Hours passed.
The sky dimmed from gold to violet to black.
Only one hour remained on the timer.
John and Gob were still missing.
The field no longer buzzed with noise like before. Most players had finished their preparations— sharpening weapons, organizing formations, assigning roles. Now they simply waited.
Waiting was worse than fighting.
James and the others had spent the last several hours searching for John. Calling. Splitting up. Circling the perimeter.
Nothing.
By the time they returned to the central area, night had already settled.
Ark exhaled slowly. "We wasted too much time."
James didn't reply.
They had no choice now.
They needed to prepare.
---
Allocation
James pulled up the rune interface.
"All mana runes go to Ark," he said.
Ark blinked. "All of it?"
"You're our support buffer."
Ark hesitated, then nodded.
The runes transferred one by one, glowing faintly before merging into Ark's system panel.
James then explained to the other players to observe first, see if the boss have any attack pattern, see how strong it is and specially what it's weakness is.
James then laid out a strategy plan, after observing, make sure to rescue some injured first and don't attack recklessly with all of your power, it might have some defense mechanism when it's health goes down.
And lastly, measure if you can fight the monster, if you're too weak, you might even end up dead.
Ark praises James for this, "Wow, how did you knew all of that? You even predict it might have some defense mechanism."
James get surprised and embarrassed by this sudden act of acknowledging, "Might be the effect of gaming 24/7."
James then turned toward Mhae.
He suddenly remembered.
Ultra rare class.
Corrupt Saint.
He looked at Sampon. "If I invest stat points into her… would she be able to activate her core skill?"
Sampon folded his arms thoughtfully.
"She has the potential," he said calmly. "Classes like that don't appear randomly. Investing in a child with a useful class is not wasteful."
James looked at Mhae.
She looked back nervously.
He smiled faintly. "You're about to become important."
She swallowed.
James allocated stat points carefully— just enough to meet the minimum threshold Sampon calculated.
Mhae's eyes widened as system notifications appeared in front of her.
"I… I can feel it," she whispered.
Ashley grabbed her shoulders. "Don't die."
"I'm not planning to!"
Despite the tension, it broke some of the heaviness.
But not all of it.
---
James looked at Martis.
They hadn't spoken much since the incident with Alex.
The word "fragments" still lingered in his mind.
Martis stood slightly apart from the group, staring at the distant darkness.
James opened his inventory.
Scrolling.
Weapons.
Runes.
Basic potions.
Then—
The potion Vinni had given him earlier.
He froze.
He had almost forgotten about it.
James pulled it out.
The liquid inside shimmered strangely— dark red mixed with something almost golden.
"Martis."
Martis turned slowly.
When his eyes landed on the potion—
Something changed.
Shock.
Not exaggerated.
But real.
"Where did you get that?" Martis asked immediately.
For the first time—
There was tension in his voice.
James blinked. "From a player. I was actually going to ask what it does."
Martis stared at the potion.
Then at James.
After a moment of silence, he spoke.
"…The system will censor the explanation," he said quietly. "It always does."
James tilted his head slightly. "So?"
"The important thing is the potion."
Silence.
"You should give it to me."
James studied him for a second.
Then smiled lightly.
"I don't even know what it's for."
He extended his hand anyway.
Martis looked at him.
For half a breath—
Something unreadable passed through his eyes.
Then he took it.
Without ceremony—
He drank it.
Immediately—
Light exploded outward.
Not violent.
But overwhelming.
A pillar of crimson and black energy surged upward, spiraling around Martis' body.
Ark jumped back. "What the hell?!"
Eumie screamed.
Clark shielded Alex instinctively.
A system window appeared in front of James.
> [Martis is ascending.]
[Path: Ashura → Ashura King]
[Estimated Time: 1 hour]
[Approve Ascension?]
James didn't hesitate.
Approve.
> [Ascension initiated.]
Martis' body dissolved into particles of dark light.
Then—
Gone.
Silence followed.
Ark turned to James sharply. "What just happened?!"
"He's ascending," James replied, trying to sound calm.
"Ascending to what?!" Herro asked.
"A higher form."
Others stared at the empty space. "Right before the boss fight?"
James rubbed the back of his neck. "Timing could've been better."
Alex looked unsettled. "He just… disappeared."
James looked at the timer in the sky.
00:52:12
One hour.
Exactly the time needed.
He didn't know whether to call that coincidence.
Or design.
---
Footsteps approached from the edge of the field.
One of the hunters from the earlier daily hunt ran toward them.
"John's back!"
Ark's head snapped up.
"Where?!"
The hunter pointed.
A figure walked across the field.
John.
Alive.
And beside him—
Another man.
Ark's eyes widened instantly, his expression filled with surprise.
And muttered.
"…That's Gob."
He took a step forward.
"Gob Adsnoc."
James studied him carefully.
Sampon stepped slightly ahead, circling Gob slowly.
Not threatening.
Just observing.
Then—
Sampon leaned in slightly.
And sniffed.
Gob raised a brow.
James blinked.
Sampon straightened up.
"He's not dangerous."
Gob exhaled softly. "Good to know."
James stepped forward.
"Why did you kidnap John?"
Ark suddenly noticed John sweating nervously, and shaking a bit.
Gob starts talking.
"I'm a—"
But before they could say anything.
The timer in the sky hit—
00:00:00
A loud chime echoed across the entire field.
The angel above began clapping slowly.
Smiling widely.
"Wonderful."
His voice boomed across both universes.
"As promised—"
He spread his arms theatrically.
"The Three-Tailed Fox shall now be released."
The ground trembled.
The night air shifted.
And somewhere in the darkness—
Something opened its eyes.