Carl felt ready.

He tried Ripping Claw with the Black Fang and Last Hurrah, shocking the Skyborne Lions with its might. With perfect execution, it granted some 6x momentum boost at 15 strength, hardly caring about any armor and bone that was in its way. It nearly rivaled Radiant Bulwark's Collapsing Strike in the amount of devastating power it carried – but was much faster!

Noon was approaching, and Carl gave the signal to commence the operation. Soon, all hell would break loose.

It was one thing grinding rank 4 dungeons in this manner, but all the veterans understood the difference, even if they didn't experience it first hand. If Carl could pull it off, it would undoubtedly shake the scene. And since the Blood Brothers didn't sleep on the job, everyone knew – and everyone waited. With bated breath.

“Brother Lionheart … would you like us to pool for you so that you could bind the armor?”

“No need. Send me your first batch of players.”

“… Okay. But wouldn't you rather do an experimental run with me, Bushido and a couple others first?”

“Oh, it will be an experimental run, alright.” Carl laughed. “But I'll manage. Thanks.”

Radiant Bulwark was visibly nervous, and he wasn't alone, because this was make it or break it.

However, not everyone shared in the anxiety. There were those whom Carl had put on a new high – the NPCs!

They had been arriving one by one for the past hour, watching Carl slaughter, butcher, mutilate and decimate in dread and awe. How was the horrid wolf supposed to hold up against this monstrosity?

“Sorry guys, but you will have to wait at least two hours for your turn, possibly three. Toothy, let's go.”

“Y-yes, Master Lionheart!” The huntsman was on edge, but very much eager. Clearly, it was a mental breakthrough for him.

Joined by four Skyborne Lions outside, Carl led the procession to the expedition hall. It looked like an organized event, as the bustling city life seemed to pause – both players and natives took to the streets to watch the daredevil who fearlessly declared war on Blood Brothers, stomping on their reputation, and revealed plans of rapid black wolves' den conquests. Like a silent stadium, they gawked and stood on their toes to get a better glimpse of the passing personage. It was … eerie, to say the least.

“Fancy meeting you here … Lord Ghost Buster!”

Blood Oath stood leaning against a column.

“Of all the things you could have said – this is what you came up with? The depth of your ignorance appalls,” Carl admonished with authority, raising the temperature once more, and causing the man to grind his teeth.

“Hmph. Let's see you repeat your feat from yesterday. Look at all these people – they're all dying to be impressed by your gallantry.”

“I care not for an audience.” Carl fully understood that this whole situation was a set up. “And I care not for spies, either.”

This statement elicited genuine surprise.

“These four will show you nothing, because they'll stay at the portal,” he concluded while passing the black-clad dandy, never halting or slowing his stride, or even turning to face him. They were an embarrassment to pro gamers everywhere if they thought they could just learn Carl's methods for free.

“Haha, a shrewd attempt to hide your fear of failure. Well contrived!”

“Go on, keep trying your hardest,” Carl encouraged off-handedly, as he activated the terminal. “All your spiteful efforts serve to benefit me. And I'm grateful for it. So please – don't stop.”

The casual derision was so glaring, that Blood Oath nearly burst a vein.

“How appropriate of you to talk about spite! Enjoy your moment of fame, because it will all come to naught very soon! Maybe then you'll learn some humility and see the wisdom in cooperation and dialogue,” he championed, but the venom could not be masked.

“Ah, yes, your schemes. I really ought to thank you for dissolving my deal with the Skyborne Lions,” Carl quipped blithely, stepping towards the portal.

“Oh? And why is that?”

Carl looked over his shoulder just before disappearing in the vortex.

“Because now I can get a much better one.”

…

Immortal Frontier official forum, Hall of Fame section, Charles Lionheart thread.

The community – most of them local to ingame Geneva, but quite a few forum warriors as well – stirred. A storm was brewing.

“The golden tongue is back in action! :D”

“Fatality! :O”

“Not quite yet. He's propping himself up so much, imagine how hard he's gonna fall if he fails now.”

“Couldn't care less. Look at Blood Oath! He seemed like he was going to faint from anger! :D”

“Delish (^.^)”

“Guys, what is that Ghost Buster business he mentioned? He's still revealing Lionheart's secrets, isn't he?”

“Don't you see a second badge on his chest? The silver one?”

“Must be from the haunted dungeon yesterday late evening. Check the clip above, Lionheart almost died there, had to be carried to the temple.”

“So what, he did the same as in the black wolves' den? But how?! Ghosts don't run!”

“He must have killed them all, no other way. They stack on top of each other, so he bombed them all with some high-end grenades, what else?”

“Oof, must have cost a fortune …”

“Can't believe the Skyborne Lions paid for this.”

“Wait, wouldn't the system take this into consideration? Have you heard of anyone else with that title yet? Imagine how difficult it has to be to get!”

“I guess he soloed the boss and then it was all consumables.”

“And how did he get back to the portal if he was so weak? That enchantress couldn't have carried him. O.o”

“Come on, there must have been others with them.”

“Maybe they cleared the dungeon? There's rumors that full-realism players got done in by Cybercore, and those scrolls they're using to increase the chances of boss spawn now bring all the mobs from the entire dungeon together and raise their ranks. If that were the case … wouldn't it be the perfect exploit? Just kill all the ghosts in one go …”

“Nah, cheap grenades are almost useless, and the good ones are stupidly expensive. There's just no way to recoup that, forget about it.”

“Finally, Cybercore did something to hamper those freaks!”

“I don't know about that. Look at Lionheart, at what he pulled off in the gray wolves' den. This alone is frightening. Even if he fails in the black wolves' den, how much money can he make just from that?”

“Yeah … so unfair … ”

“All the Blood Brothers can really do is impede his growth. They can't stop him, at least in the tutorial. Unless they go for broke – but what kind of assassins would it take to bring that beast down? He's an assassin himself and doubtlessly a real-life operative, he'll know they're coming!”

“Isn't he a dreamer, though? Show me a guild that will make him a better offer than the one Skyborne Lions so generously did.”

“But can we be sure that it wasn't falsified information? BB conducts a smearing campaign, after all. They're experts at deception.”

“Either way, Lionheart is in big financial trouble now. No other player association in Geneva will dare offending the Blood Brothers for fear of getting routed. They may not be very big in number, but they have a high average standard and they've put all their eggs in one basket, while everyone else is spreading their influence as far as they can.”

“Oh, I don't know about that. My gut tells me BB only scratched the surface of Lionheart's secrets. There's some very disturbing rumors going around, which better not be mentioned on this forum due to their overly speculative nature.”

“Well, let's wait and see. Shouldn't be long now …”

…

“Are they following us?”

“They're not, Master Lionheart.”

“Good. Breathe, Toothy. I need you to be calm and composed.”

“M-Master Lionheart, the horrid wolf …”

“It can get you on a tree, I reckon. That's why I'll take it down no matter what. You just be ready to climb fast, as you won't have much time.”

“Y-yes …”

With how high the stakes were, Carl had some powerful support tools with him – a great mana potion and a good stamina potion, which both cost around 12.5 gold. He could also save one common perception potion instead of giving it to Theodore. It would all generate a massive amount of underlying exhaustion, but he absolutely had to succeed.

And there they were. With the hardened steel sleeve equipped, Carl drank all three previously uncorked brews while walking towards the approaching abyssal blackness, which flashed its fierce yellow eyes and savage pearly teeth. He drew the Black Fang just in time to charge himself.

Combat Insight!

Last Hurrah!

Jarring Fist!

Combat Insight was much better than simple damage numbers and health points. It was a very subtle and heavily customizable skill Carl had already trained in the arena. It could alert him to weakness, see through fake posturing, dismantle feints, and much more. For now, however, Carl needed it to gauge the effective harm he inflicted. Its mana upkeep was so negligible, that it wouldn't even make a dent, as he had 127.5/s mana regeneration for the next two and a half minutes. Nearly half of that would go to Last Hurrah, boosting his strength by a neat 50%.

The bite sleeve flew at the towering head, but in return … it ducked!

“Oh boy … did I generate too much mental pressure?”

Carl was so focused on bringing out his A-game, that the AI must have recognized him as a legitimate threat.

But that only meant a reduction the the horrid wolf's momentum …

Ripping Claw!

As the right retracted, the counterbalancing left carried the Black Fang downward in a crescent, circling upwards at the other end to meet the incoming jaws. The curved blade, held in hammer grip arch in, walloped into the mandible.

“Yee-haw!”

Carl perceived the bone being ground down by the slicing motion and ultimately breaking, before the departing tip shredded the cheek. The three hundred kilograms stopped so abruptly in front of him, it was like a car performing force-conversion breaking. He only took one step back to avoid a collision.

The adrenaline rush was in full swing, and the slow-mo vision returned. The horrid head recoiled, eyes squinting, then recovered and accelerated once more for the kill.

Jarring Fist!

“Good doggy!”

The severely injured jaws squeezed the bite sleeve loudly, arresting the punch, but there was insufficient leverage left in them to even make Carl feel pain. Meanwhile, a vicious black blade was hanging in the air above …

Ripping Claw!

Carl couldn't afford any mistakes. It had to end as soon as possible, because the prowlers were upon him, flanking their boss on either side. The drake fang landed on the skull with terrifying impetus. If it chipped or snapped, so be it!

As it touched down, Carl burst forth with his mana.

Ripping Claw!

Ripping Claw!

Ripping Claw!

…

“Hey, they're coming out already?!”

“But it hasn't even been fifteen minutes!”

“Why the sullen looks? Has he failed?”

“No! Check out Blood Oath and his people!”

“Haha, they're not happy!”

“In your face, Blood Brothers!”

“Shh, don't let them hear you!”

…

“Guild Leader Ardor, the dungeon has been conquered,” an upper echelon member reported solemnly.

Leon sighed. So much was left from his nickname. While he was getting old and complacent, a new lion had appeared – and this one was in a league of his own. Now, even his old friends were leaving him because of that.

But the times had changed. He had a kingdom to protect, and the population of hyenas had never been this strong. Going up against them was suicide. Concessions had to be made …

“Let Blood Oath know we will supply the necessary manpower.”

“Guild leader, shouldn't you … ?”

“I can't be bothered to talk to that scum.”

Alas, by accepting this bribe, he had just become what he always hated …