Phoenix Guild Invitation

I pushed through the crowd, warrior or no warrior tailing me, and approached the bulletin board again for another look.

Last Chance, a top-tier ranker, had beaten the previous record by a solid 5 seconds fully geared—and here was a new record shattering that by over 30 seconds.

"See? Told you. Under two minutes, just like I said."

"Dude—no, what the hell are you? Operator's family or something?"

"Pfft, if I were operator family, that'd be the dream."

"No, I don't know what bug you found, but you can't abuse it like this! You think Illusion Tower's gonna let a bug exploiter slide? Your character's toast soon!"

"Bug my ass... Tell 'em to come catch me if they can. Here's a tip since you were so nice earlier: the secret's a tech tree no one's tried plus gear carry. Mull it over. Anyway, I'm out!"

"W-wait! Give me a hint at least! What job did you advance to? Mage, right?"

I slipped through the throng, tossing a hint their way with a casual Shadow Step toward a distant player, vanishing effortlessly.

Straight to the northern plaza. There was Hyunjung, perched on the fountain's edge, blankly staring at the angel statue's cascading water.

"Hyunjung, what're you spacing out for?"

"Wha—? Why're you here? No way you already finished the time attack?"

"Man, I said I'd take first. First place means wrapping it quick, duh."

"Whoa? Even for first, already? Record turn out okay?"

"1:55. Over 30 seconds faster than second. Won't be broken for like 10 years."

Pulling aggro from every soldier in rooms 1 and 2 and hauling to room 3 alone ate over a minute. And you had to clear all of them, including low knight Bolton. No way around it—this record needed a level 300 mage spamming AoE, or it was impossible.

"Whoa, insane! That's gotta be hot issue on all-talk today, maybe even news. Our Jihwan's gonna be a Taitonic star."

"Heh, more nonsense? Lowbies and fossils don't care that much... Anyway, gear up. Thanks ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for the loan, Hyunjung."

"Oh, gear thing. Just whispered with sis—she's got urgent stuff, logging back in three hours. Time hanging, wanna level up now with the gear? I'll spot you in subgear, bodyguard duty."

"Huh? Cool with that? Hell yeah, thanks!"

"Your record's nuts, and you're under 100 but I wanna see this 'undying thief' you mentioned up close. Ma-Shield's 8-star now, Titan summon if needed—no real risk. Sound good?"

"Sweet, deal! Head to Kam Rang first! I'll grab mana stones and catch up!"

I rushed to the warehouse for potions and Shining Mana Stones, then warped via space mage to Kam Rang in southern Desra Desert.

Target: Desert Lizardman colony entrance. My Magnum-era power-level spot—crappy drops kept it empty, but mobs were plentiful. Solo viable at 200+, but for gear-fueled burst-levelling in limited time? Perfect.

Outside with Hyunjung: endless dunes dotted with mobs, as expected from an abandoned field. No players near the entrance.

'Desert Scorpions', 'Bomb Cacti'—plenty monsters, but poison/explosions were death for my level. Ignored 'em. Solo target: Desert Lizardmen. Pushed forward hunting them exclusively.

Handed escort to Hyunjung, closed on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Desert Lizardman. Moment of truth: soloing a mob 100+ levels above.

Fired four Magic Missiles, popped my two self-buffs, Shadow Stepped behind it.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

But nope—total resists on missiles, and five Weak Point-boosted swings all whiffed. Gutted.

"Whoa! What? Doesn't even stick right! Overgeared too much?"

Sigh escaped, but I'd come this far—trusted my tankiness, kept basic-attacking.

Thud, thud, thud.

Still whiffing. Lizardman's scimitar hacked 300 MP per hit. 'Levels make a world of difference.'

Chugged superior mana pots, kept swinging. Tenth hit finally landed.

"Chiiik!"

Flash! Holy Sword's light magic proc'd—one clean hit chunked a third of its HP. Insane damage bridging 100 levels, where hit/atk penalties crushed you.

Perfect window—tried Continuous Slash. Whiff. Loss.

"Oof, sealing attack skills ahead. Mana waste on misses just drains HP faster!"

Quick Movements expired, but dozens more swings later—solo kill.

10+ superior mana pots, 3/4 MP burned in brutal attrition.

Worth it. Yesterday's grind: 10 levels in a day. This 200-level lizard? One level. Operator buff or not, absurd XP.

Holy Knight Hyunjung could've healed/tanked perfectly. But Ma-Shield thief? No dice. Even party aura? Level gap starved XP.

While MP regen'd, hit 100—dumped new points into common Sword Mastery.

Skipped for time-attack optimal skills till now. Every user maxed their main weapon mastery. Some skimped to save points, but sieges/PK demanded hit rate—mandatory.

No brainer: 5-star it. Future hunts? High-level mobs only—forced anyway.

"Oh! Sticks like glue now?"

One level, 4-star mastery—lizardmen farming eased up big time.

Slash. Slash. Slash!

XP per kill dropped, but pace? Still ridiculous. No onlookers—blessed luck.

Five minutes shy of three hours: level 110. Unbelievable, even with high-XP field mobs and achievement bonus.

Hyunjung griped nonstop watching my pace. Return scroll.

"This is bullshit. Took me a year for 120. Cheat..."

"Dude, 100 took me a year. I'm the one reeling. Heh!"

Chatting, unequipping—then an unexpected whisper.

Training hall chatterbox: Phoenix's Last Chance.

Bitter over dethroned first—aggressive tone. Too tiring; blocked Last Chance clean.

"What? Mid-unequip? Sis logged in—gear quick. Gotta return it."

"Yeah... random whisper hit."

Then—instead, a heavy hitter.

Taitonic's TOP 2 mega-guild. Famous Phoenix Guild scouting out of nowhere.