《Replay of the Odysseys: The GTI Chronicles》


 Prologue - Main Character

    Replay-


    A term used normally in games meaning to rewatch the moment.


    This feature is used in many places so players can analyze the game.


    But maybe the name doesn¡¯t match it¡¯s meaning,


    when it is supposed to mean ¡°Play Again¡±


    Only if I had the chance to ¡°Replay¡± this game.


    Only if there were a few more days.


    I would be able to replay this game.


    [GTI SMP]


    - A MMORPG game that has been played for a couple of years. It is summarized for ¡°Green Tea Ice Survival Multiplayer". But some people believe there are hidden meanings behind that name. It''s not a very popular game and only a few people around me actually play the game. The game itself is pretty good, but the reason why not many people play it is because of the ¡°unfair moderating¡±, also known as mod abuse.


    There were incidents where the tension between the moderator that played the game and the player got so high that the player got banned. And it is known that the mods show favoritism to certain people that are close and supportive to the mods. And the owner of the server doesn¡¯t really do anything either. It¡¯s rather he is just not interested in what is happening in the game or is just leaving it because he gave up on the game.


    But I liked the game. I didn¡¯t really socialize with other people because I don¡¯t have any friends so I just did my own stuff and there weren¡¯t any disadvantages I had that were targeted towards me.


    And today, the game that I have been playing since middle school is going to end. The game that was with me even when reality hit me hard and made me anti social, the game that helped me out when I wanted to give up on everything, even life. And now, the only friend I ever had, is going to be gone.


    As I was sighing and had millions of things going on in my head, I received a text which was unusual because I don¡¯t have a lot of friends and the only notifications I would ever get is a notification for a game event. When I checked, I couldn¡¯t hide my surprise. It was the owner of the game. The person who never cared about his own game and the person who never showed himself to the public. His username was ¡°Peace¡±.


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    - Peace: Hello dear player, I am Peace, the current owner of GTI SMP. And because today is the last day of the game, I would like to thank you for playing the game and enjoying your experience.


    - Luke: Thank you for your effort on the game. I really enjoyed my time there. I could even say that it was better living a life as a player in the game rather than living my own life. Only if I could, I would want to be a character in your game. By the way, why is your name Peace?


    - Peace: Oh it¡¯s the name of my favorite character in this book. And we all love peace right? Although the server is closing, I am only closing it to have faster development on the game. Even though not a lot of people like the game, there are still people like you that exist. Speaking of the server, I am making a story and a quest for the new game system and I would like to use you as the main character. If you let me, you will get a satisfying prize.


    New updates? For a game that people barely even play? Why would anyone ever invest and try so hard on a game that is literally about to die. Saying that the game is closing due to development sounds like a stupid excuse. Just admitting the game will stop servicing because no one plays it makes more sense.


    And using me as the main character? I didn¡¯t even do anything important in the game. I don¡¯t talk to people, I don¡¯t do anything special. I just play it everyday because I like the game and enjoy doing nothing. But using me as the main character is such a miss casting. I don¡¯t have a lot of friends, I am nothing special, not that smart, not physically advanced. If I was ever a character in a book, I would be the side character that dies in the very beginning.


    Being a main character would be a very unique experience. Especially to someone like me who is nothing like a main character. I mean it would be really boring if the character is based off of my actions in the game. Then no one would play it cause it is so boring. But I guess I will give it a try. This is probably going to be the only time I am going to get all the attention. Let¡¯s see how good the plot is going to be written based on a character like me. Wait but how is he going to use me as the main character either way? Like do I get to log on the game by myself or is he stalking me or something?


    -Luke: Sure, that would be a cool experience. So what can I do?


    -Peace: You will see. It will start next Saturday, at 7 pm. I suggest that you make friends before this starts. They will be helpful. Also, make sure to give your friends a grasshopper just in ca-...


    After hearing the answer I wanted, I just cut him off and logged out of the message app. So this Saturday at 7 pm, huh that¡¯s a weird timing. That is when spring break starts. Well I guess I can do the ¡°Main Character¡± thingy since I don¡¯t have anything to do over the break either way. Well let¡¯s see how well this is going to go.


    *


    Until then, Luke didn¡¯t know at all, the future and the fate he would experience. The


    astonishing life of a young man that he would¡¯ve never expected. The day that he was chosen


    as the ¡°Main Character¡±, the world he knew would fall and change forever. Where the world


    would turn into fantasy, and fantasy would become reality.

 Chapter 1 - What an extraordinary day?

    Party Play-


    A term used to describe a situation where multiple players get into a group and co-op in a dungeon.


    Normally it is required when there is a certain condition required to beat a dungeon


    where multiple people are needed or the dungeon is really hard to beat. Key point is to have people to go along well and know what they are doing.


    Teamwork is key!


    *


    It¡¯s been a week since the game ended and Peace messaged me. Unlike what he promised, I didn¡¯t get any prizes or any new information about the new ¡°Main Character¡± thing. Maybe he just forgot about it or is just really embarrassed to actually give it because he probably was lying. Anyway I thought of it, I lost faith in his words. By the time I completely forgot about his words, I got used to not playing the game. Although I was full of complete boredom, I found new ways. I also found some friends. Although they were really weird, they were pretty nice.


    ¡°Hey Luke! Come here bestie!¡± A girl that was the height around my shoulder yelled at me and started running here. Next to her, it was a boy. I knew who both of them were. They were Aidan and Alexis, my best and the one of the only friends that I had and my childhood friends. Alexis quickly ran to where I was and jumped me. I almost fell but she was very light. When I recovered and stood back up, she put a headlock on me. It choked me so bad that I actually almost died. I was released when Alexis¡¯s twin brother, Aidan, hit her head. Although Aidan was the younger one, he always acted more mature than Alexis. I used to hang out with them everyday but ever since high school started, we got more busy and it was harder for us to meet. And because they are 1 year older than me, their schedule will be more tight so it would be even harder for us to meet now. Just seeing them in the halls at school would be the only place I would be able to talk to them. As I saw them fight, I felt nostalgia overflow my thoughts. I stared at them fighting intently and wondered about the old memories that we had together. I don¡¯t know why but I feel like this is going to be the last time I see them for a while.


    ¡°Hey Luke you alright?¡± Aidan asked with worries in his eyes. He was holding Alexis with one hand on her head. She was trying to run and hit him but she was too short to reach him. He continued, ¡°You look tired or something. You good?¡± Aidan has always been so mature and caring towards others. If I ever organized a company or some sort of a group, he would be the first person I would scout.


    ¡°Yea I¡¯m fine¡­ It was just there was a lot going on recently¡­¡± I stuttered and looked at Aidan in the face with a sad smile. Aidan nodded and had an upset face. He probably understood what I meant. Aidan is one of the people that knows about what happened recently. We used to play the game together and although he didn¡¯t play as much as I did, he still really liked the game. Because he knew that I have been depressed and went through a lot recently, he has been really careful with his actions towards me.


    ¡°Well then¡­ Good luck with your exams Luke!¡±


    ¡°Yeah good luck! Let¡¯s meet after all this. I have something to show yo¡­¡±


    Aidan grabbed Alexis¡¯s head again and dragged her away. I think he was just trying to make me comfortable by taking her away but I actually didn¡¯t really mind her. It just felt like he was trying to over protect me. Alexis was raging to Aidan and slapped his hand multiple times but the arm full of muscles kept her still.


    After they left, I also moved on and started walking to my class. Today was the last day before spring break and I had my final exams. Everyone hurried to their class with smiles on their faces but I was different. I had no facial expression at all as if I was the color gray itself. It was because I had no motivation to go home early. Surely, hanging out with Aidan and Alexis would be fun but the -GTI SMP- is no longer there. I used to play that game when I got home after exams and tests but now, it isn''t there anymore. I had nothing to do when I got home. Having many thoughts in my head, I walked straight looking at the pale ground. It was then, when a girl ran into me. She had blue eyes with blonde hair. Her hair went down all the way to her hips. She looked very familiar. I think I had her in one of my old classes but I couldn''t remember who she was. Right after we ran into each other, she quickly collected some books that fell out of my back pack when I ran into her. I was so zoned out that I didn''t even know my stuff fell on the ground. In fact, I didn''t even know my backpack was opened. She apologized so many times that I couldn''t even count.


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    ¡°Hey, you have a lot of books about mythologies. Are you interested in them by any chance?¡± She asked with a gentle voice. I was confused about what she was talking about but when I looked at the books in her hands, I understood. There were a lot of books in her hands about mythologies such as, ¡®The crazy family story in Greek mythology!¡¯, ¡®The great battle of Archangels and Archfiend in the Garden of Eden¡¯, and ¡®The final ragnarok of the arrogant viking gods¡¯. Those are some books that I used to study for GTI SMP. In the game, there were a lot of factors and quests that were related to mythologies and stories so I had to study them in order to beat quests easily. I thought I threw them away a long time ago ever since the game ended but it was still in my backpack. No wonder it felt so heavy.


    The moment of silence between me and her was very awkward. The one who spoke first was her.


    ¡°Oh sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Amelia by the way.¡± Amelia spoke as she gave me the books in her hands. They were very heavy. I don¡¯t know how she managed to hold them with her arms. I think everyone in this school is just stupidly strong. If Alexis punched me in my stomach with full power, I would literally pass out. I remained silent even after she introduced herself. I was dumbfounded. I quickly introduced myself too,


    ¡°Oh sorry I am Luke.¡±


    ¡°Hey Luke! But have we met before? You look very familiar.¡±


    ¡°Umm I don¡¯t think so. Maybe you are confused with someone el..¡±


    ¡°I remember you! You were the boy at t-¡±


    Another girl behind Amelia came running to her and she cut her words. When Amelia turned around, she welcomed her with a smile. She was a girl who had a pony tail and glasses. When she came rushing here, she scolded Amelia about her being late to class. The thing was I actually knew this girl. I¡¯ve seen her before. I saw her when she was with my best friend Ethan. I saw them talking together often and I think her name started with a ¡®E¡¯ but I wasn¡¯t sure.


    ¡°Evelyn! Say hi to Luke over here. I was helping him gather his stuff because I ran into him and he dropped a lot of stuff.¡± Amelia stood back up and introduced me to her. When she stood up, she looked pretty tall. Around 5¡¯9. Evelyn took a quick look around what was going on and looked at Amelia directly in her eyes. Then she looked at Amelia suspiciously. I guess she doesn''t like me? Evelyn quickly helped Amelia get up and took her to class. Amelia said a quick good-bye to me and left with Evelyn. I stood back up and looked at the clock. There was only 2 minutes until class started. I had to get there in time. I quickly got up the stairs and rushed to my class. I barely made it in time. When I arrived, there were a lot of people missing. My last class was astronomy and thankfully, we took the final exam a week prior to the actual day due to our teacher''s personal schedule. As I sighed with relief, someone jumped behind me and hit my head really hard. It was Matthew, one of the only friends that I have in this school. He was also my buddy who played GTI SMP with me. We were the ultimate duo and did everything together.


    ¡°Ay yo man wassup. Are you ready for the break?¡± Matthew laughed jokingly. I showed a fake smile and absolutely smacked his head right after. He almost got knocked out and passed away but he was fine. Probably. When we sat at our tables, I opened my laptop and we started talking about GTI SMP. Although it has been months since we played the game, we still talked about it. That was really the only thing we could talk about because both of us have no life outside of this. The substitute teacher warned all of us to be quiet and turned off the lights. She played a weird movie from the 80s and left. When I looked at the back side of the class, there were some groups of people playing ¡®Uno¡¯. There were around 15 people and they were really loud. I am pretty sure they were all part of the same friend group. Next to them, there was a guy in a green hoodie. He had glasses and headphones. I never noticed that he was even in our class. Well I don¡¯t know half the people in this class either way.


    After about 1 and a half hours later, Matthew and I decided to skip class early. Since there was nothing to do in class, we secretly ditched to the main cafeteria. When we opened the door that was connecting the 9th grade campus and the main campus, the giant windows in the main entrance welcomed us. It was raining outside, like pouring. Almost like a high danger level thunderstorm. It was also very windy. The trees outside were shaking and tweaking out. The cloud was the darkest I¡¯ve ever seen before. There were black clouds but it was very bright at the same time. Outside the entrance that was located in the cafeteria, there was Matthew¡¯s car. He asked me if I needed a ride but I rejected his offer. For some reason, I wanted to walk home, through the rain by myself. I didn¡¯t live that far away so it wasn¡¯t a big problem. Matthew and I gave each other goodbyes and he drove away. I looked up at the sky for a few more minutes and I started walking. When I walked through the rain by myself, I really felt like the main character of this world. The promise from Peace of becoming the main character didn¡¯t really happen but at this moment, I felt like the main character of the world. As I walked out of the school, I rethought everything that happened today. A lot of weird things happened. It felt very off and I met a lot of new people. I normally don¡¯t even socialize with people but today, I became friends with new people and noticed many others too. It was really an extraordinary day.


    As if the world would end tomorrow and I would start living a totally different life.

 Chapter 2 - Username not found..?

    Login-


    In computer security, logging in (or logging on, signing in, or signing on) is the process by which an individual gains access to a computer system or program by identifying and authenticating themselves.


    -Wikipedia-


    The drops of rain landed heavily above my head. As I walked through the sidewalk, I felt the cold flowing through my body. My body temperature was dropping and I was getting dizzy. It was almost like I was dying slowly due to excessive bleeding. And when I touched the back of my head, there were some blood leaks. I don¡¯t know how I was bleeding but the back of my head became warm quickly. But because it was just a small leak, I didn¡¯t really care. I just wanted to move forward and acted like the happiest man alive. I walked like a drunk man and I was happy just like one. I started laughing. I thought I was crazy for a second. I started laughing like a crazy man for no reason. I just wanted to believe that this world has fallen due to an apocalypse and I am the only person alive in this world. I was desperate for something like that to actually happen. I was just tired of living my life now. I couldn¡¯t find any purpose in living anymore. I don¡¯t know what to chase. I have no goals, dreams, hope, no nothing. I was a walking corpse.


    After walking soullessly for half a mile or two, I was almost at my house. When I take shortcuts, there is a small sidewalk that is between 2 lakes. When I took that route today, I saw a bench. I took 3 more steps and slowly sat down. The raindrops that fell on my head stopped. The trees above me covered me. When I looked up, the leaves were waving as if they were dancing sadly. It was like a slow waltz. The sound of leaves scratching each other made me comfortable. I relaxed for a bit and sat back. I closed my eyes and felt yearningness. It''s like I lost some memories. There was an emptiness that took a place in my heart. I felt tears coming out of my eyes.


    I wondered why my life was like this. When did it turn so pathetic? When did it turn into a life where my motto was ¡®Just trying to survive daily¡¯? I know that I used to have a dream. A dream where I would chase in order to live a happy life. But I can¡¯t remember them anymore. Maybe I just forgot them but it feels like someone just erased it. Or maybe I should explain it like someone stole my happiness. I feel like my dreams, hopes, everything was just taken away from me.


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    When I opened my eyes again, I was surrounded by the never ending darkness. I was so confused. I thought I was dreaming for a second. I tried pinching and poking myself but I still didn¡¯t wake up. I soon realized that I wasn¡¯t dreaming. The weird feeling where you can¡¯t control your own body didn¡¯t exist. I started moving forward until I found a desk. On top of it, there was a monitor, keyboard, and a mouse. It was a typical set up for gaming. When I sat in front of the desk, the monitor turned on and it showed a screen. It was the login tab for GTI SMP. It¡¯s been a long time ever since I saw this tab. I thought that maybe the absence of this game was the reason why I felt so depressed. As if all of my soul and dream just fell into that world. After staring at the screen for a few minutes, I begin typing. I typed my username and password for my login information. After taking a deep breath full of hope and concern, I pressed enter. When I did, an unexpected message was waiting for me.


    [Username not found.]


    I was confused with fear. I wondered if my account was deleted or if there were any errors. I wished that it was just an error and it would be fixed. But looking at the login fail screen, I felt some sort of relief for some reason. I felt¡­ Freedom. I was less attached to that game now. If it is true that my account is actually deleted, maybe I could rest and move on. Now that I really think of it, the hope that Peace told me might¡¯ve been what kept me from moving on. He has hope that the game is coming back. That made me wait with desperation. If this is a chance for me to move on and continue with my life, it might be better. But then, another message popped up from the screen.


    [Your ¡®Avatar¡¯ has been killed. Forgotten memories are being collected. They will be recovered soon.]


    After looking at the message, I was confused. I didn¡¯t understand anything the message said. What does it mean by my avatar? And what are the forgotten memories? As I continued to wander around with the unanswerable questions that were given, I received a notification from my phone. It was from Peace.


    - Peace: I hope you like your gift. Good luck with your new life.


    Right as I finished reading his messages, I woke up. I was on the bench again and it was still raining. I stood up quickly and rushed down the street. When I turned back for a split second I saw a guy around my age, standing in the rain with an umbrella. He had a suit on. He also had white hair with some weak curls on it. I couldn¡¯t really see his face but I saw him smiling and waving at me. I had a strong feeling that he was the man I wanted to find. Peace. But I turned  around and ran to my house.

 Chapter 3 - A delusional dream

    As I arrived at my house, I quickly opened the garage door and went inside. I rushed to the bathroom as fast as possible and took a hot shower. Was it because I was covered with rain, I was shivering. I felt extremely cold and dizzy. I tried to get that feeling by taking a bath but it didn¡¯t really help. After I got out, I dried my hair and fell on my bed. I just scrolled through instagram for a little bit and watched some videos on youtube. When the fatigue started to catch up, I slowly started to close my eyes without realizing it. I tried to stay up so that I wouldn''t accidentally fall asleep. But I couldn¡¯t control it and I closed my eyes fully. And then I woke up when the phone dropped on my face. I got up from my bed and started to cover my nose with my hands. It hurt really badly but it also woke me up too.


    I got up from my bed and made myself a double shot espresso. I didn¡¯t really mind taking dark coffees with extra shots because I was never really able to feel the bitterness of coffee. And for some reason, my entire family line has an immunity to caffeine so I always had to take an espresso with extra shots. I took my coffee and walked to my desk which had my computer setup. I sat down on my chair and turned on the computer. It¡¯s been a couple of months ever since I turned on this computer. Since the end of the game, I didn¡¯t really play anything so I just stayed away from my computer. After the monitor turned on, I looked and searched for a game I should play. But I couldn¡¯t find anything interesting. Nothing was as good as GTI SMP so I just gave up and started watching youtube. Every video I watched felt boring. At this point, I started to think that I was addicted to dopamine because of the game. I never thought that the game was that addictive but I guess it kind of broke me.


    And the shock of seeing my account be deleted or not being found in that weird dream also made me scared. Although Peace said that there will be a ¡®Season 2¡¯ of the server, I wasn¡¯t really expecting him to actually make it happen. Although I really do miss the game, I personally thought that it had a pretty nice ending. A lot of people who used to play joined back and we all had a celebration together. I knew that games stop servicing at some point but I just feel like Peace and the moderators of this game kind of just rushed this entire ¡®ending¡¯. I really don¡¯t want to admit it, but the game was dying as it got close to the ending. Although there were some people who still enjoyed playing the game, people started leaving and stopped playing the server. I¡¯m assuming that the moderators decided to end the server themselves instead of just letting it die off and have an unhonored death. And because the server was dying off at the end, I highly doubt that people would play again if the server came back. Peace probably acknowledges that too. He can¡¯t be that stupid to not know his own people.


    When an hour or a 2 passed, I got a text from Aidan.


    -Aidan: So what are you up to right now?


    I told him my current situation, a soulless man that is bored and doesn¡¯t know what to do anymore.


    -Luke: Nothing really. Just surviving my life I guess.


    -Aidan: So like maybe you want to hang out now if you¡¯re not doing anything? Like you know school ended early and my parents aren¡¯t home yet. I¡¯m just really bored right now.


    I looked outside the window. It was still cloudy but the rain stopped. I was thinking of visiting him but I decided to stay.


    -Luke: Nah bro I¡¯m done for the day. I think I¡¯m just going to stay up for a little bit more and then go to sleep.


    -Aidan: Damn already? It¡¯s like only 6 pm. If you don¡¯t want to come, do you want to play a game or something?


    -Luke: I don¡¯t know man. I just want to go to sleep and take some rest or something.


    -Aidan: Okay bro, cheer up. And also, don¡¯t fall into another world when you go to sleep lol


    -Luke: Ok buddy :/


    I closed the phone and put it in my pocket. But right when I did so, I felt a vibration from the phone. When I checked, it was a text from Peace. I haven¡¯t talked to him in a while. I was scared to check the phone. The delusion and phantom shade I saw of him before I arrived at my house gave me a feeling of sudden chills and horror. Was that actually him? Or was it just my imagination or was I just a bit high in that moment. Putting all the fear aside, I also remembered what was supposed to happen today.


    ¡°It will start next Saturday, at 7 pm.¡±


    Today was the Saturday that Peace foreshadowed. I quickly pulled out my phone and looked at the time. The time was 6:30. There was 30 minutes left until the event that Peace planned on. Below the time, it showed me some notifications. One of them was a text from Peace. He sent me a link to a live stream video. I was at first suspicious but I decided to watch it. Inside the screen, it showed a man, wearing a black trench coat with light blue crystals outlined on the edge of his coat. He held a sword which sparkled energies of blue fire. It didn¡¯t show his face so I couldn¡¯t identify who he was. He wiped out the blood from his face and jumped away. Then the camera soon showed the overview of the battle. The world looked very familiar. As if it is a world that is from a game that I used to play¡­


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    Wait what?


    I scrubbed my eyes and looked closely at the screen. I stared at it for a solid 10 seconds and realized that it is the world from the game. The structures, landform, and the people looked a lot like the ones from the server. After noticing that this is supposed to be ¡®The server¡¯, I focused on what was happening. Basically, there is a war going on between the town, which is the government group who controlled the server, and the districts, which is a group that acts as the rebellion for now.


    In the server, there was a group led by a guy named Loyd. He was one of the founding fathers of the servers and constructed the base of every system in the server. After making the town, he made the government and became the president of the town. He always led the army and fought against rebellions. There were 2 previous wars on the server. The first one happened when the server was first created and it was between Loyd and a blood hunter named Crimson. Loyd made rules in the server that people shall live in a town where everyone lives together but Crimson and his friends rebelled and declared independence. I don¡¯t remember who Crimson¡¯s friends were but I¡¯m pretty sure one of them got killed or something and the other guy decided to join in with Loyd and help him rebuild the town after the destruction from the war. The war ended as Loyd won but the damage on the town was almost irrecoverable. I think they repaired it by using dark magic but I don¡¯t really remember. The 2nd war happened when the election for the president happened and a guy named Ulysses took over as the new president. As soon as he gained power, he kicked Loyd and Jacob, Loyd¡¯s right hand man, out of the town. Their citizenships were revoked and they had to run for their lives. Crimson and Loyd decided to team up and retake the town and that is when the 2nd war happened. This time, the town was covered by hell fire and a lot of buildings were destroyed. After successfully retaking the town, Jacob took over and blamed all the damage on Crimson. Saying that Crimson and Ulysses planned everything to cause destruction.


    The war that I am seeing must be the war following right after the 2nd one. The districts attacked the white house and the capital which represented the justice and order of the town. The camera showed different angles of each person who were fighting but Jacob was nowhere to be found. If the war is between the current government and Loyd, there has to be Jacob somewhere but it looked like a different guy was leading the army.


    When I leaned back and took my eyes off the screen for a moment, I wasn¡¯t in my room anymore. I was on the red bench next to the lake that I was sitting on right before I arrived at my house. The place where I ran from hurriedly. I was confused but decided to stand up and look around me. On the right of me, there was the exact same guy who was looking at me when I ran away. He had his hand in his pockets. When he felt the stare towards him, he turned around and smiled. I was scared to talk to him. My instincts were telling me that he is dangerous and I have to run, just like how I did before.


    ¡°Hey man? How you doing? First time meeting you in real life.¡± Peace asked before I could even run away. I couldn¡¯t move my body as if it just froze out of fear. There was nothing I could do but to answer him and talk.


    ¡°Nothing really. Why did you visit me? And what was the purpose of showing me that video?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a little preview.¡±


    ¡°Of what.¡±


    ¡°The world that you will experience.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean that isn¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°Remember when I told you that you are going to be the main character?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°And you also wanted to replay the server right?¡±


    I stayed silent. I didn¡¯t know how to answer any of his words.


    ¡°Well what if I tell you that you can be the main character and play the game again at the same time?¡±


    He smiled and took his sunglasses off of his eyes. And then out of the blue, he put on a white coat. The coat just appeared when he moved his arms and in a blink of a second, he was wearing it. It looked very similar to the one that Loyd was wearing on the screen but it was white and didn¡¯t have any accessories on it.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to like this Luke, you can trust me on this.¡±


    ¡°Wait you didn¡¯t even answer my question yet-¡±


    Before I finished talking, the dimension behind me cracked and it opened a portal. When I looked at it, I was already falling towards it. Peace kicked me into it. I panicked and looked at Peace with resentment. As I was falling, he smiled and waved at me.


    ¡°Peace you son of a bit-¡±


    That moment, I fell onto a soft grass ground and I hit my head. The portal closed and I was now stuck in this new world that I barely know of. I rubbed my back head and slowly stood up. I pulled out my phone and there was a message from Peace.


    Good luck! -Peace-


    This son of a bitch. This kid just pushed me into the world of the game that I used to play and expected me to survive with absolutely nothing.


    When I looked around, there were buildings that I used to know, the buildings from the game. I was mad at Peace for just making me travel to a world that I didn¡¯t agree on but I was also kind of excited. Thinking that I am going to experience the game that I used to play in real life, it made me nervous. With hope and anxiety overflowing me at the same time, I took my first step into this world.


    Then, the guy I saw on my phone that had the black trench coat saw me. I waved at him but he quickly dashed at me with anger. Without having time to react, he quickly knocked me down onto the ground and pointed his sword at me. Then he said,


    ¡°Who are you and how did you get here?¡±

 Chapter 4 - Adaptation on the New World (1)

    I was so confused about what was happening. Out of nowhere, I fell into the world of the game that I used to play, and one of the players in the game came up to me, knocked me out, and pointed a sword at me. What the hell am I supposed to do? I had nothing on my body except my phone. The flowing waves of fire were heating me up quickly. I tried to persuade him that I am not his enemy.


    ¡°Okay woah.. Loyd, I am not your enemy! Why are you doing this to me?¡±


    He looked at me fearfully and asked, ¡°How do you know my name?¡± There, I just made a critical mistake. Now he is going to try to kill me.


    Loydlace, the founder of the town and the president. He has led many battles and wars in the past and committed victory in many blood fights. He is also the first person in the server to contact godly beings.


    In this game, or I should say in this world, there are mythical beings called constellations. They are gods or heroes from different mythologies or legends. And there are also ¡®Kingdoms¡¯ which are groups that the constellations are part of. The 3 major kingdoms in the game were ¡®Eden¡¯, ¡®Asgard¡¯, and ¡®Olympus¡¯. But the kingdoms of ¡®Asgard¡¯ and ¡®Olympus¡¯ were never really described extensively. The only information given out about them is that they were located in different worlds and the kingdoms have stories called ¡®Ancient Mythologies¡¯ which makes the kingdoms the most important constellation groups. ¡®Asgard¡¯ is located in outer space and ¡®Olympus¡¯ is located on a mountain hill from a different world so they both need special gateway portals in order to travel to them. But ¡®Eden¡¯ is different from those 2 kingdoms. ¡®Eden¡¯ is located directly above the town. More specifically, if you go up like 60 miles into the air, you get teleported to ¡®Eden¡¯s¡¯ spawn island. So the kingdom and the constellations of ¡®Eden¡¯ have more influence in this world compared to other groups. And because of that, Loyd was able to make a deal with ¡®Eden¡¯ and become their representative. He has become the king of ¡®Eden¡¯ and gained power.


    The constellations and the gods in this world are really weird. For some reason, they really like stories and plots. I am pretty sure that spreading stories was related to Loyd¡¯s contract with ¡®Eden¡¯. It was that Loyd will become an angel of ¡®Eden¡¯ and for gaining the angel¡¯s power, he will recreate one of the events of ¡®Eden¡¯ and spread their stories. But at one point in the server after he got exiled from the town, he lost his abilities as an angel and became ¡®The Sin of Pride¡¯. That¡¯s when the sins were first introduced. Sins are one of the strongest stories spread out from ¡®Eden¡¯. They are also very powerful beings that are capable of destroying armies of angels at once. Because they are too strong, there are limited sins that can exist in this world at once. If there are more than 4 sins existing at the same time, their powers are weakened severely and they slowly fade away. The signature dark blue color aura that he exposes is probably from his power of ¡®Pride¡¯.


    There are 7 deadly sins according to the Roman Catholic Theology. Naming them from the strongest to the weakest, there is pride, wrath, envy, gluttony, greed, sloth, and lust. Well the order that these sins are assigned is kind of complicated. They are all used for different purposes and some sins could be stronger depending on cases. This is just the order if it is in a 1 vs 1 situation.


    Pride becomes more strengthened when it is used against a weaker opponent. That¡¯s why pride was the best choice for Loyd since he was literally the strongest player in the server. There are also a lot of passive mental skills that come with it. You can detect lies that are spoken from others and you can also make others believe in your lies. This is all possible due to pride originating from someone¡¯s arrogance and thinking that they are better than anyone. There are more abilities that are given to its user but not all of them have been revealed yet. Only Loyd knows what he is capable of.


    Wrath simply increases the person¡¯s stat depending on how much anger the person possesses. The interesting thing about this power is that the stats and the strength of the people who the user identifies as ¡®teammates¡¯ also increases. And on the final stage of the wrath, the team gains more confidence in the battle and the enemies feel fear just from the sin¡¯s existence. If my memories are correct, a player named Crimson was the one who became the sin of wrath. He was the leader of frost, who was the group that fought against Loyd in the first war but after Loyd got exiled, they teamed up and successfully took back the town.


    Those two are the only sins I really know about since while the server was still servicing, pride and wrath were the only sins that were obtained by people. But just by seeing that the 2 strongest people in the server are carrying one of the most important stories from ¡®Eden¡¯, it can be concluded that the influence of ¡®Eden¡¯ on this world is excessive compared to other major kingdoms.


    Loyd was lost in deep thoughts and stared at me for a few seconds. Even when he was thinking, he didn¡¯t move his sword away from my face. When I moved even a little bit, he got closer and put his sword near my throat. The heat from the aether sword made me sweat. I was breathing heavily even if I tried not to. A voice in my mind was ringing and whispering to me,


    If you move you die.


    I tried my best to calm Loyd down and persuade him that I am not his enemy. That is the only thing I can do right now and if I try to make any sudden moves right now, I¡¯m probably going to get my head chopped off right away.


    ¡°Hey you know you don¡¯t have to have your sword pointing at me? Let¡¯s talk, like how humans do. Like the advanced civilizations did?¡±


    ¡°All ancient civilizations in the past that tried to communicate are extinct.¡±


    I knew that he wasn¡¯t going to listen to me anymore. He was determined to kill me. I can¡¯t waste my new life here. I had to get him off of me. I needed to play tricks on him. Only if there was something I could do¡­


    It was then when a message popped up in front of me.


    [Welcome to the new ¡°Purple Moon¡± system!]


    [As the rejoining gift, you will be gifted an A + skill of your choice!]


    [Here are the lists of skill that you can obtain right now:]


    +


    1: Quick dash (The Path of Wind)


    2: Energy release (Ancient Sorcerer¡¯s Magic)


    3: Scanning (The Eye of Keystone)


    +


    Without having any time to be surprised at the message, I quickly looked through the list that was given to me. Next to the skill, it gave the source of power, or I should say it as what the power actually is. The first option was ¡®Quick dash¡¯ which gives the user an ability to escape into any place nearby in a blink of an eye. In a situation like this, the quick dash is probably the best choice but after looking at the name afterward, I gave up right away. The ability ¡®Path of Wind¡¯ is an ability that is extremely useful since it also bursts out wind when you dash but the thing is that this ability causes a lot of mana loss (Unit of energy in someone). Even if I successfully escape from Loyd, he will probably catch up soon after and I wouldn¡¯t be able to run away since I am out of mana and I can¡¯t move my body with the lack of energy.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    The 2nd ability had the same problem. Energy release sure is a strong ability that creates an energy explosion and especially if it is the ¡®Ancient Sorcerer¡¯s Magic¡¯, it would surely harm Loyd and stun him for a while but the problem is that I will run out of mana the moment I use it and I will also evaporate into particles since I will be part of that explosion. If I had a stronger body with some defensive abilities, I would be fine but for now, both abilities were useless.


    My only choice was ¡®Scanning¡¯. Just by looking at its name, you might think that this is the most useless skill but it¡¯s actually quite the opposite. I was actually kind of wishing for scanning to appear. Scanning is an ability that is not very known to people. I am one of the only people on the server to find its hidden skills. And A+ level scanning would normally show rare resources in the area and some hidden weapons but using the hidden ability, it can do way more. The hidden ability of scanning allows you to find and highlight tools or items that can help you in your current situation. The scanning ability I had was an ¡®A¡¯ rarity skill called ¡®The Eye of Penetration¡¯. If an ¡®A¡¯ rarity skill of scanning could do that, the A+ version could probably do way more.


    ¡°I choose the ¡®Scanning¡¯ ability.¡±


    Loyd looked at me as if he was surprised and scared. He backed away and stood in a defensive position. He guarded himself with a sword and gathered his mana to start preparing his magic attack against me. I quickly enabled ¡®Scanning¡¯ and fastly looked through what was around me. When I enabled the skill, I was also able to see through walls. When I searched some places just by looking through it, I found an ¡®Extreme mana boost potion¡¯ inside someone¡¯s house. As I ran towards that house, I was stopped by an unknown force and I tripped. I thought it was Loyd who stopped me but he was too far away. Soon after I fell on the ground, the potion traveled through some dimensions and arrived at my hand. That¡¯s what the secret ability of this scanning ability was. I quickly gulped the potion and did a bottom up. When I finished the glass bottle, a warning message popped up in front of me.


    [Warning! Your mana has reached over your body¡¯s limit. You must release them in order to not explode.]


    There was too much mana flowing inside my body right now. I had to release it as fast as I could. If I had any of the other abilities that the system offered me, I could really use it right now but there was no way for me to get them right now. After finding no items nearby, I disabled my scanning ability and screamed out ¡°OPENING SHOP!!¡±. When I did that, a digital shop actually opened. I didn¡¯t expect this command to actually work since this didn¡¯t exist in the server when I was playing it but I just felt like if the game had major updates, they would probably add a system like this. I shuffled and scrolled down the pages in the shop urgently until I found something very interesting. I found an item called ¡®Low level spell picker¡¯. This should be enough to waste some mana from my body. Even if a spell is a low level, you could waste a lot of mana if you use it for a long time since the longer you last the magic, the more mana it will cost even if you release the same amount of energy. I tabbed on the ¡®Low level spell picker¡¯ and soon after, it showed a roulette. When it started rolling, Loyd was already done preparing to attack me. He absorbed the gathered aura into his sword. His sword was burning and glowing excessively. There was so much energy gathered in the sword that the blade was almost invisible. I was praying to God that the roulette would roll faster. When it finally landed, it gave me the perfect skill for this situation.


    [A new spell obtained!]


    +


    Name: Light power mana shield. (D)


    Description: It uses your mana to create an aura shield. It deflects anytype of energy or aura attack but weakens the shield as more damage is stacked.


    Warning: It only protects you from energy related attacks so any type of physical offense could still hurt you!


    +


    I hurriedly enabled the skill before I even read the description. The moment I turned it on, an aura shield surrounded me. And at the same time, Loyd also fired his mana flame against my shield. When the fire reached the shield in a blink of an eye, I flinched a bit but the fire couldn¡¯t reach me. Instead of hitting me, it got curved and went up. Loyd was surprised as much as I was. His jaw dropped and weakened his attack. I was able to protect myself from that energy but I had to find another way. The description of the shield said that the shield only blocks attack from ¡®energy¡¯ spells. I turned on my scanning ability again and looked around me. I couldn¡¯t find anything useful at all¡­ Until the scan started glowing on the purple moon above me. Knowing that the scan ability also gives me what I need in the situation, I was scared for a moment. I realized that the highlight on the moon might mean that the moon might run straight into us. I screamed out and tried to cancel the ability but it was too late. As I prepared to run away, a new tab opened in front of me.


    [Urgent Commission Quest!]


    +


    [Adaptation on the New World]


    Quest type: Urgent/Commission


    Quest difficulty: ???


    Clear conditions: Adapt to the new world and make Loyd your companion.


    Compensation: A new companion and basic tools for survival.


    Time limit: 24 hours.


    Commissioner: Peace


    +


    I looked at Loyd taking down his sword after my quest tab popped up. There was also a small screen in front of Loyd. I¡¯m assuming that Loyd also has some sort of a quest commissioned from Peace since the message popped up for us at the same time. He started typing on a floating digital keyboard and soon after, a boy with blue horns and some formal uniform showed up. He was floating about 10 feet in the air and flew towards Loyd. Loyd was moving his mouth and talked to the weird guy in the air but I couldn¡¯t hear anything. I knew what he was doing. He was using ¡®whisper¡¯ to the guy. Whispering is just a common ability that you can learn. It was used by many people when the game was still a thing.


    When I saw Loyd talking to the boy, he looked mad and was complaining to the boy. I started to think that the boy over there is maybe a moderator in this world. Soon after, Loyd sighed and the boy in the air faded away. Right after he was done talking, he jumped and came to me. He picked me up, who was sitting down like a dumb guy. He grabbed right under my throat on my shirt and started to carry me. I was trying to get his hands off of me but he was holding me so tight and I wasn¡¯t able to make him even flinch.


    When we got to the valley river, Loyd crossed the bridge and held me on the edge as if he was about to drop me into the water.


    ¡°I believe that you have the same quest as me.¡± Loyd finally spoke for the first time after our meeting. ¡°I don¡¯t know about you but the cost of failure for me is quite disturbing to me.¡±


    ¡°Wait you are not going to drop me into the river right? Like if you have the same quests as me, you can¡¯t do that-¡±


    ¡°If you can prove that you are a useful person, I will accept you as my companion.¡±


    I knew what Loyd was going to do now. He was going to test me if I can survive his little tricks.


    ¡°I wish you your best luck.¡±


    After realizing that he wasn¡¯t actually going to kill me and he is going to make me beat his stupid game, I wanted to act mischievously.


    ¡°Hey you know what Loyd? Just drop me.¡±


    Loyd looked confused and stared at me suspiciously. That moment, I thought it would be cool to copy a line from a novel that I knew. The line that was spoken in the exact same situation as me.


    ¡°Let me go and piss off you little piece of shit.¡±


    Loyd then dropped me into the river and smiled.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to suffer for a little.¡±


    As I dropped, the dimension cracked and made me fall into a portal, the same kind that I traveled through when Peace kicked me in.

 Chapter 4 - Adaptation on the New World (2)

    When I fell into the portal and hit the ground, I landed on my head and got a concussion. I covered my head and got up after feeling the severe pain. When I looked up, everything was very dark. There were barely any light sources and all the light sources gave a weak flash of light. I activated my scanning ability and quickly swept the area. There weren¡¯t any useful items other than a half broken shield, low level mana recovery potion, and some green crystal coins. I put on the shield on my left arm and drank the mana recovery potion since I used most of my manas after using the aura shield. And after looking at the coin carefully, I was able to notice what this item was. They were called ¡®Tea Leaves¡¯. Basically, they are the currency in this game. They were green crystal coins that had a huge ¡®A¡¯ in the middle. It was pretty big. The coin was a bit smaller than my palm. It wasn¡¯t really described in the game how it looks so I was sort of surprised. After counting the amount of coins I had, I exchanged the coins into tea leaves. The coins evaporated from my hands and I heard clicky sound effects. When I opened my profile, it showed me how much money I had. In total, I had about 500 tea leaves which is not a lot since a wooden sword would cost 500 tea leaves. I opened the shop again and searched through multiple tabs. After going into the special effects section, I bought the ¡®Potion of Night Visions (2)¡¯. I drank the potion and now, I was able to see everything as if there was light. Right when I was about to close the tab, a new notification arrived.


    [Paying your overdue money at the shop.]


    I realized that I actually bought everything from the shop for free this entire time. But since I have 500 tea leaves right now and I didn¡¯t buy anything expensive, this should be enough to repay all the debt I have. In fact, I should have at least 100 left over.


    [The system calculates the amount of money you owe.]


    [Your assets are subtracted.]


    After checking the message, I was going to check how much money I had left. But right before I did so, a new message popped up.


    [Subtracting 50,000 tea leaves from your asset.]


    [You are currently 49,500 tea leaves in debt.]


    I rubbed my eyes multiple times after seeing the message. There was no way that I was 49,500 tea leaves in debt. It must be an error. It¡¯s probably 49.5 and they accidentally added 2 zeros. I denied my currency situation and collapsed onto the ground.


    [Opening your purchase history:]


    +


    1: Multiple usage of scanning ability (Times: 4, 10,000 tea leaves per use.)


    2: Light power mana shield (1000 tea leaves)


    3: Potion of Night Vision [Level 2] (3000 tea leaves)


    4: Charging extra mana for the aura shield (100 tea leaves per second) (60 seconds after running out of mana)


    +


    I dropped my jaws after checking my purchase history. I didn¡¯t know that inflation in the real world is also affected here. And also, I was dumbfounded when I saw FORTY THOUSAND TEA LEAVES taken away from me for using the scanning ability. I¡¯m assuming it takes my money away every time I bring an item to me when I use the scan ability. I think I¡¯m starting to remember why I didn¡¯t have any ¡®A+¡¯ items even if I used ¡®S¡¯ or ¡®A¡¯ items. And it¡¯s not only me but also the entire server. No one used ¡®A+¡¯ items because those items were hella expensive but it also used money to use them. I was wondering why the game was giving me such an overpowered ability since the beginning but it¡¯s probably because it has penalties like these. They had been planning to steal people¡¯s money since the first day of the reopening. I knew that these moderators were crazy lovers of money but I didn¡¯t think that they would be this insane. Especially the one that starts with ¡®E¡¯, he is so greedy that people thought he would be the best casting as the ¡®Sin of Greed¡¯.


    [Your current debt is so high that you can¡¯t make a recovery.]


    [In order to pay your debt, one of your items or your skill will be randomly sold to the ¡®night market¡¯.]


    Wait what no they can¡¯t just steal an ability from me-


    [A+ rated skill, ¡®The Eye of Keystone¡¯ is sold to ¡®Recitation of Soprano Melody¡¯]


    Well there it goes, my only useful ability that I had. Looking at golden sparkles flying into the air, I stared at it dumbfounded. I opened my jaw and my body dropped to the ground. I was robbed and I now have 50,000 tea leaves in debt. Nothing could make the situation worse from here.


    [Wardens are spawning in the Ancient City. They will be chasing your trace of sound and will kill you when found!]


    I should probably stop talking. I looked around through the dark shadows using the night vision ability. There were many walls and pillars here. But most of them were broken or heavily damaged. This city reminded me of Pompey. The city in Italy that was destroyed after a volcanic eruption. I silently and carefully walked on the stone road. I climbed up on walls and got onto a rooftop of one of the buildings trying to get a better view of the city. Although there was no light, I was able to see the entire city with a clear vision. The city was way bigger than I thought. In the center, there was a huge rectangular portal that was not enlightened. If I open the portal and go through it, I should be able to return. There were also wardens walking around in the streets. They are around 8 feet tall with blue horns. They definitely don''t look like humans but rather cursed monsters. If I make a loud sound, they will find me and shoot a sound wave which will absolutely make me evaporate. If I make a loud sound 3 times, that¡¯s when they come chasing after me so I had to be careful.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    I started to creep towards the portal. Luckily, there weren¡¯t many wardens near me. The closer I got to the portal stage, there were more wardens nearby as if they were gatekeeping. I don¡¯t think they noticed me yet but if I make any sudden moves, they might. I also needed to find a way to enable that portal. Here''s what I know so far. If Loyd teleported me here, there must be a reason why I was brought here. There must be a way to escape and enable that portal at all cost. And when that portal is enabled, it should navigate to the town right away.


    Everywhere the warden walked across, a weird goo looking blue black vine appeared. It was shining everytime a sound was detected. I tried to avoid stepping on them as much as possible but there were just so many. Even though I tried to avoid it, I accidentally stepped on one of them. It made like a bush crushing sound and a loud monstrous scream roared in the city. That is probably my first warning. I didn¡¯t think that a small sound like this would enable them. I saw a few wardens peak at me but they just walked away.


    As I got closer to the portal, I was able to see it more closely and clearly. The portal was enabled when a certain amount of mana was charged to it. Even if I bought a mana boost potion, I would still be short by a lot. There must be some sort of switch inside the building under the portal. I entered the building and tried to search for something that might enable the portal. The inside of the building looked like some sort of a laboratory that was torn down for some reason. There were broken particles of glass everywhere and debris of the wall on the ground. After going through 1 or 2 more rooms, I found a treasure room. There were a lot of useful items here. There were anvils, chests full of useful items, and some mana potions. I hurriedly drank the potion and recharged my energy. In the chest, I found some enchanted books of mending, unbreaking. It was perfect for my shield that was about to break. I approached the anvil and repaired my shield by putting those enchantments on it. I applied some mana to my shield and it was fully repaired. And after picking up a stone sword, I marched my way to the next room. The next room was the biggest one so far. It looked like the lobby of a hotel. Chandeliers were broken and lights were barely glowing. As I approached the center of the hall, a bird looking symbol started to show dark blue light. When I got to the circle, a blue screen appeared.


    [Y0u h@v3 rcacEhd the cen7er of tne ¡®Anc1ent City¡¯. Unfortunately, the ¡®#($ # (@#@¡¯ spot is already taken. You will be rewarded with a different gift that will give you 30C3puemces.]


    It was worded weirdly so I didn¡¯t really understand what it was trying to say but it said that it will give me a reward so I didn¡¯t really care about what the weird word said. Especially since I¡¯m very poor and the system took my only skill, I was desperate for something.


    [List of items available are shown below:]


    +


    1: Omega Sniper (Celestial)


    2: Totem of Undying (Mythic)


    3: ¡®Staff That Divided The Sea¡¯ (Celestial)


    4: ¡®Thunder Hammer of Dwarfs¡¯ (Celestial)


    5: ¡®The Shield of 12 Labors¡¯


    +


    I looked at the items provided to me and I was shocked. Those are all overpowered items that you can¡¯t get yet. Starting with the Omega Sniper, it was a bow that was accidentally made by the moderators in this world. With that bow, you could kill anyone with 1 arrow. I¡¯m pretty sure Peace conclusively did take the item back and removed it but I didn¡¯t expect the system to just give it. The 2nd item was the Totem of Undying. It was basically just a totem that made you survive if you ever died. It was one of the only items that you could use against the Omega Sniper. But it was extremely hard to get. It was fascinating but compared to all the other items, it wasn¡¯t the place to fit it. The 3rd staff was another celestial item called ¡®Staff That Divided The Sea¡¯. For someone who read every single holy and ancient book, it was easy for me to figure out what the item was. It was the staff that Moses used to divide the Red Sea. Most of the celestial items that existed in this world were never really used since it was too overpowered but assuming from the name and it¡¯s origin, it will probably quite literally divide the ocean. But I wouldn¡¯t be able to use the staff since I am not part of ¡®Eden¡¯ and I can¡¯t carry a mythology like that. It¡¯s either the staff will be completely useless to me or I will be automatically taken to ¡®Eden¡¯ and will become a part of their kingdom. The next item was an item that was more familiar to people. It was ¡®Mojlnir¡¯ used by Thor. Many people know this because of the marvel movies that were created. It will give me the power of lightning and the people of ¡®Asgard¡¯ will treat me like a thing but there is something that was stopping me from choosing it. As many people know, you need to be ¡®Worthy¡¯ in order to use that hammer and looking at how I lived my life, I definitely don¡¯t think that the hammer will judge me as a worthy person. And the hammer actually weakens your true potential since it makes the user of the hammer extremely strong but also makes the person rely on it. So that was definitely off my list. The last option was the ¡®Shield of 12 Labors¡¯. The shield of labor is a shield that was used by a great demigod called ¡®Hercules¡¯. He had to go through 12 labors given by Zeus¡¯s wife, Hera. If I choose the shield, it should give me a power to go against all 12 Gods of ¡®Olympus¡¯ but there is a very high chance that it will also give me 12 labors to recreate the history of this shield. Since I know what Hercules went through, I didn¡¯t even give a look. Plus, I already had a shield. Not as good as the Hercules shield but it was still a shield. I am not planning to walk this city with 2 shields.


    I had a hard time choosing what I should pick but the only one I could really use was the Omega Sniper. I needed a weapon and that was the only good choice I had.


    ¡°I choose the Omega Sniper.¡±


    The Omega Sniper appeared in the air and landed in my hands.


    [You have received the Omega Sniper!]


    [The wardens of the ¡®Ancient City¡¯ detect your presence. They have set their target and will now chase you.]


    [Your location is revealed to every warden in the city!]


    [You are the new owner of the Omega Sniper. You are destined to shoot ¡®Omega¡¯ with the bow. The portal will open that will lead you to the world where ¡®Omega¡¯ is. If you don¡¯t shoot ¡®Omega¡¯ with the bow, you will be killed and exiled from this world.]


    As soon as the message stopped talking, the wardens in the city all cried and roared at once. The building started shaking and I heard loud footsteps outside. I ran into the closest wall with the shield and broke multiple layers of the wall. After running through 5 or 6, I finally escaped. Above the building, the portal was enlightened. But there were also 3 wardens in front of me. I ran to the other side of the aisle and tried to climb up the stage as fast as possible. Wardens started to shoot their sound waves at me. The houses and pillars were destroyed.


    ¡®I would die if I got hit by that.¡¯


    My gut was telling me to never get hit by the wave. I ran as fast as possible and reached the stairs that led to the portal. The problem was that there were already wardens near the portal waiting for me. I tried my best to dodge them but one of their attacks reached me and my shield was shredded into pieces. I continued to run without stopping and when I finally reached the portal, a warden behind me grabbed me. The fearful face gave me a chill and I thought this is where I was going to die. But I pulled out the Omega Sniper and shot the warden. Just like the game, the warden disappeared right away. After killing the warden, I ignored all the other wardens that were chasing me and I jumped into the portal.

 Chapter 4 - Adaptation on the New World (3)

    After falling into the complete void for a solid 10 seconds, I finally reached the ground. I landed on my ugly face that was squished. I stood up and checked up on my body. Luckily, there weren¡¯t any scars or blood leaks. I shook off the dust off my body and stretched for a little bit. I looked around the town that I only imagined through the screen. The town was beautiful and big. Just like the game, it was like a village with people¡¯s houses, their shops. On the southern side, there was the capitol and across from it, there was the court. Next to the court, the national bank was located. The north side of the town had the white house which was on the exact opposite side of the capitol. And behind the white house, there was a small mountain that stretched to the east side of the town. On the left side, a wall which divided the town into districts was located. There are many walls in this town since the town was divided into 7 or 8 districts. The main town was located in the center. The west side was where Loyd dropped me. The land was separated by a valley river so there is a bridge. When I followed the street, I saw a little house in the very center of the town. I remember seeing this before in the game. Many people complained that it was useless and it would be better to just replace it with a park or something since it had a very big yard but no actions were taken. On the entrance of the property, there was a sign that said, ¡°Soksa Property¡±. I guess that was the name of the player who owned the house.


    As I walked towards the capitol for a little bit, I saw Loyd standing next to some sort of phoenix? When Loyd saw me, I happily and brightly waved at him. Obviously, he looked at me with distrust and suspicion but I just continued to approach him. As I got close to him, the phoenix flew away. Loyd then clicked away the floating screens in the air which looked very similar to mine. His right eye, which was shining in the bright blue sky, turned off. He faced me and started walking. But this time, there was no sign of anger or a desire to kill me. He was calm and patient like a bear who waited for the prey to grow up fully when it had the most meat so that it would be in the best condition to eat it. Wait what. No, he wouldn''t, right? He would never. He is not that violent or cruel. There¡¯s no way.


    ¡°Welcome to the team.¡±


    Wait what. Did he actually just accept me as his companion? I didn¡¯t expect it to go out this easily.


    [You have completed the commission quest. Loyd will not hurt or kill you anymore.]


    [Obtaining skills, ¡°Crafting¡±, ¡°Basic Enchantment¡±.]


    [Obtaining effect, ¡°Protagonist Buff¡±.]


    [Obtaining items, ¡°Iron sword¡±, ¡°Storage backpack¡±, ¡°Iron armor set¡±.]


    [From the new update, you can now hide your armor after equipping it.]


    Shiny silver iron armor got fit into my body and there was a backpack and the iron sword held in my hands. These were the basic tools given to new players to the game. The backpack was for storing purposes which actually was capable of holding a lot of stuff. The armor didn¡¯t add any extra weight and it didn¡¯t really disturb me but I just didn¡¯t like how it looked so I turned off the visibility option. Thank god you can turn this thing invisible now. I always hated how the armors looked. The iron sword was definitely better than the stone sword I used in the city. It was shiny, sharp, and clean. I should be able to kill most animals with a single strike and easily defeat most monsters with this.


    But these tools were still not even close on helping me defeat Loyd. He is strong not only due to his excessive talent on his skills and abilities but also his items. He is probably set with full enchanted diamond armor. Although iron tools are useful and good to use, they are not even close to diamond armors. They are the strongest armors you can get other than receiving special items from constellations. Even if some armors are blessed with the constellations, it can¡¯t win against a fully enchanted diamond armor. If he decides to attack me right now¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. We have some quests to beat.¡± Loyd welcomed me with a warm smile.


    This felt like a trap. I had absolutely no trust in his words. And what quest is he even talking about? I didn¡¯t get any notification from the system.


    [Warning! Warning! There is a major threat approaching. An emergency quest is sent out to everyone in the town.]


    +


    [Catastrophes of redemption]


    Quest type: Main/Urgent


    Quest difficulty: A+


    Clear conditions: There are 4 total catastrophes approaching the town.


    Compensation: Rewards depending on the catastrophe you defeat..


    Time limit: Until the last catastrophe wakes up. (New quest given if awakes)


    Basic information: There are a total of 4 catastrophes that will try to destroy the town. When you have defeated 3 catastrophes, the last boss will spawn in the very center of the town.


    +


    At that moment, it became dark and turned into a night sky where all the stars were visible. And out of all the stars, I saw 2 dim stars falling from the sky. They soon changed colors into green and cyan. They flew across the town and soon after, it crashed into each end of the town. 1 landed in the very northern part of the town and the other landed on the west which was not very far from us. But I don¡¯t know what happened to the last one. If there are 4 in total and 1 of them is a boss, there still should be another catastrophe.


    ¡°There has been an error in the system.¡± Loyd sighed and looked at me as if he knew what I was thinking of. We started walking and he spoke again, ¡°There are a lot of errors and bugs in this world. The moderators don¡¯t do their shit correctly and end up having to do a weird quest to recover the damage. This is probably the same case.¡±


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    It was weird seeing him treat me nicely since the last time I met him, he tried to kill me. But it felt pretty nice walking next to my favorite person from the game. I was one of his big fans. I always admired him and wished that I was his companion. So that¡¯s why I tried to become his friend when I first joined the server. I didn¡¯t sense any sort of threat from him. If I had the scanning ability I would¡¯ve been able to check but now, I don''t have the skill.


    [Constellation, ¡°The Soprano Melody of Recitation¡± smiles at you.]


    I wonder who is the constellation who bought my skill. Even in the game, I¡¯ve never seen a constellation called ¡®The Soprano Melody of Recitation¡¯. Even after thinking through every mythology, I couldn¡¯t find someone that matches that name.


    [Constellation, ¡°The Soprano Melody of Recitation¡± is disappointing to you.]


    Now he was blaming me for him having a name that I could never guess. I really wish that he could just give me my skill back but knowing how constellations act, I knew he wouldn¡¯t give it to me. Every sort of contract causes a link between the client and the proxy. So technically, I should be able to see a silk connection between the sky and Loyd if I had the scanning. But obviously I can¡¯t because this god damn system decided to scam me. When I looked up, it was still dark. There was a single bright star that was looking and shining at me. If I¡¯m being completely honest here, I don¡¯t know if that constellation is friendly or hostile. Maybe I¡¯ll have to kill it but, it felt weird a constellation actually caring about me. Because back when I used to play the game, there wasn¡¯t a single constellation in the sky that would watch me and support me. All the attention was either at Loyd or Crimson. Which is one of the reasons why they were able to get strong.


    The more constellations that are there who watch you or who support you, you get stronger. They will lend you their powers and beg them to carry their stories. One time, I was so weak and just died. I had to make a new account and just deleted the old one. But I barely remember anything from that account. I don¡¯t even remember what my username was.


    ¡°So where are we going¡­?¡± I carefully asked Loyd. He stared at me for a little bit and continued to walk. I think he seemed annoyed at me, like he was trying to say, ¡°How do you know this, are you that stupid?¡±


    ¡°We are going to the capitol. That¡¯s where everyone else is.¡±


    After walking for a bit, we both approached the entrance of the capitol. It was a giant wooden building made out of spruce wood. It looked very similar to the U.S capitol but it was way smaller. It had an open entrance where the inside was visible. In the center, there was a table with people around it. It looked exactly like the game. But unlike how players got teleported when entering the building, we just smoothly walked in. The warm lantern welcomed us. Inside the table, there were people, some that I already knew. The one wearing a golden crown with a onesie was sitting like a lazy sloth. I was able to notice him because of the aura he was showing off. The feeling of hatred and anger. That was the man himself, the Sin of Wrath, Crimson, one of the strongest people in the server standing with Loyd. If there weren¡¯t any special abilities regarding the sin ability, Crimson would probably beat Loyd. When he saw me, he rolled his eyes as Loyd had brought someone extremely weak that won¡¯t help him at all. I wouldn¡¯t say he is wrong. He was sitting right in front of us, right in front of the president''s room.


    ¡°Move out and go to your seat Crimson.¡± Loyd spoke with a threat in his voice.


    ¡°Yeah fine whatever.¡± He moved away from Loyd¡¯s seat with an annoyed voice.


    After Crimson walked away, he sat on the right side of the table from Loyd and Loyd walked to his seat. I followed right behind him and just stood when he sat down. He put his leg up on his other leg and put his hand together with tips touching like a king and started speaking again.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start the meeting.¡±


    *


    I looked around who was in the room. On the right, there was Crimson, on the left, a man who had glasses. He was rushingly typing stuff on the floating system keyboard. In front of him, the screen which I saw before was there. He was moving his mouth as if he was saying something but I couldn¡¯t hear him. I soon realized that he was using ¡®whisper¡¯ to the guy on the monitor. I didn¡¯t know that was possible but it was pretty cool. I think I saw him on the server before but I couldn¡¯t really remember. I didn¡¯t care about the government either way. And in front of us, there stood a guy that everyone in the town knew. The human size hammer looking mace, the black striped armor shown to threaten his enemies, and the book of knowledge in his hands. He was the ¡®Grand Justice¡¯ of the town, Govind. He was the head judge of the town and was known as the most right and justice person. It was unbelievable that I met him in real life.


    ¡°I believe that everyone received the quest message.¡± Loyd started the meeting. The glass guy turned his screen off and leaned back on his chair. Crimson looked not interested in this and Govind sighed.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that we have a new scenario coming up already. We just finished the war with the districts. We haven''t even recovered yet and Sleepy is already missing.¡±


    ¡°Some part of the wall that connects the main town and the north town district is also damaged. People got hurt from the debris. According to the replay, the asteroid that flew towards that direction hit the wall on its fall and destroyed some parts of it. Sid is currently working to recover it but I think the catastrophe is waking up.


    The guy in glasses then moved his hands and pulled out the screen so that everyone could see it. It showed people evacuating and the workers moving debris from the broken wall. It then turned over to the situation inside the district. There was an asteroid in the middle of the small town and it was flowing with green gas. A creepy and eerie whispering laugh was coming out.


    ¡°Good job on your work Axion. But isn¡¯t there another asteroid that landed?¡± Loyd questioned Axion after he finished summarizing the situation.


    ¡°Yeah, there is one that landed on the west side but that one is pretty calm for now. There aren¡¯t any signs of it waking up and because it landed on a flat plain, no damage was caused.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go take care of the western catastrophe with Axion. Loyd, you take care of the northern catastrophe with Crimson.¡±


    ¡°Very well then. Let¡¯s get moving.¡±


    Loyd stood up and woke up Crimson who was sleeping. He slapped him on the face and made him stand up. Crimson yawned and followed Crimson. He then turned around and pulled his tongue out towards me. I was found dumbfounded and just stood there. Everything escalated fast and the words they were saying they were speaking was so complicated. Before exiting the building, Loyd stopped and turned around towards me.


    ¡°Are you coming?¡±


    My heart beat rushingly. With joy and some anxiety, I quickly ran towards him. He smiled and we started walking again. When I looked up, there were way more stars in the night sky. This was the view that Loyd was seeing. Many stares from the constellations and also the pressure.


    [Constellation, ¡°Fallen Daystar of Heaven¡± looks at you.]


    [Constellation, ¡°Adversary of Absolute Evil¡± looks at you.]


    [Constellation, ¡°Wisdom of Future¡± looks at you.]


    [Constellation, ¡°Restrainer of Demons¡± looks at you.]


    [Constellation, ¡°Enchanting Demon of Love¡± looks at you.]


    [Constellation, ¡°Three Promised Lies¡± looks at you.]


    [Constellation, ¡°Festival of Pleasure and Wine¡± looks at you.]


    [Constellation, ¡°Eluded Dreams of Peace¡± looks at you.]


    Now I was in the same stage as the main character I respected and wanted to be the most. Our journey, that is blinded, has now begun.

 Chapter 5 - Catastrophe of Deception (1)

    As we walked over to the north town district, the green smoke was spreading quickly. More and more came out and there was a fog forming. It definitely looked like a venomous smoke so we covered our mouth and nose to move forward. When I looked over at Loyd and Crimson, they weren¡¯t struggling as much as me. Crimson had some sunglasses on and Loyd¡¯s eyes were shining since he was using the night vision effect. After walking for 10 minutes or so, we finally approached the area where injured people were. There was definitely less smoke towards the center but it was still hard for me to see. We went inside the tents that were set up. Inside, there was a man who was talking to Axion on the screen at the capitol.


    ¡°Give me a briefing on the current situation.¡± Loyd asked Sid while walking towards the center of the tent.


    ¡°We have the basecamp set up and we sent the scouts to look at the asteroid but¡­¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°None of them came back yet. It¡¯s already been a couple of hours. That''s plenty of time to go and look at the asteroid. I think something happened to them¡­ Maybe the catastrophe has awakened.¡± Sid spoke with a concern on his face.


    Loyd had deep thoughts for a second and went to the broken wall of the district. When he approached the entrance inside the district, the debris and the broken parts of the wall were blocking him. He used his sword to destroy all of them and turned around.


    ¡°Me and my crew will go and take a look. We will kill the catastrophe if we need to.¡±


    Sid had worries on his face but accepted his offer. As we were preparing to leave, we gathered our stuff and walked towards the broken wall. Right before we set our first step, Sid hurriedly ran towards us and called Loyd.


    He called him out to the main directing room. I saw Sid whispering to Loyd when his face turned blue. I wasn¡¯t really able to hear what they were saying but I heard this.


    ¡°Loyd you have to watch out for this one. It might be better to not go on this mission. This isn¡¯t like any other catastrophes. In that asteroid, the mischievous laugh is Goblino.¡±


    Loyd was shaking when he heard Sid say that. His face turned pale and he looked very nervous and scared. I¡¯ve never seen him like this before. Except for this one time. When a guy named Duk terrorized the town. During the first ever war, when Loyd wasn¡¯t prepared at all, Duk attacked the town and set the entire town on fire. He was arrogant and psychopathic. That was the one time where Loyd lost his mind and didn¡¯t act wisely which resulted in the town getting destroyed even more. Although the war ended up as Loyd winning, he got traumatized after that incident. Duk was sentenced to prison for life but I don¡¯t really remember afterwards. I lost some memories about the game for some reason. It might¡¯ve happened when I hit my head but I don¡¯t really know.


    Loyd came back to us and prepared to leave. But this time there was something different about him. There was some sort of a dedication flaming through his heart. He held his sword tighter and took deep breaths.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    With his words, we left the tent and walked towards the broken debris of the wall.


    *


    The district was a complete mess. Houses were destroyed and many people were hurt. Even though many people evacuated, there were still people in the smoke who failed to escape. Wherever dead corpses were, a long arm of shadow grabbed its leg and took it away.


    ¡°He-Help me! Please! I don''t want to die here. Please someone help me!¡± Voices of fear and desperation ringed across the land. Everytime sound was made, the shadow quickly chased up to the person with a devious smile and took it away. When the shadow had taken them away, they were never seen again. Only floods of blood and the body parts of the dead corpse. Everytime the shadow ate up the body, it got bigger and bigger in a terrifying way. It soon escaped the form of a human and turned into a monster. The rain of blood and chaos flew through the sky of the most peaceful district. A place for festivals and parties soon turned into a place of massacre and genocide.


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    ¡°Whe-...Where are you Loyd¡­? I am waiting for you¡­ HEHEHEEE¡­ I might accidentally kill everyone here if you don¡¯t show up in time. My- My patience is slowly running out of time you know?!¡±


    A creepy voice filled with madness and folie spread through the town. The catastrophe then soon laughing like a crazy man. He was like a joker or a jester.


    Behind him, there was a tree made up of people. Their bodies were all twisted and some parts were missing too. the blood started to flood on the lands. The Christmas tree was mostly made of dead corpses but there were some people that were alive. When the catastrophe approached one of the girls that was alive, she started screaming without a mouth. Empty vibration sang. No one could hear her.


    ¡°Aww¡­ Why are you screaming? Do you not like the present I made for our king Loyd? Don¡¯t you think he deserves this? I saved up the very top spot where the star goes just for him? So that he can feel the most pain! Maybe you wanted the spot? But I¡¯m sorry, you can¡¯t get it! You¡¯re just special now, you know?¡±


    The girl started crying hearing his voice. She thought, "Why do I have to go through this?" What did she even do to deserve this? All she wanted to do was to live a good life and die peacefully. It wasn¡¯t her fault that she had to go through this. It¡¯s no one¡¯s. To put it in a bad way, she was just unfortunate.


    ¡°Oh my goodness! Are you crying? Why are you so sad? Hold up, let me help you stop the tears.¡± The catastrophe started worrying the girl. He then poked out a dagger from his back.


    ¡°This should help you stop the tears!¡± He whispered to the girl. Then he stabbed both of the girl¡¯s eyes. Then the girl started flouncing. The catastrophe smiled and giggled as he saw the girl suffer. Soon after, she stopped breathing.


    ¡°Oh! I can¡¯t wait to do this to Loyd! I know how to make this way more interesting! I should bring out some extra tools, fight and fool him for a little bit, and slowly kill him while breaking every single bone in his body! Oh my God this will be so fun!¡±


    The catastrophe walked back to his spot and sat on a chair that looked like that throne, waiting for his number one enemy to show up in front of him.


    *


    After we walked into the district, we were welcomed by my massive amount of poisonous gas and dead bodies. I was shocked and struggled to move forward but Crimson and Loyd handled it as if they have been through this before. We remained speechless for a couple more minutes and continued to chase the blood stains on the ground. When we got closer to the center of the town, a new message appeared.


    [You have reached the quest zone in the district. There will be no more poisonous smoke in the area but you will have to fight a boss.]


    [You have unlocked a new achievement! - <The one who faced a catastrophe> (Legendary)]


    [You have met a catastrophe! Loading basic information about the catastrophe.]


    [The catastrophe you are currently facing is the catastrophe of deception. This catastrophe once used to be a player in the server but later died and came back as a catastrophe to have its revenge against Loyd. This catastrophe is good at using tricks and illusions. Make sure to have an ability such as ¡®Scanning¡¯ in order to not fall into its illusions.]


    Oh well that is a really nice tip to give to a person who literally just has an ability called ¡®Scanning¡¯.


    [Someone has entered the quest area for this quest. The boss fight will start soon.]


    [This catastrophe is called D-]


    The message screen started glitching and soon after cracked with some sparkles. This means that someone interfered with the system and cut the information coming into me. If it is trying to prevent information leaking about the catastrophe, it has to be the man himself. When I looked up, the smoke started to fade away. And a translucent barrier started forming around the center of the district. In the center, there was a weird looking puppet that looked like a scarecrow. And behind it, there was a christmas tree that was made of dead people. A nerve wracking sound started creeping out of the puppet.


    ¡°Oh there you are? Let¡¯s start the show again!¡±

 Chapter 5 - Catastrophe of Deception (2)

    Cold sweat dropped from just hearing that creepy voice. The giant shadow with 2 bloody red eyes overflowing with hatred and chaos slowly started walking towards us. The closer and closer the monster got close to us, it turned into a human form. We kept our guards up and pulled out our swords. The amount of aura it was giving off caused fear. I was shivering without even knowing it. Looking at the items I had, I knew I couldn¡¯t kill him. Even Loyd was shaking.


    ¡°We have to kill him as quickly as possible.¡± Loyd rushed towards the shadow. When he flew and landed his sword on that monster, it made a shing sound then deflected Loyd. He was pushed back and landed near me.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a very polite way to welcome your old friend is it Loyd?¡± The shadow creeped towards Loyd.


    ¡°Fuck off you jester. No one ever wanted you to return, Duk.¡± Loyd shouted towards Duk. ¡°The only thing you contributed to this town was to cause conflict and fucking destroy it!¡±


    I soon realized who that was. The mischievous laughs, the aura of chaos and madness, and the fear of Loyd. It was Duk, the only enemy that was able to defeat Loyd. He never beat Loyd through battles but through his actions. If we were talking about strength, Duk would probably be one of the weakest people on the server but if we talk about him causing damage to each other, he would be on the top. He causes traumas to people and attacks them mentally. That¡¯s how he was able to win against Loyd the last time they fought.


    The town was everything to Loyd. It was his pride, his home, and his legacy. But Duk destroyed the town and set it on hell fire. Loyd was traumatized for life eversince and promised to protect the town at all cost. After the ¡®Frost War¡¯, Duk was locked up in prison for life but ever since he was overthrown, Duk was set free again and he continued to mentally attack Loyd. When Loyd was exiled out of the town, Duk changed the town into his own taste and continued to hurt Loyd. Eventually, before the ¡®Deconstructed War¡¯, Loyd kills Duk but now, he is back.


    When Duk was about 30 steps in front of us, we were finally able to see him clearly. He was in the uniform of the middle ages European duke. I wondered for a second why he was wearing that but I remembered that his gamer tag in the game was ¡°Duknotduke¡±. I knew that he was Loyd¡¯s biggest nightmare and he should be killed but I at least wanted to try talking with him. But before I even tried, Loyd quickly dashed towards Duk and striked his sword once again. A major shock flowed out from Duk¡¯s deflection. He used a pack of cards to defend himself against Loyd. He swung at the pack a few times before Loyd stepped back. As Loyd prepared to attack again, Duk threw the cards in various directions this time. They all conclusively directed to Loyd. Right before the cards hit Loyd, he hit them all out of his way. When the card lost its balance, it hit the ground then exploded.


    There was absolutely no way I could help Loyd right now. The battle was escalating quickly and they were both moving very swiftly. If I ever stepped into the fight, I would get in Loyd¡¯s way and hit me. I searched for Crimson who could possibly help him but he was nowhere to be found. I swear he was next to me a few seconds ago but he disappeared as soon as we saw Duk.


    ¡°Yes Loyd yes! Continue to fight with your anger and despair! I will recreate your nightmare everyday so that you can replay it in your dreams!¡± Duk shouted towards Loyd. Loyd didn¡¯t reply to him but I felt him agitate


    [Ability, ¡°Sin of Pride¡± is currently weakening itself.]


    Not only is ¡®Sin of Pride¡¯ the name of his role as a sin but it also describes his abilities. For sins, there are about 3 to 4 skills, 1 of them being a passive ability. Loyd¡¯s passive ability is to have dominance and a higher chance of winning against someone that he thinks is weaker. If he just has confidence in winning against his opponent, he can win. But if it¡¯s telling me that his core ability is weakening itself, it means that Loyd doesn¡¯t have confidence in winning this battle. He is scared that he will lose and his worst nightmare will be replayed.


    I couldn¡¯t just wait and let Duk finish Loyd. At this rate, Loyd¡¯s mind will collapse and become a puppet. Right when I was about to shout Loyd¡¯s name to tell him to get his head together, a series of black hands spread from Duk¡¯s cards that he threw. The hands then tried to grab Loyd. When Loyd cut the hands, they evaporated like ashes but when he accidentally missed one and the hand reached him, it absorbed into Loyd. When the hand was fully absorbed into him, Loyd collapsed on his knees. I quickly screamed out his name and ran towards him but he was unconscious. His eyes were all white.


    Is this how Duk defeated Loyd last time? I checked for his pulse and when I checked he was still alive, I stood up and looked at Duk.


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    ¡°Hmm¡­ Who are you? His friend? Companion? Slave? I know Loyd doesn¡¯t take just anyone with him. Also, do you know what happened to Crimson? I have to talk to him about something.¡±


    Duk walked slowly towards me while pulling out another card from his hand. But behind his card, there was a small dagger. He is probably trying to kill me now.


    ¡°And now if you don¡¯t mind, could you move out of the way so I could finish my business with Loyd?¡± Duk smiled mischievously. Everytime I looked at his smile, it made me feel very unpleasant that I wanted to punch his face and give him physical plastic surgery.


    I refused to move out of the way. I know that he can kill me with his hidden dagger but I can¡¯t let Loyd die here. I have to protect him.


    ¡°Loyd wake up! You can¡¯t give up here!¡± I screamed in his ears.


    I pulled out my iron sword and tried to fight with it. When I swung my sword, he easily dodged it and kicked me. I missed miserably but I recovered and ran towards Duk. I tried to slash him again and this time, it did some damage. I was able to make him bleed. Although it was a small scar, I saw hope. Although his mental abilities are very skilled, his physical body and abilities aren¡¯t very strong.


    I continued to swing my sword and push him away from Loyd. I know that the more and more time I wasted, it wasn¡¯t good for me. There wasn¡¯t anything that I could do. Loyd had to wake up from whatever spell that Duk put him in but there weren¡¯t any signs of him waking up.


    Please¡­ Someone help or I¡¯m actually gonna get killed by this jester.


    *


    Loyd woke up in an empty space. It was completely black. He walked for a little bit. Everytime he took a step, he heard a raindrop touch the ground. When he closed his eyes and opened it, he saw the town. The same town where his home was but a little bit older version. It was the town during the ¡®Fallen Justice Arc¡¯. He remembered this arc better than everyone. It was the arc where the town developed the most but it was also when he was exiled from the town. A wise and cunning man named Ulysses teamed up with Duk and others to overthrow the government and hold power.


    He walked around the town for a little bit. When he approached the central park, he couldn¡¯t believe what he saw. There were showers of blood and corpses of his friends he had. And after another blink, the whole town was set on fire. When he looked up, there was Duk flying in the sky. He had a horn of the devil and black wings with a crimson red coat.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have told me about the sins, Loyd!¡± The new sin of pride glided down towards Loyd. It was Duk who was mocking Loyd. He became the sin of pride and laughed at Loyd for his failure.


    ¡°You failed to protect the town and your loved ones. I am the demon of this world! I am the one who will take you to the deepest pit of hell! I will be the villain in your history. You failed. I won.¡±


    Loyd couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. There was no way he failed to retake the town. The person who should never have the power of the sin earned it and destroyed the world.


    [Demon King, ¡°Jester of Doom¡± calls the apocalypse in this world.]


    From Duk¡¯s last announcement in this world, the fire spread even more. It was blazing so much that Loyd wasn¡¯t able to handle the heat anymore. He started to believe that all of this was real, that he failed to protect his home and family and Duk successfully took over the town and killed everyone. He wanted to deny all of this but his senses were telling that he failed and this is the result. Loyd would never give up on anything but this time it was different. His worst nightmare became real and he wasn¡¯t able to focus on anything. Only guilt of him failing. The situation was so hopeless. Even if Loyd defeats Duk here, he can¡¯t recover the damage that Duk caused. And at this point, he didn¡¯t even think that he could win against Duk.


    It was then when he heard a ringing noise from nowhere.


    ¡°Loyd wake up! You can¡¯t give up here!¡±


    The anonymous voice confused Loyd. Who is speaking to him? The stars in the sky that aren¡¯t even visible anymore? Or a ghost? Who could possibly tell him to not give up. Who wouldn¡¯t give up in a situation like this where nothing is left to protect. If there''s nothing to protect, why should he continue on with his life? Loyd thought continuously.


    Duk landed in front of Loyd and walked towards him, who was kneeling on the ground. Loyd was looking up at Duk. The despair and tragedy was too cruel for a single soul to handle. Duk took a knee and whispered into Loyd¡¯s ears.


    ¡°I am your worst nightmare, Loyd. This is your nightmare. I am inevitable. You will never win against me.¡±


    Everything he said was true. This was his nightmare. But if this is his worst nightmare, it may also mean that this is all just a dream. Loyd then pulled his mind together and reminded himself this is not real. He was with Luke and was fighting Duk the catastrophe.


    ¡®This is all a delusion.¡¯ Loyd thought.


    Loyd quickly grabbed his sword, ¡®Requiem¡¯ and stabbed Duk the demon king straight in his chest. Duk threw up blood and soon got knocked out.


    ¡°What are you going to do if you are my worst nightmare? A nightmare is still just a dream. It¡¯s not real. It doesn¡¯t happen if you don¡¯t think about it.¡±

 Chapter 5 - Catastrophe of Deception (3)

    Loyd wouldn¡¯t wake up even after me screaming right into his ears. Meanwhile, Duk was getting closer and closer.


    ¡°Loyd doesn¡¯t make companions easily.¡± Duk approached slowly. ¡°If you are really tagging along with him, you probably are just a tool or a toy.¡±


    He was right. Loyd never made companions. The only people he cooperated with were people that were part of the government and Crimson. And even if anyone actually became friends with Loyd, they would be killed or kicked out. That¡¯s why he was called, ¡®The Lonely Priest of Peace¡¯. He always desired peace but conclusionally never was able to achieve it.


    ¡°Or did he just throw away his stupid ideology?¡±


    ¡°Shut up Duk. You know nothing about Loyd.¡±


    ¡°There is no one in this world that understands him better than anyone.¡±


    ¡°Lies! The name ¡®Catastrophe of Deception¡¯ really matches you. Your arrogance and hatred will lead you to doom.¡±


    ¡°Keep your friends close, your enemies even closer.¡±


    Duk dashed towards us in a blink. His fist hit me directly in the face and pushed me off into the tree nearby. I felt extreme pain travel through my spines. I felt like my back broke but I stood back up.


    I saw Duk standing in front of Loyd. I don¡¯t know why but for some reason, he didn¡¯t kill Loyd yet. I tried to run towards Loyd but I was soon knocked out and collapsed onto the floor. My eyes were slowly closing. I tried my best to not lose my consciousness but I wasn¡¯t able to control it. Right before my eyes closed fully, I saw a silhouette that was familiar. He looked back at me and smiled.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe we have to bring a skeleton like him with us.¡±


    *


    Although the new body wasn¡¯t familiar, Duk was able to adapt to it quickly. His new powers, the catastrophe of deception, allowed him to use powers that weren¡¯t even similar to the ones he used to have. He became a powerful being that can oppose the constellations in the sky now. But the journey he suffered through couldn¡¯t be described with words. He had to float in the empty void of Abyss for decades until he was found by an unknown god. A giant hand made from chaos and shadow grabbed him away. When he was absorbed into the darkness, he heard bloodcurdling whispers.


    ¡°Father, please let me use him as my incarnation.¡±


    ¡°My deer reign of The Crawling Chaos, why are you so obsessed with this world? We promised not to be attached to the curse of ¡®System¡¯.¡±


    ¡°The Blind Idiot God, what we oppose is the people who hold power and abuse them, not this world and the system itself. Do you not remember parallel universes forming because of you and The Lurker at the Threshold?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Please use The Key and the Gate to open the crack in this dimension. We can send this soul and 3 others to make that world fall, just like you wish.¡±


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    After the conversation ended, Duk felt an enormous amount of energy flowing into his body. He felt extreme pain, chaos, and anger flow. He tried screaming out but his voice wouldn¡¯t come out. When he opened his eyes again, he was in complete darkness. And out of nowhere, a system message popped up.


    [Your status has been updated.]


    +


    Name: DuknotDuke (Diego)


    Guardian: The Crawling Chaos


    Mythology: The Bringer of Chaos, Great Old Ones (Borrowed), Outer Gods (Borrowed)


    Ability: Understanding of Humans (Epic), Illusion Creation (Rare), Hand of Deception (Epic), Healing Factor (Legendary), Catastrophe (Legendary).


    +


    It was that moment when he was reborn in a new body.


    *


    I gasped and woke up. I coughed heavily and suffered when I started breathing. I felt like I was choking. Was that someone¡¯s dream? I felt pain, chaos, and anger overflow in my brain when I became unconscious. It was as if I was possessed inside of someone¡¯s body. When I recovered, I got up on one knee and looked up. I don¡¯t know how much time has passed but fortunately, Loyd was still alive. The unknown silhouette disappeared and Duk was preparing to kill Loyd. I saw him taking out his dagger to end him. I quickly got up and started running towards them. Right when Duk brought up his arm to slash Loyd, I jumped and held Loyd in my arms. I felt the dagger cutting the skin of my back. I saved Loyd but I was injured heavily. And then, I fell asleep again.


    *


    Duk stared at Loyd for a while. Loyd was fragile against mental attacks, especially the ones made by him. At this point, Loyd¡¯s mind should¡¯ve collapsed and Loyd should be insane but he was still unconscious. Something went wrong with his plan. But how? His plan was perfect. He chose the worst trauma that could affect Loyd and made him suffer it. But it didn¡¯t matter anymore. If his spell can¡¯t kill him, he would have to kill on his own.


    Duk pulled out his dagger and prepared to kill Loyd once and for all. The long ages he suffered through, the extreme pain of becoming a catastrophe, were all waiting for this moment. He had survived through those times looking forward to this moment.


    ¡°Well this is the end of our cycle of hatred. Good bye.¡±


    Right when Duk prepared to kill Loyd, an unknown being flew between him like wind and took Loyd away. His face was full of shock and surprise. When he looked to his right, he saw Loyd, and the weird boy that tried to save him. He stood still for a few moments and stared at the boy.


    Who the hell is this kid? He just appeared out of nowhere, claims that he is Loyd¡¯s companion, and tried to risk his life trying to save him.


    Duk was fascinated with the boy. He first thought of just killing him but not, he wanted to know what was going on. He wanted to make him one of the corpses on the tree. The tree that Duk made helped him understand things going on in this world. Every dead corpse added to the tree, he obtained their memories and their abilities. Most of them were useless and because he was able to understand most of the recent events, he decided to not add anymore bodies but he changed his mind. He wanted to look at this guy¡¯s memories.


    He approached Luke and Loyd and put his hand towards Luke. Then, the shadow hand that previously attacked Loyd came out of the air and slowly approached them. Behind Duk, a dark aura was rising. A monster looking shadow rose and screamed a soundless scream. When the monster was completely in shape, it faded in with Duk and the dark hand. The hand started absorbing Luke and Loyd. Energy and aura was flowing into the hand. And after a few seconds, the monster opened its mouth and tried to eat Luke. Right before he ate him, someone flew directly towards Duk and cut his head. When the head landed in front of a man, the man stepped on it and crushed it into pieces. Because Duk was currently in a shadow form, he recovered his head again. He looked around and searched for who was the one that cut his head. When he turned around, he was welcomed with a familiar face.


    ¡°My god it took me a long time to find this sword again.¡±


    Duk shivered with fear. Duk was scared because he knew who that was.


    ¡°You¡¯re always making me do extra work.¡±


    The golden crown, red knight looking armor, and 2 swords that were used by a single man.


    ¡°Long time no see, Diego.¡±

 Chapter 5 - Catastrophe of Deception (4)

    The moment Duk saw Crimson, he froze like a dead man. Sweat came down his face and his arms were shaking. After they had direct eye contact for a few seconds, he slowly stepped backwards. A face full of fear and desperation, which was never seen before flooded him. If Loyd¡¯s worst nightmare was him, his worst nightmare was the man who was standing in front of him right now. Before he could even turn around and run, Crimson quickly dashed towards Diego in a blink of an eye. Suddenly, he was standing in front of him, pointing his sword directly at his throat.


    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re running huh? Are you seriously scared of me?¡± Crimson laughed while knocking down Diego. ¡°Come on, let''s fight! I know that¡¯s your favorite thing to do.¡± Suddenly, his face turned cold and his voice was deep and dark. ¡°Am I wrong? You fucking jester.¡±


    Without noticing, his shadow monster form was disabled. He was back in his human form where he was vulnerable. Creeps started growing on Duk when Crimson knocked him down. He was scared. He was scared that Crimson would kill him.


    ¡°Wait Crimson!¡± Diego spoke hurriedly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this to me. We were friends right? You don- Agh!¡±


    Blood shattered all over Crimson¡¯s face. Not even letting him finish, Crimson cut one of Diego¡¯s arms. He suffered in pain and screamed. When Crimson committed such violent actions, his face didn¡¯t change at all.


    ¡°Yeah you are right, we ¡®Were¡¯ friends.¡± Crimson cleaned the blood off of his face. ¡°But the important thing is that you almost killed people that ¡®Are¡¯ my friends. And since you used to be my companion, you know what happens if you mess around with my people. You remember the blood hunt arc? Let¡¯s replay it shall we?¡±


    [Sin of Wrath, Crimson activates ¡°The Hunt of Bloodbath¡±.]


    [Hunter is Crimson!]


    [Prey is DuknotDuke!]


    [The night of wrath will overflow inside the district. Exiting and entering is restricted from now on!]


    Duk knew very well what this ability was. The ability ¡®The Hunt of Bloodbath¡¯ was an unique ability made for Crimson when he was getting hunted down by the townspeople. Back in the ¡®Exiled Era¡¯, Crimson was kicked out of the town and the government put bounties to kill him. That was when Duk was the ambassador of the town. He found and visited Crimson¡¯s house with the town¡¯s elite squad after searching for months. When he and the town¡¯s army surrounded him, they shot him in the leg, arm, and chest multiple times where it got to a point he couldn''t move. When he finally fell, the anger and wrath inside him exploded. That was when his ability was activated for the first time. His ability chose preys and the hunter to start a game. The game wouldn¡¯t end until the hunter was satisfied killing all the preys. When the ability was first activated, Duk was the only survivor from the hunt. That nightmare haunted him everyday. And now, the hell he survived came back to hunt him down for sure this time.


    While Diego was running, the two swords that Crimson brought were shaking and ringing.


    [Sword, ¡°Hell¡¯s Endpoint¡± searches for even more blood to take to hell.]


    [Sword, ¡°Eternal Rest¡± calls for a new victim to make them fall asleep.}


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s start the hunt.¡±


    *


    I ran as fast as possible, searching for Diego. I destroyed any debris getting in the way and tried to scan every place that he could hide. Although the mark of blood will appear soon, it¡¯s better if I get rid of him as fast as possible.


    [Sword, ¡°Hell¡¯s Endpoint¡± searches for even more blood to take to hell.]


    [Sword, ¡°Eternal Rest¡± calls for a new victim to make them fall asleep.}


    My 2 swords were pressing me to kill him. The reason it took me so long to catch up was because of the sword, ¡®Eternal Rest¡¯. The sword kills any soul the blade touches. Even if I use my ¡®Hell¡¯s Endpoint¡¯ to damage him, I must finish Diego with ¡®Eternal Rest¡¯. Every type of returning as the catastrophe requires a soul contract with its guardian since the return is caused by reviving a dead body¡¯s soul into a new one. If I can¡¯t kill the soul of Diego right here, he will return to the town as a different kind of catastrophe.


    [Sword, ¡°Eternal Rest¡± complains it hadn¡¯t consumed a soul in a while.]


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The sword was asking for another soul to be his lunch. I was able to hear the sword¡¯s messages because I created a link between me and the sword by applying my wrath to the blade. I did this a while ago back when the first catastrophe in the town appeared. Back then, me and Loyd didn¡¯t take it seriously and caused some trouble. After simply killing the catastrophe, it returned even stronger because we weren¡¯t able to end its soul. It brought absolute chaos to the town. That¡¯s when Loyd created this sword to kill him. Although we successfully killed the soul, the damage he caused was so great that it led to many other conflicts even after his death.


    [The first blood mark is shown to the hunter!]


    The blood mark appeared right behind the large rock. I ran and slid towards it. When I brought my sword up to slash it, nothing was there. That was when I felt a strange feeling from my gut. I dodged the scratch attack that came from my back. I then recovered my position and struck back at the shadow monster that regenerated after my first attack. I was able to cut one of its arms this time. When the monster howled with anger and pain, I quickly stabbed ¡®Eternal Rest¡¯ through his chest without hesitation, hoping that the main body of Diego was somewhere there. Although it is called a shadow monster, it still is just a shade of armor that covers the main body. If I can kill the body inside of the shadow, he should die.


    [The hunter has missed his attack! The prey gets stronger.]


    There is 1 more rule to this game. If this game is just a one way attack between the hunter and the prey, it¡¯s unfair so there are some penalties for the hunter. Every time I swing my sword, I have to damage the prey. Every time I damage the prey, it will make him weaker but if I miss my shot, the prey will grow stronger and stronger. And when it gets to a point where the prey becomes stronger than the hunter, the sides flip and the hunter becomes the prey and the prey becomes the hunter. Explaining my current situation, I just took a risky shot and missed it completely. Although Diego will get stronger and stronger when I miss my shot, I was still confident since I am way stronger than him. At least that¡¯s what I thought.


    [The catastrophe¡¯s unique ability awakens! The prey will be allowed to use their attack skills now.]


    If the prey and the hunter can attack each other at the same time, it means that both of us are on the same level. So the person who hits more shots on each other becomes the hunter. I can¡¯t let that happen. I was zoning out too much. I jumped high and dashed towards Diego while spinning with my swords. When I finally hit him, he disappeared into ashes. Luckily, it didn¡¯t count as missing my shot. I turned around and saw 3 more of the shadow monsters. Diego was using his unique abilities as a jester. He has 3 abilities that he uses. The first one is manipulation and gaslighting. The 2nd one is illusions and the 3rd one is mind corruption. The ability that Diego used to take town Loyd was mind corruption. It normally causes the victim¡¯s worst trauma and slowly destroys their mind. The only way to get out of it is for Diego to stop using the ability or for them to fight out their trauma. Since Loyd is unconscious, it means that Loyd couldn¡¯t escape the dream yet. I have to kill Diego or he will kill me.


    The hallucinations of Diego¡¯s monsters started running in different directions. I tried to keep track of the blood mark on one of the shadows but I wasn¡¯t sure if I was even chasing the real Diego since the last time I tried to kill the shadow with the mark, it was a hallucination. There has to be something different compared to the real Diego and the delusion. While I was chasing the shadow with the blood mark, the other shadows chased me and tried to scratch again. I deflected its attack and barely slashed off its skin. Although it was just a small scar, it pushed the monster off. But the other one was still coming after me. I struggled chasing the blood mark and defending against the one trying to kill me so turned around and tried to stun the other shadow following me. As if the monster didn¡¯t expect for me to stop there, he looked surprised and missed his shot towards me.


    [The prey has missed its shot. Crimson becomes the hunter again!]


    I didn¡¯t miss my opportunity here and quickly stabbed my blade through its legs. This time, it didn¡¯t make a loud scream but rather, it stayed silent and started bleeding. The monster was stunned and wasn¡¯t able to move. I soon noticed the difference between Diego and the decoys.


    ¡®When the decoys miss their shots, Diego doesn¡¯t get penalized. And also, the shadow with Diego in it bleeds. I have to kill this one.¡¯


    To test my hypothesis, I stabbed the monster in front of me into the arm one more time.


    [The hunter hit its target! Weakening the prey.]


    So I was right. The real monster will bleed if I harm him. I relocated the blood mark and locked it on to the shadow in front of me. When Diego realized that I set the blood mark on him, he started running because he knew what was going to happen now.


    [Now approaching phase 2. Whoever is tagged with the blood mark will receive twice the damage.]


    Diego ran with fear while recovering the damage he just took. He also absorbed the other 2 fake shadow monsters. When he did so, he doubled his size. When I saw him running towards the tree, I threw my ¡®Hell¡¯s Point¡¯ and stunned him. Because of my sword¡¯s unique ability, he will have to cut off his arm or his entire body will burn. But not as I expected, he just continued running towards the tree. I chased him but he was just too fast. When finally reached the tree, he started eating all the dead corpses.


    Fuck. I forgot that his source of power was from the trees and the dead corpses. The more dead people there are hanging on the tree, the stronger he gets. The tree slowly absorbs all the power from the person and takes away all the unnecessary impurities. But if he is eating all the corpses, it means that he is ignoring all the bad effects it could give him and only cares about the power he could get.


    When I got close enough to attack him, I jumped as high as I could and dashed towards his nape but he reacted faster than I thought. He grabbed onto my neck right before I reached him. He was grabbing my neck really tight so I was choking. At this rate, I will pass out in less than 10 seconds. I had to react. I glanced around me trying to find what could help me but there was absolutely nothing. The only option I really had was disabling the hunt but I wasn¡¯t sure if that would help me either. I tried to cut his arms but my swords were already off my hand. I wiggled to get him off but that didn¡¯t work either. Right when I was about to faint, Diego let go.


    He was yelling and screaming in pain. He was tweaking out. The side effects of eating raw corpses finally came in clutch. When I was released, I grabbed both swords on the ground and swung them. The ¡®Hell¡¯s Endpoint¡¯ cut Diego¡¯s head off. Obviously it was the head of the shadow but when I cut the shadow off, his true head was visible. Right when that happened, Diego panicked. His shadow was disappearing and his body was visible. Right when I found him vulnerable, I swung my ¡®Eternal Rest¡¯. Blood splashed all over and a sphere looking object was rolling on the ground.

 Special Chapter - The Sinister Dream of Halloween

    I woke up taking heavy breaths. My vision was blurry as if I just took off my glasses so I wasn¡¯t able to check my surroundings. This happens every once in a while when I have my eyes closed for a while. This happens probably because my vision is terrible. I rubbed my eyes multiple times to regain my vision. It was very dark outside. When I looked around, I was inside of a bus with people that I knew.


    What happened? Is this even real? I was just fighting Duk with Loyd. Am I dreaming? Or was that just a dream¡­


    Yeah, that was probably just a dream. There is no way I fell into the world of my favorite game and fought enemies with people from the server. That is ridiculous. This is not even a fantasy novel. Falling into a parallel universe where I become the main character of a game? This is not a Japanese Isekai book. This is just a life of an ordinary boy. I mean that dream was really weird but if it was real, it would¡¯ve been pretty nice. But to call it just a dream, everything was so real. Like I can still feel all the scars and wounds from that battle.


    It was then when I noticed something weird. When I looked at my hand, there was blood. Not only was there blood, but my hoodie was also ripped and damaged. There was dust everywhere and dust splashing. I shook all of them off and stood up when the bus stopped. I looked right behind my seat and there was Matthew. I confusingly asked him where we were going. I waited for him to answer but he was speechless. He didn¡¯t say anything as if he was ignoring me. I shook my hand multiple times to get his attention but he didn¡¯t even even flinch. I noticed something was wrong. I walked towards other people in the bus and waved but no one reacted. They don¡¯t see me. They aren¡¯t recognizing the fact that I¡¯m here.


    Everyone in the bus was also in the same uniform. They were wearing a grey overall, blue shirt, and a white armor looking jacket. As if they were a group going to a specific place for performance.


    Wait what? Why am I even on this bus? These people are from the marching band. Was I even part of the band? Where are we even going? Why do I feel like some pieces of my memory are missing? What happened to me? Why can¡¯t I remember anything? It¡¯s like there is an empty void.


    I felt extreme fear. I can¡¯t remember anything. People say the biggest fear is caused by something you don¡¯t know, not by something you already know. The lack of knowledge I have and the mysteries that are not acknowledged are choking up my breath. It made it hard for me to breathe. I felt like some sort of trauma was being reminded.


    I held on to the chair next to me and grabbed my chest. The extreme pain originating from nowhere almost made me faint. Right when I was about to fall, I heard an anonymous voice from the back of the bus.


    ¡°Why are you here? You are not supposed to be here yet. Go back to you¡¯re world.¡± A man wearing a trench coat that looks like Loyd¡¯s spoke. But this man had a mask. It was a gray mask with a white smiley face on it.


    ¡°Wh..Who are you?¡± I asked with a stuttering voice. ¡°Why am I here. What is all this. Why can¡¯t my friends see me?¡±


    ¡°Your friends? Since when did you even have friends?¡±


    Wait, he was right. I have no friends. But why am I identifying these people as my friends? I don¡¯t even recognize them. Why can¡¯t I remember anything?


    ¡°I guess Duk using its ability accidentally created an error.¡± The man sighed. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Learning a lesson by growing through your biggest fear is a good way to train your mind.¡±


    With a snap of a finger, a notification rang on everyone¡¯s phone.


    ¡°Well good luck. I will send you back to the real world when the time comes.¡±


    I ran towards him and tried to grab him. I had so many questions to ask. His words were too secretive for me to even understand. I need to know what¡¯s going on. Right before I grabbed his collar, he faded away. I hit my back to the exit door on the bus. I hit my back so hard that I feel like I broke my back. I thought the impact might¡¯ve broken the glass on the door but it was clean. I realized that I can¡¯t influence my surroundings here. I must be in some sort of a ghost form.


    When I went back to my seat, the people started talking all at once. Soon after, it got very noisy. The chaperones and the driver yelled at us to be quiet but it remained loud. I didn¡¯t really care about what they were saying but a word caught my mind.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°GTI SMP.¡±


    The moment I heard ¡®GTI SMP¡¯, I stood back up and walked towards the crowd. I heard it. I heard it correctly. They are talking about GTI SMP. But why? The game stopped servicing a long time ago. Why are they about a dead game now? Today is¡­


    It was then when I opened my phone to check the date. It was October 31st. I panicked and collapsed onto my seat. It didn¡¯t make sense. The date before I came into the server was March 8th.


    ¡®Did I fast forward into the future or is this the past?¡¯


    I didn¡¯t know. All that was confirmed is that this is not the time period or the world that I used to be in. I tried to calm myself but it didn¡¯t work well. I took deep breaths and successfully calmed down. When I stood back up, I walked towards Matthew and checked his phone. If they are talking about ¡®GTI SMP¡¯, I must know what they are talking about. Obviously, they probably aren''t talking about the amazing game quality but¡­


    -¡°The ways of becoming a swordsman.¡±-


    Wait what?


    -¡°The pros and cons of becoming the sin.¡±-


    Wait no this can¡¯t be.


    -¡°Who is the strongest player on the server? (Power Ranking).¡±-


    Please. This can¡¯t be real. There is no way this is happening.


    -¡°My POV record of the GTI SMP Lore.¡±-


    These were¡­ These are all the files I made when I played the game. My writings, my records. The stupid books I wrote when I first started playing the game. They shouldn¡¯t read this. This is my privacy. Why is this happening?


    I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands. I was speechless. Why is everyone suddenly reading this? I wished that the server got to everyone, not my stupid writings. Tears started dropping from my eyes.


    -¡°Yo Luke, is this real?¡± Sent by: Elijah-


    -¡°Wait what, even all this. What are these things that you wrote?¡± Sent by: Ryan-


    I closed my phone and put it in my pocket. I received texts from many people. Some of them were questioning me, some of them were laughing at me. I didn¡¯t want to open my phone ever again. Because I knew what kind of notifications I would be getting from now on. I imagined how the band would see me now. I would fall into the deepest part of the abyss just like the fallen stars. I would be isolated from everyone and I would be alone.


    This can''t be real. There is no way? The guy who I ran into literally faded away. This has to be a delusion, right? This is a dream. It¡¯s showing me my worst nightmare! I was just fighting Duk and he used his illusion nightmare thingy ability to make me suffer. I just have to overcome this and believe this is all a lie. Then I can escape!


    I began gaslighting myself and said this is all just a dream. I wanted to deny everything that was going on. Although I knew that this won¡¯t help, I felt like if I didn¡¯t do this, I was going to die.


    The noisy whispers and gossips suddenly became quiet. It made it easier for me to breathe because of the calm surroundings. When I took a glimpse and looked behind me. Everyone was frozen. Then suddenly, they turned around and looked at me. But it didn¡¯t feel like they were looking specifically at me, but rather the screen that was floating.


    +


    [%^$&^%]


    Quest type: ???


    Quest difficulty: ???


    Clear conditions: &^*^(*&^.


    Compensation: @*&^&*%T!!.


    Time limit: ???


    +


    I was shocked when I turned around and saw the quest screen. My face began to overflow with horror again. The people who were staring at the quest menu then suddenly started whispering in a strange, terrifying voice.


    ¡°Why did you do this Luke?¡±


    The voice rang in the bus multiple times. The screeching voice sounded like dead ghosts. I closed my ears and eyes then started screaming,


    ¡°This is all just a dream! Please, let me go!¡±


    A few seconds later, the voices stopped. Then the bus started moving again. Everyone went back to what they were doing like nothing happened. I looked down and calmed myself. I wanted to believe that this was all just a dream but I started doubting myself. If this is the real world and the journey I just had with Loyd was just a dream, will I have to live on like this?


    When the bus stopped again, I stood up and looked around. It was so peaceful. I just wished that it could be like this forever. I turned around and witnessed something unbelievable. A giant truck ran into our bus. I flew towards the back of the bus when the impact hit. It felt like I was in a slow motion movie. Right before I hit my head to the wall, a portal opened. It was like a rift. To be exact, it looked very similar to the portal I went through when I fell into the server. Right when I was absorbed into the portal, I lost consciousness.


    *


    I gasped and woke up. I took deep breaths and looked around my surroundings. I was in the district. Next to me, there was Loyd. I sighed with relief and sat back.


    Thank god that was just a dream. That was the worst nightmare ever. Across from where I was. I saw Crimson helping people recover. I stood up and carried Loyd, who was still asleep to Crimson. I should just forget about that stupid dream. It will only make it worse if I think about it. The nightmare wasn¡¯t even real.


    *


    Or was it?

 Chapter 6 - Prophecy of Ruination (1)

    I stood up and walked towards Crimson, while carrying Loyd on my back. I guess Crimson defeated Duk. The fog outside of the battle field disappeared and people started to enter the district. Crimson saw me struggling to carry Loyd and ran towards me. He gave me a pink potion and took Loyd.


    ¡°How did you even lose to him? He wasn¡¯t even that strong.¡±


    He looked so serious when he said that it made me give him a look of total contempt. I forgot that Crimson is a person like this. Someone lives off of their pride and ego. I wonder how he became the sin of wrath, not pride.


    ¡°Hey! Walk faster and get to your houses you little useless piece of shit!¡± Crimson scorned with rage towards people who were goofing off.


    Actually, I think I know how he became the sin of wrath.


    But thank god we finally defeated Duk. For my debut quest, this was kind of challenging but at least we got through it.


    [Loading compensations.]


    [Obtaining: Passive skill: High level mental barrier, active skill: Quick Dash, Items: 1000 Tea Leaves, Golden apple, Particle of the Catastrophe¡¯s asteroid.]


    [You have defeated an incarnation of a being from the outer world. You will be awarded with a special award related to that constellation.]


    [Obtaining, ¡°The Scythe of Key and Gate¡±.]


    With all the other awards, a scythe appeared from nowhere and landed in my hands. Other than the scythe, other rewards weren¡¯t that satisfying since I barely contributed to defeating Duk. Crimson probably got the best rewards. Although I only got some low level skills and a few tea leaves, I still got a weapon. The iron sword I have is not good enough to fight against people like Duk. There are probably more threats approaching that are stronger than Duk. Looking at the shattered iron sword, I sighed. I put the new scythe into my inventory.


    I was kind of expecting to obtain a special item related to Duk¡¯s guardian. Because when we beat bosses in a dungeon on the server, it gave an item related to the boss¡¯s guardian. I have no idea who his guardian was and what this item does but I will figure it out later.


    [1 out of 4 catastrophes defeated. Please head to the next catastrophe. The closest catastrophe not in combat is located in <Eden>.]


    The WHAT?


    *


    I stared at the message for a couple of minutes. I was extremely surprised by the fact that the next quest was leading us to the kingdom of angels, <Eden>. It was a place never revealed even during its service. There were some descriptions about the kingdom but never a physical picture of it.


    -A cloud kingdom with multiple floating islands. In the peaceful paradise full of angels, there shall be songs of beauty.-


    I¡¯m pretty sure that was the message that popped up when anyone tried to enter the kingdom. As you can predict from its name, the kingdom is based off of the bible. There are beautiful angels and harmonic choirs. It is known for having the prettiest people in the world, according to Crimson although he never visited before. The only person that has been to <Eden> is probably Loyd. Since before becoming the Sin of Pride, he was the king and representative of <Eden>. I¡¯m pretty sure his guardian was Michael but I¡¯m not sure. We will know when we actually get there.


    Me and Crimson started walking towards the exit of the district. Right when I set my foot outside of the district, I felt extreme pain from my left arm. I accidentally dropped Loyd on the ground and held on to where the pain was coming from. Crimson yelled and asked a doctor for help and I took my dark green hoodie off. There was a big bruise from where the pain originated. There were some particles of a rock stuck on my joint. I struggled moving my shoulder too. I think I broke my entire left arm when I was fighting Duk.


    Sid, who was waiting in the base camp, quickly ran towards me with Crimson and handed me some pills. I swallowed it quickly without water because of the extreme pain. The pain started fading away but I wasn¡¯t able to move my arm. It was like I was injected with an anesthetic.


    ¡°Hold up, this will hurt.¡± Crimson grabbed my arm.


    I was wondering what he was doing but before I even questioned him, I heard a really loud crack. He relocated my entire arm by just twisting it. The pain got so much worse. It was so bad that I couldn¡¯t even scream.


    ¡°Damn bro it hurt that bad? How weak are you?¡±


    Buddy I got teleported into this world like 5 hours ago. I don¡¯t have any unique abilities and I couldn¡¯t even level up my stats yet.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°Damn even Zoiph and Jacob weren''t this weak when I first met them.¡± Crimson sighed.


    I quickly turned around and got up from the ground when I heard familiar names.


    ¡°Wait, you know them? Where are they? I haven¡¯t seen them ever since the decon-¡±


    I stopped speaking because I thought I was leaking too much information. I can¡¯t let him know the fact that this world was the game that I used to play and I know the entire history of this server. To him, I have to be a foreigner that appeared out of nowhere.


    ¡°Oh so you know them too?¡± He took off his sunglasses and turned around towards me. He started thinking for a minute. I don¡¯t think he noticed my awkward actions.


    ¡°Well Zoiph definitely died right after Duk. Then Jacob¡­ His soul was like torn down to 2 pieces or something? I don¡¯t know, don¡¯t ask me. I only heard stories from Loyd.¡±


    My face shattered into pieces of glass when I heard him say that Zoiph and Jacob died. Those 2 were some of the most famous people on the server. They were both war veterans of the first 2 wars that went missing after the 2nd one. Zoiph was a historian who recorded most of the events that took place in the server. The books and the records he made were used for education in many colleges and schools. The news of his death was nothing but a surprise to me. It was the same for Jacob. He was one of the founders of this town who fought with Loyd during the ¡°Frost War¡±. He later stood with Loyd and made the basic systems in the town. He was remembered as a hero and later took in as the president before Loyd. I couldn¡¯t believe both of them died.


    ¡°You look surprised.¡± Crimson laughed while giving me a serious stare. It was like he was trying to hide what he was really thinking by laughing.


    ¡°Well, yeah. They were famous. They were the founder and the heroes of this town. Why wouldn¡¯t I be surprised?¡±


    ¡°Oh so you do know the history of this town. What else do you know?¡±


    I realized I made a critical mistake there. Now he is aware that I know about the town¡¯s history.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t really care if you know about this town. I don¡¯t give a fuck if you are just a guy out of nowhere that knows the secrets of this town. I won¡¯t tell Loyd so don¡¯t worry. But I¡¯m just saying, he probably knows too.¡±


    I sighed with relief. At least I know he won¡¯t kill me. But I should probably talk to Loyd about this, the fact that I know about this town.


    ¡°But what do you mean that they are dead? When did this even happen? Why did they die?¡± I hurriedly questioned since I don¡¯t have to hide anything anymore.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t even know where to start. I don¡¯t know how much you know about this town but surely you are missing out on something if you don¡¯t know what happened to them. If you were there for the revolutionary war you probably know what happened but I guess you missed out.¡±


    ¡°Of course I was there! At the end of the war there was¡­ There was¡­ Wha, what happened?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t remember what happened. There was no way. I know every single event that happened in the town. But why can¡¯t I remember what happened at the end of the war? It¡¯s like my memory was erased by someone.


    ¡°Uhh I don¡¯t think you know. You should visit the library in the white house. I think Loyd is writing a book where it has all the recordings of the events that took place on the server. What was it called¡­ Replay?¡±


    Reading that book might be helpful but I had to figure out what was going on with me first.


    Okay let¡¯s be calm and analyze what happened. After the frost war which was led by Crimson, the town was at peace until Ulysses overthrew and exiled Jacob and Loyd. After that, Loyd and Crimson teamed up and that''s when they became friends. Loyd successfully retook the town from Ulysses but what happened at the end of the war?


    I started taking heavy breaths. It was like I was being choked up and the air that was flowing through my lungs suddenly cut out. I grabbed onto my chest and fell on the ground. This was the same type of pain I experienced in my dream. It¡¯s like everytime I realize my memory has been erased I panic. Right when I was about to faint, Crimson hit my head as hard as he could. My face smashed into the ground. I coughed and stood back up. As I was getting dirt off of my face, I saw Sid yell at Crimson but he was yawning like he was annoyed by his scolding.


    ¡°Bro you know like we have to time at all right now. We should either head back to the capitol or go help Govind with another catastrophe.¡±


    He was right. There was no time to waste just because of my panic attack.


    ¡°I say we just head back to the capitol for now and wait until Loyd recovers. Looks like you also need some weapons too with that weak ass body. Govind is strong enough to handle a catastrophe either way.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t really satisfied the way he worded this but he wasn¡¯t wrong. In a situation where Loyd hasn¡¯t even woken up yet, we won¡¯t be much of a help. Plus, Govind probably can handle the catastrophe by himself because he is stronger than Crimson in some perspectives.


    ¡°You guys can return to the capitol then. I will recover the damage in the district and join yall when we are done.¡±


    I nodded with a smile.


    ¡°Sounds fair to me? I¡¯m hungry. Yo new kid, have you ever been to the guest house? The pub they have has really good food. We should visit.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say we don¡¯t have time for this? That¡¯s why you pounded my face into the ground.¡±


    ¡°Ok but just a sip of beer can¡¯t hurt you that much. Plus, you need new clothes. I will find you a new hoodie there.¡±


    I sighed and answered him.


    ¡°Fine let¡¯s go. But you have to promise to get me a new hoodie.¡±


    ¡°Yeah sure thing! I keep promises you know. Like if you know some history in this town you should know how honest I am!¡±


    ¡°You were literally the biggest liar who stole 300,000 tea leaves from Loyd and the national bank¡­¡±


    He coughed out some awkwardness and started moving faster.


    ¡°Come on! Let¡¯s go, I¡¯m so hungry.¡±


    ¡°Do you even know my name?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do!¡±


    ¡°What is it.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    I sighed and told him.


    ¡°It¡¯s Luke. Luke Park.¡±

 Chapter 6 - Prophecy of Ruination (2)

    The thunder roared in the sky as if mother nature was raging. Govind looked up into the dark night sky where golden stars would fall. The descending of stars meant the death of the stars. If they are no longer shining in the night sky, they lose their purpose as a star. Through the history of the servers, there were countless stars who disappeared from the sky but tonight was different. The shooting stars looked like it would all fall on this world as a catastrophe to destroy the town. This wasn¡¯t the first time Govind defeated a catastrophe. He defeated one during the [Deconstructed War] and when a man full of sin tried to destroy the town. But this one felt exceptional. Catastrophe''s sole purpose is to destroy the town and take their revenge. If he fails to defeat the catastrophe he is walking to right now, everyone would die. Through training and practices, he became stronger and stronger. Now, he was powerful enough to single handedly defeat a catastrophe. But he was scared that he was going to fail. It felt like this time, the world was actually going to end.


    ¡°We almost arrived at the catastrophe area. But there aren¡¯t really any signs of the chaos energy.¡± Axion spoke to Govind while staring at the screen he was holding.


    One of the similarities all catastrophes had was the chaos energy that they possessed. Chaos energy was like a terrifying scream of pain and confusion. But no chaos energy was detected around this catastrophe. All catastrophes land in this world as an asteroid but when this catastrophe hit the town, there was no impact. It was like a silent wave.


    No one knows why catastrophes arrive in this world. No one knows why they want to destroy the town or how they even come back from the dead. But one thing is for sure, the fact that it brings chaos and confusion to this peaceful world. And that if they fail to stop it, the town will be destroyed.


    Govind daydreamed about the first days of the server. The days where he thought things couldn¡¯t get worse in the moment but realized that those moments will never come back. He hated nostalgia. It distracted him from committing his actions and made him hesitate when having to kill. He fell into the false hope of believing that everything could be fixed and can go back to how it used to be. But this was not only his thing. Loyd also believed that peace could be achieved if everyone united and worked for a shared goal. But it never happened.


    Govind sighed and replied to Axion, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    *


    Me and Crimson soon arrived back to the capitol after the battle. Loyd was still unconscious and the moment we entered Loyd¡¯s office, Crimson threw Loyd to the sofa. He then picked up a bottle of water and gobbled it. He made a ¡°Puahh¡± sound and took heavy breaths. I don¡¯t think he was like a beast even during the server¡­


    ¡°God damn he is heavy.¡± He complained. Then he started slapping Loyd¡¯s face and whispered, ¡°If you ever faint again and make me carry you, I will actually kill you.¡±


    I stared at him with contempt and he mouthed me with saying ¡°What.¡± I sighed and sat on one of the open couches. I looked around the office. Loyd had a pretty good sense of designing. The overall of the room was made with dark oak wood and had a chandelier right above me. Behind Loyd¡¯s working desk, there was a large glass window. It had a view of a park and behind it, there was the supreme court of the town. It was nice looking around the office since I never got to see it on the server.


    ¡°Oh hey by the way, since you completed your first main quest in this world, you probably can use most of the systems.¡± Crimson pointed out.


    ¡°How do I use it?¡±


    ¡°Just think in your head. Like thinking that you are trying to open your inventory or you¡¯re trying to open your achievement tabs. You should probably open your profile first though.¡±


    Just like how he described it, I thought of opening my profile tab. Then, a screen popped in front of me. The same type of screen that appeared when it showed me the quest.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    +


    Name: Luke Park


    Guardian: None


    Title: None


    Achievements: [Defeater of the Jester].


    +


    Just like I thought, there wasn''t really anything listed here. Just my name, my guardian, my titles and my one and only achievement. After killing Duk, I got the [Defeater of the Jester] achievement. I really wished I got [Defeater of a Catastrophe] but I didn¡¯t since my contribution didn¡¯t really help Crimson defeat Duk. But the reason why I wanted the achievement, [Defeater of a Catastrophe] was because the achievements you earn can give you effects when the event that caused you to earn the title is replayed. If I get the achievement [Defeater of a Catastrophe], I can probably defeat the catastrophe if it reappears in the town. This is why many players on the server tried so hard to earn as many achievements as possible. Well at least I got the [Defeater of the Jester] which will help me fight any jesters in this world which is no one.


    ¡°Oh yeah, also take off your backpack and put it in your inventory. It¡¯s really useless now since you can just open your inventory and store your items there. It just adds weight.¡± Crimson spoke while munching a cup cake in his mouth.


    I opened my inventory and saw rows of empty space. It was a 9 by 4 chest where I could fit my stuff. I took things out of my backpack but I didn¡¯t know how to put it in my inventory so I stared at Crimson asking for help.


    ¡°Just drag your item on top of the screen. It will just automatically put it there when you drop it.¡± Crimson spoke while eating an apple this time.


    I grabbed the scythe I got from defeating Duk and just dropped it on top of the inventory screen. Then it disappeared and teleported into my inventory just like Crimson said. It was really cool so I did it with all the items in my backpack.


    ¡°Oh also, if you have multiple stacks of the same item, you can stack it up to 64 of them in one inventory space so just have that in your mind.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know he was this helpful but I guess that¡¯s good.


    ¡°Wait before you close it, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Crimson then started running out the door with a piece of bread in his mouth. Why is he eating so much? When he came back, he had an olive green trench coat in his hand. He then handed the coat to me.


    ¡°You should probably take this too. If you link up your inventory with this special trench coat, you can grab your items from the pocket. The color really matches you too.¡±


    Crimson then linked up my trench coat to my inventory. When I reached for the pocket inside of the coat, I was able to grab the scythe I put. Damn this really makes me think differently of him. I thought he was just a crazy maniac who likes to kill and destroy things but I guess not. He is pretty smart.


    ¡°Aghhh!!¡± He screamed as he tripped on the apple he threw on the ground.


    Nevermind. He is not very smart.


    From the loud scream that Crimson blasted, Loyd woke up and threw a water bottle and Crimson''s head. Thank god he woke up because I did not want to handle that kid¡¯s stupidity by myself.


    ¡°Ughh¡­¡± Loyd groaned. ¡°How much was I asleep for?¡± He questioned.


    ¡°Not for long. We just arrived after defeating Duk.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ You defeated him? All by yourself?¡± Loyd looked very surprised. He probably thought that how can a puny and weak guy like me defeat an ultra strong universe destroying villain like Duk when even he couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°Well it was mostly Crimson but I saved your life.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Loyd looked very disappointed. He saw Crimson with ego and pride then sighed.


    I handed him a bottle of water and unlike Crimson, he gently poured it on a tea cup and drank it like a gentleman. See this is how the president of the town should be acting. Crimson rolled his eyes like he could never act like Loyd.


    ¡°Did Govind and Axion come back yet?¡± Loyd asked after putting down the cup.


    ¡°No, not yet. But I¡¯m pretty sure they are in combat right now since the system told me to move on to the next catastrophe.¡±


    ¡°Hmm okay¡­¡±


    ¡°But there is a big big problem.¡±


    ¡°What is it..?¡±


    I tried to calm myself and told him.


    ¡°The system said the next catastrophe was located in <Eden>.¡±


    Loyd¡¯s face turned contemplative and asked,


    ¡°Where?¡±


    *


    After walking through the dark oak forest for an hour or two, Govind and Axion finally found the catastrophe. Govind quickly pulled out his hammer and charged his mana onto it. When he completed charging the hammer with energy, sky blue fire appeared from the hammer. He then started running as fast as he could and jumped very high when he got close to the asteroid. When he finally struck the rock, it made a thunderous ring of bells. The cracks started appearing in the rock and soon broke down. There was smoke floating from the damage. When Govind stepped back and relaxed himself thinking that he successfully destroyed the catastrophe, he got hit by a ray of blue lightning. And from the smoke, he heard a very very familiar voice.

 Chapter 6 - Prophecy of Ruination (3)

    In a blink of a second, Govid¡¯s body flew and struck the ground heavily. From the impact, Govind could barely move. He probably broke a bone or a two. Holding the extreme pain, he grabbed onto his rib cage and sufferingly stood back up. Axion quickly ran towards Govind and helped him walk. When they both stared at the foggy asteroid, a man surrounded by letters marched towards them. Govind and Axion both knew who the man was. He was once their enemy, friend, co-worker, and rivals. He also was once part of the town just like Duk. But for an unknown circumstance, he faced death and came back as a catastrophe.


    The black feather that reached from his back protected him like a wing shield. He had a black hat on which reminded them of a crow. The book in his hand made him look like a noble man. He rolled his hand and smiled slightly. Then he jumped into the air and spread his black feathered wings. He truly looked glorious and holy. If Axion and Govind didn¡¯t know who he was, they would¡¯ve misjudged him as an angel. Govind drank a healing potion that was in his pocket and prepared to attack. When Govind and the man were ready to fight, the man attacked Govind first with the same lightning. But this time, Govind absorbed the attack into his hammer. He spinned his entire body and swung his hammer towards the man. When the hammer was directed towards the man, the lightning attack he shot towards Govind flew back to the man.


    ¡°You definitely got stronger, Govind.¡± The man spoke to Govind. He was harmed but recovered quickly. The ripped ring repaired itself by creating new feathers.


    ¡°You too, Zoiph. How did you get new powers? And how did you come back?¡± Govind questioned and interrogated Zoiph.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m here to end our unfinished business.¡± Zoiph replied by pulling out his sword. It was the exact same sword he used when he was still a human and when he was once part of the town.


    ¡°Our fight ended a long time ago. What else do you want from me and this town?¡± Govind questioned with anger and unaccountability.


    Govind and Zoiph were rivals for a long time. During the first [Frost] war, just like how Loyd opposed Crimson, Zoiph and Govind fought against each other. Even after the war, Govind became the supreme justice of the town and Zoiph was a famous lawyer. They had arguments frequently for political and justice issues. Lastly, during the [Deconstructed] war, they took different sides and fought against each other once again. The problem is that in every battle that Zoiph and Govind went against each other, Govind won. When Zoiph couldn¡¯t hold his temper and challenged Govind, he absolutely got destroyed. But now, just by becoming a catastrophe, Zoiph single handedly overpowered Govind. This shows how strong the power of the catastrophe is.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want anything from this town, nor do I have any feelings or reluctance for it. But I wish to battle you once again, and win this time. My victory will be recorded across worlds and dimensions.¡± Zoiph shouted towards Govind. He was like a warlord who¡¯s sole goal was to fight and fight. ¡°If you don¡¯t fight me, I will burn this town to hell fire!¡±


    Govind didn¡¯t have much choice here. He had to fight against Zoiph which might result in him losing and maybe even killing but he had to; or the entire town would be destroyed. Zoiph is the strongest catastrophe that Govind fought. The one¡¯s he killed in the past are nothing like him. Govind started doubting himself now. He thinks even with the achievement, [Defeater of a Catastrophe], he can¡¯t beat Zoiph. Achievements make the most effect if the situation the person got the achievement is replayed. If the person or the environment is completely different to the moment where the player got the achievement, it won¡¯t be effective. Sweats started swelling down his face. The fear of death was slowly choking him. Is this just a placebo effect or is he actually scared?


    ¡°I will not hesitate to kill you. You are still a catastrophe. You are a threat that could destroy this world.¡± Govind held on to his hammer as hard as he could. He charged all the mana he could use in order to kill Zoiph with a single strike. ¡°God I hate that kid more than Duk.¡± Govind spitted out. He then jumped as high as he could, once again. The reason why he continuously tried to get high ground is because his weapon had a special ability. The hammer that he could easily grab with one hand is actually very heavy and depending how much of a distance he dropped from the sky, it does more damage. When Govind tried to land his hammer right on Zoiph¡¯s head, the golden letters that were surrounding him and his book united together and created a word.Stolen story; please report.


    ¡¸As Govind struck his hammer down to his enemy¡¯s head, he felt extreme pain.¡¹


    Right when the letters created a word, the words created a sentence, Govind felt pain coming from his chest. He couldn¡¯t breathe. He grabbed on to chest and fell on the ground. The drop was about 30 feet high. Right when he dropped, he felt his spine and back bone shattering into pieces. When he heavily got up on his knee, he saw a sentence that took him down right in front of him. He thought to himself what this sentence meant. A single sentence that could kill him? How can words strike him down mid air?


    ¡°I won Govind. There is no point of resisting.¡± Zoiph slowly walked towards Govind. This is the first time Zoiph ever looked down at Govind. This meant his first victory. As Govind struggled to get up, he asked Zoiph a question. ¡°Just¡­ Just how? How can words strike me down like that? This didn¡¯t even happen. You can just make anything happen by desiring it? How can you have such power?¡± As if Zoiph was mocking him, he laughed slightly and replied. ¡°I guess you never really read books before? You don¡¯t know how strong words are, especially if they are representing history.¡± As Govind looked at Zoiph¡¯s ridicule, he tried to figure out what the hell he was talking about. Then he remembered Loyd¡¯s saying. He once said that everything that happens in this world is recorded by words and sentences by somebody. He has no idea who is doing it but someone is recording their achievements and their journey. Maybe that¡¯s what Zoiph is talking about. The sentence that struck him down is probably a sentence written by somebody else who saw this happen. But how did a sentence like that even form? Every word written is a recording of a specific event, which means something that didn¡¯t happen can¡¯t be written.


    Whatever it is, whether it¡¯s an event or an accident, history will always repeat itself. Because Zoiph showed him a sentence of him being struck down in the middle of the air, the same thing happened because the situation was similar. Anything can be replayed and repeated, especially if the condition of the event is the same as the original one. Here are the things that he analyzed about Zoiph so far. First, he has the ability to cast a spell where he will summon words that will replay a certain event. Second, all the sentences he creates have to be the recordings that the mysterious guy Loyd once talked about. But there were still mysteries surrounding Zoiph¡¯s presence itself.


    ¡°Wow it¡¯s a miracle that you even survived that fall!¡± Zoiph seemed surprised that Govind could still move. Knowing that Zoiph is going to give a fatal strike on him, Govind decided to ask him one last question. ¡°How¡­ How did you become this strong? How did you ever come back alive? We all saw you die! In that battle of the district, you-...¡± Govind was cut off when he noticed the death stare coming from Zoiph. His eyes turned blood red and it signifies his anger towards Govind. He wasn¡¯t happy that he finally defeated Govind but rather unsatisfied.


    Zoiph sighed and answered Govind''s stupid question. ¡°Well, I did die. But instead of my soul going to heaven or the prison of the underworld, my soul traveled to this weird empty void. In that world, there was nothing but chaos and fear. Then, a tentacle from nowhere catched me and made me suffer for hundreds of years. And out of nowhere, I became a catastrophe and earned these crazy powers. After that, I can¡¯t answer you because I don¡¯t really know anything.¡±


    Govind looked absolutely shocked. He didn¡¯t think that a story where a man died and came back as a super strong catastrophe could be summarized like that. He thought there would be more details and stories to it but he guessed not.


    Looking at Govind¡¯s dumbfounded and shocked face, Zoiph sighed once more and decided to tell him a little more. He just decided to think that this was his last mercy before he died. ¡°Have you ever heard of the [Outer Gods]?¡± Zoiph questioned Govind. ¡°Well they basically gave me their powers and opened a gate to this word. So technically, I¡¯m not really alive since I¡¯m just in this world as a catastrophe.¡± This didn¡¯t really help Govind solve any of Zoiph¡¯s riddles but it gave him more hints for sure. The [Outer Gods] are gods from a horror mythology. Although many gods from different mythologies exist in this world, they were never found. But for the first time ever, they were mentioned. Govind was excited to get hints about the new gods but he was also scared. He really wished that they didn¡¯t exist because the [Outer Gods] represent fear and horror itself.


    Wait. If the guardian and the source of the catastrophes are the [Outer Gods], that means that the catastrophe Loyd and Crimson is fighting could mean that they also might be fighting against someone as strong as Zoiph. And if one of the [Outer Gods] decide to descend into this world and kill both of them, they are all doomed.


    ¡°Well I guess this is the end. Good bye, Govind.¡± Zoiph started to charge his mana. When more and more words formed around him, he finally casted a sentence.


    ¡¸The Greatest Judge in history, who would¡¯ve became a God, was killed here.¡¹

 Chapter 6 - Prophecy of Deception (4)

    Unlike Diego, Zoiph slowly opened his eyes standing. He was able to walk around freely. His entire body was functional and he could walk and move perfectly fine. He walked through the endless plain. During his journey, he saw many mythical creatures float around. There were giant squids and sharks swimming through the sky and tentacles stabbing other monsters. But none of them were hostile towards Zoiph. They were all neutral and made weird creepy sounds. Even if one of the monsters tried to attack Zoiph, they were stunned by blue lightning as if he was blessed by a god.


    After walking non-stop for a week, he approached a district. The place was covered with a giant wall that was over 50 meters tall. When we infiltrated into the district, he saw a village that reminded him of the town. There were actual people living in this dimension. Some people owned a farm, some people sold items at the market, some people ran the town. While staying in the district, Zoiph lived in seclusion. He slept on the street floor and stole food in order to survive. It was all because he didn¡¯t believe in the government and the town. He already saw how the previous town he lived in treated him. It was obvious that he didn¡¯t have any faith in the system and this new town. But one day, he was caught stealing and was arrested. But instead of being sent to the underground prison, the district leader visited him. She knew who Zoiph was. Not only him but the entire history of the town. Zoiph thought that the girl standing in him could¡¯ve been Rachel, who was also one of the main people in the town. But there was no way he wouldn¡¯t notice if it was her. The leader of the district decided not to punish Zoiph for stealing since she knew his current situation. Not only was he exempt from the punishment, the leader offered him food, a place to sleep, and a job. Zoiph didn¡¯t trust her. Because he knew that to every good action, there is a cause behind it. During his stay in the district, he continued to keep his guard up. On the first day, he distrusted everything, on the 2nd day, he doubted everything, and on the 3rd day, he started to change his mind about people. No matter who, and how the people were, everyone in the town treated each other equally. Zoiph started to think that this town wasn¡¯t as bad as he thought it was. This was the ideal idea of the town he wanted. Zoiph was an anarchist before his death but after supervising this district for a while, he started to change his mind a bit. He believed that in this new life he was given, he could live without worrying about anything.


    The problem approached on the 4th day. When Zoiph left the town in order to scout the area, he was devoured by a giant hand. It happened so quickly that he didn¡¯t even notice. When he was eaten by the hand, he was covered with chains. He couldn¡¯t move at all. The place was full of complete darkness. It was like the infinite void.


    ¡°Well you weren¡¯t supposed to wake up yet. You woke up like 10 days earlier than you were supposed to.¡±


    A voice from the empty darkness approached him. Zoiph heard footsteps that were coming towards him. It sounded like someone was walking on a bush.


    ¡°Because you woke up so early, I couldn¡¯t even perfect Diego¡¯s catastrophe!¡±


    After hearing the name ¡®Diego¡¯, Zoiph tried to resist the chain that was limiting his movement. Diego was one of Zoiph¡¯s only friends. If his friend came into this strange world just like him, he needed to find his friend.


    As the footsteps got louder and louder, Zoiph shivered with fear. Right when he thought the guy walking towards him was visible, he felt a wood chunk, specifically the trunks of a tree crawling up from his legs. The pieces creeped up to Zoiph like a snake and started twisting his body. Zoiph wanted to scream so badly but he couldn¡¯t since his mouth was fully covered with wood chunks. He tried to bite them off but they were resilient. If Zoiph bit one off, another would accelerate towards him. They were copious.


    ¡°Oh wow¡­ You are a really interesting guy. I¡¯m pretty sure even the lurker and the mist will love to become your guardian.¡±


    All of Zoiph¡¯s senses were blocked and censored except for his hearing. His sight was pitch black and he couldn¡¯t even speak. He felt thorns spiking into his body and there was no odor to the monster in front of him.


    ¡°Oh shit¡­¡±


    The monster whispered.


    ¡°I accidentally killed his vision. Fuck. The Blind father is going to kill me.¡±


    The monster seemed to think deeply for a bit and started searching for something from his hand bag.


    ¡°There I found it.¡±


    The thin branches then started to move out of his face. He still couldn¡¯t see anything but it definitely felt more comfortable. When Zoiph relaxed and sat back, 2 sharp branches quickly pierced through his eyes. The pain was indescribable. The branches then slowly removed his eye ball. Zoiph started crying for help but there was no one. Before he could even pass out, the branches came back and put new eyeballs in his head. Zoiph was exhausted from the pain and the suffering.


    ¡°There you should be able to see things now.¡±


    Zoiph refused to open his eyes. He just wanted to go back to the town he was in. He questioned why he had to go through all of this. There was no anger, there was no desire to avenge, he just wanted peace. He wanted to go back to his bed and have a really nice nap. Tears started flowing out of Zoiph¡¯s new eyes.


    ¡°Wait, why are you crying? Don¡¯t you wanna see your old buddies again?¡±


    The monster started mocking Zoiph¡¯s mutilated mind and body. When Zoiph opened his eyes to check who he wanted to kill when he got out, there was no one. The branches and the trunks that was covering were also gone as if the entire torture was just a nightmare. Right when he tried to stand up and walk again, a skinny guy with gray skin started walking towards him. He was pretty tall, around 3 meters tall. But his head was nothing like a human. It was a giant tentacle that swung around freely. There were no eyes in his creepy looking face, just a wide open mouth and nose. Zoiph knew from his guy that the monster was laughing and smiling right now. Zoiph started to slowly back off. Zoiph was terrified. His face was full of horror and there was sweat coming down from his forehead. Before Zoiph could even run away, the monster jumped him and opened his mouth as if he was trying to devour Zoiph.


    *


    As Zoiph woke up from the darkness, he heard a voice. The voice that tortured him.


    ¡°Okay well I think that is everything. His body is definitely fit for the catastrophe, I¡¯m done injecting all the stories and achievements, I think he has all the abilities he need?¡±


    The monster was talking to himself.


    ¡°I should probably wake him up soon. He needs to talk to the lurker before he leaves.¡±


    Zoiph painfully stood up from the ground. His entire body was ripped apart. The pain was so excruciating. His desire for avenge was so avid. The anger slowly prevailed throughout his entire body. When his crippled body started running towards the monster, the wind blew strongly towards him. Then, trees started moving out of nowhere. The trees twisted each other and grabbed onto Zoiph. It was as if a forest was moving.


    The trees surrounded him but out of all of them, there was one that was unique. It was the monster that devoured and tortured him earlier. Zoiph tried to resist the restraint but the trees that were surrounding him were tightening Zoiph even harder.


    ¡°Geez why are you so hostile every time you see me?¡±


    The monster whispered to himself. Zoiph thought the monster was being ridiculous. How can you not hate someone that tortured you for hours? After thinking for a little bit, the monster made a ¡°Ah-ha!¡± sound as if he realized something.


    ¡°Ohhh!¡± The monster exclaimed.


    ¡°I look like this. I swear I I thought I switched my look.¡±


    The monster snapped his creepy looking broken finger. He then slowly transformed his look into someone that Zoiph knew very well. The monster now looked like Diego. ¡°I was wondering why you tried to fight me. The Zoiph I knew never fought against his companions.¡± Zoiph was shocked when he saw the monster turn into his best friend. Was it because he went through so much, Zoiph started to think that the monster in front of him was actually Diego. Because Diego is the type of person who would torture people for fun, revive out of nowhere even after his death, and betray his friends if he needs to. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Why¡­ Why are you doing this to me?¡± Zoiph wanted to ask Diego why he had to go through all of this pain and suffering. What sin did he commit for him to deserve this.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m actually not the Diego you know. The Diego you know came back alive and was sent to your town as a catastrophe. He like wanted to destroy the town or something.¡±


    Fake Diego explained to Zoiph.


    ¡°When we send catastrophes to the town, we have to send multiple at once. And because I saw your dead soul floating in the void, I catched it and brought you back alive.¡±


    Zoiph didn¡¯t understand most of the things that fake Diego was talking about. How can you just bring someone back alive?


    ¡°But before I could turn you into a catastrophe, you woke up. That¡¯s why you had to suffer through all those surgeries. But to be fair, it didn¡¯t hurt that much right? I mean compared to the things I had to go through, that was nothing.¡±


    Zoiph, breathing heavily, asked Diego one last question.


    ¡°Are¡­ Are you one of those monsters?¡± When Diego heard that question, he answered with a ¡°Huh?¡± as if he didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°Oh the [Outer Gods]?¡± Diego finally answered. ¡°Well I¡¯m more of a general? Like I lead those gods you know what I mean?¡±


    When Zoiph heard Diego¡¯s answer, he was shocked and petrified. Zoiph now couldn¡¯t imagine how strong that Diego was. Because even when Zoiph first met those creepy squid looking monsters, he knew from his gut that if it wasn¡¯t the blue sparkling lightning that stunned them, he would¡¯ve evaporated into pieces.


    ¡°Anyways, can you stop talking? I¡¯m trying to introduce you to someone.¡±


    Diego complained like a little child.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure he is watching us but doesn¡¯t want to come out. He really likes dramatic entrances.¡±


    A few seconds later, the dimension started cracking. Out of the thin air, Zoiph witnessed a crack forming right in front of them. When he gazed at the crack, he saw a reflection of himself. He thought it was a mirror of himself but something was different. The Zoiph that he was seeing didn¡¯t really look like him. The Zoiph in the crack looked exactly like him but the atmosphere he was giving was totally different. Right when the cracks started forming, the trees that were restraining him slowly faded away too. When he was released, he didn¡¯t run away but rather stared at the Zoiph stuck in the crack. When he touched the crack, it shattered like a broken glass.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Zoiph questioned Diego as he looked back at him.


    Diego sighed and whispered to himself, ¡°I thought all Zoiphs were smart? What¡¯s wrong with this one?¡± Although Diego said it very quietly, Zoiph heard Diego¡¯s trash talking. He made a face that showed discomfort.


    ¡°Well, what do you think? Doesn¡¯t the guy in the crack look very familiar? Oh right! MAYBE BECAUSE IT¡¯S YOU DUH???¡± Diego screamed at Zoiph with a rage. Zoiph thought to himself, ¡®Who the fuck doesn¡¯t know that. My question is why is there me inside that crack.¡¯


    As Diego was calming down his temper, the glass particles that shattered soon rose up and started forming a shape. The shards then made the legs, the upper body, the arms, the wings, then the head. It was like making a human with a play dough. When the human was finally in full shape, it looked exactly like Zoiph, but not the current Zoiph who is all messy, wearing torn out clothes, and has dust all over his body. It was Zoiph in his prime. He had tuxedos on without the jacket, and a black soft hat. Behind him, a black wing made with a raven''s feather stretched out as wide as it could.


    Even after seeing himself, Zoiph wasn¡¯t surprised. If another version of Diego exists, why shouldn¡¯t there be another version of himself? The other Zoiph silently stood still and so did the real Zoiph. The one who broke the silence was Diego.


    ¡°So are you guys just not going to talk? I thought you wanted to say something Zoiph.¡±


    Both Zoiphs stared at Diego.


    ¡°I mean like my world¡¯s Zoiph.¡±


    Diego and the other world¡¯s Zoiph took turns looking at each other and Zoiph. There was some sort of telepathic conversation going on between those two. After a couple of minutes, the Zoiph in the hat spoke first.


    ¡°Hello. The other me.¡±


    *


    After the Zoiph¡¯s first greeting, everyone stayed silent for a while. They just didn¡¯t know what to say in this awkward situation. Meanwhile, the Zoiph from Diego¡¯s world found a rock nearby and sat down. He took off his soft hat and held it in his hand.


    ¡°I¡­ I really wanted to talk to you.¡±


    Zoiph sitting on the rock spoke with a very deep and dark voice. Zoiph knew from his instinct that the Zoiph from the other world went through a lot. Zoiph started to understand Diego when he said ¡°I mean compared to the things I had to go through, that was nothing.¡± His face was dark and hopeless. It seemed he had given up on everything.


    ¡°Well¡­ Zoiph..? I¡¯m sorry I really don¡¯t know what to call you.¡±


    Zoiph approached the depressed Zoiph.


    ¡°I don¡¯t go by Zoiph anymore. Call me Sothoth.¡±


    As Sothoth told Zoiph his new name, Diego hurriedly approached Sothoth and angered.


    ¡°Wait hold up. We aren¡¯t supposed to tell others our real name! What if they find out who we are-¡±


    Sothoth gave Diego a death gaze and cut off his word. Diego, feeling threatened, stepped back.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t care anymore Diego. It doesn¡¯t matter to me anymore. Nothing matters. Our town is gone. All I want to do is just see my friends again. This is why I agreed to your final catastrophe plan. Saying one last goodbye before it gets destroyed.¡±


    Zoiph desperately wanted to ask what happened to him and his town. Sothoth looked at Zoiph¡¯s shining blue eyes. His eyes were also once like that. Full of hope, cheer, youth. But now, everything is gone for him. His colorless gray eyes explained everything.


    ¡°Well, I guess you are probably wondering what we are talking about. Even if you are the extremely smart version of myself, you don¡¯t have context so¡­¡±


    Trying to find something to pick with, Diego commented, ¡°Oh hell no. He is one of the dumbest versions of you I ever saw.¡±


    Sothoth ignored Diego¡¯s stupid comment and continued on with his sentence. ¡°


    Well, there are multiple versions of us. Basically, parallel universes. Mine is the very original one. All the parallel universes in this world form based off of our world.¡±


    Because of the complicated words Sothoth was saying, he looked like a wiseman.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you noticed but¡­¡± Sothoth hesitated to speak afterwards. ¡°This world is like a game. Specifically a server file. My world is the very first world that the God of this world created and all the parallel worlds made afterward are like save files made to test different things.¡± Zoiph was shocked but it was something that he kind of expected. He already knew that this world was based off of a game but didn¡¯t expect to have parallel worlds. He thought that there was only 1 file for the world. ¡°Your world is¡­ Different. It¡¯s special.¡± Sothoth  spoke. ¡°Us¡­ The [Outer Gods] rule is to interfere with other worlds. But for some reason, the blinded father told us to commit some actions to your world.¡±


    ¡°Why are you doing this to our world? What¡¯s so special about it?¡± Zoiph asked with resentment. ¡°And why was I and our Diego brought back alive?¡±


    ¡°Well, our job was to send new catastrophes to your world. In order to do that, we have to find dead souls with purpose. The best ones we could really think of were you and Diego and a few others.¡±


    Sothoth looked up into the dark endless void. There were no stars in the sky unlike Zoiph¡¯s world.


    ¡°We already sent Diego to your original world. And it¡¯s time for you to go with him.¡±


    Zoiph was enraged. He shouted towards Sothoth, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go back to the town as a catastrophe. You are going to force me to destroy the town. I don''t want to do that. Plus, I have a new home here.¡±


    Sothoth derided after hearing Zoiph say the word ¡°Home¡± because he knew better than anyone that Zoiphs in every single universe doesn¡¯t fit with the word ¡°Home¡±.


    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t care what you do after you return to the town. My job is to just make you a catastrophe. You can destroy the town, travel, revenge or kill someone you hate. I don''t care.¡±


    Zoiph was surprised Sothoth said that. He wondered if it was even probable to become a catastrophe and not destroy the town. If he was being completely honest, Sothoth¡¯s deal was quite intriguing. Although he found a new town to stay in, it didn¡¯t give the same vibe as his old town. And if he goes back to his old town, he will be able to reunite with his friends. Diego and Crimson, the most important people in Zoiph¡¯s life.


    After thinking deeply for a little bit, Zoiph answered to Sothoth.


    ¡°Yes, I will become a catastrophe. But I¡¯m not destroying the town.¡±


    Sothoth replied soulless, ¡°Sure¡­ That¡¯s fair.¡±


    Zoiph gripped his hand as hard as he could with dedication, hoping this plan will work out well.


    ¡°Well how will it work?¡±


    Zoiph asked Sothoth.


    ¡°You need one of the [Outer Gods] with a high class in order to become a catastrophe. I will be your guardian since I¡¯m basically you. It will be the most effective way to become strong.¡±


    This entire plan was still suspicious for Zoiph but he agreed to do so. Sothoth opened the system tab for Zoiph for the guardian contract. But the system screen Zoiph was looking at was odd. It was different from the one he used to use in the town. This one looked rather glitched.


    ¡°..m..o..y¡±


    Zoiph heard a whisper from Sothoth.


    ¡°This is just my ability. I can¡¯t control it.¡±


    Things started fading away for Zoiph. His vision was blurring and he couldn¡¯t see or sense anything. And suddenly, Zoiph received a massive amount of memory. It was like someone copied and pasted someone¡¯s history into his head. Because of the overload, Zoiph passed out. And when he woke up again, he was inside an asteroid.