The kings Avater

"C'mon, guys. Let's just trust Cyb," PhantomX said with a shrug. "It's not like any of us actually know what we're doing."

"Phantom's right," Midnight added, adjusting his gear. "Unless anyone here's suddenly a strategy god, we follow her."

One by one, they reluctantly nodded and continued trailing behind CyberDiva, who pressed forward without a word, her steps steady, her focus unshaken.

After a while, they stopped at the crest of a small hill. CyberDiva raised her hand and pointed down into the misty valley below.

"Here's the dungeon," Ye Qiu typed coolly.

Everyone peered downward.

"She's right—I can see it from here," StormChaser said, squinting at the shadowy structure nestled between jagged rocks and creeping vines.

"Wait, how did you even find this place?" 7thSense9 asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.

Ye Qiu rolled his eyes behind the screen. There we go again with your never-ending detective mode, he thought irritably.

He started typing, this time with deliberate slowness:

"The mission was to locate the hidden boss in a secret dungeon. But the first one we entered had an Exiel and three Blightfen Hollows—a swamp of rotting illusions, death fog, and traps. That wasn't a real dungeon. That was bait. A decoy meant to wipe clueless teams like us.

After we escaped, we landed in this forest. Forests are often used to mask ruins in the game—especially the Ruins of Zurein, a collapsed mage city consumed by vines and whispers of the dead. The trees here carry faint glowing green markings—a signature of Zurein's cursed seal magic. Those marks lead straight to the dungeon with the highest dark energy output in the zone. I followed them here."

Dead silence.

Everyone stood dumbfounded, blinking at CyberDiva like she just turned into an oracle.

"How the hell were we supposed to know that?" Midnight blurted out. "Are the game devs okay? What, is this level designed by ancient demons?"

He turned sharply toward CyberDiva. "How did you even know that?"

Before she could reply, 7thSense9 scratched his head. "Oh… I think I saw something like that in the Guild Library before we entered the mission. Just… didn't think it mattered."

Ye Qiu nearly smacked his virtual forehead.

You didn't think it mattered? Bro, that was literally the only way newbies survive in this hellscape. How did y'all even make it this far with brains like this?

"Ohhh, so that's how you knew," Skull said, turning to CyberDiva with exaggerated relief. "Whew. For a second there, I was about to throw a shrine in your honor."

He grinned. "I guess someone's been doing the studying, Unlike some people who claim they do," he added, flashing a sly look at Midnight.

Midnight rolled his eyes with a muttered, "Whatever."

As they huddled near the dungeon's entrance, PhantomX glanced at the top of his screen.

"Uh-oh... we're running out of time," he muttered.

Ye Qiu's eyes darted up. 5 minutes left.

"Deng it!" Midnight cursed. "Just when we're this close…" he sighed in frustration. "This is the furthest we've ever gotten."

The mood dropped instantly. Everyone stood still, disheartened by what was coming. Logging out meant starting the mission all over again. Just the thought alone felt like punishment.

"CyberDiva," Midnight called out. "I hope you at least remember how we got here… and how to trace it all back again?"

Ye Qiu frowned.

Wait... they're planning to log out? he quickly typed, "Wait, are you guys actually planning to log out?"

"Obviously," Stormchaser replied flatly.

Ye Qiu's frown deepened.

"Hell no, I'm not."

He abruptly took control of CyberDiva and bolted straight toward the dungeon.

His Everstay instincts were kicking in. The idea of logging out mid-mission? That had never been an option in his playbook. He didn't care if he had to babysit these noobs for a while longer—he wasn't going to give up.

"Cyb, are you crazy?! Are you trying to get us all killed?!" Midnight yelled, sprinting after her.

"What the hell is she doing?!" 7thsense9 shouted in disbelief.

"Cyb, c'mon! It's already down to 4 minutes—getting to 3!" PhantomX added, panicked.

But Ye Qiu didn't answer. He was laser-focused. As CyberDiva neared the dungeon, the ground trembled. Hixars—twisted creatures of stone and rage—erupted from the earth and charged at them.

"SH*T!" Stormchaser yelled. "We have to log out now! We'll lose everything if we die!"

But Ye Qiu didn't flinch. He unsheathed CyberDiva's sword and lunged, slicing through the nearest Hixar with surgical precision.

The rest of the team, despite their hesitation, were pulled into the fight. There was no backing out now.

Even though CyberDiva wasn't as stacked as Everstay, Ye Qiu wielded her like a weapon of art. His teammates—Midnight and PhantomX with their dual swords, 7thsense9 and Stormchaser with their blades, and Skull with his bareknuckle brute force—all found themselves caught in a rhythm.

For a moment, it felt like they were actually... syncing.

No one spoke. They couldn't afford to. Every move demanded full focus.

Ye Qiu's eyes flicked up again. 1 minute left.

He scanned the battlefield—there were too many Hixars. They'd never make it like this.

He exhaled slowly and cooked up something dangerous.

With a sudden flash, CyberDiva's blade lit up—electricity surged along its edge. Ye Qiu slashed through the air.

BOOM!

A devastating arc of light carved through the battlefield, cutting down eight Hixars in one hit.

"What the…?!" PhantomX gasped.

"No way…" 7thsense9 blinked. "That's—That's the LightSplash!"

A legendary move once introduced by the infamous Everstay during his early gaming days. Though widely copied, few knew its true origin—or how to pull it off.

Ye Qiu typed quickly:

"Midnight, get into the dungeon and grab the scroll from the hidden boss. NOW."

"What? So im gonna spare with the monster alone? Can we just log out already, Chan Guo?!" Midnight shouted.

"You don't have to fight the boss. It's not a monster. It's an emissary that would lead us to the main boss, Get the scroll, and the mission completes instantly."

Ye Qiu's text box blinked, then vanished.

Midnight hesitated only a moment before nodding and dashing inside.

"The rest of us hold the line. We cannot let the Hixars enter the dungeon." Ye Qiu sent.

The others gritted their teeth and fought harder.

"Bro, how the hell does she type like that and still fight like a freaking war god?" Skull muttered, panting.

Seconds ticked down. 15… 10… 9…

Still no word from Midnight.

"I think we should just log out," Stormchaser said nervously.

"No! Everyone stay put!" Ye Qiu barked.

"Man, I don't care what you say—I'm logging ou—"

BLACK SCREEN.

Silence.

Everyone froze. Their hearts slammed in their chests. Did we just... fail?

Suddenly, the screen lit up:

GLORY.

A massive golden word shimmered across their screens.

"WOOOOOOO!" PhantomX exploded. "WE DID IT!!"

"LET'S GOOOO!" Skull yelled.

"I'm actually shaking," 7thsense9 said. "This game is gonna kill me before real life does."

"I take back everything I said about Cyb," Stormchaser said. "She's a scary genius."

Ye Qiu smiled to himself, already logging out.

"Chan Guo, you—" He began, but the before he completed his sentence, Ye Qiu had vanished.

"Typical," PhantomX muttered with a grin.

Then, chaos.

Stormchaser:

"Somebody get me oxygen. Or chocolate. Preferably both."

PhantomX:

"I swear if Cyb ever leaves this team, I'm logging out for real—like emotionally."

7thsense9:

"I was gonna suggest we quit earlier. Guess I'll go cry into my settings menu."

Midnight:

"Bro, that emissary gave me the scroll and complimented my jawline. This game's weirdly romantic."

Skull:

"Midnight out here getting NPC rizz while we fight for our lives."

Suddenly, Skull's mic crackled.

"GO TO SLEEP ALREADY, THIS CHILD!"

A voice thundered in the background, followed by the unmistakable slap slap slap of flying slippers.

"AH—GRANDMA, NOT THE SLIPPERS—WE'RE CELEBRATING A WIN HERE!"

The others burst into laughter.

PhantomX:

"Please tell me someone recorded Skull getting whooped."

Stormchaser:

"Skull: legendary tank by day, slipper target by night."

Skull (while dodging):

"Grandma, do you realize you're hitting a soon-to-be star?! This is assault on potential greatness!"

Laughter erupted again.