“Hey, brother Lionheart, check out this vid!” Radiant Bulwark messaged.

The congratulatory conquest notification came after speedy 15 minutes, and Toothy was yet to return. Carl didn't want to waste a Scroll of Danger to guarantee the dire boar prowler spawning, because it was a low-rank dungeon, and bosses were far easier to encounter in those, as opposed to the ones handled by a chief expedition coordinator. Still, the huntsman did an excellent job shortening the search time without Carl around to boost the peak grade 0 curse's efficiency.

In the recording, done from an elevated perspective, Radiant Bulwark could be seen charging at a hairy mound that emerged from lush vegetation. A big hump on its back, a subjacent elongated head in the front armed with two pairs of imposing tusks, short and stubby limbs, and a massive trunk weighing some half a tonne – it was an overgrown wild hog, alright. Try stopping a single-seater car going at you at 30-40 km/h.

However …

“Woah!”

The brave warrior never hesitated, he went straight for a confrontation of brute force. The axe traced a shimmering, sprawling spiral, impeccably timed to land on the giant skull … crushing it to bits! The hefty beast slid a couple meters and came to an abrupt halt due to its hardly above-ground center of gravity. Then a steel-plated goliath received the tackling attack of a dire boar alpha, momentarily bolstering his inertia during the impact to remain unfazed, before his war hammer smashed yet another skull in a sanguine explosion.

“Huh … I guess … I did underestimate them a bit?”

Subsequently, both the female mages bombarded the surroundings with glowing orbs of ionized plasma, equally distributed between positive and negative charge – miniature ball lightnings for all intents and purposes. Carl had already heard that electricity was superbly effective against most biological life forms, especially the complex ones, for instance mammals.

Naturally, it had to either be sufficiently potent to punch through the resistance of a thick hide, or delivered directly to soft and conductive tissue, like an open wound, the eyes or the mouth. Furthermore, abundant bristle would absorb part of the energy as electrostatic charge, with predictably comical results.

Fortunately, the supply of mana was there, and the inferior quality of spells was more than compensated for with quantity – the boars were stiffening for a second, then running amok and panicking, which combined with exemplary teamwork allowed the two stalwart males to dispatch them with utmost ease.

“O-kay … I underestimated them a lot!”

Bursting a few mobs was one thing, but taking the situation under control when surrounded by throngs of them was an entirely different story that required real skill, overbearing confidence and fluent execution. In such a high-fidelity simulation, even a seemingly insignificant mistake could snowball into a miserable defeat, yet the quad did a short work of the six dire boars, then killed a few wild boar prowlers and alphas, before their dominance stabilized.

“What do you think, brother Lionheart? Not bad, eh?” Radiant Bulwark continued.

“Honestly, I'm impressed. From now on you will all be resting at the temple, then use up your mental buffs in conjunction with mana potions. If everyone from your group cycles through at least 16 gold worth of them, then the 8 gold of sanctuary fees will be returned anyway.”

“Haha, I like the sound of that! So you want us to conquer the various dungeons for you, correct?”

“That too, but I generally want for your whole contingent to upgrade their gear, grind proficiencies and get stronger overall. Plus when I'm busy, you can take them to experiment with the rank 5 selection. I'll need strategies for all of them sooner or later. Do you have good archers?”

“A few.”

“We'll rely on them, then. Lissome Shot is also extremely proficient with the bow. Maybe she'll be interested, if she can overcome her apprehensions.”

“You mean … ?”

“Consumable arrows. Rangers are the scariest starting class if you have the money to burn. Meanwhile, I have the funds, but no access to high-level custom equipment. After we're done with rank 5, we're going straight for rank 6.”

“Brother Lionheart, don't tease me like that! I won't be able to sleep at night!”

“Hehe, this is just the beginning. Something tells me the actual race is about conquering rank 8 dungeons, possibly all of them.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, reputation might not cut it.”

“Mhm, seems reasonable. Wouldn't be a fair challenge otherwise.”

“Okay, I'll got get me another bite sleeve. You talk to Fleeting Time, see what you can do for him. He sent me an awkward message, beating around the bush an awful lot. I suppose they want in on the operation. If that's the case, I don't mind. They're decent folk, and you may find their skills quite useful. Also keep investing my earnings throughout the next few hours. We sorely lack information, and I sorely lack appropriate weapon replacements. Try activating your old contacts that are not tied to Skyborne Lions.”

“Already on it, brother Lionheart!”

Carl knew there was a time limit on his monopoly. With how lucrative Camp Redmont was, every player association worth its salt scrambled to devise a reliable system of affordably dealing with the horrid wolf and its entourage – even the plentiful Scrolls of Threat were disappearing, surprisingly more so than Scrolls of Danger. It wouldn't take long before others succeeded in establishing 5, 4, or 3-person conquest teams, and then it would be both cheaper and faster for them to nurture their gatherers by relying on their own strength. Just like Carl noticed and Radiant Bulwark demonstrated – all could be solved by high-caliber rangers and mages. Simply climb a convenient tree, take out the boss first, and cover the tanks to sweep up the rest. There was no need at all for a supreme glass cannon.

Therefore, he had to prepare for a transition, to search for and open new windows of opportunity. Not to mention, that his current routine was quickly becoming dreary, while he craved exciting adventures.

As Carl resumed his tireless grind, the world didn't idle.

…

Shenhua Chuanshuo mega-guild headquarters, Shanghai.

“Guild Leader Hou, I apologize for disturbing your meal and your rest, but …”

“Out with it, kid. We're running a business here, so learn to be more assertive already.”

“Right, I'm sorry. Xielong asks for our mages again, they're offer is much more sincere this time.”

“How much?”

“They doubled it, sir.”

“Oh?”

Hou Ru put down his cutlery and looked at his young assistant with bewilderment. The Xielong conglomerate was a dangerous beast that devoured everything in its path, its appetite insatiable, and it funded the Xielong guild internally, while Shenhua Chuanshuo was a publicly traded company – sure, their capitalization was colossal and they were continuously on the rise, but their foundations were not as rock solid. Hou Ru could feel in his bones that the Evil Dragon had designs on his legacy, waiting in the shadows for the day he slipped up, always scheming and stirring the pot to bring about his downfall. He also understood, that Immortal Frontier was going to be a deciding factor in their cold war … and so he gambled.

He staked everything on what his gut was telling him, based on all the signs his boundless experience in virtual gaming had picked up, and stupefied everyone by ordering his entire guild to convert to magic – that is all expert melee fighters and rangers were to forego physical constitution in favor of the mental one, while the remainder was to abandon their physical classes altogether and choose a custom mage build that suited them best.

Many investors and board members went ballistic, pressuring for large-scale account resets, the stock taking a dive. This drastic step made Myths and Legends instantly fall behind Evil Dragon and everyone else, because mages were wimps at the start of the game, and their grinding speed was handicapped to boot, as mana potions were expensive, meaning the gold farming teams had to strongly rely on natural regeneration.

But!

There were the haunted dungeons …

And there was markup on spectral dust …

And there was kiting the regular mobs, as well as climbing to safe locations!

When the stock markets opened on Monday, their shares soared. Now, Xielong was even pestering them to lend out some of their experts as mercenaries. That was a very good sign.

“There's more to it, isn't there?”

“Yes, Sir Hou. Here, read this report.”

“… Hahahaha! I knew it! Who's laughing now?! In your face, Li Jian! Sincere offer, you say? To hell with your offer! You won't get a single mage from us, unless you sell the clothes on your back!”

“W-what should I tell them?”

“That I have no time for them! You will contact all vice guild leaders and generals. Inform them that I want the haunted battlefield to be our domain. They are to dedicate our forces to farm the spectral centurions and craft Scrolls of Danger for our peerless geniuses and top squads. But most importantly – the first one to attain the Ghost Buster title will be promoted by a whole rank and receive a fat bonus on top of that! Relay this message immediately!”

“Right away, Sir Hou.”

“Little Zhong?”

“Yes?”

“This guy, he also invested into magic, didn't he?”

“He did. Our analysts say he's maxed out.”

“Splendid!”

Affected by an enduring grin, the mighty commander of a seven-digit mass of players finished his meal with delight. It suddenly tasted a lot better.

…

Xielong conglomerate headquarters, Beijing-Tianjin megalopolis.

“So the old monster Hou rejected our generous offer. Good for him.”

“That puts us in a tough spot, grandpa, doesn't it?”

“You really think so, Chang-Chang?” The grand elder smiled kindly.

“Well … now that all the NPC-provided scrolls were bought out, they'll still have an endless supply … and they'll produce multiple Ghost Busters soon …” the beautiful female worried.

“Mhm, that's correct. Tell me, though, little Chang-Chang – what class is this Lionheart fellow?”

While the young woman's eyes widened with a realization, her grandfather chuckled genially.

“We will simply split our efforts between the regular dungeons and the haunted ones, sending physically-oriented players to the former, and magically-oriented to the latter. All things considered, Shenhua Chuanshuo will still have no edge over us. I am, however, overly curious about his methods. He may have almost died there, but he also apparently pulled off this feat on a budget. I wonder how easy would it be for him today … anyway, I want to know what he knows. You will approach him once more.”

“But he–”

“I don't care what he said, my dear.” The stately elder suddenly turned stern. “Chairman Liu reminded me of the obvious truth – everyone has a price. If it's not money, then it's something else. Find his buttons. He seems obsessed with righteousness, so try playing to that tune. Inspect him diligently, and a weakness will be revealed.”

The girl lowered her head.

“Yes, sir.”

While she was leaving, another visitor arrived. Passing him, Chang-Chang felt chills down her spine. This man was certainly bad news, and he even had a kind of … a deathly aura about him.

“You could have just called, Senior Li,” the ominous guest remarked flatly once they were alone.

“No, Mister Gui, I couldn't have,” the host disagreed categorically.

“Hmm? That kind of request?”

“It is indeed. Here.” The elder passed a tablet to the man code-named 'Ghost', causing the brows on his emotionless, stoic face to crease.

“That's a risky target you've chosen, Senior Li. We don't know what kind of access he has, and what counter-measures he employs. You might very well be sending us into a trap.”

“Naturally, you'll need to be careful. But I fully trust in your expertise. There's also no deadline, so you can take your time and be as meticulous as you deem fit. In fact, I don't even want you to hurry.”

“And what course of action do you expect should we succeed?”

“If you can, bring him to a black site and notify me immediately. If you can't … you know what to do.”