With help from Em and a valiant effort by Gunnar’s band of hobos and misfits, the crypt is saved and its entrances moved, so that none of their enemies may find their way back. Basking in the bond and triumph of battle, and the hope of a bright future in the game, Gunnar forms a new faction, punnily named the “Cryptids.”

But the victory did not come without a cost. Lex—the dawn elf who looked exactly like the woman he supposedly killed—was lost. Before she died, she managed to tell Gunnar enough to suspect that the crime that landed him in Grid Eight, and consequently in Pantheon Online, may not be what it seems.

For now, all he can do is keep trudging forward, and hope whoever was hacking the game can find him again.

Following his goddess’s wishes, Gunnar joins up with the Nighthawks guild. His first mission will be a small role in a large-scale assassination in a neighboring coastal city.

After gearing up and learning some basic magic—though not the dark magic he’d really like to learn—Gunnar and Em complete one more quest before leaving for Mavenport.

A mermaid princess has been rounded up to perform in Sykes’s infamous mermaid club, and they can’t resist the opportunity for another jab at their nemesis. The quest is nearly a disaster, but they manage, and garner favor among the merfolk, and Gunnar receives a special boon from his goddess as a reward for his achievements.

Upon setting out for their big Nighthawk quest, the two are split into separate teams. To Gunnar’s chagrin, he’s given charge of a group of low-level misfits. Their mission is to distract the Red Cloaks around the waterfront and decommission a watchtower along the harbor, so that the notorious Black Heart and his pirates can attack and distract the city watch while the assassinations take place.

The quest goes smoothly, and Gunnar is hopeful they’ll be able take a larger role soon. His wish is granted, but not because of his own merit. The assassinations go haywire. Someone alerted the Red Cloaks and lured the Nighthawks into a trap. Black Heart and many of his pirates are captured.

Meanwhile back in Thailen, the masters of the Nighthawks have started dropping like flies.

Gunnar uses his boon in order to fast travel back to Thailen in order to help one of the last remaining masters—his benefactor, Leilani. Upon arrival at the Nighthawk headquarters, Gunnar finds one of their own—Master Zeda—leading Leilani out of the city.

He pursues them to the Golden Hills at the outskirts of the city. The moment Gunnar frees Leilani, he realizes he’s made a deadly mistake. For Zeda was not the traitor after all. Instead, it was Leilani.

She kills Zeda, leaving only one other Nighthawk master alive. Grand Master Faraday, who has gone AWOL. Gunnar narrowly escapes with his life, with help from the dusk elf, Sheira. They flee the Golden Hills, but stumble upon a fearsome sight. Leilani has not just betrayed the Nighthawks. She has formed an army of monsters, and has her sights on changing Thailen forever.

Gunnar must fight off a ferocious wyvern, but manages to escape the Golden Hills. When he returns to real-world prison for the first time in days, he is greeted by a surprising figure—Luka, the second in-game deity he has encountered in real life.

Luka offers Gunnar to become his own champion.

Gunnar turns him down for now.

His return to the game only brings more trials.

Em has gone missing.

Leilani has taken control of the Nighthawks, as the only surviving master. And she blames Gunnar for the assassinations.

With a bounty on his head, ARC Two ends as Gunnar meets with Nymoria, resolving to defeat Leilani, and pry the city of Thailen from Luka’s control.