MMORPG: Birth of the World's Luckiest Player

"Emily, are you still grinding with Tyler? I finished the quest. Meet me at the Dragon’s Peak Citadel teleport point."

After leaving Boss Blaze’s shop, Marcus headed toward the teleport point while sending a message to Emily. She had left Newbie Village a few days ago, but Marcus had been tied up with everything going on at Twin Wing Island, so she had spent the past few days leveling with Tyler, who had been playing Dominion since its launch.

Marcus had returned from Twin Wing Island yesterday, but Emily hadn’t been online at the time, so he had gone to Ten-Thunder Valley instead. Now, with some free time at last, he could finally meet up with her. She had logged in shortly before his fight with the Heavenly Thunder Leopard and sent him a message before heading off to grind with Tyler.

"We’re here!" Emily’s warm voice came through almost immediately. "Marcus, you finished the quest? Tyler and I are heading to the teleport point now."

"Great."

By the time Marcus reached the teleport point, he spotted a warrior-class player in heavy armor with a greatsword strapped to his back. That was Tyler. Standing beside him was a graceful woman with a veil covering most of her face, her eyes moving across the crowd as she searched for someone. It was Tyler and Emily.

Tyler had been playing Dominion since the game launched. He could only play after work, but even with his limited time, he had already reached Level 35. His progress was quite good, and Emily had been leveling alongside him for the past few days.

"Tyler!" Marcus raised a hand when he spotted them.

Emily immediately recognized him despite the crowd. She knew his build and the way he carried himself well enough that she could pick him out even with his mask on.

"Marcus!" She hurried over and threw her arms around him.

Even with her face covered, Emily drew plenty of attention. Several players nearby turned to look, then glanced at Marcus with open envy. "Lucky bastard..."

A few people shot jealous looks at the man in casual clothes and a plain mask. His character information was hidden, though, so there was nothing about him that stood out at first glance. To everyone else, he looked like an ordinary player who had somehow managed to attract Emily’s attention.

"Emily, I’m sorry. I’ve been swamped these past few days."

Marcus hugged her back, his voice carrying a trace of guilt. He knew he had been difficult to reach lately, even if Emily understood the reason. She had been staying at his place recently and had spent enough time around him, sometimes even sharing a room with Amber, to know just how much had been going on.

"Marcus, I know," Emily said with a smile. "You don’t have to apologize."

"Marcus..." Tyler finally walked over, looking Marcus up and down with obvious curiosity. "Emily told me I’d be shocked when I finally met you, but honestly, you don’t look like anything special."

He paused, then looked at Marcus’s clothes with mild disapproval. "And that casual outfit really doesn’t suit you. You should at least look a little more imposing. Anyway, you’re a Knight, right? What level are you? I’m a Warrior, and I just hit Level 35."

"Heh." Marcus only smiled. Tyler stared at him, completely unable to figure out what was so funny.

"Come on. Let’s level," Marcus said. "I’ve got a quest that requires some grinding."

"Leveling? Sure!" Tyler nodded immediately, but then stopped. "Wait. I’m almost out of potions. Give me a minute to buy some."

"You probably won’t need them." Even so, Marcus opened his inventory and handed Tyler more than fifty Large Health Potions.

Tyler blinked at the stack of potions before putting them away without arguing. Marcus then invited both of them to his party and added Emily to his Monarch Squad. Emily was a Wind Sorceress and had reached Level 21 after grinding with Tyler.

"Let’s go. Our first stop is the Elven Kingdom of Forest City." Marcus turned toward the teleport point with Emily beside him, and Tyler quickly followed.

"Marcus, I still need mana potions! And I just hit 35. I was going to stop by the Auction House and upgrade my gear. If I keep using this equipment, I won’t be able to kill monsters efficiently..."

"Don’t bother." Marcus kept walking. "If you buy new gear now, you’ll regret it in five minutes."

Tyler stared at his back. "What are you talking about? You’re being way too mysterious."

"Come on. Stop dragging your feet."

Tyler grumbled under his breath but followed anyway, just as he usually did in real life whenever Marcus had already made up his mind about something.

The three of them teleported to the Elven Kingdom of Forest City. After leaving through the south gate, they continued southwest. As they moved farther from the city and the number of players around them gradually decreased, Marcus finally slowed down.

"Tyler, do you have a mask?"

"Yeah. Just a standard one from the shop."

"Put it on. We don’t want anyone recognizing you or figuring out where we’re going. We need to keep the information from spreading."

Tyler was still confused, but he put on the mask without asking any more questions.

Marcus led them behind a large boulder, where they would be less likely to attract attention, then took out a black Royal Pegasus and handed the reins to Tyler. "This should take five or six hours on foot. Take this instead. It’ll save us a lot of time."

Tyler stared at the mount in disbelief. "Royal Pegasus? Marcus, this is the eighth-ranked mount on the leaderboard!" He circled the horse, inspecting it from several angles, and then another thought occurred to him. "Wait. If this is what you’re giving me to ride, then what are you riding?"

Before Tyler could finish the question, a flash of light appeared beside Marcus, and Tyler let out a startled "Whoa!" A massive black steed materialized in front of them. A prismatic horn rose from its head, while hellfire burned beneath its hooves.

Tyler froze, his voice cracking. "Nightmare Dragon Steed... The number one Divine Mount..." His mouth fell open. "Marcus, what the hell..."

Marcus gave him a look. "What are you so shocked about? You’re always acting so tough."

"Tough? I’m trying not to cry here!" Tyler pointed at the Nightmare Dragon Steed, his voice rising with every word. "This is the Nightmare Dragon Steed! Do you know how many people playing Dominion dream of getting one? Hundreds of millions! If I saw this and didn’t freak out, then something would be seriously wrong with me."

He looked at Marcus again, still unable to process what he was seeing. "And you never even told me about this..." Before Tyler could finish, Marcus’s casual clothes disappeared. They were replaced by a set of dark Knight armor that covered his entire body.

Tyler’s eyes widened. "Marcus! You..." He stared at the equipment, then at the Nightmare Dragon Steed, before finally losing his patience. "Open your character information! Let me see your level!"

Emily couldn’t help laughing. "Tyler, there’s no need to check his information. Just keep it a secret. He’s a Level 53 Temple Guard Knight."

Tyler went completely still. "Temple Guard Knight?" The words sank in, and everything suddenly made sense. "AH!" He grabbed the reins of the Royal Pegasus. "AHH!" Then he looked at Marcus again. "AHHH! Marcus, you’re absolutely insane!"

With Blackie carrying Marcus and Emily into the sky, Tyler hurriedly mounted the Royal Pegasus and chased after them, shouting the entire way.