"Boss is about to—Boss?!" The second staffer's voice cracked mid-sentence. His face drained as he stared into something he should've never seen. "Kayden? What's up with you?" The guy in the tailored suit followed his line of sight, still clueless. Half a heartbeat later, he launched himself off the couch as if the cushions had turned into live wires. Because in the far corner of the studio— NightTiger's body had phased back into reality. He was still slumped in the reclining pod he used to enter the game through sleep, yet three vicious claw marks ripped diagonally across his chest, wide and deep enough to show bone. Blood poured down his torso in a hot red sheet, soaking the carpet as the metallic smell swept through the villa. "Boss! Boss, stay with us—say something!" "Emergency services! Call them now!" Everyone understood instantly.If an eerie creature slaughtered you inside Doomsday, your body didn't get a second chance in the real world. NightTiger—champion of countless MMOs, a player whose name dominated early leaderboards—had paid the ultimate price for diving into Abyss, believing nothing could touch him. Meanwhile, StormHalo, ZeroFlux, and the other onlookers outside the Trial Temple had no idea they were cheering for someone who was already gone. ... Meanwhile, in a Level 20 Abyss Trial. A colossal gorge stretched before Aiden. Wind screamed through the ravine, sending gravel skipping across the rocks. Boom! A fountain of Dragon's Breath punched downward from above and detonated against the Stone Colossus at the bottom of the chasm. Then, a blazing damage value of 12,350 burned into the air.Gray streaked across the battlefield like a silver flash, each swipe of his claws carving deep, clean rifts into the Stone Colossus' hide. Next to a towering thirty-foot beast, his tiny frame looked more like a buzzing gnat than a threat. Yet that round-cheeked, still-baby-sized dragon tore into the behemoth with such ferocity that the beast writhed in pain. Whoosh! One precise slash struck the colossus between the eyes. A damage value of 2,364 flared above the Stone Colossus' head. The Abyss Trial's gatekeeper—built to rival a Level 20 Corrupted-level boss—hit zero Health instantly. Its stone frame ruptured and collapsed into a rolling avalanche of boulders. Aiden laughed under his breath. "Perfect hit, Gray." "Rraggghh!" Gray descended with a tilt of his chin, strutting like a creature who fully understood his own magnificence.Of course, he was smug. He was a dragon. Stuff like this didn't even register on his radar. Aiden reached over to pat his head, only for Gray to flick his face away like a diva rejecting unwanted fans. Aiden lowered his hand, defeated. Still, this was raw, unfair power. The Stone Colossus had started with 20,000 Health. Not as terrifying as the Rogue from earlier, sure—but that Rogue had been a Monarch-level boss. For a Level 20 stat, the Stone Colossus was stacked. Still, Gray wiped him in under three seconds—one Dragon's Breath, a few casual swipes, and he was gone. Not even enough time for the boss to scream its pre-programmed rage lines. Gray was clearing Corrupted-level bosses faster than most players cleared stray mobs. Two epic drops clattered onto the ground. One was a Seismic Greatblade, a massive two-handed sword; the other, a Seismic Maul, equally epic in quality."Man, nothing else in this game drops half as well as this spot." Aiden scooped both up with a pleased hum and continued strolling toward his next casualty—uh, eerie creature. Totally meant eerie creature. "Rrarghhh! Rrarghhh!" Gray's triumphant cries echoed from cliff to cliff. No surprise—the later bosses came beefed up across the ravine, every one of them boasting a Health bar that climbed into nonsense territory, way nastier than the Rogues from before. Too bad for them. Against a walking damage engine like Gray, all that extra durability just meant they survived a little longer before getting shredded. Hard-fought wins? Attrition fights? Zero chance. Aiden trailed behind the tiny powerhouse, handling his new full-time job: collecting bodies and scooping up any gear that spilled onto the ground. Whenever the scenery looked nice, he even stopped to take a picture—like he was out on a leisurely hike instead of grinding through a life-and-death trial.Honestly? It felt like pure comfort. To those in the know, this was a Tier Advancement Trial. To anyone else, it looked like a weekend getaway. The walks between encounters lasted longer than the battles themselves. Gray deleted every enemy in sight, dropping four Corrupted-level bosses in rapid succession. About thirty minutes later, the final boss finally appeared. The interface marked it as the Watcher of the Abyss, a Monarch-level beast bound to Level 20. Its vitality reached 200,000, supported by 3,000 strength, 20,000 physique, 2,000 agility, and 3,000 energy. Neither its talents nor its abilities could be read. Only one line accompanied it, 'From the Abyss you rise. To the Abyss you return.' Another Monarch-level boss, though this one wasn't a copy of the Rogue. It was built like a bunker—thick stats everywhere, the kind that makes damage charts cry. No matter the attack type, it outclassed the Rogue by miles.