By 5:50, all sixteen players had arrived. As Don had expected, the scene that followed was predictable, most players had already clustered into twos and threes, chatting among themselves, factions and informal alliances already taking shape.

A young man about 1.8 meters tall with delicate features walked straight up to Don. "Buddy, it’s been a long time!"

Don blinked. "Brother Wade? What are you doing here?"

Wade Hart. Don had met him through a sales clash, that particular industry term for two competing salespeople from rival companies, both courting the same client on the same project. Wade had been a department manager at the time while Don was still a complete newcomer struggling to earn a permanent position. Despite that, Wade had been extraordinarily generous, handing Don a deal worth 140,000 dollars when he didn’t have to. Don had gotten his number, and when the commission came in, he’d insisted on splitting it, Wade refused every time. In the end, Don could only take him out to dinner. That was how they’d become friends.

Later, their business territories had stopped overlapping, and they’d begun swapping client networks instead, benefiting both of them and their respective companies.

About a week before Don had resigned, they’d had drinks together. Wade, by any measure, had outpaced him. A year and a half earlier, he’d left his company job, pooled everything he’d saved, and opened a Korean barbecue restaurant in Riverside District. High-quality ingredients, generous portions, reasonable prices, and a good location, business had been booming from the start. He was a wealthy small business owner before he’d even turned twenty-three.

The most successful friend Don had at his age.

Wade loved games too. He’d once tried to drag Don into some dubious Battle Online spinoff, but Don had been too disillusioned with gaming at the time to agree. Apparently Wade had done well on his own, led a group of followers across several virtual territories, made a reasonable amount of money, showed exactly the kind of commercial instinct that had always set him apart. Wade wasn’t just a good salesperson. He was the kind of connected, relationship-driven businessman that Don, with his pure selling instinct, had never been.

Don pointed to the ranking chart on the wall. "You wouldn’t happen to be Doomsday, would you?"

Wade laughed heartily. "Indeed!"

Don stared at him. It really was him.

Wade wrapped an arm around Don’s neck. "Stinky kid. You’ve been hiding this whole time. I’ve been quietly watching you for days, top ten leaderboard, number one Thief. Why wouldn’t you play online games with me before?"

Don’s face turned red. "Brother Wade, I was wrong, okay? I’m sorry!"

Wade released him and grinned.

Don couldn’t help asking immediately. "But Brother Wade, don’t you have your own crew? Why come to Extraordinary Studio and compete against me for jobs?"

"Honestly, I mainly came to observe the studio model and learn from it. I’m planning to set up my own studio later. I didn’t expect to accidentally level up to 28 in the process."

"You came alone?"

"No, I brought more than a dozen brothers with me. Didn’t expect you and those pretty girls of yours to level so fast and eliminate so many of them. In the end, only four of us made it through."

Don was quietly impressed. If four of Wade’s players had survived the cut against this kind of competition, Wade had been running a capable team. That old rascal had clearly come a long way.

Wade raised a hand. "Kids, come introduce yourselves to Brother Don!"

Three people stood up behind him, walked over, and bowed in unison. "Brother Don."

Don nodded. "No need to be so formal."

Wade gestured to each in turn. "This one’s called Divine Pig, Knight, same class as me. This one’s Little Ice Plus Black Tea, Swordsman, decent movement. And this shifty-eyed kid is a Thief. His name’s a bit..." Wade paused. "Wild Father."

The group burst out laughing immediately.

Don’s eyes went wide. "Wild Father? What possessed you to pick that?"

Wild Father chuckled with no trace of shame. "Wild as in untamed. Father as in the old man. Wild Father. Thieves are kings of the wild, I want the enemies to kneel and call me daddy."

Wade shook his head with a suffering expression. "I genuinely don’t know what this kid was thinking. I have no words."

Wild Father patted his own chest with composure. "Boss, it’s fine. It doesn’t matter if I lose the selection. We weren’t planning to stay at Extraordinary anyway, were we?"

Little Ice Plus Black Tea turned to Don apologetically. "Brother Don, don’t mind this guy. He’s never had ambitions."

Divine Pig added, "Same opinion."

"Pig!"

"What?"

"You know what."

"Oh."

Wade smiled sheepishly at Lily, Kira, and Little Chili. "Sorry everyone. These guys can be a bit much. Please don’t hold it against them."

Just then, the receptionist approached the group with a smile. "The boss is on his way. He’s asked everyone to log into the game and meet at Yiersa Village. I’ll be online as well to handle the contact. The selection format will be explained in-game. My ID is Extraordinary Little Witch, feel free to add me after logging in."

Everyone nodded and returned to their stations in the order they’d been sitting.

Wade and Don made eye contact, exchanged a quick smile, and separated.

Don had some questions about Wade’s motives for being here. Liverpool had a population of over ten million, running into him like this, in this particular studio, at this particular time, felt like too neat a coincidence. But he had no doubts about Wade’s character. From their very first meeting, Wade had supported him, and they’d always been straight with each other. Still, something about the situation felt unresolved. If they hadn’t planned to stay, why go through the full selection process?

Full of mysteries.

After logging in, repairing equipment, and restocking supplies, Don headed straight to Yiersa Village.

Upon arriving, he added Little Witch as a friend and immediately noticed she was Level 5. The game was approaching noon, and the village was relatively quiet. Around the Teleporter, a handful of players had set up stalls selling beginner equipment at absurd markups, a Level 5 white iron longsword for five gold coins. Highway robbery.

Little Witch’s voice message came through. "Meet us at the south gate of the village. Make sure your gear is repaired and your supplies are topped off."

"Understood."

The four of them headed to the south gate. Don felt a small wave of nostalgia, this was where it had all started, the village where he’d first materialized all those days ago.

When they arrived, all the Extraordinary Studio players were already assembled. Little Witch grouped everyone into her party. Looking around, every player present was above Level 25, and their equipment was clearly solid. Wade had the highest HP among the group at 5,800, still a significant gap from Kira’s, but not nothing. After all, they hadn’t had the string of remarkable encounters that Don’s team had. Don still couldn’t quite wrap his head around why someone as grounded as Wade would choose a name like Doomsday.

Once everyone was present, Little Witch smiled. "I’ll now announce the selection rules. This time, the selection won’t be based on individual class performance, which may surprise you. The boss wants to build a highly cohesive team. I’ve seen some strong friendships form among you over these past few days, so this selection will be decided through team competition."

Each group of four players could choose their own teammates. This would create four groups competing in a round-robin format within the village, each match determining the winner. The top team from each group would advance directly to official membership at Extraordinary Studio. As for everyone else, they could only be told that once the studio grew strong enough, they would try to reunite.

Silence fell across the assembly. Everyone had understood the original offer to be five employees. It had just become four.

Before anyone could voice the question, Little Witch answered it directly. "The fifth member is the boss himself. You may not have realized it, but Extraordinary only accepted 119 trainees this time, not 120. The boss has been with you all from the beginning, going through everything alongside you. I know hearing this might make some of you feel frustrated or skeptical. But please be patient. The boss will arrive soon, and when he does, his abilities will speak for themselves." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The previously buzzing room went completely quiet. Don suppressed a private smile. His original contingency plan was now obsolete. There were four of them, all they needed to do was win their group.

Everyone immediately started forming teams. Wade’s four stayed together without any reshuffling. Among the remaining players, things got briefly chaotic, a few people even testing the waters with each other in real time. Eventually, two more groups sorted themselves out.

The group stage began without further ceremony, taking place within the borders of the small village. The format was team sparring, with neither side risking level loss or equipment drops, just the outcome and the pride.

Don’s group drew their first opponent immediately. He looked at the composition across from them and raised an eyebrow slightly.

Three Mages and one Archer. Full ranged lineup.