Seeing the distress on Nitish's face, Mr. Red finally asked him gently,
"What's wrong, my boy? You suddenly went from joy to gloom."
Nitish gave a faint smile, masking his disappointment.
"It's nothing, Mr. Red. It's just… this skill's requirement is insanely high. A thousand black stones and a thousand red gems? It's nearly impossible."
Mr. Red laughed, waving it off casually.
"That's all? Just that? I can help you with that. I've got plenty of extra black stones and red gems lying around."
Nitish looked surprised and humbled.
"No, sir… I couldn't possibly accept such a big favor."
"Favor? What are you saying, boy?" Mr. Red smiled. "I'm your friend, aren't I? Tell you what—just pay me back later if it makes you feel better. Think of it as a loan, alright?"
Mr. Red insisted, and after thinking for a moment, Nitish nodded in agreement.
Mr. Red grinned and summoned the items using his magic ring. He walked up to Nitish and handed over the black stones and red gems.
Following Mr. Red's instructions, Nitish took one black stone and one red gem, and dragged them into the Skill tab interface.
A pulse of energy shimmered around him as the aura shifted dramatically.
You have activated Draconic Aura! Now try to activate Draconic Strike.
Nitish swung his sword.
BOOM!
The stone in front of him shattered into two clean halves, and Nitish froze—his eyes wide with disbelief.
"What is this skill…?"
He was amazed, excited… and just a little afraid.
Afraid not for himself—but for his enemies.
With his heart pounding, Nitish began unleashing strike after strike—again and again, non-stop.
Within just one hour—he had done it.
Congratulations! 1000 Draconic Strikes completed.Restart your levels to unlock the skill permanently.
The moment Nitish read this message, all the excitement drained from his face.
"WHAT NONSENSE IS THIS?!"
He looked completely frustrated.
Nitish rushed over and told Mr. Red what had happened.
Mr. Red simply let out a deep breath, as if expecting it.
"Of course, my boy. This is normal. What did you expect? Taboo skills aren't simple. They're practically impossible to master."
He smiled calmly and patted Nitish on the back, offering quiet encouragement.
Nitish took a deep breath, letting himself cool down. Then, he made a decision:
For now, he would put the Draconic Strike aside.He wasn't ready to reset his levels—not yet.He still needed to grow stronger before he could afford a restart.
Smiling once more, Nitish turned to Mr. Red and waved.
"Thank you for everything, sir."
"Anytime, son."
With that, Nitish began his descent down the mountain.
Just as Nitish stepped down from the mountain peak, his communicator buzzed.
It was a call from Aaryan—and Nitish picked it up immediately.
"Bro bro bro bro?! You bastard! Where the hell were you?! Why weren't you picking up my calls?! I called you twenty times! Twenty!"Aaryan's voice exploded from the other side.
Nitish laughed nervously.
"Arre yaar, I was stuck in a quest. Forget that! Tell me—did you complete your quest?"
"Yeah man, I did. But listen… about that 'Level 3' you told me to try? That was way out of my league. I could only complete Level 2…"Aaryan sounded a little disappointed—he didn't want to let Nitish down.
But Nitish's eyes widened in surprise.
He had only told Aaryan to try Level 3 to mess with him. He didn't expect him to even get through Level 1! But he had cleared Level 2?!
"U-um… that's amazing, bro! Seriously, Level 2's no joke."Nitish replied with a soft chuckle, a bit flustered now.
"Where are you, man? I've already reached Pink Blossom Town! Hurry up!" Aaryan urged.
"Don't worry, my dear," Nitish said playfully. "I'm on my way."
He ended the call with a grin and sprinted toward Pink Blossom Town.On his way, he ignored all the monsters—fighting now would just be a waste of energy.
After nearly an hour, Nitish finally arrived at the town and headed straight to the market.
In Celestial Domain, players could set up temporary stalls to sell off extra items they didn't need.
Nitish found a decent spot in the market square and assembled a makeshift stall.
He began displaying various items—mainly ores and random loot. Among them were the two items he had obtained from the elite golem:
Bronze-ranked Black Stone Club (Level 5)
Bronze-ranked Black Shield (Level 8)
At first, no one paid much attention to his stall. But after a few minutes, a boy approached, hesitant yet curious.
"Hey bro… are those bronze items on your stall?" the boy asked.
"Yeah," Nitish replied coolly, without explanation.
The boy stared at him in disbelief. A few more players gathered around, intrigued.
"Hey man, are you kidding or what? You think we don't know what bronze weapons actually look like? These things look like… pitch-black junk!"A short girl squinted at the items suspiciously.
Nitish shrugged, totally unbothered.
"Believe it or don't. I couldn't care less. You're free to check the attributes if you want."
Hearing that, they immediately used their appraisal skill on the weapons to check their stats.
The moment they saw the item descriptions, their eyes widened. Mouths dropped.
"These are actually bronze weapons?!"
"How much for them, bro?!"
"Man, people are out here selling common crap and calling themselves merchants, and this guy's out here selling bronze gear?! How?!"
Excitement and shock rippled through the crowd.
Nitish calmly raised his hand and explained:
"These weapons don't have a fixed price. I'll be using the auction system—call out your bids. Whoever bids the highest gets the gear."
The crowd went wild.
"6 copper coins!"
"What?! Just 6?! Get outta here, cheapskate! 10 copper!"
"Please! 25 copper for the shield—I need it!"
"I want the club! 19 copper for that!"
The bidding intensified quickly.
By the end of the auction:
The Black Shield sold for 70 copper coins
The Black Stone Club went for 32 copper coins
Just as Nitish was handing over the weapons to the buyers, a guy suddenly stepped in front of him and blocked the transaction.
"Hey! Stop right there! Don't you know Red Leaf Town belongs to the Blackheart Guild?! Hand over those weapons quietly. Don't worry, I'll even pay you 20 coins for them. My name is Red Wolf!"The guy, his ID glowing boldly as Red Wolf, spoke with obnoxious arrogance.
Nitish raised a brow, still calm. Then, with an expression so composed it was terrifying, he replied,
"Listen… you and your guild can go beg somewhere else. Let me finish my business. Or else, I'll mess you up so badly you'll scream loud enough for your gender to change."
The entire market square froze.
Every jaw in the crowd dropped.
Even Red Wolf was stunned—speechless.
He was a respected member of a major guild—and yet this random solo player had just humiliated him in front of dozens of people?!
"OH DAMN! Did you hear that?!"
"Bro just straight-up destroyed him!"
"HAHAHA! Blackheart Guild just got wrecked!"
Laughter erupted everywhere. Red Wolf's face turned blood red.
"YOU FILTHY PIECE OF—HOW DARE YOU?! HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT?! YOU'RE DEAD!! I'LL KILL YOU!"Red Wolf screamed, losing all composure.
Nitish just leaned in slightly and smirked.
"You're gonna kill me? In a town? Try it. Then watch the town guards give you a funeral. Now get lost, would you?"
And with that, Nitish calmly transferred the weapons to their rightful buyers.
Red Wolf stood there, trembling with rage but unable to do a thing. After a few silent seconds of intense glaring, he finally turned away.
"YOU'RE DONE FOR! YOU'RE DEAD, YOU SCUM!" he shouted over his shoulder as he stormed out of the marketplace.
Nitish exhaled, unbothered—and now richer than ever.
He had just earned his first silver coin.
At this stage of the game, having even one silver coin was a big deal. Most players were barely scraping together copper. Only high-ranking guilds had that kind of money.
Feeling satisfied, Nitish made his way to a nearby restaurant and sat down at a table—opposite a familiar face who was already waiting there.
It was Aaryan.
The moment he saw Nitish, Aaryan sprang from his seat and launched at him—hands around his neck.
"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?! WHY'D YOU TAKE SO LONG TO MEET UP?! We've been in this game for hours! People have made so much progress already!"
"Okay okay—calm down, bro. Please," Nitish said, trying not to choke.
After a few seconds of mock-strangling, Aaryan released him… and pulled him into a tight hug.
Because no matter what, they were best friends.
"Okay fine," Aaryan huffed, sitting back down. "Now tell me. What do we do next? Come on, beta tester! Show me some of that magic."
But as Aaryan glanced at Nitish's player info, his eyes went wide. His mouth fell open.
"Level… 3?! YOU'RE LEVEL 3?! WHAT THE HELL—HOW?! EVEN PRO PLAYERS ARE ONLY LEVEL 2 RIGHT NOW! HOW ARE YOU LEVEL 3?!"
Aaryan looked like he was going to faint from shock.
"Come on, bro. It's no big deal," Nitish replied casually. "Don't worry, I'll get you there too."
And just like that, Aaryan's eyes filled not just with hope—but an ocean of belief.
In that moment, he knew:With a friend like Nitish, maybe they didn't need a guild at all. Maybe… they'd be unstoppable.
The two of them sat down and began ordering food.
"Alright," Nitish said, stretching a little. "What do you want to eat? I'm starving."
"Dude, are you crazy? This food is expensive! Each dish costs 2 copper coins! Who's paying for that?!"
"Bro, don't be such a miser," Nitish chuckled. He casually ordered a meal worth 10 copper coins.
"WHAT?! What's going on—are you swimming in money now?!" Aaryan's eyes widened again.
Nitish just smiled, sipping his drink.
"Don't worry. It's nothing special."
Little did Aaryan know, Nitish had already made way more than this from just fighting rock golems on the mountain.
After all, in Celestial Domain, monsters didn't just drop loot—they dropped coins too.
After finishing their meal, Nitish and Aaryan stepped out of the restaurant and left the town limits.
"Hey, where are we going? You haven't even told me yet. And, um, can I ask you something else?" Aaryan said, walking beside Nitish. "That sword on your waist… it doesn't look ordinary."
Aaryan was still Level 0—he hadn't fought a single monster yet. Even the quest Nitish had guided him to only gave him a rare skill and 100 EXP points.
"Too many questions, my friend," Nitish smirked. "Don't get too nosy. You'll find out when we get there."
They were walking through a dense jungle when Aaryan suddenly pointed at something up ahead.
"Bro! Look over there!"
Nitish quickly followed Aaryan's gaze—and his eyes lit up.
Underneath a tree, a large golden-colored fox was munching on a glowing mushroom. It didn't look particularly threatening, but when Nitish checked its info panel, he was instantly alert:
SHINE FOX (Level 5) [Rare Elite]HP: 3900 / 3900
A rare elite.
Rare Elites were technically weaker than standard elite monsters—but their loot drops were often incredible.
"Aaryan, you absolute legend. Your luck and eyesight are insane. We just hit jackpot."
Nitish grinned wide and drew his sword.
FwoooOOOooooshhh~
He activated his ring and charged toward the fox, unleashing a Chop attack—
-63 HP
"RAAAAAAAHH!"
The Shine Fox shrieked and leapt at Nitish in retaliation. Nitish barely managed to block the attack—
-39 HP
Even after blocking, he still took damage.
Nitish narrowed his eyes.This fox was not as weak as it looked.
Ducking and dodging more strikes, he shouted,
"Aaryan! Use Dark Shot!"
Hearing that, Aaryan raised his hand and released a cloud of smoky black magic that struck the fox head-on.
-20 HP
Yes—that was the reward from the quest Nitish had given him earlier.Dark Shot, a classic beginner curse spell. It didn't do massive damage, but for a Cursemancer, it was a core skill.
It had a 25% chance to curse the enemy, reducing their defense by 15%!
Even Aaryan was stunned by his own damage output. He was Level 0, and yet he'd just hurt a Level 5 elite?This skill… was something else.
The duo fought side by side.Nitish weaved between attacks, using his Defensive Blade when needed.When he couldn't dodge, he blocked—taking chip damage but staying in the fight.
The battle raged on.
Eventually, Nitish's health had dropped to just 20%, but the fox was almost done—only 10% HP remaining!
Nitish's heart pounded with excitement. He rushed in to finish the fight——when suddenly, a strange sensation crept up his spine.
His neck hairs stood up. Instinct screamed at him.
"A KNIFE! AN ASSASSIN!"
Nitish spun around mid-strike and slashed behind him—
But at that exact moment, the fox landed another hit on him from the front, sending him flying backward!
"Aaaaagh!" Nitish grunted, pain flaring in his side.
"Nitish bhai!!" Aaryan shouted, panicked and confused.
From behind a tree, a figure emerged—grinning maliciously.
"Told you, you bastard. I will get my revenge."It was Red Wolf, stepping out from the shadows, a dagger glinting in his hand.
He lunged at Nitish with a vicious strike.
"So this was your plan," Nitish growled through clenched teeth.
He realized what had happened.
Red Wolf had been tailing them the whole way—waiting patiently for the perfect chance.When he saw the two of them encounter the Shine Fox, he changed his plan.He waited…Let them fight.Let them get weakened.Then swoop in to kill Nitish and claim the fox's loot for himself.
Red Wolf lunged at Nitish with his dagger.
"Fatal Strike!"
But—
Defensive Blade!
Nitish managed to activate his skill just in time, narrowly saving himself from the deadly blow.Fatal Strike—an assassin's signature move—was devastatingly fast and dealt brutal damage. Had it landed clean, Nitish would've been finished.
"You're not getting out of this alive!" Red Wolf snarled, launching into a flurry of vicious slashes.
At the same time, the Golden Fox—given enough time—had now entered its rage mode.
Nitish dodged several blows, but a few strikes still grazed him.Cuts marked his arms and side, and his health plummeted to below 10%.
Red Wolf, seeing victory within reach, was elated.Not only was he about to get revenge, but he'd also loot a rare elite's corpse. His boss would be thrilled.
But then—suddenly—his own health bar dipped sharply.
-60 HP
"What the—?! HOW is that PATHETIC Level 0 Cursemancer dealing this much damage?!"
You have been cursed! Defense decreased by 15%.
Red Wolf's eyes widened.
He had dismissed Aaryan as a non-threat—A Level 0 Cursemancer?Practically worthless, he thought.But he hadn't accounted for Dark Shot—a spell with curse potential.
Before Red Wolf could process what just happened, a voice echoed behind him—
"Nice plan. Just one mistake…" Nitish smirked."You never asked where I got those bronze weapons from."
"YOU BASTARD!" Red Wolf roared, charging at Nitish with another enraged slash.
But Nitish was ready this time.
CLASH!
With a precise movement, he parried the strike—The impact of the weapons clashing sent Red Wolf flying backward, his feet leaving the ground.
And fate played its hand:Red Wolf landed directly onto the Golden Fox.
RAAAWWWWRRRR!!
SWOOSH!ARRRGHHHHH!!
The enraged fox sank its teeth into Red Wolf, mauling him viciously.
As Red Wolf's HP dropped to zero, his face twisted into a mask of shock, rage, and hatred.
"I…will…never…forgive you…"
But it was too late.
Red Wolf was dead.
How did Nitish parry that final blow if Defensive Blade was still on cooldown?Simple.
It was thanks to a new skill he obtained from the epic chest.
Parry!
A basic melee skill, usually easy to obtain but highly useful.It allowed Nitish to block and deflect an incoming attack—Just enough to send Red Wolf flying into his own demise.
As Red Wolf's body hit the ground, Nitish quickly pulled out a loaf of bread and took a bite, slowly regenerating health.
"Aaryan! Now!" he shouted.
The two turned their attention back to the Golden Fox, whose HP was now low.Together, they launched a final barrage of attacks.
SWIPE!Chop!Dark Shot!SLASH!
And finally—
Congratulations! You have killed Golden Fox (Level 5) [Rare Elite]!You have gained 14,000 EXP!
Nitish was thrilled.
His level didn't increase just yet, but the loot—oh, the loot—made it all worth it.
Though he didn't get the "First to Kill a Rare Elite" achievement, he wasn't disappointed.It only meant that others had already begun reaching that stage.
Which was expected.
Aaryan was on another level of excitement.He came rushing over, practically out of breath.
"Bro—bro, are you even Nitish anymore?" he said, panting."You just... you just took down a Level 5 RARE ELITE! And that psycho who jumped us in between—you killed him too!Dude, what happened to you? Since when did you start swinging a sword like that? Were you secretly a swordsman back on Earth?!"
His whole body was trembling with shock.The chaos that had just unfolded—Nitish's calmness, his skill—it didn't make sense to him.
To Aaryan, Nitish had just become a hero.
Nitish laughed.
"Didn't I tell you? Your boy's got this."
Then, as he turned to say more—
His smile slowly faded.
"...And about the swordplay—"
He trailed off.
"What's wrong?" Aaryan asked, confused.
Nitish had suddenly gone quiet.Because Aaryan had just asked a very valid question.
When did Nitish learn to handle a sword so well?Back on Earth, he had never even touched a sword.
But ever since arriving in Celestial Domain, he'd wielded one like it was second nature.
He shook his head, brushing the thought aside.
"Nothing. Forget it. Let's check the loot."
Nitish opened the loot dropped by the Rare Elite Golden Fox.
It contained a few standard drops, along with five special items:
Forging Blueprint: Slin Knife (Bronze Rank, Throwing Weapon)
Sword Skill: Harakiri Slash (Melee Skill)
Ynir Leather Shirt (Bronze Rank)
Ynir Leather Gloves (Bronze Rank)
Golden Staff (Iron Rank, Usable from Level 1–5)
Nitish's eyes lit up.He immediately kept the blueprint and sword skill, learning the skill on the spot.
"Aaryan, your luck is seriously amazing," Nitish grinned."Three of these are perfect for a magic user like you. The bronze shirt and gloves are mage-grade, and this golden staff—yeah, it's made for you."
Aaryan blinked.
"W-What? You're giving these to me? But I didn't even help that much…"
He looked down, embarrassed.
"Oi, don't say that ever again," Nitish said with a half-laugh."We're partners. Of course you get your share of the loot.Besides, what am I gonna do with mage gear? I'm a swordsman."
That simple gesture hit Aaryan straight in the heart.He accepted the gear gratefully and equipped the shirt, gloves, and staff right away.
And in doing so—Aaryan's level shot up to 2!
With their gear upgraded and spirits high, the two friends began venturing deeper into the jungle.
Meanwhile, back in Pink Blossom Town...
Inside a rented room at the inn, Red Wolf was trembling.
Because seated across from him was none other than—
Raging Alpha, the fearsome leader of the Blackheart Guild.
"So let me get this straight," Raging Alpha said coldly."Not only did you fail to kill him, you got yourself killed, lost your precious dagger... and even lost a level?"
His eyes burned holes through Red Wolf.
"Leader, please believe me! That guy... he's not normal! I was just about to land the killing blow on the golden fox when he and his friend attacked me from behind!" Red Wolf stammered.
Of course, he was lying through his teeth.In reality, he had ambushed them—and paid the price.
Raging Alpha stood slowly, his face unreadable.
"I don't care what your excuse is. I'm not letting those two get away with this.""We're going after them. Now."
He turned to the shadows.
"Men—let's move."
Twelve guild members stepped forward, fully armed and ready.As they all exited the room, Raging Alpha spoke one last sentence to Red Wolf:
"And Red Wolf…If you screw up again—Don't bother coming back."
Red Wolf stayed behind, sweat trickling down his face.
Because now, Raging Alpha had a target in mind.