Watching the Darkfire Phoenix spread its dazzling, crimson-black wings and fly around him affectionately before landing on his shoulder, Marcus felt a rush of pure excitement.
He immediately pulled up the Pet Leaderboard.
1. Darkfire Phoenix, Level 8 (Advanced), Owner: Name Hidden
2. Twin-Winged Tiger, Level 8, Owner: Name Hidden
3. Ferocious Gold Wolf, Level 8, Owner: Name Hidden
4. Bat King, Level 6, Owner: CriticalFail
5. Black Panther King, Level 6, Owner: IcyWeather
6. Three-Eyed Fox, Level 5, Owner: ItsFrost
7. Single-Line Black Tiger, Level 5, Owner: IlovePK
8. Three-Legged Crow, Level 4, Owner: HandsomeSorcerer
9. Flame Serpent, Level 4, Owner: ShamelessRogue
10. Clumsy Bear, Level 4, Owner: LivelySwallow
Sure enough, his pet was ranked number one.
Unbelievable. Marcus now held the top spot on three of the four major Dominion leaderboards. If he revealed his name right now, the entire server would know the name "Stonehaven."
"Hey, you hear that, Young Master? The bird cry was right up ahead. Why'd it stop?"
"Hmm, it's gotta be close. A bird cry, you think? Could be it. Stay sharp."
"I'll check it out. You guys watch my back. If it is what we're looking for, make sure you get the recording."
Just as Marcus was basking in the glory of his new pet, he heard voices closing in. Players were already reaching the Fourth Level of Black Rock Spire? Were they on the Top Ten Experts leaderboard?
One of them was called "Young Master." Marcus arched his brow. 'What kind of cringe-lord calls himself that?'
It reeked of some kid trying way too hard to sound important, like a villain from a badly dubbed anime. He pictured some dude with a serious entitlement complex, probably bankrolling his whole crew.
Marcus had no intention of being discovered. He quickly recalled his Darkfire Phoenix to its Pet Space and gave the Shadow Cloak of the Dark Spirit a sharp flick, activating its Phantom skill.
The Artifact-tier cloak shimmered, wrapping around him and dissolving his form into the surrounding shadows.
Each player was limited to three pets, stored in three dedicated Pet Spaces, mounts didn't count. During a fight, you could only have one pet summoned at a time, unless you were a Beast Tamer or a Summoner.
'Weird. Where did they go?'
He'd heard voices clear as day a second ago, but now the place was empty. He scanned the area, puzzled.
Just then, a figure slowly faded into view. A Rogue, who must have been using Stealth. No wonder Marcus hadn't spotted him.
He cast Insight on the player.
Slayer#ShadowBlade: Level 20, Class: Rogue.
'No way. Insight is insane.'
This was his first time using Insight on another player, and it actually pulled up the guy's basic info. Along with the name, level, and class, a red Health bar popped up over Slayer#ShadowBlade's head, just like a monster's. He couldn't see the exact number, but this was a game-changer. A massive advantage for any future PvP.
Seeing the "Slayer" tag, Marcus knew this guy was with a serious Guild. That kind of prefix meant a tight-knit, organized group. He wondered what kind of person went by "Boss."
For Slayer#ShadowBlade to make it down to the Fourth Level at only Level 20, he had to be leaning hard on the Rogue's Stealth and have some serious skill. Getting past all those Skeleton Fighters was no small feat.
"I heard the bird cry right around here. Why's it so dead quiet now?"
A voice came from behind ShadowBlade. His partner slowly emerged from the shadows; another Rogue who'd been in Stealth.
Marcus hit him with Insight.
Slayer#YoungMaster: Level 20, Class: Rogue.
'You have got to be kidding me.'
So the guy's name was literally 'YoungMaster'. Marcus almost laughed. He'd pictured some arrogant, silver-spooned elite, but this was just some kid who'd watched one too many Eastern fantasy flicks or, more likely, thought it sounded vaguely cool and mysterious. He'd given the title way too much credit.
"Shadow, keep your head on high alert. This spot feels wrong. The whole area is crawling with mobs, but this one patch is clear. That's sketchy," Slayer#YoungMaster said, his eyes scanning the area.
"Yeah. Someone must've cleared it. But these are, what, Level 25 Skeletons? At least. For someone to wipe this area, they'd have to be a monster. And it had to be recently, or they'd have respawned by now," ShadowBlade replied, looking around. "Is there even a player that strong right now? Even if we don't know what was here, soloing this place at our level shouldn't be possible. Had to be a full team of pros."
Sharp. These two were observant.
Slayer#ShadowBlade was quick and alert, a natural Rogue. And while Slayer#YoungMaster came off a bit lazy, he had a sharp eye for detail. Neither was a pushover.
'Heh.' Thanks to the Phantom skill on his Artifact cloak, Marcus was completely invisible. They didn't have a clue.
Big Guilds usually had guys dedicated to scouting; finding secret maps, tracking boss spawns, digging up Hidden Quests. Looked like ShadowBlade and YoungMaster were the Slayer Guild's reconnaissance team, sent to case the Fourth Level.
Marcus didn't know that the Slayers were a notorious powerhouse from a famous game before this, a real force to be reckoned with. Their Guild Master, Slayer#Purity, led a die-hard crew that had been major players. They'd just jumped into Dominion a bit late, which was why they weren't on the leaderboards yet.
But that was none of his concern. He couldn't stick around here. It was time to get back to Dragon's Peak Citadel and claim his reward for the Guild Creation Token quest.
He just hoped these two Slayers had the sense not to push further into the Fourth Level. If the mobs in there spotted them, they'd be instantly vaporized.
He glanced toward the entrance. Ever since he'd taken the Violet Shard from inside, the place had been absolutely flooded with high-level monsters.
He'd gone in at Level 25. The things in there were Level 40 and up. One hit had taken two-thirds of his health. If he hadn't bolted immediately, he'd be respawning right now.
Back in Dragon's Peak Citadel, he headed straight for High Protector Leon Drake's manor to check out the house the system had rewarded him. The system called it a mansion; he was hoping for something seriously luxurious.