In the Virtual World, on the Continent of Time. 

Three sorcerers sped away from the lair of the Minister Spider Dragons, leaving a burning mine pit in their wake.

It had been a textbook ambush. The cave entrance was just wide enough for a sports car, allowing them to charge straight in and crush five Baby dragons instantly. They followed up with poison fumes, suffocating the remaining twenty-four in the confined space.

Finally, they faced the dominant creature—the Consort Spider Dragon. The beast whose nest had been utterly destroyed was met with their highest level of tactical respect: a concentrated fire attack followed by a synchronized assault, granting it a swift and dignified burial.

They had become masters of the craft in terrain kills, fire traps, and group beatdowns. What were once desperate, hard-fought battles had devolved into a routine slaughter, a repetitive "farming" of monsters so efficient that it left Dia feeling slightly sentimental.

"If there is a god in the Virtual World who protects Knowledge Creatures, should we pray for forgiveness?" she asked.

"If there...