The Widow's Doorstep

Few hours after Ascension opened, the server was already learning one name.

[SERVER ANNOUNCEMENT]

[Player Unrivaled has achieved the first server-wide kill of a Bronze-Tier Boss: Boneweaver Shaman.]

[Rewards: Reputation +50 | Gold +30 | Luck +2]

[Skill Acquired: Berserker's Fury]

[Rank: S]

The announcement disappeared, and World Chat immediately exploded. "WHAT?!"

"Bronze-Tier already?" "Who the hell is Unrivaled?"

"Wasn't Unrivaled the guy who killed the Iron-Tier Boss?" "That's impossible!"

"It's only been a few hours!" "Is this some hidden class?" "Maybe it's a streamer with a whole team behind him."

"Whoever it is, they're insane." Nobody had an answer, but several players had already started searching.

If someone could kill an Iron-Tier Boss and then a Bronze-Tier Boss this quickly, there had to be something special behind it.

Two zones away, in Haven's Rest, five players stood in the middle of a slime-covered field. Ironclad's starting five the exact squad that had once fought alongside Kael.

Ascension's server assignment system grouped players according to their real-world proximity, and since Ironclad had entered the game together from the same office, they had been placed in the same starting region.

Four of them were Level 3. The fifth was Level 5: Ryan Tanner. The others had been feeding him most of their experience since the game opened.

The moment the announcement appeared, everyone stopped moving. Ryan stared at the notification, his grip tightening around his weapon.

"You're kidding me." One teammate looked toward the sky. "Someone already killed a Bronze boss?" "Who the hell is Unrivaled?"

Another player shook his head. "Forget the name. How did he even get strong enough?" Ryan said nothing, his expression darkening.

Then Cynthia walked over. She had taken the support position on the team, and her avatar looked noticeably different from the woman who had once sat at the head of Ironclad's conference room Ascension didn't allow players to alter their real appearance, so this was simply what Cynthia actually looked like.

She slipped an arm through Ryan's. "Don't let it bother you." Ryan looked at her. "That's a Bronze-Tier Boss." "I know," she said, unimpressed.

"I've already got people scouting boss locations." Ryan raised an eyebrow. "You were expecting this?" "I was expecting someone to get ahead." She gave him a small smile.

"The first person to find an opportunity isn't necessarily the strongest." Her fingers lightly tapped his arm.

"Once we locate another boss, we move immediately." Ryan's expression eased. "With my Gale class?" "Exactly," Cynthia nodded. "Your Gale class has excellent burst damage.

With the four of us supporting you, a Bronze boss won't stand for long."

Ryan looked at the announcement again. "And Unrivaled?" Cynthia shrugged.

"Whoever he is, he's lucky." Ryan glanced at her. "You really think it's just luck?" "I don't care," she said, her voice hardening. "We have our own plans."

Ryan was quiet for a moment, then his lips curled into a faint smile. "Mercer's gone anyway." The others went quiet.

Ryan rested his weapon against his shoulder. "Somebody has to carry Ironclad now." His gaze hardened. "Might as well be me." Cynthia smiled. "That's the attitude I want."

Ryan looked at her. "But what about Kael?" The smile vanished from Cynthia's face. "Don't say his name." The sudden coldness in her voice caught Ryan off guard.

Cynthia pulled her arm away from him. "That bastard has already taken enough from me." Her jaw tightened. "For years, I gave him everything."

Ryan said nothing, watching her carefully as her fingers curled into a fist. Cynthia's anger was no longer hidden. "I built that organization."

Her voice trembled with rage. "I put him where he was." She stared at the ground. "And that arrogant bastard still thought he could stand above everyone."

Ryan remained silent. Cynthia looked up again. "I want him ruined." There was no hesitation in her voice. "I don't care if he quits gaming.

I don't care if he ends up playing in some trash club nobody has heard of." Her eyes were cold.

"I want him to remember what it feels like to have nothing." Ryan swallowed. "The rumors?" "I've already started," she said, a cruel smile appearing on her face.

"And when people ask why Ironclad got rid of him?" She shrugged. "They'll believe whatever story we give them."

Ryan looked away. Cynthia wasn't finished. "And if he thinks he can come back and prove us wrong..." Her expression twisted with hatred. "Let him try." She laughed.

"I'll be waiting." Ryan looked at her. "What if he keeps playing?" "I don't care," Cynthia's voice became quieter.

"I just want him to lose." She looked toward the distant horizon. "Everything he spent years building." Her eyes narrowed. "His reputation. His career. His name."

Then she smiled. "And eventually, he'll understand that he should never have crossed me."

Ryan said nothing. The conversation ended there, and as far as she was concerned, Kael's story was already over.

Meanwhile, Kael stood over the corpse of the Boneweaver Shaman. The battlefield was covered in shattered bones and blackened patches of earth, smoke drifting from the boss's broken skull.

Beside him stood the Ravenous Husk, and the creature had changed dramatically it was now more than three meters tall, its purple hide stretched over thick muscles, bone spurs protruding from its shoulders and arms, its jaw widened, its claws looking capable of tearing through armor.

[Level Up!]

[Companion Ravenous Husk has reached Level 10.]

Kael stared at the notification. "Level ten." He smiled.

The Husk's health had already climbed past six thousand, which was ridiculous for a companion this early into the game, and it still wasn't finished.

Kael opened the boss loot. Several items appeared.

[Bronze Leather Armor]

[Grade: Bronze]

[Defense: 38]

[Required Level: 8]

A bow appeared beside it.

[Bronze Longbow]

[Attack: 42-51]

[Agility +12]

[Required Level: 8]

Kael stored both he couldn't equip them yet. Then another item appeared.

[Skill Book: Firestorm]

[Rank: A]

[Description: Summons a storm of flames over a designated area.]

Kael's eyes narrowed. "Not bad." He stored it. Then he checked his Evolution Points.

[Current Evolution Points: 63]

Kael wasn't tempted to spend them. His target remained 100 he wanted a full bloodline evolution. Small upgrades were useful, but a complete evolution could change everything.

Kael closed the interface, then remembered the other reason he had come here: the hidden quest.

He opened his inventory. Three Iron-Tier Boss heads were already inside, and the Boneweaver Shaman's head completed the final requirement.

[Hidden Quest: The Four Heads]

[Requirement: Collect 3 Iron-Tier Boss Heads and 1 Bronze-Tier Boss Head.]

[Progress: 4/4]

[Requirement Complete.]

Kael stared at the notification. Finally. He had been waiting for this, but he didn't claim the reward immediately some rewards were better taken at the right time.

He closed the quest window. "Later." The Husk growled beside him. Kael turned. "Let's go." The giant creature followed.

They moved through the higher-level territory. Kael didn't bother fighting anything; there was no reason to waste time. But as they approached the lower-level zones, Kael noticed movement on a ridge ahead.

Three players. They had stopped walking, all three staring at the Husk. One slowly raised his weapon. "What the hell is that?"

"I don't know." "That's not a normal monster." The third player pulled out a recording device. "Record it."

The Husk stood motionless behind Kael. Even from this distance, it looked terrifying. One of the players swallowed. "Could be a boss."

"Bosses don't follow players." "Then what is it?" Nobody knew. The recording continued.

Kael noticed them. He didn't attack he simply recalled the Husk, and the giant creature disappeared into a flash of light.

The three players froze. "What?" "Where did it go?" "Did that player just make it disappear?" One of them stared at his recording. "We need to send this out."

Kael was already walking away. They had seen his companion, but they hadn't seen enough to identify him. That was fine. For now, the less people knew, the better.

The footage reached Weston Cole less than ten minutes later. Weston watched it once, then again, pausing the recording when the Husk appeared on screen. Three meters tall. Purple hide. Bone spurs. An absurd amount of muscle.

Weston's eyes narrowed. "That's a companion?" The player who brought him the footage nodded. "We're not sure." "Where was this recorded?" The coordinates appeared.

Weston studied the map. "How far from here?" "About twenty minutes." Weston stood. "Get people moving." "How many?" "Enough." The player hesitated.

"You think it's a boss?" Weston shook his head. "If it were a boss, it wouldn't disappear like that." He pointed toward the coordinates. "I want to know who controls it."

Several players immediately began gathering. Nobody knew who the player was, nobody knew his level, nobody knew his class, and nobody knew whether he was connected to Unrivaled.

Weston didn't make assumptions he only knew that someone had a monster powerful enough to be mistaken for a boss, and he wanted to find that player.

Kael had already reached Millbrook Post. He dismissed the Husk before entering the village; there was no reason to expose it unnecessarily.

He adjusted his equipment and walked through the streets like an ordinary player, and nobody paid attention to him. Perfect.

Kael left the main road and headed toward the outskirts. The houses became smaller, the number of players dropped, and eventually he reached a small wooden cottage standing alone near the edge of the settlement.

Kael stopped. He remembered this place in his first life, almost nobody had cared about the woman living here, and that had been their mistake.

Kael knocked. Nothing. He knocked again. A few seconds later, footsteps sounded from inside, and the door opened. An older woman stared at him.

[WIDOW HARGROVE]

[Status: Skilled]

[Contract Success Rate: very low]

Kael's eyes lingered on the final line. One percent. Most players would have walked away immediately, but Kael knew better.

"Can I help you?" the widow asked. Kael reached into his inventory and pulled out the severed head of the Boneweaver Shaman.

The woman's expression changed. She stared at the monster's head, then at Kael. "Where did you get that?" "I killed it." Her fingers tightened around the door. "You?" Kael nodded.

The widow looked at the head again, her breathing unsteady. Kael didn't rush her. After several seconds, she finally looked him in the eye. "What do you want?" Kael answered honestly.

"I want to talk." The widow studied him. "You killed that thing and came all the way here just to talk?" "Yes." She didn't move. Kael added quietly, "And I know you're not as ordinary as you look." The widow's expression hardened.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then she stepped aside. "Come in."

Kael entered. The door closed behind him.