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“How did you know?” Starry asked in surprise.
Zane’s hand trembled slightly as he replied, “We’re connected by heart. Something this small is obvious…”
“Really…? Then guess what I’m thinking right now.”
“You’re thinking… why is your other self so handsome?”
“…Was that supposed to be a joke?”
“…”

***

While Zane was busy talking to himself, more and more players gradually gathered around.

After dinner, many players were preparing to challenge this dungeon, and the number of players reaching Level 25 had also increased significantly. It was easy to imagine that this place would remain a staple farming dungeon for quite a long time.

Completing a full Frostcrystal Set not only provided a tremendous boost to an individual’s combat power, but also helped narrow the equipment gap between ordinary players and top-tier experts.

Of course, all of that assumed one could actually clear the dungeon.

And before long, paid dungeon-carry runs would likely start appearing as well. A paid run referred to powerful players escorting paying customers through dungeons. It was considered a somewhat higher-end way of earning in-game currency.

However, Zane had no intention of making money that way. First, the efficiency was too low. Second, paid run groups often led to unnecessary disputes and complications.

As he chatted with Starry, the voices of a nearby party grew louder and louder until they became impossible to ignore. More drama to watch? This time, however, he had learned his lesson. He stayed exactly where he was and merely listened from a distance, avoiding the risk of dragging trouble onto himself.

“Jan, we really can’t keep doing this!” a male player complained. “We spent an entire night working out a strategy, and only with your Earth Knight could we barely pull it off. Then we spent a whole day practicing it in actual runs just to scrape through.” He paused before continuing. “And look at the rankings. It’s those people again!”

“…” The female knight known as Trickling Stream remained silent.

“Our leveling progress has already been delayed for ages because of this dungeon. What’s the point of continuing to farm it now?”

“…” After a long silence, she finally spoke. “Forget it. Let’s head back. We’ve stayed in Wynwater City long enough.”

The man exhaled as though a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. “It’s not that we’re weak. There’s obviously something wrong with those people. They’ve been dominating the rankings since launch. Not long after that, they got hidden classes. And that city defense battle was even more ridiculous. They actually fought a Unique boss head-on! If they’re not insiders or people with connections, I refuse to believe it!”

His words clearly resonated with several teammates. One after another, they brought up examples they considered suspicious. If those players were game insiders, then everything suddenly seemed easy to explain.

Many nearby players found their arguments somewhat convincing. Whenever Stardust appeared before the public, she always crushed everything with overwhelmingly superior stats. Whether it was slaughtering her way through the Rainflower Guild, defeating MrFixIt in a Death Match, or standing toe-to-toe against a Unique boss during the city defense battle, the result was always the same.

No one had ever seen her fail. Nor had anyone heard of a player like her in the game’s previous titles.

Zane lowered his head and pretended to browse through his inventory. ‘What the heck? How did I somehow get dragged into this? We had cleared every dungeon through pure skill and hard work, alright?!’

Trickling Stream remained silent, walking forward quietly as if burdened by her own thoughts.

“That’s right. It has to be the case. The developers deliberately planted a few of their own people to suppress the player base and achieve whatever agenda they’re after,” the man concluded confidently.

“Pfft!” A female archer leaning against a nearby wall suddenly burst out laughing. Hugging her enormous bow, she trembled with amusement.

“What’s so funny?” the man asked irritably, frowning.

“You’re saying Stardust is a member of the development team?” the archer asked in return. The voice sounded strangely familiar.

Trickling Stream slowly turned around.

“Yes. What’s wrong with that?”

“Heh. So because you can’t match up to her, you’ve resorted to spreading rumors? If that’s the case, then you people aren’t much to brag about.”

“Heh.” As though he had heard the funniest joke in the world, the man sneered. “How long have you even been playing this game? Do you actually understand it? And yet you’re lecturing us? There are only three teams on the Normal Difficulty clear rankings for that dungeon!”

His gaze swept over her figure. “If you ask me, you could probably join some random pickup group and act cute for a bit. With enough luck, maybe you’d get carried into an elite team. Or better yet, I could…”

“ENOUGH!! Wavechaser, shut your mouth!” the female knight shouted furiously.

The man called Wavechaser immediately fell silent, visibly startled. It was rare for him to see Trickling Stream lose her temper like this.

The archer who had been mocked merely sighed. “How boring.” She turned and started walking away.

“Wait!”

“What now?” she asked impatiently, turning her head back.

“You… have you ever fought against Stardust?” Trickling Stream asked, her fists clenched tightly.

“No.” The archer shook her head. “But I can tell you one thing for certain. She’s absolutely not some insider.”

“…I understand. Thank you.”

…

Zane was still debating whether he should step forward and clear up the misunderstanding when he realized the group had already left without him noticing.

**Tap.**

Suddenly, he felt someone pat him on the shoulder. Looking up, he saw a graceful figure standing before him. A crimson longbow nearly half a person’s height was slung across her back, while a slender sword hung at her left hip.

It was none other than a Twilight Ranger.

“Ah… Windy?” Starry exclaimed in surprise. Of course, that was Zane controlling her speech.

Windblossom’s expression instantly froze. “What kind of nickname is that?!” she protested, her voice trembling. “Do you normally call other girls things like that?”

“Not really. You’re special.”
“???”
“Well, you’ve helped me kill bosses twice now, right? That makes us bros!”
“Please don’t call me that…” Windblossom looked utterly defeated. “Just call me Windblossom.”

…

The three of them moved to a secluded corner where players rarely ventured.

“I came here because I need your help with something.”
“A dungeon run? But my party’s already full.” Zane scratched his head awkwardly.
“No…” Windblossom shook her head. “As powerful as the Frostcrystal Set is, I have something more important to deal with.”

As she spoke, she pulled a scroll from her inventory. “This scroll was given to me by my mentor.” She unfurled it. The entire surface was blank.

“There’s nothing on it?”

“Exactly. Its purpose is to record information. I’ve been assigned an SS-rank quest with a maximum party size of three. We have to depart no later than tonight, but I couldn’t find suitable teammates. After thinking it over, I figured you and that little girl were the best candidates.”

“Speaking of which…” Windblossom glanced around. “Where is that little girl? Why isn’t she with you?”

“Uh…” Starry hesitated for a moment before pointing at Emberveil’s body. “She’s been eating a bit too much lately. She might’ve grown… somewhat sturdier.”

“Look.” She gestured toward him. “She’s gotten a little boyish now.”

“…” Windblossom stared at Emberveil standing there. “You’re serious?”

***

“That’s pretty much the situation,” Zane explained to the teammates who had just logged in.

“An SS-rank quest…” Shiu rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “It might even be the first one in the entire game. If you’ve got a chance like that, forget the dungeon for now. We can worry about Hard Mode later. Besides, nobody’s beating it anytime soon anyway. I’ve heard the damage scaling on Hard is on a completely different level compared to Normal.”

“You should go,” Dukeette agreed. “After clearing a dungeon once, the drop rate gets reduced quite a bit anyway. We’ll use the time to help Orange farm some alchemy materials. Feels like we haven’t done that in ages. If we don’t get moving soon, we’ll start falling behind everyone else.”