Age of Conquest was not just another online game. It was a global project, overseen by a coalition of the seven largest gaming conglomerates in the world and powered by the Aether-Core, the first true artificial intelligence ever placed at the center of a virtual world. Every player, no matter where they logged in from, existed on the same massive server. New York, London, Tokyo, São Paulo. Different time zones, same sky.
So when Flynn's party found themselves staring at a group of Asian players inside a North American Starter Zone, it was not a glitch. It was design.
The explanation lay in the game's lore.
On the primordial continent of Aetheria, the arrival of the Outsiders had shattered the balance of power. After centuries of brutal war against the indigenous races, the Outsiders, who were human, carved out a foothold in the center of the continent and declared it a sanctuary. That region became Aenoth, the Sacred Sanctuary. From there, humanity expanded outward, building cities atop scarred earth, wielding martial techniques and ancient magic to drive the original masters of the land into the subterranean depths.
For a thousand years, the surface had belonged to the Outsiders. And for a thousand years, they had fought among themselves for dwindling resources.
That was the narrative backdrop.
In practical terms, Aenoth encompassed every Starter Zone and thirty-three major cities. Inside its borders, monsters were weaker and NPC guards were overwhelmingly strong. It was a training ground, a cradle for growth.
Players were generally assigned to Starter Zones based on their real-world location, but the developers had implemented what they called a Global Exchange system. A small percentage of players were randomly spawned outside their home region. The idea was to seed early cross-cultural interaction and rivalry before the inevitable Faction Wars began.
Inside Aenoth, PvP was restricted at first. But once a player reached Level 10, the sanctuary's training wheels came off. Player versus player combat became fully enabled across the district.
And beyond Aenoth lay the Outer World, where players would eventually be funneled into regions corresponding to their real-world nations, setting the stage for continent-scale warfare.
Veterans like Let-There-Be-Light had memorized this months ago. Seeing foreigners in the cave was unexpected, but not shocking.
Flynn, on the other hand, had skipped every cinematic and lore panel the game had thrown at him.
He looked at Hair-Stays-Perfect, who was visibly bristling, then opened a private message to Amy.
"Is it weird that there are foreigners here?"
"Not really," Amy replied automatically, then paused. "Wait. Did you skip the lore intro?"
"Completely."
"That explains a lot." She sent back a concise summary of the world setting and the Global Exchange mechanic.
Flynn glanced at the group across the tunnel. Black hair, sharp features, unfamiliar guild tags. "So they're the lucky ones?"
Amy snorted. "Lucky if you enjoy spawning thousands of miles away from your friends."
While they exchanged messages, Hair-Stays-Perfect leaned closer to Light and the others.
"Anyone recognize them from the village?"
"I don't," Light said, frowning. He had logged in early and pushed straight into the wilderness. Until now, he had not seen a single non-local nameplate.
"That's sketchy," Perfect muttered. "So where did these guys crawl out from?"
Now that Flynn understood the basics, he wasn't particularly surprised. The Starter Zones were just the beginning. Eventually, everyone would converge in Aenoth's major cities anyway. What mattered more to him was the enemy's composition.
He scanned the opposing team carefully. They were not hiding their names or levels. Like Flynn's party, they had assembled a balanced seven-class lineup. All Level 10.
Light's expression tightened. "Look at their setup. I'd bet my gear they're on the same Teleportation Gate quest."
Light's expression hardened. "Look at their setup. I'd bet my gear they're on the Teleportation Gate quest too."
Amy frowned. "Can multiple parties take it?"
"Yes. As long as the gate hasn't been activated, anyone who kills the Wolf King can trigger the chain."
Sky-Slasher, who had been silent until now, spoke evenly. "The Wolf King shouldn't have respawned yet."
"He hasn't," Light agreed. "World bosses take at least three hours. It hasn't been that long since we killed Borg. But if they're not from our zone, they could've killed their own Wolf King."
A brief silence followed as that possibility settled in.
Hair-Stays-Perfect gestured subtly toward the tunnel behind the rival group. "Look at where they came from. They probably crossed over from a neighboring Starter Zone. Most zones are isolated, but some borders overlap. The guides wouldn't mention it if it's rare."
Amy exhaled slowly. "So what do we do?"
Perfect's answer came without hesitation. "We kill them. Then we kill Gulu. He's a Mini-Boss. If they tag him first, we're stuck waiting an hour for the respawn."
"Killing people? Now we're talking."
Flynn's eyes narrowed, something sharp flickering there. His voice carried unmistakable excitement.
The others turned to look at him.
Light blinked. "Didn't realize you were that into PvP."
"PvP? Right." Flynn tilted his head slightly. "Forgot this was a game for a second."
The words were casual, but the chill behind them was not. For a brief moment, his expression had gone cold in a way that didn't match the atmosphere of a game.
'Forgot this was a game?'
Amy shot him a quick look. There was a flicker of unease in her chest that she could not quite name. Who got that excited about killing people, even virtually?
Before anyone could press him further, the opposing party began to move.
Their leader stepped forward.
She was the only woman in the group, tall and composed, her armor polished to a bright sheen. A small icon appeared beside her avatar as she activated the Universal Translator.
"Hello there!" she called out in flawless, system-rendered English. "I'm Kazehana. I'm playing from Japan. These are my friends. We're here on a quest. Have any of you seen a creature named Gulu?
The translation system was elegant. Once activated, it allowed players from different nations to communicate effortlessly. It also signaled intent. Friendly, neutral, or otherwise.
Kazehana kept speaking as her group slowly closed the distance, their smiles were polite and their movements measured.
"Stay sharp," Hair-Stays-Perfect whispered in party chat. "That smile's fake. They're probing. When they get close enough, I'll Charge their Paladin. Everyone focus their Arcanist. Delete him first."
He was a Berserker build, and had chosen Charge at Level 6, favoring aggression over the defensive Taunt. In Age of Conquest, Warriors had to specialize early. Without rare skill books, versatility came at a cost.
The plan made sense. Arcanists were devastating if left alone, but fragile under pressure.
Heads dipped in subtle agreement.
Unnoticed in the growing tension, Flynn had already drifted sideways. The tunnel narrowed near the wall, and the shifting glow of the crystals cast uneven shadows. In the cluttered space between stalagmites and armored bodies, he melted out of the main formation and pressed himself against the rock.
No one, ally or enemy, marked his disappearance.
Kazehana continued forward, her smile unwavering. "Perhaps we can discuss cooperation?" she offered.
"Three" Hair-Stays-Perfect whispered.
The rival team was within striking distance now.
"Two."
Amy's fingers tightened on her bowstring. Beast-Lover's companion beast tensed, as its muscles coiled
"One."
"Go!"
Hair-Stays-Perfect exploded forward with a roar, Charge propelling him like a launched projectile. Amy's arrows flew in the same heartbeat. Beast-Lover barked a command, sending his companion lunging toward the designated target.
Sky-Slasher and Not-A-Bystander surged behind Perfect, steel flashing in the confined space.
Bystander was their true tank, his shield and defense was built for attrition, but he lacked a gap-closer. Perfect had to crack the line open first.
The rival formation reacted instantly. Spells flared. Steel clashed. Light's healing magic fell over Perfect at the exact moment counterattacks began to land, keeping his health bar stable under the sudden pressure.
Amy's arrows and Beast-Lover's coordinated strikes smashed into the rival Arcanist. His health plummeted to a razor-thin line.
One more hit would have ended him. A column of radiant light suddenly engulfed the man.
Kazehana's raised hand glowed with divine energy as a powerful heal slammed into her teammate. The Arcanist's health bar rocketed back up to eighty percent in an instant.
Hair-Stays-Perfect swore. "She's a Holy Knight!"
Holy Knights were the healing branch of the Paladin class. Unlike Clerics, they wore heavy plate and boasted impressive durability. They did not output devastating damage, but killing one was a nightmare. High defense. High health. Strong self-sustain.
The moment of frustration cost them.
The enemy Arcanist, spared from death, completed his incantation. A massive fireball roared down the tunnel, the heat warping the air as it streaked toward Light's chest.
Light's health bar dropped catastrophically.
"Damn it," he hissed, scrambling to cast a heal on himself while retreating half a step.
In the chaos of clashing steel and flashing spells, no one noticed the shift in the enemy backline.
No one except the Rogue who was about to regret it. Flynn stood directly behind him.