"Guild Leader, this Featherlight is just spouting nonsense. First he says it can’t be cleared in two days, then he claims it won’t be cleared in one. I don’t understand why we’re still paying this guy."
A player from the Sky Dragon Family, who had witnessed the earlier exchange, grumbled with clear indignation. Several others around him nodded, echoing the sa frustration.
"You lot really need to learn to use your heads."
Sky Dragon Roar shook his head helplessly, as though addressing a room full of children.
"According to Iris, Featherlight is desperately short on cash. Whether it’s charging her two hundred bucks just for consultation or selling his guides on the forums, it all points to a certain level of hardship. Soone this strapped for money wouldn’t be part of any major guild or professional team. Otherwise, he’d never dare to sell information this openly. He must be navigating the ga solo."
He paused, scanning their doubtful expressions, then continued with calm conviction.
"You’ve all seen the Guardian’s strength in those videos. That isn’t the sort of enemy a single player can take down—yet he did, entirely alone. And after that, he entered Blood Hollow at level four and, with unbelievable speed, defeated the boss to earn the second Glorious Achievent."
Sky Dragon Roar’s voice lowered, as if sharing a secret.
"Think about it. How did he even know the strategy for this dungeon? How did he manage to clear it solo at level four when you lot can’t even handle the first wave of trash mobs? He undoubtedly has knowledge we don’t. But there’s no reason to strong-arm him. As long as we keep offering incentives and showing goodwill, it’s impossible he won’t reciprocate when we need it."
He gestured for emphasis.
"From the fact that he charged Iris five hundred and still gave her extra gear and several rare pouches, you can tell he’s not the type to burn bridges. Just give him a little benefit, and he’ll surely return the favor."
Sky Dragon Roar’s ticulous reasoning left everyone around him in awe. A chorus of agreent followed, each player privately conceding that their Guild Leader was exceptionally perceptive, able to see through the façade of such a formidable expert. Whether so still harbored doubts was no longer anyone’s concern.
anwhile, Ryan had no idea that most of his secrets had been so thoroughly dissected by Sky Dragon Roar. Fortunately for him, the concept of regression only existed in novels, and Sky Dragon Roar hadn’t begun to imagine such a possibility.
For Ryan, the evening passed in a steady rhythm. He simply exited the dungeon, cleared it again, paused to grab dinner, then repeated the cycle without rest. Before long, his experience points soared past ninety thousand, far exceeding the twenty-five thousand required to reach level six.
Just as Ryan erged once more, he found Sky Dragon Roar standing at the dungeon entrance with several players, all wearing polite smiles at his appearance.
"Featherlight, we’ve accepted the main quest," Sky Dragon Roar called out, his tone respectful but expectant. "Can you lead us in to take down the boss now?"
He sent Ryan a party invitation and, without hesitation, transferred leadership over to him.
"You lead the way."
Ryan nodded once and stepped into the dungeon without a word. The other players, catching the signal, hurried after him.
Inside, Ryan quickly scanned the party roster. The nas were all familiar—IDs that would eventually beco the backbone of the Sky Dragon Family itself: Sky Dragon Pine, Sky Dragon Fruit, Sky Dragon Roar, Sky Dragon Wolf. But he couldn’t help noticing that Sky Dragon Ascendant and Sky Dragon Iris were absent. That surprised him.
Those two were clearly Sky Dragon Roar’s closest kin. Yet they hadn’t joined the first team to enter. Ryan shot Sky Dragon Roar a sidelong glance. Seeing him already surveying the surroundings with asured calm, Ryan’s estimation of him climbed even higher.
"Featherlight, how should we approach this now?" Sky Dragon Wolf —the sa player who’d protested the payout earlier—now wore an ingratiating smile.
Sky Dragon Wolf was the player who had always remained close to Sky Dragon Roar’s side. He’d also been the first to complain when Sky Dragon Roar agreed to pay Featherlight such a large sum of money.
But now, his attitude had shifted completely. He wore a pleasant smile and spoke to Ryan with a hint of flattery in his voice.
"You just wait here," he said. "You’ll complete the quest once I kill the boss."
For so reason, Ryan felt an instinctive aversion to him. Searching his mories, he soon understood why. This Sky Dragon Wolf would one day beco one of the high-ranking mbers who betrayed the Sky Dragon Family and nearly caused its downfall.
Sky Dragon Wolf had always been known as the "Smiling Wolf." Even so of the Family’s own mbers never trusted him.
"Are you saying we’re just supposed to stand here and watch you fight?"
Sky Dragon Fruit sounded distinctly displeased. He’d always been among the most skilled players in the Sky Dragon Family, and now he was reduced to watching soone else take the lead—like a rookie waiting to be carried.
"You can’t keep up with ."
Ryan’s tone was indifferent. The blunt reply left Sky Dragon Fruit montarily speechless.
"You—"
Ignoring his unfinished retort, Ryan nodded politely to Sky Dragon Roar, then charged straight into the approaching packs of wolves without another word.
"What’s he doing? Is he trying to commit suicide?"
Sky Dragon Fruit scoffed as soon as he saw Ryan’s Paladin instantly draw the attention of three entire packs of monsters.
"Shut up," Sky Dragon Roar snapped, his eyes never leaving Ryan’s figure. "Watch his movents closely."
Everyone fell silent. As they looked more carefully, they noticed sothing odd: the wolf packs simply couldn’t keep up with Featherlight’s pace. No matter how many gathered, none of them could land a proper hit on him.
"Where is he taking them? Don’t monsters in dungeons usually chase players until they’re dead?" Sky Dragon Fruit asked under his breath. "Is this so kind of bug?"
Sky Dragon Wolf’s eyes narrowed. His voice dropped to a suspicious murmur.
"Is Featherlight relying on this exploit to reach the final boss?"
"But even if he reaches it, then what?" Sky Dragon Pine interjected, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "We don’t know exactly how strong the boss is, but it’s definitely much tougher than these trash mobs. How’s he going to kill it alone?"
Instead of replying, Sky Dragon Pine shrugged and pulled out his interface, opening the forums to start chatting idly as if the matter no longer concerned him.
"Everyone—look at Featherlight’s health! It’s dropping fast!"
Sky Dragon Roar’s sharp voice broke through the group’s chatter. His eyes locked on Ryan’s health bar, which was steadily draining. His heart tightened. Was this solo attempt actually about to fail?
"Good," Sky Dragon Fruit muttered, a trace of satisfaction in his voice. "He deserves it. We’ll make him explain himself later."
Sky Dragon Roar turned on him, his expression darkening further.
"Stop gloating. Our priority right now is ti. The sooner we get out of the starting zone, the bigger our advantage. Why are you always like this?!"
His rebuke hit hard enough that Sky Dragon Fruit visibly shrank back, falling silent. Beside them, Sky Dragon Pine glanced up from his screen.
"Featherlight’s health has stopped dropping," he noted calmly.
A mont later, a ssage appeared in the party chat, typed out by Featherlight himself:
"The boss fight will begin soon, and you will all enter combat. But don’t panic. The boss won’t target you. Just wait patiently."
The players stared at the words, montarily stunned. He had already reached the final boss?
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