Smoking Gun froze, blinking twice at Ryan’s expression. Then it hit him—his guild leader clearly hadn’t seen the latest announcent on the forums.
"Chief, I just got a system notification. Hold on, I’ll forward it."
A mont later, Ryan’s private channel chid. His eyes narrowed as he read the ssage.
—
Congratulations to player ’Ironblood Blade’ for completing the quest ’Death Siege’ with full health! You have earned the Glorious Achievent: ’Escape from Death’s Grasp’’
—
Ryan’s pulse quickened. Death Siege? That quest? And not just cleared, but with full health—enough to earn a Glorious Achievent?
He knew that quest inside and out; he was on the verge of reaching it himself. It was notorious, practically a death sentence. Even he, with all his foresight and experience, wouldn’t dare say he could pass through it untouched. In the ga’s current ta, players joked that dying was part of the quest’s script. No one—past or future—had ever managed to complete it at full health.
And yet, soone had just done it. Right here. Right now. And worse, it wasn’t just anyone. It was him—Ironblood Blade. The old rival. The guild master of Ironblood Covenant. The sa man who’d made a hobby of plastering Ryan’s face on bounty posts across the forums.
Ryan’s mouth tightened. "I see. Just one Glorious Achievent. It’s not like I was aiming to collect them all anyway." His tone was flat, dismissive.
But inside, a fire caught. If Ironblood Blade had one, then Ryan needed another. No, not just another—sothing bigger, sothing that would wipe the smirk off that bastard’s face.
If it had been any other player, Ryan wouldn’t have cared. But Ironblood Blade’s na would already be spreading like wildfire, pinned on every forum thread, inflated by his guildmates until it beca legend. Ryan could already picture it.
The channel went quiet. Smoking Gun didn’t push further, and the rest of the guild slipped into their routines, exchanging greetings as they logged in for the daily grind. The night crowd began logging off, servers thinning out as dawn crept closer.
Ryan’s mood soured. Even the two rare-quality, level 30 gear pieces he’d just bought off the Wandering rchant couldn’t shake the weight pressing in on him. He gritted his teeth, returned to Verdant Spire, and threw himself into the next stage of the main questline.
It wasn’t long before a new prompt appeared:
—
[A Terrible Dream: Our sentinels brought in a Gnoll Priest who seems... different. They found him being hunted by other gnolls, and he actually cried out to our sentinels for help.
But by the ti we rescued him, a new problem arose. The priest, who had been healthy and strong, collapsed on the spot, muttering only the word ’dream’ to our healers before passing out.
Featherlight, your timing is impeccable. We need you to enter his dream and find out what’s really going on.
Objective: Enter the dream world and find Gnoll Priest Jinar. 0/1
Reward: 5000 EXP; 30 Silver]
—
Ryan accepted without hesitation. The forest around him dissolved in a whirl of fading color, until the vibrant greens were replaced by the dim, oppressive shadows of a vast stone hall.
He recognized it instantly. The Gnoll Temple—a level 25 dungeon. This wasn’t just scenery. He was inside the dream of Gnoll Priest Jinar.
The ground solidified beneath him, and his form shifted. His hands and body were no longer human, but furred and clawed, clad in crude armor. He was a standard Gnoll Soldier, assigned to patrol the temple halls.
A system prompt clarified the situation. For now, he had to follow the patrol. Break formation, and the gnolls around him would turn hostile, ripping apart his dream-body—just a level 25 elite soldier—before he could react.
The patrol route wound downward into a grim underground dungeon. Ryan knew his target lay at the very bottom. At so point, the script would free him from the group, and then it would be up to him. Until then, he walked the halls, his mind already working ahead.
When the patrol finally departed, leaving only scattered jailors behind, Ryan felt the leash slip away. His Gnoll Soldier avatar had three skills: Cleave, a broad arc slash that struck multiple foes; Defiant Howl, a defensive buff to blunt incoming blows; and Devour Corpse, a brutal but invaluable skill that let him consu fallen enemies to restore a chunk of health.
The dungeon was crawling with jailors—over a hundred of them—but none particularly strong. His soldier form could handle five or six at once, provided he kept calm and smartly cycled his skills. So he began pulling carefully, one group at a ti, his movents precise, his approach patient.
As he cleared further in, stronger enemies appeared: Gnoll Wardens. They were dangerous, capable of overwhelming him in pairs. Their attacks hit like sledgehamrs, but their defenses were thin. With good timing—especially on Defiant Howl—he could dispatch them with minimal risk.
When two wardens blocked a passage, Ryan simply waited until their patrol split, then struck one down before the other returned. He wasn’t here to be reckless.
The first floor sprawled like a maze of cells. After painstakingly clearing every jailor and warden, Ryan paused at the entrance to the second level. He knew Jinar was just below, waiting.
But instead of rushing down, he hesitated, then smiled faintly.
He was going to try it. He was going to see if he could clear this Death Siege with full health.
The grind was slow, thodical. He eliminated every last enemy on the first floor, turning the place into a graveyard. Corpses littered the halls, half-devoured and bloodied. Only when nothing remained did he finally descend.
The second floor was smaller. Two wardens guarded the cell containing Jinar. Ryan weighed his options. He could kill one quickly, retreat, and reset the other. Or he could push his cooldowns, tank them both, and brute-force the cell door. Once inside, Jinar would heal and buff him, making the fight easier.
Either way, he wasn’t backing down. He cut the wardens down, then entered the cell.
Jinar stirred within, eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.
—
Your quest [A Terrible Dream] is complete. Do you wish to accept the quest [Death Siege]?
—
Ryan exhaled slowly, the tension crackling in his chest. His hand slamd down on "Accept."
He was all in.
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