Chapter 62: A Guardian, a War, and a Grudge Set Ablaze
The Guardian that Moonlight Beauty mentioned had been discovered by a solo player, a horseback-riding explorer who’d stumbled across it purely by luck. It was the Recluse Isdal—a revolting, foam-slicked slime creature.
When the player spotted the level 16 Guardian, he didn’t dive into battle. Instead, he galloped off to brag about his discovery, shouting to his friends like he’d just struck gold. Truth was, even if he’d charged in, he wouldn’t have stood a chance.
Word spread like wildfire. Messages zipped from player to player, guild chats blew up, and within an hour, dozens had gathered to take the thing down. But instead of a quick win, the first handful of would-be heroes got wiped out. That only drew more attention. The crowd swelled—fifty, eighty, then nearly a hundred people.
Few players at this point had access to movement-speed items, so most were still hoofing it over on foot, determined not to miss the show.
The forums lit up like a bonfire. Even Orc-side players, far across Blood Gorge, began plotting a route to reach the human-controlled areas. To do that, they’d have to brute-force their way through dangerous high-level monster zones—but that didn’t stop them.
Inside sources claimed that Ironblood Covenant, the Orc faction’s strongest guild, was already mobilizing. Hundreds of elite players were on the move.
And all of this happened to line up perfectly with the moment Ryan and Moonlight Beauty returned to Darkwood Camp.
Ironically, the bigger the crowd grew, the less anyone wanted to actually start the fight. Ryan’s Guardian strategy guide had made the rounds, and people remembered it well. Guardians scaled in power depending on how many players were nearby. With this many? God knew what kind of monster it had turned into.
So the horde kept growing, paralyzed by its own numbers. By the time Ryan caught wind of it, there were already several hundred players swarming around the Guardian.
"Go join that circus if you want," Ryan muttered, shaking his head. "But don’t come crying to me when you get yourself killed instead of getting any loot."
With a smaller group, they might’ve had a real shot. Even with a five-level gap, Ryan was confident that he and Moonlight Beauty could’ve handled it—especially with a decent healer to round out the party.
But now? If he showed up, the crowd would probably throw themselves at the Guardian just to spite him. Hell, they’d happily feed it power just to ruin his shot at the kill. Ryan knew the type. If they couldn’t get the reward, they’d make damn sure no one else did either.