Chapter 111: Game Event, The Silverflow Campaign

"I’ll come find you tomorrow to end it," she said.

With that, she turned to leave. A small, satisfied smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, betraying just how pleased she was with the outcome despite everything she’d said.

With her own formidable equipment, the Beastsoul Relic’s twenty percent bonus resting around her neck, and the bond’s additional fifty percent boost layered on top, Alexis’s attributes climbed to nearly twice their original values.

The difference was substantial, giving her a considerable advantage as she challenged the Astral Spire.

The results spoke for themselves.She cleared 103 floors before finally falling short.

She hadn’t conquered the entire tower, but her performance secured second place worldwide, with only Kael himself standing above her.

Nobody else on the planet had come remotely close to matching her achievement.The moment the rankings appeared, the forums erupted.

News of her result spread quickly, attracting attention from players who had been following the Astral Spire’s rankings. Second place worldwide was an extraordinary achievement, especially when the gap between her performance and everyone else’s was so pronounced.

Guild leaders flooded Alexis’s inbox within the hour.

They wanted answers. Some were interested in the strategy she’d used to climb so high, while others suspected she’d discovered a hidden advantage that the rest of the player base had yet to uncover.

Whatever their individual theories, they all wanted to know how she’d managed such an impressive result.Alexis gave them vague, carefully deflecting answers.

She couldn’t reveal the real reason without exposing far more than she was willing to share.

Explaining the effect of Kael’s bond would raise questions she had no intention of answering, and she had no desire to draw unnecessary attention to the arrangement.

So she kept the details to herself.

Late that night, she lay awake in bed, unable to settle immediately. Her gaze drifted toward the posters still hanging on her bedroom wall, the same ones that had been there long before Ascension changed everything.

For a while, she simply stared at them.Then her thoughts wandered back to Hollowgale Canyon.

The memory came with surprising clarity. She remembered the sensation of becoming the blade itself, held firmly in Kael’s grip as power surged through her with every strike against the Tyrant.

Each swing had been deliberate.

Each infusion of energy had been absolute, carrying a certainty and conviction that left no room for doubt.

It wasn’t merely the strength she’d possessed during that battle. It was the sensation of being wielded with such complete confidence, every movement directed toward a clear purpose.

The experience had left a deeper impression on her than she’d realized.

Now, lying alone in the quiet of her room, she found herself revisiting those moments despite her best efforts to think about something else.

A quiet warmth settled in her chest.

She didn’t try to explain it or force herself to reach a conclusion. Instead, she allowed the memory to linger a little longer, sitting with the feeling until sleep finally claimed her.

The following day, Kael kept his word and severed the bond as promised.

Alexis accepted it without complaint. There were no arguments, no visible resentment, and no attempt to prolong the arrangement beyond what they’d agreed upon.

Whatever thoughts she kept to herself, she gave him no reason to believe she regretted their agreement.

The days that followed settled into something resembling a routine.For most players, reaching their fourth class advancement had brought progression to a crawl.

The experience required for each new level had become increasingly difficult to accumulate, forcing players to spend far longer grinding for even modest gains.

Some found themselves spending two full days hunting monsters before advancing by a single level.

The slowdown was frustrating, but it was also an inevitable part of reaching higher levels. The further players progressed, the more difficult it became to maintain the pace they’d enjoyed during the early stages of the game.

Kael’s companions made sure he never suffered the same problem.

Their hunting efficiency allowed him to maintain a pace that ordinary players could only dream of.

While others struggled to make meaningful progress, his companions continued clearing monsters at a rate that kept his experience climbing steadily.

Within a handful of days, he’d reached Level 48.His progress would have been even faster if he hadn’t continued diverting experience into the Undying Wheel’s reserve.

Every portion of experience he committed to the item was experience he couldn’t use to advance his own level, but he had already accepted that trade-off.

’I’d probably have hit Level 50 by now if I weren’t feeding the Wheel.’

Still, he considered it a fair trade.

The additional lives were worth the sacrifice, and he had no intention of abandoning the reserve merely to gain a few levels sooner. Reaching Level 50 could wait a little longer.

The official response he’d demanded, however, remained conspicuously absent.

He still had no confirmation regarding who had leaked his coordinates to Sterling. Nor had he received any formal word concerning the Ironclad incident.

The lack of communication was beginning to wear on his patience, but there was little he could do without new information. He had demanded answers, and those answers had yet to arrive.

For now, he could only continue with his own plans while waiting to see what developed.

That afternoon, Kael was grinding at a quiet leveling ground when a booming announcement suddenly rolled across the sky.

The sound cut through the surrounding activity, drawing attention from players scattered across the area. Whatever they had been doing, the announcement was impossible to ignore.

"Attention, adventurers of Frostwatch! The Kingdom of Northvale and the Kingdom of Westfall have gone to war over control of the Silverflow River. The Silverflow Campaign has officially begun."

Kael paused as the announcement continued.

"The front lines require immediate reinforcement. By royal decree, all adventurers Level 40 and above are summoned to the battlefield."

"Report to the front to claim faction quests. Generous rewards await all who answer the call."