"Tiancheng... what on earth are you doing?" The moment I stepped into the convenience store, the owner’s eyes widened in shock.

"Huh? Doing what?"

"What’s that thing you’re holding?"

"A dog."

"Do I look stupid? I know it’s a dog. I’m asking why you’re carrying it!"

"Taking it home to raise."

"Look, I’ll be blunt, Tiancheng... have you lost your marbles? You can barely feed yourself! I don’t want to find your corpse and this dog’s starving to death in my shop one day."

"It’ll be fine. It looked so pitiful, abandoned like that."

*You’re* the pitiful one! Your brain’s flooded! I know you’re heartbroken after your sister kicked you out, but don’t let your emotions get the better of you."

"I’ll manage..." I murmured, climbing the stairs with the little yellow dog in my arms.

The owner stood frozen, then shook his head. He stepped out from behind the counter, pacing his store in circles—until he spotted bags of dog food on a shelf.

*Awkward. Guess I can’t just ignore this now.*

"Ugh, I’m too soft-hearted... Might as well see this through." With a sigh, he grabbed a regular bag of dog food and headed upstairs.

...

"Boss?" I’d just climbed the attic ladder when footsteps echoed behind me.

"Here. This’ll be deducted from your wages. Come down tonight to... wait, actually—" He handed me the dog food, frowning slightly. "What do you even do up here every afternoon, Tiancheng?"

"I..."

I hesitated. Should I tell him I could finally play the game normally? But secrets carried risks—leaks, complications.

Yet the boss... unlike me, this fake good Samaritan, he was genuinely kind. Just an ordinary, decent man.

*It should be safe.*

"I can play the game normally now." I finally said it.

"Is your illness cured?" His reaction surprised me—he wasn’t shocked at all. Just calm.

"Yeah. It healed the day I got kicked out."

"I see..." A sudden smile lit his face. "Need me to power-level you?"

"No thanks. I’ll get used to it on my own first."

"Alright. If you hit a wall, just ask. I can’t help much in real life, but in-game? I’m quite the powerhouse." He puffed his chest out proudly.

"What class do you play?"

"Swordsman. Radiant Glory’s Third Division."

"Radiant Glory? That’s a top-tier guild."

"Eh, we get by." He shrugged, a hint of weariness in his voice.

Like the Royal Sect, Radiant Glory was one of China’s two dominant guilds. But unlike the Royal Sect—a rising star—Radiant Glory had weathered every storm since Mystic Box’s launch fifty years ago. Countless guilds had risen and fallen in that time; only Radiant Glory and one other ancient guild remained standing.

Mystic Box limited guild sizes to one thousand members. Expansions meant creating branch guilds—hence divisions like the "Second" or "Third."

"Boss... could you keep this quiet? Don’t tell anyone."

"Oh? Why? If your family knew, you could go home, right?"

"I like it here. Not ready to leave yet."

"Heh~ Your face says otherwise." He grinned, seeing right through me. "School’s advancement exam?"

"Exactly. I’m lying low now to make a comeback later. Surprise everyone who..."

"Boss," I cut in, pointing downstairs. "Your customers are running around like headless chickens waiting to check out."

"Yikes! Gotta go!" He bolted downstairs to ring up sales.

I crawled back into the attic, sitting cross-legged on the floor. The little yellow dog in my lap stayed silent—too weak from hunger to even whimper.

I tore open the dog food bag and poured some kibble into my palm. The pup sniffed once, then devoured it ravenously.

"Radiant Glory’s Third Division... So the boss is actually a big deal." I stroked my chin, thinking aloud. For a mega-guild like Radiant Glory, having hundreds of branch divisions was normal. Making it into the Third Division meant he was elite among elites.

*Enough distractions. Time to clear that hidden map. Boss fight awaits.*

I slipped on my game helmet, glanced at the pup already asleep after eating, and lay back on the bed. Eyes closed, I logged in.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soulshadow Tianyou reappeared in the desolate fishing village.

"Little Monkey, you worked hard while I was offline."

"I just napped in your pet inventory, Master!" Loli Monkey scratched her head, grinning sheepishly.

"Alright, Little Monkey. Time for the final boss."

"Got it!"

Soulshadow Tianyou and Loli Monkey reached the village’s edge. Before them stretched a beach where the tide had swallowed the sand. Rain poured harder near the shore, water rising to Tianyou’s calves and Loli Monkey’s knees.

But the moment they stepped beyond the village boundary, the floodwaters surging inland began receding—not naturally, but *sucked back* toward something at the ocean’s edge.

When the last drop of murky water vanished into the sea, the rain stopped.

A shore of black sand lay exposed before them. And on it stood a ruined wooden shack.

Or what was left of one. Its walls and roof lay shattered nearby, leaving only a floor intact.

Kneeling at its center was a stone statue of a human figure.

Unlike others, it faced not the Blue Sun—but the village.