Dexter's body materialized inside the house on their personal island. After cracking his neck and routinely checking his inventory post-resurrection, he smirked at the thought that he had nothing left — not even the rolled dry leaf.
Transforming one bracer into a Summoner Staff and the other into a Black Cloak (which could alter his appearance), he immediately summoned a Tier VIII Spectral Panther and rode off.
After using the Traveller, Dexter headed back to the coliseum to check on Stella, who had been left inside the arena.
"She should be able to fight on her own now," he thought. "I gave her all the equipment she'd need to survive the arena without me. Worst case, if she dies, I'll just resurrect her and switch kingdoms."
Resurrection after a fight in the Obsidian League was permitted, but with strict rules: the deceased had to surrender all their coins and items to the winning participant, provided someone was there to revive them. Otherwise, they would perish permanently.
However, there were exceptions. If a participant wasn't resurrected within ten seconds of death, it would be too late — a fate that had befallen many in the past.
…
Dexter walked through the coliseum's hall, heading toward the spectator stands.
'Why is it so quiet in here?' he thought.
With every step he took, a dull thumping sound echoed around him. The closer he got to the corridor's end, where light spilled in, the louder the noise became.
As he exited the passageway, the blinding afternoon sun hit his face. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw a demon — Stella — smashing Sleezeer's face into pulp.
Juxtakeez flinched with every full swing of Stella's Holy Bonking Staff, each strike further crushing Sleezeer's already broken skull.
Then, the crowd watched in horror as Sleezeer's body withered into a skeleton, entangled in vines and roots. With one final swing, Stella shattered the skull, reducing it to dust.
"Hehe…" Her giggle sent shivers down the spines of every spectator.
Even the announcer stumbled over his words.
"L-Luna… the Princess just killed Sleezeer! N-Now she's turning toward Juxtakeez with that B-Bonking Staff! The horror… the terror of IBonkSheBonk! Who would've thought she was a demoness behind an angel's face?!"
He couldn't bring himself to finish calling her "Lunatic" — terrified she might smash his face next.
...
'Did I just awaken something inside Stella that shouldn't have been awakened?' Dexter thought, his smile twitching.
'Well, anyway… it's good that she changed. As long as she doesn't change her view of me, that's fine.'
After a few minutes of silence — punctuated only by the spectators' horrified groans — Stella finished smashing Juxtakeez's face, killing him the same way she had Sleezeer.
She then picked up the loot bags near the skeletal remains of those who had died in the Obsidian League, including Dexter's rolled dry leaves.
The announcer tried his best to hype Stella's victory, but the audience could only gulp, staring at her in stunned silence.
"I thought she was the princess type — someone to protect. Didn't know we should be protecting ourselves from her," someone whispered.
"Yeah… I don't want to end up like her boyfriend, dying just to root the enemy. Hell, I don't even want to be her enemy," another muttered back.
After looting everything, Stella glanced at the crowd and spotted an old man in a black cloak smiling at her. She grinned in return and waved.
'/w Stella Arzois Did you have fun?'
(So much fun! Hehe, I can't wait for the next fight… I've got plenty of coins now! We can eat anything we want! My treat!)
The crowd stared at the cloaked man, assuming he was her sponsor — the one who had supplied her battle gear.
'/r Tomorrow… I'll let you keep fighting here while I prepare the necessary equipment for the Uncharted Zone. Oh, and buy every Combat Mastery Tome on the market. That way, you can level up your gear to Tier X ASAP. I'll craft a Tier X set just for you.'
With that, Dexter turned and left the coliseum. He knew Stella would be safe now, thanks to the gear he'd given her. She might not be a skilled fighter, but being overgeared was more than enough.
…
Stella's name echoed throughout the Sunscar Kingdom as her winning streak in 1v2 Obsidian League matches continued. She was gradually mastering the use of the equipment Dexter had crafted for her. With an endless supply of coins from her victorious bets and looted enemies, she had already maxed out her Combat Mastery, though her Specialization in specific equipment had only reached level 126.
Meanwhile, Dexter remained immersed in crafting. His equipment transformation was still stuck at Tier IX. After Stella's first Obsidian League fight, he had prioritized maxing out his Crafting skill — buying raw materials, refining them, crafting items, selling the products, and repeating the process until he had perfected every aspect of his craft.
This cycle repeated for over half a year.
The issue regarding Dexter's loot bag in the Crimson Tree Zone became a hot topic — so much so that Dexter laughed when Stella told him the news, though she remained unaware the bag had been his.
By now, the Limitless Alliance had grown far larger than in previous months, as countless guilds joined in hopes of finding the "Legendary Loot Bag." With millions of other loot bags scattered alongside it, no one could distinguish the real one anymore.
Meanwhile, the attacking guilds had consolidated into an established alliance: the Demon God's Alliance, named after the Demonic Transformation Dexter had revealed to them. The only thing stopping them from fully embracing demonhood was obtaining Dexter's loot bag — despite it containing nothing but a Rolled Dry Leaf. Yet, no one believed such a simple truth.
…
Deep inside the Warring Kingdom PK Zone, near Blackreach Throne,
a man clad in full black wizard robes sat in the dungeon, clutching a cursed staff as he waited for unlucky farmers to enter.
"It's been almost nine months since I unconsciously joined this guild," he muttered. "I didn't even apply... no one messages me... What the hell is this guild even about?"
Mojomojo nibbled on dried jerky while lying in wait, concealed in the dungeon's darkest corner.