Flynn dumped the unconscious Chad onto the guest room bed without ceremony, turning and leaving before the man could even roll onto his side. He had no intention of playing nursemaid. Chad could fend for himself. The next morning, Flynn rose early as usual and spent a solid hour in his home gym, working up a light sweat before showering and getting dressed. Just as he was about to head out for breakfast, the doorbell rang.
When he opened the door, Chloe stood there with a bright smile, holding up a plastic bag filled with breakfast. "Sophia said we feel bad about the rent being so low," she said cheerfully. "So you're welcome to come over for meals anytime. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, even midnight snacks. We can help clean on the weekends too."
Flynn laughed. "That's a pretty good deal. Thanks."
"Don't mention it. We're neighbors now, we should help each other," Chloe said, then added as if she had just remembered, "Oh, right. The rest of our group is moving in this afternoon. We might need your help carrying luggage."
"No problem at all."
After finishing the breakfast they brought, Flynn logged back into the game. Since he had logged out in Edward's workshop, he reappeared there immediately. Amy was not online yet, so he decided to use the time to finish crafting the remaining components for the mechanical dolls. Once the parts were complete, he carefully began assembling them, paying close attention to each step.
The final quality of the dolls depended entirely on the precision of the assembly and fine tuning. An hour later, all fifteen dolls were finished. Two were Common White quality, while the remaining thirteen were Bronze Green. The only difference between them was duration. The white-quality dolls lasted only four seconds.
That was one of the defining traits of Age of Conquest. Even with a Bronze-grade recipe, success was never guaranteed. A recipe only determined the maximum possible quality. Carelessness or poor execution could easily result in a lower-grade item.
Flynn had been extremely careful, but his first two attempts had been clumsy, which explained the white-quality results. Still, the process had pushed his proficiency all the way to the limit. He sought out Edward and presented one of the green-quality dolls. "Mr. Edward, my proficiency is maxed out. Can I advance to Junior Engineer?"
"Oh? Already?" Edward took the doll eagerly, turning it over in his hands with obvious delight. He nodded again and again. "Very good. Very good indeed. The craftsmanship is refined, and the quality is excellent. You are fully qualified. I will write you a letter of recommendation. When you reach Moster, find the Engineer trainer there. His name is Gnomo. He will officially certify you. And trust me, you will learn many things from him. Things that will truly surprise you."
Flynn understood immediately. Edward himself did not have the authority to grant formal certification.
After receiving the letter, Flynn sent Amy a message. "Finished the Fury Potions?"
"Yep," she replied almost instantly. "Come get them at the apothecary."
When Flynn arrived, Amy was still bent over her workbench. She opened a trade window the moment she saw him and handed over five Fury Potions. Flynn gave her the ten mechanical dolls in return.
"You've been busy," he said, glancing at the pile of discarded herb stems at her feet, the useless remains from processing materials that would soon despawn.
"I need to make as many as possible," Amy said, wiping her brow. "This potion only works on players under level twenty, which makes it insanely valuable right now. I don't think it's even shown up in Moster yet. I'm sending a batch to my brother so we can make some money before everyone else catches on."
"Smart move. I'm heading to Bear Mountain for a quest," Flynn said.
Amy looked up. "Need help?"
"Not for now. I'll let you know if I do."
Flynn left the apothecary and headed straight for Bear Mountain. After several days in the game, he had developed a habit of staying well stocked. His inventory was still full of food, water, and potions, supplemented by the supplies he had purchased from Bitter-Melon.
Bear Mountain lay beside Wolf Mount. By now, Wolf Mount was packed with players, every wolf spawn surrounded by people grinding levels. It was only the fifth day since launch, and although millions of new peripherals were released daily, they sold out instantly. The number of players in the starter zones was not shrinking. It was increasing.
Compared to the chaos of Wolf Mount, Bear Mountain felt strangely empty. Any player who took the fork toward it attracted stares from the crowd behind them, looks filled with envy and jealousy.
As Flynn reached the foot of the mountain, a wild boar burst from behind a tree and slammed its head into his thigh. He got stunned for three seconds.
"Damn it," Flynn cursed. The ambush left him helpless long enough for the boar to land two more hits, shaving off over sixty health points.
The boar's attack power was unimpressive, but its physical defense was exceptional. The same was true for the grizzlies further up the mountain. Thick hides, massive health pools, and strong resistance to physical damage, but weak against magic.
"Keen Strike!"
The moment the stun wore off, Flynn twisted and drove his dagger into the boar's neck. The blade cut through flesh, but the thick layer of fat absorbed most of the force. The damage barely broke forty points, and there was no critical hit.
"So much for weak points," Flynn muttered. His Strength simply was not high enough yet. In reality, that strike would have nearly decapitated the animal.
But this was a game. Seeing that his health had dropped by less than five percent, Flynn rolled to the boar's flank and unleashed a rapid series of attacks. The boar tried to retaliate, but its movements were slow and predictable. Flynn dodged easily, carving its health down bit by bit.
Thirty seconds later, the boar collapsed with a final squeal, dropping a few broken tusks and a piece of white-quality equipment.
"Nothing special," Flynn said as he picked it up. Level twelve white Plate Greaves. An NPC would give him a couple of silver for them, but a player might pay more. Not much, but worth keeping.
He stored the item and continued toward the area where the Bear King was rumored to appear.
John had been an outstanding hunter. Someone like that would not have been killed by an ordinary grizzly or boar. If he vanished on this mountain, the answer was obvious. He must have encountered the Bear King. According to Parker, the beast had lived on Iron Ridge for decades, claiming an entire peak as its territory. No villager had ever survived an encounter with it.
The quest description gave no hints, but the logic was straightforward. Once the conclusion was clear, the path forward followed naturally.
Unlike Borg the Silver-Fang, who remained in his cave, Kolut the Bear King had three possible spawn points across Iron Ridge, wandering within a limited area around whichever one he appeared at.
Flynn had even checked the official forums to confirm Kolut's patrol patterns. After another half hour of fighting uphill, he reached the first spawn point. The grizzlies there were tougher than the boars, but not enough to pose a threat.
He searched the rocky slope thoroughly, but found nothing. Kolut was not here, and there were no signs of John either.
"Damn, gotta keep looking," he muttered, heading toward the second spawn point.
The second spawn point sat halfway up the mountain, at what appeared to be an abandoned lumberjack camp. The tents were torn and collapsing, oil lamps scattered across the ground, and rusted axes lay half-buried in the dirt.
Kolut was not there. However, while searching the camp, Flynn found a small iron box. The lock was so corroded that it snapped when he tugged at it, and his grip punched a hole through the weakened metal.
Inside were a handful of coins, a folded map, and a diary. He pocketed the coins and map, then opened the diary to read.
It belonged to a lumberjack. Most of it was a dull account of mountain life, but near the end, the tone shifted sharply.
"We saw it again today. Gods, it's enormous. Even lying down, it stands taller than a man. Stronger than any of us. We're terrified. I told Musson I wanted to leave, to go back down the mountain for a while. But Bass refused. We cannot disobey him. All we can do is pray the great beast does not show itself again."
Flynn's eyes lit up. A great beast on Bear Mountain could only mean one thing. He flipped to the next page eagerly.