《In Development》 Prelude It is 21XX, the entire world has finally been explored. From the deepest ocean caves to the highest mountains, all had been seen. So, those that wished for adventure, had to create their own. And so, Apex, the largest vrmmorpg to come out ever, was developed. With a world 10x times bigger than the Earth, full of dungeons, cities, and monsters. This game boasted a 99% realism guarantee, making it the #1 most anticipated game. Many corperations on the planet had a stake in it and after 50 long years, it was finally completed. Using military grade AI, the residents of the new world were brought to life. They were born and raised in Apex, without knowing anything about Earth. Their codename: locals. In order to make a project on such a scale work and be fair, programmers created a completely autogenerated world, so that no one who worked on the project would have a leg over the rest. An advanced system of AI generated everything from the actions of both locals and players. Thus, when the time came to open up the servers, just about everyone on the planet wanted to give it a shot. Everyone including the avid gamer and programmer, Roan. Roan grew up an orphan, moving from job to job until he finally saved up enough money to go to college. With his interest in games, he wanted to see what went into making them and after years and years of saving up, he was finally able to. He was a Junior in college by the time the game was announced and graduated a month before it came out. Excited to try it out, he despretely saved up for the dive pod needed to play it by working as much as possible and buying as little as possible. Due to this, Roan went hungry many days. Finally, just a day before the game came out, he was able to buy it. The first month was free to play, so everyone who had the correct hardware was able to sink there teeth into it. Apex allowed you to create your character before the game launched and Roan jumped in and did just that. He layed into the pod that was in the corner of his small apartment and started it up. With a low hum, the machine began and Roan''s sight went blank. He was greeted with a couple of pop ups.
Welcome to Apex!
Assigning ID to Pod.... Done!
Would you like to create a character?
"Yes" Right before his eyes he was greeted with a copy of his body and was given tools to change his mass and face. Roan was slightly skinny, had black sharp eyes, and messy brown hair. First, he played with the smallest and largest body options to find out it only increased and decreased his weight by about 30 pounds. He had a bit more freedom in adjusting his face, but didn''t bother changing anything. Roan never cared about his looks. Once he was done testing various things, he fine finally pressed done.
Name your Character.
"Roan"
Name Accepted.
He decided to go with his own name since he didn''t know many people in real life, so it didn''t matter much.
Time Left Until Opening: 00:08:27
Roan excitedly waited for the timer to go down until finally...
Game Commencing...
10 years have gone by since the game''s release and people quickly found out that the 99% realism was no joke. You felt pain everytime you got hit, exhaustion when you got tired, and death was a scary experience for every player. Inside a boss room of a certain hidden dungeon, Roan and about a thousand others were in a deathmatch against a large level 300 black dragon. After many years of fighting, he had finally joined one of the top guilds in the game: Hex. He had climbed up the ranks, until a new guild leader was to be selected. Roan even felt he had a pretty good chance at getting the seat too. The dragon''s health dropped to 10% and Roan commanded, "Use everything you got! Kill it before it escapes!" Roan decided to go with the most basic class when he joined the game, Swordsman. He hacked at the giant dragon until it was in its'' dying breathes. As soon as he was about to finish it off, he and the dragon were suddenly bombarded by spells and skills. He looked back just before he died only to see all of his commrades, who he had faught years with, smirking. Death in Apex is very detrimental to a player. Not only do you lose all of your items, but one fourth of your levels are forfeit as well. Levels that took years to build up. The only thing that was going through Roan''s mind in this moment was one word: BETRAYAL Roan had always been afraid of being betrayed, but never expected it from his comrades. The only reason as to why they would betray him is if someone else in the guild had offered them better. He could think of a few people, but it didn''t matter now. He was out of the race and powerless to do anything. As he was falling to the ground, he looked at the Black Dragon who was falling with him until all he could see was darkness... Huh? It had been a couple seconds since he had died, he should have respawned in the nearest city by now. He waited a few moments until he was finally able to open his eyes. What greeted him was not the respawn point, but an old familiar ceiling. Sitting up, he looked around. He was in an empty apartment with a simple bed, a fridge, and a stove. He looked down at his wrist to see an old model he had not seen in years. He clicked on it, opening up a hologram in front of him with the date and time on it. This can''t be right. He had moved yout of this apartment ages ago. He looked out his window to see a run down street. After a couple minutes of calming himself down and double checking. It looked like he had really gone back in the past. It was the exact day that Apex was announced. It can''t be a coincidence. Looking at the calender, Roan found out that today was a Sunday, which means that tommorrow he would have class. If this really was the past, there was no way he was ever going back to school. Once Apex came out, the best paying job became playing it. You could instantly become a millionare if you found the right items in high demand. Struggling with the reality of the situation, Roan put his hand on his head. Why was I sent to the past? Or am I still in the game? Shaking his head to get rid of his messy thoughts, he started to look for upsides. If this really is the past, doesn''t that mean I''ve hit the jackpot? I know the locations, habits, and valuables of many monsters. With this knowledge, I could become the Apex! Apex was not only the name of the game, but also the highest attainable position. If one could become the Apex, not only would they gain wealth and power in game, but also in real life, garnering them 10% of the game''s shares. After 10 years, there were 8 billion players, each paying a monthly subscription. Imagine what one could do with all that money. Of course, Roan didn''t care about the money, he had enough of that in his last life. After 10 years of fighting, Roan had learned to yearn for the feeling of growing stronger. Now, with his new life, that was exactly what he planned to do. However, even after battling as long as they did, the players of Apex were still far away from beating the top monsters of that world.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. After settling down for a bit, Roan started to think of a plan. I was betrayed last time, so this time I think I''ll just create my own guild. This time, I will make sure that I have the power to keep them in line. He thought about going solo, but there it was considered suicide. Monsters frequently roamed in groups in Apex, making it difficult to solo as you were often outnumbered. With his new plan in mind, Roan decided to take some steps forward. He still had about a year before the game came out, so he would quit school, get a job, and work out. He had neglected his body''s health in his last life and he wasn''t about to make the same mistake again. One year later, a slightly more fit Roan looked at his dive pod in his apartment and got in.
This time, Roan decided to perfect his swordsmanship. He aquired a hidden class and many items in his journey. He created a guild with many powerful allies that he equipped with equipment he heard about from his last run. His guild was at the top of the player world. He made it to level 400 and had numerous skills by the time he found himself at the hidden dungeon again. This time, however, he took it out without any issues. As the black dragon was in it''s dying breaths, it roared one last roar and fell. Nothing happened this time... hmmm... As Roan was thinking of what had caused him to go back in time, something shadowed his entire attack force. He looked up to see blood red eyes staring at him. His mind stopped in a halt, then it was over. Everything was black again. Roan waited... and waited... until... "Im back again!?!?" He woke back up in that same apartment. He was scared out of his mind. Those eyes... Everytime he thought about it, it haunted him. As he was shivering in his bed, he thought, What''s going on?! How am I supposed to beat that?!
And so, the cycle began. Roan made it to level 500 the next run and dual weld magic swords. He created a massive army loaded with the best weapons he could find with his strength. Still, however, he was destroyed instantly and was sent back. So, he decided that maybe he needed a different weapon. He tried a bow, a spear, an axe, a halberd. When those didn''t work, he tried learning magic. Fire, Earth, Water, Wind, Blood, Light, Death, Demon, Dragon, and any Unique magic he could get his hands on. It didn''t matter, no matter what he mastered, he wasn''t able to slay the beast. By this time, Roan had lived and battled for well over a hundred years. He had expored much of the map, looking for something to give him a clue. Roan had long since given up teaming and thus stopped talking. Many people now just assume that he is a strange local due to his unusual antics. Quite a few players have even tried to get quests from him. And now, at the start of his 18th run, he had finally found a clue. He had been still on the top of mountain for about a year, facing the cold feirce wind. His body frozen in ice, not making a single movement. Until....
Ding! After temporing your body in the harsh cold, you have earned the trait: Frozen Body. You can no longer be affected by the cold, but it is harder to move your body.
Congratulations, you have met a qualification for the class: Apex. Qualifications Met: 1/10
Roan looked down at the message and for the first time in years, smiled. Following this message, Roan went out to find the rest. he tested many things trying to get another qualification. He bathed in fire, drowned in water, walked through fields of blades and magic, fasted, ate poison, and by the end forged an unbreakable will.
Ding! By passing all of the physical bounderies you have earned the trait: Indomitable Will In a battle of willpower, you will not lose.
Congratulations, you have met a qualification for the class: Apex. Qualifications Met: 9/10
Now, Roan was immune to just about every type of damage. He could no longer be burned, frozen, drowned, poisened, or injured by blades or magic. He no longer needed to eat, drink, or sleep in game. Nothing could overcome his willpower. However, he was still missing one last piece. He searched and searched, but found nothing. With no other choice, he linked the last remaining piece to the beast he had yet to slay. Walking up to the hidden dungeon with nothing but rags and his fiists, he went in. Nothing was able to damage him, so he simply walked by all those trying to hurt him. Roan had long since gone numb to normal pain and fear. Going into the last chamber, he looked up and saw the thing that had been tormenting him for all these years. Before it could react, Roan jumped and hit down with his fist. Over the years, he had noticed that it''s attacks were getting weaker. In the beginning, it only took one attack to take Roan down, but in his most recent run it had taken much more. The beast flew down, flattening the black dragon below, then quickly jumped up and returned fire. Rather than trying to dodge like he normaly did, Roan stood there and took the attack. Instead of his body burning, he felt something else on fire, but wasn''t very sure where it was. The pain, like always, was unimmaginable. Gritting his teeth, he powered through searching for the phantom ache. It wasn''t until he was just about to pass out, that he found it, only to be greeted by darkness yet again.
Waking up in his apartment, he sat up and began to think. I was able to feel it at that moment, but now it''s gone.He sighed.What was that? After a few more moments, it finally hit him like a truck. A SOUL?!... If so, that would make sense. That monster was attacking my soul directly all this time! No wonder I couldn''t do any damage to it. The only way to kill it is to probably go after it''s own soul. But... a monster with a soul? After all this time, he had finally found the answer. He was excited, but dreading the process to find his soul again. Looks like I''ll need to get all those traits back if I want to feel it again. And so, the cycle started once more. The 19th run, Roan felt it again, this time much quicker. By the 22nd run, he was able to naturally sense his soul. From there, it was much easier. He no longer needed the beast''s help to sense it. He began to try and move it, in and out of game. It took many tries, but he was finally able to move it according to his will. He then hit another wall, how was he suppossed to see and attack other souls. So, he went back to his old pal to try and learn. At first he was only able to sense a small presence, but as he trained more, Roan was able to sense the locations of others'' souls. He found that the people and players'' souls that he ran into, were stationary and much smaller than his own. He also noticed that no other monster he ran into had a soul. From his gathered information, Roan was able to figure out that the beast was not getting weaker, but his own soul was getting stronger through the continuous battles and rebirths. Finally, on the 27th run, he felt confident. In the last run he felt as if his soul was almost even with the beasts''. He was so close to cutting it''s soul in half. So, he got up and went at it again, just like he had done before. Through his runs, he was able to come up with a regimen that would be able to get him 9/10 qualifications the fastest. It was extremely grueling, but he was able to achieve it in just two years by stacking them on top of each other. Following a year of training and playing the stock market in real life, he spent the next two years in game suffering to his very best. Then, the day finally came. A physically 25 year old Roan had aquired 9/10 qualifications and was standing outside the lair. Taking a deep breath, he went in. The result: After a long and arduous battle, Roan split the beasts soul in two. "ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAA" With a pain filled cry, the beast finally dropped for good. Immediately upon the death of the beast, Roan heard what he had been searching for all this time. *Ding*
You have done the impossible and slain an Apex Beast!
+Absorbed Apex Beast Soul
Congratulations, you have met a qualification for the class: Apex. Qualifications Met: 10/10 You have met all qualifications, would like to aquire the class Apex?
Feeling a strength Roan had never felt before, he stated "Yes."
Apex You have trained your body to the utmost limit and finally broken through the last roadblock. You have gained: Immortal Body
Huh... It''s finally over... But, now what? Roan rested there for a moment, until he heard another ding.
Congratulations, you have been Chosen. Transporting in 3 Seconds
Inhereting System... Done!
The next thing Roan knew, he was lying back down in the same dungeon that he had just defeated the beast in. New Beginnings Organizing himself, Roan stood up and looked around. He did not see the Apex Beast he had killed, only the large black dragon remained. Looking at the dragon, Roan noticed something strange. It has a soul? The aforementioned black dragon stared back at him in what seemed like complete shock and fear. Confused by the sudden happenings, Roan thought, What was with that message about being chosen, transported, and inheriting the system? And what''s with this dragon? Usually monsters would attack on sight if you entered there domain and not to mention it had a soul. Speaking of souls, Roan looked at his to find out it had doubled in size, almost dwarfing the black dragons''. Is this the effect of absorbing that Apex Beast''s soul? Hmm... Well, I hope I''m at least out of that exhausting loop now. But, what is this? First, Roan examined his own status.
Name Roan Race Human
Class Apex Level ?????
State Well Traits Immortal Body, System Control
It seems like my status has gone through some changes. How about that dragon?
Name Lilith Yden Race Black Dragon
Class Dragon Mage Level 300
State Terrified, Relieved Traits Transform, Space Storage, Last to Fall
Well, that''s different. After a couple more moments of thinking, Roan spoke up, "You." His voice was rougher and deeper than he remembered. Nonetheless, the dragon answered in a shaky yet soothing higher pitched voice, "Yes?" "Where am I?" Slightly taken aback by the question, the dragon answered him to the best of her abilities. "You are inside a hidden cave located on an island off of the Southeastern coast of the Mainland." Hmm... The geography so far sounds the same as Apex, I came here from the Mainland as well. Also, this dragon can talk now? Did a new update come out while I was out? That never happened before. Either way, my mind is exhausted and I need to relax a bit, so I think I''ll log out for now... Hm... I can''t seem... to find it, or the settings menu for that matter. A glitch? I need more information. "How did I get here?" The dragon answered immediately, as if expecting the question, "I''m not too sure myself. I was being chased by a red eyed beast and was backed into a corner until it screamed out, disappeared, and was replaced by you, Master." If I''m to believe the dragon''s words, that would mean that somehow that Apex Beast''s death was linked to an update in the system or something else entirely. I''ll think more after I rest. But first, a test. Roan walked up to the cave wall... and punched. *BOOM* The cave suddenly had much more room. Glancing at his fist, he felt little pain and saw no damage. Looks like my body''s power improved a bit. Roan looked at the stunned dragon and said, "I will rest. Do not disturb me." Without looking for an answer, Roan went into the wall indentation, sat against the wall, and closed his eyes.
A couple of hours later, Roan opened his eyes to find a small young woman with slightly tanned skin and short white hair that went slightly over her blue eyes, bowing on her knees in front of him. Interested by this new visitor, he checked her status and asked "Who are you?" "Pardon my late introduction Master, my name is Lilith Yden. I am the black dragon who had answered your questions from before." I guess that''s that transform trait, do all dragons have that? "What do you want?" Lilith, still bowing, "I will speak bluntly Master. Please let me become your servant." Roan, not showing an inckling of surprise, responded "Why?" In Apex, with his semi-immortal body and immense strength, he had always been the target of both admiration and scorn. So, with all things, he had also grown a bit numb to it. "I do not wish to trick Master, so I will tell him the truth. With your sudden arrival and display of strength from before, I concluded that you were responsible for the beast''s disappearance. It had spotted my clan and went on an unexpected rampage in our camp. The only reason why I made it this far was because I escaped during the confusion. It had eventually tracked me down and I thought it was all over until you came, Master." Looking up, smiling through tears, she continued, "You have saved my life Master. That is why, my life belongs to you." Roan, still stone-faced, contemplated the matter in his head. I suppose I could use a guide to quicken my intel gathering. Hmm... Her story would also explain why she has the Last to Fall trait as well. Locals could get the trait by being the last member alive of a group. Besides, if she''s a threat in the future I''ll just kill her. Roan then turned his attention back to Lilith, "Very well." Lilith bowed once again with emotion in her voice, "Thank you Master." Getting up, Roan walked past Lilith and asked, "What are the levels of the monsters on this island?" He wanted to see if they were the same as before. Lilith''s level was the same, but that didn''t necessarily mean every other monsters'' would be. "Levels Master?" Right, I suppose monsters wouldn''t know. They must go on instinct. Thinking back to his status, Roan remembered he had a another trait called System Control. He brought it up.
System Control Abilities - Grant, Alter (Notice: Altering values does not change actual value)
I guess that solves one riddle. He played around with it and found out he was able to change anything in his status. He could give himself a different name, class, and level. He could even make up and take away traits. Although it didn''t seem to give him any physical power, it could definitely come in handy. As for grant, he had just the test subject.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. System - Grant Lilith Yden "Lilith, think of the word ''status'' in your head." Roan then heard a startled Lilith behind him, "Master, something just popped up in front of me. Can Master see it?" "That''s where you find your level Lilith. You can use it on yourself and others to estimate strength." Lilith, in awe at the screen floating in front of her, asked, "Did Master give this to me?" "Yes, now go and use it on the monsters of this island and report back." "Yes Master." Lilith said with an excited bow and left. I''ve already hidden my status, so I shouldn''t have to worry about others peaking in. While Lilith was out, Roan searched the cave for clues as to what happened to the world. Everything looked the same as before, nothing seemed out of place. Deciding to hold off on speculations,, he left and collapsed the cave with a couple well placed punches, covering up any tracks of his doings. He then turned around to see Lilith bowing before him ready to report. Looking for the go ahead, Lilith started, "Reporting to Master, the monsters on this island are all in their high 100s. Nothing seems to be of any threat." The same again, huh. I will still keep my gaurd up, I still don''t know what else is in store. Wanting to test some theories, Roan went around the island looking for monsters. The first thing he noticed was that every monster had a soul, the stronger ones seemed to have larger souls as well. None of them could even come close to his, but new information nonetheless. When he tried attacking the souls of some monsters, it felt like cutting through butter and the monsters died without making a sound. Then he tried covering monsters'' souls with his own and made another discovery. They stopped dead in their tracks, still breathing, but motionless until he uncovered their soul. It would be a dangerous move against beings with souls like his, but to lower souls it would be a way to incapacitate them. Monsters with souls... I can''t log out... Hm. I''ll see if I can find any other players first, before I make any assumptions. Also, I wonder why these souls dissapate, but mine kept coming back. Did I go back before my soul was destroyed? Meanwhile, Lilith was suprised to say the least, that with what seemed like a simple look, Roan could drain the life of monsters. Thusly cementing the idea of him being the cause of the beast''s disappearance in her mind. After finishing up his experiments on the world and souls, Roan thought about the future and asked a very important question. "What year is it?" On que, Lilith answered, "It is year 512 Master." That was the start of the game. It had been two years since then. Either Lilith''s sense of time was off or I went back only two years with all my stats. Even though the latter doesn''t seem likely, I''ll keep it in mind for now. But... what if neither of them were true? The only way I can move forward is to look for other players and see if they know anything. Putting his hand on his chin, Roan continued. If there are none... that would mean... I''ve done the stuff of novels and went to another world. All the answers I''ve gathered seem to be pointing to that as well. I can''t log out, the message about transporting, monsters having souls... But the world is the same. To have a world exactly the same as the game, it would prove that there really are an infinite amount of planets out there. If that truly is the case and I''ve gone to another world, I suppose I wouldn''t mind it. It would seem I have much more power in this world than I ever did on Earth. Plus, if the Apex and this world do coincide, I''ve got 10 years of future knowledge for half the world. Everytime time was reset for Roan, he would spend around 10 years before challenging the beast again. He stopped at 10 because at the end of the 10 years he slowly lost control of his body until it led itself to the beast. He had thought it had to do something with him only making it 10 years in his first run. Also, the reason why Roan had said half the world is because there were two super continents in Apex. One, the Mainland, was where all players spawned and explored. It was here where Roan spent his time. The only thing known about the other super continent was that it was on the other side of the world, devoid of civilization. Many players tried to sail to it, only to be caught in storms or eaten alive by sea monsters. It was unkown if anyone had made it there or if there is any life on it in the first place. For the time being I have two plans. Plan A is to search for players and if that''s a bust, then I will have to assume I''ve gone to a parrallel planet. The plan then would be to explore the world and look for more Apex Beasts. Hopefully, they will have answers for me too. I''ve killed one already, so I should have the power to challenge more if there are any. As for finding them, I''ve heard many strange rumors, but have never seen any of them for myself. May as well go ahead and see what I can come up with. Roan made a mental list of the numerous rumors he had heard and narrowed them down.
Southern Dragons Hidden Dungeon
Eastern Elves World Tree Killer
Northern Dwarves Snowy Lair Sleeper
Western Beastmen Mountain Madness
Central Humans Mischevious Shapeshifter
Through his travels, Roan had heard many stories from players or in bars about various supernatural events happening in each direction. Roan had killed an Apex Beast in the southern dragon area, so he figured there might be one in each direction. As for the others, the Elves'' World Tree had said to have had been dying for a while, there was an eerie snoring coming from the northern grottos, travelers were known to gone mad in the eastern mountains, and there was talk of a shapeshifter who liked to stir up central. With these plans in mind, I''m not going to be stepping back into the southern area for a while, so first let''s see if Lilith needs anything here. It''s annoying to dwell on the past. Even though Roan was apathetic to many things, he still had the sense to let people mourn. If her story was true, she would probably want to say goodbye to her family and gather her things. Turning to Lilith, he stated, "We will be moving out soon. Do what you need to do." As if understanding his intention, she replied, "Thank you Master" and bowed. Struggling to leave, she looked back and respectfully asked, "If it''s not too much trouble, could Master come with?" Her voice was shaking with anxiety. Whether it''s due to seeing the wreckage of her clan or troubling her new Master, it was hard to guess. With nothing else to do, Roan simply nodded and Lilith smiled gratefully. Lilith transformed back into her dragon form, bent down, and said to Roan, "Master, please get on my back." He jumped up and softly landed on what seemed like the most stable spot for flying. They soon took off, flying for the southern area.
Seeing the rate at which they were traveling, Roan''s opinion of Lilith went up a bit. I suppose her speed will help me travel the continent faster. Although a flying dragon will attract unwanted attention in the northern areas. A couple of hours later Lilith had landed in the ruins of her clan. Massive bodies were strewn everywhere, black dragon blood and guts were thrown about. Roan hopped off, stood to the side, and let Lilith deal with her own problems. He had seen enough betrayal and death throughout his runs to last more than a couple lifetimes. Even though it was just a game, it felt real for him, as it did many others. Meanwhile, Lilith looked around to see the carnage wrecked upon her clan... Black Dragons were very high up in the dragon community and so was the standard that they needed to live up to. Unfortunately for many, those that did not meet those standards were abandoned or straight up killed. Even though Lilith''s dragon form may be considered big to some, she was considered a runt by her own, and was thus abandoned. She lived by picking up the scraps of the clan and scurrying out of sight when the larger ones came close. Once she was big enough to survive on her own, Lilith ventured out to the various unexplored islands, slowly gaining strength. Once she felt like she had gained sufficient strength, she went back to her clan planning on passing as a wandering dragon to see how she fared against the other dragons. But instead, she witnessed the massacre of her clan. She flew until she couldn''t fly anymore and hid herself in an island cave she had once found. That was when she met Roan. Only when Lilith stumbled on the corpses of her parents, did she shed a single tear. Although they had abandoned her, her parents were reluctent to part with her until they threw her out to save her from the clan elder''s wrath. Even if it was for a small time, she felt the warmth of a family and was saddened by their death. After burying her own parents and saying goodbye, she looked upon the rest of the clan, "Time to loot." Roan watched as Lilith went around taking everything that had any sort of value. Jewels, gold, silver and ores were swept away swiftly by her soul storage. After a while, even Roan was a bit surprised, How big is her space storage? During his runs with unique magic, Roan was also able to create a space storage, but it was only as big as a small apartment. By the looks of Liliths'', it would seem as if she could store the whole building. Hmm.. flying and a huge space storage. Having a dragon serve under you has it''s perks. Storing the majority of wealth the Black Dragons had collected, Lilith then turned her eyes to the elder''s corpse. She turned back to Roan and explained, "Master, the hardest part of the black dragon is their tail and is a great material for creating weapons and armor." Understanding what she was getting at and wanting to test his strength some more, Roan walked over to the elder, who was as large as an office building, and punched the base of his tail. With extreme precision, the tail cleanly seperated from the body. Amazed by Roan''s power yet again, Lilith expressed her thanks and quickly stored the tail. After doing one last sweep, Lilith bent down near Roan and said, "I''m ready, Master." Hopping on, Roan commanded, "Then we leave for Central." The Human Kingdom Lilith flew until they approached the dragon border, which was marked by a massive ravine made to ward off foolish intruders from entering their territory. Seeing the border, Roan told Lilith to land on the other side. We could just fly straight to a city, but the amount of alarm and attention would make it much more difficult to sniff out the shapeshifter if plan A was a bust. Showing up in rags wouldn''t do us any good either. After landing, Roan ordered Lilith, "We will be walking the rest of the way, change." She transformed back into her human form, looking a bit more kempt than Roan, wearing various hide and linen. Moving through the woods for a while, Roan finally spotted a small village a ways out. Just in case, he altered his and Lilith''s statuses to show as if they were refugees. Villages near the borders were often destroyed due to monsters or attacks of other nations, so it would be a convincing look if they asked any questions. That, and they were in rags. Time for some more information gathering. Walking up to the village gates, Roan stopped and waited for a gaurd to let them in. Soon enough a gaurd peered over the wall and said under his breath, "More refugees?", before questioning them. "What''s your reason for entering Ryden Village?" It''s a familiar name. Roan answered smoothly as if he had done it a hundred times, "Our village to the west was razed. We are looking to get back on our feet." Sighing, the gaurd opened the gate and said, "You get one free meal and night at the inn. After that, you gotta pay. It''s pretty easy to find jobs around here, just ask around. We could always use the extra help." Entering the village, Roan had Lilith hand him a couple human silver coins she had prepared on the way here. They were aquired from the black dragons'' stash, along with currency from other nations as well. They made there way to the nearest tailor. Walking up to the shop, a middle aged lady expressed, "I don''t give handouts." Roan flashed a couple silver coins and the lady restarted, "What can I do for you?" "Two sets of clothes, leather boots, backpacks, and cloaks. One male, one female." The lady went back into her shop, grabbed sizes she thought would fit, and came back, "2 silvers, there are changing rooms around back." Paying the lady, they went back and changed into their respective outfits. Coming out, Roan thought of his next plans. Now that we look the part of villagers and I have a general idea of where we are, we should head to a medium sized city to look for other players. Roan set off for the other side of town. Along the way, he didn''t hear anything worth mentioning in terms of the state of the Nation, but that was to be expected in a border village. He neared the northern gate and requested passage out. A gaurd once again stopped them, "Where are ya headed to?" "We have relatives in Andcester City." Sizing up the two, the gaurd warned them, "It''s about a month''s travel north, you sure your prepared?" Without blinking, Roan answered, "Yes." Seeing his attitude, the gaurd shrugged his shoulders and opened the gate. On their way out, the gaurd yelled to them, "Watch out for monsters and bandits, ya hear." Bandits, huh? During the later stages of the game, bandits were almost extinct. This was because in the early stages, players were often robbed and killed, however by them, once they outleveled the bandits, it was a massacre to say the least. Not only would the players get the sweet taste of revenge, but also all the gold the bandits had collected and their bounties. It was a goldmine for any high leveled player. Walking for a bit, Lilith questioned, "So that was a human settlement. Are they all like that Master?" "No." Knowing her Master was a man of few words, she didn''t ask for more. A while longer, they had reached the road that would take them to Andcester City. The gaurd had mentioned that it was a month''s travel from here... if you stopped that is. And unfortunately for Lilith, Roan had no plans of stopping. That was until they were interrupted by an unfriendly looking group of bandits. Sensing the bandits from a ways away, Lilith turned to Roan, "Master, I''m sensing hostile intent from up the road. May I take care of it?" Curious to see how Lilith fared in her human form, he replied "Go for it." Nodding to her Master, Lilith walked slightly ahead of him and with a wave of her hand, 20 odd black flames flew out and silently turned the bandit''s force to ash. She then activated her space storage and collected their equipment and coins. To be expected, dragons are much more efficient at dragon magic, even in their human forms. While Lilith went around cleaning out the bandits, Roan started walking onward. Picking up the last pieces, Lilith rushed back to Roan''s side and walked slightly behind him once again. After a week of constant walking, a bit more ragged Lilith and stoic Roan arrived at the gates of Andcester City. Roan looked at the gates and thought,Time to find out if I''m alone in this world.
After creating their characters, players would be prompted with a choice of which city to spawn in. In the beginning, one could only play as a human until players you travelled to other nations. There were specific race quests one could do in any nation in order to change allegiances. Of course, since the time signaled the beginning of the game, players could only be inside human cities learning and training from various guides. Looking upon the gate, Roan walked up, payed the entry fee, and went in. Going into the city, he searched high and low. He walked up and down the streets, looked into training fields, inns, bars, or anywhere where players woul meet and hang out. The conclusion:If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Nothing, huh. I guess that''s it then. Even if I checked other cities the outcome would likely be the same. There were five billion people on launch and each city was overflowing with players. If there is no one here, that really means I''ve gone to a parallel planet. Plan ''look for more Apex Beasts'' it is then. Meanwhile, all this time, Lilith had thought her Master was showing her the city since she was curious about it earlier. She looked at all the tall buildings, busy streets, and delicious food with curious eyes. Lilith decisively decided to not ask any questions and simply observed due to her Master''s usual silence. Once Roan had stopped, he heard a voice from behind him, "Thank you for showing me around Master." Turning to see Lilith, he shrugged his shoulders and thought of his next steps. Looks like it''s time to do a bit of investigating. The only thing I''ve heard of the shapeshifter was from other players. The biggest incedent was in the Capital, only two months after the game started. A Count, who was an avid adventurer, came back from on outing of slaying monsters with his most loyal gaurds. Tired, he went back to his Manor to rest, gaurded by said knights. In the morning when the maids went in to wake him, they found him headless in his bed. They did a roll call and found one of the gaurds missing. Confused, they searched and eventually went back to where the Count had left to the other day. There, they found the missing gaurd hidden withing a cave, once again with his head missing. From there, there were many incidents of murders with missing heads. Detective players, after analyzing the evidence, ruled that there must of been some sort of shapeshifter. Unfortunately, it was never caught. If the story was true, it would strike first in the inner Captial, where all the nobles presided. The only chance of getting in the inner Capial is to be a noble or a rich merchant. Luckily, with the black dragon''s wealth, we should be able to pass that obstacle. From there, I just need to wait for it to strike. But first... Roan looked down at his own body, then at Liliths''. We need to clean up. Roan retraced him steps until he found a luxery inn. Regular inns have bath rooms that one has to sign up for. Luxery inns, on the other hand, have a tub and soap in each room, making them the ideal place for the wealthy. Walking in with gold in hand, Roan went up to the counter and saw an older gentleman in a suit. Showing the old man the gold, Roan stated, "One room with a bath, one night." Looking at the dirty couple, the old man kept his thoughts to himself and replied, "3 gold please." Roan handed him the gold and followed him up to the room. After a couple flights of stairs, they finally arrived at a room on the end of the hall. The old man handed him the key and said, "Dinner is available now. Please be out by noon tomorrow. Enjoy." and went back downstairs. Entering the room, they were greeted with a large tub, an open sink, and toilet to the left, a bed in the middle, and a table and desk to the right. The room was decorated with various rugs, candles, and paintings with a window to the left of the bed. Going up to the bath, Roan pressed on the water gem, allowing warm water to flow out of it. Lilith, impressed by the gem''s usefullness, examined it until her Master started taking off his clothes to which she quickly turned around until he was in the tub. Peeking back, she saw then dirty clothes on the ground and asked, "Master, where do I clean these?" Roan pointed to the sink beside the tub. Steeling her nerves, Lilith grabbed the clothes and made it to the sink. She tried copying whay Roan had done by touching the top of the gem. Unsurprisingly, warm water came out. She let it fill up until she touched the top again. The water stopped and Lilith got to work scrubbing the clothes clean of dirt. Once she was done, she looked back to see Roan in a towel and asked, "How do I get rid of the water in here Master?" Instead of explaining, Roan simply hit a lever near the bath and all the dirty water drained away. Looking for a lever near the sink, Lilith found it to the left, hit it, and watched the water go down the drain. She then used her dragon magic to dry and warm Roan''s clothes. Trying to avoid eye contact, Lilith handed Roan his clothes. He took them, pointed to the bath, and said "Wash." Nodding to her Master, she went to start another bath. Looking back, she saw that Roan was meditating, so she quickly changed into her hide clothes and began to wash her newer clothes. After drying them, she saw the bath was full and swiftly hopped in. While Lilith was cleaning herself, Roan was examining his soul and body once more. He detected no anomalies, so he moved his thoughts to his next plans. If I want to get into the inner Captial, we''re going to need to look the part. First, we need fancier clothes, we look no different than commoners currently and an outfit upgrade would help change that. Next, we need good horses and a closed carriage. Merchants are constantly moving about, so after money comes comfort for many. Finally, we need merchandise. For that, jewelry will do just fine. Thinking for a while, Roan was interrupted by a growling beside him. He opened his eyes to find a clean Lilith beside him, embarrisingly clutching her stomach. "Sorry Master, I''ll try to control it." Huh. Looks like dragons need to eat too. After aquiring his Immortal Body, Roan had never felt the need to eat, drink, or sleep. Interestingly enough though, he was a bit thirsty for some reason. So, he got up and motioned for Lilith to follow him. They went to the dining area and found a corner booth near a window. He sat down with Lilith and soon a waiter came by and handed them menus. "Dinner comes free with the room, so what can I interest you in tonight?" Roan simply said water while Lilith was frantically searching the menu until she found something with meat and picked that. The waiter said, "Right away" and scurried off to the kitchen. A little while later, the waiter came back with two waters and a steak, "Enjoy." Lilith looked at her mouth watering steak and then looked to her Master. He took a fork and knife and showed her how to cut it and stuck a piece in her mouth. Squeling with delight, Lilith started to chow down on the rest of her steak. Meanwhile, Roan sipped his water and enjoyed the show. After a good meal, Lilith swayed back and forth, struggling to stay awake. Turns out, not sleeping for weeks will do that to someone. Seeing her delirious state, Roan handed her the key and said, "Sleep." Lilith suddenly jolted back, "But what about Master?" Roan shook his head and Lilith regretfully whispered, "Okay Master, I''ll sleep." She bowed, said goodnight, and headed back up to the room. While Lilith slept, Roan went around town scouting out areas for tomorrow.
Lilith awoke to the chirping of birds in the morning. She stretched her arms in the bed thinking, That was the best sleep I''ve had in a while. These beds are so comfy.Sitting up, Lilith scanned the room, Wait, bed?Lilith had fell asleep on the rug, just in case her Master had changed his mind and wanted to rest. But to her surprise, she was tucked into the bed. Surprised, she shyly smiled,Master is so nice to me, I wish I could do more to help.Invigorated by her Master''s kindness, she hopped out of bed, cleaned the room, and waited for her Master to return. During the night, Roan had went out and assessed the world he was in. He found more information pointing to the world being a copy of Apex. Or maybe Apex is the copy. I can''t be sure yet. Once, he had gone back to the room to check up on Lilith, only to see her sleeping on the floor. What kind of dragon falls asleep before they can even make it to the bed? Oh well. Roan then gently picked her off the ground and put her in the bed. Rest well... After all, If you can''t keep up, then I have no use for you. In Roan''s eyes, those that held him back were just as bad as enemies. Luckily, Lilith had yet to do so, but he was curious to see how long she''d last. Anyway, after a night of information gathering, Roan went back to the inn to sign out. Opening his room door, he was immediately greeted by a high spirited Lilith, "Good morning Master! Thank you for last night." She held out the room key in her palm towards him. Roan took it, turned around, and went downstairs with Lilith in tow. Giving back the room key, he left for the clothing store he spotted last night. Upon entering, they were greeted by a variety of lavish and expensive clothing. They went up to the counter and bought a couple pairs of clothes and shoes each. After changing, Roan led Lilith to the stable and bought a high class carriage and the strongest horses he could find. Lastly, driving the carriage, Roan stopped at a jewelry store. Even though Roan already had many jewels through the black dragons, they were much too valuable and would cause an upset if he ever tried to sell them. Aquiring all the items needed to safetly enter the inner Capital, Roan left Andcester City.