After the battle had ended and the battlefieldy silent, Alex took a deep breath, surveying the carnage left behind.


    Bodies of yers from the Overlord Guild had all disappeared, back to reality, their attempts to ambush him utterly futile.


    But just as he was about to turn to Alice, ready to leave, a new notification shed in front of him.


    Ding!


    [The Undead King has initiated the "Resurrection" process.]


    His eyes widened slightly, though not out of surprise.


    He had expected this.


    Of course, the Undead King wouldn''t stay down for long, secret bosses like that never did.


    He nced at Alice, who was busy looking through the loot they had gathered from the battle.


    "We should leave," Alex said, his voice calm.


    Alice looked up, confused, "Why? Isn''t the boss dead?"


    "For now," he muttered, his mind already elsewhere. "But it''lle back. There''s a resurrection process for the Undead King, after around one week it''sing back."


    This would mean that it woulde back exactly one day before the attack on Alice and the Stardust Estate.


    "Oh... then let''s head out," Alice nodded, trusting his judgment.


    With that, the two logged out of the game, the virtual world around them dissolving into nothingness.


    They opened their eyes to the real world, the familiarfort of the stardust estate mansion returning to their senses.


    The night was calm, and Alex leaned back in his bed, stretching his arms.


    He knew they had to be up early the next day, and there wasn''t much left to do now in the game besides leveling up and waiting for the rankings to open.


    And with the looming move to their vi, it was best to get some rest.


    He slept like a baby that night, the bed extremelyfortable.


    ...


    But the next morning, while he got up and headed toward the bedroom, a soft knock on the door interrupted him.


    A servant entered quietly, bowing respectfully.


    "Sir, the vi has been fully prepared as you requested."


    Alex nodded. "Thank you."


    The servant left as quickly as he arrived, and Alex made his way to the living room, where he found Alice and Richard already waiting for him.


    "Everything is set," Richard, announced.


    "Great!" Alice beamed. "I can''t wait to see the new ce."


    Alex smiled too, but there was an edge to his expression, as if the idea of the move unsettled him just a bit.


    Still, he kept his thoughts to himself.


    "Let''s go," Alex said, standing up.


    It took them around thirty minutes by limousine to get there.


    The next moment, they arrived, and Alex''s jaw nearly dropped.


    The vi was breathtaking.


    It stood tall with two stories of elegant architecture, its white walls gleaming under the afternoon sun.


    A massive pooly in the backyard, and the entire ce was fully furnished, fromvishly decorated rooms to the kitchen stocked with everything they could ever need.


    "Wow…" Alex muttered, stunned by the luxury.


    Alice, too, was taken aback.


    She had been living in a whole mansion before, but this vi was still incredible.


    They spent the next few hours getting acquainted with the ce, exploring the various rooms and marveling at the luxuries.


    As the day went on, the weight of the game, the stress from the battles, all seemed to melt away.


    As the evening set in, they both ended up in their bedroom, the soft glow of the moonlight filtering through the curtains.


    Alice walked over to Alex, her hands brushing against his arm.


    She looked up at him, her eyes filled with affection. "It''s been a while since we had some time for just us," she said softly, a hint of yfulness in her voice.


    Alex''s gaze softened, his arm wrapping around her waist as he pulled her close. "You''re right. We deserve a break."


    Their lips met in a heated kiss, and Alex''s hand immediately reached for Alice''s clit, ying with it mercilessly.


    "Ahn~ That''s n-not f-fair hiiii~" Alice''s eyes already rolled back.


    "You''re such a masochist..." Alex smiled.


    "T-That''s ahn~ not t-true...~"


    "Well, prove it," Alex lifted her up and brought her to their bedroom before beginning his own assault.


    Alice tried to resist and use her own techniques, but they all remained useless as she was inexperienced, in the end deciding that the pleasure from letting Alex do whatever he wanted was better.


    "Hiiii~" her womb was getting mercilessly smashed by Alex''s thick member, and she couldn''t stop climaxing, staining the sheets over and over.


    "So you admit being a masochist?" Alex smiled while pounding again, feeling that he would climax for the third time soon, though that number was palepared to the dozens of climaxes Alice already had.


    "Y-yes!" Alice moaned, "I''m yours~"


    "Good answer," and then he released everything inside of her.


    This kept going for hours, until the two eventually (more like Alex, since Alice didn''t have a say) decided to stop.


    The next day passed in a blur of rxation.


    Alex and Alice spent the morning lounging by the pool, taking in the sun and enjoying the calm before the storm.


    As evening approached, they decided to head out for a date, visiting a nearby restaurant before wandering the city streets hand in hand.


    The day was quiet, peaceful, and perfect.


    But Alex knew it wouldn''tst.


    When they returned to the vi, the sun had already set, and the night was peaceful once more.


    They fell into bed together, exhausted from the day but happy.


    Alex couldn''t remember thest time he felt so at ease with everything that happened in his previous life.


    Morning came quicker than either of them expected.


    "Hm…" Alice stirred in her sleep, her face buried in the pillow.


    "Wake up, Alice," Alex said gently, shaking her shoulder, "We need to log into the game."


    She groaned, pulling the nket over her head, "Already…?"


    Alex smiles "Yep. The rankings unlock today, remember?"


    That got her attention.


    Alice sat up, rubbing her eyes and nodding groggily. "O-Okay… I''m up."


    The two of them immediately got up and activated the bracelets around their wrists.


    They sat down, and with a sh of light, they were teleported into the game world.


    [Do you wish to enter the game?]


    "Yes!"


    Fwish! Ding!


    ...


    They appeared outside of Dawn City, but immediately made their way inside.


    The city was massive, bustling with activity as millions of yers gathered in anticipation of the ranking opening.


    The atmosphere was electric, everyone excited for what was toe.


    Above the city, a massive countdown timer floated in the sky.


    4 minutes remaining.


    Alex looked around, spotting several familiar faces in the crowd.


    There were yers from all over the world, some who had already made names for themselves, and others who were just starting to rise through the ranks.


    Everyone was here for the same reason—the novice vige assessment hade to an end, and now the true test was about to begin.


    "Looks like we''re just in time," Alex said, ncing at Alice beside him.


    She nodded, her eyes scanning the crowd, "Yeah… This is going to be huge."


    The timer continued to tick down, the tension in the air rising with each passing second.


    This was it.


    The end of the novice phase.


    The opening of the rankings.


    And the beginning of the first major event.