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Zane found a secluded corner and checked his surroundings to ensure no one was nearby.

As the light faded, Starry—seated atop the Gray Wolf—charged out from the shadows. Her consciousness still hadn’t recovered—most likely due to extreme exhaustion. That meant—for now—Zane was on his own.

…

“Tempest, do you think those two will come back?” Rainflower Years asked.
“Who knows? If we could predict what top players are thinking, would we still be stuck standing guard at the entrance?”
“Sigh…” Rainflower Years let out a long sigh, his voice full of resentment.

Suddenly, Rainflower Tempest shouted in alarm. “Wait—look ahead! What is that?!”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“A Gray Wolf—holy s̲h̲i̲t̲! Isn’t that a mob from Grayridge Plains?! What’s it doing all the way here in Cloudshadow Valley?!”
“You’re right! And there’s someone riding it—wait… is that Stardust?!”
“Their speed… this is bad! Go warn the boss—I’ll try to stop her!” Rainflower Tempest shouted urgently.
“Got it!”

He immediately pulled up his friend list. Since the Guild Creation Token hadn’t been released yet, all so-called “guilds” were just informal groups. For now, the only way to communicate was through the friend list.

Meanwhile, Rainflower Tempest charged straight at Starry, raising his iron shield and shouting, “Guardian Shield!”

A massive translucent shield expanded in front of him. It was a damage-reducing defense skill, similar to Bone Shield, but with a flat 25% damage reduction.

As a full-Vitality Knight, he was proud of his 1500 HP. Unfortunately, his Defense was only 19—even with his lucky drop, an Uncommon iron shield, providing a small boost. Still, he believed he was tanky enough. At least—that’s what he thought.

A second later, the Gray Wolf sped past him, and Starry’s Autumn Moon Sword swung in a cold arc.

At the same time, Autumn Strike triggered—by sheer luck.

A crimson damage number appeared above his head. Rainflower Tempest’s entire HP bar was instantly wiped out. His expression froze in disbelief before his body collapsed—reduced to white light, returning to Wynwater City.

Rainflower Years turned pale. “She just one-shot a full-HP Knight?! BROTHERS, STOP HER! SHE’S STARDUST—THE TOP PLAYER ON THE RANKINGS!”

But it was too late. With Rapid Stride, Zane was moving at twice the speed of a normal player. Without a crowd-control skill, no one could stop them. Over ten Rainflower members rushed forward in an attempt to intercept them— Only to watch helplessly as the wolf and its rider blurred past them.

At Level 20, most classes only had 2-3 basic skills. And the only crowd-control skill before Level 20 was Taunt—a Knight-exclusive skill with a 1-yard range. Completely useless here.

“What the hell?! It’s only Day 2 of the game, and people already have mounts?! How are we supposed to compete with that?!”
“Yeah! I’m filing a complaint—this has to be cheating!”

…

“What?! Stardust broke through the front lines?!” Rainflower Drake’s voice was furious. “You had so many people there—and you STILL didn’t stop her?! Knights should have rotated Taunts to keep her locked down!”

“Boss, she has a Gray Wolf mount! We couldn’t catch up! And her attack power is ridiculous—she literally one-shot Tempest!”

“…Are you kidding me?” Rainflower Drake narrowed his eyes. He knew his subordinates liked to make excuses—but this was beyond ridiculous.

“It’s true, boss! Just wait—you’ll see her soon at this rate.”

“…” Rainflower Drake hung up the call without a word.

He still had 500 players at his disposal—and that didn’t even include their backup members stationed at Glazed Lycoris Radiata.

Stardust is strong—no doubt about that. She dominated the rankings in Beginner Village. Even now, she still holds the number one spot. But so what? No matter how skilled she is, she’s still just one person. There’s no way she can take on hundreds alone. Cloudshadow Valley’s terrain is tight. She has nowhere to run. And once we surround her… That will be the perfect time for a counterattack.

“Spark, take a squad and circle around to the entrance. We’re going to trap them like rats in a cage.” A cold smirk formed on Rainflower Drake’s lips.

“Understood, boss!” Rainflower Spark had already heard the news.

…

Swish!

With a casual swing of her sword, a Mage was instantly killed. There was no helping it—Starry’s equipment was leagues beyond the average player. Besides, Mages couldn’t even learn Magic Shield until Level 20. Which meant—once they got caught in melee, they were as good as dead.

As a ranged class, they were supposed to have the advantage at a distance. But even their strongest spell, Flameburst, had somehow missed Starry entirely!

What kind of joke is this?! How did she even dodge that?!

Lost in his doubts and frustration, the Mage was swiftly sent back to the respawn point.

Deeper into Cloudshadow Valley, the area was crawling with both players and green-skinned goblins. Many players cast wary glances at the intruder, but with their hands full fighting goblins, they didn’t have time to deal with her.

A weak mob, through and through. Yet, even against such a frail opponent, these players were struggling against it. The reason was simple—Club-Wielding Goblins never fought alone. They usually attacked in groups of three or four, and their aggro mechanics were chaotic.

Once the Taunt effect wore off, they would immediately rush the backline, and if someone wasn’t careful, they could get bludgeoned to death in an instant.

Zane shook his head. Too weak. Not interested.

A goblin camp of this size couldn’t have just appeared out of nowhere. There had to be a high-level goblin, or perhaps another force entirely, driving them into this area. Otherwise, why would they randomly settle near Wynwater City, practically begging to be exterminated?

At the very least, he wouldn’t leave without finding the boss. As for the Rainflower guild… He’d kill as many as he could.

…

Zane suddenly halted his steps. Ahead, over fifty players were blocking the road. A wall of ranged classes—Mages and Archers—stood in formation. Every single one of them had been buffed by Bards, their bodies pulsing with floating musical notes.

Standing at the very front, Rainflower Drake wore a smug expression. “Let’s see where you run this time! You killed so many of our guys, and you still think you can walk away?”

Behind him, Rainflower Spark led a melee squad—a mash-up of Swordsmen, Pugilists, and Knights. Compared to the players Starry had cut down earlier, these ones were on a different level.

Each of them had at least 2-3 Uncommon gear, and some even had Rare equipment. Low-level, sure—but better than nothing. The Knights likely wouldn’t go down in one hit. Breaking through the front would be the best option.

Then—the sound of approaching rustling caught his ears.

Assassins? Judging by the movement—at least five. Rainflower Drake actually brought over a hundred players just for this.

“You all hog the best grinding spots, I’m just doing the right thing by taking you down.” Starry shot back. “But you—do you really think this little lineup is enough to stop me?”

“Hmph. You’re arrogant, I’ll give you that.” Rainflower Drake sneered. “I know that Gray Wolf mount of yours is insanely fast… but that won’t help you now. Still, I’m a reasonable guy. Join us, and I’ll let bygones be bygones. I’ll even pay you 5k a month. If you’re willing to sleep with me, forget 5k—I’ll pay you 20k a month.”

“Tch. Scum.” Starry spat.

Rainflower Drake’s expression darkened. “Fine. You wanna do this the hard way? Kill her!” Before he even finished speaking, the Assassins around Starry revealed themselves.

Zane was already prepared. He leaped forward, dodging an entire row of attacks. At the same time, Starry spun around and slashed at the leftmost Assassin.

One-shot! But she wasn’t done— Activating Icy Moon Slash, the blade’s chilling glow cut through another Assassin.

One final normal attack followed.

In an instant, half the Assassins had fallen.

Of course, Zane wasn’t just standing around—he slashed at the rightmost Assassin with Venomous Claw, dealing -368 damage. The target was already at critical HP, but then—a Gray Wolf phantom materialized, slamming down on the weakened enemy for -369 damage, instantly killing him!

Rainflower Drake’s face turned green. “F̲U̲C̲K̲ THIS—FOCUS FIRE!”

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