The core imploded, sending a shockwave that rippled through the ruins. The light swallowed everything for a second, and when it faded, the Leviathan's massive body lay motionless, drifting downward into the trench below.

Silence. Then—

"Holy crap," Jayden whispered, bubbles escaping from his helmet. "We… actually did it?"

Daol exhaled slowly, lowering his trident. "By the depths, I didn't think mortals could pull that off."

Oliver chuckled, brushing debris off his armor. "We're not mortals, friend. We're players with too much time and not enough sense."

Xavier floated there, watching the Leviathan sink into the abyss until it disappeared. Then he grinned faintly. "Told you it'd work."

Jayden swam up beside him, practically vibrating with excitement. "That was insane! You gotta teach me that move you did near the end!"

Xavier patted the kid's helmet. "Maybe next time. Let's grab our loot before the system wipes it."

Oliver laughed. "You really think I'm letting you get all the drops again?"

"Try me," Xavier said, smirking as he swam toward the glowing treasure cluster near the Leviathan's remains. The faint light from the chest reflected on his cracked armor, and for a moment, his grin widened—not the grin of a hero, but of someone who'd just remembered what it felt like to enjoy chaos again.

The only reason Xavier used a mid-tier gear was so that Jayden could play with him. Otherwise, he would have simply one-shotted the beast.

As the beast's body dissolved into streams of azure light, the entire chamber began to calm. The shaking stopped, the water stilled, and the ruins settled into an eerie silence. The Leviathan's death cry echoed one last time before fading into the deep, leaving only a swirl of glowing fragments in its wake.

System notifications began to pop up one after another.

[Leviathan of the Abyss – Defeated]

[You have received: Abyssal Core (Epic), Leviathan Scale Armor Blueprint (Legendary), Sea God's Tear (Unique), 1,000,000 EXP, 12,000 Credits]

"Damn," Oliver muttered, scrolling through the reward list on his HUD. "Now that's some serious loot."

Jayden's avatar spun in excitement, kicking up bubbles. "I got a new crossbow mod! Holy crap, this thing boosts crit rate underwater!"

Even Daol—the NPC—turned toward them, bowing slightly. "I owe you all a great debt. Without your help, the curse of the deep would've devoured the city. The ocean will remember your courage."

Then came another notification:

[Daol Drayen has received: Leviathan Fang (Rare), 30,000 EXP, 500 Credits]

Jayden blinked. "Wait… even NPCs get loot now?"

Xavier chuckled. "Guess the devs are making this world a little more 'fair.' Can't complain—he did his part."

He opened the loot menu and started distributing items. "Alright, let's divide this properly. Jayden, you take the crossbow mod and the extra scales. Oliver, blueprint's yours—you'll probably make better use of it than me."

Oliver tilted his head. "You're sure? That armor's top tier even for low-rank sets."

Xavier shrugged. "Yeah, but it doesn't match my build. Besides…" He looked around the ruined chamber, watching the last remnants of the Leviathan's light drift away. "I don't need it. Not for this kind of run."

Jayden floated closer, his avatar's eyes wide. "You're like… the coolest dude ever."

"Don't let the devs hear that," Xavier said with a smirk. "They'll start asking me to do sponsored tutorials or some dumb crap."

Daol nodded in gratitude. "When the tides are calm again, the city will honor your names. Until then, I will remain here to ensure the curse never returns."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Xavier said, waving him off. "We'll leave you to babysit the ruins."

As they swam upward toward the shimmering light that led out of the chamber, Jayden asked, "So what's next? Another dungeon? Maybe a raid?"

Xavier grinned. "We'll see. Let's cash out the loot first—then maybe I'll take you somewhere fun. You earned it, kid."

The three of them broke through the surface, the underwater city glowing beneath them like a sleeping constellation. The reward prompts faded, the ocean breeze replaced the deep silence, and for a moment, Xavier just stared at it all—the peace after the chaos, the quiet thrill that only victory could bring.

Oliver floated up beside him. "Feels good to be back, huh?"

"Yeah," Xavier said softly. "It does."

They warped back into the main plaza of Aqualis Town, the vibrant hub glowing with neon coral lights and traders shouting out their offers. Adventurers rushed in and out of portals, bragging about loot or flexing their new equipment. The three of them—Xavier, Oliver, and Jayden—walked toward the trade post, water rippling at their ankles as the town's soft background music played.

Xavier placed his items on the counter, the merchant NPC bowing and quickly calculating the total. "Conversion complete," the NPC said in a rehearsed tone. "Your credits have been added."

Jayden was practically bouncing. "That was so fun! I can't believe we actually beat the Leviathan! And Daol didn't even die once!"

Oliver chuckled. "That's a first."

After cashing out their loot and splitting the earnings, it was clear the kid wasn't ready to stop yet. His avatar was still running in circles around the fountain, sword out, slashing the air like he was still in the fight. Xavier looked at Oliver, who just smirked knowingly.

"Alright," Xavier said finally, "you hungry?"

Jayden blinked. "Uh… yeah?"

"Good," Xavier said, motioning toward a nearby inn with a neon fish-shaped sign glowing above it. "Let's get something before we call it."

The three of them walked into the restaurant—one of those cozy VR taverns with background chatter, flickering lanterns, and digital food that looked almost too real. They sat down by the window overlooking the glowing underwater city, ordered some stew, and just chilled for a bit. Jayden kept talking about how he wanted to explore the sky continent next time, how he'd train harder and maybe even get his own flying mount.

Xavier listened, half-smiling as he took a sip of his drink. "You really like this world, huh?"

Jayden grinned. "Yeah. It's like… you can be anything here. Nobody yells, nobody hits you. It's just… free."

For a moment, Xavier just watched him quietly. Then he leaned back. "You know, we'll continue later some day. But right now, we need to log out—we've got academy tomorrow."

Jayden's smile faded a bit. "So you're not gonna play with me again, right?"

Xavier shook his head. "Nah, kid. I will." He opened his friend list, sent the request, and added Jayden. "See? You're stuck with me now. Besides, I had fun today. You're not boring—and trust me, if you were, I'd have logged off five minutes in."

Jayden laughed, eyes bright. "Okay! Promise you'll come online again soon!"

"Promise," Xavier said, and for once, it wasn't just empty words.

'With this, I have my perfect testimony ready.' Xavier thought to himself.

Jayden's avatar glowed and dissolved into light as he logged out, leaving just Xavier and Oliver at the table. The restaurant noise filled the space for a few seconds before Xavier let out a long sigh, slumping back into his chair.

Oliver looked at him. "What's that for?"

"Too many things," Xavier muttered.

Oliver raised a brow. "Like?"

Xavier hesitated, then smirked faintly. "It's not something I can talk about in-game."

Oliver folded his arms. "Come on, I can keep a secret."

Xavier leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Fine. I'm… kinda dating Angel."

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