The disappearance of the markers left Marcus staring at the passage walls in disbelief. Every scratch he had carved, every sign he had carefully left behind to guide himself through the maze, had vanished without a trace. Those damned black wind monsters had truly done him dirty. Now he was back at the beginning, forced to grope through the labyrinth all over again.

The Mystic Turtle’s Tomb was officially a nightmare.

He rubbed his face, resisting the very real urge to shout at the empty tunnels. Hours of work gone. Progress erased. Whoever designed this place clearly hated players.

Still, complaining solved nothing. With a long breath, Marcus summoned his pets again, swung himself onto Blackie, and began marking the walls once more as he moved forward, searching for the hidden entrance to the second level.

Three hours passed in silence.

The tomb’s passages stretched endlessly, dark and lifeless, the air heavy with loneliness. Only the echo of footsteps and distant monster growls accompanied him. Judging from experience, he still had at least six or seven more hours of wandering ahead before success was even possible.

By the time Marcus was angrily cutting down a group of Stone Grunts blocking his path, frustration had already reached its peak.

Then his phone rang.

"Who now?" he muttered, wiping imaginary dust from his hands as he quickly logged out of the game.

The moment he saw the caller ID, his mood changed instantly.

"Oh? Now she’s looking for me?"

He accepted the video call without hesitation.

The woman appearing on the screen carried an effortless maturity that immediately captured attention. Her figure was graceful and perfectly proportioned, every curve balanced with natural elegance. She possessed the kind of beauty that felt both heavenly and dangerous at the same time, like something meant to tempt fate itself.

Marcus instinctively straightened.

His gaze lingered longer than it probably should have, tracing familiar lines he had not seen in over a year. She had always possessed a striking presence, but seeing her again like this made the distance between memory and reality collapse in an instant.

Especially that confident posture and the soft curve framed by her white top, which drew the eye without even trying.

He cleared his throat and forced himself to behave.

"Hey there, beautiful."

The woman on the screen was none other than Talia Quinn, one of Crestwood University’s famed Four Campus Queens. Among students she was known as a natural-born beauty, someone who seemed blessed by fate itself.

Among women, she was jokingly called a vixen. Among men, she was a legend.

Admired, envied, and completely untouchable.

Talia smiled, and it felt like sunlight breaking through clouds. Her expression held effortless charm, her red lips curved with teasing confidence that had always made people lose their composure.

"Handsome," she asked playfully, "did you miss me?"

"Yeah," Marcus answered honestly, nodding. "I was actually thinking of calling you a few days ago."

A faint warmth flickered across Talia’s eyes.

She studied him carefully through the screen. Marcus looked almost the same as he had a year ago, still strong, still composed, still carrying that quiet dominance that had once unsettled her heart. Yet something about him had changed. The hesitation he used to carry was gone. There was confidence now, a grounded presence, and a certain openness in his expression that felt unmistakably masculine.

He no longer looked like the boy who hid his feelings behind awkward restraint.

Seeing the way his gaze lingered on her, unconsciously honest, made her heartbeat quicken instead of annoy her. Rather than embarrassment, she felt strangely pleased.

He had grown.

"Marcus..." she said softly before she could stop herself.

Emotion rose unexpectedly, tightening her chest. For a moment she wanted nothing more than to step through the screen and hug him. A year of distance pressed heavily against her composure.

"Talia? What’s wrong?" Marcus asked, noticing the subtle shift in her expression. His tone softened instinctively.

"Nothing. Really."

She shook her head quickly, forcing a smile back onto her face. Proud and confident as always, she refused to let emotion show too clearly. Still, curiosity slipped through.

"Marcus, seriously," she asked, trying to sound casual, "you really missed me?"

Marcus scratched the back of his head.

"Of course I did. Didn’t you promise me a surprise? I’ve been wondering what it is."

He winked, half teasing.

Talia froze for a second, then glared at him through the screen. So that was what he missed? The surprise?

She felt an immediate urge to reach through the phone and smack him. All that anticipation, all those emotions, and this idiot was focused on curiosity.

Yet before she could complain, she noticed his eyes drifting again. Subtle, careful, but impossible to hide completely. His gaze lingered where her low-cut white top dipped slightly as she leaned forward, revealing just enough to spark imagination.

Talia almost laughed.

’Pervert. A shy one, but still a pervert.’

Instead of pulling back, she shifted slightly on purpose, adjusting her posture so the camera captured her figure even better. The movement looked casual, natural, but it displayed her elegance perfectly.

If he was going to stare, she might as well reward him.

Her glare carried hidden amusement.

No other man received this kind of indulgence from her. No one else ever would. The realization filled her with quiet satisfaction. She had chosen that outfit today very carefully, and judging from Marcus’s reaction, the decision had been absolutely correct.

"Marcus," she said, voice softening again, "do you want to know what the surprise is?"

"Obviously," he replied immediately. "You’ve got me completely curious."

She laughed lightly, enjoying the way his attention sharpened.

Then Marcus suddenly leaned closer to the screen, eyes widening.

"Wait... Talia, where are you?"

Only now did he notice the background behind her. The familiar buildings, the stone pathways, the unmistakable entrance gates.

His expression shifted from confusion to disbelief.

Talia winked, clearly proud of herself. She said sweetly, "where do you think I am?"