The days that follow are significantly less tiresome. The fervor to run the dungeon has mellowed, with many already turning in their candles.

The uncommon weapons have become a sort of status symbol. You either have one or you don't. They might as well be artifacts for all the pride the players take in them.

In the later expansions, uncommon and rare weapons might as well be common for how easy it is to get epic-quality gear. But, in the first expansion gear is much harder to come by. And, much more brittle.

That's why the base for all of the weapons made by Koll is a durability engraving. It just speaks to the superior quality of his work.

Koll absentmindedly blows some dust over a black candle when a system notification appears in his vision.

[Class Advancement: Engraver -> Enchanter]

[Do you wish to continue? Y/N]

Dazed for a moment, Koll recovers and presses Yes.

[Congratulations!]

[Primary Class: Enchanter]

[Secondary Class: Engraver]

[New Skills: Mana Manipulation, Essence Identifier, Mystical Hands]

The skills improve his abilities tremendously. The enchantments he will be able to imbue now will be much more potent. And, the skills of both his Engraver and Enchanting classes would overlap in their applications.

It is as though a weight Koll hadn't realized he was carrying is suddenly lifted from his shoulders.

He'd brute forced his way through the advancement process. And, all that time his enchanting was only based on his advanced knowledge. He didn't have any recipes to reference.

But, now he can intuitively understand the intricacies of his class. It is a qualitative improvement.

Koll relaxes his hands and looks around. He's ready for the next step.

He scans the gathered players, his eyes looking for a certain fairy.

Koll's eyes fall on the brown-haired beauty. She wears a blue dress with white highlights.

Koll stands up and moves towards the player.

As his every move is monitored, the players immediately note his irregular movement.

"Wu Lan," he says when he draws close to the woman.

She looks at him in surprise. She seems uncertain whether or not to treat him coldly.

"It's time," his words cause a silence to fall on the crowd.

Finally comprehending his words, Wu Lan smiles radiantly.

"I'll get my friends."

With that, the woman runs off to gather her party.

Satisfied, Koll returns to his table and processes another weapon.

The players are awash with excitement, "Another dungeon. This is awesome."

"Hell yeah, you think if we follow them we can sneak in when the portal opens. If we're fast enough, we could even get an achievement ahead of them?"

This question kicks off a flurry of opinions.

Koll isn't concerned. The first dungeon clear is locked to whoever opens it. That's going to be him. And, the escort quest that Koll is going to share with Wu Lan and her friends put them in his party.

The other players can only weep for having not found his proof.

It isn't long before Wu Lan returns with a party leaning toward spellcasters. But, it still has a guardian and a healer. So it should be fine.

"Hey, Koll," the fairy says without the animosity she'd been holding onto in recent days. "These are my friends."

Koll nods to the gathering and sends out the quest he'd drawn up for the occasion.

[Quest Name: Tomb of the King of the Blazing Sun (5)]

[Description: Escort Koll Luna into the depths of the Tomb of the King of the Blazing Sun. The dungeon can be found in the cursed oasis of the Golden Desert.]

[Rewards: 500,000 XP, +500 Reputation with Koll Luna, 1 rare weapon suited for the player]

A satisfied smile comes over the woman's face.

"Let's go," she says earnestly.

Koll nods and collects his shop.

The temple's forum experiences an exodus of players this time. Parties are rapidly forming to steal the coveted first clear. Sadly for all of them, their efforts will go unsatisfied.

Koll leads the march with little concern for the entourage.

High above the forum, the Holy Daughter watches the mass exodus of players with confusion. Why were the Immortals leaving?

Instinctually, her eyes searched for acolyte Luna and his store. But, she can't find him in his usual spot.

"My lady!" comes an alarmed voice.

"What?"

The Holy Daughter already guessed what the red priest is going to say.

"It's Acolyte Luna. He's left the temple grounds."

The Holy Daughter feels her heart flutter. Could this be the opening of a new pilgrimage site?

Her red dress flourishes as she moves to the exit.

"Get my escort and have them meet me in the valley. I'm following the Immortals."

"Yes, my lady."

The black-haired beauty moves with haste to track the movement of the many Immortals.

This will be the first time many of the players get to see the real hero character of the Red Sect.

Koll and Wu Lan's party reach their destination after several hours of transit.

The blazing sun of the desert is unforgiving. But, all the players need do is adjust the sensitivity of their senses to ignore the heat. Koll, on the other hand, has to experience the desert as a native NPC would.

Fortunately, he knows exactly where he's going and doesn't need to wander.

The cursed oasis is a special place in the desert. Players rarely stumble upon the spot. But, when they do, they are bound to feel an eery environment.

They will begin to hear whispers just beyond the range of their perception. And, the longer they stay, the louder the whispers become. Until maddening screams deafen them.

Truly, it isn't a good place to loiter.

Koll leads Wu Lan's party into the oasis. And, hundreds of players that hadn't gotten lost follow with high expectations.

Wu Lan looks around as they came to the shoreline of a large pond.

"Okay," she says. "We made it to the oasis. Where do we go from here?"

Koll says nothing as he walks into the water. Soon he's swimming.

Seeing this, Wu Lan shrugs and follows him. Her party and the many other players doing the same.

Koll reaches the center of the pond and takes a few deep breaths. Then he dives into the murky water.

The light grows dim the deeper he goes until he can barely see anything.

But, the one thing he does see is the statue of a warrior with a bejeweled band on her head. In her hand is a double-edged sword. While her other hand is raised as if to hold something.

Koll quickly draws out Wu Lan's proof, the shield.

He secures the shield to the statue.

After a moment, a purplish portal with swirling lights on its surface appears.

Immediately, covetous players swim with as much speed as they can muster. The greedy bastards reach the portal before Wu Lan and her team can. But, their haste is wasted as they simply float through the surface of the portal, failing to access the dungeon.

Koll ignores the players and swims into the portal.

The world shifts and Koll appears under a narrow sky. Tall mountains draw close to a trail of cobbled steps.

Before he has a chance to examine it all, 5 bodies drenched in water appear beside him.

As they all gasp for breath, a sense of victory passes over the players. They'd worried that others would get in ahead of them and steal the achievement of being the first to conquer the dungeon. Fortunately, their worries were unfounded.

Koll looks to Wu Lan, "Are you ready?"

The drenched woman nods with a firm resolve. Then she brandishes her magic wand and sends out a ready check to her party.

They all affirm their readiness and start up the mountain stairs.

It doesn't take long for the first challenge to hit them.

A banshee's wail cuts through the air.

Immediately, the players and Koll receive spiritual damage.

Koll lacked [Soul Resistance] so he receives damage like the rest of the players.

It isn't an issue for the healer to keep them all topped off. And, so they grit their teeth against the grating shriek and push forward.

The first monster they face is a living statue.

Similar to the queen that guards the portal, the living statue is a woman. Dressed like an Amazon warrior, the statue attacks with heavy blows. Her spear shakes the guardian's resolve.

The 3 magic casters unleash a torrent of spell damage upon the enemy.

Almost as though Wu Lan had planned for this, the Amazon whose stone flesh could withstand most melee damage succumbs to its weakness against magic.

The quick victory excites the party. But, the excitement fades as the banshee continues its annoying wail.

The living statues continue to be steamrolled by the overpowered magic damage dealers and even in groups they stand no chance.

Before long, an elite banshee falls into their path. Its immaterial body is disintegrated under the combined assault of elemental and arcane damage dealt to it.

With the death of the banshee, the team gets a reprieve from the spirit damage. And, the healer is able to fill up his mana before the team pushes forward.

Koll is surprised by the efficiency of the party. They aren't well balanced like Dancing Dagger's party. Wu Lan's team likely would have failed in the dungeon of the king of tempests.

But here, under the blazing sun, their specialization is, frankly, overwhelming.

As they move into another banshee's range, Koll gets a notification.

[Unlocked Attribute]

[Soul Resistance: 1]

It's a valuable resistance attribute. Koll immediately buys 6 potential points and boosts his Soul Resistance.

[Soul Resistance: 7]

The truth is that he probably doesn't need it for this dungeon. But, he will need it later. So he invests in the resistance.

The party progresses smoothly until they find the lieutenant of the dungeon.

This enemy is neither a living stone statue nor a banshee. Rather it's a woman who is sobbing with her back to the party.

As the party draws close, the woman stops sobbing.

When the figure turns around, gaping holes where the woman's eyes should have been gaze blankly at them. The wounds look as if she had clawed her own eyes out, with ugly scratches running down her cheeks.

In a moment, the seemingly blind woman charges the party. She strikes out with her fists and feet. Like a monk practiced in martial arts.

The guardian takes the aggro of the figure and bashes her with their shield.

The damage dealers unload on the enemy while the healer pumps the guardian with healing.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Koll watches from the back, unworried about the party's chances.

Soon, the tragic woman's corpse lies on the ground to be looted by the greedy players.

The party ascends the last hurdle. The stairs leading to the summit are crowded with living stone statues.

Powerful as the team is, their dependence on mana finally catches up with them in the marathon slaying to climb the steps.

Koll takes out 3 scrolls for the [Blessing of Wisdom] spell and boosts the team's in-combat mana recovery. This boosts the team's efficiency and they pass the final step to the summit.

Before them rests a familiar stone coffin. Guarding the coffin of the fallen queen, a revenant ghost with a long double-edged sword shrieks and moves to assault Wu Lan and her party.

"Shit," the fairy curses. "I'm only doing 10% damage."

"Me too," the other damage dealers echo.

Koll watches as the revenant resets its threat meter every other attack, preventing the guardian from holding aggro. The boss monster starts to cut down the health of all the party members indiscriminately. If this continues, the party will wipe and Koll will have to start over.

Recognizing the issue, Koll brings out a demon blood inscription scroll labeled [Soul Shatter].

It might as well be considered a forbidden spell at this point in the game. But, Koll has no issue with using it.

The revenant is immune to most damage whether magical or physical. But, its one weakness is spiritual damage. Thus, [Soul Shatter] destroys the undead phantom's health.

The revenant collapses into a pile of broken bones and torn cloth.

Wu Lan is breathing heavily. Her eyes wide with confusion as she looks from Koll to the remains of the enemy that overwhelmed her entire party. It's obvious she didn't expect Koll would have such combat potential.

Was this what an engraver was capable of?

The party gathers its wits and loots the corpse before moving to the treasure chest that appeared with the death of the revenant.

The players have little interest in the coffin of the corrupted queen. The same could be said for Koll. He briefly examines the coffin before turning to an inconspicuous corner of the mountain summit. A small dust devil spins around oddly.

Koll approaches the mini tornado and reaches out with his hand. The wind elemental is immaterial. But, when he touches it, it registers as an item and allowes Koll to deposit the elemental into his inventory.

Shortly afterward, he finds the 1 other elemental and claims it.

The players watch him curiously.

"Is that what this was all about for you?"

Wu Lan's question causes Koll to shrug.

"Largely, yes. Though there are other reasons for us to clear this tomb."

"Oh?" the fairy perks up at the possibility of learning Koll's secrets. "What reasons?"

Koll smiles enigmatically and moves to the departure stone, placing his hand on it and disappearing.

He's not there to hear the fairy curse his name.

The sun was hot in the sky while the players pursued their favorite NPC. Many got lost in the desert and died from a lack of water. But, many more made their way to the cursed oasis.

The Holy Daughter observed the Immortals with curiousity. They had no fear of death and in her opinion that made them remarkably... dumb.

She knew these lands inside and out. Or at least she had thought she did before acolyte Luna had shattered her worldview. But, even if she didn't know about the tomb, she knew about the cursed oasis.

The oasis was not a place to linger. The whispers that grew to screams would curse those affected if they didn't escape quickly enough. It shouldn't affect the Immortals after they're revived. But, it was a nasty curse for any who didn't take it seriously.

The Holy Daughter watched the Immortals dive into the pond and realized that the portal must lie within.

Disregarding the incessant voices, she dove into the pond alongside the Immortals and saw the familiar swirl of light and dark of a portal. She also saw the statue of the 1 female king of corruption.

Realizing that the portal was still occupied by acolyte Luna as she watched Immortals try unsuccessfully to enter, the Holy Daughter swam back to shore and hastily exited the oasis.

She almost found it humorous how the Immortals loitered in the cursed oasis. They would all suffer for their choice.

"My lady, there you are," a gathering of red priests approached their Holy Daughter.

She nodded to them as she used her body's internal energy to dry her body.

"Is... Is it another tomb?" one of the priests asked hesitantly.

"It is."

Excitement spread among the priests.

"Should we not enter?"

The question was reasonable. But, the Holy Daughter shook her head.

"Acolyte Luna isn't finished yet."

The priests looked among themselves.

"My lady, what... what is acolyte Luna's standing within the sect?"

The Holy Daughter frowned, "He's an acolyte."

An odd look came over the priest's face, "My apologies, my lady. But, his actions simply are not the actions of an acolyte."

The Holy Daughter's eyes were fixed on the center of the oasis, "There will be no change in his status for the time being. He has not expressed any wish to participate in the business of the sect. There is no need to act rashly."

The priests cast dubious looks at one another before bowing in acceptance.

Sometime later, the Holy Daughter felt the number of Immortals decrease within the oasis. She assumed that the portal was open.

With haste, she dove into the water and swam into the portal.

The mountain steps rose before her and the Holy Daughter moved with haste, slaughtering everything that stood in her path.

Once more before the stone coffin of a king of corruption, the Holy Daughter felt the warmth of divinity. Her power swelled within her, harmonizing with the divine energy of the Crimson God.

An overwhelming rush came over her mind as she steadied herself, pressure building within her.

It was as though a bottleneck she hadn't realized was suppressing her simply released.

A red aura emanated from her beautiful form.

Were Koll there to witness, he'd recognize the elevation of her Evolutionary Rank from D to C.

Power exuded from the Holy Daughter as a menacing aura that seemed to have a will of its own.

The black-haired woman with pale white skin had a face of ecstasy as she ascended by her God's will.

The following day, Koll returns to his customary place in the forum.

Wu Lan pounces on him almost as soon as he finishes setting up shop.

"Koll," she says energetically. "I want my new wand."

Koll nods and pulls out a rare wand he'd augmented with durability, mana attunement, everfrost enchantment, fireforged enchantment, and +3 Mind.

The bone-white wand has two elemental lights flowing around its tip. One fire and the other ice. Adding dual elemental damage to damage spells.

"Ah!" she screams in delight "It's beautiful."

Koll nods and turns to his work.

"What?" she says resentfully. "After what we've been through, you're just gonna ignore me and go back to work?"

Koll shrugs, "There's a lot for me to do."

Wu Lan harumphs, "Well excuse me for wanting to talk."

Koll hesitates for a moment before asking, "What do you want to talk about?"

Wu Lan looks at him for a moment before asking, "What happens after you unlock the last tomb?"

Koll smiles enigmatically, "Then I can start."

Wu Lan shoots daggers at him from her eyes. "Don't give me that enigmatic bullshit. How are you going to escape the sect?"

Koll shrugs, "War's coming."

Wu Lan looks from Koll to the temple that towers over them.

"Well," she says. "Keep me in the loop. I want to help."

"Okay," he says simply.

Wu Lan departs and Koll spends a moment thinking about the future.

He wasn't joking, war is on the horizon. With the Immortals growing stronger every day, there's going to be a call to direct their violence and that direction is at the other major factions.

Koll looks over his shoulder to a figure he'd been largely ignoring in the haste to conquer the dungeons.

"Jake, come over here."

The boy looks up from the null-element crystal he's busy engraving.

Despite the lack of mentorship, the boy has been as diligent as Koll himself. And Koll has kept him supplied with both crystals and pristine stones.

"Do you think you're ready for the next step," Koll asks.

Jake Snow nods his head.

"Okay, then you'll start on your inscription training from now on."

Koll pulls a table and chair from his inventory and sets them up behind his shop.

"Here's enough vellum and dragonfly ink for you to get started."

Koll gives the boy several stacks of raw materials and then pulls out a simple healing scroll.

"This will be your first inscription. Don't forget what you've learned about spell structure."

The boy silently nods his head and sits at the table.

The boy has demonstrated a high degree of discipline over the past weeks. He doesn't go out on quests or hunt beasts. All he's done is what Koll tells him to do. And, he does it without complaint.

In a way, Koll feels sad for the kid. He doesn't have any friends and only interacts with an NPC.

Still, for all his efforts, the boy has become relatively highly skilled in engraving.

Koll doubts any of the engravers who used his class change manuals can compare with Jake Snow's talent.

Having set the boy up, Koll turns to his own business.

The other players from Wu Lan's party approach him to get their rewards and ask if he has a quest to collect the wind elementals from the tomb.

Koll distributes the quest he drew up

[Quest Name: Air From On High]

[Description: Aquire 1 wind elemental from the Tomb of the King of the Blazing Sun and bring it to Koll Luna.]

[Rewards: 200,000 XP, +200 reputation with Koll Luna, 1 uncommon weapon suited to player]

With the new quest available, players come in droves to get prepared for the new dungeon. Many buy spell stones, dragonfly ink scrolls, and spell crystals he recently put on the market.

Despite all the new quests he's implemented, players still run the basics. The pristine stones, dragonflies, beast blood, and crystals from the Time Lost Grotto are constantly resupplied. The black candles, and now the wind elementals, will be resupplied. The dungeon quests are repeatable. But, they don't provide the uncommon weapon on repeated turn-in.

Koll knows that there are other quest-givers. But, he also knows that none of the other NPCs are a mobile quest hub like he is. He takes a certain degree of pride in this distinction.

Absentmindedly, Koll opens the digital forums and looks for news on his second dungeon.

[Ticket: Calling for GM to delete NPC Koll Luna. He's breaking the game.]

[+1 I agree with OP. The Red Sect's too powerful. Where are our dungeons? Where's our hero character?]

The thread devolves into a flame war with the Red Sect players defending Koll while the others want him dead.

Honestly, Koll thinks, it is rather odd that the Game Moderators have remained silent on the subject of Koll's game-changing NPC behavior. But, Cosmos is a game that doesn't rely on human GMs. The quantum computer's artificial intelligence operates silently in the background.

Koll wonders if the AI has already recognized him as an anomaly. Perhaps it's even the reason Koll has transmigrated in both time and space. Perhaps he will never get an answer.

For now, though, Koll has a purpose. With all the quests he's completing, the XP he's receiving has reached a threshold for him to advance.

The players start at the evolutionary rank E. Whereas Koll starts at the lowest G. And, he's currently in F rank. But, now he has the XP to advance.

As the day ends, Koll retires to his room and looks at the menu.

[Evolution Meter: 3,500,000/3,500,000]

[Terrestial Human III]

As soon as he accepts the completion of the meter, a terrible pain stirs in his brain. The headache grows more intense and the pain spreads to his chest. His heart beats erratically and he feels like he's having a heart attack.

Soon, his bones creak and extend. The muscles tighten and threaten to tear as his body grows taller and his shoulders become broader.

If Koll had a mirror to look into, he might recognize himself as having grown moderately more attractive. But, with the pain of his transformation, there's little concern for such vanities.

As his blood cools, the pain abates.

Despite himself, tears sting his eyes. The evolution was not easy.

Lying, exhausted, on the floor of his room, Koll breathes heavily.

He's done it. He's advanced.

[Evolutionary Rank: E]

[Attribute modifier x1.25]

It may not seem like much this early in the game. But, that modifier represents a powerful transformation in his abilities.

Of course, as a noncombat class, his power growth is more obscure.

Koll rolls onto his side and falls asleep.

The following day, Koll tends to his craft. The players, as per usual, are a rowdy bunch.

The newer players eagerly run to complete their lower-level quests. While the veteran players discuss their dungeon crawls.

The player forums are filled with strategies to complete the two tombs in the most efficient manner possible. Class composition and attribute values are calculated to determine who should venture into the dungeons.

But still, many players throw themselves into the tombs unprepared for the challenges within.

Koll observes it all as he prepares hundreds of weapons for those among the many thousands of players who get him his crafting materials.

The wind elementals that the players bring him are put to good use in his enchanting. They can either reinforce other elements of the enchantments or provide the wind element to the weapon, creating gale-force winds that can cut from a distance.

The players eagerly compare their weapons and many people look upon the 10 players with rare weapons, greed in their eyes.

Player vs player activities are possible in Cosmos. But, to kill someone of the same faction marks a person with the mark of the slayer. By becoming a slayer, they become a hostile character whom every player can kill with impunity.

Suffice it to say, the risks don't balance with the rewards. The loot table of the chosen victim isn't even guaranteed to drop the desired item.

This is also the main reason the players haven't attacked Koll. Without anywhere to run to, it would be foolish to offend the Red Sect by killing him.

Still, Koll can feel the malicious eyes of many players evaluating their chances of killing him.

It's also obvious to him that players of the Arclight and Trade Union have sent spies into his midst. Assassins are gathering. And, Koll doesn't know what his chances of dealing with them are.

Caught in his reverie, Koll doesn't notice the approach of the towering barbarian until the man is standing over him.

Gol D rests a battle axe on his shoulder and looks down on Koll with a patient expression.

Looking up, Koll greets the man.

"Morning, Gol D."

The large man nods, "Morning."

Koll slaps his hands together, disbursing the crystal dust from them.

"So," he says. "I'm assuming you just can't wait any longer."

Gol D gestures over his shoulder to a motley crew of 4 players.

"I see," Koll says. "Okay, let me gather my things."

Koll collects his shop, leaving the table and chair for his apprentice to silently continue his inscription practice. The boy looks up briefly before turning back to his engraving.

The movements of Koll and the 5 players draw the attention of the masses and many follow them out of the forum. Though, not as many as with the previous dungeon. Without the hope to challenge the dungeon for its first clear, the players aren't quite so excited.

But, while the players aren't overflowing with energy, one figure is exhilarated to see a third tomb unlocked.

The Holy Daughter doesn't even wait for her priests as she descends the stairway in haste.

A number of the players recognize the beautiful woman in the red dress from the previous tomb. But, while they know her to be an NPC, they don't know her status.

A few optimistic players approach her seeking quests.

The Holy Daughter doesn't even spend a moment's thought on the hopeful Immortals. She has to catch up to the departing acolyte Luna.

Koll, for his part, leads the party to a region infested with undead. The red dust of the valley is streaked with gray and even the sky is consumed by a gloomy darkness that doesn't fit the time of day.

Undead gather in dense clusters and present a united front to bar the players from entry. But, Koll is unconcerned.

Even without the army of players eager to kill something, Gol D's party would have been sufficient to cut through the horde of zombies and skeletons.

Koll guides them to a hidden cairn. The mound has a squared-off entrance that he and the players enter.

The structure of the cairn is plain and before long Koll finds the central room. A noble statue with a humble crown stands at the center. A brass gong hangs from his hand while the other is outstretched.

Koll decisively strikes the gong and places the drumstick in the statue's other hand.

He's grown accustomed to the process and dives into the appearing portal.

Gol D smiles a vicious smile at his team and walks into the portal.

Soon, they all appear in a dark and smelly tunnel.

By this point, Koll is accustomed to the process. The 4 tombs each have their own set of enemies. But, they're predictable in their layout.

More advanced dungeons are individualized. But, the tombs of the 4 kings are dungeons found in a starting area. The fact that it took so long for players to learn of their secret locations did nothing to boost the difficulty and variety of the dungeons.

Koll ignores the process of clearing the dungeon and reads through the player forums with a somewhat bored expression.

[Calling on all Arclight players,] one post starts. [We have a champion of our own. The illustrious commander of the Arclight fifth infantry unit, Michael Hues. The army is giving out faction quests like hotcakes. Right now they're limited to resource acquisition for the coming campaign against the Red Sect.]

After the opening post, a wide array of posts follow.

[Seriously? We finally have our own hero character. This is exactly what I needed."

[Question,] one person queries. [Does this mean we will have some dungeons open up in Arclight?]

The question stirs up a fanatical enthusiasm within the Arclight community.

Sadly for them, Koll thinks, the 3 hidden dungeons of Arclight weren't discovered until late in the first expansion.

Unless Koll set off a chain of events unknown to him, it was unlikely for the Arclight players to find their dungeons before the faction war took over the continent.

And, even if they did, they wouldn't have an NPC like him to distribute valuable items so easily.

Caught up in his thoughts, Koll doesn't notice Gol D's team dispatch the tragic figure of the dungeon lieutenant.

The gauntlet is steamrolled by the players. And, Koll doesn't stand on ceremony to let the players combat the Frankenstein-like patchwork abomination of stitched and mismatched skin.

Instead, he simply pulls out a hellfire scroll and incinerates the boss.

Gol D looks at him with mild alarm before turning his focus to the corpse and the treasure chest that spawned into the room.

Koll briefly looks at the fallen king's coffin before finding a corner with glowing green mold growing in it. Koll scratches it off the wall and into a vial before stowing the mold and finding its pair.

Gol D was well aware of Koll's collecting habit in the dungeons. So he merely mentally marks the spots to find the items should he challenge the dungeon again.

Koll leaves without fanfare and as there is daylight out, reopens his shop.

Gol D and his team would later complete their quests and each receive their enchanted rare weapons.

The Holy Daughter for her part, followed behind acolyte Luna with a healthy distance between them.

Once more she made a pilgrimage to a mythical king of corruption.

The last pilgrimage had brought her to a new evolutionary level. A growth she didn't expect for at least another decade.

And yet, it had been as simple as standing in the company of the venerated kings, absorbing the divinity of the Crimson God.

She followed the pack of players until they found the cairn. But, remained outside when she sensed acolyte Luna's disappearance.

Random players approached from time to time. Some foolish male players even tried hitting on her.

It took some effort on her part to not liquefy the arrogant Immortals on the spot

But, the players quickly ceased their harassment as their reputation with the Red Sect started to fall afterward.

It didn't take long for the dungeon to be conquered. The players started to disappear within the cairn and the Holy Daughter knew she could proceed.

After passing through the portal, she felt as though she were in a dream.

Humbled by the journey, she made her way to the final resting place of the fallen king of corruption.

She felt as though she was wrapped snuggly in a warm blanket of her God's divine aura. It brought a pleased smile to her lips.