Chapter 197: A nice time in Miami
Miami, U.S.A...
The sun hung low over the crystalline waters of Club Echelon’s private vacation villa, casting golden glints across the infinity pool that overlooked the vast, cloud-brushed sky of the Avatara Isles.
The villa like was extravagantly modern; sleek marble flooring, sound-reactive lighting, and zero-gravity lounge pods but right now, it was just home to tired champions enjoying the warm afterglow of conquest.
The 20-man team, now unofficial legends of the Grand Monastery clear, had claimed every square meter of the poolside.
Drinks clinked. Laughter echoed. Flip-flops were discarded with no regard for elegance.
Benjamin floated lazily on a giant inflatable duck, shades on, a mock cocktail in hand. "I swear to the gods of RNG," he said, gesturing with his plastic umbrella drink. "If Aria flexes that crit combo from Phase 4 one more time, I will drown myself in this pool and respawn out of shame".
Aria, lying on a recliner in an obscenely expensive bikini she claimed she somehow got as a dungeon drop didn’t even look up.
"Cry about it, duck-boy," she said, stretching lazily. "I hit a 71-chain combo with cooldown desync. The server should’ve handed me the MVP title and a statue in the Grand Monastery".
"You got MVP because Noah forced the rest of us to peel mobs like onions for you, right?" Caleb asked, who was wearing full sunblock under an umbrella, reading patch notes on a waterproof tablet.
Hearing his question, Benjamin burst out laughing, spitting out the cocktail he was drinking. "Wow, hahaha, that was a good one".
"Caleb, tell me, you’re changing, you were never this funny".