Two days had passed since the Outer Corrupted Forest dungeon had opened, and just last night, Ryan finally hit level 15—the minimum requirent to enter it. He’d logged off right after, exhausted but satisfied.
Now, though, each level required a staggering amount of experience. At level 15, Ryan needed 110,000 XP just to reach level 16. And with how slowly monster experience scaled, it felt like a grind. A level 15 monster only gave around 150 XP, which ant he’d need to kill over 700 of them to level up once. Worse, each fight took more than ten seconds now—far from the days of slicing through level 10 mobs like butter.
Even with quests factored in, his best XP rate barely reached 20,000 per hour. It was a slow, uphill climb.
That morning, Ryan woke up early—not to dive back into the ga, but for sothing far more pressing. He had to go house-hunting.
He couldn’t stand staying another day in that broken-down dump they called ho. Last night, the air conditioner had finally given out, turning the house into a sauna. None of them got much sleep, and now Ryan was running on fus, head pounding from heat and fatigue.
All night, he’d been reassuring his two weary sisters: As long as the house we see tomorrow is remotely livable, we’re moving in. No more waiting.
So, after a quick breakfast, he left the house under their hopeful gazes.
Ryan millions in his account now. Part of him wanted to just buy a villa outright and be done with it—to give his sisters the life they deserved. But he wasn’t ready for that yet. Not while certain people still had eyes on him. The ti to really enjoy his wealth would co later, when he no longer had to look over his shoulder.
The rental the real estate agent showed him turned out to be surprisingly great—clean, spacious, and a massive upgrade from their old place. And the rent was reasonable, too. If he paid six months up front, the monthly rate dropped from $2,200 to $2,000. Not bad at all.
The apartnt ca fully furnished and ready to move into. All they needed to bring were their clothes. Ryan called his sisters imdiately and told them to start packing.
He also had the agency order a fresh set of personal items—bedding, toiletries, essentials. Everything arrived before his sisters even got there. The bill ca to just under three grand. Not bad for the peace of mind it bought.
It was a three-bedroom unit with a shared living room, giving each of them their own space. That alone made Ryan feel more at ease. When Mia and the others arrived, he handed out room assignnts like a host showing off his first real ho.
By the ti they were all settled, it was already noon.
They ordered takeout from a fast-food place nearby and sat down together for their first al in their new ho. It wasn’t fancy, but it felt like a fresh start.
By 1:30 PM, they were back online.
"Guild leader’s online! Everyone, get ready for the dungeon!" Moonlight Beauty’s excited voice rang out in the guild chat the mont Ryan logged in.
The replies ca fast and eager—several mbers typing at once, hyped up and ready to go.
The small guild had grown quickly, now boasting over twenty mbers. Besides Evelyn and a few others he’d known from before, Ryan had recruited a handful of casual players during his leveling runs over the past couple of days.
None of them were top-tier, and he didn’t recognize their nas from his past life. But they had good energy—friendly, active, and supportive. That mattered more to him right now than raw skill.
Riverbank Grass and Nightwalker had joined after a dungeon run and had been questing regularly with Moonlight Beauty and Ryan ever since.
By now, most of the guild was level 15 and raring to go. It was finally ti to take on the first dungeon in the contested zone.
"Alright, ti to form the dungeon group! If you want in, speak up!" Ryan called out, energizing the guild channel as he took charge of the first run into the Outer Corrupted Forest dungeon.
There were only twelve players currently in the Blood Gorge region, and three of them were still stuck at level 14. That left barely enough to form a full group, let alone two. The shortage didn’t kill enthusiasm, though—it just raised the stakes. Everyone wanted in.
At the sa ti, mbers located in the faction heartland were clamoring for their own dungeon attempts. Ryan left that in Evelyn’s hands. She’d been the one to recruit most of them, and she could organize them however she saw fit.
"For the Outer Corrupted Forest dungeon here in Blood Gorge, I need all level 15 healers to send your stats first," Ryan instructed. "Damage dealers, hold off for now. And tanks... sorry, that slot’s taken."
He laughed lightly. He was the tank, after all.
Only two healers had hit level 15 so far: Riverbank Grass and Blue Demon King, the latter a Paladin who’d only just joined yesterday. Their stat lines were comparable—solid, but not ga-breaking.
Ryan made a ntal note to decide between them later, then moved on to the damage dealers.
Moonlight Beauty was an easy pick—her stats were well above everyone else’s. Nightwalker ca in close behind, snagging the second DPS slot. The third was a surprise: a Mage with the ID Archress Mageress.
Ryan paused for a mont, taken aback by how cringe yet familiar the na sounded. He hadn’t recruited her—Evelyn must’ve done that. The girl had been silent in guild chat since joining, and honestly, Ryan had forgotten she was even there.
But the na tugged at sothing in the back of his mory. Usually, when a na rang a bell, it ant that person had made waves in his past life. Even if he couldn’t rember the details, that was enough reason to give her a shot.
He added her as the third DPS.
That brought the party to four: two plate-wearers, one leather, and one cloth. For the healer, Ryan chose Riverbank Grass to avoid having too many plate users in the sa run—gear drops would get ssy otherwise.
"For those who didn’t make the cut this ti, don’t worry," Ryan announced in the guild chat. "You can wait for the others to hit level 15, and we’ll form a second group. Or after we clear it, we can rotate and go again. Everyone will get a turn."
Once the party lineup was finalized, he sent out invites one by one.
"Go, Guild Leader! Clear it fast and take us farming!"
The unselected mbers weren’t discouraged. Ryan—"Featherlight" had promised that everyone would get a run, and they trusted him to deliver. The only real frustration was missing the chance to be part of the first-clear team.
Right then, a new ssage popped up.
"Haha! Just hit level 15! Anyone want to challenge the captain’s group and see who finishes first?" The ssage ca from a cocky Warrior— Chill Guy, an ironic na for soone who spamd the chat with laughing emojis.
Ryan didn’t even hesitate. "Sure. Let’s make it interesting. If your group beats mine, I’ll give each of you ten gold coins out of my own pocket."
The guild chat exploded.
"Damn, Guild Leader’s a rich kid!"
"Let’s go! Who’s teaming with Chill Guy? I want that reward!"
Blood Gorge mbers roared with excitent, already scrambling to form the second group. anwhile, players in the faction heartland watched in frustration, so grumbling jealously in chat.
The race for the first dungeon clear had officially begun.
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