Congratulations! You have leveled up!Reached Level 4!Gained 4 Attribute Points!
Nitish had done so much forging that the experience points alone were enough to push him to the next level. However, his Forger Level didn't increase—likely because as he continued crafting Golden Breastplates, the amount of experience gained from each one started to decrease.
Without wasting any time, Nitish quickly allocated his attribute points:+2 Strength, +1 Defense, +1 Agility.At this pace, he'd likely unlock his first Strength-based skill soon—possibly at Level 5!
Nitish had ended up spending nearly another entire day inside the Forging Room. His clothes were drenched in sweat, and he looked thoroughly exhausted. Still, there was a distinct gleam in his eyes—he was genuinely proud of his work.
"Phew... I'm not touching the forge again anytime soon. This really wore me out," Nitish muttered to himself, wiping the sweat off his forehead before storing the forty forged breastplates into his inventory ring.
"I've used up all the materials too... Killshot's reaction will be priceless when he finds out I managed to forge forty breastplates in a single day."He laughed to himself.Was it possible the forge had driven him a little crazy?
Either way, Nitish gave the Forging Room a quick goodbye and made his way to the Town Hall, where he sent another message to Killshot. As soon as the message was received, Killshot sent the same man back—this time to collect the gear from Nitish and to deliver the next batch of forging materials.
The moment Nitish saw him arrive, he immediately handed over forty breastplates and received a large supply of materials in return. Out of the forty breastplates he had just made, he only needed to hand over thirty to Killshot.The rest?He could comfortably sell those at the Auction Hall—and probably for a good price too.
"Thank you, Sir Smight," the newbie said respectfully to Nitish before quickly leaving with the equipment.
Nitish had just turned away from the Town Hall and was heading toward the restaurant when his communicator buzzed.
"Oh right! How could I even think about eating? What a terrible mistake—imagining food after an entire day," Nitish muttered sarcastically to himself. With a tired expression and a dramatic eye roll, he answered the video call.
However, the moment he saw who was calling, his expression froze.The screen displayed none other than Red Snow herself, staring directly at him with a serious look on her face.
"Can I say something? And don't get offended if it's true," she began, her tone sharp. "Aren't you being a bit disgustingly irresponsible? You clearly told me you'd help me in the dungeon—and then vanished for a whole day! A whole day without a single call! Your account showed no activity!"
Snow usually spoke very little, but the way she was scolding him so directly made it obvious—she was genuinely angry.
"Ahhh... Sorry, Red Snow," Nitish said, scratching his head awkwardly. "I was really caught up in something. Where are you right now? I'll head to the dungeon immediately! But listen—I'm bringing my team along too. The dungeon allows up to twelve players anyway, so my full squad will be joining us. Okay?"
He apologized quickly, but didn't waste time shifting to what really mattered.
For Nitish, the Purple Mountain Dungeon was a critical opportunity.There was a specific piece of loot inside that dungeon—something he needed, no matter the cost. Some might say he was taking advantage of Red Snow's request for help, but he didn't care.After all, she was using him too, wasn't she?
Hearing Nitish's half-hearted apology, Snow rolled her eyes slightly.
"If you're not there within three hours, then kindly forget we ever spoke," she said coldly. "I don't tolerate unserious people."
"Yes, my lady!" Nitish said dramatically, clasping his hands together in a mock bow.
Snow ended the call without another word.
Nitish finally reached the restaurant, placed his order, and then dialed Aaryan.
"Hello—whoa, you're having a party over there," Aaryan commented, seeing Nitish devour a plate of noodles on video call.
"Wanna bite?" Nitish teased, twirling a forkful of noodles and flashing a mischievous grin.
"No thanks! Food without friends just doesn't sit right," Aaryan replied, chuckling.
"Alright, listen carefully to your next mission:Within the next three hours, get to the Purple Mountain Dungeon area. You know why," Nitish said with a sly smile.
"Wait—hold on! Are we going to raid the dungeon with Red Snow and her party?" Aaryan asked, his voice rising with excitement.
"Yup, that's exactly where we're headed. Just don't embarrass yourself in front of them from being too excited," Nitish laughed before hanging up.
He wolfed down the rest of his food and took off at full speed toward the Purple Mountain Dungeon.
The area was known as Purple Mountain because its deeper zones contained a rare material called Finaqi Ore.Not that Nitish had any intention of diving that deep—those zones were marked as Level 8 danger zones.The main arena of the Purple Mountain Dungeon, a Level 5 dungeon, was located in its outer regions—just enough challenge for now.
As soon as Nitish approached the Purple Mountain area, he became alert and cautiously advanced toward the destination.
He reached the Dungeon Hall with impressive timing—almost exactly three hours later.
Standing near the entrance, he spotted six players. They weren't his teammates.They were none other than Red Snow and her party.
The moment Red Snow saw Nitish, her eyes narrowed sharply.
"Level 4?!"That was the immediate reaction from her entire group.From what they estimated, Nitish had been active in the game for nearly three days now—and yet he was still only Level 4? Just one level gained?
"Hello, friends," Nitish greeted them with a calm smile. "Apologies for the slight delay. The route wasn't exactly... comfortable."
Before Red Snow could say anything, one of her companions, Blazy, jumped in with a sharp tone.
"Tell me something—you knew we invited you to this raid, didn't you? And this is how you show up? Without proper preparation? What do you think we are? Is this all a joke to you?!"
"I don't think being just one level higher would make that much of a difference," Nitish replied, looking directly at Blazy. "In the end, it's my expertise you all needed—not just my raw strength."
"BUT—" Blazy tried to retort, but Snow gently raised her hand to stop her.
"Where are your other teammates?" Snow asked, her voice cool and composed.
"They should be here any minute," Nitish answered, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"Well, fantastic! CLAPS ALL AROUND! Behold—the glorious leader's glorious sidekicks," Blazy mocked sarcastically, clapping slowly.
"Not 'they should be'—they're HERE!"A voice echoed from the distance.
Everyone turned toward the entrance of the hall, where Aaryan and the rest of Nitish's team were now approaching.
"Finally," Nitish exhaled in relief. He really didn't want to hear any more sarcastic jabs.
Initially, Snow and her team hadn't expected much from Nitish's party. After all, they weren't affiliated with any guild—they were just a group of solo players.But the moment they laid eyes on Aaryan and the rest of the crew, their expressions changed.
Every member of Nitish's team was clad in bronze gear from head to toe.All of them were at Level 5, and they walked with synchronized coordination, confidence radiating from their posture.Despite being an independent team, they didn't look like amateurs—They looked like the elite strike unit of a top-tier guild.
"Snow, we don't even have that much bronze gear compared to them," whispered Forest Brown, the healer of Snow's team.
"Hmm. Equipment doesn't grant skill," Snow replied in her usual cold, detached voice.
Nitish overheard the comment and chuckled quietly to himself.Snow immediately turned and gave him a piercing glare.His smile vanished on the spot.
"Red Snow? Nah—she's more like Hitler Snow," Nitish muttered inwardly.
"Let's not waste time," Snow declared firmly. "From this point on, everyone in the dungeon will follow my commands. If anyone disobeys, they'll be responsible for the consequences themselves.Any questions?"
Nitish casually raised his hand halfway.
"How will the loot be divided?" he asked.
The moment he said it, the rest of Snow's party turned to glare at him.Their expressions clearly read: "This guy only cares about himself, doesn't he?"
"I expected that question from you," Snow said flatly. "Since this mission is under the Hailstorm Guild's banner, 70% of the loot will go to us. The remaining 30%—you and your team can keep."
But Nitish shook his head immediately.
"If that's how you plan to split the rewards, then I'm not interested.The loot will be divided equally," he said firmly, stating his proposal.
Snow's team went wide-eyed.Anger surged through their expressions.
This newcomer—barely a few days into the game—was asking for half of the loot from their mission?
Unbelievable.
"Are you completely shameless or what?! Snow, why don't you let me turn him to ash with a single spell—right now!"Blazy shouted, trembling with rage.
The moment she said that, Bear stepped forward and drew his shield and sword in one swift motion.
"I'd love to see you try. But don't blame me if you end up rotting in hell afterward. Anyone who so much as lays a hand on our leader—this Iron Bear will bathe in their blood," he growled, eyes sharp and deadly serious.
The rest of Nitish's party immediately adopted aggressive stances as well.They weren't backing down.
Snow clenched her teeth. "Your demands are too much," she said, her voice tense with barely restrained anger.
"That's because we've earned the right to make them," Nitish shot back, his tone calm but unyielding.
Just as the tension between the two parties reached a boiling point, Aaryan suddenly stepped in between them.
"Guys, please—don't fight now. Smight, just hear her out, man. Look—we're already here. Something's better than nothing, right?" Aaryan pleaded with Nitish, trying to de-escalate the situation.
Snow exhaled slowly, her pride still intact."I can agree to a 60–40 split. But not a percent more," she said with a subtle edge in her voice.
Hearing that, Nitish gave a faint smile—and finally nodded in agreement.
"Fine then, consider this another favor I'm doing for you," Nitish said with a smirk.
The words rubbed everyone the wrong way.From that moment on, Snow's party began to seriously dislike him.
Their leader, Red Snow, wasn't just some ordinary girl—she was a living legend.A player so dominant that even renowned "princes" of major guilds had fallen before her.She hadn't chosen the name Red Snow randomly. In fact, even in real-world VR games, the name had become synonymous with her.
She earned the title because of how brutally she defeated her opponents—so many, and so thoroughly, that it was said the snow beneath her feet was dyed red from the blood of her enemies. That's how the name Red Snow was born.
But now, here was this arrogant newcomer Smight—no shame, no respect—talking back to their leader as if she were just another player. And even more outrageous, one of his knights had dared to threaten them?
No one had ever shown such audacity.
Silently fuming, Snow's party began walking ahead, glaring at Nitish the entire time.At that point, they just wanted him to disappear.
"Which difficulty?" Nitish asked casually.
"Obviously, Easy," Snow replied. "It's our first time entering this dungeon, after all."
"Choose Hell," Nitish said calmly, as if it were no big deal.
"Are you insane?" Snow snapped, staring at him like he'd lost his mind. "This is our first run, and even if you're a beta tester, you can't possibly know anything about this dungeon. You want to jump straight to Hell difficulty?!"
For the first time, she looked at Nitish like he was a complete clown.
"Don't agree then. Just don't come crying to me later," Nitish replied with a shameless grin."Another favor from me, I suppose."
That grin—it pushed her over the edge.
"If you're so eager to die, then fine," Snow said, her pride clearly stung.Frustrated and fuming, she selected Hell Mode.