After regrouping with the main force, Meteorite and her team settled into the temporary base Candela Sánchez had arranged for them—a few blocks away from Dossoles' bustling shopping district. To outsiders, their movements would seem no different from those of ordinary tourists.
Through Dandao Dantart's chatter, Meteorite learned more about the current situation in Bolívar. As a mercenary, she normally only needed to complete her mission—but as a Sarkaz, she couldn't help feeling curious about the three factions that now divided the nation. After hearing the details, she didn't press further, instead turning her attention to preparing for the next day's operation.
Every land had its own turmoil; Kazdel was no exception—and Bolívar, even more so.
After a night's rest, Meteorite convened her team. The music festival at the end of August was still days away, but according to their employer, Candela Sánchez, the "true Bolivarians" had already infiltrated the city. The mission was simple in theory, yet their targets' exact location remained unknown.
Dandao Dantart raised his hand to speak. Having visited Dossoles before, he was familiar with its layout. He suggested two potential hideouts: the bar district and the lower market area—crowded places where the police rarely ventured, and where illegal immigrants and spies tended to blend in.
Meteorite accepted his suggestion and decided to split the group into two teams: one to sweep the bars, the other to comb the market district. If they found any sign of the enemy, they were to eliminate them immediately. They were mercenaries—orders were all that mattered.
Meanwhile, far away in Kazdel, Felix watched their every move through Sorlesar's frequently updated forum posts and couldn't help but approve of their efficiency. These were elites among elites—he had no doubt they would complete the mission swiftly and flawlessly.
Back in Kazdel, the city's players were distracted by something new—an unfamiliar organization known as the Lightbearer. Rumors said they were the Pioneer's personal army: young, powerful, and mysterious. Many players suspected the Lightbearer to be one of Felix's hidden trump cards.
After Kazdel's reconstruction, the Lightbearer often appeared in public, and players began noticing something strange: small hovering "drones" floating beside them. These weren't ordinary gadgets. Unlike the player-controlled drones available in the faction shop, these moved and acted entirely on their own—executing commands, communicating, even speaking in synthesized voices.
The players were stunned.
"What kind of brokenly advanced gear is this?!"
They immediately searched the faction store—nothing. A few players who had friendly relations with the Lightbearer finally learned that these machines were called Familiars: intelligent mechanical companions designed to assist in communication, daily tasks, and combat coordination.
The discovery sent shockwaves through the player base. Everyone wanted one. It was a piece of technology that felt decades ahead of its time, and the fact that the Pioneer hadn't made it publicly available only made them crave it more.
Amid this frenzy, players noticed something new was coming to the faction interface—a special dungeon crystal, releasing in one day. The price: 100,000 contribution points. That was nothing to the high-rankers. What truly caught everyone's attention was the dungeon's name:
[Prototype Raid: Siege of the Sarkaz King's Castle]
The title reeked of over-the-top fantasy flair—something straight out of a chūnibyō anime—but everyone knew what it really symbolized: Kazdel.
All of Terra's players had long wondered how the Mobile City of Kazdel had truly fallen. Though they now lived and worked within the New Frontier District, none of them had experienced that decisive battle firsthand—the one where Babel triumphed over the Military Commission and seized Kazdel.
Now, it seemed, this dungeon would finally reveal the truth.
Ten days later, the first group of players who had amassed the required contribution points rushed to redeem the new crystal. Like the earlier Prototype: Knight of the Rainy Night, this dungeon allowed only twenty-four participants per run.
The Dynasty Team—a major competitive guild—arrived fashionably late. After entering Kazdel, they'd been conducting their own independent operations. Upon obtaining the crystal, they approached the Strategy Division, proposing a joint expedition. They'd worked together before on the previous prototype raid, after all.
As for why they didn't invite other teams? Simple—this was a first-clear race.
In the competitive scene, even allies could become rivals when glory was on the line.
Huangtian Houtu, the Dynasty Team's captain and the leader of this expedition, had already braved the nightmare difficulty of previous endgame raids. Thanks to that experience, he had a good sense of what to expect. Prototype dungeons were less about raw damage output or tight death limits—they were about solving the fight's mechanics, finding the path through chaos.
Although the Dynasty Team hadn't achieved the first clear of Knight of the Rainy Night, they still ranked within the top ten—an impressive feat that proved their skill and speed. With their captain leading the charge, the Strategy Division members were more than willing to cooperate.
At the forward base purchased by the Strategy Division, twenty-four players stood fully equipped and ready.
[You have activated the Memory Crystal: [Prototype Raid – Siege of the Sarkaz King's Castle].
Recommended Level: 55.
Party Members: 24/24.
Confirm to enter?]
At this stage—still before version 2.0's late game—the highest-leveled player was Dynasty's captain, Huangtian Houtu, at level 54. Most others had reached level 50, with only one healer still at 49. Considering the difficulty, no one minded being slightly under-leveled.
They clicked Confirm.
As before, their bodies vanished into a burst of white light.
When their vision cleared, they found themselves standing upon the war-torn soil of Kazdel. In the distance, meteor calamities had just struck the land, their flames still rising into the air. Before anyone could take in the view, a system prompt appeared before them.
[Select Your Faction –]
– Babel / Tomorrow's Development
– The Military Commission
It was just like the first Prototype Raid. Players could choose which side to fight for, and their eventual rewards would differ accordingly.
For example, in Knight of the Rainy Night, those who chose to side with the Armorless Union focused on weakening the Black Knight, and upon victory, most of their loot had been assassin-type gear suited for that faction.
Based on the known lore, Babel and Tomorrow's Development were the ultimate victors of Kazdel's conflict, while the Military Commission was crushed. Did that mean choosing the Military Commission would make the raid harder?
"Let's go with Babel and Tomorrow's Development first."
"Yeah."
"No objections."
Everyone agreed. Once they selected their faction, the scenery blurred again. When the light faded, they found themselves at the rear of a long marching column. Ahead of them, rows of armored Sarkaz mercenaries marched forward in tight formation. The players were positioned at the very end.
Huangtian Houtu glanced back—there was no backup, no reinforcements, no supply corps following. Turning forward again, he counted only a few hundred soldiers advancing toward what looked like the "Demon King's Castle."
A bad feeling crept over him.
"…Don't tell me we're the vanguard?"
Everyone froze in place at those words.
The vanguard—the first wave into battle. The most dangerous position of all. It meant they would be the ones to carve a path through death itself. And they just wanted to clear the dungeon, not die in the tutorial!
As if mocking their realization, a blazing meteor-sized fireball suddenly fell from the sky and slammed into the ground ahead with a deafening boom! Several unlucky Sarkaz mercenaries were obliterated on impact, while others nearby were burned alive by erupting Originium flames.
"Holy—!"
All twenty-four players immediately abandoned the idea of a structured raid strategy.
"This isn't a dungeon—this is a full-blown warzone!"
Moments later, more fiery projectiles rained down from within the city, launched by enemy siege engines. The ground shook violently. Sarkaz mercenaries screamed and scattered in chaos. The players dove for cover—no amount of levels could save you from a direct hit like that. Only gods could tank this kind of bombardment.
Fortunately, the catapults paused for reloading, giving the battered vanguard a chance to regroup. The Sarkaz quickly rallied, drawing their weapons and charging forward once more.
Outside the Mobile City of Kazdel, countless makeshift shanties and houses had been erected to house refugees and civilians—and it was there that the players would experience their first street battle.
Seeing the vanguard rushing ahead, Huangtian Houtu's eyes gleamed.
"Let's follow them into the fray. If we blend in with the chaos, we should be fine."
The others nodded. Prototype raids, unlike the extreme-difficulty ones, allowed for far more interaction with the environment. Here, players could freely move through the ramshackle buildings, take cover, explore, and even scavenge for supplies or hidden items.
Under Huangtian Houtu's command, the group slipped into the slums alongside the advancing vanguard.
A mission prompt appeared in their task log:
[Objective: Advance with the vanguard and secure the slum district.
Vanguard casualties must not exceed 30%.]
"Are you kidding me?!" Uzi swore loudly. "We have to protect NPCs now? Forget this, I'm logging off for a shower!"
Yang Yan XF's mouth twitched. He knew it wouldn't be that simple.
There was no way the dungeon would let them coast through unscathed.
Huangtian houtu exchanged a few quick words with Cheng before standing and giving orders.
"It's fine. This is our first run—we'll die a few times, that's normal. I saw the vanguard splitting into three routes just now. We'll divide into three squads to cover them."
"I'll take the middle path. Cheng, you handle the left. Yang Yan, take your group to the right."
The two gave him an "OK" gesture before leading their teams off into the burning streets.
To keep the raid from collapsing, the players needed balanced levels and roles across the three routes — you couldn't just shove all the Dynasty team's specialists into the middle and expect the other two lanes not to fall apart.
Huangtian Houtu glanced at Uzi, whose face had gone bloodshot, then strode forward with his thunder-imbued blade. The rest of the squad followed close behind.
They ran into a pool of blood.
Not blood on the ground — blood blooming in the air, wheel after wheel of crimson forming ornate, terrifying patterns. Huangtian Houtu felt his breath hitch; the stench of iron filled his nostrils.
How many people had died?
Ahead, the vanguard lay emptied, their once-plump bodies sucked hollow as if someone had wrung them dry. Blood streamed along invisible channels and pooled into the grasp of a single figure.
The pressure in the air stole the players' voices. Uzi's face flushed darker; the atmosphere made speaking feel like tempting fate.
"More careless prey," the man said with a curl at his lip. He turned his palm and the blood solidified into a projectile, slamming straight at Huangtian Houtu.
A heavily armored defender — nicknamed Malatang — threw himself in front and took the blow. Plasma traced across his shield; he bit his lip and held. Even so, his HP bar slashed by a fifth from that single hit.
A basic strike doing twenty percent damage — this was beyond what they could handle.
Malatang's hands trembled. Everyone readied themselves. Uzi didn't hesitate and pulled the trigger on his heavy crossbow — a weapon that could fell a giant beast in one shot.
A single finger from the enemy stopped the bolt in midair.
Uzi's skin went hot with shame.
"My name is… Zosia, the Right Hand of the Vampire Court." The man raised his hand and the blood surged like a tide toward the players, his face split by a cruel grin. "I will drain your life-blood dry!"
To the left, Cheng wheezed, eyes locked on the small figure standing there: a girl whose features fit the exotic ideal some players joked about — white garters peeking beneath her skirt, but her red pupils blazed like coals.
They recognized her instantly. Luna Bloodfallen — Vampire scion, once tied to the old royal court, now attached to the Frontier District. In victory she'd been distant; now, on the battlefield, she radiated cold contempt.
"Offer up your blood, insolent invaders," she intoned.
Yang Yan XF steadied himself. The players' fear tightened their throats.
Nearby, a Sarkaz officer brandished a massive warblade. The city's defense captain — Giles — stood like a mountain. Normally taciturn; now, as an enemy, he filled them with dread.
"Those who invade Kazdel's land, I shall strike down and shatter them." he bellowed, swinging the great blade and stirring the dust and wind into motion.