet—slow, but when it hit, it felt like a nuke. One slap from its claw vaporized four players in full epic gear. Mages died before they could chant. A squad got crushed beneath a falling gravity bomb. Traps opened in the arena randomly, zones becoming void pits where your spells fizzled out and movement slowed to a crawl.

[Void Trap: Zone Delta Activated – 12 Players Eliminated]

Guild chat was exploding in real time.

"GET OUT OF THE CIRCLE!"

"HEAL ME!"

"COOLDOWN NOT READY YET—"

Xavier didn’t rush.

He watched.

He learned. Timing. Rotations. Patterns.

Then he moved.

A blink. A silent step. One arc of his blade and an entire elite spawn vanished in smoke and shards. His kill counter jumped.

The boss turned. Focused on the nearest threat.

Wasn’t Xavier.

But someone else’s crossfire came too close.

Crimson Vow’s barrage "accidentally" rained down on his zone. Like a friendly fire test. Like a warning.

He dodged it without blinking.

Lucas muttered under his breath, "He’s too damn smooth..."

Ethan sent a whisper in guild chat.

[Focus bursts near the solo player. Get him in the crossfire.]

They tried again.

This time, a three-party combo chain aimed straight at Xavier mid-attack. He looked up. He didn’t dodge.

He flew.

Wings flared open like black blades. He soared over the wave of destruction, flipped once midair, and crash-landed on the boss’s arm.

And then the real fight began.

The sword in his hand wasn’t just glowing now—it was howling. Mythic gear started syncing. His movements weren’t flashy. They were efficient. Predictable, only if you had a machine brain. Every slash made something explode. His passive triggers were chaining like he was hacking the game.

[Dimensional Howl Triggered]

[Rift Arc Activated – AoE Cut + True Magic Damage]

[Burn Touch – Stacked x3]

[Summoned Echo Spirits – Active]

The boss’s HP bar finally budged. Not much. But the number moved, and people noticed.

"Who is that?"

"He’s actually denting the damn thing."

"His fusion class is Riftlord? What the hell even is that?"

Lucas clenched his jaw as Ethan’s eye twitched.

"That piece of shit is getting in our way," Ethan said.

"Why can’t we get him!" Lucas replied.