As it turned out, Kael had already linked the teleport nexus the day before when he was trying to deliver the Sunfire Bell. And while the chieftains were leader-class NPCs with advanced AI, the game's quest logic was still rigid. A quest had to be given before it could be completed. So, even though the work was done, Kael had to go through the motions.

  He checked his quest log.

  System: The teleport nexus has insufficient energy. The player must provide enough essence to power it. Please connect to the external teleport nexus in 4 hours.

  A four-hour cooldown. He sighed and walked out of the council hall. He’d been at it for most of the day, and evening had already fallen.

  Outside the Civic Hall, dozens of players with the [Starlight Village Member] tag sat on the grass, gazing up at the stars.

  "It's strange," a female player remarked to her friend. "Starlight Village feels… warm. Like a real home."

  The male player sitting with her nodded. "Now that you mention it, I feel the same way. I'm actually attached to this place."

  "In all the other towns," the woman continued, "it feels like we're just visitors on NPC turf. We're just passing through, grabbing quests, and leaving."

  "You're not wrong," another player chimed in, pointing to a brightly lit three-story pavilion in the distance. "See that building over there? We built that. Every plank, every nail, came from quests we all did together."

  "The lights on it are beautiful," someone whispered.

  Listening to them, Kael felt a warmth spread through his own chest. He and tens of thousands of other players had fought and bled to conquer this village. It was nothing like the other towns that treated players like disposable errand boys.

  In the grand scheme of the continent, Starlight Village might be as insignificant as a single star in the night sky. But as he knew, every one of those stars was a sun, brighter and more powerful than they appeared from a distance.

  Ping!

  The sound of an incoming message broke his reverie. He opened his interface. It was Lila. She was online.

  [Lila]: Hey, are you busy?

  [Kael]: Just finished. Did you get everything sorted out on your end?

  [Lila]: Not yet. Um, listen… can you come to a party tomorrow night?

  [Kael]: What kind of party?

  [Lila]: It's… my wedding.

  What?

  [Kael]: Don't do anything rash! I told you, I found a way to solve the Whitmore Group's financial problems!

  [Lila]: Thank you, Kael… I tried to convince my father. I really did. But I failed…

  [Kael]: Let’s meet up and talk. I’m serious, I have a solution. The Mordant family are vultures. Their goal is to swallow your family’s company whole.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  [Lila]: I know. My father knows, too… But we don't have a choice. Our creditors and shareholders are all calling in their debts at once. They're demanding we fill a hundred-billion-dollar hole immediately. If this wedding doesn't happen, the Whitmore Group is finished.

  Kael was speechless. He knew that no amount of talking could solve this now. After a long moment of thought, he typed a solemn reply.

  [Kael]: Don't worry. I won't let you throw your life away.

  Offline, Lila was sobbing, her screen blurred by tears. "Kael," she whispered to the empty room, "I don't know why I'm telling you all this. But when I talk to you, it feels like I've known you forever…"

  Kael woke from the game pod with a jolt, sitting bolt upright.

  In his past life, analysts had spent years debating how Crimson Bloom became the only all-female guild to break into the top 20.

  Some credited their funding. Others claimed it was a triumph of female empowerment. Many pointed to Lila's incredible charisma. Countless reporters tried to interview her, but she refused them all.

  Kael was perhaps the only male player who had ever actually met her.

  Except, that time, Lila hadn't "seen" him. She couldn't see anything at all.

  She was blind.

  And it was that bastard Caleb's fault.

  Lila, the revered leader of Crimson Bloom, hailed as the strongest female player on the planet, was blind in the real world.

  The moment Kael met her, he felt something stir within. She was poised and graceful, yet a flicker of pain crossed her face whenever she spoke of her past.

  In his previous life, the curse of his -3 Luck stat had slowed his progress to a crawl. By the time he was strong enough to matter, by the time he had gotten to know Lila, the Whitmore family had already fallen.

  This time, he would not let that tragedy repeat.

  Kael immediately called Elon, who replied instantly with a text message: This is my classmate, Ben Carrington. His number is (212) 555-1234. He can help you.

  Kael dialed the number without a second's hesitation.

  .....

  At a sprawling estate on Lake Windermere, Edmund Whitmore stood by the window, staring out at the water with a pensive expression.

  "My dear child, Caleb is only in a mild coma. He'll be fine soon. Technology is so advanced these days; I'm sure he'll be talking again in no time."

  Lila stared at the floor, saying nothing.

  A man of about thirty, the woman's son, sidled up to them. "Don't worry, little sister," he said with a slimy grin. "I'll get the company's finances back in order soon enough. Then you can just divorce the vegetable."

  Lila's head snapped up, her eyes burning with a cold fury that made her stepbrother, Seth, flinch and retreat behind his mother.

  "Seth, what a terrible thing to say!" his mother, Paige, chided, giving him a fake slap on the arm. "What vegetative state? Caleb just suffered a little shock to the brain. Is there any illness modern medicine can't cure?"

  Then she turned back to Lila, her face a mask of saccharine smiles. "Lila, dear, the Mordant family is in a completely different league from us. We have some standing here on Earth, but their influence is far greater. And they have connections to the Carrington family!

  The Carringtons' power spans the entire galaxy; they're more powerful than we can even imagine. Once you marry into their family, you'll probably forget all about the little old Whitmore Group! Just don't forget your family, you hear?"

  Lila couldn't take another second of her stepmother's drivel. She slammed her hands on the table and shot to her feet, pointing a trembling finger at the woman. "Get out," she seethed. "Get. Out. Of my sight!"

  "You—" Paige's face hardened, but before she could retort, Edmund spoke.

  "That's enough. Paige, take Seth and leave us."

  Hearing her husband's tone, Paige swallowed her anger. She gave her son a look, and the two of them went upstairs.

  After they were gone, Edmund sighed and walked over to his daughter. "Lila, don't mind your stepmother. Her words are harsh, but she's not wrong. The Mordant family is a better match for us. They have the backing of the Carringtons, and their potential is beyond anything you can imagine. You won't be mistreated there."

  Alone with her father, the tears Lila had been holding back finally began to fall, silent tracks down her cheeks. Edmund knew how much she was suffering. She had always been strong-willed, ever since she was a child. He had expected her to fight this, to refuse to sacrifice her happiness for the family by marrying a comatose man. He was shocked when she didn't object.

  "Lila," he said quietly, "I thought you would fight me on this, marrying the Mordant heir. I never expected you to agree so easily."

  Lila kept her head down. "I am your daughter," she whispered. "I don't want to see you suffer. I've enjoyed the life this family has given me. It's only right that I give something back when the family needs it most."

  Edmund sighed, at a loss for words. In that moment, he felt like a complete failure as a father.