Avatar Online

Xu Yue was the first to materialize from her whole group and witnessed a massive spawn of hundreds of players. White pixels appeared out of nowhere and created figures all around her. 

"Is everyone ready? We don't have time to waste!" Xu Yue called out urgently as soon as she saw all 20 members online. "I want to get that first clear so I don't want to see any mishaps happen!" 

Even though she technically received what she wanted already and Liu Ye became hers again, she was still eager to win the bet. Just the sheer fact of winning against him excited her. 

"Huh? Why are you looking at me like that?" 

Just as Xu Yue was about to pull out her Dungeon Key, she noticed everyone looking at her weirdly. Some were worried, some looked scared while others gazed at her in admiration. 

"Miss Xu! We have seen you on TV! It was you, right?" One of her admirers called out with respect. 

Xu Yue raised her eyebrows and nodded while taking off her black bandana. When her team and the nearby people saw her, they immediately exploded with awe. 

"It's really her! So beautiful!" 

"Miss Xu! Can I join your Guild?!"

"Miss Xu! Is Grind God really your guard?!" 

The amount of noise around her began to annoy her to no end but she simply turned cold and glared at everyone with her dominant gaze. She only needed a short moment before they all shut up and stood silently like little sheep. 

"It doesn't matter who I am in real life, in the world of Avatar Online I'm the Queen of Chess," Xu Yue announced loudly. "Naturally, my family will fully support the Red Dragon Guild once it comes to existence. Anyone who joins it will enjoy great benefits." 

The players couldn't help but grow excited at that news. Although Red Dragon Triad was a scary organization with influence all around the country, who wouldn't want to join a Guild with a big wallet? It wasn't like they would be recruited in real life so they didn't need to worry about anything. 

"Red Dragon will initially only recruit top experts so work hard if you wish to join us," Xu Yue suggested as she wore her bandana again. "If you wonder which Guild will be the strongest in the future, just know that Red Dragon Guild acquired the current best player of Avatar Online who you probably already heard about." 

She paused to make the impact with her next words but just as she opened her mouth, a series of server announcements rooted everyone to the ground. 

[Server Announcement! Player Grind God was the first to clear the Bandit Leader Dungeon. Achievement Reward: 25 gold, 25 Fame, and Victorious Set.] 

[Server Announcement! Player Grind God was the first to solo clear the Bandit Leader Dungeon. Achievement Reward: 50 gold, 50 Fame, and a title: Bandit Slayer.] 

The storm and chatting that happened right after the announcement were too hard to describe. The whole Newbie Village was vibrating from the sheer noise. Everyone was hurrying to group up so they could be the first to clear the Dungeon yet it was pointless now. 

While they were grouping up, Grind God already finished the job and claimed the title once again. Xu Yue was in similar shock as she opened her Notification Tab specifically to reread the announcement in case she heard the name wrong. All of them had a similar question troubling their minds. 

"HOW?!" 

It was barely two minutes since the servers opened yet he was already done. 

"Is he cheating?!" 

"This is not fair! Why is he taking it all?!" 

The players began to complain while Xu Yue remained silent, opening her inbox just in time to see a message from the Grind God himself. 

[Grind God: I won.]

It was a simple message yet so powerful. Xu Yue couldn't help but get hot inside while her desire for this man only grew. 

[Queen of Chess: You tricked me. You knew you would win.] 

Thinking about all the possible scenarios, it wasn't hard to deduct what happened. Unless he had godly powers and one-shotted all the bandits within two minutes, he had to clear the Dungeon on the first day. The announcement just appeared late. 

[Grind God: I can only reassure you that I didn't lie to you. I simply received a Quest that allowed me to clear the Dungeon earlier. I technically cleared it while being Level 9. Maybe one day you can catch up to me. See you in the Mainland.] 

Anyone would get mad at being scammed but Xu Yue wasn't just anyone. She was actually impressed Liu Ye managed to trick and win against her. She never actually wanted him to pay anything from his debt since the world would change after a week anyway. 

Everything would look different and more peaceful if only her father didn't meddle in her business which forced her to keep acting. 

[Queen of Chess: Got it. Good luck baby.] 

Xu Yue smiled at her message and closed her profile before gazing at all the players around her. 

"As you can see, Grind God is still the best player in the game and he is a member of the future Red Dragon Guild!"

——— 

Liu Ye could stay silent and not share anything but he didn't wish to be questioned by anyone. He was sure Xu Yue would share this information so he left the explaining to her while focusing on his own problems instead.

[Ding! You killed the Bandit Leader. You received 5000 Experience, 5 gold, Lord Dominik's Pride.]

[Ding! Quest Luring Threat Completed! Clear Reward: 2500 Experience, 100 gold, 100 Fame, Lord's Gift. Meet the Lord to claim his gift!]

[Ding! Quest Avatar - Act I Completed! Clear Reward: Key to the Dungeon.]

Despite receiving an immense amount of gold and experience, his mind was still troubled with Katherine's words. What did she mean by awakening? Will playing the game make him awaken in some way? What kind of project was it and how was it connected to Avatar Online? Why did Xu Yue become a candidate? 

Liu Ye had so many questions in his mind yet he couldn't get an answer. He could only continue playing in hopes to distract his mind. 

"Well done! Let's bring his body back to the Lord!" Marco called out excitedly as he picked up the dead Bandit Leader. "He will be honored to meet a Bandit Slayer like you."

The title he received from the announcement seemed to work immediately. Similar to fame, Marco looked at him more respectfully than before. 

"Let's go then," Liu Ye nodded as he followed closely behind him. 

He didn't know how exactly it worked but it didn't hurt him to collect more Fame whenever he could. How much of Fame was a lot? He already had 235 Fame and it would just keep going up. 

Having nothing to do on the way down the mountain, Liu Ye opened his inventory to check out the new items. At the very least, he finally received an item he could equip immediately. 

[Victorious Set] 

[Bonus Stats: +100% Max Health Points, 50 Physical Defence, 50 Elemental Defence.]

[Side Effects: Player's Movement Speed is lowered by 10%.]

[Requirements: Lvl. 10, 5 Intelligence.] 

It was no other than Bandit Leader's armor that had beautiful stats. Not only could he double his HP but it also granted him additional protection against Physical and Elemental attacks. The only problem was the movement speed which he valued a lot but he wouldn't mind switching it for tougher battles though. 

Huh?

Liu Ye checked the second item and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. 

[Lord Dominik's Pride] [Locked]

[Description: A beautiful necklace made with a Water Essence crystal. It belongs to Lord Dominik's daughter who is his pride and joy. Why would the Bandit Leader have it? Investigate!]

[Effects: +200 Elemental Power while using Water Element Abilities.] 

[Requirements: Lvl. 50, 10 Wisdom, 20 Intelligence.]

It was another item that possibly led to a quest but this time of much higher level. Knowing he only had 50 Elemental Power, the power this necklace gave was truly too overpowered. He would only get the same if he spammed 30 more Skill Points into Intelligence yet here he received it with a single item. 

"Marco, do you know anyone named Lord Dominik?" Liu Ye questioned casually as if to try his luck. He didn't expect the plotline would be this easy. 

"Oh, you mean our Lord? His name is Dominik. I will introduce you to him soon," Marco replied cheerfully. "If only his daughter was still in the town then I would introduce you to her as well but she already left." 

Bingo!

"Where did she leave?" Liu Ye asked further, knowing he got a good lead. 

"She entered the Academy in the Emerald City which is the only independent city in the Mainland. Our Lord couldn't reject her so he allowed her to go," Marco explained with a cheerful smile. "I wish she stayed, maybe I would have the chance to pursue her once I improved and finally defeated the Lord. This man's only condition to date his daughter was to defeat him so maybe that's why she left. No one could stand a chance against him." 

"I see…" Liu Ye muttered and finally pulled out the necklace. "Do you recognize this piece? I found it in the Bandit Leader's pockets." 

Thud!

When Marco saw the necklace, the Bandit Leader's body slammed on the ground, and he immediately kneeled in front of the necklace to inspect it. 

"It's hers! It's definitely hers! How did this bastard get this necklace?! We have to hurry and inform the Lord! His daughter might be in danger!"