[BONUS]

Leonel flashed a lazy grin. "So close."

"How is that close?!" Sky snarled.

He then cleared his throat and turned away from Leonel. "World Conqueror, right?" asked Sky, eyes on Ren.

"Too bad about Azurith's tomb, ey? I guess we won't be dealing with you in the end. Don't wanna get on Mr. Alvarez's bad side after all. You should have accepted our offer the first time," Sky said with a snarky tone.

Ren raised a brow. "Do I know you?"

". . ." Sky was taken aback and he couldn't react.

Seeing Sky get flustered that his face turned red, Ragnar and Evie did their best to hold back their laughter. It was even funnier to see his eyes widen in disbelief.

But Leonel didn't even bother hiding his amusement. "Ahahaha! Ren, this is Sky. He's the one I told you about regarding that tomb."

Ren briefly read the guild beside Sky's name. "Charming Z?"

Sky recovered from his embarrassment and puffed his chest. "That's right. And we'll be the ones to kill the World Boss. What's more, we're this close in deciphering Azurith's tomb and . . . blah . . . blah . . ."

While Sky was speaking, Ren tried recalling the guild's name. Sadly, the name didn't ring a bell. Guilds that were past rank twenty in the leaderboards were hazy in his mind.

"Do you want something?" Ren didn't know Sky at all, so he was confused as to why the man even approached them in the first place.

Sky gradually lost his voice. Despite everything he had said, it seemed like Ren didn't get his underlying meaning. He assumed the other party would know Charming Z, especially with the ladies, since they were famous. They were a group of pop idols who were lean, cute, and definitely charming to death.

How could Ren not know them? Was he just pretending? But the perplexed expression on his face told Sky that he really didn't know Charming Z.

Sky's face turned redder than before. He couldn't say anything and subconsciously took a step back.

Evie, who watched from the side, tried hard to repress her laughter. On the other hand, Ragnar blocked his mouth with his fist to hide his mirth.

But Leonel was nave or secretly mean enough to bend over from laughing. "Ahahahaha! Ren, Sky is our schoolmate. And he's Isolde's ex."

Ren's bored face showed an understanding expression real quickly. Sky wasn't after him. He was after Leonel! He then glanced at his best friend with dead set of eyes.

"What?" Lionel asked, clueless as he wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes.

"Funny that you mentioned Isolde." Sky flipped his hair to the side, holding the last bit of his confidence. "Beware of that woman."

Leonel's smile dropped. "Beware?"

"I thought I already told you about it before? That woman is selfish. We've been together for almost a year, so I know what she's like. She's egotistic and headstrong. She thinks that she's always right and thinks she's entitled to get everything she wants. She'll make you feel useless, and she doesn't even listen to the majority's decision in a group just to satisfy her own wants."

Sky planned to tarnish Isolde's reputation, wanting to make her isolated. He believed that if everyone avoided her, she would have no choice but to go back to him. This was also the reason why he spread rumors behind her back in school, leading to most girls avoiding her.

Sky was also irritated by the fact that Leonel kept on talking and sticking to Isolde like he was her tail. There were rumors about the two of them going out. One of their schoolmates even spotted Leonel giving flowers to Isolde at school.

And this bugged him to no end.

Ren crossed his arms. "So let me get this straight. Isolde is so capable that you didn't have any chance to be a man around her. You can't get her what she wants, and she made you feel useless because she's more masculine than you, so that's why you broke up?"

Cat got Sky's tongue. This was the first time they met, so how could Ren already know what had happened, like he had been there during his relationship with Isolde?

This didn't make any sense to Sky, and he didn't know what to say.

"Don't worry. Isolde is in good hands now. Leonel might not be man enough but his ego isn't so big to mind it." Ren said and grinned at Leonel. "Right, Leo?"

Leonel groaned and forced out a smile. "R-right."

Sky's face drained of blood, and he took a step back. For some reason, the ground suddenly became twisted and shaky.

"T-then you . . ." Sky pointed at Leonel with a shaking finger. Could it really be that Leonel and Isolde were in a relationship now? Were the rumors really true?

Looking at Ren's smirk and Leonel's elusive gaze, Sky felt his heart hurt. He clutched the sides of his head with both hands. The news shocked him so much that he wobbled as he retreated to his guild.

Leonel looked at Sky go and muttered, "Weird guy."

Ren gave him a sidelong glance. Obviously, Sky was threatened by your appearance.

Eventually, the morning shifted into night and Jibblinplip continued its course towards its next meal.

Both real and virtual worlds were monitoring Jibblinplip's movement. The guilds kept a close watch on the World Boss, fearing that something would happen anytime. No one rested, straining their eyes to watch the big blob from dusk to dawn.

And unrest soon followed.

Some players lost the patience they didn't have to begin with.

"This is getting boring. Are we just going to monitor it all day?"

"What are we waiting for? We should attack it!"

"Bunch of cowards! Men, steel yourself! We're going in!"

The standstill was broken by the second wave of attacks from numerous guilds that had lost their patience while the top guilds watched the events unfold. They were patient enough to wait for the right time.

Dozens of guilds rallied at the first sign of war, and hundreds of players answered the call. Storming Jibblinplip with weapons at hand, they started to engage against the World Boss.

Surely, with hundreds and hundreds of players going after its throat at the same time, one of them might get lucky and kill it.

When a lot of them were about a hundred meters from the Continental Ooze, Jibblinplip vibrated, releasing a curious and compelling humming sound. It felt like a buzzing insect and a light massage at the same time.

The ones within a kilometer of the World Boss were affected by the hum and rushed toward Jibblinplip's wiggling embrace, completely forgetting their initial purpose.

All of those who were out of its range took a step back. They shivered upon seeing hundreds of players with ragged, torn hands and feet run toward the World Boss with happy smiles on their faces. They even lept into Jibblinplip's jiggling heap, serving themselves as breakfast.

[Jibblinplip gained +1 to all its ATP from eating more than five hundred players!]