Hearing Eden's command, Karas and Maras hesitated briefly before rising from their crouched positions. They moved forward, trying to block the incoming projectiles while advancing.

"And me? What do I do?" Damian shouted, panic in his voice.

"Get behind a tree!" Eden shouted back as he deflected another arrow.

"Dammit!" Damian cursed, quickly ducking behind a tree for cover.

"Take this one out first!" Shadan ordered, gesturing for his men to assist him. Three sword users dashed from behind the bushes to aid him.

Fuck, how many of you are hidden here? Eden cursed in his mind.

The situation looked grim for him. But just then, an arrow struck Shadan in the neck, dealing [ -32 ] damage and placing him in a [Mute] state for a few seconds. Maras noticed that he was only receiving attacks from the staff user now and dashed forward to block the incoming sword users.

The arrow was shot by North while Aurin was dealing with the long ranged classes hidden in the forest. The duo had just arrived to support their teammates.

"Himara, what are you doing?" one of the shield users in Shadan's camp shouted, but his teammate didn’t respond.

"They’re attacking from the rear!" the other bow user cried out from behind the trees.

"Hobbold, assist at the back!" Shadan ordered as soon as his voice returned. He ducked behind a tree and fired at Karas, forcing him to crouch after taking an arrow to the leg.

"Damian, are you sleeping?" Eden shouted after he disarmed the shield user he faced, leaving him wide open. "Maras, with me!" he ordered, lowering his posture and charging at a sword user with his newly acquired shield, flipping the man over.

"No way," Maras muttered, amazed by what he just witnessed.

Eden slammed his shield into the fallen player’s head, inflicting [ -26 ] damage and causing pain. Damian and North, seeing their chance, began targeting the player who had lost his shield. After a few well-placed hits, the unfortunate man was sent back to spawn, leaving behind just a trail of sparkling particles.

"This is insane," Damian said, advancing cautiously from tree to tree.

"How is this poss—" Shadan started to say, but another arrow lodged itself in his neck, cutting him off.

"What is going on?" Cole asked arriving at the scene. Without waiting for an invitation, he came in Maras' help, stabbing the shield user he faced from behind, dealing [ -34 ] damage.

Maras didn’t waste the opportunity. He thrust his sword upward, piercing through the neck, mouth, and brain of his opponent. The attack dealt [ -30 ] damage, inflicting a [Dizziness] state for a few seconds.

"What did I just do?" Maras asked, quickly pulling his blade out from the head of his adversary.

Cole paid him no attention, continuing the relentless assault on the motionless player until his HP dropped to zero, causing the body to disappear.

From a short distance, an arrow flew straight into the neck of the sword user battling Eden, ending his life. It was Mason's feat.

"Fall back!" Shadan yelled when the odds turned against him, attempting to flee. But his retreat path led him straight into Aurin, who had just finished dealing with the second bow user and was heading for the remaining staff users.

"Help!" Shadan cried out to Hobbold, the sword user who was supposed to back up the long-range classes being assaulted by Aurin.

But the sword user, along with the two staff users, started running as soon as they heard their leader's retreat order. They lacked the courage to turn back and help Shadan, leaving him to his fate.

Mason let lose an arrow, aiming for one of the retreating staff users, but missed by a wide margin. "Damn, that would’ve been a nice shot," he muttered to himself.

"Victory!" Eden shouted after Shadan found his demise. "Collect the loot and gather here!"

Once everyone had regrouped, they shared the three pieces of equipment dropped by the players. Eden handed the shield to Maras. "Take it—it's a little better than yours."

The battle had left Maras with a new shield and Cole with a pair of boots. The armguards dropped were identical to the ones Mason already had and slightly inferior to North’s, so they would be sold.

"Why did you do that, Eden?" Damian asked. Those who had been present from the beginning awaited an answer, while the latecomers looked on, expecting an explanation.

"I have three things to say," Eden began. "First, to you, Damian—never question or doubt me again," he said, his tone cold. "Everything I do has a purpose, and you’ll understand it sooner or later. But never again try to stop me."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

A heavy silence fell over the group. Damian was particularly stunned; he had never seen this side of Eden. He had assumed everything was good-natured and friendly, forgetting about the chain of command and his place within it. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Eden raised his hand to stop him.

"No need to apologize. I just want to be clear. I understand we’re still getting to know each other, but since you chose to be part of this group, I expect you to listen, learn, and ask questions only after the situation is resolved," Eden explained.

"Now, the second thing—for all of you. This was your first PvP in Ahartohaim, but I guarantee it won’t be the last. I want to commend Aurin for doing his job perfectly without needing instructions. The same goes for North and Mason, who acted as our snipers." Eden stood up. "Give them a round of applause—they deserve it. That’s how we all need to operate. Everyone must do their job, no matter the situation or the level of preparation beforehand."

None of the three expected to be applauded, especially Aurin, who became visibly embarrassed and unsure of how to respond.

"Thank you for your efforts, everyone," Eden said. "Now, the last and most important point—why I decided to pick a fight with them."

"Wait, you started it?" Cole asked, surprised.

"No, they were trying to force us out of the forest. I just turned the tables on them," Eden replied with a smirk. "I noticed this group entering the forest during our break after fighting the monsters. They didn’t look to be that capable, so I figured it was a good opportunity to test our team’s strength. As I’ve mentioned before, you all lack battle experience in this game. You need to learn how to fight—not just monsters, but other players too. There are situations where mercy isn’t an option. I want to prepare you for the time when we face stronger opponents and unexpected attacks."

"But what if they’re from a powerful workshop?" Mason asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Don’t worry about that. I’m not going to put you under that kind of pressure until our bonds and loyalty are strong enough," Eden reassured him. "Did you learn anything new from this fight?"

"I didn’t know we could steal weapons from our opponents," Maras said, still processing what had happened.

Aurin’s eyes widened as he shifted his attention back to Eden.

"You can. The owner can recall the equipment back to his inventory and deploy it again. But the game lets you discover that on your own, " Eden explained.

"So, can we steal their weapons and armor in the middle of the fight?" Aurin asked, curiosity piqued.

"From what I know, yes, even though the items won't remain to you if the player doesn't drop them by himself. But even if you can keep them, show a little dignity, alright? Don’t leave other players running around naked after they encounter you," Eden joked, eliciting laughter from the group.

"Alright, did anyone manage to hunt something?" Eden asked, bringing the focus back to what they entered the forest for.

* * *

It was still daylight on Earth when Eden and the rest returned. After two hours of beauty sleep, Eden dragged himself to his laptop to check on his money-making machine.

His player guides had become a hot topic on Ahartohaim's forums, and his bank account reflected that success. His site and videos were running smoothly, and when he checked his bank account—where only the profits from the Trading Plan were deposited—he was pleased to find an additional 20 million credits.

"This is good," Eden muttered to himself. "Now I can finally afford to buy my dream car."

'Does a car really cost that much? Back in the day, when we visited this planet, I don’t remember you ever paying so much. You didn’t even had this kind of money,' Zizi’s voice echoed inside Eden’s head.

"Where have you been?" Eden asked, mildly surprised.

'I was bored, so I took a trip to the astral world. Why, did you miss me?'

"Not really. But if you’d stayed away a few more days without letting me know, I might’ve started to worry."

'I’d never leave for that long without telling you first, so don’t worry,' Zizi reassured him.

"I know. And to answer your question, no car costs more than six million credits. I’m planning to buy one that’s around a million. But I wanted to make sure I had enough money to invest first, which is why I waited until now," Eden explained.

At that moment, his phone rang. He answered without checking who was calling.

"Yes?"

"Oh, so you finally answered. How thoughtful of you."

"Hello, Layla. How can I help you?" Eden asked, unfazed by the girl's sarcastic tone.

"Don’t give me that. Why didn’t you answer before?"

"I was in Ahartohaim. I didn’t link my number to my game card, so I couldn’t be reached."

"Sure, you played all day and couldn’t be bothered to call me back."

"Aside from eating and sleeping, yeah, I pretty much played the whole time."

"Are you turning into one of those nerds who play video games all day long?" Layla teased. "Come on, babe, let’s go to a club, or have some fun at your place."

"If I remember correctly, I asked you to send me Alice’s number the other day. Not only did you not send it, but you didn’t even give me a sign of life. You sent me some random text the next day or something," Eden said, focusing more on his laptop. He noticed that the Hell Lurkers’ director, Jason Forbes, was making waves online—a sign he had been waiting for.

"Sorry, I had a change of heart. I’m not willing to share you with her. And then I got busy—I didn’t have time to go out," Layla explained.

Eden glanced at his phone; another call was coming in.

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, I have some work to do now, and I’m not sure when I’ll be free to go out. If you want to have some fun be at my place after 10 PM. I think I'll manage to return before that. I’ve got to go—my mother’s calling," Eden said, ending the call to answer his mother.

"Hi, Mom!"

"Eden, darling, are you alright? I’ve called you so many times—why didn’t you answer?" Alana, Eden’s mother, asked, her voice filled with concern.

"I replied to your message yesterday," Eden said, checking the dates. He was still adjusting to the time difference between Earth and Ahartohaim and wasn’t entirely sure of the days. "Today, I was at a friend’s place, and I left my phone at home to avoid distractions."

"Ah, do you know how worried I was? I told you to call me—why haven’t you?"

"Honestly, I forgot, Mom. I’m sorry. Is everything okay at home?" Eden asked, trying to steer the conversation away from his slip-up.

"Yes, we’re both fine. Your little brother wants to talk to you," Alana said.

"I can’t right now; I have to go. I promise I’ll call you later today. Love you both—bye," Eden said, ending the call.

He was pressed for time. He needed to find a suitable car for tomorrow, set up an appointment with Jason, and then head to the dojo for training. Fortunately, the Hell Lurkers’ emergency line was open 24/7, and the car could be selected online and delivered the next day if the model was in the showroom in the city.

"Hello, this is Jason Forbes’ emergency line. Do you have valuable information regarding Miss Forbes' illness?" a pleasant, feminine voice answered.

"Hello. My name is Eden Ivera and I am in possession of something that can cure her."