I Don't Need To Log Out-Chapter 307: The Cost of Power

And, as expected, Reeb followed.

At their level, teleporting a short distance and simply moving at full speed weren't much different.

Even if Arlon was slightly faster, Reeb knew where he would land.

And he'd aimed accordingly.

His attack was already coming down in June.

A blade, grown from his wrist, angled for her chest.

If Arlon didn't show up, she would die.

If he did show up, he would be the one hit.

Of course, Arlon showed up. He didn't know what to do. He would try to deflect, but due to the momentum Blink killed, he wouldn't be able to do that.

But he still trusted Carole.

And the attack that was supposed to hit them never landed.

It stopped—suspended in the air like it had struck a wall of invisible steel.

A radiant golden hue flickered around them.

Not a barrier.

It was raw magic. Overflowing. Holy. Heavy.

When Arlon and June turned, they saw it.

Carole.

She was at the center of it all.

Standing with her staff held out in front of her, mouth moving in low, fast incantations.

The air shimmered around her like heat waves on a desert plain, but instead of warmth, it radiated sanctity—so intense that it felt like it might burn the soul before it touched the skin.

Light spilled from her staff. From her fingertips. From her eyes.

The other members of the Gamers were frozen in place.

"Carole—how…?" Lei couldn't even finish the question.

She knew that Carole wasn't strong enough to cast something like this.

But Carole didn't seem like she was in a condition to answer any questions right now.

She couldn't.

She was too deep into the spell—too far gone in her focus to speak.

Reeb's expression shifted for the first time.

His gaze flicked to her.

And his brow furrowed.

He was reading her thoughts.

And he didn't like what he found.

He turned quickly, trying to withdraw, but it was too late.

Like a fly caught in a spider's web, he couldn't escape the shimmer of holy magic that wrapped around him.

He twisted, shifted, warped his arms into blades and back again—trying to slip through.

But the field held.

It didn't bind his body. It bound his presence.

Reeb finally stilled.

"You were lucky," he muttered, voice distorted under pressure. "I suppose I'll see you again after you ascend."

Then he turned to Asef.

One word.

"Run."

Asef didn't hesitate.

His body flickered like an illusion, vanishing with a ripple—not a teleport, not a retreat, but a fading. Like a mirage dissolving into wind.

But Arlon knew.

They weren't illusions.

They had truly escaped.

Behind him, the holy magic surged.

It intensified to the point where even June winced, eyes watering as she tried to look at Carole.

"Move," Arlon said quickly.

He grabbed June's waist and blinked again, appearing behind Carole this time.

The others—Pierre, Maria, and Lei—had already done the same, shielding themselves as best they could.

And then it happened.

A burst of power, golden and pure, exploded from Carole's body.

It wasn't a beam.

It wasn't a flare.

It was a torrent—a concentrated stream of holy energy, like a sunbeam turned into a weapon, firing straight into Reeb's chest.

Her staff cracked. Then cracked again.

Then, it dissolved into dust in her hands.

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But the spell didn't stop.

For five long seconds, the light didn't falter.

Reeb didn't scream. He didn't even move.

The light pierced him, held him, shattered him—but his body didn't fall.

He remained there—stuck.

And finally, when the light faded…

He was still alive.

Still standing.

But broken.

He wasn't moving again anytime soon.

Arlon blinked a final time.

Appeared in front of him.

Ice Lance.

A flash of frost and impact.

It pierced straight through Reeb's head.

Even at the last second, he was looking at Arlon with amused eyes.

And the fragment of ascended soul was gone from Trion.

Silence fell.

For a second, no one moved.

Asef and Carla were also gone, so there was no one but Arlon and the Gamers here now.

Then Arlon turned back—walked quickly to where Carole had collapsed.

She was already on the ground.

Pale. Breathing faintly.

"How… did you do that?" Arlon asked, kneeling beside her.

He already knew the answer.

Carole gave a small, tired smile.

"One year leaderboard reward," she whispered.

Right, one-year rewards were already received.

He'd received his own that morning.

The notification he had been waiting for and the one he received after the players logged in today was the reward.

One year reward. The strongest reward he had received in his previous life.

And it wasn't just for him.

Everyone on the leaderboard had received one.

Arlon, June, and the third place, Carole, who had surpassed Evan long ago.

What Carole received was an item that would increase her power for a short duration.

Of course, it came with a negative effect.

Her body couldn't carry the power, and she would die.

The body Zeno gave her—her vessel here on Trion—would be gone forever.

So, she would log out and never log back in again.

The worst part was that everyone on the leaderboard chose one of the two rewards offered in year one.

And the one she chose was this.

She'd known this.

Planned this.

And she had held onto it, even through the pit. Even through Vlora. Even when Reeb had appeared.

She had waited.

And now…

Thanks to Reeb only focusing on Arlon.

Thanks to him not reading others' minds, or not even considering them as enemies.

She had saved them all.