Return as a God-level Assassin

Actually, Elias had another option.

He could teleport to another town to farm monsters, making it much harder for Riven to track him down.

But Elias couldn't swallow his pride!

He had spent two and a half years grinding to reach his current level—how could he let himself be humiliated in a mere game?

"Ladies, let's log off for now. I'm heading to the real world to buy some lifespan—I'll trade it for better gear!"

"Once we're fully armed and stronger, we'll go back and settle the score with him!"

After making his declaration, Elias logged out from Firefly Town.

The dozens of fangirls fawning over him followed suit, logging out as well.

As they disconnected, they felt a mix of emotions—pain and excitement.

Excitement because they had the chance to get close to their idol, Elias.

Pain because they had all been brutally slaughtered in Eclipse of Eternity, mercilessly killed by 'Shadow'!

"Oh my god, I'm so lucky! I actually got to be this close to Elias in-game!"

"Ughhh, Elias looked so cool when he used his skills!"

"Even if it's just in the game, being able to follow Elias is amazing!"

"Everything was perfect… until that lunatic Shadow showed up and tore through us like a rabid dog!"

"That guy must be jealous of Elias! No other explanation!"

"It's fine! I heard you can buy lifespan with real money. Let's pool our funds and buy some for Elias!"

At this moment…

Most of Elias' obsessed fangirls still had no idea what Eclipse of Eternity's "lifespan" truly meant.

Since they had spent all their time glued to Elias' side, they hadn't seen the official government announcements about the game's shocking reality.

Because of this, they carelessly poured all their lifespan into Elias.

Some even threw themselves in front of him to take hits, sacrificing themselves without hesitation.

It wasn't until they logged back into reality that they finally saw the news—

"Eclipse of Eternity is a true supernatural game!

All tradable and non-tradable lifespan in the game is real!

Once your lifespan hits zero, you die in real life!"

The moment they heard this, their world crumbled.

"No way! This is just a game, right?!"

"We got killed by Shadow three times! Our tradable lifespan is gone, and our non-tradable lifespan is down to just a few years!"

"I had over seventy years left… Now, I only have one year left?!"

"Wait, how did you lose that much?"

"I killed a lot of other players… I had the 'Murderer' debuff! Every death takes more lifespan!"

"No way… I only have two years left?! This can't be real!"

Panic.

Regret.

Despair.

Many of them instantly broke down.

They had assumed it was all just a game.

They had willingly given everything to Elias, helped him in every way, even dying for him…

But now, they realized Eclipse of Eternity was real.

Lifespan was real.

Death was real.

Some had died tanking monsters for Elias.

Others had killed too many players, gotten marked as 'Murderer,' and then been massacred by Riven—now they had only a year or two left to live.

"Does this mean we only have a couple of years left?!"

The fangirls were in utter shock.

Many of them regretted everything.

But… there were still some who had fallen too deep into their obsession.

For them, even if it meant living only another year or two, being close to Elias had been worth it…

Meanwhile…

Elias had begun a frenzied purchase spree.

"Buy! Buy! Buy!"

"Tradable lifespan is selling for ten grand per day? Whatever, buy it! I still have over a 20 million in liquid assets."

"Damn it! My agency took the rest of my money."

"Fine, even with just this, I can buy a few thousand days! I'll max out my gear and skills! Let's see if that damn Shadow can still kill me then!"

Elias may have logged out of the game…

But he didn't realize—his real danger had only just begun.

Back in Firefly Town, Riven returned to the plaza and found Sylvia waiting for him.

"If Elias logs back in, let me know."

Sylvia nodded nervously. "O-okay."

She was clearly a little scared.

After witnessing 'Shadow' slaughter Elias and his army of fangirls, she had developed a mild trauma toward him.

The sight of corpses everywhere, the blood-red flowers blooming across the battlefield… It sent shivers down her spine.

"This is a Gold-tier Cleric skill. Do you want it?"

Riven pulled out a skill book—"Holy Judgment Blade".

Though it was a single-target spell, it packed a solid punch, making it one of the few offensive skills for Clerics.

Sylvia's eyes lit up. "Yes! I want it!"

Riven smirked. "Five hundred days of lifespan."

Sylvia froze.

She rubbed her hands together, hesitating before asking in a small voice, "Uhh, big guy… Can I pay in installments?"

Riven thought for a moment. "Fine. But only if you agree to one thing—I'll sell it to you at half price."

Sylvia immediately took two steps back. "Hold on—just to be clear, I'm not selling my body!"

Riven: "…"

Where the hell did that come from?!

After a bit of clarification, Sylvia finally understood.

Turned out, this terrifying 'Shadow' just wanted her to join his friend's team.

Of course, Riven was referring to Marcus, Lina, and the others.

Since he wanted to get Lyra out of their party, he needed to replace her with a strong Cleric.

And Sylvia fit the bill perfectly.

Sylvia tilted her head, considering. "Alright, fine. But if they suck, I'm coming back to complain to you!"

Riven chuckled. "They're decent."

If Marcus had heard that, he probably would've coughed up blood.

In the eyes of ordinary players, their squad was already top-tier…

And yet, in Riven's eyes, they were merely 'decent'?

With Sylvia on board, Riven contacted Marcus.

"Marcus, I've got someone for you—hidden class, Dawnfeather Oracle. She's strong. Want her in your team?"

Riven half-expected Marcus to hesitate.

But to his surprise…

Marcus replied almost immediately!