The city gates loomed tall and weatherworn, their stone archways carved with old runes of passage. Dillion adjusted the straps on his gear, his new adventurer license tucked safely into a side pouch, and stepped beyond the capital’s main walls for the first time since the tournament.
Outside the dome, the air felt different — crisper, less filtered. Sora’s real atmosphere. There were no crowds, no guild suites, no arena lights. Just open land, broken ruins, and the occasional flicker of movement far on the horizon.
A floating waypoint shimmered above a craggy ridge in the distance:
Quest Area: Forgotten Aqueducts — Class C Ruins (Solo)
Estimated Travel Time: 20 Minutes
The road was mostly empty — a dirt trail broken by old cobblestone veins. Dillion passed a few players heading the other way, most in groups, none alone. A few gave him glances, probably recognizing his face from the arena streams.
“Yo, that’s the Water Gun guy.”
“He’s doing ruins now? Isn’t he, like, Rank E?”
Dillion kept walking, eyes forward. The gossip didn’t bother him. Not anymore.
He used the travel time to mentally review his skills.
Name: Dillion Rogers
Soul Mark: Blue
Level: 30
Skills:
Shield Guard (Rank 6) – 0/600
Shield Bash (Rank 6) – 0/600
Dexterity (Rank 6) – 0/600
Overwhelming Strength (Rank 8) – 0/800
Weak Point (Rank 5) – Max Level
Spells:
Water Manipulation (Rank 9) – Level 1
Swift Boots (Rank 8) – Level 2
Fog Control (Rank 5 → Level 6, via Fog Ring) – Max Level
Passive Enchantments:
Fog – Grants access to the Fog Control spell line
Fog Ring – +1 Level to all Fog-based spells
Soul Points Remaining: 60
“Alright,” Dillion muttered, glancing down at the glowing waypoint that was now much closer. “Let’s see what a solo dungeon feels like.”
The terrain shifted — rougher, steeper, with half-buried ruins jutting from the dirt like forgotten teeth. A half-collapsed aqueduct wound its way into the distance, broken arches casting long shadows across the trail.
When he finally arrived, the ruin’s entrance stood like a forgotten wound in the earth — a sunken tunnel choked with vines and moss-covered stone. A faint magical glow pulsed from inside.
As Dillion stepped closer, a warning appeared in his vision:
Warning: Class C Ruin Detected — Proceed with Caution
Solo Mode Engaged. No party support.
Soul Gem Tracking: Enabled.
He took one deep breath, summoned his Soul Gem to his palm, and stepped into the darkness.
The aqueduct interior was colder than Dillion expected. Damp, echoing chambers stretched deep beneath the ridge, with trickles of stale water running in grooves along the cracked floor. Runes pulsed faintly on the walls — ancient, faded blue etchings that reminded him of Zren’s shop.
Every step was accompanied by the quiet drip… drip… drip of water, and the occasional groan of the stone settling around him.
[Soul Gem Sync: Active]
[Objective: Investigate the lower aqueduct channel]
He crept forward, shield drawn, his knife pulsing with the Fog enchantment. Light fog clung to his boots as if ready to answer.
Suddenly, a skittering noise echoed from ahead. Then — more than one set of feet.
Dillion pressed himself to the wall, watching. The tunnel bent left and opened into a wider basin. Just past the bend, he saw them.
Dog-sized lizards — sleek, sinewy creatures with ridged backs, oily green-black scales, and faintly glowing eyes. There were at least four, each moving low and fast, tongues flicking from thin, snapping jaws.
[Aqueduct Ravager – Class C]
Small pack hunter. Agile. Weak to blunt force and cold spells.
Highly sensitive to sound and movement.
“Alright,” Dillion whispered, steadying his breath. “Let’s try this the smart way.”
He summoned a mist orb and rolled it forward with a flick of his hand — Fog Control: Level 6. The air thickened immediately around the lizards, confusing them. One turned its head, snarling — then another suddenly lunged… the wrong way.
“Perfect.”
He dashed forward with Swift Boots, water magic already forming in his hand.
“Water Bullet!” he shouted, firing three fast orbs into the lead creature. The orbs slammed into its side, knocking it off its feet and skidding across the slick stones.
The others shrieked in surprise, darting toward him.
“Shield Guard!”
He braced just in time — the first lizard slammed into his shield, claws screeching across the metal. He twisted with the momentum, letting it fly past him, then countered with Shield Bash, sending the creature crashing into the wall.
Another came from his side — too fast.
“Fog step!”
His body blurred into mist for a second, dodging left. A slash of its tail missed his leg by inches. He dropped low and stabbed upward — the enchanted blade catching under its jaw. The beast thrashed, but the hit was clean.
Three down. One to go.
The final Ravager stood in the fog, staring. It hissed — and leapt.
“Weak Point!”
His vision flashed — a red dot appeared on its exposed chest.
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Dillion charged. Water surged behind his strike.
Shield Bash. Direct hit.
The Ravager slammed into the far wall with a crunch and didn’t get back up.
[Combat Complete. 4/4 Enemies Defeated]
+24 Soul Points
+Minor Soul Fragment (x1)
Dillion stood still for a second, letting the mist fade. His breath came in shallow bursts, but his face wore a grin.
He’d done it.
Alone.
Without a team.
He exhaled, lowered his shield, and whispered, “Not bad… Water Gun.”
Then, deeper in the ruins, he heard it.
Drip. Drip. Clatter.
Something bigger.
As Dillion took another step forward, the stale air of the aqueducts suddenly shimmered with light.
DING!
[BONUS OBJECTIVE UNLOCKED]
Defeat the Aqueduct King
“A Ravager that drank too long from cursed waters. It rules the forgotten channels with fang, claw, and the weight of a broken crown.”
His heart skipped a beat.
Before he could even process the words, the earth shook beneath him — just slightly, like something very large had just landed.
He backed up toward a wide arch that overlooked a sunken basin at the lowest level of the ruins. The faint blue glow from the runes below cast ghostlike shadows across the stone. Then, from the far end of the basin, it emerged.
At first glance, it resembled the Ravagers he’d just fought — but larger. Much larger.
Three meters tall, it walked upright on thick hind legs. Muscles rippled beneath its slick green-black scales, and each arm was long and powerful, ending in curved claws that scraped the wall as it moved. But what caught Dillion’s eye was the tail.
A thick, bony club grew from the end — not armor, but a natural extension of the beast’s spine. Veins of glowing red Soul Energy pulsed through it, and when it swung lazily to the side, the air cracked like a whip.
The Aqueduct King raised its head and let out a screeching roar, rows of jagged teeth glinting in the blue light.
[AQUEDUCT KING – Class A – Named Beast]
Warning: Solo engagement not recommended.
Dillion instinctively raised his shield. “Yeah,” he muttered. “Not recommended noted.”
The beast’s eyes locked onto him.
And it charged.
Dillion’s boots skidded against wet stone as he dashed backward into the broken maze of the aqueduct ruins. Columns lay shattered in pools of knee-deep water, narrow ledges stretched above flooded troughs, and vines crawled across cracked platforms like nature’s tripwires.
Think, he told himself. I’m not gonna win with strength… I need to outsmart it.
The Aqueduct King roared again and leapt forward — surprisingly fast for something so massive. Its tail cracked into a support beam behind Dillion, reducing it to rubble. Water poured in from a dislodged pipe, slicking the ground even more.
Perfect.
Dillion darted up a narrow staircase carved into the side of the structure, leading to a crumbling walkway above the basin. He could see the beast stalking him from below — slower now, eyes gleaming with predatory curiosity.
As he reached the top, he yanked out his Soul Gem.
“Fog Control!” he shouted.
A thick haze burst from his fingertips, billowing across the stone path and slithering down into the basin like a living thing. It rolled over the Aqueduct King’s snout, forcing it to snarl and shake its head.
Then — water.
He raised both hands and focused.
Two sharp streams curved through the air, weaving through broken arches and slamming into loose pillars that looked ready to collapse. Stone groaned. The beast snapped toward the noise — just in time for a chunk of marble to fall and graze its shoulder, sending it stumbling.
“Gotcha.”
Dillion sprinted down the other side of the ledge, circling back through the fog. He wasn’t trying to kill it outright — not yet. He needed to wear it down, confuse it, trap it.
Let it tire itself out.
Let it think it had the upper hand.
From behind a pillar, Dillion peeked out and whispered:
“Time to dance, big guy.”
Dillion ducked low, sliding through a shallow trench and kicking up a misty wave behind him. His breath came steady. Focused. This is working.
He popped out of the fog on the beast’s flank, conjuring another quick burst of water that sent a support column crashing down. The Aqueduct King recoiled, growling, tail lashing behind it.
“Yeah,” Dillion grinned. “I’ve got your rhythm now.”
He was dancing between pillars, controlling the field with fog and slick terrain. This is what Blue Marks are meant for. Disruption. Control. The beast was slipping, tripping, stumbling through his maze of waterlogged traps.
And then… it stopped.
Its muscles tightened.
Its glowing yellow eyes locked onto him — and then suddenly, changed.
They turned an eerie, deep blue.
“What the hell—” Dillion took a cautious step back.
The Aqueduct King roared — a guttural, resonating bellow — as blue light surged across its limbs, tracing through the veins of its arms, tail, and chest like rivers of energy.
Then it vanished.
Not in a flash, but in motion.
It was gliding. Effortlessly.
Across the streams, puddles, and water paths Dillion had created. The creature’s scaled feet no longer stomped — they skimmed, riding the surface tension like a phantom of the aqueduct.
“No, no, no—”
Too fast.
Before he could cast, before he could even think—
SLAM!
The mace-like tail came out of nowhere. It smashed into his side like a wrecking ball.
Dillion’s world blurred.
He flew sideways, his shield ripping from his arm, his body crashing through a half-collapsed archway and skidding into a flooded basin below.
Crack.
His back hit stone. His vision went white. His limbs refused to move.
The last thing he saw was the beast’s glowing blue form circling back through the water like a predator who knew the hunt was over.
He wasn’t dead.
But he’d lost.
Badly.
The soft hum of the Eden Center filled his ears before his vision fully cleared.
Dillion blinked against the fluorescent lights overhead as the pod behind him slid seamlessly back into the wall, its outer shell folding shut with a quiet click. His body ached—not physically, but in that strange phantom-limb way that only Eden players understood. His shield was gone. The weight of his armor was gone. The adrenaline, the magic, the world...
Gone.
He staggered a step forward, still feeling the ghost of the Aqueduct King’s tail slam reverberating through his bones. But the floor beneath him was smooth tile, not stone. The air was filtered, not damp with moss and ruin. A few other users were standing at their own pods, just finishing sessions, stretching like they’d only been gone for a walk.
Dillion checked the nearest wall clock and blinked.
It was still the same day.
He had entered Sora in the morning. And now — back on Earth — it wasn’t even noon.
But he had spent three full days in Sora. Three long, exhausting, soul-bending days.
He exhaled slowly and walked to the sink in the corner, splashing cool water onto his face. The shock of it grounded him, but it didn’t make the defeat sting any less.
He’d failed the bonus quest. The Aqueduct King had been too much.
The system had never said it was do-or-die — but in that moment, it sure felt like it.
As he dried his face with a paper towel, his Eden band buzzed.
A message blinked onto the screen:
"Mission Reward ready to be received, please visit front desk"
He looked at the pod room exit.
Just a few hours in the real world.
But it already felt like a lifetime ago.
The walk to the front desk felt surreal.
Dillion’s steps were steady, but his thoughts were still tangled in the ruins of Sora. His ribs ached with phantom pain from the Aqueduct King’s tail slam, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d left something behind when he was forced to log out.
Still, he had a job to finish.
The Eden Center’s receptionist gave a courteous nod as he approached.
“Welcome back, Mr. Rogers. Mission data confirmed — Rank C clearance achieved. Congratulations.”
A soft ding echoed as the rewards uploaded to his account.
+1,500 Credits
+1 Medium Soul Gem Voucher
“Thanks,” Dillion muttered, eyes half-lidded with fatigue. He reached out to grab the confirmation slip—
And turned straight into someone walking past.
Thud!
He stumbled back, arms instinctively catching the other person’s shoulders to steady them.
“Oh!” came a voice he knew far too well. “Really? You almost crush yourself with a giant hammer and now you’re trying to body check me on Earth, too?”
Dillion blinked.
“Mika?!”
She stood in front of him — unmistakable, even out of armor. Her long blonde hair was up in a messy bun, and she wore a zipped-down sports jacket over a black tank top, paired with high-waisted leggings and sneakers. A duffel bag hung from one shoulder, and her Eden bracelet glowed faintly.
She grinned. “Hey, Water Gun.”
“You’re here?” Dillion said, flustered.
“Yup,” she said, popping the “p.” “Had to check in for a physical and upload some logs. Figured I’d spot you eventually.”
Dillion tried to say something, but Mika was already circling him like she was inspecting a pet project.
“You look terrible,” she said, poking his chest. “Bet you thought you’d get stronger if you skipped sleep and dodged basic adventurer paperwork.”
“I beat a Rank C mission,” he muttered defensively. “Mostly.”
“Oh, I saw,” she said with a mischievous glint. “Got knocked into a wall by a lizard king’s tail, then poof—logged out mid-fight. Classic Water Gun move.”
His face flushed. “You were watching?”
Mika leaned in with a playful smirk. “Of course I was watching. Someone’s gotta keep an eye on our rising star.”
Then, unexpectedly, she flicked his forehead.
“That’s for not telling us you were heading out.”
“Ow.”
She softened a little. “But seriously… good job. You’re growing fast. Too fast, maybe. Just… try not to get killed before your next nap, okay?”
Dillion nodded.
Mika turned to leave, tossing her duffel strap over her shoulder. But just before she walked off, she called over her shoulder:
“Oh—and next time, call someone before you pick a fight with a mini-boss.”
And with that, she was gone — leaving Dillion at the counter, flustered, receipt still in hand.
“…I really need a new nickname.”