Jared carried Cara back to her base with Arien, who had woken up during the fight, behind him. Jared gently placed Cara down at the entrance of her base, Arien by his side. As they stood there, Katie and Jordan came rushing out, ready to fight.

Jordan's tone was aggressive, "What are you doing here?"

Jared raised his hands in a peaceful gesture, "Don't worry, I didn't hurt her. You guys can enter the city as long as Cara is with you from now on."

Katie looked puzzled, "Why is that?"

“I’m no longer the strongest,” He sighed, “You might want to check the leaderboard,” Then he walked away with a wave.

As Jared walked away, Katie and Jordan's curiosity got the better of them, and they quickly checked the leaderboard. They were stunned to find that they had gained 10,000 points and had overtaken the number one faction spot. But that was not all, to their surprise, Cara had taken Jared's number-one spot in the individual rankings. Their minds were racing with questions about what Cara had defeated to earn that many points and how she had managed to do it.

Cara gasped for air as she quickly sat up, still feeling the effects of the fight. She looked around and saw that she was back in the base. She stood up and began to look for Katie. Once she found her, she asked what had happened while she was unconscious.

"That's what I want to know," Katie answered, still trying to wrap her head around their sudden increase in points. "Jared showed up carrying you, and Arien was following him. Then, somehow, you earned 10,000 points."

Cara paused for a moment, taking in the information. "10,000 points, huh?" She smiled. "We fought and killed a servant of Fear Herself."

"What?" Katie exclaimed, clearly alarmed. "That's crazy! Why would you do something so reckless?"

"Don't worry about it," Cara reassured her. "Fear got exactly what she was looking for. And I have a feeling that he's still alive somehow."

Katie began to calm down, before asking a question she thought was more important, “How did you do it?”

“Ah that is the second thing I need to tell you, I have a sponsor now,”

Katie looked shocked, “And you figured out how to use the skills that fast? Wait nevermind, this is you we are talking about. So who is it? Or do they want to remain anonymous?”

Cara smiled, “Oh he wants everyone to know. I am sponsored by The Immortal King, Gilgamesh,”

Cara laughed slightly at the notifications that appeared on her screen. But that brought up a new thought, she had not heard from Gilgamesh since accepting his sponsorship offer. She wanted to ask him about his wishes for her. Though it was probably just something vague like “Get Strong” or something like that. She sighed and began to look for Jordan.

When they found Jordan, Cara wasted no time and went straight to the point.

“We need to accomplish three things,” she said, “First, we need to give our faction a name. It's getting tiring to refer to ourselves as Untitled Faction Number 451.”

“You're right,” Jordan agreed, “Do you have any suggestions?”

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Cara turned to Katie, who had no preference either. “Well, if it's all the same, I was thinking we could name it New Uruk, after my sponsor.”

Jordan was about to agree when he suddenly realized, “Wait, did you say sponsor?”

Cara quickly explained how she had secured a sponsorship during her fight. With no objections to the proposed name, it became the official name for their faction.

“Secondly,” Cara continued, “I want to visit a library!”

Katie raised an eyebrow. “Why do you want to go to the library?”

“I want to learn more about Gilgamesh. A library is the quickest way to get information,” Cara replied.

The other two saw no issue with this, and they agreed to search for a library in town.

“The third point is self-explanatory, but I'll say it anyway,” Cara sighed, “We need to continue hunting demons. We may have the upper hand right now, but we cannot afford to let Jared catch up with us.”

Katie nodded, “Wouldn’t dream of it,”

Jordan, seeing that the conversation was over, looked to Cara, “If you don’t mind can you show us your stats. I’m just curious,”

Cara nodded and opened her screen to show her stats to her friends.

Level 9

User: Cara

EXP

8035/12800

Aspects

The Friend, Divine Warrior-King

HP

19/19

Mana

13/13

Strength

10

Endurance

9

Magic

8

Agility

8

“Wow,” Was all Jordan could say at first, “You certainly are a lot stronger than us,”

Cara shrugged, “I guess.” And she began to walk away. When Katie asked where she was going Cara answered, “I am going to meet someone who owes me a favor,”

Cara wandered aimlessly, her mind preoccupied with thoughts of the mysterious Gregory and the power she hoped to obtain. Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by a message from Gilgamesh.

Determined to follow through on Gilgamesh's instructions, Cara called out Gregory's name. He materialized before her, seemingly out of thin air.

"You are ready for your boon, I assume," he said.

Cara nodded resolutely. "I want a Hero Tier Item, one related to Gilgamesh preferably," she said, her voice unwavering.

Gregory sighed heavily. "He told you to ask for that, didn't he? You realize that the best blacksmiths here can currently only make Rare tier items, which is way below Hero tier," he cautioned.

Cara remained firm in her request. "That is what I want," she replied.

"Can you promise to use it only when necessary?" Gregory asked, his eyes piercing hers.

Cara nodded solemnly, and Gregory disappeared momentarily. As she waited, she felt a twinge of apprehension, fearing that Gregory might have tricked her. But her fears were assuaged when he reappeared, holding a golden sword that gleamed like the sun.

"This is one of Gilgamesh's many weapons," Gregory said. "This sword is known as Genesis, and you will discover its powers when the time comes."

Cara couldn't help but stare in awe at the beautiful golden sword that Gregory had presented her. She took it from him, feeling the weight of the weapon in her hand, and examined it carefully. The sword's hilt was adorned with intricate engravings that seemed to glow in the sunlight, and the blade itself was incredibly sharp.

"Thank you," she said, looking back up at Gregory. "I promise to use it only when necessary."

Gregory nodded, "Good. Remember that with great power comes great responsibility."

Cara smiled, "I won't forget."

As Gregory disappeared once again, Cara took a few practice swings with Genesis. She could feel the power and potential of the weapon coursing through her veins. She knew that this sword would be a valuable asset in the battles to come. With renewed confidence, she sheathed the sword and set off to rejoin her friends.