The interior of the Obsidian Fortress was cool. Dark. A stark contrast to the burning hellscape outside. Silence here was absolute. Heavy with the weight of stone and magic.
A shadow moved along the ceiling of the main corridor.
It wasn't a monster. It was a player.
[Player: Wraith]
[Class: Shadow Dancer (Hidden Class)]
[Level: 14]
Wraith moved with a fluidity that defied physics. Clung to the shadows in the vaulted ceiling, using a skill called [Spider Climb]. Invisible to the naked eye. Wrapped in a cloak of darkness that scrubbed his presence from the minimap.
Below him, the fortress seemed empty. He could hear the distant hammering of the Dwarf in the courtyard. The nervous pacing of the Mage girl, Valerie, near the Guild Core room.
Wraith smirked beneath his mask.
'Idiots,' he thought. 'Zero is out there playing dynasty warriors with the main army. Leaving the backdoor wide open. He thinks a wall can stop a Shadow Dancer?'
Wraith had been hired by the Iron Covenant. General Iron was smarter than Baron_K. He knew a frontal assault against an anomaly like Zero was risky. The Golden Lion fed five thousand men into the meat grinder. Meanwhile, Wraith had slipped past the perimeter using [Shadow Walk]. Phasing through the blind spots in the fortress's unfinished defenses.
His objective was simple: Destroy the Guild Core.
If the Core shattered within the first 24 hours, the guild would be disbanded. The territory would become unclaimed again. Zero would lose everything.
Wraith dropped silently to the floor. Landing in a crouch. Ten meters from the heavy double doors of the Core Room.
He checked for traps. His passive skill, [Trap Sense], remained silent.
"Amateurs," Wraith scoffed. "They built the walls. Forgot the security system."
He crept forward. Daggers drawn. Nasty weapons, coated in a paralyzing venom he had farmed from dungeon spiders. One cut, the Mage girl guarding the core would be helpless.
He reached the door. Pushed it open just a crack.
Inside, Valerie was standing with her back to him. Staring at the glowing blue crystal floating in the center of the room. She looked terrified. Flinching at every sound from outside.
'Too easy,' Wraith thought.
He slipped inside. Raised his dagger. Activated [Backstab].
He lunged.
CLANG.
His dagger didn't hit flesh. It hit an invisible barrier a mere inch from Valerie's neck.
[System Alert: You have triggered a Trap of Eternal Binding.]
"What?!" Wraith gasped.
Before he could retreat, runes flared to life on the floor beneath his feet. Not standard hunter traps. Complex, glowing purple glyphs written in a language he didn't recognize.
Chains made of pure mana erupted from the floor. Whipped around his ankles. His wrists. His throat.
"Gah!"
Wraith tried to activate [Shadow Walk] to phase out. The skill greyed out.
[Status: Mana Lock. You cannot use active skills.]
He was hoisted into the air. Suspended like a fly in a web. The daggers fell from his hands, clattering onto the stone floor.
Valerie spun around. A scream dying in her throat as she saw the assassin hanging in the air behind her. She raised her staff. Fire gathering at the tip.
"Wait," a voice came from the shadows of the corner.
Sebastian stepped out. He wasn't outside. He was here.
Wraith's eyes widened. "You... I saw you on the bridge! You were fighting the army!"
"Illusion is a useful tool," Sebastian said calmly, walking into the light. "I left a clone to mop up the stragglers. Did you really think I'd leave the Core unguarded against the likes of you, Wraith?"
Sebastian looked tired. His face was drawn. Skin pale. Splitting his focus between the Gravity Domain outside and the Trap array inside was draining his real-world stamina rapidly. His eyes were sharp, though. Cold. Calculating.
He walked up to the suspended assassin. Picked up one of Wraith's daggers. Inspecting the poison on the blade.
"Paralytic venom," Sebastian noted. "Nasty. You were going to leave her helpless while you smashed my Core."
Wraith grit his teeth beneath his mask. "Just kill me. I'll respawn. You can't keep me here forever."
"True," Sebastian admitted. "I can kill you. You'll lose a level. Drop your gear. Then you'll come back. Or someone else will."
He tossed the dagger into the air. Caught it.
"Or," Sebastian said, his voice dropping to a conversational tone, "I can offer you a job."
Wraith blinked. "A job? You want to hire the guy who just tried to destroy your guild?"
"I don't need friends, Wraith. I need professionals. You are the only one who managed to get inside my walls while I was distracted. That shows competence."
Sebastian deactivated the mana chains around Wraith's throat. Kept the ones on his limbs tight, though.
"The Iron Covenant paid you, what? Five thousand gold? Ten?"
"Fifteen," Wraith rasped, rubbing his neck.
"I'll pay you in something better than gold," Sebastian said. "I know who you are in the real world."
The temperature in the room dropped. Wraith went rigid. "That's impossible. I use a proxy connection. My identity is scrubbed."
"You live in Sector 7, don't you?" Sebastian bluffed, using meta-knowledge from his past life. He knew Wraith. In the future, Wraith was the leader of the 'Phantom Troupe'. A group of survivors operating out of the ruins of Los Angeles. "The slums. Near the old water treatment plant. When the Synchronization hits 10% next week, that sector will be overrun by [Sludge Crawlers]. You have a sister. She's sick."
Wraith stared at him. Genuine terror in his eyes. This wasn't game knowledge. This was impossible knowledge.
"How..."
"It doesn't matter how," Sebastian interrupted. "What matters is that I have a fortress. A real one. In the real world. Secure. Stocked with food. Medicine. Walls that monsters can't break."
He leaned in close.
"Work for me. Become my eyes in the shadows. Hunt who I tell you to hunt. I will give you and your sister a room in the Sanctuary. I will give you survival."
Valerie watched the exchange, stunned. She realized then that Sebastian wasn't playing a game. He was recruiting soldiers for a war.
Wraith looked at the blue glow of the Core. Then at the cold, hard eyes of the man who defeated an army. He thought about the red moon outside his window in reality. About his sister coughing in the toxic smog of Sector 7.
"Real world protection?" Wraith asked. His voice shaking slightly.
"Guaranteed," Sebastian said. "In-game? I'll teach you how to evolve your class. [Shadow Dancer] is just the beginning. I can show you the path to [Void Assassin]."
The carrot and the stick. Survival and Power.
Wraith hung his head. The fight left him.
"Deal," Wraith whispered.
[System: Player 'Wraith' has requested to join Guild 'Sanctuary'.]
Sebastian smiled. Snapped his fingers. The chains vanished. Dropping Wraith to the floor.
"Welcome to the payroll," Sebastian said. "Get up. We have work to do. The Golden Lion is retreating. They aren't gone, though. I need you to track Baron_K. I want to know where he logs off."
Wraith stood up. Retrieved his daggers. He looked at Sebastian with a mix of fear and newfound loyalty. Bowed. Then melted back into the shadows.
"On it, Boss."
Sebastian turned to Valerie. She was staring at him.
"You knew about his sister?" she asked quietly.
"I make it my business to know," Sebastian said, his fatigue finally showing as he slumped against a pillar. "We survived the first assault. The world is waking up, Valerie. The real monsters haven't even arrived yet."
He looked at the Guild Core. It pulsed with a steady, rhythmic light.
"We have the base. We have the crafter. We have the assassin. Now," Sebastian closed his eyes, "I need to sleep. Wake me if the world ends."
He didn't log out. Simply sat down on the cold stone floor of the game world. His avatar resting while his real mind drifted into a trance-like state to recover the mental strain.
The Sanctuary was safe. For now.