Chapter 257: Ancient Rivals

Camillo truly was something extraordinary.

Her beauty alone could have turned heads anywhere in Dominion, but it was not just her appearance that made her remarkable. Beneath that elegant, dangerously alluring exterior was the power of a creature whose strength once rivaled the most terrifying bosses in the game.

Even in her weakened state, her abilities were formidable.

Marcus felt a quiet surge of pride as he looked at her. Excitement stirred beneath it as well. The legendary Vixen Queen, a being feared and desired in equal measure, now stood under his command.

Curious, Marcus opened the Pet Leaderboard. Just as he had suspected, Camillo’s name was nowhere to be found.

Lyanna’s name had never appeared on it either, despite the fact that she was technically his companion. Apparently the system treated them differently from ordinary pets.

They existed outside the usual rules.

Marcus considered this for a moment, then decided to test something.

“Summon Lyanna,” he said.

“And the Shadow-Stained Gryphon King.”

For a brief second the room remained silent. Marcus watched the space in front of him closely, waiting for the system’s response.

Then two new figures appeared.

Lyanna materialized first, her tall armored form emerging in a faint shimmer of light, the radiant aura of a Saint Knight immediately filling the room. Moments later the enormous Shadow-Stained Gryphon King manifested beside her, its dark wings folding neatly against its powerful body.

Marcus let out a laugh of pure satisfaction.

’It worked.’

Just like Lyanna, Camillo did not occupy a normal pet slot. The system treated them as something closer to special companions rather than ordinary summons.

Which meant Marcus could keep all three active at the same time.

The Vixen Queen.

The Saint Knight.

And the Gryphon King.

Having companions capable of taking human form really did change the game in ways most players could not even imagine.

Unfortunately, the reunion that followed was anything but pleasant.

The moment Lyanna’s eyes landed on Camillo, the Saint Knight’s expression changed.

At first there was a flicker of confusion, as if she could not quite believe what she was seeing. Then her gaze sharpened instantly, turning cold and dangerously focused.

Her brows drew together, and her grip tightened around the shaft of her Wyvern Flame Spear.

If the system allowed friendly fire, she looked ready to drive the weapon straight through Camillo’s chest without a second thought.

Camillo’s reaction was no warmer.

The moment she sensed the pure, radiant aura emanating from the Saint Knight, the faint smile playing on the Vixen Queen’s lips shifted into something sharper. Her eyes narrowed slightly, the seductive warmth within them replaced by open disdain.

She looked at Lyanna the way one might look at an irritating insect.

Marcus blinked.

“Well… that escalated quickly.”

He watched the two women carefully as the tension between them thickened like a gathering storm.

“Light and darkness really don’t mix,” he muttered under his breath.

Still, their reactions seemed far more intense than simple elemental opposition.

Lyanna had never shown this kind of hostility toward the Gryphon King, even though the creature was unquestionably demonic in nature. If anything, she usually ignored it completely.

But Camillo?

The moment the two laid eyes on each other, the atmosphere had turned instantly hostile.

Marcus studied them both, searching for some clue that might explain it.

Other than their overwhelming beauty and their completely opposite temperaments, he could not find an obvious answer.

Lyanna carried herself with the calm dignity of a divine knight, her presence almost saintly, like a warrior chosen by the heavens themselves.

Camillo, by contrast, radiated a mature and intoxicating charm, every movement dripping with confident allure.

They were opposites in almost every possible way.

“Is this just… jealousy?” Marcus wondered.

The thought felt a little ridiculous, but Dominion was a game famous for the depth of its character systems. NPCs and companions were written with complex personalities that often behaved in surprisingly human ways.

Two women of such pride and status might simply dislike standing beside someone who could rival them.

Beside him, Alana seemed to feel the tension as well.

The sudden appearance of these two breathtaking figures had clearly caught her off guard. She looked flustered, glancing nervously between Lyanna and Camillo before unconsciously tightening her grip on Marcus’s arm, as if afraid he might forget she was there.

Marcus chuckled softly.

“Silly girl.”

He gently pulled her a little closer.

Alana seemed unaware of just how charming she looked herself. Her beauty was softer and more innocent than the other two, but it carried its own quiet appeal that was impossible to overlook.

Still, regardless of how his companions felt about each other, the hierarchy here was clear.

Marcus was their master. He was the one calling the shots.

At the same time, he did not actually mind that they had emotions and personalities of their own. In fact, he preferred it. A companion that simply followed commands like a mindless puppet was dull.

Anger, curiosity, pride, affection.

Those little sparks of emotion made them feel real, almost as if they truly possessed souls.

What Marcus did not know was that the tension in the room had nothing to do with jealousy.

A thousand years ago, long before the current era of Dominion, Lyanna and Camillo had been legendary rivals.

Both had been powerful figures in their time, each determined to prove her superiority over the other. Their clashes had become the stuff of old stories and whispered legends.

Seeing her ancient enemy standing right in front of her again was the last thing either of them expected.

The only reason they had not already torn each other apart was the system’s restriction that prevented allies from attacking one another.

After a few tense moments, both women slowly shifted their gaze toward Marcus.

Their expressions held a strange mixture of curiosity and confusion.

Clearly, they were wondering what kind of man could possibly bring two ancient rivals like them under the same banner.

Marcus, completely unaware of the history playing out before him, simply gave them a relaxed and slightly mischievous grin.

Seeing his companions show this much interest in him was actually refreshing. Lyanna in particular had always maintained a somewhat distant attitude, as if she were a knight bound by duty rather than loyalty.

This new reaction felt… different.

“Alright, Camillo,” Marcus said, turning his attention back to the Vixen Queen. “Let’s work on getting you back to full strength. Drink this.”

He reached into his inventory and pulled out a small vial containing clear, shimmering liquid.

The Spring of Purity.

Camillo was still suffering from the aftermath of her failed trial. Her level had been forcibly capped at fifty, and her body carried lingering injuries that prevented her from regaining her former power.

Seeing such a formidable being weakened like this was painful.

Without hesitation, Marcus handed the vial to her.

Camillo studied him for a brief moment before taking it and drinking the contents.

A system notification chimed immediately.

Ding!

“Congratulations, Stonehaven! Your companion Camillo has consumed the Spring of Purity. Her injuries have been partially healed.

Maximum level increased to 60.

Intimacy toward you increased by 5 points.”

Marcus nearly stumbled.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

That vial had come from one of the five legendary springs of the Dreamland Continent. Items like that were practically irreplaceable.

In the entire world, he only had eight vials left.

And after using something that rare, Camillo’s level cap had only increased by ten.

Which meant her injuries were far worse than he originally believed.

To fully restore her, he would need to find treasures even more powerful than the Spring of Purity.

Still, the situation raised another question in Marcus’s mind.

When Camillo had first entered his soul space earlier, her recovery had jumped by nearly fifty percent simply from exposure to the energy in his blood.

That effect had been far stronger than what the legendary spring had just accomplished.

“What exactly is in my blood?” Marcus wondered.

After thinking about it for a moment, he became increasingly certain that it had something to do with his Human Rock technique.

Within Dominion, player attributes were generated by scanning the user’s real-world physical condition. The game then translated that data into numerical stats inside the virtual world.

Marcus’s attributes were so absurdly high because his real-world body had been pushed to extraordinary limits through years of relentless training.

Dominion was not giving him anything unnatural. It was simply allowing him to fully manifest the potential his body already possessed.

He was not some system bug. He was just someone who had mastered an ancient technique.

Yet as Marcus stood there in his luxurious mansion, surrounded by legendary artifacts and companions whose beauty alone could shake kingdoms, a quiet thought crossed his mind.

Just how far could that potential truly go?

In this world, where myth and reality blurred together, would he eventually rise high enough to become something more than human?

Something closer to a god?

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