Little Pink Starfish

Since someone was tailing them, of course Pei Sen wouldn’t let them continue. He had absolutely no intention of exposing himself as a player. Technically, “NPCs” couldn’t see the dungeon illusion crystals—but if his identity got exposed, and players saw two “NPCs” entering a dungeon, that might cause a whole new set of problems.

Bringing NPCs into dungeons was allowed. Bix Magic Cube didn’t restrict that, since the natives could also gain rewards from dungeons.
However, dungeons had level caps for native residents. For example, the Slave Traders’ Cave, a beginner dungeon, only allowed those below level 40. So native swordsmen or high-level mages couldn’t enter if they were above the cap.

Players didn’t know this. If they tried to sneak powerful “NPCs” into the dungeon, it might cause unnecessary chaos.

After all, these “NPCs” weren’t truly non-player—they had minds and intelligence. And right now, the Slave Traders’ Cave was located within Eagle’s territory, the Lanno domain.

Pei Sen didn’t want any trouble here, nor did he want things to get out of control.

Back when Pei Sen was just a player, he didn’t care about these kinds of problems. Even if the world fell apart, it was just a game.

But now, Pei Sen wanted to protect this world—or rather, he wanted to protect Eagle’s Lanno territory.

Besides, dungeons were meant for players. Though it made him feel guilty, considering how he kept dragging Eagle into them, Pei Sen still thought letting “NPCs” participate too much in dungeon content wasn’t ideal.

Even if Bix Magic Cube seemed to encourage closer bonds between players and “NPCs,” maybe even hoping they’d run dungeons together, Pei Sen didn’t want disorder—especially not in Eagle’s land.

Other dungeons? Whatever. But this territory needed to stay peaceful.

The players tailing them had been live-posting screenshots on the forum the entire time. Pei Sen found it amusing—they might as well wave flags. Still, he understood that players didn’t know he could see the forum too.

“Young master, someone’s following us,” Pei Sen said.

Eagle looked over. “I know. Aren’t they a few Bix clan members?”

Ever since he started learning magic—and given that he already had a knack for divine arts—Eagle’s progress had been astounding, and his perception had greatly improved.

So no, players trying to sneak around weren’t going to escape the senses of a high-perception mage or priest.

Pei Sen nodded. “I plan to shake them off soon.”

Eagle blinked. “Why?”

He didn’t dislike the Bix clan at all. While most people treated them like lunatics, Eagle found them kind of endearing. Plus, with Pei Sen being Bix too, Eagle felt an innate closeness to the entire race.

“There are some things that are inconvenient with them around,” Pei Sen said honestly. “Even if they’re the same race as me, that doesn’t mean I fully trust them. Some things still need to be kept hidden.”

Players had no bottom line. They might seem loyal to the faction now, eager to help with everything—but that was just quest motivation. If Eagle really thought they were loyal to him, that would be dangerous.

After all, to them, this was just a game.

Eagle nodded obediently. “I’ll follow your lead.”

Trust? Eagle had never truly trusted anyone. The only one who had earned any of his trust was Pei Sen.

Ever since being trapped in the manor, everyone around him had drifted away. Eagle had stopped believing in trust long ago.

Pei Sen glanced down at the flickering shadow near his feet—Perks was clearly trying very hard to blend into the shadows.

Unfortunately, due to its size, it flickered in and out. But because the lazy cat was at least trying, Pei Sen didn’t scold it. Compared to before, it was already doing much better.

Night had fully fallen. There wasn’t any fog tonight, but visibility was still poor. Dressed in black cloaks, Pei Sen and Eagle melted into the darkness. The players had to strain to follow them.

Normally, they might’ve run up to ask for a quest. But remembering how badly they failed last time, they held back. This time, they figured quietly tailing them was smarter.

Unfortunately, it was just too dark. They could only try their best to follow.

Luckily, the number of players online at this hour was small. Otherwise, it would’ve been much harder for Pei Sen to evade them.

Still, even with fewer players, it wasn’t that few. The forum posts were gaining traction, and more players were rushing over.

“Yo, they just entered the woods!”
“It’s pitch dark, I can’t see a thing!”
“Don’t bother—once they’re in the woods, you won’t be able to keep up.”
“Why the hell are they going into the forest this late at night?”
“Maybe the secret lies in the woods!”
“But I’ve been there—it’s totally ordinary.”

The little forest near Golden Rose Manor was indeed nothing special. It was too close to the manor for any real danger—no threatening monsters. Just a few low-level critters that didn’t even give exp anymore.

“Doesn’t matter. Let’s go in anyway!”

Because they discovered Pei Sen and Eagle too late, most of the rushing players didn’t get to see them. By the time they arrived, the woods were dark and empty—no sign of anyone.

“Wish we had flashlights,” someone grumbled.
“Maybe fire magic could light the way?”
“Unless you want to burn down the woods… Light magic is probably safer.”

Meanwhile, Pei Sen and Eagle had quietly exited the forest from the other side. They could still hear the players chatting excitedly behind them.

That’s what you call tailing? Don’t insult the term.

They had shaken off the players. But the dungeon posed another issue—there were always players nearby.

The dungeon cooldown was seven days. Ever since third-wave players joined, there were never days when it wasn’t being camped.

Since Bix Magic Cube was incredibly immersive, and Ayla Continent had no electricity, night meant true darkness—unless you were rich like Eagle and used magical items to light the way.

Players had the system to help, but they still didn’t have perfect night vision. So fewer players logged in at night.

That being said, the world didn’t get fully dark until after 8 or 9 PM game-time, so it didn’t affect most players.

Some joked that the environment helped cure night owls—otherwise, plenty would’ve flipped their schedules.

When Pei Sen and Eagle arrived near the dungeon, player numbers were at their lowest. Even so, a few lingered nearby.

Eagle was surprised. “Why are there so many Bix clan members here?”

“Because, like me, they can see the illusion crystals.”

Eagle nodded and didn’t ask further.

The real issue: approaching the dungeon without being noticed by players.

Pei Sen looked down at the cat. “Perks, you should be able to see the crystals now too, right?”

Being his designated pet, Perks had gained certain player-exclusive abilities—like leveling up through experience and seeing dungeon illusion crystals, which hovered like glowing fireflies.

“Meow?” Yes, the cat could see them. It meowed in confusion.

“Good. Go bite or claw one of them. Hide in the shadows. Don’t let anyone see you.”

From this distance, Perks could trigger a crystal to pull both Pei Sen and Eagle into the dungeon. The problem was doing it unseen.

If Perks failed, life was going to get rough.

But asking a cat to do this kind of job? That was really pushing it! Cats were meant to be sleeping in the manor, not running stealth ops.

Still, playing pitiful got it nowhere—its cold-hearted owner and scary junior master wouldn’t show any mercy.

Ugh, this is the worst. They don’t love cats at all!

Creeping into the shadows, Perks inched toward the crystals.

Oooh, shiny!
They looked fun, bobbing and floating. Tempting to bat at…

Wait—slipped out of the shadows again!

Back in, must hide well!

The fat cat squeezed back into shadow, and successfully crept close to one. It pounced—just in time!

But a nearby player reached out and snatched that exact crystal.

“Let’s go. I’ll try again today. You—make sure to shut the NPC up if he starts shouting nonsense.”
“Got it,” replied the bulky player with the ID “Toguro.”

Perks fluffed up in fury.
That was MY crystal, you thief!

Unaware, the players crushed the crystal and entered the dungeon.

Perks had to try again. Luckily, there were plenty of crystals around. This time, it pounced and grabbed one successfully.

“Hey, did you see something over there?”
“I think… a cat?”
“Where? I didn’t see anything.”
“Pretty sure it was a black cat.”

Perks froze in place.
Nope nope nope, no cat here. You saw nothing. I’m a shadow.

It bit into the crystal.

“Meow!”

This thing looked fun but it’s way too hard! Not tasty at all!

Fortunately, being a black cat at night helped. Though some players did catch a glimpse of it failing to stay hidden, Perks activated the crystal just in time, pulling Pei Sen and Eagle into the dungeon—and disappearing as well.

The curious players checked the area, found nothing, and figured they were just imagining things.

Inside the dungeon, Perks felt a bit guilty. It had tried, and still got seen. Not the cat’s fault!

But Pei Sen didn’t scold it.

Eagle looked around. “Even the second time, this place still feels magical.”

The dead Kui Wolf and dead Palta—here they seemed to have gained immortality, albeit not a pleasant one. They could be killed over and over.

This time, though, Eagle was stronger and more experienced. He planned to practice magic and divine arts here, and Pei Sen lured the mobs for him.

The dungeon had become their training ground—zero risk.

Facing Vargo, Eagle murmured, “So he wasn’t found in Arzi Town, huh?”

“Yeah. No idea where he escaped to.” The Golden Rose Manor’s logistics steward had been much sneakier than Soan and his son. When players stormed Arzi, he had completely vanished.

But if he appeared in this dungeon, he must’ve been in Arzi before. He ran fast.

“Not just Vargo—there’s also that lich and the assassin leader. All three escaped. We’ll catch them eventually,” Pei Sen said, noting each one.

With over ten thousand players now in Alpha, Beta, and Gamma testing, and most still clustered in Casey and Arzi, it wouldn’t be long before they were spread across the entire Lanno domain.

If those three hadn’t left the territory, players would dig them out in no time.

If they had left? No worries—more players would come. Sooner or later, they’d be found.

Quest systems were very handy.

Meanwhile, the broke lich—who was barely able to afford food—was walking toward Viscount Frey’s domain with Jack.

“I’m starving. This black bread’s hard enough to kill someone,” the lich whined.

Jack smiled and soaked the bread in cold water. “Let it soak a bit. It’ll soften.”

He was used to this kind of terrible food. In the past, he couldn’t even afford this much.

His health was still poor. After walking for a bit, his already pale face looked even worse.

He was tall but emaciated, like a sheet of paper. He had good features, but his frailty dulled his looks.

If he hadn’t been good-looking, even with his talents, Viscount Frey might never have noticed him.

The lich sighed. “My old home’s in Lanno. If I hadn’t listened to you, maybe I’d be living under that little count right now.”

“With your kind of person, no noble would accept you,” Jack replied calmly. “I know how nobles think. They’d never take in a lich.”

The young lich muttered, “Not all liches are evil…”

But in the Kingdom of Esmia, liches were synonymous with evil.

Jack actually agreed with the sentiment. If he hadn’t gotten a good read on this lich’s character, he wouldn’t have hired him.

Most liches had zero credibility.

Suddenly, two players lost in Moon Tree Forest spotted a campfire in the distance.

“Hey! Two red-named mobs!”

The lich shuddered.

Oh no… it’s the Bix clan again!