Chapter 161: Chapter 161: The Evolution
Dante sprinted across the Veridian plains.
His avatar was completely intangible under the effects of [Velocity Paradox].
He phased effortlessly through massive boulders, towering ancient trees, and the occasional confused low-level mob.
He reached the towering white marble walls of Aethelgardia in minutes.
He didn’t bother using the main gates. He just phased straight through the solid twenty-foot-thick stone wall and materialized in a quiet alleyway in the commercial district.
He dropped the sprint. His boots clicked solidly onto the cobblestones as he became tangible again.
He opened his private party interface.
[Dan: The global event just dropped. Three exclusive Pet Dungeons. Meet me at the central transit hub immediately. Bring consumables.]
The responses were instant.
[Lila: We saw the announcement! The entire city is completely losing its mind. People are literally abandoning active raids to run back and queue for the dungeons.]
[Mei: Hotpot money is great, but Pip needs a friend! We are on our way!]
[Sera: I am shutting down the Emporium for the day. Nyx and I are coming with you. If these dungeons drop high-tier companion eggs, the localized market value is going to be astronomical. We need to secure the supply before Silas does.]
Dante dismissed the interface and walked swiftly toward the central transit hub of the Capital.
He didn’t have to wait long. Within five minutes, his entire mismatched squad arrived.
Lila clutched her Dark Demon staff and looked nervous but determined.
Mei jogged up and casually rested the massive [God-Slaying Skillet] on her shoulder. Pip the tiny red dragon practically vibrated with excitement on her head.
Casanova strutted in and wore a brand new obnoxiously bright pink feathered hat he had apparently bought with his auction profits.
Sera and Nyx arrived last. They both looked incredibly professional in sleek high-end tactical leather armor. They had abandoned their merchant robes for the field.
And Garrick was there, fully armored in his Silver-tier [Ash-Walker] set and polished his heavy kite shield with a dirty rag.
"Alright, buddy!" Garrick beamed and offered Dante a massive thumbs-up.
"I am fully prepared to hold the line against whatever fuzzy little woodland creatures the system throws at us! My spite shield is at maximum capacity!"
"It is an endgame event, Garrick," Nyx corrected dryly and adjusted her dark glasses.
"We are not fighting fuzzy woodland creatures. We are fighting localized mythological nightmares that want to eat our faces."
"Fuzzy nightmares!" Garrick agreed enthusiastically and entirely missed the point.
Dante looked over his squad.
Seven members. A standard raid group for a high-tier event usually required twenty to forty highly coordinated players.
"We do not have the numbers to split up and clear all three dungeons simultaneously," Dante stated and brought up the global event map on his interface.
"The event is only open for twenty-four hours. We have to prioritize."
He projected the holographic map for the squad to see.
Three massive swirling portals had appeared on the global map. Each was located in wildly different geographical zones.
"The system announced three locations," Sera analyzed and tapped the glowing icons. "Rain Valley, Demon Spirit Land, and Dark Phoenix’s Last Wish."
"We hit Blossom Valley first," Dante decided.
"Why that one?" Casanova asked and leaned closer to the map. "Demon Spirit Land sounds way cooler. And Dark Phoenix sounds like a massive loot drop."
"Because Blossom Valley is an open-world instance," Dante explained. He relied on the deep-lore fragments he had analyzed during the Aethelgard cycle.
"The other two are enclosed linear dungeons. You walk in, kill the boss, and get the egg."
"But Blossom Valley is a massive sprawling environment. It requires actual tracking and taming mechanics."
"The major guilds are going to swarm it first because it does not require a strict high-level boss execution to get a reward."
"He is right," Nyx agreed and pulled up the forum data.
"Vanguard’s Legacy and the Legion of Blades are already mobilizing thousands of players toward the Valley coordinates. They want to flood the zone and monopolize the spawn points."
"They are not monopolizing anything while I am breathing," Dante said flatly.
He turned to the group. "Before we go, there has been an update to the roster."
Dante didn’t summon [Voidsever]. He simply tapped his pet interface.
A brilliant blinding flash of silver starlight illuminated the transit hub.
Aura didn’t pop out as a tiny three-tailed fox. She materialized in her newly evolved [Mystic Sovereign] form.
The tall incredibly elegant woman in the shimmering starlight dress floated gracefully a few inches off the cobblestones. Her luminescent silver eyes looked warmly at the squad.
The entire party froze.
"Who is that?!" Lila gasped and took a step back.
"I am Aura," the Mystic Sovereign spoke. Her voice was a smooth melodic chime that instantly calmed the nervous energy in the group. "It is a pleasure to formally introduce myself, Lila."
The jaw of Casanova literally dropped. The flamboyant bard took off his pink hat and his eyes were wide.
"Boss," Casanova whispered and stared at Aura. "You... you did not tell me your pet was a literal goddess. I would have dressed better."
"She hit Level 31 and evolved," Dante explained and completely ignored the reaction of the bard. "She is a Grade 9 anomaly now. But the cosmetic upgrade is not the important part. Show them."
Aura smiled and raised her pale glowing hand.
[Skill Activated: Ultimate Guardian Halo]
A massive invisible aura of pure concentrated starlight expanded outward from her. It instantly encompassed the entire seven-man squad in a 200-foot radius.
The system interfaces of every single party member flashed violently.
[Buff Applied: Ultimate Guardian Halo]
[Effect: Flat 60% reduction to all incoming physical and magical damage. Massive passive health regeneration applied.]
Garrick stared at his health bar, and his eyes widened. "Wait. My defense just spiked. Like, a lot."
"A sixty percent flat damage reduction?" Nyx breathed and furiously calculated the math on her datapad.
"Dante, that applies after baseline armor mitigation. That makes even the squishiest caster in this group functionally as durable as a high-tier tank."
"Exactly," Dante said.
"And the passive healing means we do not have to rely entirely on Lila dropping everything to spot-heal. We have a massive permanent safety net."
"I can also silence entire enemy formations and randomly destroy their equipped gear," Aura added cheerfully. Her voice was incredibly sweet despite describing a horrifying PvP mechanic.
"Remind me never to make her angry," Mei muttered and hugged her frying pan.
Dante opened the transit menu to select the specific coordinates for the new event zone.
"Alright," Dante ordered. "Lock in. We are heading to Rain Valley."
"Stay close to Aura, do not engage massive guild formations unless I say so, and keep an eye out for anything that looks like a high-tier egg."
The squad gathered tightly around him. Dante initiated the teleport sequence.
The blue light swallowed them entirely.
The transition dropped them directly into the designated arrival zone for Rain Valley.
The environment was absolutely stunning.
It was a massive sprawling canyon entirely filled with vibrant lush pink and white peach blossom trees.
A crystal-clear river wound through the center of the valley, and the air smelled heavily of sweet floral nectar. It looked like a picturesque paradise.
It was currently completely overrun by thousands of heavily armed screaming players.
The major guilds hadn’t just arrived. They had violently claimed territory.
To the left, Vanguard’s Legacy had established a massive heavily fortified perimeter around a grove of particularly large peach trees.
To the right, the Legion of Blades was systematically sweeping through the tall grass in disciplined organized lines.
And running frantically between the massive guild formations were thousands of independent players desperately trying to catch the event mobs.
The mobs weren’t terrifying dragons or heavily armored knights.
They were Chinchillas.
Thousands of tiny, fluffy, and brightly colored rodents darted through the grass and scampered up the peach trees.
Players were actively diving into the dirt, swinging nets, and tossing low-tier taming traps at the little creatures.
"Are you kidding me?" Mei asked and lowered her frying pan. "We came to an SSS-Rank server event to hunt hamsters?"
"They are not hamsters, Mei," Nyx corrected and consulted her datapad.
"The system database says these are [Spirit Chinchillas]. They are low-tier starter pets, but if you capture enough of them, you can synthesize their data to spawn a higher-tier egg."
"This is pathetic," Dante sighed. He watched a heavily armored Paladin from the Apex Coalition completely miss a dive and face-plant into a mud puddle trying to catch a pink chinchilla.
"Actually, this is a massive opportunity," Casanova grinned and adjusted his pink hat.
The bard didn’t draw a weapon. He didn’t pull out his lute.
He casually strutted away from the squad and walked directly toward a large group of independent female players who were currently frustrated by their inability to catch the fast-moving rodents.
Dante watched and was genuinely curious as to what the idiot was doing.
Casanova didn’t try to catch the chinchillas.
He activated a low-tier bard skill that created a small sonic frequency perfectly pitched to attract small animals.
Within ten seconds, five fluffy chinchillas hopped out of the bushes and sat obediently at his feet.
The group of female players immediately rushed over, and their eyes were wide with delight.
"Oh my god, how did you do that?!" one of the mages squealed. "Can we have them? I have been trying to catch one for an hour!"
"Ladies, please," Casanova offered a deep and incredibly dramatic bow.
"I am a simple servant of nature. You may absolutely claim these majestic creatures."
"However, my taming services do require a small highly specific fee."
The female players frowned. "We do not have a lot of gold."
"I do not require gold," Casanova smiled and tapped his cheek. "Just a small token of your appreciation. Right here."
Dante stared at the bard.
Casanova was actively trading the event mobs for kisses on the cheek to fulfill the bizarre highly unethical curse quest he had received on day one.
"He is literally weaponizing the event economy to clear his debuff," Sera noted. She looked both disgusted and highly impressed by the sheer business acumen of the play.
"He is an idiot, but he is an efficient idiot," Dante admitted.
He turned his attention away from the bard and focused on the deeper sections of the valley.
The Chinchillas were just the distraction. The true prize of the zone wouldn’t be sitting in the open fields.
"Mei, Lila," Dante ordered. "Follow me. We are going deep."
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